B. Portfolio This piece of assessment will bring together the activities you are expected to perform weekly as part of your engagement with the course. Every week you are expected to complete specific tasks, which will be part of your portfolio and that will be enriched by a final summative reflection as per table below. Please note that the word count only applies to the final document submitted, but does not include any of the intermediate tasks you are supposed to develop during the year. The portfolio will be built on Moodle in a private learning journal. The objective of this online portfolio is to ensure you progress with your coursework in a systematic way, linking the topics of the different sessions to your assessment. While no individual feedback is given to weekly submissions you are welcome to share your doubts and questions during the tutorials immediately after the submission. Some weekly submissions will be randomly selected during each session for general comments during the tutorial. The completion of the tasks is expected according to the deadlines below and, together with regular attendance, will contribute to the engagement mark (first marking criteria for this task) Task Description Deadline 1. Company selection and preliminary analysis of your personal network In the private learning journal submit an entry covering the two areas below. This task will allow you to Focus your efforts in studying a specific organization (part A of assessment) Verify you can analyse your personal network through the relevant software (part B of assessment) Monday 12th December 2016, 9 am 2. Centrality analysis In the private learning journal submit an analysis (250 words) of your personal network, where you clearly identify “prominent” actors Monday 19th December 2016, 9 am 3. The company structure In the private learning journal submit an analysis of the organizations’ formal structure and discuss the environmental factors that are influencing it (250 words). Monday 16th January 2017, 9 am 4. Subgroup Analysis and overall network discussion In the private learning journal submit an analysis (500 words) of your personal network, where you clearly identify different subgroups. Try to use different metrics and routines and provide a relevant interpretation of your findings. Also try to provide an overview of its overall structure and characteristics. Monday 23rd January 2017, 9 am 5. Organizational culture and networks In the private learning journal submit an entry covering the two areas below. This will give you an opportunity to have an advanced draft of your company report (part A of assessment). Monday 30th January 2017, 9 am As already indicated, you are expected to submit all the above tasks on Moodle in a specific submission point, in the form of a private diary/forum. This submission points will remain open for the duration of the course. Late submissions, however, will not be taken in considerations for the purpose of marking (see below). Please note that this submission is not anonymous, given its nature. The completion of the weekly tasks will contribute to give you points for the “engagement” component of the portfolio. Timely completion is therefore essential to start accumulating points. Feedback and comments on these tasks will be given to the whole classroom in the meeting following the submission. Individual feedback will be provided if required during office hours. In the final submission of your portfolio (02 February 2017, 3pm) you are welcome to use any part of the weekly tasks completed – hopefully these will represent a very good first draft of your work and you would have had the chance to discuss them in the classroom. When you feel like you would like to improve and enrich your weekly task feel free to do so, this will not be any reason for penalizing your work, the opposite. In the summative portfolio submission please address the points below. With reference to the analysis performed during the course and enriching/editing them further, and making use of relevant academic references, reflect on the structure and properties of your personal network. Which are its main characteristics? Why? (400 words – graphs and tables with measures are excluded from word-count) In addressing the points below make reference to your network and the analysis performed above, but also to your presence on online social networks (e.g. Facebook, Linkedin). Pay particular emphasis on your professional networks, for example the connections built through mentoring, part-time jobs, or by attending professional events. When you do not have engaged in some activities reflect on the implications of this. Provide precise and clear examples. Please make reference to your engagement with the Greenwich Employability Passport (GEP) to discuss the following points. In your future, you are likely to use your personal network to search for a job. Which are the strengths and weaknesses of your network in this respect? (400 words) Considering your characteristics and networking style and making reference to relevant research in this area, which are the risks and opportunities you identify for yourself in building your professional network in the future? (400 words) Considering all the points analysed in your portfolio, which actions do you plan to take in order to build a more effective professional network in the future? (300 words) Key references (however ensure to include also other references in your coursework): o Casciaro, Tiziana, and Miguel Sousa Lobo. "Competent jerks, lovable fools, and the formation of social networks." Harvard Business Review 83.6 (2005): 92-99. o Cross, Rob, and Robert Thomas. "Managing yourself: a smarter way to network." Harvard business review 89 (2011): 149-153. o Cross, Rob, and Robert J. Thomas. "How top talent uses networks and where rising stars get trapped." Organizational dynamics 37.2 (2008): 165-180. o Granovetter, Mark (1983). The strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited. Sociological theory, 1(1), 201-233. o Ibarra, Herminia, and Mark Hunter. "How leaders create and use networks." Harvard business review 85.1 (2007): 40. o Uzzi, Brian, and Shannon Dunlap. "How to build your network." Harvard business review 83.12 (2005): 53.