Assignment 1 – Groups, Leadership, and the Workplace, due the end of week 4. Assignment should be a minimum of 500 words, not including the reference list. Worth 12% of final grade.
This assignment assumes that you have read and studied the Learning Resource materials for weeks 3 and 4. Please structure your assignment as an essay, not as a list. Be sure that your assignment has an introduction and a conclusion. Your assignment should be structured as follows:
Part 1: Introduction
In a single paragraph, provide the reader with the key points you will be addressing in this assignment.
Part 2 (200-300 words): Primary Group and Secondary Group
In this part of the assignment, you will analyze two groups of which you are member. For the first group, choose a primary (expressive) group. The second group should be a formal organization, such as a workplace or UMGC, or it could be a different secondary (instrumental) group.
For each type of group, using sociological definitions, explain the following:
- Why the group would be considered a primary group or a secondary group
- Your status in the group
- The roles associated with your status
- What type of leader(s) lead(s) the group (instrumental, democratic, expressive, laisse-faire, or authoritarian) and what that type of leadership entails (in other words, what does the leader do that reflects of their type of leadership)?
Part 3 (200-300 words): Ideal Employment
Imagine your ideal (paid or unpaid) employment and answer each of the following questions:
- What would be your ideal status and role in the workplace (be specific)? Define status and role as part of your answer.
- What kind of organization would you like to work for (utilitarian, normative, or something else) and why?
- What type of leadership style would you most prefer for your boss to have and/or for you to have (instrumental, democratic, expressive, laisse-faire, or authoritarian), and why?
- As you think of your future career goals, whom do you regard as your reference group, and why?
Part 4: Conclusion/Reflection: In a final thorough paragraph, explain what you learned from this assignment. Did it change your view about your future career plans? Be sure to identify at least one new thing that you learned over the course of writing this assignment.
Part 5: Reference List: Your Reference List should include all the resources that you have cited in your Assignment. At the very least, it should include the reference information for the Week 3 and 4 Learning Resources.
This assignment will use Turnitin to assess academic integrity. Please see your syllabus for more information on how Turnitin will be used in this class.
