Case 2—J401  Learning Lessons in Strategic Management from Nature

Case 2—J401  Learning Lessons in Strategic Management from Nature

Case 2—J401  Learning Lessons in Strategic Management from Nature

This assignment is somewhat different and therefore the scoring matrix is somewhat different. I have also posted a short video about the assignment. This is a video about a hawk. The link is posted below:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/2CFckjfP-1E

If it does not work as a hot link—copy and paste in your browser. It is only about 5 minutes long.

Never before has adaptiveness and adaptability been more important to leaders, employees, and their organizations. The ability to imagine, create, and respond in different ways is critical to future success. I see students struggle more in their case studies and projects to come up with recommendations and choices. This exercise is designed to focus on your ability to think laterally, how we use metaphors to generate thinking and ideas. So I am asking you to 1) consider and identify a variety of lessons that this video might have for organizations, and 2) link this to actual issues in organizations that you are familiar with or can find. Remember, you have a wealth of knowledge you have created in your industry mapping process, and there are numerous company examples in your text, and you have your own experience.

You may use the video in any respect. For example—thinking about the hawk as an organization, thinking about the hole the hawk flies through as the environment, thinking about the trainer as a leader, thinking about the technology used to make the video. There are probably 100 ways that you could draw some meaningful lessons and connections to the content of the course. I hope you learn something about nature in the process.

So this paper is partly your response, partly your ability to translate to relevant themes, and partly examples of what these learnings might be tied to. You may deal with both major themes or take small points and expand on them.

Here is the scoring matrix:

Substantive thinking. (30) You need to have some “meat” to your reflections. If you don’t get to at least 3 pages (double-spaced), you haven’t thought enough. If you get to the end of 4 pages, stop. While it would be possible to take one aspect of the video and expand it to four pages, the best answers are probably those that provide evidence of broad thinking

Originality and Creative Thinking. (30) Your answer demonstrates that you have watched the video and have done more than surface level thinking about potential applications—and gone beyond only seeing the hawk as an organization.

Critical thinking and application. (30) Your answer demonstrates that you are relating concepts drawn from the video to real life situations, seeing how a concept can be used analogously to relate to a company, organizational or personal example.

Overall Writing (10) Here, we will use a scoring method similar to previous cases.

Because this assignment is somewhat different, there is probably a little more subjectivity built into the evaluation and matrix is a little less well-defined because this is not a fact based assignment. In each 30 point area—there will be three scoring bands:

Scoring Band A (High Level) –25-30

This level will be marked by both superior quantity and quality. Responses at this level will indicate evidence of multiple ways of looking at and utilizing the video content. There will be a good illustration of the ability to think both broadly and specifically and to be able to relate the content to strategic management.

Scoring Band B (Satisfactory Performance) 19-24

This level will be marked by adequate quantity and quality. There will be places where further expansion of concepts would have been useful. There will be a good basic understanding of concepts in the video although there may not be many novel approaches to the video. Evidence that the video concept has been seriously considered will be present.

Scoring Band C (Improvement Needed) 0-18

This level will be marked by either inadequate quantity and/or quality. There will be limited use of video material developed and used as an analogy or metaphor for issues related to organizational strategic management. There will be little or no evidence about considering how the ideas in the video might have been translated into applicable organizational examples.

Answer preview Case 2—J401  Learning Lessons in Strategic Management from Nature

Case 2—J401  Learning Lessons in Strategic Management from Nature

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