Leading and Managing People SHR012-6 2. Case study: Business Ethics

Unit title & code Leading and Managing People SHR012-6
Assignment number and title 2. Case study: Business Ethics
Assessment type Written Report
Weighting of assessment 60%
Size or length of assessment 1,600 words (+/- 10%)
Unit learning outcomes 1. A critical awareness and comprehension of key and contemporary debates about theory and practice in the specific fields of high performance working, engagement, team management and motivation whilst assessing the importance of management and leadership through periods of organisational change
 
2. Be able to evaluate and analyse any given workplace scenario for evidence of effective people performance, leadership and management, and able to diagnose and identify appropriate solutions to issues or challenges limiting optimum work performance or affecting maximum application and utilisation of worker capability
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

What am I required to do in this assignment?
Produce a consultant’s report of 1,600 words (core focus is given in italics below and read the following Assignment Guidance carefully also before preparing your answer) which:
 
Task 1:   Using research based on your analysis of two recent business ethics ‘scandals’; analyse the potential risks that would affect the new PA in terms of its accountability, transparency of operation and employee ethical conduct.
                
Task 2:   Develop an options assessment of how a suitable ethical standard relating to accountability, transparency and employee conduct is to be achieved by PA and monitored in practice.
 
Task 3:    Critically evaluate and justify the sort of leadership model (taken from your study of leadership within this Unit) and philosophy that would best support a sustainable ethical organisation. Illustrate a leadership management of change initiative to remedy the unethical behaviour / culture of one organisation identified section 1 (i.e. using one only of the two ‘scandals’ identified in Task 1). Link these lessons to conclusions and recommendations for the PA organisation
 
 
 
What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)
Analyse adequately one or more of the relevant theories behind leading and managing people and how it impacts the ethical management of workers in organisations
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?
We will be filling this section in together in class on 13/09/2019 make sure you have downloaded/printed out the Assignment Brief and bring it to the session with you.
 
Confident, comprehensive understanding of core issues / concepts and a clear / accurate comprehension of their respective significance and impact on organisation. Higher ‘A’ grades will demonstrate very extensive attempts to write concisely in presenting arguments and evidence.
 
Continuous sustained attempt to critically assess and evaluate across the assignment. Signposting of issues in the Introduction will demonstrate some deeper thinking from the student than merely a re-phrasing of the Assignment Brief.
 
Conclusions / recommendations are very closely and explicitly linked to any regulatory / performance ‘gaps’ found in the preceding task/s. Higher ‘A’ grades will rank the significance of findings/ conclusions / recommendations more explicitly than for lower grades. BREO resources will be consistently used and alignment to the questions being addressed will be exact. There will a strong sense of ‘audience’ in Task 3. Clear format which follows report / Harvard protocols accurately
 
 
 
 
 
 
How does assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?
 
The scheduled sessions will comprehensively cover the academic theory and frameworks behind the concepts of this assignment. There will be examples of ethical issues and case studies discussed to highlight the importance of this area in business
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

How will my assignment be marked?
 
Your assignment will be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page.
 
You can use them to evaluate your own work and consider your grade before you submit.
 
 
 
 
 
  3rd Class – 40-49% Lower 2nd – 50-59% Upper 2nd – 60-69% 1st Class – 70%+
1 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. 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.
 
 
 
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. 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.
2 Limited analysis. Lacks enough evidence based argument. Limited reference to theory and/or organisational practice or used inappropriately. Statements of ‘fact’ and personal belief insufficiently reinforced by citations from appropriate third-party sources, research and relevant literature Satisfactory analysis of some appropriate concepts. Some evidence based argument demonstrated which draws on theory and/or organisational practice. Statements of ‘fact’ and personal belief reinforced by citations from an appropriate, but limited, range of third-party sources, research and relevant literature.
 
 
Good analysis of related concepts and ideas. Appropriate evidence based argument demonstrating good understanding of theory and/or organisational practice. Statements of ‘fact’ and personal belief reinforced by citations from an appropriate and broad range of third-party sources, research and relevant literature Comprehensive analysis of a range of related concepts and ideas. Evidence based argument demonstrating an excellent understanding of theory and/or organisational practice. Statements of ‘fact’ and personal belief supported by citations from an extensive range of appropriate up to date third party sources, research and relevant literature
3 Limited expression of concepts clearly, systematically and/or confidently. There is scope to make the discussions more logical and coherent to persuade much more. Concepts expressed in a clear and systematic manner however there is scope to make the discussion even more persuasive
 
 
 
 
 
 
The issues of the chosen topic and concepts are clearly and concisely expressed and the subtleties concerning its operation in practice are discussed in an appropriately logical, confident and persuasive manner Concepts expressed with exceptional clarity in a convincing and cogent manner. Sensitive to emotional, attitudinal and political aspects of corporate life. Third-party sources are properly described, and the logic of the argument throughout the discussion is strongly persuasive
4 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 for the work to be better organised 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
 
