Assignment 1
Organizational Theory (Week 3)
Purpose:
In the first
assignment, students are given a scenario in which the shipping manager who has
worked for Recycled Furnishings since the inception of the company is getting
ready to retire. The scenario serves to set the stage for students to
demonstrate how management theories have changed over time. For example,
managing 30 years ago is different than managing in the 21st century.
Outcome Met by
Completing This Assignment:
- integrate management theories and
principles into management practices
Instructions:
In Part One of
this case study analysis, students are to use the facts from the case study to
determine two different organization theories that are demonstrated. For
Part Two, students will compare the 21st century
manager to that of the main character in the case study and the implications of
change in being a 21st century manager.
In selecting an
organizational theory that best describes the current shipping manager,
students will use the timeline to select a school of thought and a theory or
theories of that time frame. Students will need to research the
theorist(s) and theories to complete the assignment and answer the questions
below. Students are expected to be thorough in responding to Part
One.
In Part Two,
students are going to take what they have learned in weeks 1 – 3 and compare
the management skills of the current shipping manager to that of you as the new
shipping manager.
Step
1: Review
“How to Analyze a Case Study” under Week 3 Content.
Step 2: Create a Word or Rich
Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point font. The
final product will be between 4-5 pages in length excluding the title page and
reference page.
Step
3: Review
the grading rubric for the assignment.
Step 4: Use headings following
this format:
- Title page with title, your name, the
course, the instructor’s name; - Introduction (one paragraph that briefly
describes the situation and tells a reader the main points of the paper; - Part One;
- Part Two.
Step 5: In writing a case
study, the writing is in the third person. What this means is that there
are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is
there use of “you or your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to
write in the third person, view this
link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person
Step 6: In writing this
assignment, students are expected to support the reasoning using in-text
citations and a reference list. If any material is used from a source, it
must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot
exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the
sample APA paper under Week 1 content.
Step 7: In writing this
assignment, students are expected to paraphrase and not use direct
quotes. Learn to paraphrase by reviewing this
link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html
Step 8: In writing this
assignment, students may use external resources but the majority of resources
will come from the course.
Step 9: Read critically and
analyze the following scenario:
Part One
Scenario:
Recycled
Furnishings is a division of an international home furnishing company called
Thor Enterprises. Recycled Furnishings makes glass sofas for outdoor use
from recycled bottles and glass. The business has grown rapidly in the last
thirty years and now that it has become a division of Thor Enterprises, the
company is going international. The shipping manager for Recycled
Furnishings, Robert, has been in his job since the start of the company.
Prior to coming to Recycled Furnishings, Robert worked as a container
manufacturing engineer at Damco, a local shipping company and worked his way up
to supervisor prior to joining Recycled Furnishings. Robert, a baby boomer,
quickly rose to supervisor at Damco because of his ability to optimize the way
tasks were performed and his knack to implement processes so workers could be
trained to perform their specialized sequence of motion in one best way.
He brought this management style to Recycled Furnishing and helped to improve
the methodology of furniture assembly as well as the shipping processes.
A major shift in
management occurred in the late 1980’s and early 90’s that caused Robert to
reconsider his management approach. For example, advances in technology,
the organization joining a union, change in the value systems, organizational
design and globalization all affected the culture of Recycled
Furnishings. Robert was successful with this transformation and
contributed greatly to the company’s success.
In answering the
following questions, make sure that the facts of the scenario and the course
readings support the reasoning of the answers provided.
- Discuss the school of thought that best
describes Robert’s management style when he first joined Recycled
Furnishings. - Discuss the theorist under the identified school
of thought that best depicts Robert’s management style. What contribution
did this theorist make to management and why was his or her contribution
important to the field of management? - Select and discuss the school of thought
that best describes the management style Robert used once the shift took
place? Why is this school of thought the best choice? - Select and discuss one theorist who
supports this school of thought. Address the principles of the theory and
how a manager would do his job and interact with his staff. How does
what the theorist proposed support the facts in the case study? - Compare and contrast the current management
thought with Robert’s early thinking;
Part Two
Scenario:
Recently Robert
announced his plans to retire. You have been hired as his replacement and
with the international launch on the horizon you have big shoes to fill.
You feel you are more than capable of handling the shipping manager position
and characterize yourself as a 21st century
manager.
- As a 21st century manager, compare the way you
will manage versus the way of Robert; - What implications do the changes in
management have for the future of Thor? - How will the new approach to the job likely
change the shipping division?
Step 10: Create the introductory
paragraph. Within this paragraph, provide a brief overview of the
scenario. Then, provide a thesis statement and tell the reader the main
topics covered in the paper. The introductory paragraph is the first
paragraph of the paper but is typically written after writing the body of the
paper (Questions students responded to above). View this website to learn
how to write an introductory
paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html
Step 11: Respond to the
questions in Part One and Part Two following the format provided. Be
clear and concise in the writing and make sure the questions are
comprehensively answered.
Step 12: Using the grading
rubric as a comparison, read through the paper to ensure all required elements
are presented.
Step 13: Proofread the paper for
spelling and grammatical issues, and third person writing.
- Use the spell and grammar check in Word as
a first measure; - Have someone who has excellent English
skills to proof the paper; - Consider submitting the paper to the
Effective Writing Center (EWC). The EWC will provide 4-6 areas that
may need improvement.
Step 14: Submit the paper in the
Assignment Folder.
