Assessment item 3
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Personal reflection
Value: 15%
Due Date: 29-Sep-2019
Return Date: 22-Oct-2019
Length: 1000 words (+/- 10%)
Submission method options: Alternative submission method
Task
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In this assessment, you have to reflect on your experience of working as part of a group. Those who submitted Assignment 2 as a group will reflect on that particular group experience. Those who chose to submit an individual report as opposed to a group report will have to analyse the experience of being part of a group in the workplace or life in general. Make sure you clearly mention what you are reflecting on.
Use concepts and theories from Topic 6: Groups & Teams. This assignment should be written in the first person as it is based on your personal experiences. Reflection enhances learning through the use of both, theory and personal experience.
The structure of the reflection should follow the three steps:
1. Briefly introduce the aspect of the group work experience that you want to reflect on (this should also include your thoughts, emotions, and/or assumptions that affected your participation in the group). Choose a situation that is meaningful to you in terms of the development of your group work or leadership skills.
2. Explore the chosen situation in depth by analysing it and using 4 relevant OB concepts/theories from Topic 6.
3. Explain what you have learned about yourself and the group work as a result of this reflection exercise.
A few questions that can provide further inspiration on the choice of the group work experience for the reflection:
• What group maintenance challenges/advantages did you experience when working in the group? For example, how did the group interact? How supportive were the group members? Did they respect each other’s’ differences?
• What task performance challenges/advantages did you experience when working in the group? For example, how did the group discuss and work through the task? What were the group discussions like? Were they regular, focused and relevant to the task? How did decision-making and leadership affect the group’s task performance? What about the contributions of group members to the group goals?
This is a free form assignment. No specific structure is advised but you must use appropriate headings including an introduction to set the scene i.e. whether this is a reflection on the group work of assessment 2 or not, etc. Using appropriate headings will increase the readability of the paper. You are also welcome to use visuals such as table/s, graph/s, and diagram/s (but not decorative images or pictures) if you wish. Note that any content which is captured by the MS word auto-count function inside your viduals is also considered part of your submission length (word count).
Rationale
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Subject learning outcomes
This assessment task will assess the following learning outcome/s:
• be able to reflect on your own behaviour and that of others within organisations based on OB theories and concepts.
• be able to assess the role of work teams and groups in an organisation and recommend strategies to manage performance of teams and groups.
Graduate learning outcomes
This task also contributes to the assessment of the following CSU Graduate Learning Outcome/s:
• Information and Research Literacies (Knowledge) - CSU Graduates demonstrate that disciplinary knowledge is developed through research and evidence.
Marking criteria and standards
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Criterion and weighting High Distinction
(85-100) Distinction
(75-84) Credit
(65-74) Pass
(50-64) Fail
(49 and below)
Depth of reflection
(5 Marks) Reflective practitioner: Personal experiences with the group work are openly examined as they relate to Topic 6. Demonstrates an open, non-defensive ability to self-appraise, discussing both, growth and frustrations, as they relate to group work. Aware practitioner: Personal experiences with the group work are openly examined as they relate to Topic 6. Demonstrates
an ability to reflect on both, growth and frustrations, as they relate to group work. Reflection apprentice: Personal experiences with the group work are examined somewhat cautiously. Sometimes defensive or one-sided in your analysis. Some parts of the reflection need additional exploration and discussion. Reflection novice: Little self-disclosure, minimal risk in connecting concepts from Topic 6 to personal experiences. Reflection does not move beyond description of the group work experience.
Self-disclosure tends to be superficial and factual, without self- reflection.
Application of OB concepts from Topic 6 to support the reflection process
(6 Marks) A number of relevant OB concepts from Topic 6 are well integrated in the reflection in relation to contextual factors demonstrating excellent understanding of the topic. Relevant OB concepts from Topic 6 are well integrated in the reflection in relation to contextual
factors demonstrating good understanding of the topic. OB concepts from Topic 6 are included in the reflection in relation to contextual
factors demonstrating good understanding of the topic. OB concepts from Topic 6 are included in the reflection in relation to contextual factors demonstrating sufficient understanding of the topic. Limited or inadequate use of OB concepts from Topic 6 and their minimal connection with personal experiences.
Evidence of learning
(2 Marks) Discussion is insightful, clearly linked with the analysis of the situation, and demonstrates deep learning. Discussion is strong, relevant, clearly linked with the analysis of the situation, and demonstrates personalised learning. Discussion is relevant, clearly linked with the analysis of the situation, and demonstrates personalised learning. Discussion is obvious but relevant, linked with the analysis of the situation, and demonstrates some personalised learning. Discussion is insufficient, not linked with the analysis of the situation, and/or demonstrates superficial learning.
Organisation or structure and presentation;
Evidence of reading and referencing
(2 Marks) Ideas have been presented in an outstanding logical, structured and coherent manner. Quality of writing is at a very high standard, with no spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors. APA6 referencing conventions in both in- text referencing and reference list have been used accurately and consistently. Ideas have been presented in a highly logical, structured and coherent manner. Quality of writing is of a high standard with few spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors. APA6 referencing conventions in both in-text referencing and the reference list have been used almost always accurately and consistently. Ideas have been presented in a logical, structured and coherent manner to the most extent. Quality of writing is of a good standard, with some errors in spelling, grammar and word choice. APA6 referencing conventions in both in- text referencing and the reference list are in evidence but there are inconsistencies. Ideas are presented in a somewhat logical or well-structured manner. Some problems with sentence structure and presentation, with frequent errors in spelling, grammar and word choice. An attempt has been made to adhere to APA6 referencing conventions in both in- text referencing and the reference list, but with some errors and inconsistencies. There is little, if any, coherent structure to the document. Quality of writing is at a very poor standard. Adherence to APA6 referencing conventions in both in-text referencing and the reference list is minimal or non- existent.
Presentation
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• Your reflection can be written in the first person. This is a free form assignment, but you can present your reflection in a report format, but without the executive summary, table of contents, and introduction. You must use appropriate headings/subheadings for better readability.
• Include a title page that shows the subject code and title, the assessment item numbers, your name and student number, and the total word count.
• The word count includes everything other than the cover page and the reference list. It includes in-text citations, headings/subheadings, and text included in images.
• Use 12-point ARIAL font size.
• Do not use footnotes, endnotes or appendices.
• Your assignment should be free of colloquial language and spelling, grammatical and typographical errors.
• Use academic language and writing style in order to communicate your ideas clearly.
Requirements
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• You must use at least 4 recent academic references.
• Upload a Word document to Turnitin. Please do not upload a pdf.
• As per the CSU Referencing Policy, proper referencing is required for each task. Please use the APA referencing format, which can be found at http://student.csu.edu.au/library/integrity/referencing-at-csu
• You must keep to the stipulated word count. Length penalties apply as per those indicated in assessment item 1 in this subject.
• You are suggested using Turnitin to check for plagiarism (http://student.csu.edu.au/library/integrity/referencing-at-csu/checking) in your assessment before submission. Please provide the screenshot of your Turnitin similarity report when you submit Assessment 3. This page should be included at the very end of the assessment after your reference list.