 
 
 
 
 
The overall presentation of the discussion is articulate, lucid, structurally sensible and mature in expression. The references are organised conscientiously and comprehensively 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

 

 
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MMK221247 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION AND PROPERTY ENTERPRISES

COURSEWORK 2 – INTERNAL ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC OPTIONS ANALYSIS
Submission Date– Tuesday, 16th April by 11:59pm (Both Electronic & Hardcopy)
COURSEWORK SCENARIO
Construction organisations are faced with business environment (micro‐environment)
factors that have an impact on their competitive position in the market either by presenting
them with opportunities or threats. The solution to these factors will require development
and implementation of particular strategies which are influenced by what is happening in
the surrounding business environment (opportunities and threats) as well as the
organisation’s resources, competences and core competences (strengths and weaknesses).
Against this background, you are required to discuss ANY ONE of the following strategic
concepts in the context of a construction company of your choice:
1. Critically analyse Geographical Diversification OR Internationalisation as a
corporate strategy for the achievement of profitability, growth and competitive
advantage. Selecting a construction company of your choice in any country, conduct
an internal analysis of the organisation and, based on the Resource Based View of
strategy, critically analyse the viability of this strategy for your chosen organisation,
considering findings from your internal analysis. In conclusion, outline some
recommendations of what your chosen organisation must do to ensure successful
implementation of the said strategy; OR
2. Critically analyse Related Diversification as a corporate strategy for managing
business risk and the achievement of profitability, growth and competitive
advantage. Selecting a construction company of your choice in any country, conduct
an internal analysis of the organisation and, based on the Resource Based View of
strategy, critically analyse the viability of this strategy for your chosen organisation,
considering findings from your internal analysis. In conclusion, outline some
recommendations of what your chosen organisation must do to ensure successful
implementation of the said strategy; OR
3. Critically analyse Unrelated Diversification as a corporate strategy for managing
business risk and the achievement of profitability, growth and competitive
advantage. Selecting a construction company of your choice in any country, conduct
an internal analysis of the organisation and, based on the Resource Based View of
strategy, critically analyse the viability of this strategy for your chosen organisation,
considering findings from your internal analysis. In conclusion, outline some
recommendations of what your chosen organisation must do to ensure successful
implementation of the said strategy; OR
4. Selecting a construction company of your choice in any country, conduct an internal
analysis of the organisation and, based on the Resource Based View of strategy,
critically analyse the strategic option that is most suitable for the organisation, at the
relevant business unit level, based on the findings from your internal analysis and
the Opportunities and Threats in its current industry/market.
NOTE:
1. The word count for this coursework is 3000 words +/- 10%
2. This coursework expects you to demonstrate understanding of both the theory
behind the chosen concept as well as the practical application of this theory to
practice. Both of these elements must be visible within your coursework
3. Submission will be by Tuesday, 16th April by 11:59pm (Both Electronic & Hardcopy);
hard copy submissions only required for GCU Glasgow students. For GCU Glasgow
based students, BOTH electronic and hard copy submissions are required. A
submission box will be made available for hardcopy submission in due course and will
be announced on GCU Learn.
4. You will be required to submit an electronic copy of the coursework via Turnitin. Please
ensure that your coursework is contained in one document and is in the order that it
should be printed. Further Turnitin submission details will follow in due course.
5. All final work MUST be typed, 1.5 line and paragraph spacing and single face printed.
Font must be no smaller than 12
6. Plagiarism will NOT be tolerated on this or any other coursework;
7. Colluding on the coursework will result in all students involved receiving a ‘Zero’ mark
8. Marks will be awarded for clear, logical, critical analysis and presentation of
information.
9. You are advised to read widely. Sole use of lecture material will result in minimum
grade.
Generic Guidance on Coursework Requirements
This section provides you with an indication of general requirements when attempting this
coursework:
The following constitute positive criteria for marking and will be rewarded:
• Work that is planned and structured
• Work which embodies an argument and is rigorous, logical and sustained
• Work that is concise and precise
• Work that is clearly presented
• Work that is fully referenced
• Text which embodies a balance of explanation and analysis
• Text in which specific claims made in the narrative are supported by evidence
• Work which consistently engages with the question and is relevant to the topic
The following constitute negative criteria for marking and will be penalised:
• Work that is deficient in planning and structure
• Work that is poorly argued
• Work that is poorly presented
• Work that is poorly referenced
• Text in which claims are made in the narrative that are unsupported and which lapse
into opinion and anecdote
• Text which is deficient in explanation and analysis
• Text which is simply a reproduction of lecture notes or in which originality,
innovation and imagination are conspicuous in their absence
• Text which does not relate to the terms of reference
MMK221247 -Strategic Management in Construction and Property Enterprises
Coursework 2 – Marking Schedule
MARKING CRITERIA MAXIMUM
MARK
MARK
AWARDED
Introduction/Background 10
Literature Review and Critical Analysis of literature
review
35
Critical Analysis of internal organisation factors and
match to relevant strategic concept
30
Conclusions/Recommendations 15
Referencing/Scope of research 10
TOTAL 100
General Feedback:
Tutor: _________________________________ Date: ___________________

