Aim: To develop a critical awareness of current factors affecting leading and managing people and to demonstrate how effective policies can add value to the business' strategic goals. Learning Outcomes:

To be able to

 Debate and critically evaluate the characteristics of effective leadership and the methods used to develop leaders in organisations.

 Debate and critically evaluate the leading theories behind group and team effectiveness and flexibility at all levels in organisations.  Critically evaluate the dilemmas of ethical and responsible behaviour that managers face offering

appropriate analytical tools to help manage them  Critically evaluate and analyse the effectiveness of change management in organisations. Context:

You receive an Email from a senior manager in your organisation (has no formal qualifications) who has been told he has to send three members of his junior management

team on an MBA course. He has received information about the course from the local university but needs clarification on the content of one of the units being offered in year one.

He knows you have completed this course. The email says:

"I have been reading about this unit, Leading and Managing People. The course

information says it is not a subject like Financial Management or Quantitative

Methods in Business, but I am not convinced of its purpose. What value will such topics as: motivation, team-working, ethics and social responsibility and organisational change really add to my staff's development and how will they ever

use any of the concepts learned? The brochure says there are really no right or wrong answers so far as the leadership and management of people are concerned.

Are you able to explain to me why this is the case and what this all means please?" Your Task:

Formulate a critical and constructive response to this manager in the form of a short report on ONE of the topics mentioned above (motivation; team-working; ethics and social responsibility; organisational changes) incorporating evidence-based argument to support

your views and to advise what he should do.

Assignment Guidance 2

Section / Title Details / Guidance University Coversheet Include name, student ID number, unit title and code, assessment

Title page Title of short report. Address (to/from) and date the report. Introduction Short introduction to the discussion initially clarifying why Leading and

Task

Discussion of topic Conclusion and

recommendations Reference List A list of the third-party sources you have consulted and which are

title, date of submission. Managing People is a relevant unit to study and also identifying the topic you intend to discuss in making the business case for this

assignment. (approximately 250 words) Provide a detailed and critical discussion of the topic chosen. Ensure you define the area clearly and include relevant academic literature,

theories and current thinking about the topic. Evaluate the merits and disadvantages of this topic area to a business. How well does it work

and what causes it to go wrong? Citations from or references to research and/or other sources of evidence is expected. It will also be

useful to include examples of this topic in action in current organisations to show how knowledge about leadership and

management has been systematically applied to improve individual and corporate outcomes. You may also wish to challenge the manager's view that there are no 'right' answers in the people

leadership/management arena: even if the answers aren't absolutely 'right', are there some answers which are better than others?

(around 1000 words)

Summarise the main findings from your discussion and make your final suggestions to this manager. (around 250 words)

cited directly in the text. All these sources should be properly

identified. Harvard style (see the Learning Resources website: lrweb.beds.ac.uk/help/guide-to-ref).

Appendices No appendices are necessary Word Limit 1500 words +/- 10%

Submission Deadline for submission is 12th May by Noon Oman time. You Assessment Criteria As illustrated below

Poor Academic Practice Please see appendix A at the end of this brief for guidance on this should submit your report electronically via Turnitin on BREO. issue. 3

Marking Guidelines Outstanding/Excellent (Mark Band: 70-100%)

Knowledge and Understanding Knowledge of the subject matter concerning the chosen topic area – both the theoretical/academic

literature and the illustrative cases is demonstrably comprehensive. The reader can be confident that this student 'knows his/her stuff', with a judicious mix of factual knowledge and critical evaluation.

Presentation and Persuasion The discussion presented is produced in strict conformity with the guidelines contained in the

assignment brief. The text is wide-ranging, the style mature, the approach measured, the presentation reader-friendly. Third-party sources are properly described, and the logic of the argument throughout the discussion is strongly persuasive.

Commendable (Mark Band: 60-69%) Knowledge and Understanding

The discussion exhibits quite a good understanding of the chosen topic area from both the theoretical and applied perspectives. The submission is liberally supplied with references to and citations from

authoritative third-party sources. Presentation and Persuasion

The overall presentation of the discussion is articulate, lucid, structurally sensible and mature in expression. The issues of the chosen topic area are clearly explained and the subtleties concerning

its operation in practice are discussed in an appropriately logical, clinical and persuasive fashion. The references are organised conscientiously and comprehensively.

Good Pass (Mark Band: 50-59%) Knowledge and Understanding

Some of the essential literature and research sources on the chosen topic area have been consulted and are referenced throughout the discussion. Occasionally the student relies upon some low-level citations; some third-party material may even be quoted without question. The discussion appears

quite strong on description and narrative but needs more evaluation and critique. Presentation and Persuasion

Though the discussion presented is generally systematic, there are improvements that the student

should have implemented, for example, over-long and discursive paragraphs or too short and fragmented paragraphs which render some pages un-reader-friendly. There is scope to make the discussion even more persuasive.

Satisfactory Pass (Mark Band: 40-49%)

Knowledge and Understanding Limited range of literature and research sources on the chosen topic area has been consulted and is referenced throughout the discussion. There is over-reliance on low-level citations and third-party material may even be quoted without question. The discussion appears reasonable enough on

description and narrative but needs a more developed approach to establish a good evaluative argument. Presentation and Persuasion

Though the discussion presented is reasonably systematic, there are improvements that the student should have implemented, for example, over-long and discursive sections/paragraphs or too short

and fragmented sections/paragraphs which render some pages un-reader-friendly. There is scope to make the discussions more logical and coherent to persuade much more. There is scope for the work to be better organised. 4 Marginal Fail/Fail (Mark Band:35-39% ; 1-34%) Knowledge and Understanding

There is little evidence that the student has undertaken any serious study about the chosen topic area. Instead, the discussion presented relies upon a very limited number of largely low-level, descriptive and narrative sources which are presented uncritically. There may be elementary errors

and omissions. Presentation and Persuasion

The structure of the discussion presented is unacceptable, as it deviates from the model presented in the assignment brief yet does so without any attempt to persuade the reader that such deviations might be legitimate. Section headings are not used, or do not reflect the contents beneath; the references are confused or omitted. There is scope for the work to be better organised.

