1. 大家好！
今天很高兴能在这里和大家见面！

2. Glyndwr Jones
 Senior Lecturer
 Department of Strategic Management &
Leadership (SML)
 Waikato Management School
 University of Waikato
 Hamilton
 New Zealand

3. R.A.W
Read, Analyze and Write:
How to write good assignments

4. The Purpose
 To provide students with the tools to write
good essays
 To give students the opportunity to apply
the tools and develop their writing skills

5. Some advice
 Start as soon as you get the assignment.
 Good writing takes lots of time, effort and
practice.
 Read the marking schedule attached to the
paper outline before you start writing. Ask
yourself; have I met the criteria set out in the
Marking Schedule?
 Seek help from your tutor early. You cannot
expect a warm welcome the day before the
essay is due!

6. Step one. Read and understand
the question
For example:
 Critically discuss the value of
Vroom’s Expectancy theory of
motivation for a line-manager

7. (cont)
 Circle the key words in the question
 Critically discuss the value of Vroom’s
Theory of motivation for a line-manager.

8. Highlight Key Words
Vroom’s
Vroom’s
Theory of
Theory of
motivation
motivation
Concept of
Concept of
Value
Value
Line-
Line-
Manager
Manager

9. Step two. Think about the
question
 What am I being asked?
 What is this questioner getting at?
 What aspects of the topic am I going to
explore?
 What is my ‘angle’ or line of argument?

10. Big hint!
 What is the lecturer really looking for?
 He wants you to be critical
 To be questioning
 Do not assume anything, that is that the lecturer
knows about Vroom
 Do not simply describe everything
 Reach your own conclusion based on your
research.

11. Analyzing the question
 Use a questioning approach
 What?
 Why?
 How?
 Where?
 When?
 Implications?
 For whom?

12. (cont)
 e.g
 What is Vroom’s theory?
 Why is it important?
 When is it used?
 Where is it used?
 How does it work?
 What are the implications of using a
‘contingency’ approach?
 For whom?

13. Step three: Analysis time
 Searching for information
 Search online for information using the
data-bases.
 Do not ‘cut and paste’ ; Turnitin.com
plagarism software.

14. (cont)
 You have identified relevant sources
(journal articles, papers etc) on Vroom’s
theory of motivation.
 Now you have to decide:
 What direction or angle are you going to
take?
 What are the main issues you are going
to discuss?

15. Step four. Writing time
Introducing your topic
 The reader needs to have a clear sense
of where you are taking him or her
 You need a short opening paragraph
which ‘sets the scene’ and gets your
reader interested

16. Your Introductory Paragraph: An
Example
 Peter Drucker claims that ‘the management of employee
performance is the most critical role of any
manager.’(Drucker l997). As the job of managing has
become more complicated, so too has the task of
assessing individual performance. Traditional methods of
appraising employee performance have been found
wanting leading to a search for more effective,
comprehensive and sophisticated methods. One
approach that attracted considerable attention in the
HRM literature in the l990s was 360 degree performance
appraisal. This essay examines this approach to
assessing and developing employee performance.

17. (cont)
 Your second paragraph ‘maps out’ the route
you are going to take, clearly ‘sign-posting’
your direction.
 Each ‘sign-post’ will appear in your essay as a
paragraph theme.
 The reader should recognize the ‘sign-post’ at
the start of your discussion of the theme.

18. Paragraph Two: Your Road Map and
‘Sign-Posts’: An Example
 e.g. ‘This essay examines the value of Vroom’s
theory of motivation for a line manager. It does
this by briefly discussing the core elements of
Vroom’s model. The essay then reviews the
research on Vroom’s model identifying its
strengths and weaknesses. It then goes on to
discuss the implications of the model for
practicing managers, in particular as a basis for
Pay-for-Performance. Finally, an example of an
application of Vroom’s model is examined.’

