Reference no: EM131264772

Assignment

Instructions on Assessment:

Background of the subject topic

It can be argued that organisations can generate greater effectiveness in a diverse, rapidly changing global environment by encouraging agreement on shared values and by jointly creating visions, goals, and strategies, both internally and externally. Organisations can foster trust, collaboration, equality, participation, shared values, visions, and goals, which can be perceived as core strategic elements of organisational activity in a global field of action. Agreement and commitment can be maintained through dialogue by;

- Focusing on common concerns, identifying shared needs, and conflict resolution amongst the key stakeholders
- Encouraging self-reliance, problem solving and united action by the management practitioners, and
- Sharing important experiences and producing a synergy of perception, intellect and emotion with those who are impacted most.

In this way organisations can represent a more flexible, inclusive, human way of working, with increased opportunity for leading more satisfying working lives amongst their own employees. Strategic changes of various types and nature have been introduced in this regard and implemented extensively in business organisations in recent times

Assignment Tasks

You have already been asked to complete a range of seminar-based research and reflections on the strategic changes undertaken by QANTAS over the last decade, and the associated change management practices/problems in different contexts.

This particular assignment takes the format of an assessment portfolio, comprising three main parts:

PART 1: A research report, with a word limit of 1,500, on one of the particular QANTAS change program implemented in the recent decades (post 2006).

More specifically, you need to provide accounts in this report on the following:

• Internal and external contextual factors which influenced the introduction of that particular change programme at QANTAS
• An outline of the management strategy used by the managers and leaders concerned to execute these strategic changes.
• The actual challenges and difficulties experienced by the QANTAS management team in managing these changes.

PART 2: An academic report, of a 2000 word limit, evaluating the implementation and resistance of the change management approach implicated in Part 1, from one of the three stakeholders' perspectives: QANTAS management team, QANTAS employees concerned, customers and the respective national government.

This report needs to clearly identify:

• Core issues relating to the change itself and associated change management strategy at QANTAS in that context. (These should be outlined against appropriate theoretical frameworks or conceptual discussions, with linkages between theoretical explanation and the practical events to be made explicit).

• Specific concerns and problems drawing from a particular stakeholder's point of view. (You must demonstrate your awareness of the practical change management issues at QANTAS based on your chosen program).

• Advised approaches/recommendations for overcoming resistance to change, relating to your chosen stakeholder's concerns and any other anxieties.

Part 3: Seminar-based portfolio evidences

As integral parts of this module learning learning documents need to be produced throughout the semester to help you learn and prepare for this assessment task. They are to be attached as appendixes in this part:

1. Portfolio 1 - Slide presentation in class - a summary of the chosen Qantas change management programme, the managerial challenges in implementing changes and the management skills required for dealing with such issues, with clear indication about your own contributions (this is to identify the challenges faced and skills required to manage change, using appropriate theories)

2. Portfolio 2 - Slide presentation in class - about QANTAS' change management practice from one of the stakeholders viewpoint, per the group research findings/presentations, with clear indication about your own contributions
(this is to assess the impact or implications of the change management program under discussion, from a specific point of view )

All the above two portfolio evidences need to be presented on the weeks specified by your tutor

Failing to present the group findings or incompletely presenting those required portfolio evidences will affect your overall marks in a negative way. Missing each of them will be awarded a - 10, with a total of - 20 marks.

For example, if the portfolio work has been awarded an overall mark of 65 for part 1 and 2, but you did not present in class your final mark will then be 45 (65-20) only. If you have achieved 70 for your work on part 1 and 2, but only presented 1 out of the 2 required evidences in part 3, then your overall mark will be 60 (70-10).

Assignment Deadline

Please ensure that you submit your completed assignment on time, per announcement of the UG office

Please note that there will be no EXTENSIONS given unless students discuss their circumstances with their programme leader in advance of the deadline and you may have to begin the personal extenuating circumstances process.

Important note about ARNA regulations

The regulations specify that students must complete every assessment component contributing to the modules on their programme. This applies to all forms of assessment as defined in the module descriptor. Please note that:

• if any assessment component is not completed, students will be failed in the module even if the module pass mark has been achieved;
• if the requirements for referral specified in section 5 of ARNA1 are met, a resit opportunity will be given;
• if unable to complete an assessment component because of extenuating circumstances, students should follow the procedure described in the Student Guide to Extenuating Circumstances1.