Appendix A: Academic Discipline Policy (extracted from the Academic Discipline Policy September 2014) New registrations (first teaching term/semester)

i. A student registering for the first time at the University of Bedfordshire, and who submits an assignment within the first teaching term of the start of their taught course (i.e. the

submission deadline occurs before the end of the teaching period) and who is found to have made use of the words and/or ideas of others with attribution that is inaccurate or incomplete (poor referencing), but where it is possible to evaluate the submission for grading purposes, will have their work graded and returned only within the context of a face to face discussion

between the marker and the student, recorded on the APG1 form. The form will be kept on record in the Faculty.

ii. A student who has made unattributed use of the ideas and/or words of others, with no evidence of attempt to acknowledge sources (bad academic practice), the work will be considered a fail (grade F-) and the student required to undertake specified guidance and

support as a condition of referral. A record of the occurrence will be maintained within the Faculty (AOF). In such cases, a letter from the Faculty Dean will confirm:

a) the process and penalty to be applied (as above); b) the requirement for guidance and advice, and for confirmation that this has been

undertaken, as a condition of resubmission; c) the date of the meeting for guidance if it has been set, or a requirement to arrange a meeting with the tutor for guidance by a set date. After the first term/semester

iii. All other students at level 2 (FHEQ 5), or above, which are not new registrations in their first teaching term/semester, will be deemed to have a responsibility for the proactive

development of their academic practice and sufficient ability to be permitted to register with advanced standing or status.

iv. Bad academic practice will be treated as an issue of academic concern where it constitutes the unattributed use of the ideas and/or words of others, with no evidence of attempt to acknowledge sources (bad academic practice) or the use of the ideas and/or words of others with attribution that is incomplete and/or inaccurate (poor referencing): v. The work containing bad academic practice will be considered a fail (grade 1 F-) and the student required to undertake specified guidance and support as a condition of referral, and

confirm by a specified deadline that this support has been received, noting this on the AGP2 form.

5 vi. A record of the occurrence will be maintained within the faculty (AOF)

Where a student does not attend for guidance on the set date, or does not arrange a meeting by the specified date, this will be taken to mean that the student fully understands the University regulations regarding acceptable academic practice, and that the student does not require guidance. This should be recorded on the AOF and any further academic

offences will be referred automatically to the ACP. For all students with a recorded academic concern, any subsequent case arising in the work

of the same student, and which is deemed, on the basis of available evidence including the support provided in response to earlier similar issues, to reflect a breach of the principles of good academic practice will be referred automatically to the ACP using the AOF form unless

they meet the criteria set out in 4.5.1 above. Guidance on academic practice

1. Good academic practice Good academic practice is the use of ideas, research findings and text by a learner in ways

that recognise where these represent the knowledge of others. It is important because it enables learners:

 To demonstrate their breadth of reading by identifying and comparing their sources of information;  To demonstrate an individual understanding of their findings as they learn, by using their

words to describe and interpret the ideas of others;  To develop their own originality by synthesising, commenting on and structuring their

argument around the contributions of others;  To apply their reading and their understanding to a range of subjects and situations in

ways that make clear their process and their conclusions. To do this, learners are required to:

Recognise the origins of ideas and of statements, where these are not theirs, to recognise the difference between the two, and to deal with each appropriately within their own work.  Report accurately the findings of their research (primary and secondary)  Submit work for assessment that represents their individual and independent effort

unless otherwise advised in the assessment brief.

 Doing this is good academic practice. Referencing systems are used to identify where a writer is using the ideas and words of others. They ensure that both writer and reader are able to distinguish accurately between a learner's own ideas, their interpretation of the ideas and words of others, and their direct use of the ideas and words of others in their own work.

2. Academic practice and learning The University encourages its learners to demonstrate their reading and their research by making appropriate reference in their work to the ideas and words of others.

 It requires learners to use a referencing system (see

http://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/guides/referencing), and it expects learners to use this system fully and accurately as a way of making clear to readers where the ideas and words of others have been used.

 It recognises that learners need to develop their use of referencing systems as part of their learning process, within the subject area(s) they are studying.  It also recognises that the importance of acknowledging the ideas and words of others as

a requirement of good academic practice is new to some of its learners. In this context, the University outlines the responsibilities of learners as follows. 6

B. The responsibilities of learners  To identify accurately where they have used in their work the words and/or ideas of others.

 To use referencing systems accurately in that identification.  To avoid practices that may give rise to academic concern and/or suspicion of academic

offence.  To read this policy, and to attend and make use of the guidance and support offered at induction (or the additional/replacement guidance and support sessions offered for late arriving students).

 To make use of the further guidance and support offered at each study stage in advance

of the first deadline for submitted work.  To seek assistance if they are, for any reason, unable to take advantage of the standard

guidance and support offered.  To complete and sign the assignment coversheet for each piece of work submitted, confirming that they understand this policy and its requirements

 To take full responsibility for work that is submitted in their name

 To bring to the attention of an invigilator any circumstance or event that might be evidence of, or suggest, a breach of academic discipline.