Main Objective of the assessment

This module is designed to help you explore the main theories of management, management functions and the key issues affecting contemporary managers. Whatever module or programme of study you are undertaking at Brunel University, there are learning outcomes you must achieve in order to be awarded the necessary credits which comprise the module and programme of study. In order to get A, B, C, D, E, F grade in this module, you must meet the criteria outlined below in the learning outcomes; that is, you must provide evidence of an ability to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:

 

1. Demonstrate the understanding and ability to critique the various theories of leadership and management, and appreciate the contemporary issues facing leaders and managers.
2. Demonstrate the understanding of the key functions of leadership and management and their application.
3. Critically evaluate characteristics of effective management and how this differentiates from leadership. Discuss and assess relative strengths and limitations of key approaches to developing leaders and managers in organisations.
4. Demonstrate cognitive skills of critical thinking, analysis and synthesis, including the capability to identify and critically evaluate theoretical and practical assumptions, evaluate empirical evidence, define terms and subjects of enquiry adequately, generalise appropriately and analyse data

 

Description of the Assessment

 

 

Guidance Notes

 

ALL students MUST answer Questions 1 and 2, which should each be 500 words in length (not including references).  References should appear at the immediately after each question and not as a single list at the end.  

 

Of the remaining 3 questions, students must choose ONE, and the length of this answer should be 1500 words (not including references).

 

COMPULSORY QUESTIONS – 500 WORDS EACH

 

1. Many argue that leadership and management are one and the same thing. Critically analyse the differences and similarities between the two.
2. Critically discuss whether organisational politics is a good or a bad attribute of organisations.

 

CHOOSE 1 FROM THE FOLLOWING THREE QUESTIONS – 1500 WORDS

 

3. Covid-19 caused a crisis in many organisations around the world. Critically evaluate leadership theories and identify lessons leaders can learn from these theories to address crisis situations.
4. Organisational culture and values are important features of organisations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. How do culture and values differ in theory and practice?  Give examples of companies to illustrate divergences between theory and practice.
5. Technology permeates almost every aspect of peoples’ working lives. Critically examine whether organisations can implement technologies and remain employee-centric or will technology alienate employees from their employers.  Give examples to illustrate support your arguments.

 

Points to remember:

 

• Specify your sources clearly in the assignment by including them in your reference list.
• Be as specific and clear as possible in explaining and supporting your claims.
• Use examples, well-chosen instances and data from good quality sources, as appropriate.
• You may go over or under the word count by no more than 10% per question – (50 words for each of the compulsory questions and 150 words for the optional question.

 

 

Please enter here the marking scheme relevant for the coursework and provide an illustration of each assessment criterion achieved at each indicative mark band for PG levels.

 

 

 

Indicative Mark Band Grade Point 90 and above 17 80-89 16 73-79 15 70-72 14 68-69 13 63-67 12 60-62 11 58-59 10 53-57 9 50-52 8 48-49 7 43-47 6 40-42 5 38-39 4 33-37 3 30-32 2 29 and below 1

 

 

Submission Instructions

Coursework must be submitted electronically via the University’s WISEflow system. The required file format for this report is Adobe PDF. Your student ID number must be used as the file name (e.g. 0123456.pdf).  You must ensure that you upload your file in the correct format and use the College’s electronic coursework coversheet. Please note that submissions of ‘.pages / .docx etc’ documents will not be accepted and must be converted to approved format.

 

The electronic coursework coversheet must be completed and included at the beginning of all coursework submissions prior to submitting on WISEflow.

 

 

Criterion	Mark descriptors
	70 and above	60-69	50-59	40-49	30-39	29 and below
Understand and critique the various	Clear demonstration of a critical,	Clear demonstration of a well-developed,	Demonstration of a critical and	Provides evidence of some	Work does demonstrate evidence of a	Work does not demonstrate understanding

 

concepts/theori es of leadership and management  sophisticated and thorough understanding of leadership and management concepts and theory, and the application of analytical skills with excellent use of several appropriate references and organizationally based case examples critical and comprehensive understanding of leadership and management concepts and theory, and the application of analytical skills with very good use of several appropriate references and some organizationally based case examples   substantial review of leadership and management concepts and theory, and the application of analytical skills with good use of some appropriate references and a few organizationall y based case examples.   understanding of leadership and management concepts and theory, and the application of analytical skills with use of some appropriate references and mention of organizationall y based case examples. partial but uncritical understanding of the role and nature of leadership and management concepts and theory, and the basic application of analytical skills with a basic use of appropriate references and some reference to organizationall y based case examples. of leadership and management concepts and theory, and there is no evidence of application of analytical skills or the use of appropriate references. Organizational ly based case examples are largely absent. Understand the key functions of leadership and management and their application  Clear demonstration of a sophisticated, critical and thorough understanding of the functions of leadership and management and their application through excellent use of several Clear demonstration of a well-developed and comprehensive understanding of leadership and management functions, and their application through very good use of several appropriate references and Demonstration of a substantial understanding of leadership and management functions, and their application, with a basic use of a few Provides evidence of some understanding of leadership and management functions, and their application through the use of at least Work demonstrates evidence of a partial but uncritical understanding of leadership and management functions with no appropriate references or Work does not demonstrate understanding of leadership and management functions and their application, and there is an absence of references