 
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Balanced Scorecard and the Financial Perspective (SLP1)

Question Description

The purpose of the Session Long Project is to give you the opportunity to explore the applicability of the Module to your own life, work, and place in space and time, and to experiment with the Module to see how the otherwise academically rigorous presentation of a topic may, with more or less work and/or trauma, become “up close and personal”. This is done in a number of different ways — sometimes cumulative papers, sometimes practical hands-on experimentation with a tool of some sort, sometimes reflections on a place of work or life. The common thread is personal application, aimed at demonstrating a cumulative knowledge and understanding of the course’s material.
For this course, the Session Long Project will take the form of putting together background from each of the four perspectives for a balanced scorecard approach to an organization or organizational unit with which you are familiar. In the final module, you will have a go at strategy mapping. You’re not building a complete balanced scorecard — that would be far beyond our current scope – but you’ll have a chance to see what goes into it and how it gets put together into a coordinated whole. As in the cases, you’ll be drawing on your previous course work to help.
The Module 1 assignment has two parts. First, you need to identify an organization to which you have access to at least some information concerning financial data; staffing and human resource systems; marketing and customer relations; information systems; and operations. While most material on the Balanced Scorecard is written from the private, for-profit point of view, it’s perfectly possible to use this approach with public or non-profit organizations as well.
For the second part of this assignment, consider the organization’s mission and strategy from the perspective of its financial operations (from your work on the case, your previous course work, and your background reading, you should be reasonably clear what such operations are). In this section of the assignment you’ll begin to identify objectives and measures relevant to that perspective. If you’re unclear on just what objectives and measures are, here is a presentation that describes what they are and how to write them.

SLP Assignment Expectations

When you have thought about it and made your selection, please specify (2-3 pages):

  • The name of your organization
  • What this organization does – its mission, vision and overall strategy
  • The access you have to information about this organization — remember, you’ll need information about its financial performance, marketing, internal operations, strategy, and management systems.

Once you’re reasonably clear on what’s involved, think about your organization and its finances, and then:

  • Identify at least three objectives for improving the organization’s financial position, and show how they relate to the mission, vision and strategy of the organization.
  • For each objective, develop at least one meaningful performance measure (metric).
  • For each objective, identify at least one expected level of performance (target).
  • For each objective, identify at least one new action or program that needs to be developed to ensure successful implementation of the organization’s strategy (initiative).

Here’s a table that you may wish to copy and fill in:  The table is to be done in EXCEL
Objective Measure Target Action

Module Overview

If you haven’t yet read the Course Overview in the Syllabus and/or reviewed thegeneral presentation on the balanced scorecard, now would be an excellent time to do so. It’s critical information for what follows in the Modules to come.
To summarize, the balanced scorecard views the mission and strategy of the organization from four perspectives:

  • The business owners/shareholders (represented by the Financial perspective)
  • Customers and other stakeholders (represented by the Customer perspective)
  • Managers and process owners (represented by the Internal Business Processes perspective)
  • Employees and infrastructure capacity (represented by the Learning and Growth perspective)

Within each perspective, the following elements are developed:

  • Strategic Objectives – what is the process that will be used to define strategic objectives and what are the strategic objectives that should be achieved using each perspective?
  • Measures – how will progress for each objective be measured?
  • Targets – what is the target value sought for each measure?
  • Initiatives or action plans – what will be done to facilitate the reaching of the targets?

