CriterionWeightingHas the task been carried out as specified i.e.1.  two interviews with managers & the theory of the Managerial Escalator tested on them; 2. reflections on implications for your own

Semester 2, 2018 - 19

1st PIECE OF ASSESSMENT – COURSEWORK – WEIGHTED 50%.

Assessment title: Examine the extent to which the career paths of two managers conform, or do not conform, to the pattern of the Managerial Escalator. Reflect on the potential implications of the Managerial Escalator model and the findings of your interviews for your own career.

Deadline: The final date for handing in the first piece of assessment (coursework) is: Monday 25th February 2019, 13:00.

Submission: The coursework should be submitted electronically via Turnitin. The link is available on Blackboard. There will be penalties for work handed in after 1:00pm, which could include the work being awarded a mark of zero.

Please note that the academic teaching team are not empowered to give extensions.

Word count: 2,000 words maximum (excluding material in the title page, abstract, table of content, reference list at the end of the report and appendices).

Assessment task: For the first assignment you are asked to interview two people with supervisory or managerial responsibility and write a report on:

1. The extent to which the career paths of both people you have interviewed conform, or do not conform, to the pattern of the Managerial Escalator.

1. Reflect on the implications of the Managerial Escalator model and the findings of your interviews for your own career.

Continued on next page.

In order to carry out this assignment you are asked to:

Study the content of Chapter One in the book: Skills of Management and Leadership (Rees & Porter, 2015).

Find two managers to interview – these could be relatives, friends, acquaintances, or managers that you come across in the course of your daily life.

Work out from doing the above reading, what questions you need to ask. Devise a questionnaire based on your reading and check the questions out with your class, seminar or workshop tutor.

When you have carried out your two interviews, write a report on your findings, bearing in mind the advice given in the Lecture Week 2, and the reading on Blackboard.

Please remember that your report is an academic piece of work and that an academic reader will be reading it. We are interested in how well you understand the concept of the Managerial Escalator and its relevance to the two managers you have interviewed, as well as yourself.

Supporting documents relating to the Interview:

• Appendix 1 - Please attach the questionnaire schedule you have drawn up as an Appendix to the report. You do not need to include the actual interview responses.

• Appendix 2 - You are asked to submit the names and contact details of the two managers you have interviewed. We reserve the right to contact the managers in the event of suspected plagiarism.

Coursework assessment marking criteria

The mark you receive will be influenced by the following:

Detailed guidance notes

Title page: Include the word count, your name, your ID number, the coursework title, the University of Westminster, the date, your seminar leader name, the module code and title.

Abstract: Include an Abstract, which in practice is the same as an Executive Summary. It should not be too long but should concentrate on what you found out rather than what you planned to do. It is not the same as an Introduction because an Abstract should include a brief summary of the findings of the report.

Table of content: Include a table of content at the beginning of your report with page numbers.

Introduction: A short introduction should introduce the whole report and not just the topic. i.e. introduce the purpose, the structure of the report (“say what you are going to say”) and the topic briefly.

Report structure: This can vary from one paper to another. You will need to include several headings and / or subheadings. Please discuss your report draft with your seminar leader or lecturers. Briefing on the possible structure of the report can be found on Blackboard or in Cottrell, S. (2013). The Study Skills Handbook. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Analysis: You are required to find that one or both people you interviewed career path to date conform to the concept of the Managerial Escalator. In some cases they may not. You need to find out in the interview whether they do or not.

The example of the Managerial Escalator in the book is indicative only. In particular the time scale or over which people accumulate managerial responsibilities will to vary from person to person.

You will need to explain the concept of the Managerial Escalator at the start of your report.

One way of representing your findings, which can be very effective, is to draw diagrams of the actual progression of the two people you have interviewed.

There is no bar on interviewing two people from the same organisation and/or family members.

It is best to have face-to-face interviews and encourage people to enlarge on what they have to say – they may bring up relevant points that you had not thought to ask. Additionally you will have to evaluate what they say in terms of how accurate you think their responses may be.

Reflection: You should speculate on your own future career path. Please include a paragraph on your reflections. Include here anything interesting and / or relevant to your career that you discovered in the course of undertaking this assignment.

Conclusion: Tie up your arguments in the conclusion – but this is not the place to include fresh evidence. Be sure to answer the question contained in the assignment title. You may want to add recommendations about what the parties need to do or what the organization could do to make them more effective.

Referencing: When you make direct quotes you should put them in inverted comas and give brief details of the source, including the page number e.g. (Rees and Porter, 2015, p.5). The full reference should appear in the list of references. You can cross check with examples from Rees and Porter (2016) on how to layout references.

General references to e.g. a book or article do not have to appear in inverted commas.

A bibliography is used for any general works you have used.

Report format: Insert page numbers in your repot, use double spacing between the lines, use a bigger margin on the right, Use font Arial 12 or similar, use formal language, British English spelling.