COMMGMT 1001 - Managing Organisations and People

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2020

This course introduces students to the roles and functions of managers. The content includes an introduction to organisations and the need for and nature of management. It examines the evolution of management theory, organisational environments, and corporate social responsibility and ethics. The course also includes a detailed investigation of the four functions of management: planning and decision making, organising, leading and motivating, and controlling.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code COMMGMT 1001
    Course Managing Organisations and People
    Coordinating Unit Adelaide Business School
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Incompatible COMMGMT 2008 or COMMGMT 2501
    Assessment Exam/assignments/tests/tutorial work as prescribed at first lecture
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr John Knight

    Lecturer/Course Coordinator:
    Mr Ankit Agarwal
    Location: Room 10.39, 10 Pulteney Street
    Phone: +61 8 8313 4438
    Email: ankit.agarwal@adelaide.edu.au


    Team of Workshop Facilitators:

    Ms Ayoosha Saleem
    Location: Room 10.39, Nexus 10 Building
    Email: ayoosha.saleem@adelaide.edu.au 

    Ms Janin Karoli Hentzen
    Location: Room 10.39, Nexus 10 Building
    Email: janin.hentzen@adelaide.edu.au  

    Ms Richa Gulati
    Location: Room 9.11, Nexus 10 Building
    Email: richa.gulati@adelaide.edu.au 

    Ms Tiffany Le De Sousa Machado
    Location: Room 9.11, Nexus 10 Building
    Email: tiffany.desousamachado@adelaide.edu.au 

    Mr Minhajul Islam Ukil 
    Email: 
    minhajulislam.ukil@adelaide.edu.au 

    Mr Ankit Agarwal
    Location: Room 10.39, Nexus 10 Building
    Email: 
    ankit.agarwal@adelaide.edu.au 


    Please ensure you book a consulting time via email.
    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

    Please refer to Course Outline on MyUni
  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    This course is designed to develop students’ understanding of the nature and purpose of management, while fostering a spirit of critical inquiry and reflection, and the pursuit of personal development and lifelong learning. By the end of this course students should be able to:
    By the end of this course students should be able to:

    1. Demonstrate a foundational knowledge of the diversity of management thinking.
    2. Autonomously and collaboratively analyse, evaluate, synthesise and apply knowledge in a timely fashion from wide inquiry of a variety of sources.
    3. Demonstrate awareness of research as a source of contested and uncertain knowledge.
    4. Effectively communicate their findings independently and as part of a group using an evolving variety of media.


    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1-4
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    1-4
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    1-4
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    1-4
    Intercultural and ethical competency
    • adept at operating in other cultures
    • comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts
    • able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes
    • demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges
    1-4
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    1-4
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources

    Samson, D. and Daft, R.L. (2018) Fundamentals of Management (6th Asia Pacific Edition) Cengage Learning: Australia.

    Note:
    1. It is required you have continuous access to the nominated text in order to complete the course requirements.
    2. Other editions of the above text are NOT the same as our required text.

    Recommended Resources
    You have access to numerous resources in the library including scholarly journals and alternative contemporary texts on management. You are encouraged to read widely and critically with a focus on recent work (less than 5 years old) in periodicals, refereed academic journals and books.

    The Communication Skills Guide and The University of Adelaide Writing Centre are helpful resources for your academic writing and observance of the protocols and conventions of the Harvard referencing style.
    Online Learning
    This course utilises MyUni as a communication and assessment tool. Students should be actively scanning the MyUni course webpage regularly.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course is delivered through 12 weekly lectures (focused on one topic per week) of one hour duration. Lectures are supported by 11 two-hour workshops and group meetings. These activities are important interactive components of your learning. Preparation and active attendance at workshops and the completion of online quizzes is expected.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. Students in this three-unit course are expected to attend lectures (1 hour), their allocated tutorial class (2 hours) and meetings with their team-mates and tutors over the semester. This means you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours a week to private study.
    Learning Activities Summary
    Please refer to Course Outline on MyUni.



    Small Group Discovery Experience
    Small Group Discovery Experience: This activity is aimed at you, as part of a group formed early in the semester, discovering your own meaning of a management related research activity. Your group will be expected to meet with your tutor and/or lecturer to discuss and explore the best way to complete this project. You are required to actively participate in all aspects of the assignment (e.g. in research, analysis, critical thinking, group work) to provide a foundation for the development of your skills in your ongoing studies. Equal contribution from each group member is expected.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Due to the current COVID-19 situation modified arrangements have been made to assessments to facilitate remote learning and teaching. Assessment details provided here reflect recent updates.

