Assessment Task:

Individual Report

1) Assessment Details:

This task is designed to develop your awareness of: the complexity of the managerial role; the reliance of a manager on other people both inside and outside the organisation; the necessary interaction of both informal/ interpersonal factors and formal/ organisational factors in fulfilling organisational purposes.

Further it is designed to develop and test your knowledge and capacity to: deconstruct the organisationally prescribed view of managerial work and its context; conceptualise the systemic nature of managerial work; and comprehend, interpret and execute a specific task description (or ‘project brief').

Models, concepts, principles and theories covered in lectures and tutorials during week 1 to week 5 will be of help while completing this task.

Task description:

? Undertake an analysis of your own job and its context. If you do not have managerial (or similar) experience, or if for some other reason it is not appropriate to analyse your own job, you may choose instead the job of another individual (current job) who agrees to be the focus of this assignment. Alternatively, you may discuss with your lecturer/ tutor the possibility of analysing a position you held in the past. Your lecturer must approve your choice. You may change (or withhold) the names of people or organizations if you believe anonymity is required.

Complete the following requirements:

? Provide a brief introduction to the organisation.

? Describe the actual requirements of the job. Include formal requirements (actual position/job description), and less formal requirements (if any).

? Identify (list) other individuals or groups from inside and/or outside the organisation with whom you interact and who are important to your job. Do not describe these individuals job duties in detail.

? Describe the main characteristics of these individuals or groups, particularly those characteristics that impact on their interaction with you. If your list is lengthy, select those 4-5 individuals or groups who are the most important, who are critical to your ability to fulfil the requirements of your job. (This description must include such things as position, demographics such as age, gender, personality and attitudinal dimensions, learning, pattern of interaction with you etc.) If you have only identified people inside your own organisation, you should briefly explain why people outside your organisation have not been considered.

? Describe the nature of the interdependency that exists between you and these critical groups or individuals. That is: in what way do you rely on each other? What do you expect from these groups and individuals? What do they expect from you? Include formal concepts of interdependence (pooled, reciprocal, sequential etc.) in your analysis.

? Include a diagrammatic representation of these interdependencies. Note this should not be presented as an organisational chart. A typical format for this diagram would consist of you as the focus or centre with the groups and individuals with whom you interact arranged around you.

? Evaluate the interdependencies (that is, the virtual network your diagram represents) in terms of its effectiveness and efficiency and the satisfaction of those concerned.

? Make recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of the interdependent individuals/ groups. Please note: you are not being asked to simply evaluate your managerial style or the effectiveness of your department or organisation.

2) Specific criteria used to grade this task:

• the extent to which the task description was fulfilled, both in terms of quality and completeness;

• the degree of conceptual clarity demonstrated;

• clarity of expression;

• correct presentation (i.e., format, proof-reading, word count, complete and correct cover page information including signature, gender-neutral expressions etc.);

• citation of sources in the text, list of references at the end (correct and complete as per APA style).