This is a group assignment with specific individual components.

Groups choose from the list of topics that are based on the lectures. However, in this assignment you must do better than recycle the lecture. You are to research your topic in more depth providing evidence of independent research. The set of topics will be provided from which your group must choose on a ‘first-come, first-served basis’.

Note that each topic has a group component to which each group member must contribute. However there are also specific individual components which have been defined.

∙ You will deliver your research topic findings in a presentation at any time during the trimester. The presentation is primarily assessed on presentation technique. Your tutor will make suggestions on improving the academic quality of your assignment.
∙ You may improve the quality of the assignment for the written report at any 15 time up until submission date at the end of the semester. It is at this point that the academic quality of your research is assessed.

Topics and Presentation Schedule:

On following pages are listed a number of topics.

Topics are allocated on a ‘first come – first served basis’ and can only be reserved in writing (e.g. by e-mail to your lecturer).

Please nominate your preferred presentation time (see Lecture Schedule in the Subject Outline) at the time you bid for the topic. In the event of two different groups choosing the same topic, the group who nominates the earlier presentation time-slot will secure the topic. The other group will have to choose another topic.

Research on the broad topic is a group activity and each student must contribute to that work. Each student in the group will then research, in depth, an individual component drawn from the broad research topic.

• Topics are to be undertaken as group work in a group of three or four persons
• Each topic has a general framework as well as individual components

When researching the topic:

• The work on the general framework is the responsibility of each team member
• The work on the individual components is the responsibility of the individual choosing that component. However, that individual can be helped by other group members who in turn also can help other team members

(i) The Live Presentation:

Students form into groups and nominate their broad research topic. Research on the broad topic is a group activity and each student must contribute to that work. Each student in the group will then research, in depth, an individual component drawn from the broad research topic.

The live presentation (worth 10%) must be organised as a business presentation. Strict adherence to the ten minute limit is expected so the time should be carefully allocated to allow for a very short introduction on the broad topic followed by a few minutes allocated to each student to present their individual component.

The presentation is primarily assessed on presentation technique. Your tutor will make suggestions on how the academic content can be improved and that will only be assessed on the written report due in the final week of the semester. Students can therefore choose to present at any time in the semester and it is suggested that you make the decision to present earlier rather than later when there will be
many assignments falling due.

(ii) The Written Report:

The final report on your topic will be written up as a seminar report (worth 15%) and submitted to your lecturer by the end of the semester. You may incorporate ideas generated in the live presentation. The written report should begin with the broad research topic which is followed by each individual component identified by the individual student who prepared it. Organization of the research report

A key ingredient to writing a successful report involves the planning or organising stage. Organising can help you to sort out your ideas and to present your report in the order that communicates best to your readers. Organisation is the procedure of constructing an outline that acts as a plan for your writing task. An outline forces you to think before you write.

Your essay is to be structured and written as a business report. It, therefore, must begin with a Management (or Executive) Summary within which you state in stark form (i.e. unsupported by argument) what you are asserting in this report and you must do that in less than two pages.

As already stated above, you begin the main body of the report with some general background on the broad research topic. This introduction should end with a brief paragraph outlining the plan of the rest of the essay.

What follows is the specific issues of each individual component which were considered. As for any good business report these components should be structured into sections and sub-sections and the heading for these should be in the Table of Contents. In these individual components the in-depth discussion of the relevant issues is elaborated based on the existing literature and/or data. You must
provide in-text references to your sources.

The last section of the report contains a brief summary followed by a complete list of references that are cited in the text of the essay. Follow a standard referencing method consistently.

TOPICS

3. The Time-line of Development of Management Theories: Relative or Absolute

General Framework
The study of management theories has been criticised by some people as a waste of time because old ideas are discarded if they are found to be out of tune with today’s business context. For instance, time-and-motion studies have fallen out of favour these days. On the other hand some writers have argued that the timeline for the development of management theories is not an absolute scale but is, in fact, a
relative scale. This means that what we think is an old idea may be a new idea in a different context. In this paper you are to discuss and argue these different points of view citing evidence from your research.

Individual components
Each individual member can argue for or against the topic. Use examples to illustrate your point. For example:

• Taylorism: could it be relevant in an emerging economy today?
• Weber’s bureaucracy: could it be helpful in an emerging economy today?
• Empowerment: does it make sense in an emerging economy today?