    Item Description Due Weight LO
    1 Best 10 overall Workshop participation marks Ongoing from week 2 10% 1,4
    2 Online Weekly Quizzes  x 10 Ongoing from week 3 20% 1
    3 Midterm test Week 6 10% 1,2,3,4
    5 Group Case Study Report Week 10 20% 1,2,3,4
    6 Final examination TBD 40% (with 45% hurdle) 1,3
    Assessment Related Requirements
    • To gain a pass for this course, a mark of at least 45% must be obtained in the examination as well as an aggregate total for all assessments of at least 50%.
    • Students not achieving the minimum exam mark will be awarded an aggregate course mark of no more than 49%.
    • Students who receive an aggregate course mark between 45% and 49% may be offered a supplementary examination. Your performance in the supplementary exam will determine whether you are awarded a Pass grade for the course with a maximum aggregate course mark of 50%.
    • Attempting online quizzes by the prescribed due dates is expected as that they will close at the end of each week.
    • Attendance at all workshops is expected. Your attendance and participation will be recorded. You are expected to come prepared to discuss and present the questions outlined in the workshop schedule and contribute to all associated activities.
    Assessment Detail

    Assessment 1: Workshop Participation (10%)

    You are expected to attend all scheduled workshops and be prepared to discuss your thinking concerning the questions outlined in the workshop timetable.

    In order to encourage class discussion and give students the opportunity to demonstrate an understanding of the prescribed readings and the workshop questions, 10 percent of assessment will be based on class participation. A total of 10 workshops will be assessed (1 mark per assessed workshop x 10 assessable workshops = 10%). For each of the assessed workshops, each student will be awarded 0, ½ or 1 mark. When determining participation marks, workshop facilitators will be taking the following into account the following criteria:

    Student…
    • Comes prepared: refers to notes, introduces ideas and questions from the week’s text
    • Contributes ideas: adds new ideas, suggests new connections, raises relevant issues
    • Asks questions of clarification: re concepts, terminology, expectations
    • Facilitates peer interaction: builds on others’ ideas, uses humour positively, stays on track
    • Expresses ideas clearly: ideas are understood by others, pace and volume appropriate.

    Permission for any absence is generally only given for medical or compassionate reasons. All such requests must be emailed to the workshop facilitator and should be accompanied by documentary evidence from a social service professional (e.g. doctor, counsellor or psychologist). Each request will be assessed on its merits.


    Assessment 2: Weekly Quizzes (20%)

    From Week 3 MyUni will host 10 weekly text-based multiple choice online quizzes. Each quiz consists of 25 multiple choice questions and will assess material covered in the associated topic. These quizzes will provide you with the opportunity to test your understanding of core concepts and identify areas that require further study and assistance. You should discuss issues arising from the quiz questions with your tutor. Attempting online quizzes by the prescribed due dates is essential as the relevant quiz will close after this date.


    Assessment 3: Mid-term Test (10%)

    The purpose of the test is to provide you with the opportunity to ascertain how you are progressing in the course (hence only 10% assessment weighting). Students who fail the test are classified as ‘at risk’. Consequently, such students will be encouraged to make a time with their workshop facilitator to assess the student’s approach to studying this course and strategies to put in place to ensure your future success.

    The test will normally be held during the lecture timeslot for week 6. The test will assess material covered in topics 1 to 3 inclusive.

    More information on the test will be provided via the MyUni course website.
     

    Assessment 4: Group Report (20%)

    The case study assignment for the group report is available via MyUni. There are often multiple ways in which a case study can be analysed and interpreted. This case study assignment is about making sense of actual managerial issues, applying the theories and frameworks you have learned in this course, problem solving and decision making in complex situations, coping with ambiguities, working in a team, and your academic writing skills, including referencing.

    In this assignment, students will be required to analyse a real life case study and identify the underlying issues, possible alternative courses of action to address the issues identified, provide a recommended course of action and justification why. The comprehensive material provided in the case will need to be used to support your analysis and recommendations.

    Students will be allocated into groups of 5 in their workshops. The case study assignment can be downloaded from the MyUni course website. Each group will be required to produce a five-page (Times New Roman 12pt or equivalent and 1.5 line spacing) business report using the template provided on the course website. A key aspect of your grade will also be related to how well your group responds to the challenge of 1) including all the relevant information in a well-written, concise 5 page report, 2) skillfully applying the appropriate theories and frameworks covered in class, and 3) formulating and presenting an overall argument that is convincing and supported by case evidence.


    Your report should include:
    1. Introduction: Identify the key management issues from the case and identify your audience, i.e., who are you reporting to (shareholders, the board of directors, management, employees, etc.).
    2. Analysis: Conduct a brief analysis using the theories and frameworks from the class to explain the causes and outcomes of the issues you identified in the Introduction.
    3. Alternative solutions: Drawing upon the concepts learned in this course, formulate feasible solutions and identify the pros and cons of each.
    4. Recommendation: Select one single solution that solves the key problem, identify the action plan that should be taken, the risks to your recommendation, and how these risks might be mitigated.
    5. Desired state: From a management perspective, outline the ultimate goals that you wish to achieve and specifically relate these to your recommendation.
    6. Reference list (not included in page count). Each report should contain at least 5 relevant scholarly citations. Please consider the referencing style guide in section 5.5.

