Assessment Instructions

Assignment Overview

The individual assignment is an Article Synthesis paper written in the form of a report. The purpose of the assignment is to develop your skills in critical thinking and integrating sources, while also developing in-depth knowledge on a topic from organisational behaviour (OB). You can choose any topic area in OB (refer to the topics listed in the subject learning guide or the Table of Contents for the prescribed text). See the Specific Instructions below for more details.

Topics
1: Organisational behaviour in context
2: Individual differences
3: Motivation and engagement
4: Decision-making and team dynamics
5: Power communication and conflict
6: Organisational culture and change

Instructions

Select three journal articles on the same OB topic. You can choose any topic in OB. Your articles must meet the following conditions:

1. The articles must be empirical (i.e., report the results of original research);

2. The articles must have been published between 2010 and present;

3. The articles must be selected from the following list of journals:

Academy of Management Journal
Academy of Management Review
Group and Organization Management
Human Relations
Human Resource Management
Journal of Applied Psychology
Journal of Management
Journal of Organizational Behavior
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Leadership Quarterly
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Personnel Psychology.

*Some topics may require additional journals other than those listed. If you believe there is need to incorporate journals that are not on this list, talk to your facilitator or subject coordinator first.

Read each article thoroughly, paying attention to the theoretical perspectives, definitions, methods, results and interpretation in each. You will use this information to analyse and compare and contrast the articles.

Assignment Structure

The individual assignment should be written in a neat, professional and engaging manner using report format, meaning that you need to develop coherent, well-supported and logical arguments following a basic report structure.

The final assignment should include the following elements:
- Title page - Include the report title, student name, student ID number, subject code, workshop time, workshop facilitator name, due date
- Table of contents (optional)
- List of figures/tables (optional)
- Introduction
- Main body - Use appropriate headings/sub-headings for different sections, and include at least the following information:
o Similarities among the three articles (e.g., theoretical perspectives, definitions, methods, results and interpretation)
o Differences among the three articles (e.g., theoretical perspectives, definitions, methods, results and interpretation)
o Any possible reconciliation of the opposing points in the three articles
o Integration of the information contained in the three articles
o Discussion of how you might apply your integrated interpretation of the three articles to a specific work or organisational situation
o Use in-text citations throughout your report. Refer to Research and References, below.
- Conclusion
- References - Include the full reference information for the three articles cited in your report.
- Appendix - Include a copy of your of the first page of each article as an appendix at the end of your report.
- Note that the title page, table of contents, list of illustrations/tables, references, and appendices are not included in the 2000 word count.
- Note this report should not include an executive summary or separate recommendations section. Please do not include these items as they will take unnecessary space away from your main analysis, thus inclusion of these sections will likely result in a lower overall mark.
Please refer to the LMS for specific due dates and the assessment submission link.

Research and References

Cite all sources in the main text of the document and include a separate reference page at the end of the document. The in-text citations and references should be formatted using either the current version of the Harvard style or APA 6th edition. Refer to the tips on applying these styles in the Assessments module of this LMS site.

Note that you should only be using the three articles as references. Refer to the guidelines above for selecting your three articles.

Assignment: at least 2000 words