Course group project writing guidelines on Organizational Behavior

Mark distribution
10% -Group project and/or Presentation 10%

Group Formation
From a group of 5-7 members
Submit the following
§ Student ID
§ Names of the group members
§ Group Leader and Co-leader Details (e-mail & Phone)
§ Name of the researched company – you must submit names of 4 companies of your choice
and your instructor will choose one from that list.

Term Project Details

As a group of around 10 members, prepare a report on the following organizational behavior issues
at a corporate workplace that is based in Bangladesh. The students must get approval from the
instructor on the company. No TWO Groups can research on the same company, but TWO groups
can research on the same topic selected from the topics as stated below consulting with the course
instructor. Therefore, select and get it approved by the instructor, and announce it in the class. The
possible themes/ issues are:

§ Digital leadership
§ Toxic leadership
§ Workplace bullying
§ Mediation process as a conflict management tool
§ Organizational cynicism
§ Workplace discrimination
§ How organizations motivate their employees through motivation theories
§ Organizational socialization process
§ Culture
§ Diversity, equity, and inclusion
§ Job attitudes, Job satisfaction
§ Personality

The students would independently select relevant theories, such as

• Institutional theory
• Succession Management approach
• Life-long learning approach
• Best-Fit theory
• Other relevant theories within diversity, culture, work and organization areas

General Instruction

This is a Group Work Project and it’s a course essay. It’s an academic scholarship. The report must
include a list of work performed by the individual group members. Students must prepare a group
working agreement and submit it with the report by attaching it in the appendix section.

Please ensure that your written work complies with the following guidelines:
Format of the report:
 • White A4 paper
• All Margin 1 cm
• Font size 12, style Times New Roman
• Header: Put the title of the report on each page
• Footer: Page number on each page
• Line spacing 1.5 lines
• Correct Citation and referencing (Follow the APA Referencing System for referencing)
• Spelling and grammar are correct
• Attach cover page that includes Group no: Member ID and Name
• Include title page; Abstract; table of content and reference (This will not contribute towards
your word count)
• The report from each group has to be submitted online attaching PDF file only at assignment
to be created at Google classroom.
• Submit a business/visiting card of the manager you are interviewing with your report so that
the instructor can contact him/her if needed.
• Submit/attach in the appendix section the semi-structured interview guide that you design
while contacting with the HRM managers/interview participants including Information
Letter and Consent to Participate Form (Please see the sample below in the appendix of this
guide).

Thesis Outline
Title page
Abstract
Table of contents
Forward
1. Introduction
(Intro paragraph)
Background of the study
Purpose and research questions
Disposition of the report
2. Past relevant studies/Literature review
3. Theoretical approach
4. Methodology
Methods overview and significance of selecting relevant methods
Background Information about the company
Data collection strategy
Data analysis strategy
Ethics in research process
5. Empirical results and analysis
6. Discussion and Conclusion
References

The procedure to complete the undergraduate student course group project consist of the following
steps:

Step 1: Primarily select the theme or area of study

Step 2: Collect 10-15 relevant articles from top ranked global scientific journals as such type that
below:
Annual Review of Organizational
Psychology and Organizational Behavior Q1 https://www.annualreviews.org/journal/orgpsych
 Journal of Organizational Behavior Q1 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10991379
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/human-resource-
Human Resource Management Review Q1 management-review
Personnel Psychology Q1 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17446570
https://www.hogrefe.com/us/journal/journal-of-personnel-
Journal of Personnel Psychology Q2 psychology
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/research-in-
Research in Organizational Behavior Q1 organizational-behavior
Human Resource Management Journal Q1 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17488583
Organization Studies Q1 https://journals.sagepub.com/home/oss
Annual Review of Organizational
Psychology and Organizational Behavior Q1 https://www.annualreviews.org/journal/orgpsych
Organizational Behavior and Human https://www.journals.elsevier.com/organizational-
Decision Processes Q1 behavior-and-human-decision-processes/
The International Journal of Human
Resource Management Q1 https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rijh20/current

Additionally a list of top ranked global scientific journals within Business, Management, HRM using
an Excel file is attached.

Step 3: Do Critical reviews as per the instructions stated below and submit it at the appendix of the
course project report at the end.

The ability to read critically is crucial in all forms of academic work. Constructive critique and
feedback are the method through which scientific knowledge is developed. The purpose of this
assignment is therefore to practice critical reading of articles/books and the writing of critical reviews.

Your task is to write a critical review of one of the assigned articles/books. Your critical review should
be based on the following criteria:
– The article/book reviews high-quality scientific articles
– The article/book offers an alternative perspective to mainstream research on
business
– The conclusions are based on rigorous and relevant empirical data given the purpose of the study
– It is easy to follow how the author(s) draw conclusions from data
– The article/book makes a significant scientific contribution
– The findings are highly relevant for business professionals to meet current
challenges
• For good advice on how to structure your critical review please check the
following website:
https://www.eliteediting.com.au/how-to-write-critical-review/

• Maximum 3 pages per article/book.