    Once your group report is complete, one group member will submit ONE group assignment file electronically using the link which will be made available on the MyUni course website.

    Turnitin similarity software will be utilised to indicate potential plagiarism. If your similarity report is greater than 30% (not considering assignment coversheet with plagiarism policies, references, headings, subtitles, etc.), your assignment will not be graded and you will have 24 hours to resubmit. If, as a result of this process, your assignment is submitted after the due date, a late submission penalty will be applied (see Section 5.6). Students must retain a copy of all assessments submitted. You can resubmit your assignment multiple times (with the same file name) until the due date: time, but note that it may take several hours for turnitin.com to generate your similarity report.

    Each student will be required to submit a confidential evaluation (online peer assessment) of the group work effectiveness of each member of their group. Each student’s group work effectiveness score will be compared to that of their group. Students who have an average group work effectiveness score greater than that of their group will have their overall group mark increased. Conversely, students who have an average effectiveness score lower than that of their group will have their overall mark decreased. Criteria to assess an individual’s group work effectiveness is generally based on the following questions (from strongly agree to strongly disagree):

    • The group member communicated effectively with other members in the group.
    • The group member completed their fair share of the group's work in a timely manner.
    • The group member was punctual and regularly attended meetings and other group activities.
    • The group member was well prepared for group activities.
    • The group member genuinely considered and (where relevant) took on board other members' perspectives.


    Assessment 5: Final Exam (40%)
     
    TThe purpose of the final exam is to assess your understanding of the concepts covered in this course. Specifically, the ability to utilise theories covered in this course to critically evaluate how planning, organising, leading and controlling organisational resources can be used to achieve an organisation's goals in an efficient and effective manner.

    The exam will be 3 hours in length, conducted under ‘closed-book’ conditions and all topics covered in this course will be assessable in the final exam. The examination will be held during the scheduled exam period. The timing of the exam will be known when the Semester 1 examination timetable is released by the University.

    More information on the exam will be provided via the MyUni course website but note that students are required to achieve a minimum of 45% of the marks in the final exam in order to eligible to pass this course.

    Submission
    Please note that students must retain a copy of all assessments submitted. The group assignment should be submitted electronically using the link which will be made available on the MyUni course website. Through this process, your assignment will automatically generate a unique identifier, the relevant Assessment Rubric and a Turnitin similarity report. You can resubmit your assignment multiple times (with the same file name) until the due date: time, but note that it may take several hours for turnitin.com to generate your similarity report.

    Your similarity report will also indicate a colour related to the similarity index. In order for your assignment to be graded, a BLUE or GREEN similarity index must be achieved. The various possibilities and associated treatment of assignments are as follows:

    Blue (no matching words) = your assignment will be graded accordingly.
    Green (one matching word - 24% similarity index) = your assignment will be graded accordingly.
    Yellow (25-49% similarity index) = your assignment will not be graded and you will be able to resubmit within a 24 hour period as long as a blue or green index is realized. If resubmitted, your grade will be reduced by 10%. If not resubmitted, your grade will be 0.
    Orange (50-74% similarity index) = your assignment will not be graded and you will be able to resubmit within a 24 hour period as long as a blue or green index is realized. If resubmitted, your grade will be reduced by 20%. If not resubmitted, your grade will be 0.
    Red (75-100% similarity index) = your assignment will receive a grade of 0. There will be no opportunity to resubmit. Repeat offenders will be reported to the appropriate authorities.

    Plagiarism is a serious violation of the Academic Honesty Policy. For more information on plagiarism, see: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/plagiarism/.

    To maintain a fair and equitable system for all students, you are expected to submit your group assignment by the due date. Students should start early on the group assignment so that foreseeable pressures like work or assessment for other courses does not delay you completing assignments for this course on time. A late assignment (without prior arrangement) will be penalised by a mark reduction for each day that it is late. Assignments that are submitted late will be penalised at 5% of the potential grade per day.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    GRADE REVIEW/RECONSIDERATION

    Students (or groups) who believe their work should receive a different grade should apply in written within 48 hours of the publication of the grades. They must write/email directly to their marker, and copy to the course co-ordinators, an analytical piece, in which they give strong reasons on why they believe they have achieved the requirements. Students who choose to apply for a review or reconsideration must be logical and concise in their appeal, and provide as much detail as possible. Claims like “I believe I have done to the requirements and deserve a better grade” will not be accepted. It is at the marker’s discretion whether the work should be reviewed or reconsidered. If the application is accepted, the marker will conduct a review/reconsideration independent from the original grade, and the outcome can be a higher grade, no change, or a lower grade, and this new grade will be final.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.