Organizational Behavior Manager Interview Assignment
Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to: (a) give you the opportunity to conduct an interview with a manager to enable you to better understand a manager's day-to-day responsibilities, (b) examine the approaches the manager uses on the job, (c) identify how these approaches are related to theories and concepts in organizational behavior, and (d) prepare a written summary of your findings and assessments. You will examine the approaches the manager uses on the job and identify how these approaches are related to theories and concepts in organizational behavior by drawing on information provided in class (e.g., the textbook and lecture notes) and information provided by external sources (e.g., books, journal articles, etc.). You will prepare a written summary of your findings and assessment.
Manager Interview: Instructions
Step 1: Identify a manager who is willing to be interviewed with you for this assignment. For purposes of this assignment, you should interview with a manager who has at least three or more subordinates. You should let the potential interviewee know you are working on a student research project, and that their responses to questions will remain anonymous. In addition, let them know the interview will take between 30 and 60 minutes (45 min is avg.) and should be conducted face to face if possible.
Step 2: Structure your interview questions.
• You should ask the following introductory questions to get general information about the manager:
o How long have you been with the company?
o How long have you held your current position?
o What are the three most important tasks you are responsible for accomplishing?
o What are some of the most difficult aspects of your job as a manager?
o What are some of the most rewarding and enjoyable aspects of your job as a manager?
• The majority of the interview should focus on determining how the manager handles the following three aspects of his or her job:
o Creating satisfied employees (Chapters 2 & 3)
o Motivating employees (Chapter 5)
o Leading employees (Chapter 10)
• Aside from the introductory questions listed above, you should have another 9-12 questions prepared. Three or four questions should address each of the above themes in satisfaction, motivation, and leadership. Your paper MUST include application from all three of these focus areas. The paper does not have to cover each of the three focus areas in equal proportions, but the paper must at least touch on all three of the focus areas. Please note that the interview questions should be written by you.
• You should ask the following questions at the conclusion of your interview:
o What knowledge and skills do you think are most essential for those in management and leadership positions today?
o What knowledge and skills do you think will be most essential for those in management and leadership positions in the future?
Step 3: Develop your interview strategy.
• You will need to develop an interview strategy. When you develop this strategy, please remember the following:
o Be prepared for answers different from those you anticipate. It is acceptable to probe such answers, even if you did not plan to. Sometimes that will generate interesting responses.
o You should not expect managers to discuss how they do their job using the terms, theories, and concepts we discuss in class. Instead, your job is to ask more general questions and then interpret the responses in relation to course material. In other words, don't ask the manager "Do you use Expectancy Theory in motivating your employees?" Instead, ask how he or she is able to get employees to do his or her job well or how he or she motivates employees. Then, interpret these responses in terms of theories and concepts that appear in your textbook and in lecture and in the additional research you conduct
o You should determine how you will keep track of the responses. You should take notes during the interview. You may also want to tape record the interview so that you can take more detailed notes at a later time. If you do record it, make sure you first ask permission to do so. The way to ask permission is to say something like: "I would like to record the interview if that is okay with you. I plan to only use the recordings to help with note taking purposes. I will destroy the tape after I make my notes for the paper."
Paper: Instructions
Step 1: Think about the manager's responses to your interview questions. Keep in mind that your paper will summarize the interview findings in relation to theories and concepts in organizational behavior. Think about how the manager's responses relate to the theories and concepts you learned in class and in your additional research.
Step 2: Write the paper.
• You will write a paper that summarizes and integrates the interview findings and interprets what the manager does and how he or she manages in relation to organizational behavior theories and concepts. In your interpretation, you are expected to include citations to relevant theories and concepts. You should have a minimum of THREE references. References may be books, articles from technical journals (such as the Journal of Applied Psychology or Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes), professional periodicals (such as Fast Company or Business Week) or business journals (such as Harvard Business Review or Organizational Dynamics). It is not acceptable to use the opinion websites (e.g., blogs, Wikipedia, ask.com, and the like) as references. If you quote or use materials from the textbook or lecture presentations, you do need to cite them in your paper. However, these sources do not count towards your required three external sources.
o You should use the APA format for in-text citations. You can find more information about the APA format at the following website: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/
• The paper is not a magazine puff piece on the virtues of the manager you are interviewing. You are being asked to analyze your data - your recording - transcript - and find meaningful ideas that can support your insights about the topic. Be a critical consumer of your interview data. You might disagree with the interviewee for instance.
• The paper should not be in a Question and Answer format and should not be a verbatim transcript of the interview. You should use the APA headings to help organize your thoughts and make it easier to read. You can find more information about the APA headings system at the following website: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/16/
• The paper should be typed, doubled-spaced, with a 12-point/Times New Roman font, and a 1-inch margin around the edges.
• The paper should have a title page that includes the title of the paper, your name, and your ID#.
• Your paper should be 5-6 pages in length not including the title page or reference pages.
Step 3:
• You must turn in an electronic version of the paper on BBLearn on November 18th by 2:00 PM.
• There is a link on BBLearn for electronic submissions of the papers. You need to click on this link to submit the electronic version of your paper. BBLearn includes a plagiarism detection service that allows instructors to determine how much of your paper is plagiarized. Please note this service will detect ANYTHING you copy - that includes information from websites and articles as well as the work of other students at Drexel (both students who are currently taking the class and those who have taken the class in prior terms) and at other universities. If you are caught plagiarizing, YOU WILL BE PENALIZED. You will automatically receive a zero for the paper, and you may fail the class entirely. Also, the infraction will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards and could result in expulsion from the University.
Step 4: Write a thank you email to the manager you interviewed.
• This email should be formally written and should thank the manager for helping you.
Paper Guidelines:
The paper should include the following sections:
• Introduction. (approximately 1 paragraph) Discuss the purpose of the paper, identify the manager, and his/her job title.
• General Background and Responsibilities. (approximately 1-2 paragraphs) Summarize, integrate, and interpret the findings from the first part of the interview.
• Managing Employees. (approximately 3-4 pages minimum) Summarize, integrate, and interpret the findings regarding what the manager does on a day-to-day basis..
• Conclusion. (approximately 1 page) Summarize your thoughts, ideas, and reflections about the interview. Be sure to discuss what you took away from this experience.
• References. Include several references (at least 3) to support your interpretation of the responses in the Managing Employees section. References should be cited according to APA formatting guidelines.
• Appendix. Include the list of your interview protocol.