Contemporary Organizational Behaviour Research Project

Project Outcomes

The following outcomes are among those indicated for this course:

1. to evaluate the study of Organizational Behaviour, and assess the various theoretical and analytical frameworks that are employed;

2. to identify and analyze emerging issues in theory and application of Organizational Behaviour;

 

These outcomes suggest it is important to look at research being conducted on issues in Contemporary Organizational Behaviour in order to be aware of emerging issues facing Canadian organizations, beyond what is contained in your textbook or discussed in class.

 

1. CHOOSE A TOPIC NOT COVERED IN THE COURSE

· START - to get an idea of what your topic could be about, review the list of topics on the course outline and in the Table of Contents of your textbook;

· BUT DO NOT limit yourself to only those exact and specific aspects of a topic specified in the Table of Contents;

o THEN choose a [sub]topical area of particular interest to you;

·     i.e. pick an aspect/subtopic FROM WITHIN your chosen topical area and try to be as specific as you can. [for ex: “Motivation – Investigations into the Nature and Role of Contemporary Views on Compensation”, not just “MOTIVATION”];

· DO NOT CHOOSE AS YOUR TOPIC WHAT WE ALREADY DID IN CLASS OR WHAT’S COVERED IN THE COURSE

o     the intention is for you to discover and explore and examine and write about a unique element of Organizational Behaviour BEYOND what is covered in this course and what we did in “class”.

 

2. LITERATURE SEARCH

For your topic, you will need to do a literature search.

· 6 publications: A literature search will FIND AND CHOOSE 6 recent [10 years or less] source materials [academically valid] on the topic. You are to use the resources from the Learning Resource Centre at Centennial College [you may get help from the library staff to familiarize yourself with the best places and methods to locate published material on your subject]. Please confine your search to material published on or after 2010.

· Textbooks, chapters from textbooks, books, or “popular magazine” articles are not proper resources for this assignment – you need to use only academically valid, referenced, cited, and “cite-able” work ONLY.

 

3. WRITE

Project Requirements: The written submission / report of your project is to include the following, logically arranged with headers and subheadings  [all to be presented professionally - following required submission protocols you were provided earlier]:

 

1) A statement of what you have chosen and why this area is of interest to you, in paragraph form. [1 - 1 ½ page maximum].

2) An explanation of the reason you feel this topic is relevant to Contemporary Organizational Behaviour, in the Canadian context.

3) For the next section, list the 6 publications, using full APA referencing and format, which you obtained from your literature search.

a) All 6 of these publications are not to be listed in the References section of your paper [except as noted in (4b)]. Rather, this is a discreet section within the body of your paper.

4) Of these 6, choose 3 publications related to the research conducted on your topic. Write a summary (3-4 paragraphs for each, 1 - ½ pages maximum]) on the research explained in the article and the findings.

a) For each of these 3, summarize, discuss, then evaluate what each contributes to your understanding of the topic you have chosen.

b) Cite and reference these 3 properly. You will include these 3 publications, on the References page, which is the last page of your paper [except for Team Members Contributions Section, explained below], in proper APA format [yes, it repeats the same from the list of 6 from earlier]. If you have used other references/citations, these will ALSO be included on this References page.

5) Submit / upload your paper in a word-processed document including 12 pt font, Arial or Times Roman; double spaced; pages electronically numbered; 1” margins with a proper cover page, using headings and sub-headings for clarity and organization of your work. A table of Contents, properly formatted, would also be helpful. Check your work for syntax, spelling, and grammar to create a professional report.

6) It is expected that each team member will make an equitable contribution. Accordingly, along with your completed Team Research Paper, each Team Member’s typed contribution to the Paper [which should be the format originally submitted for the groups review and ultimate consolidation into the final paper] is to be included after the References Page with name noted on top of each page contribution and with any other explanatory notes that you feel are relevant [such as “I edited the paper”, or “I checked final paper for formatting”, …].

a) Each Team Members contribution is to start on a new page.