Topic: An integrative approach to managing people issues arising from implementing a new performance appraisal system

Question: You are the team leader of an organisational and development unit within a human resources department of a large university. You and your team are required to introduce a new work performance appraisal system for academic staff which is significantly different from the old one. Although not everyone agrees with the new system (indeed there is strong opposition to it by some staff members), it is designed to support new strategic directions of the university, including raising its domestic and international research profile. Your team needs to make sure that the new system is understood and will be smoothly applied within the university.

Your task is to present to the director of the HR department a formal plan and rationale for how to implement the change. Your plan and rationale should address key organisational behaviour (people) issues (except those covered in assignment 1) and draw on the  organisational behaviour literature to manage those issues. For example, you might consider relevant sub-topics within the broader topics of change management theory, communication, leadership, perception, attitudes and learning. These could include, shaping behaviour, managing resistance to change, errors in perception, leadership behaviours, cognitive dissonance, communication channels, barriers to communication, etc. You should focus on at least five sub-topics and how the sub-topics you have chosen are related. You need to strike a balance between depth and breadth.

Note, you are not asked to develop a new appraisal system, but a plan to implement the new one that has been developed so that it will be rolled out efficiently with wide understanding and acceptance by academic staff. You must present your work as a formal essay or essay style report, but either way, it must comply to high academic standards. This requires that you have an introduction, body and conclusion, that you draw on journal articles and texts, that you write using full sentences and paragraphs (no dot points), that you fully reference your work and that you construct well developed arguments (descriptive definitions do not attract marks).

Aim of the assignment:

Students are to demonstrate a sound understanding of theories relevant to the sub-topics chosen for this assignment. A sound  understanding is demonstrated by: knowledge of the literature, a synthesis of the various ideas found in the literature, an evaluation of the theories and application of theoretical concepts to management practice.

Structure of Discussion

Is your essay well organised? Does it have an introduction, a body of argument and evidence, and a conclusion?

Introduction: What is your short answer to the question?

The introductory statement or thesis identifies the topic of the essay, indicates a "position" with regard to the question, and suggests the line of reasoning that will be developed in the essay. The final form of the introduction will probably be written last.

Analysis

Have you moved beyond simple descriptions? From the theoretical foundations, have you drawn conclusions, and insights which address the assignment tasks? To undertake an analysis you have to answer the questions: "So what?"; "What does it all mean in relation to my point of view?". Based on your analysis you must make some logical conclusion/s. Without a conclusion your analysis is incomplete. Analysis does not come by just descriptively listing the views of the various writers; you must break down their arguments and look for the strengths and weaknesses in each. If you have read widely, many of those strengths and weaknesses will have been highlighted for you in the other papers you have read.

Body of essay: How did you arrive at your answer?

What is your line of reasoning? Your evidence? The body of the essay should develop and support your introductory statement by making points that support the statement and providing evidence in support of those points (for example, research findings, expert opinions, data, examples, etc.). The stringing together of quotes is not a line of reasoning nor is jotting down points under sub-headings. Sub-headings in an essay are very useful and you are encouraged to use them, however an essay can - and must - be able to be understood without them. As the author, you are responsible for ensuring that your line of reasoning and your evidence is readily comprehensible to the reader; it is not the reader's responsibility to do your thinking for you. Also, material presented in the body of the essay should be explained and critically evaluated

Conclusion: What should the reader conclude from what you have presented?

A conclusion draws together the ideas and line of reasoning presented in the essay and makes some meaningful statement with regard to the thesis as it has been developed in the essay.

Literacy

Have you checked spelling, punctuation, grammar, inclusive language, and sentence and paragraph formation? One sentence does not normally make a paragraph. Good paragraphs will contain transitional sentences which clearly state and how you move from one theme to the next.

A final check

If someone was to read your assignment could they:

• tell you what the task is you are attempting to address?

• explain what they saw as your major points and conclusion?

• be persuaded by the evidence you present and the line of reasoning you offered to support your conclusions?

Guidelines of written work:

1. The essay is to be typewritten or word processed. Typed essays demonstrate a commitment to academic standards.

2. Type on one side of the page.

3. Leave a generous margin on the left hand side of the page.

4. Always use double spacing.

5. Aim for a simple, clear and direct writing style.

• Use one point per sentence.

• Complete sentences should always be used.

• Each paragraph should cover only one main idea or a set of closely connected ideas.

• Headings and sub-headings can be used to make the underlying structure of the analysis clearer.

• A "chatty" or "journalistic" style should be avoided. The first person (I,we) should be avoided in favour of an impersonal style (the evidence suggests that...)

• Spelling, grammar and other elements of expression will be considered in the assessment.

6. Avoid many of the problems of poor presentation by drawing up a plan and preparing one or more preliminary drafts before writing the final version of the report. Proof read your final typed version.

7. Use gender neutral language. This is most easily achieved by using the plural form, for example, using "they" instead of "he". Thus, "A worker faced by new technology may feel that his skills are being devalued" can be re-stated as, "Workers faced by new technology may feel their skills are being devalued."

8. Appendices to the report should contain any additional information which you regard as important (e.g. graphs, tables, questionnaires). Appendices should be referred to in the text and should be numbered and sequenced in the same order as they appear in the text.

9. Pages should be numbered and the entire report securely stapled. Plastic covers and the like are cumbersome and unnecessary.

10. One copy of the report (hard and electronic) and all material submitted, should be made and retained. In the event your assignment is "lost", it will be your responsibility to be able to immediately supply a replacement copy.

11. All sources of information and ideas are to be acknowledged. References in the report should be cited by author and date of publication.

12. A reference list must be included on a separate page at the conclusion of your essay. Present the list of references in alphabetical order. In the list of references presented at the end of the essay, cite journal articles and books in the manner of the sample references given below.

In your reference list, name only those authors that have been referred to in the essay. Do not list any additional reading whose author you have not named in the essay.

Failure to cite your sources in the body of your essay, along with the absence of an end reference list, will normally lead to a failed grade for your assignment.

13. Make sure you know exactly what is required and that you answer the question according to these requirements. If in doubt, see your lecturer.

Referencing

The Faculty of Business and Government requires you to use the Author/Date (Harvard) style of referencing. This style, rather than the footnote system, allows readers to immediately see your source of information and saves the writer the trouble of adjusting footnotes to the page. There are minor variations in style but you should aim for consistency. The most important point is the author and date of the reference should appear in brackets in the text. A reference is necessary when:

a. Another writer is directly quoted.

b. The ideas of another writer are reported or rephrased.

To reference multiple sources:

Multiple references to a single author should be cited in the following manner: De George (1993, 1999) suggests that ......

Reference to multiple authors should be cited by listing within brackets, and in alphabetical order, the surname of each author and the date of publication. For example, Some authors (De George, 1999; Velasquez, 2002) have noted that ......

To reference a chapter in an edited book, or an article in a journal:

In your essay write the same details, e.g. Duska, (1998) suggests .... OR It has been suggested .... (Duska, 1998).

In the list at the end of the essay you need to give the page numbers on which the article appeared.

To reference an electronic document: Electronic document references should, at a minimum, include the author's name, if known; the full title of the document; the full title of the work it is part of, if there is one; the ftp, http, or other address (URL); and the date the document was accessed.