Appendix A
BUSI1055 ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR
COURSEWORK BRIEF
2023-2024 (Spring)
Individual Case Analysis (100%)
Objective: The objective of this coursework is to give students an opportunity to apply a broad range of
theories and concepts from the module content to a real-world problem.
Requirements: This case asks you to consider how OB theories and concepts can be applied to X (formerly
known as TWITTER). In October 2022, Elon Musk formally took control of Twitter and later renamed it as X.
Musk also quickly sacked the top management. Jack Dorsey was the former CEO of Twitter and the company
had already been struggling even before Elon Musk gained control. The issues are two-fold, first the challenges
Twitter faced prior to Musk’s take over and now with Musk as the CEO. The company had to confront lots of
negativity with Musk’s ownership of X. The take-over was viewed negatively especially when 50% of
employees were laid-off in an inhumane and brutal manner. Elon Musk’s abrasive leadership style and
strategies have implications on employee motivation, company culture, human resource management which
could have impacted its existence. Your task is to analyse the change in the context of OB affecting X (formerly
Twitter), drawing on the OB topics you’ve been introduced to in this module. Several links to articles regarding
the change are provided in the module MOODLE page.
As a starting point, you need to read them carefully. After conducting further reading and research, complete
the following case analysis:
1. Select a small number of concepts from the OB course that you believe are particularly relevant to the
circumstances affecting X. Introduce these theories with reference to published literature (including
textbooks and journal articles) and explain clearly and concisely how they help to explain the problems
at X (approximately 1000 words including introduction).
2. Based on the application of theories and concepts in part one of your assignment, suggest changes to
management or organisational practice that you believe would help prevent such incidents from
happening in the future (approximately 500 words including conclusion).
It is expected that you will engage in reading and research around the X problems beyond the articles
provided. Useful sources include both business (Financial Times, Fortune, New York Times and other reputable
news) and quality mainstream newspapers and periodicals. Journalistic articles are likely to focus on one part
of the take-over (such as organisational practices, culture, leadership, ethics, stakeholder interests,
motivation etc), and so reading widely around the events at X will help provide material for your case analysis.
Your explanation and recommended changes must be based in Organisational Behaviour theories and
concepts. You should focus your analysis on a small number of concepts or theories (two or three would be
sufficient) and fully introduce the theory/concept(s), then explain why it helps illuminate aspects of the
reported events inside X.
Essay which presents opinion unsupported by course concepts will score few points. The best essays will
demonstrate knowledge of further reading and will go beyond the material presented in the lectures. Ensure
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that your essay is structured logically and has an introduction, body, and conclusion. The word count must be
provided on the cover page.
Students should refer to the Undergraduate Handbook for more general guidance regarding expectations of
written work, including the Harvard referencing style, which is required for this assignment.
You can write your assignment using the below guide. Please note this is just a suggested guide. If you wish to
write according to a different structure that is fine. But ensure your essay clearly covers the given questions
as indicated in the coursework brief.
• Introduction of Case
- Company background
- Core problems
• Case Analysis
- Critical review of theory adopted for your analysis.
- Using the theory and linking to the core problem
• Recommendations/Conclusion
- Ideas to resolve the situation (you may use theories to support this) or benchmark against other
companies with good practices in same industry.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
This essay will be marked based on the following criteria:
• Structure, clarity, scope/specificity, justification, and strength of analysis.
• The ability to address the coursework question through a systematic argument that supports a particular
position.
• Relevance to the specific case context and the material/topics discussed in the lectures.
• Critical thinking, the ability to critically engage with the module material, and consideration of potential
objections.
• Use of textbooks and/or academic journal articles, and appropriate referencing.
WORD LIMIT
• Essays which exceed the 1,500 words limit will be treated as having a major error (as defined in the
Business School’s Undergraduate Marking Guide).
• The actual word count of the assignment must be stated by the student on the first page (cover sheet) of
the assignment.
The overall word count includes:
• In-text citations, quotations, tables and figures.
The overall word count does not include:
• Reference list at the end of the coursework
• Appendices (attaching many appendices does not give you any additional marks)
TURN-IT-IN
1. You must submit your final full assignment into the Turn-it-In link provided in MOODLE. This will also
include your reference list.
2. Submit only ONCE into the provided link. A report will be generated indicating your Similarity Index.
3. The similarity index should not exceed 5%.
4. Do note it may take up to 24 hours before the report is generated.
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5. If you wish to test your similarity index prior to final submission, you may use the Test-Your-Text tab on
MOODLE.
6. Do not include your name on the cover page, only Student ID (see below).
7. Name your submission file (word) as follows: Student ID – X Case Analysis
DEADLINE
Your coursework must be submitted electronically through Turn-It-In via Moodle. Deadline is on 25th
April 2024 (Thursday) not later than 3.00 pm. Hard copy submissions are not accepted (or
necessary). Late submissions will incur a penalty of 5 marks deduction for each day.