This change was approved by Academic Board on 12 October 2009 in consultation with the Students' Union. Students should consult their Programme Leader or Guidance Tutor if they have any queries. Independent advice and support is also available from the Students' Union Advice & Representation Centre ([email protected]) or from a student adviser in Student Services.

1ARNA and the Student Guide to Extenuating Circumstances Affecting Assessed Work are available from https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/central/ar/lts/assess/assproc/assdocstud/

Guidance on Assessment:

Word Count

The word count is to be declared on the front page of your assignment. The word count does not include title page, contents page, glossary, tables, figures, illustrations, reference list, bibliography and appendices.

Summarising and compressing the information in your assignment into the word limit is one of the skills that students are expected to acquire, and demonstrate as part of the assignment process.

Word limits and penalties for assignments

If the assignment is within +10% of the stated word limit no penalty will apply. However, if the word limit exceeds the +10% limit, 10% of the mark provisionally awarded to the assignment will be deducted. For example: if the assignment is worth 70% but is above the word limit by more than 10%, a penalty of 7% will be imposed, giving a final mark of 63%.

Time limits and penalties for presentations

The time allocated for the presentation must be adhered to. At the end of this time, the presentation will be stopped and will be marked based on what has been delivered within the time limit.

Submission of Assessment:

All assignments must be submitted via the Undergraduate Programme Office. Each assignment must be accompanied by an Assessed Work Form which must be completed in full. The assignment will not be accepted by the Undergraduate Programme Office unless the form is completed correctly.

Marked assignments will be returned to students. It is advisable to retain a copy of your assignment for you own records. Your mark will be returned on the Assessed Work Form via the Undergraduate Programme Office.

Referencing your work

The APA method of referencing uses the author's name and the date of the publication. In-text citations give brief details of the work you are referring to in your text. References are listed at the end of the text in alphabetical order by the author's name. The general format of an electronic journal reference in the APA style is shown below:

Coutu, D. (2009). Why Teams Don't Work. Harvard Business Review, 87(5), 98-105. Retrieved 29th April 2012 from EBSCO https://searchebscohost.com

Author/s name and initials are listed first, followed by year of publication in brackets. Then there is the title of article and the journal where the article appears, which is in italics. Then state the volume and issue number (in brackets) along with the pages where article can be located. Finally add the date the article was retrieved and then the name of the database, followed by the web address. Wherever possible use the homepage URL rather than the full and extended web address.

For further information on why it is important to reference accurately go to the Referencing and Plagiarism topic in Skills Plus available from the Library website:

www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus

You will find other useful help guides on Skills Plus to help you with the skills involved in writing your assessments and preparing for exams.

For further information on the APA style of referencing see the Concise Rules of the APA Style and the APA website https://www.apastyle.org/

Mapping to Program Goals and Objectives:

This assessment will contribute directly to the following Undergraduate programme goals and objectives. (Insert an ‘X' in boxes where applicable)

1. Knowledgeable about the theory and practice of international business and management Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate current knowledge and understanding of the major functional areas of business.
2. Demonstrate current knowledge of specialist functional and professional areas of business where such specialisation is informed by relevant QAA benchmarks, professional accreditation requirements and applicable international educational standards.
3. Demonstrate, through the application of knowledge to business contexts and scenarios, their abilities of analysis and synthesis.

2. Skilful in the use of personal, professional and managerial techniques and processes

Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate the acquisition and application of a range of personal transferable skills in numeracy, literacy, communication and time management.
2. Exhibit an understanding of the needs of customers, clients and other important contacts through the demonstration of the awareness of key professional and managerial issues, problem solving and critical thinking.
3. Apply managerial and leadership techniques, including negotiation, project management, team building and decision making to business problems appropriate to their level of study.

3. Employable as graduates Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a range of key skills for securing graduate employment, including self presentation e.g. in CVs, interviews and assessment centres.
2. Demonstrate an active awareness of the graduate labour market in order to secure, retain and develop a graduate career.
3. Provide evidence of direct engagement with a range of graduate employers and professional bodies..

4. Aware of ethical issues impacting on business and professional practice Students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of UK and international organisations' approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility and their implications for organisations and individuals.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical codes of professional bodies and the legal and regulatory contexts in which these operate.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of different perspectives towards organisational ethics including shareholder, stakeholder and critical approaches.