• Do not forget to label with your name and title of articles/books

Step 4: Compete a literature review from the critical reviews and find out the research gaps

Step 5: Design a focal research topic and/or focal research question based on the literature gaps

Step 6: Design specific research questions and/or objectives

Step 7: Complete whole research process and write all chapters of the group project report following
the format of the report stated above. Follow the Lecture on Qual research work process-interview
data collection and thematic analysis (PDF file attached). If your research is quantitative in nature,
then follow the Quant research work process (Use the PDF file on Analyzing Quantitative Data SPSS
Procedures Manual and another PDF file on To work with regression).

Step 8: Prepare for group presentation making PPT slides from the project report and submit PDF of
main project report and PPT file via Assignment section of Google Classroom.
Step 9: Participate at the presentation program and take critical scholarship comments from the
audience and from the instructor and correct, revise, and improve it and resubmit it for final grade.

Good luck with the task!

Appendix-I
Sample Interview guide on
How people can contribute to conflict escalation

Purpose
Past studies focus on how unsuccessful victims often contribute to the escalation of the bullying
conflict and do not examine how successful and unsuccessful conflicting victims can contribute to
the conflict escalation (Zapf & Gross, 2001). Therefore, the purpose of our study is to investigate
how conflicting parties show escalating behaviors and how they contribute to conflict escalation.
In line with the purpose of the study, we would address the following specific research questions:

Specific Questions
1. How do conflicting parties develop norms concerning how they should behave toward each
other in a minimal conflicting community?
2. How do destructive conflict behaviors occur to be viewed as normal and defensible?
3. How could victims contribute to conflict escalation or conflict de-escalation?

Interview Questions

Part A: Introductory demographic questions

1. Please say/write about your:

Profession (please mention the organization name anonymously, but your position and job role
as usual):
Age:
Educational qualifications:

Part B: Interview questions related to the research questions

1. When a social conflict arises in your area, and as a victim or a third party, how could you come
to an agreement through dialogue?
2. How could you convince the other party, and do you use the approach of negotiation and
discussion?
3. How could you form a group among conflicting parties to secure the support of the third parties?
4. How can you realize one’s own desires through unilateral actions and less verbal
communication, which give great scope for fantasies about the other party’s real motives and
intentions?
5. Do you marginalize the other party’s position in the group?
6. As a victim of social conflict, do you exclude the other party from the social community, and as
a third party (community panchayat committee) do you exclude both conflicting parties from the
community since you have a tradition of zero conflict?
7. How could you gain control over the other party to prevent destructive actions through
strategic threats and ultimatums?
8. If the conflict continues for a longer time in your community, do you permanently incapacitate,
eliminate and crush the other party at all costs through attacks against their vital functions?

Part C: Reflections and suggestions questions

 1. When you find any conflicting issues in their community, the way you solve them indicates the
de- escalation of conflict. Why do you take this zero-conflict philosophy?
2. Did you experience any worst situations of conflict escalation in the ancient period?
3. Do you believe that zero-conflict philosophy would have practical implications, and do you
think that your ideology will be helpful for other communities in Bangladesh, where conflicts
are destructive?

Thank you very much for your cooperation!!!

Appendix-II
Information letter to participants about the scientific paper project” TITLE”
The aim of the project XXX (add "TITLE") is to XXX (“ADD AIM”). The subject is interesting
because XXX (”ADD REASONS”) [for example, there is not enough research, you are exploring a
new angle, or add something useful that helps participants understand why your thesis is important
for others].
The study is a student/academic project that will result in a scientific article to be published in top
journal in XXX at [Name of University/Organization]. The study is conducted independently by the
student “NN”, and the responsible supervisor is “NN” [title e.g. Professor/ Associate Professor] at
the Department of XXX (see further contact info below). The project adheres to the ethical principles
of the research. Information about research ethical information for participants see below.
Data Collection
The data collection consists of XXX [qualitative interviews, focus groups observations, etc.] that are
XXX [add on collection method e.g., that interviews are recorded with the permission of the
participant].
Voluntary participation and non-disclosure
Participation is voluntary and anonymous. All participants involved in the project are covered by
professional secrecy. Personal names are not registered or will be exchanged for fake names when
fieldnotes/interviews are transcribed/questionnaires are encoded. This also applies to organisations
etc. Participation takes place on the research participants' terms. The participant can choose to cancel
the participation at any time.
Handling of collected material
Material such as XX [add type of material e.g., recordings, notes] are kept locked away and are only
available to authorized researchers. Some material XXX [add type of material, interviews, notes, etc.]
will be transcribed to computer. The transcribed documents are named and sorted add xx [e.g., by
number/fake name]. In the final paper, shorter anonymous extracts from interviews may be cited. The
collected material and interview transcriptions will not be used for any purpose other than scientific
research and for teaching purposes than under the conditions described herein. The results may be
presented in scientific article or report.
Results and publication
The results of the study will be published in the form of an article that is to be completed on XX [add
date when you appreciate your completion). Participants are also welcome to attend the presentation
of the project xx (add anticipated date).

For questions and further information, please contact:

NN Your name
Phone E-mail

Responsible Supervisor
NN
Title:
Phone E-mail
Consent to participate
I have read and fully understood the scope and implications of participating in this research project.
Any questions I had were answered satisfactorily.
I agree that the interview can be digitally recorded and agree to participate in this project.
☐ I agree to participate
☐ I agree to my personal details being handled as described above in the information letter.

Date and place Name and Signature (participant)

Date and place Name and Signature (student)