Page 1 of 5 MGTS1301 INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT COVID-19 Management Issue Assignment Semester 2, 2021 Course Coordinator: Dr Sandra Figueira Page 2 of 5 Learning objectives 1. To find management research evidence to construct solutions to a management issue. Assignment overview You will research media articles to identify and describe a management issue related to the COVID-19 pandemic. You will then undertake some research of journal articles related to your chosen issue. In your written assignment you will apply the insights you found in the journal articles and make recommendations about the management issue you identified. Alternative assessment If you feel unable to complete this assignment for personal reasons (for example if you or people you know have been personally affected by the pandemic), please contact the course coordinator for an alternative assessment. The essentials At the end of semester, you will submit your COVID-19 Management Issue Assignment via Blackboard. Due date: Friday 24 September 2021, 1PM Worth: 40% Task description 1. Research media articles to identify a management issue Find a minimum of eight media articles concerning a management issue related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Your issue should be related to one of the four functions of management discussed in this course: planning, controlling, leading, or organising. As planning and controlling are closely connected you may choose an issue that relates to both of these functions. Possible management issues include: • Planning and controlling the rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine including running clinical trials. • Planning for the roll-out of vaccines in Australia. • The challenges faced by hospitality businesses when implementing COVID-Safe plans mandated by the Australian Government. • Control of misinformation about COVID-19 during the pandemic. • Planning and controlling the shift to working-from-home during and beyond lockdown. • Leadership approaches adopted by political leaders in Australia or globally (choose one or two leaders to focus on). • Problems with organising and the use of network structures during hotel quarantine in Victoria. • Problems with organising casual employees and the rights of delivery workers. Page 3 of 5 • How organisational structures shaped the implementation of contact tracing by health services in New South Wales and/or Victoria (or in other states or countries). These are suggestions only. You may investigate other issues as long as they relate one of the functions of management to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you choose one of the suggested issues you may need to refine it further by choosing specific people, countries or situations to focus on. 2. Research journal articles to identify scholarly management evidence Find three journal articles published in scholarly management journals which relate to the management issue you have identified. For example, if your issue is about the leadership style Jacinda Arden adopted during New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, you might find three articles on authentic leadership. Alternatively, you might find one article on authentic leadership, another on leading in a crisis and another on authoritarian leadership. Your articles must be published in journals on the approved list of journals on the course blackboard site. You do not need to choose your three articles from three different approved journals. However, you cannot choose an article from a journal not on the approved list. These journals have been chosen because they represent high quality, peer reviewed scholarly research in the field of management. 3. Write up your assignment Your assignment should be structured into five sections, as outlined below. Please use the template provides on the course blackboard site. Section 1: Introduction (150 words) Write a brief introduction that outlines your issue, explains the focus of the journal articles that you found and outlines the three recommendations you identified. Section 2: Management Issue (450 words) Use media articles to describe a management issue related to COVID-19. Be sure to explain how the issue you identified relates to one of the functions of management (or two if you have chosen an issue related to planning and controlling). For example, if your issue is about the leadership style Jacinda Arden adopted during New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be clear that you are focusing on the management function of leading. This section should not contain more than 10% direct quotes from the media articles (i.e. 45 words). Section 3: Scholarly Management Evidence (450 words) This section should be structured into three paragraphs with one paragraph written on each journal article. Write 150 words on each article discussing the insights it offers into one of the functions of management. Rather than summarising the whole article, focus on explaining what you learned about the function of management from the reading the article. One option is to paraphrase the author’s ideas and insights into your own words by answering the following questions: • What question is the author(s) trying to answer in their research? • What did they find? Page 4 of 5 • How are their findings interesting and relevant to the functions of management you have chosen? • What new insights does the article offer? This section should not mention your management issue. This section should not contain more than 10% of direct quotes from the journal articles (i.e. 45 words). Section 4: Application of Evidence to Issue (600 words) In this section you should show how one insight from each journal article relates to how managers, leaders, organisations and/or government departments responded to your management issue. You should use these insights to explain the elements of your function of management that were done well and elements that needed improving. You might also comment on whether the management evidence from the journal articles seems to support or contradict what happened in practice. Be sure to cite each journal article as you discuss it, so it is clear which insight came from which article. This section should not contain direct quotes from the media articles or journal articles. Section 5: Recommendations (350 words) In this section you should outline three recommendations that logically flow from the application section. Given everything you have read, what advice would you give to a manager, leader, organisation or government department who needed to respond to a similar issue in the future? For example, if your application suggested that a certain management style was ineffective you might recommend an alternative style. You may make one recommendation per journal article OR three recommendations that are a synthesis of the three articles. Either way it should be clear that you have incorporated ideas from all three journal articles to make your recommendations. Be sure to cite each journal article as you discuss it, so it is clear how the recommendations relate to each article. This section should not contain direct quotes from the media articles or journal articles. Presentation • Your assignment should be 2000 words (+/-10%). • Your assignment must be presented using the sections as sub-headings (note: each section does not need to start on a new page). • Be sure to use double-spacing, 12-point font, page numbering and 2.5cm margins on all sides of the page. • Include in-text referencing, followed by an alphabetised reference list using the Harvard, APA, or AMJ referencing style. More information on referencing is included on the course blackboard site. • Please proofread your assignment for spelling and grammatical errors. Page 5 of 5 Referencing and Citing Assignments must be substantially your own work. If you wish to report another author's point of view you should do so in your own words, and properly reference in accordance with an approved referencing style. Direct quotations should be used sparingly, form a small part of your work, and must be placed in quotation marks and referenced. Students are encouraged to discuss issues that arise in this course together, however, the written work you submit must be entirely your own. Similarly, you must not help another student to cheat by lending assignments (present or past). For more information on referencing styles, visit the library or see: https://web.library.uq.edu.au/research-tools-techniques/referencing/referencing-style-guides. If you do not reference correctly, you could be found guilty of academic misconduct. Please see this link for more information: https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my- program/student-integrity-and-conduct/academic-integrity-and-student-conduct. Criteria and Marking You will be assessed on your ability to identify and articulate a management issue related to one of the four functions of management, your understanding of the scholarly management evidence, your application of the evidence to your issue and on the logic and actionability of your recommendations. A detailed marking rubric is available on the course blackboard site. A detailed marking rubric is available on the course blackboard site. Submission Ensure you receive a Turnitin submission ID or Learn.UQ confirmation number, and retain this number as proof of submission. If you do not receive proof of submission, you should regard your submission as unsuccessful and take steps to address the issue. It is your responsibility to ensure the assignment has been successfully submitted. Any requests to waive the late submission penalty without proof of submission will not be considered under any circumstances.