 

appropriate references and appropriate organizationally based case examples.   relevant organizationally based case examples. references and organizationall y based case examples. one reference or a few inappropriate references. Organizational ly based case examples are largely absent or where used inappropriate. organizationall y based case examples. and organizationall y based case examples. Critically evaluate and assess relative strengths and limitations of key approaches to developing leaders and managers in organizations  Clear demonstration of a sophisticated, critical and thorough evaluation of contemporary leadership and management issues with excellent use of several appropriate references. Clear demonstration of a well-developed and comprehensive evaluation of contemporary leadership and management issues with very good use of several appropriate references. Demonstration of a substantial evaluation of contemporary leadership and management issues, with a basic use of a few references.    D+ to D- Provides evidence of some evaluation of contemporary leadership and management issues with the use of at least one reference or a few inappropriate references. Work demonstrates evidence of a partial but uncritical evaluation of contemporary leadership and management issues, with no references used. Work does not demonstrate evaluation of contemporary leadership and management issues, and there is an absence of references. Demonstrate cognitive skills of critical thinking, analysis and synthesis, including the capability to identify and critically Clear demonstration of a sophisticated level of criticality in respect of core concepts and theories of management. Clear evidence of the ability to Very good demonstration of the aforementioned criteria, but lacks the criticality required for an ‘A’. Very good demonstration of the ability to synthesize theory The work shows some demonstration of the aforementione d, but lacks sustained criticality throughout. Some The work provides very occasional evidence of criticality and synthesis. This is more by accident than design and there is little The work does not show evidence of either criticality or synthesis. It is overly descriptive and where mentioned Work does not demonstrate criticality or synthesis and there is an absence of engagement with the literature at this level.

 

evaluate theoretical and practical assumptions, evaluate empirical evidence, and define terms and subjects of enquiry adequately. synthesize theory and practice to draw well-argued and logically constructed conclusions. and practice to draw well-argued and logically constructed conclusions demonstration of the ability to synthesize theory and practice, and some attempt at drawing well-argued and logically- constructed conclusions. engagement with the material at this level. theory/concep ts are described, explained; rather than discussed or analysed. Case examples may be provided but these are not synthesized with theory.   Writing quality and style, grammar and punctuation; spelling  The writing quality and style is excellent. The grammar/punctuati on is error-free. There are no spelling mistakes or incorrectly used words. There are no long, confused or unwieldy sentences which detract from readability. The writing quality and style is very good. The grammar/punctuati on is near errorfree. There are very few, if any, spelling mistakes or incorrectly used words. There are very few, if any, long, confused or unwieldy sentences which detract from readability. The writing quality and style is good. The grammar and punctuation is reasonable. There are a few spelling mistakes, incorrectly used words, and/or long, confused or unwieldy sentences which detract from readability. The writing quality and style is just adequate. The grammar and punctuation is just adequate. There is a number of spelling mistakes, incorrectly used words, and/or long, confused or unwieldy sentences which detract from readability. Many of the following apply; poor writing quality and style; the grammar and punctuation is poor; there are many spelling mistakes, incorrectlyused words, and/or long, confused or unwieldy sentences which detract from readability. Almost all of the following apply; poor writing quality and style; grammar and punctuation are poor; there are many spelling mistakes, incorrectly used words, and/or long, confused or unwieldy sentences which detract from readability.

 

 

 

Academic Misconduct, Plagiarism and Collusion

Any coursework or examined submission for assessment where plagiarism, collusion or any form of cheating is suspected will be dealt with according to the University processes which are detailed in Senate Regulation 6.

 

You can access information about plagiarism here.

 

The University regulations on plagiarism apply to published as well as unpublished work, collusion and the plagiarism of the work of other students.  Please ensure that you fully understand what constitutes plagiarism before you submit your work.

 

 

University’s Coursework Submission Policy

Please refer to the College’s Student Handbook for information on submitting late, penalties applied and procedures.

 

 

College’s Coursework Submission Policy

Please refer to the College’s Student Handbook for information relating to the College’s Coursework Submission Policy and procedures. * this can be found at the bottom of the page under the ‘Documents’ section *

 

 

Extenuating Circumstances Policy

Please refer to the College’s Student Handbook for information relating to extenuating circumstances and procedures.