Why does all this matter? Well, the basic reason is that everything is connected to everything else, even though policies may be created by people in widely different corporate units; those connections are often full of unintended consequences. Here’s a classic example of the complications of integrating marketing strategy with human resource strategy. At one point, Proctor and Gamble had product managers who were paid based on how well their products performed. It sounded like a pretty good human resource strategy. Thinking about people as an investment and paying them using a return on investment formula seems pretty straight forward. If CEOs get paid for performance, why not product managers? P & G had a product manager for Crest toothpaste and a product manager for Gleem toothpaste. Wouldn’t a little competition between these product managers be good for P & G?. Wrong! Here is what happened. To get market share, the Gleem manager ran a $0.50 rebate coupon in the Sunday newspapers. Seeing the market share of Crest drop, its manager ran a special where 3 tubes were sold for the price of two. Seeing the market share of Gleem drop, its manager tried another tactic to gain share. Are you beginning to get the picture? The competition between the product managers meant that P & G gave away profit because customers, who saw little difference between the products, simply bought what was on sale.
How did P & G learn that the method of paying the product managers was causing them to take actions that are not in the best interest of the firm? Enter into the picture the balanced scorecard, in which the contributions of product managers are no longer seen as competitive; because focusing on their contributions from customer, financial, internal process, and learning perspectives revealed that paying them based on performance did not result in the desired outcome. So that’s what this process is all about – helping to reveal the causal connections among often apparently unrelated actions taken in different functional components of the firm, and focusing those connections in positive rather than potentially negative ways.
Where to start? Well, the financial perspective is usually the easiest entry point, because it’s the most familiar to most managers. Financial measures are, after all, frequently the only performance measures that are compiled. In fact, the balanced scorecard was developed to counteract the weight given to financial measures. This does not mean, however, that financial measures are unimportant, particularly in these increasingly difficult economic times — but it does mean that solving financial problems is a function of lots of things besides finance. It’s finding those best points of leverage that the Balanced Scorecard is all about.
The graphic here highlights our starting point. The financial perspective asks the question “How do we look to our investors?” In evaluating measures that indicate if and how the company’s strategy, implementation, and execution contribute to profitability or the bottom line, keep the following in mind. Depending solely on financial measures led some organizations to buy anything and everything based on three bids. One source for the bids was always an internal. Thus, if a department wanted an advertisement prepared, it was forced to seek bids – one from the advertising department within the organization and two from outside bidders. Given that they were consistently undercut by outside bidders, several departments were outsourced and eventually closed. Of note are organizations that outsource their accounting, IT, advertising, and/or HR functions. But these aren’t always the best decisions, when the full range of interconnections is assessed.
The financial performance measures that are used vary based upon the long-run objectives and strategy of a business and where the company is with respect to its business life cycle. In general companies use various combinations of the following three approaches or tactics to achieve their business goals:

  • Revenue growth and mix
  • Cost reduction/ Productivity improvement
  • Asset utilization/ Investment strategy

Financial measures that indicate how successful the company is at implementing its strategy include the following:

  • Cash flow
  • Sales growth
  • Market share
  • ROE – Return On Equity
  • ROCE – Return on Capital Employed
  • Economic value added

In this module, you’ll be introduced to the BSC approach in your case study, and will look at how setting financial performance expectations constitutes a vital first step in implementing a balanced scorecard in your Session Long Project. You’ll have a chance to draw on courses you’ve taken like ACC 201 (Financial Accounting), ACC 202 (Managerial Accounting), FIN 301 (Principles of Finance), ITM 301 (Principles of Information Systems in Business and Organizations), MKT 301 (Principles of Marketing), and MGT 499 (Strategic Management). You’ll also pick up some key new vocabulary for looking at these issues.

The Balanced Scorecard & the Financial Perspective

Required Reading

http://www.abetterworkplace.com/developing-the-organization-and-the-people-in-it/
Please read the Introduction and Chapters 1-3 of:
MacKay, A., (2004) A practitioners guide to the balanced scorecard: A practitioners’ report based on: Shareholder and stakeholder approaches to strategic performance measurement using the balanced scorecard. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/Thought_leadership _docs/tech_resrep_a_practitioners_guide_to_the_balanced _scorecard_2005.pdf
Please read Chapter 1 of:
Murby, L., Gould, S., (2005). Effective Performance Management with the Balanced Scorecard: Technical Report. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Retrieved from: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/ Tech_rept_Effective_Performance_Mgt_with_Balanced_ Scd_July_2005.pdf
Also review the following to re-familiarize yourself with the concept of mission and vision as they relate to strategy:
Robin, D. (n.d.) Vision, Mission and Values: Management Tools for Building a Better Workplace. Daniel Robin & Associates. Retrieved from: http://www.abetterworkplace.com/developing-the-organization-and-the-people-in-it/

 
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Ethics and Human Resource Management What is ethics

Question Description

Review the Case Study, Ethics and Human Resource Management (EHR_C02.pdf attached below)
Answer the following questions:

  • 2.1 What is ‘ethics’? How does it differ from ‘morality’?
  • 2.2 What is ‘moral relativism’? Give an example from a business context.
  • 2.3 ‘Corporate social responsibility without HR is just PR.’
  • Do you agree? Why? Why not?
  • 2.4 What is ‘utilitarianism’? Give an example of a utilitarian argument in human resource management.
  • 2.5 List some human rights that are relevant to the work context.
  • 2.6 What is the ‘stakeholder’ approach? List the key stakeholders in a typical work organisation.
  • 2.7 Give an example of an ethical code of conduct? What are the key characteristics of a good code? How can they improve standards of behaviour?
  • 2.8 What mechanism does HR have to ensure stakeholder participation in organizational decision making?

Writing Requirements

 
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