Assignment

You are now ready to complete the Project.

This Project will give you additional insight into the dynamics of your workplace and of the people with who you work.

Complete the following seven questions that apply what you have learned in this course to your workplace.

The answer to each question should be between 300 and 500 words in total. Your answer should be written in full sentences and paragraphs, and referenced if necessary.

The Project should be submitted to your Open Learning Faculty Member so that it reaches him or her before your course completion date. Make sure to keep a copy of your Project.

The Project contains seven questions:

1. Description of Your Workplace
2. Attribution Theory
3. Job Design
4. Leadership
5. Management by Objectives
6. Rewards
7. Communications

1. Description of Your Workplace

This Project requires you to relate the course material to the organization in which are you presently employed, or an organization in which you recently participated as an employee.

If you are (were) employed in a department or unit of a large company, provide a description of the department or unit and the product or service supplied.

If you are (were) employed in a small company, provide a description of the whole company and the product or service supplied.

2. Attribution Theory

Discuss your views on the validity and usefulness of attribution theory based on your current perception of its relevance to your life at work (and/or personal life).

Your answer will be judged according to your clarity of thought and reasoning and not according to whether you agree or disagree with attribution theory.

Your answer should not exceed the equivalent of two typed pages.

3. Job Design

Select a motivational problem that exists in your workplace that you feel could best be solved by job design/job enrichment.

a) Describe the motivational problem, and explain why you feel job enrichment is the most appropriate technique to use.

b) According to the Hackman and Oldham approach to job design, there are five characteristics that determine the extent to which a job is intrinsically reinforcing and four principles that can be used to design intrinsically rewarding jobs. Using the Hackman and Oldham approach, make at least three specific recommendations to describe how you would use job enrichment to solve the motivational problem.

c) What costs do you feel will result from introducing job enrichment in this situation? You are not expected to gather specific information or exact dollar figures, but simply to indicate which costs are likely to apply and to estimate these costs whenever possible.

d) Finally, what benefits do you feel will result from introducing job enrichment in this situation?

4. Leadership

This question requires you to assess the effectiveness of your supervisor's leadership behaviour and to make recommendations for improvement.

a) Assess the effectiveness of your supervisor's leadership behaviour and make specific recommendations for improvement by applying the Bowers-Seashore Four-Factor Model, or the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Model, or McGregor's Theory X - Y Model of Leadership.

b) Explain why you feel that the particular model of leadership that you used in Part (a) offers the best insights for improving the leadership behaviour of your supervisor.

5. Managing by Objectives

Select a co-worker who you feel would be suitable to participate in the management by objectives process.

a) Describe the type of work performed by this worker.

b) Keeping in mind the motivational premises inherent in MBO, explain why you feel that the MBO approach is suitable for this person.

c) Describe in detail how you would use the MBO approach if you were this person's supervisor.

d) Finally, what benefits do you feel will result from introducing MBO in this situation.

6. Rewards

Consider a co-worker's behaviour which really bothers you and which you would like to see change. Pick a different example from any which you may have used in this course.

a) On the attached "Behaviour Analysis Worksheet":

(i) describe the behaviour which you would like to see change.

(ii) describe the desired behaviour.

(iii) describe the desired behaviour in operational terms.

(iv) describe the actual responses which occur both when the desired behaviour occurs and when it does not occur.

(v) indicate your perception as to whether the person performing the behaviour will view each response as favourable or unfavourable (F/U) and also indicate for each response whether something is presented or withdrawn (P/W).

(vi) categorize each response as positive reinforcement (PR), negative reinforcement (NR), punishment by contingent presentation (PCP), or punishment by contingent withdrawal (PCW) as defined in workbook 5.

(vii) categorize the strategy represented by each response as positive (POS), negative (NEG) or incorrect (INC) as defined in workbook 5.

b) Based on the behavioural analysis, suggest two or three solutions to the problems or changes which could be made to improve the situation and indicate the most probable positive consequences and any predictable negative consequences.

c) Comment on how well your solutions/changes correspond to Reinforcement Theory with particular reference to the five "rules" for effective responses, i.e., positiveness, contingency, immediacy, appropriateness, and frequency. Also comment on whether you would have any ethical concerns over implementing your solutions.

7. Communications

Consider an actual situation in which you have sought guidance from a specific supervisor about work-related issues.

a) Describe the actual problem-solving sequence followed by the supervisor and compare this to the four problem-solving steps for a development guidance interview presented in workbook 6.

Evaluate and discuss the similarities and differences in approach and indicate whether the guidance received would have been any different had the supervisor used the four-step model.

b) In the interview outlined above, your supervisor may have used several of the following types of responses:

advising
placating
criticizing
sympathizing
sharing
taking sides
acknowledging
asking for definitions
asking for background information
asking for elaboration
asking for problem solving
rhetorical question
paraphrasing

Indicate which types of response the supervisor tended to use and comment on your reaction to them.

Would the supervisor have offered better guidance if he/she had given different types of responses? If so, suggest alternative types of responses and explain why they likely would be more effective.

Behaviour Analysis Worksheet

BEHAVIOUR (ORIGINAL STATEMENT).

BEHAVIOUR (STATED AS DESIRED).

BEHAVIOUR (OPERATIONAL TERMS & AS DESIRED).

RESPONSES.