19. Developing your themes
 Each paragraph should:
 Deal with one separate theme or issue
 Be a specific link to theory or concepts
 Begin with a topic sentence that defines the
issue to be discussed
 e.g. ‘However in practice it is often difficult to
operate a Pay for Performance system
because…’

20. Make your writing flow . .
 Write fluent paragraph starters
 In relationship to ….
 Firstly ….
 Another issue ….
 Conversely …
 On the other hand ….
 Consequently ….

21. Summarize
 When you have reached the end of a discussion
on a theme e.g. research on the application of
Vroom’s model, ‘pull it together’, summarize
before moving on to your next theme.
 If you do not have a plan or structure for your
essay, you will not know what theme to discuss
next!
 A summary is not a conclusion. That comes
later.

22. (cont)
 An example
 In summary, 360 degree performance appraisal
arose as a response to the limitations of
traditional approaches to performance
appraisal. It sets out to get feedback on an
employee’s performance ‘from all points of the
compass.’
 The essay now goes on to look at the research
on 360 degree performance appraisal.’

23. Your conclusion
 A conclusion is NOT simply the end of your
essay; it is where you tell the reader what
conclusion you have reached, where you now
stand on the issue
 It is where you make your position clear.
 It is where you show whether you agree,
disagree or are undecided by the evidence you
have considered.

24. The final touches
 Spell Check and proof read your assignment
 Give your draft essay to a friend or member of
your family. Can he or she understand without
asking ‘What do you mean here?’
 If you have to keep clarifying, ask why? Then
make the changes
 Put your essay aside for a few days, then read it
again & make any changes.
 The chances are you will spot errors.

25. The complete process
Read, analyse and understand the
question
Use the questioning method
Search for information
Decide on your angle and themes
Write your essay following the structure
you have developed.

26. cont.
Your essay structure will include:
 An introduction and ‘sign-posting’ paragraph
 The body of your discussion
 Arguments for and against
 Summaries
 Conclusion
 Reference list
 Appendix

27. APA REFERENCING
 IN TEXT REFERENCING
 e.g.
In text
referencing
Brown (1998) and Mullins (1999) both conclude
that there is little consensus about the definition
of ‘organisational culture’.

28. APA REFERENCING
 Secondary citation
“secondary”
citation
A popular definition of organisational culture is
offered by Bower (as cited in Deal & Kennedy,
1982) who states that it is “the way things are
done around here” (p.4).

29. APA REFERENCING
 Direct quote Page number
only required for
direct quotes
A popular definition of organisational culture is
offered by Bower (as cited in Deal & Kennedy,
1982) who states that it is “the way things are
done around here” (p.4).

30. APA REFERENCING
 Direct Quote
Direct quote
is NOT to be
paraphrased
Leadership, “the process of influencing people
and providing an environment for them to
achieve team or organizational objectives.”
(McShane & Travaglione, 2003, p. 466)

31. APA REFERENCING
 Two author citation Two author citation
used as part of the
narrative text: note
that “and” is spelled
out here
Robbins and Barnwell (1998) uncover a
central theme that encompasses both
extremes of organizational culture
discussed: that organizational culture
refers to ………

32. APA REFERENCING
 Two author citation Two authors linked by
“&” when citation is
NOT part of the text
In this essay, it is argued that the
management of organizational culture
is an essential, yet difficult task
confronting mangers (Davidson &
Griffin, 2000).

33. APA REFERENCING
 Two author citation
Innovative cultures has less formalized rules
and procedures, with power and decision
making shared throughout the organization
(Heck & Marcoulides, 1996, as cited in Detert,
Mauriel & Schroeder, 2000).
“Secondary” citation; here the student
read Detert et al. who spoke about Heck
& Macoulides; note Detert et al. appear
in the reference list

34. APA REFERENCING
 Two author citation
“Secondary” citation
used as part of the
text
Guy (1990, as cited in Sims & Keon, 1999)
suggests that the ethical judgements of
employees reflect the norms of the
organization.