COURSEWORK STYLE GUIDE
Please follow closely.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
The manuscript should be printed in 11-point font (preferably Calibri (Body), on white standard size (A4) paper,
single-sided, double-spaced throughout, and with at least a one-inch (2.5 cm) wide margin at top, bottom, and
both sides of each page. All pages (except the cover) should be numbered consecutively.
PARTS OF THE MANUSCRIPT
Parts of the manuscript should be arranged in the following order: (1) title page, (2) main text, (3) references,
(4) appendixes, (5) tables, and (6) figures. (Please, note that parts 4, 5, and 6 are optional.) Do not use
footnotes or endnotes but incorporate all the relevant information into the text.
1. Title page
Use the standard title page. Include the below details.
BUSI 1055 Organisations Behaviour 2024 (Spring)
X (TWITTER) CASE ANALYSIS
Student ID Number
[date of submission]
Word count: [insert your exact essay word count only, EXCLUDE cover page, table of
contents and references]
2. Main text
The text should be left-justified, with the first line of each paragraph beginning with the tab. It should
be structured into sections (and subsections, if necessary), with each section/subsection beginning
with a heading. Keep the heading on the same page as the first paragraph of the section/subsection it
belongs to.
3. Citations in the text
Citations to references should be designated throughout the text by enclosing the authors' names and
year of the reference in parentheses.
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If the author's name is in the text, follow it with the year in parentheses
Example:
Perrow (1986) described…
If the author's name is not in the text, insert it and the year in parentheses
Example:
...institutional theory (Tolbert and Zucker 1996)...
Page numbers, to indicate a passage of special relevance or to give the source of a quotation, follow
the year and are preceded by a colon.
Example:
Zbaracki (1998: 615) explained....
Tolerance for ambiguity has been defined as "the tendency to perceive ambiguous situations
as desirable" (Budner 1962: 29).
Multiple citations are listed in alphabetical order and separated by semicolons.
Example:
Several studies (Adams 1974; Brown and Hales 1975, 1980; Collins 1976a,b) support this
conclusion.
If the work has two authors, cite both names every time the work is cited in the text. If the work has
more than two authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs; in subsequent citations of
the same work, include only the surname of the first author followed by "et al." and the year.
Example:
Few field studies use random assignment (Franz, Johnson, and Schmidt 1976). [First citation]
… even when random assignment is not possible (Franz et al. 1976: 23). [Second citation]
4. References
References should begin on a new page, with the word “REFERENCES” centred in caps and boldface
above the section. References should be double-spaced, left-justified with hanging indent.
Please cross-check your text with the reference list to make sure that every reference you cite in one
appears in the other and that each reference is complete; double-check the spelling of authors' names.
List references in alphabetical order by the last name of the author (first author if more than one) or
the editor, or by the corporate author (e.g., U.S. Census Bureau), or periodical name (e.g., Wall Street
Journal) if there is no indication of individual authors or editors.
For two or more references by the same author(s), list them in order of the year of publication. For
two or more references by the same author(s) from the same year, list them in alphabetical order by
title, distinguishing each reference by adding letters (a, b, c, etc.) to the year or to “Forthcoming” (e.g.,
“1992a” or “Forthcoming a”).
World Wide Web sources must be acknowledged following the basic rules for conventional sources.
A reference to a Web page should include the author(s)/editor(s) name (if known), the last update or
copyright date, the document (Web page) title, the site title, the full URL, and the access date.
Examples:
Books
Geertz, C. (1973) The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books.
Journal articles
Nahapiet, J. and Ghoshal, S. (1998) ‘Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational
advantage’, Academy of Management Review 23/2: 242–66.
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Pettigrew, A. M. (1979) ‘On studying organizational cultures’, Administrative Science
Quarterly 24: 570–81.
Chapters in books
Weick, K. E. (1977) ‘Enactment processes in organizations’ in B. M. Staw and G. Salancik
(eds.) New directions in organizational behavior, pp.267-300, Chicago: St Clair.
Dissertations
Charles, M. (1990) ‘Occupational sex segregation: a log-linear analysis of patterns in 25
industrial countries’. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Sociology. Stanford
University, Stanford, CA.
Magazine articles
Economist (1998) ‘Driven by Fiat’, April 25, pp.95–6.
World Wide Web sources
Department of Education (Victoria, Australia) (1996) ‘Using the internet for research’,
Learning with the internet. http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/loti/page1.htm (accessed: 14
February, 2010).
Please note that in your list of references you need to include all the references in a single list, in alphabetical
order. Do not separate references into the lists of books, journal articles, etc. In the above example, the
references from different types of sources are listed separately only to make it easier for you to find an
appropriate reference format.
Use only credible references. Do not use Wikipedia; scribd.com; student essays;
prezi.com slides, UK-essays etc.
Plagiarism, cheating or any other form of academic malpractice is unacceptable and
will be penalised. Thus, cite your sources, use accurate (but sparing) direct
quotations, and prepare full list of references at the end of the essay.