While your day-to-day work in your host company might be mainly task-related, the assessments in this unit provide you with the opportunity to gain deeper insight into how your company works, how it does what it does, and how you might use your cognate area specialisation with the organisation. This is an individual, written assessment, in the form of a professional report. The required length for this report is 1,000-1,300 words, excluding preliminaries, diagrams, tables, appendices, and reference list. You must use common font (e.g. Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.) with font size 11 or 12, as well as appropriate margins and spacing. Preliminaries include: title page; executive summary; table of contents with numbered, hierarchical headings; and any other optional elements (e.g. table of figures, etc.) you wish to include to make your report more professional. There are two components of assessment 1:

1. Organisational Overview: An accurate description of your host company, including:

• Company background/history, age and size (e.g. number of employees);
• Outline of the company's purpose or mission statement;
• Organisational chart and company structure;
• Overview of the way decisions are made;
• The extent to which the company uses rules, regulation and policies; and
• A description of its external environment including basic description of key competitors.

The purpose of the Organisational Overview component is to establish the characteristics of the host company and its environment, which will then be analysed in more depth in assessment 2. In your description, you should refer to relevant organisational structure literature (minimum of 3 scholarly, peer-reviewed sources).

2. Project Proposal: A proposal to complete a strategic analysis of a problem or issue, related to your cognate discipline, that you have identified in your host company. The cognate discipline for MPA students is Accounting, while the cognate discipline for students enrolled in management courses is either Management, Marketing, or HRM. To identify a relevant problem/issue, you need to observe what is happening at your host company and draw upon your knowledge of your cognate discipline from units you have studied before. For example: HRM students might identify a specific HR issue (e.g. the company has no formal performance management/onboarding/etc. process); Marketing students might idenfity a specific Marketing issue (e.g. the company does not have digital marketing channels; etc.); Management students might identify a specific Management issue (e.g. there are specific product or process problems; logistics or maintenance issues; international expansion planning; etc.); MPA students might identify a specific Accounting issue (e.g. the company is not using contemporary accounting software; etc.). Alternatively, in the absence of an identifiable specific issue, you might propose to conduct a holistic review of your company's approach to HRM/Marketing/Management/Accounting in general. The proposal must not mirror or replicate an assignment in one of the units you have previously studied and it needs to be specific to your host company. The Project Proposal component should contain the following contents:

• A brief outline of your major cognate discipline, i.e. HRM, Marketing, Management, or Accounting;
• Details of what you propose to investigate, i.e. either a specific issue or a general analysis of the company's approach to HRM, Marketing, Management, or Accounting - this needs to include justification of how and why this would be relevant/important to the host company;
• The proposed underlying academic theory/literature to be used to inform the project (this should involve a minimum of 10 high-quality, peer-reviewed academic references);
• A time plan for completion of the project; and
• An indication of the information you will have to gather from the organisation to complete the project (this should include appreciation of potential ethical and access issues, depending on what kind of information you may need to gather).

The purpose of the Project Proposal component is to integrate the academic content of your course into a practical problem/issue in your host company and "sell” it to your supervisors/advisors (both in the company and in the University). As such, the proposal should convince both audiences of the importance and relevance of the project, while also assuring them that you can successfully complete the project with suitable outcomes and within the given timeframe. This proposal should have a focus on an issue of some strategic value/importance to your host organisation aligned to your major field of study. The specific project will depend on your cognate discipline and the nature of your work placement - please be sure to discuss your ideas with your University tutor as soon as possible and before choosing a project topic. On-campus workshops and consultations will give you the opportunity to discuss ideas and progress throughout the term.

As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice", and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”. Each unit in your Masters program has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, demonstrate an ability to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level unit, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit.

You should ensure that you understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if you merely meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research. Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment. Your assignment will be marked on the following criteria; detailed marking rubrics are available in Moodle:

• Overview of host company, including basic structural characteristic (background/history; mission/purpose; age; size; levels of formalisation and decision making; organisational chart and structure; decision making; external environment) - 35%
• Overview and justification of proposed cognate project, including relevant theory/literature background - 25%
• Time plan and appreciation of required information to complete the project - 10%
• Quality and appropriateness of references, and accuracy of referencing - 20%
• Professional written communication - 10%

Late submission and academic misconduct penalties will be applied in accordance with the university policies.

Assessment 2 is an individual, written assessment, in the form of a professional report. The required length for this report is 4,000 words (+/- 10%), excluding preliminaries, diagrams, tables, appendices, and reference list. You must use common font (e.g. Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.) with font size 11 or 12, as well as appropriate margins and spacing. Preliminaries include: title page; executive summary; table of contents with numbered, hierarchical headings; and any other optional elements (e.g. table of figures, etc.) you wish to include to make your report more professional. There are two components of assessment 2:

• Building on the description of the Organisational Overview from assessment 1, you are required to complete a comprehensive analysis of your host company's organisational structure using Mintzberg's (1980; 1981) configuration model (this requires you to identify, amongst others: the key part of the organisation, the prime coordinating mechanism, the extent of horizontal and vertical differentiation, the extent of formalisation and centralisation, etc.). Using a robust literature framework, you are required to use updated and expanded examples from assessment 1 to illustrate these structural design parameters and conclude the type of structure that the organisation currently uses.
• Building on the description of the external environment from assessment 1, you are required to determine and classify the type of environment that your host company is facing, the level of uncertainty, the level of change and the extent of competition. Key literature including Daft (2019) and Emery and Trist (1965) are to be used as the basis for environmental classification.
• You are also required to apply one of the organisational lifecycle models discussed during the workshops (e.g. Greiner, 1997; Quinn and Cameron, 1983; or Miller and Friesen, 1984; etc.) to your host company: to achieve this, you are required to establish at what stage the organisation is, what crisis normally confronts organisations at this point in the lifecycle, and whether such a crisis is present in your host company.
• Given your analysis of these organisational parameters and environmental conditions, you are then to conclude whether the host company is using the correct structure, and to provide suitable recommendations to the host company.

