Write an Academic Essay Debating/Arguing the Relevance of Fayol’s Theories for Today’s Managers.

Background: Globalisation, advances in information technology, increasing pressure from other external forces, and the development of retail and service organisations mean that the management world today is vastly different to that in Henri Fayol?s time a hundred years ago. It is difficult to understand therefore how the concepts and theories proposed by Fayol could be of any relevance to managers today. TASK: Write an academic essay debating/arguing the relevance of Fayol?s theories for today?s managers. ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS: Compulsory assessment task: Students must complete the assessment task for this unit in order to be considered for a pass grade or better. It is therefore compulsory to submit this assignment. Due date: Online submission to MIBT Portal by 1.00 pm on Monday 14 April 2014. Assessment marks: This assignment is worth 40 marks, which is 40% of your final grade. Word limit: 2000 words (+ or ? 10%; excluding References). Relevant learning objectives: On completion of this assignment students should be able to: ? demonstrate a critical understanding of some aspects of the historical evolution of management; ? critically analyse some of the ongoing and contemporary issues facing managers in organisations; ? collect, compare and integrate information from different sources; ? research, summarise and critically assess that information about a management issue. Sources: Students must use at least six (6) of the following academic references (the articles are available on the Portal) for this assignment. Brunsson, KH 2008 ?Some Effects of Fayolism?, International Studies of Management & Organizations, vol. 38, no. 1, Spring, pp. 30-47. Crainer, S 2003 ?One hundred years of management?, Business Strategy Review, vol. 14, issue 2, pp. 41-49. McLean, J 2011 ?Fayol ? standing the test of time?, British Journal of Administrative Management, Spring, pp. 32-33. Parker, LD & Ritson, PA 2005 ?Fads, stereotypes and management gurus: Fayol and Follett Today?, Management Decision, vol. 43, no. 10, pp. 1335-1357. Parker, LD & Ritson, PA 2005 ?Revisiting Fayol: Anticipating Contemporary Management?, British Journal of Management?, vol. 16, pp. 175-194. Pryor, MG & Taneja, S 2010 ?Henri Fayol, practitioner & theoretician ? revered and reviled?, Journal of Management History, vol. 16, issue 4, pp 489-503. Rodrigues, CA 2001 ?Fayol?s 14 principles of management then and now: a framework for managing today?s organisations effectively?, Management Decision, vol. 39, issue 10, pp. 880-889. Spatig, L 2009 ?Rediscovering Fayol: Parallels to Behaviouralist Management and Transformational Leadership?, Northwest Business Economics Association Proceedings, pp. 196-199. Wren, DA 2001 ?Henri Fayol as strategist: a nineteenth century corporate turnaround?, Management Decision, vol. 39, issue 6, pp. 475- 487. Please note there are nine articles listed. You will see from the marking guide/rubric (at the end of this paper) that the more sources appropriately used, the more marks will be available to students. In other words, six (6) is the minimum number of sources required for this paper. Citations and references: all ideas from reading sources must be correctly cited and referenced using the Deakin author-date (Harvard) system. HOW TO PRESENT AND FORMAT YOUR ASSIGNMENT Your paper should have the follow sections: 1. Introduction (approximately 200 words): A good introduction includes: a background of the topic, the aim/purpose of the essay, and the approach you will take (overall essay structure). You need to include statements here about what aspects of Fayol?s concepts/theories your essay will discuss. 2. Body (approximately 1600 words): ? With reference to the readings, provide appropriate and relevant information about the concepts/theories that you will be discussing in your essay ? Explore how the minimum of 6 sources weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of the concepts/theories you have chosen to discuss generally, and in particular impacts on managers and employees ? Explain how Fayol?s theories/principles may be viewed differently today from the past ? Explore the context of management situations and consider to what extent Fayol?s concepts/theories are relevant for today?s management. (Note the close link between this dot point, and the previous dot point). 3. Conclusion (approximately 200 words): ? Sum up the findings of your research discussed in your paper about Fayol?s contributions for today?s management. ? Make sure you summarise the core arguments you have presented and provide explicit links back to the essay topic/statement. 4. References ? You are expected to prepare for the assignment by reading and citing at least 6 academic references from the articles provided. You may use all of the articles provided, and/or may choose other additional readings from other peer-reviewed journal articles. ? Wikipedia, answers.com, cheat websites, personal opinion without source support, and social networking sites is NOT permitted. Assignments that use this information/provide personal opinion without source support will be returned unmarked. If unsure, consult your lecturer or the Academic Skills Advisor. ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Students are required to submit their assignment (in MS Word) online in a designated area in week 7 of the unit on the Portal. 2. Information about online submission will be placed on the Portal in week 6 of the unit (week beginning Monday 7 April). Please note that a hard copy of the assignment is not required, only the online submission will be accepted. Students are expected however to keep a soft copy of their assignment in addition to submitting the paper online. 3. Students MUST ensure the following: ? the paper is typed, with 1.5 line spacing ? page numbers are included ? a title page with title of your essay, your name, id, class, lecturer name, and submission date ? your document must be named using your id, first name, and family name as the following example indicates: ? John Smith, ID SMIJO1302 would submit as SMIJO1302_John Smith 4. No extensions will be considered for assignment submission due dates without the approval of the Unit Coordinator. If you believe you have circumstances beyond your control that make you eligible to apply for an extension, you must apply directly to the Unit Coordinator, before the due date for assignment submission. Supporting documentation must be provided. 5. Late submissions without an approved extension will attract a penalty of 10% per day. Assignments submitted more than one week after the due date, where an extension has not been approved, will not be marked. Contact your lecturer if you have any issues related to writing and/or submitting this paper. ASSIGNMENT RESULTS: Your results and assessor?s comments will normally become available to you within 15 business/working days of the due date (unless an extension has been granted). Marks can be accessed from the Portal once the Unit Coordinator has released the marks (ie after all marking has been completed). Papers will be returned to students via the Portal. You will be advised by e-mail when marked papers are ready for you to access. Before results are returned to students, the unit team will moderate the marking process to ensure that the same marking standards are applied to all students within the unit. If necessary, you may request additional information from your lecturer. Please note that it is compulsory to submit Assignment 1, but it is not compulsory to pass Assignment 1 in order to pass the unit. If you wish to discuss your essay results with your lecturer, you MUST ensure you have the marked grade form and can justify why you believe the grade to be incorrect. This means you will need to provide evidence from the Grade Form (at the end of the assignment) to support your claim before a review will be conducted. Your lecturer will then examine your essay to determine if a review of the grade is warranted. Should your lecturer ascertain so, your lecturer will notify the Unit Coordinator. A request for a review of results will only be accepted by the Unit Coordinator from a lecturer within 5 days of the marks being released. Please remember, receiving a disappointing result is not a justification for review. WRITING AND REFERENCING SKILLS: In this academic essay students have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of management through a practical and realistic approach to their basic research methods and discussion of relevant research materials. Researching, writing and referencing skills are valuable in all facets of management practice. Effective writing is an essential skill for good managers because written documents provide busy executives with accurate information and appropriately informed viewpoints from reliable sources. Poorly researched work leads to poor decision-making, thereby compromising management. Students are also expected to be constructively critical and analytical when they write about what they have read. This ensures that the conclusions drawn are not biased. Please note that all ideas within your essay which have been obtained from your sources, will need to be cited and referenced using the Deakin author-date (Harvard) system. This system is used for other assignments submitted for Faculty of Business and Law units. These are the reasons why you need to develop your academic writing skills and learn the art of constructive essay writing. It is highly recommended that you obtain access to the following booklet published by the Deakin Division of Student Life (you can access this source through the AS Moodle site): Gaspar, M & Shepherd, M 2009, Guide to assignment writing and referencing, 4th edn, Geelong, Deakin University. The following Deakin weblinks also provide relevant and helpful explanations and examples. Most of these can be downloaded if you wish: ? Division of Student Life: ?Referencing using the author-date (Harvard) system?: https://www.deakin.edu.au/current- students/assets/resources/study-support/study-skills/assign-ref.pdf ? Division of Student Life ?How to Reference Your Writing?: https://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study- skills/handouts/refer-plag.php. ? Division of Student Life: Resources: Reading and Writing? including different writing styles: https://www.deakin.edu.au/current- students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/writing.php Please make use also of the Academic Skills Moodle tab to assist you with research and writing skills. Morag Burnie, MIBT Academic Skills Advisor, is available to help you further with academic learning skills. You are urged to attend the Academic Skills Workshops held each week to assist you with this assignment, and with all your academic studies at MIBT. Check the Academic Skills Moodle tab for further information. PLAGIARISM AND OTHER FORMS OF CHEATING: Assignments may be checked for plagiarism (via Turnitin) and disciplinary procedures will be initiated if any student?s work is found to include plagiarism (i.e., penalties will be imposed relative to the degree of infringement. Please see Plagiarism and Collusion Policy, and Academic Misconduct Policy on the Portal under Forms). Plagiarism is the copying of another person’s ideas or expressions without appropriate acknowledgment and presenting these ideas or forms of expression as your own. It includes not only written works such as books or journals but data or images that may be presented in tables, diagrams, designs, plans, photographs, film, music, formulae, web sites and computer programs. Plagiarism also includes the use of (or passing off) the work of lecturers or other students as your own. Plagiarism is a form of cheating that MIBT regards as an extremely serious academic offence. The penalties associated with plagiarism are severe and extend from cancelling all marks for the specific assessment item or for the entire unit through to exclusion from your course. It is important to realise, however, that it is certainly not cheating to use the work of others in your essay. On the contrary – a well-constructed essay should normally refer to and build on the work of others for positioning, supporting and strengthening your work and advancing knowledge. Plagiarism occurs when due recognition and acknowledgement of the work of others is not provided. Therefore, whenever you are using another person’s research or ideas (whether by direct quotation or by paraphrasing) you must appropriately cite the source. If you are ever in doubt about the most appropriate form of referencing, you should consult your lecturer or the Academic Skills Advisor. Talking about your assignment with other students is acceptable and encouraged. However, jointly writing up the assignment, or using the same written words from your discussion, is a form of cheating because we are not able to identify whose idea the information is. Unauthorised collaboration involves working with others with the intention of deceiving examiners about who actually completed the work. If there has been any collaboration in preparing individual assessment items, this must be disclosed (clearly stated that it is a joint effort). In the case of group project work, lecturers provide guidelines on what level of collaboration is appropriate and how the work of each participant in the project is to be presented. If you have any doubt about what constitutes authorised and unauthorised collaboration you should consult your lecturer or the Academic Skills Advisor. Plagiarism occurs when a student presents the work of another person as the student’s own work, or includes the ideas of others as quotations, summaries or paraphrases, without acknowledgement as to its authorship. Collusion occurs when a student obtains the agreement of another person for a fraudulent purpose with the intent of obtaining an advantage in submitting an assignment or other work. WRITING ACADEMIC ESSAYS An essay at university level is: ? an argument o more specifically it is your argument in relation to the question/statement that you have been set. This means that it is not just a summary of someone else?s views or writing, but is instead a piece of academic work in which you present your answer to the question/statement that draws on a range of other people?s published academic material to support and develop your answer. ? this argument must have a clear, logical structure; o this means explicit sections, that each deal with a particular aspect of your core argument and an Introduction that tells the reader what you will argue and how you will structure your argument. ? that has evidence of substantial reading of relevant academic material; ? that supports its main points through references to published academic material; ? that has a Conclusion which summarises again your argument and how you developed this in the main sections of your essay; ? that has an alphabetically ordered reference list of the items referenced in its pages. MMM132/MMMP132 ASSIGNMENT 1 GRADE FORM/MARKING RUBRIC Learning Objective Performance Indicator Poor Needs Improvement Acceptable Well Done Excellent Find information appropriate to the task from a minimum of 6 academic sources including at least 6 of those provided (max. 6 