Overview

Managing employees and an organization is not an easy task. Many of the issues that arise do not have clear cut solutions. For example, having a diverse workforce has many positive benefits and is a legal requirement, but can also lead to worsened group dynamics and inefficient communication.

As another example, we know employees helping other employees provides some benefits and creates a better work culture, but it can actually hurt overall work productivity. One of the ways organizations try to develop solutions to these problems and best management practices is by turning to academic research.

This project is designed to give students an opportunity to work virtually with their class mates in order to explore academic research and to develop practical solutions to real questions that organizations face, while also helping you develop business writing and critical thinking skills that you will need in the business world.

The project consists of a 6 page written report. For the report, you will provide an answer to one of eight possible questions based on the scientific literature related to these topics. The questions to be investigated are purposefully formulated in a broad manner as to allow for students' own input and creativity.

The questions will be divided up amongst three-person student teams in the second week of class. The paper will be worth 100 points toward your final grade.

It is important to note that this paper is not a "book report," in that we are not asking you to simply regurgitate what the academic articles say about a topic. We expect you to use the research to develop and support an answer to the research question and to develop some possible recommendations for organizations to follow. In other words, integrate the research that you find and tell an interesting (but well-supported) story about your topic.

This will require critical thinking and your own insight. As mentioned above there usually is not a clear solution to these issues, and so you are expected to discuss both the pros and cons, or benefits and problems, of the issues related to your question.

Written Report

The written report consists of a6 page paper. Each group will need to email ONE COPY of their report to the instructors.

The report should include:

• Clear definitions of the core concepts used in your paper.

• An integration of your findings based on the literature you have examined (not just a list of results or rehash)

• Your conclusions based on the literature, including a well-founded answer to the research question.

• Specific recommendations for practice

• Correct grammar, spelling, and formatting

o A separate cover page identifying group members, PIDs, and title

o 6 pages of text related to content (this does not include your cover page, references, or appendices)

o Double spaced

o Times New Roman font, size 12

o 1 inch margins

o Proper citations using APA guidelines , including within text citations

If you're unsure about what this means consult with the Writing Center or the MSU libraries

If you do not do this properly, at the very least you will lose points for formatting. However, failure to properly cite others' works could be considered plagiarism which is a form of academic dishonesty and could be punished as such. Do not mess this part up.

Consult with the grading rubric (posted on the "Library" tab, under "my files" on Connect) to make sure you understand what is expected. Once again, this is not a "book report" where you just give a summary of your 6 articles.

This should be written like a professional document; imagine your boss came to you with a question, and you are giving him or her a written report of your findings. It should thoroughly but concisely answer the main research question and provide specific key recommendations, all based in the scientific research available.

It should not read like six blurbs thrown together by four different people, but as one coherent story from beginning to end.

To discourage free-riding, and to ensure that group members do their fair share of the work, toward the end of the class each person will be evaluated (using an online survey) by his/her group members on the amount of effort devoted to the group project.

Individual group project grades may then be adjusted accordingly.

Sources

As mentioned above you will need to find six academic articles related to your topic. These articles must come from one of the following journals

Academy of Management Journal

Academy of Management Review

Journal of Applied Psychology

Personnel Psychology

Journal of Management

Organization Science

Strategic Management Journal

Administrative Science Quarterly

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Psychological Bulletin

Harvard Business Review (a maximum of one article may come from this source)

Psychological Science

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

Annual Review of Psychology

The Academy of Management Annals

The text book can be useful for finding articles and identifying topics to discuss, but does not count as one of your six sources as it is likely not the original source of the information you will be discussing.

You should have free access to any articles you may need through the MSU libraries' electronic resources, meaning you should not pay for any article. Web of Science is a user friendly database should be a good starting point for you.

If you ever any questions about finding articles or using the school's electronic resources, don't hesitate to contact a librarian. Just because an article is in Web of Science does not mean it is on the above, approved list.

IMPORTANT!! On the course website (Library" tab, under "my files"), you will find a set of instructions ("A Guide to Searching for Articles") on how to search for articles on Web of Science published in the above list of journals.

You should find those instructions helpful as you identity articles for your paper.

6. Motivation

Assuming organizations do not have an infinite amount of resources, how can they design reward systems to best motivate individuals and teams? Outside of pay and benefits, how can individuals be motivated in the work place?

Humphrey, S., Nahrgang, J., &Morgeson, F. (2007) Integrating motivational, social, and contextual work design features: A meta-analytical summary and theoretical extension of the work design literature.