Description
The assignment is an opportunity to evidence your ability to analyse and evaluate in the context of
the three Learning Outcomes (LOs) stated below:
1. Critically analyse and discuss organisational learning, roles and behaviours.
2. Define the value of information and explain how it contributes to the activities within an
organisation.
3. Compare and contrast the interaction between conflict management and negotiation within the
context of projects.
Requirements
The assignment requires the production of a report of 1,300 words (+ or – 10%) in length. The
writing style should be concise (not brief), and an appropriate structure should be adopted. It is
recommended that you consider the effective use of ‘graphic’ material to illustrate key points
(rather than trying to describe in writing – the emphasis is on analysis and evaluation, not on
describing). Images, tables, etc. are considered as being ’graphic’ material in this context. This
will ‘free-up’ some space in terms of the maximum word count. The report should have clearly-stated
connections with appropriate literature and these should be consistently referenced (preferably
using the Harvard style of referencing).
For the purpose of this assignment you should assume the role of an individual operating at
Director level within an organisation currently operating exclusively in the marine renewables
sector of the energy industry. The organisation currently operates only in a design capacity (does
not deal with transmission, etc.) and is a mature organisation (over 20 years in the sector) with 3
facilities in the UKCS region. Feel free to add any additional relevant assumptions (number of
employees, company structure, etc.) that assist in the analysis of the company.
In your role, you have been tasked by the Board to produce a report of no more than 1,300 words
that addresses the following requirements (below) related to the suggestion that the company should
encourage staff to carry out a diversity of roles, thereby providing efficiencies for the company.
The Board is aware of ongoing problems caused by employees seeing themselves as having a single
(primary) role relevant to a specific point in the design process; as a ‘specialist’ company within
a ‘specialist’ sector, this is regarded as having been inevitable. However, this is now a behaviour
that the Board wishes to address as they believe the future growth of the company is compromised by
the constraints of function specialism’. This is particularly significant in the context of
proposed future diversification within the marine renewables technology sector, with the
diversification possibly including both the adoption of new, innovative technologies (wave energy,
etc.) and the creation of a transmission network linking current and future production facilities.
The report is intended to provide the basis for a future company culture development project that
will be implemented prior to the diversification project commencing (so as to ‘lock in’ appropriate
new behaviours).
1. Identify the key information, related to current activities, behaviours and the approach to
learning that should form the basis of future communication with staff regarding any development /
change of current primary roles and behaviours. Such development / change would be in the context
of the proposed diversification. (HINT: what is ‘shared’, and what is ‘new’?)
2. Identify TWO examples of conflict that could be expected to result from staff adopting a strict
adherence to only their current perceived primary roles. One example should evidence negative
conflict, while the other example should evidence positive conflict. Each of the examples should
illustrate how behaviours exhibited by staff evidence the level of conflict. You should also
discuss how a learning organisation would ‘capture’ such behaviours so to prepare for change.
(HINT: Know ‘where are we now’)
3. For ONE of the examples, determine the most appropriate leadership style for negotiation with
staff when the objective is to resolve the conflict in a manner that leads to positive behaviour
change (adoption of more than a single role). (HINT: Always ‘lead by example’?)