marks) ? None of the readings used, or cited, or readings used poorly (0 marks) ? Minimum number of the required sources used, readings used poorly (limited relevance to assignment argument) (2 mark) ? The minimum number of required sources, plus a further source, all applied with clear comprehension in relation to the essay topic (3 marks) ? The minimum number of required sources, plus a further two sources, all applied showing a well-developed ability to present an argument of the topic statement (4 marks ? The minimum number of required sources, plus a further three sources, all applied in exceptionally perceptive and original ways throughout the essay (6 marks) Essay structure: Evaluate and organise information in a logical and coherent way. This means: ? Clear argument ? Introduction ? Sections ? Conclusion ? Paragraphs ? Logical flow (max. 8 marks) ? The essay is mostly descriptive. ? No constructive analysis of the information. ? No conclusions drawn. ? The essay is not properly organised around a core argument that relates to the essay topic (0 marks) ? Some attempt to provide an argument has been provided. ? No constructive analysis of the information. ? A summary rather than conclusions is provided. ? The essay is organised in a basic way around the core argument that relates to the essay topic (2 marks) ? An argument has been provided. ? The constructive analysis is cursory. ? The conclusions drawn have a relationship with the information presented. ? The essay is well-organised around a core argument that relates to the essay topic (4 marks) ? A critical argument has been provided. ? A constructive analysis is present but lacks depth. ? The conclusions drawn have a clear relationship with the information presented. ? The essay is well-organised around a core argument that relates to every element of the essay topic . (6 marks) ? A comprehensive critical argument directly related to the question has been provided. ? The constructive analysis shows depth of knowledge and insight. ? The conclusions have a clear relationship with the information presented. ? The essay is exceptionally well-organised around a core argument that relates to every element of the essay topic (8 marks) Analysis and argument: Critically analyse and synthesise the information gathered. Draw relevant ideas and examples from the readings and use these to analyse the issues under discussion ? The essay falls below an acceptable standard of analysis, understanding, and knowledge, for this level of study (0 marks) ? The essay shows general understanding with limited ability to analyse critically and/or evaluate (4 mark) ? The essay demonstrates clear comprehension, sometimes perceptive, capable of critical analysis and synthesis. (6 marks) ? The essay demonstrates and well-developed ability to handle conceptual material, to assess arguments critically, and to present thoughts clearly and cogently. Some indications of originality in discussions (8 marks) ? The entire essay is perceptive, frequently original, and critical in assessment and analysis, demonstrating exception rational thinking and synthesis (10 marks) ~ 7 ~ rather than merely describe or summarise (max. 10 marks) Skills of expression and academic English Communicate information accurately through the use of good academic English, grammar, expression, and sentence structure (max. 8 marks) ? Unsatisfactory academic English and expression, which may include extensive spelling and/or grammatical errors and/or sentence structure, and gaps in logic (0 marks) ? Basic academic English and expression, which may include: basic understanding of spelling, grammar, sentence and paragraph structure; many areas for improvement of flow and logic (2 marks) ? Sound academic English and expression in many but not all sections of the essay, which will include: frequently good spelling, grammar, sentence and paragraph structure; basic indications of logic applied (4 marks) ? Very good expression, flow, and academic English in more than 75% of the essay (6 marks) ? Exemplary expression, academic English usage, and logical flow throughout the entire essay (8 marks) Referencing and acknowledging sources of information Refer to information sources accurately Correct Harvard style (author-date) referencing both in the body of the essay and in the reference list (max.8 marks) ? References do not use the Harvard method correctly in more than 75% of the essay. ? In-text citations not utilised or inaccurate. ? Reference list not provided (0 marks) ? Basic use of the Harvard method, there may be some errors in both style and format in-text and in the reference list (2 marks) ? References are used within the body of the essay; in many cases are accurate and in the correct Harvard format both in-text and in reference list (4 marks) ? References are used very well to support arguments presented and in almost all cases are accurate and in the correct format both in-text and in reference list (6 marks) ? Professional exemplar. References are used exceptionally well to support arguments presented and are accurately used throughout the entire essay and the reference list