35. APA REFERENCING
 Multiple citations
This creates a common understanding among
members as to what the organization is, and guides
its members on how they should behave by
defining appropriate attitudes and behaviours
(Detert, Maurial & Schroeder, 2000;Mallinger &
Rizescu, 2001; Mullins, 1999; Robbins & Barnewell,
1998).
Multiple citations (several different sources
saying the same thing); ordered
alphabetically by first author’s name

36. APA REFERENCING
If 3, 4 or 5 authors, all
authors names in first
 Multiple citations citation, thereafter
first author only
“et al.” e.g., Robbins
et al, 2000
There are a number of ways in which new
members might learn the organization’s
unique culture (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, &
Coulter, 2000).

37. APA REFERENCING
 Multiple citations
These involve a variety of socialisation
methods, both formal and informal, which is
how new members collectively learn
behaviours and concepts that make up the
organization’s culture (Brown, 1998; Wood
et al., 2000)
Wood et al. for all
citations as this
source has 6 or
more authors

38. APA REFERENCING
 Multiple citations Two author
citation – cite
BOTH authors
EVERY time
Several authors (e.g., Brown, 1998;
Robbins & Barnwell, 1998) recognize formal
methods of socialization, such as induction
and training, as the best opportunity
managers have to directly influence the new
members perception of the organizations
culture.

39. REFERENCE LIST
All references
 Alphabetical order listed in
alphabetical order
by first author’s
name
Mullins, L. J. (1999). Management and
organisational behaviour (5th ed.).
London: Financial Times Pitman.
Robbins, S. P., & Barnwell, N. (1998).
Organisational theory: Concepts and
cases (3rd ed.).

40. REFERENCE LIST
 Book, second edition, one author
Brown, A. D. (1998). Organisational Culture
(2nd ed.). Great Britain: Financial
Times Pitman.
Indent from the second
line onwards with all
references

41. REFERENCE LIST
 Book
Book, two authors
Deal, T. E., & Kennedy, A. A. (1982).
Corporate cultures: The rites and rituals of
corporate life. Reading, MA: Addison-
Wesley.

42. REFERENCE LIST
 Online journal article, multiple authors
Detert, J. R., Mauriel, J. J., & Schroeder, R. G.
(2000). A framework for linking culture and
improvement initiatives in organizations.
The Academy of Management Review, 25,
850-863. Abstract retrieved April 2, 2001
from ABI-Inform (Proquest) database.
Abstract
(summary only)

43. REFERENCE LIST
 Journal article, full text
Johnson, G. (2000). Strategy through a
cultural lens: Learning from managers’
experience. Management Learning, 31, 403-
426.

44. REFERENCE LIST
 Credible websites
Baxley, D. J. (1996, March). Change management:
The cultural formula for success. Enterprise
Engineering. Retrieved March 19, 2001, from
http://www.c3i.osd.mil/bpr/bprcd/5315.htm

45. REFERENCE LIST
 Online Journals
Hendrickson, L., & Tuttle, D. (1997). Dynamic
management of the environmental
enterprise: A qualitative analysis. Journal of
Organizational Change Management,10(4),
855-862. Retrieved September 7, 2001 from
Emerald database.

46. REFERENCE LIST
 Nonperiodical documents on the Internet
If no author, begin Stand-alone
reference with title of document, no author
document identified, no date
GVU's 8th WWW user survey. (n.d.). Retrieved
August 8, 2000, from
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/usersurveys/
survey1997-10/

47. Warning: dangerous habits!
 Simply describing everything in your
essay
 Simply describing what is already in your
text. Worse, cutting and pasting from the
text.
 Getting sidetracked into discussing all
theories of motivation instead of Vroom’s.

48. Some past OB assignment questions
 ‘Organizational behaviour is just applied
commonsense.’ Critically discuss this statement
drawing on research evidence.
 ‘ It is not possible to motivate an individual.’
Critically discuss the arguments for and against
this statement drawing on appropriate literature.
 ‘Organization culture is not capable of being
managed.’’ Critically discuss this statement
drawing on appropriate research.