In this topic you have covered an important theory of motivation called Expectancy Theory. Let’s apply this theory to your university study,specifically the upcoming essay assessment. There are three expectancy factors that will affect your motivation to succeed: Expectancy is your beliefthat working hard on your essay will result in the production ofa good quality piece ofwork (i.e. a least a high pass orcredit although more able students may have higher expectations) lnstrumentality is that your successful performance according to the marking criteria will attain a desired mark.You just need to trust your lecturerwith this one. Valence is the value you place on having strong written communication skills. Take this as given. Employers are telling us that this is one ofthe most important skills they arelooking for in graduates. This activity is addressing the first factor- expectancy. l have found many students don’t work hard on essays because their past efforts did not seem to bring much reward. If you followthe advice below carefully and continue to respond to feedbackthen you will, with practice, be a much betterwriterthan you are now by the time you graduate. Time spent on the activities below will save you time and valuable marks when you go to write your essay. Complete Tasks A, B and C. Sample answers below. Task A – identifying and justifying a strong central argument Step 1: Watch the RMIT essay writing video overview and look at the tutorials if you would like more detailed advice on essay writing. http://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/essay-writing Step 2: To ensure that you understand what RMIT mean by argument (orwhat can be called a ‘thesis statement’) read this information sheet by Nancy Armstrong: Thesisstatements. Step 3: For each ofthe following statements, identify whetherthe statement is strong, too narrow ortoo broad. Justify your evaluation with reference to the ‘thesis statements’ information sheet. lfthe statement is too narrow or broad, rewrite it to fix theproblem. I have found that most people at work are motivated primarily by money. BROAD/NARROW/STRONG? Happy workers are more productive than unhappy workers. BROAD/NARROW/STRONG? Many motivation theories taught in business schools such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and self-efficacy theory are culturally biased. BROAD/NARROW/STRONG? Task B – writing your own essay introduction Step 1: Reviewthe RMIT essay writing materials and Armstrong’s Thesis statements’ document. http://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/essay-writingStep 2: Construct an introduction for your chosen essay topic forthe next assessment. Remember a good essay introduction includes: a. your central argument orthesis statement b. the general purpose and scope ofthe paper c. the plan ofthe essay Task C – reviewing your referencing This activity is designed to help you refine your referencing technique. Correct referencing is a requirement for a pass grade when you submit any university assessments. Step 1: Open the attached document (Referencing activity) to do this exercise. (The formatting does not work in WebOuest) Step 2: The best way to do this exercise is to print it off and have the APA Referencing Guide beside you to compare each entry with the way indicated in the guide. Or you may preferto go to the http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/Online Writing Lab for more detail. Step 3: Enjoy an increase in about 10 marks or more in all future academic assessments! SAMPLE ANSWERS Task A Good ethics is good for business” Topic = business ethics BROAD Stronger statement – Ethics by definition is about doing good for others so although there has been shown to be a relationship between good ethics and good business this is not why a managerneeds to be thinking about it. I like working in an open plan office” Topic = ? not clear NARROW Stronger statement – The benefits of open plan offices outweigh the disadvantages in terms of cost, sharing ofideas and employee productivity. Ethics is not a business tool” (Mackay, 2004, p.172). Topic = business ethics STRONG – this statement is brief but fulfils the three conditions a thesis statement: 1. It announces the topic – ethics 2. It refiects a judgement about the topic- Mackay has a strong opinion about this 3. It provides a blueprint forwhat is to come – Mackay spends the rest ofthis chapter arguing that ethics is important in and of itself Task B [Sample essay question: There are many theories and concepts that relate to explaining the behaviour ofindividuals in organisations. Discuss how and why it is important for a managerto have a good understanding ofthese explanations and ides regardingindividual behaviour even though the manager is charged with the management ofa workplace group orteam in the organisation.]Much emphasis is placed on the management ofteams or groups in today’s management literature. [topic/purpose]While there is much to be gainedfrom such an approach in organisations, it is also important for managers to rememberthat groups are composed ofindividuals. Theseindividuals each have unique characteristics that manifest themselves in individual behavioural ways. Thus, individual behaviour occursalongside the behavioural outcomes of groups. At any time in a group orteam both individual and group theory can be used to explain thebehaviourthat is occurring within the group. [central argument] ,This essay will discuss some resulting overlays ofindividual and groupbehaviours and also draw attention to the problems managers might face ifthey do not understand the behaviour ofindividuals within groups.Also highlighted will be some ofthe possible gains a manager might make if he/she can harness the more positive attributes of someindividuals to influence other group members [plan]. (Fromholtz, 1995) Task C An example is given on the referencing task sheet.
