MGT 301 Organizational Behavior (OB)

MGT 301 Organizational Behavior (OB)

Assignment Overview

What is this assignment about?

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Find and analyze an article in the mass media to which you can apply concepts and theories from your MGT 301 Organizational Behavior (OB) course.

Why do I assign this to students in MGT 301?

The spirit of this assignment is to bring OB theories and concepts “alive” — that is, to make the point that what we discuss in class has real-world implications.

How should I complete this assignment?

First, find an article in a newspaper, magazine, etc., that deals with a topic that a) interests you and b) is related to organizational behavior issues. Then, write a paper in which you:

1) provide a brief summary of the article;
2) demonstrate how it applies to OB-related topics, theories and concepts; and 3) draw some conclusions of your own.

How should I write the paper?

Please find guidelines for structuring your paper on page 4 of this handout.

When is my paper due?
Your paper is due on Monday, April 18, 2016. Please note that this assignment is worth 125 points (i.e., 12.5% of your final grade).

FINDING TOPIC AND ARTICLE

Choosing a Good Topic

• First, consider complex topics from the text—ones that have many subtopics—such as social trends in the workplace, leadership, politics in organizations, health issues, group dynamics, cross-cultural workplace issues, problems and opportunities for newcomers/older workers/expatriates, job performance and how to enable/evaluate it, motivating employees in difficult times, organizational culture and its effects, organizational change, communicating in the workplace, diversity or other topics that deal with employees’ attitudes, perceptions and/or behaviors.
• Second, narrow down possible topics to ones that you have some opinion about before beginning your search for articles, so you will have your own ideas to consider in addition to those presented in possible articles.

è For example, maybe you liked the topic of diversity in the workplace because you experienced something similar in a recent internship, or you read about it, or discussed it with friends, etc. Thus, finding an article on, say, “managing diversity” would be good because a) you have an interest in the topic already, b) you could tie the article to a number of topics related to diversity that we discussed in class or that are discussed in our textbook (i.e., challenges to managing diversity or organizational practices), and c) it is likely that you have opinions regarding this topic because of your prior experiences.

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Possible Topic Sources

In order to find a topic, consider doing the following:

•  Read the MGT 301 textbook’s table of content and glossary
•  Flip through the MGT 301 textbook or other OB textbooks in the library
•  Read the Wall Street Journal or other newspapers, watch business news shows or listen to public radio (e.g., “Marketplace” on WYSO, 91.3 FM, M-F 6:30-7:00 p.m., or http://www.marketplace.org)
•  Flip through some of the sources that are listed below
•  Talk to a reference librarian at Roesch library (they often have good ideas for writing papers)
•  Talk to friends/parents/etc. who work and find out what they think would be worthwhile pursuing
•  Still no idea and getting desperate? Come and talk with me! 
Choosing a Good Article
• The article should be a longer one (at least a 1,000 words long), so that you will have some materials to work with. It is a good idea trying to find a “feature” piece (= a longer story in a newspaper, magazine, trade or academic journal). You may use more than one article—however, if you use several short articles make sure that they are related to an overarching topic or theme.