2. Analysis of proposed cognate project: This assessment builds on the cognate Project Proposal of assessment 1 and a minimum of 10 scholarly, peer-reviewed references are required.

In order to complete this component, you are required to complete the analysis of the specific cognate issue (or holistic review of the host company's overall approach to your cognate discipline) that you had identified and proposed in assessment 1. You are required to use specific literature to identify at least two areas that could be improved to increase organisational effectiveness. The recommendations need to be supported with better practice examples, i.e. what other companies are doing, and scholarly, peer-reviewed literature.

As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice", and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”. Each unit in your Masters program has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, demonstrate an ability to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level unit, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit.

You should ensure that you understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if you merely meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research. Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment. Your assignment will be marked on the following criteria; detailed marking rubrics are available in Moodle:

• Accurate analysis of host company structure, environment, and lifecycle/crisis, using correct frameworks to establish level of fit - 30%
• Accurate analysis of cognate issue/area using robust literature and clear examples from the host organisation - 30%
• Presentation of a minimum of 1 recommendation resulting from organisational analysis AND a minimum of 2 recommendations resulting from the cognate analysis, using best practice and literature to address areas for improvement - 20%
• Quality and appropriateness of references, and accuracy of referencing - 10%
• Professional written communication - 10%

Late submission and academic misconduct penalties will be applied in accordance with the university policies.

There are three components to assessment 3:

1. A reflective essay on your learning from the internship
2. A formal presentation of your internship experience and learning, including a one-slide poster
3. Progress reports from your host company and Australian Internships (AI)
   

1. A reflective essay on your learning from the internship (50% of assessment 3): This is an individual, written assessment, in the form of an essay. The required length for this essay is 1,500-1,800 words, excluding title page, diagrams, tables, appendices, and reference list. You must use common font (e.g. Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.) with font size 11 or 12, as well as appropriate margins and spacing. Tables and diagrams are optional and should only be used if relevant and clearly referred to in the body of the essay. A professional title page should be provided, but executive summary, table of contents, and structured headings are not required.

In this essay, you are required to outline, in your own words, your personal learning and professional development from the internship. You are expected to describe between one and three key incidents you experienced during your internship that directly relate to the themes and content you studied during your Masters course. You should reflect on these incidents and how they illustrate effective or ineffective practice. You should endeavour to directly identify content from units, including models, processes or examples of better practice as part of the reflection. You then need to explain how you will use the experience in the future as a manager, leader or organisational member.

Referencing is not required but can be used if you wish (this may help you make clearer links to concepts). Please ensure you know what is required in a reflective essay (see resources on the Moodle site and discussed in your on-campus workshops).

2. A formal presentation of your internship experience and learning, including a one-slide poster (25% of assessment 3): This is an individual, oral presentation, with supporting PowerPoint slides. You are required to present the main contents of your reflective essay in the form of a formal presentation. Please also include a brief overview of your host company and a quick summary of your key tasks and roles throughout the internship period. The majority of the presentation should be dedicated to the key incidents that you also reflect on in your essay. It is important that you do more than merely describe what happened - instead, the most important aspects of the presentation are your insights regarding the internship and how the experience allowed you to apply learnings from your major field of study. You should conclude your presentation with a clear statement of how you will use the experience/learning in your future career. Referencing is not required but can be used if you wish (this may help you make clearer links to concepts).

As part of the presentation, you must include a "poster slide" (one slide of their PowerPoint presentation), which is a stand-alone and visually appealing slide that includes at least the following:

• A photo/picture of you in your internship role;

• An explanation of your background and what you have been doing on the internship placement; and
  

• At least four bullet points outlining the best things about the internship, including how it contributed to your career development.

In your presentation, you do not need to present the poster as a slide (it can be the last slide of your PowerPoint file).

Presentations are timtabled for Friday of exam week (please check your timetable) and any feedback given could still be incorporated into your essay before submission. Please note that presentations will be face-to-face on-campus unless unforeseen circumstances require alternative arrangements. Should this be the case, please refer to communications from your teaching team throughout the term. The length of the presentation may vary depending on student numbers, but it will most likely be 10-15 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of feedback and Q&A. You should use a maximum of 10-15 slides (including the poster slide) - these need to be submitted alongside the essay. Please note that other students and academics may be invited to watch the presentations.

3. Progress reports from your host company and Australian Internships (AI) (25% of assessment 3): 10% of the unit marks derive from progress reports that your tutor receives from your host and internship company throughout the term, based on your level of commitment, professionalism and contribution during the internship. You do not have to submit anything for this component.

As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice", and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”. Each unit in your Masters program has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, demonstrate an ability to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level unit, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit.

You should ensure that you understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if you merely meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research. Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment. Your assignment will be marked on the following criteria; detailed marking rubrics are available in Moodle:

• Essay: Demonstration of reflective writing through inclusion of description, interpretation, and evaluation in appropriate proportions - 20%
  
• Essay: Demonstration of candid and critical reflection on specific key incidents directly linked to effectiveness of practice and learning from Masters course - 20%
• Essay: Clear conclusion demonstrating application of learning to future career - 10%
• Presentation: Clear overview of internship, and presentation of key incidents and key learning - 10%
  
• Presentation: Professional presentation delivery - 10%
  
• Presentation: Visually appealing, stand-alone poster with all required components - 5%
• Progress reports - 25%
  

Late submission and academic misconduct penalties will be applied in accordance with the university policies.