Spring 2020 1

Autoethnography Due Date

Monday, 21st September, 2020 9:00am (Week 8)

From the Subject Outline:

Task Weighting Information

Research Project (Individual and

Group) 60%

The core assessment task in this subject is a research project analysing your own experiences with work, organisations and society. There are both collaborative and individual components to this task:

1. Working in groups of 3–4, you will decide on a common theme for your project and prepare individual vignettes relating to this theme. You will collaborate on a collective analysis of your experiences to be presented as a group (20mins), recorded and emailed to the tutor in your assigned week between Weeks 8–11.

2. You will write an individual analysis of 1,500 words about the vignette you presented as a group and submit this to Canvas at the start of Week 8.

After forming groups in the Week 2 tutorial, at least 40mins will be allocated in the tutorials of Weeks 3–6 to group work on this assessment task. The lecturer will remain available during this time to advise the progress of your autoethnographic project and answer any and all questions relating to this task.

Timeline

Week Activities

2

In the lecture, there will be an overview of autoethnography and how this methodology can be utilised to analyse your own experiences of management and organisations. Throughout the teaching session, several of the set readings adopt an autoethnographic approach to showcase the forms of interpretation and writing this approach can take. In the tutorial, you will randomly form groups of 3–4 and have the opportunity to discuss a theme for your collaborative autoethnographic analysis. Goal: Before next week’s tutorial, you should ideally have decided on the theme for your collaborative autoethnographic project. The theme can be anything relating to work, management and societies either from the topics of this subject or anything else. It’s a way to tie all the group members’ autoethnographies together in a common and coherent way.

3–6

Across these four tutorials, approx. half the time will be made available to work in groups on your autoethnographies under the guidance of the tutor. Goal: Discuss your proposed theme with your tutor in Week 3’s tutorial and make any adjustments necessary. Draft a plan for your joint presentation and ideally, work together to draft your plans for your written analyses too. By Week 6’s tutorial, you should each have completed a first full draft of your written analyses and the draft presentation slides that you can discuss with your tutor.

Spring 2020 2

7

Along with the mid-session break, there will be two weeks without face-to-face lectures and tutorials to finalise work on your autoethnographic project. Goal: Edit and proofread your written analyses and submit it to Canvas 2–3 days before the deadline. Review the Turnitin report and make revisions if necessary and resubmit before the deadline.

8 At the start of the week, the 1,500-word individual written analysis is due to be submitted on Canvas via Turnitin. No hard copy submission is necessary and please do not email your assignment to the lecturer.

8–11

Across these four weeks, three groups will present in each tutorial for 20 minutes on their autoethnographies. Groups will receive a joint mark for the first four items of the marking criteria worth 50% (see p. 5) and an individual mark for the written component worth 50%. Goal: Continue to complete the weekly pre-tutorial preparation and attend all presentations.

12 There will be no face-to-face tutorial scheduled in this week, however, the classroom will remain available in the case of any unforeseen interruptions in the previous four weeks.

Remote Learning Arrangements Special arrangements will be made for remote learning in Spring 2020:

• Tutor will allocate groups in Week 3 and notify group members via email. If you have classmates you know you would like to form a group with, please email the tutor with a list including student numbers and full names before the end of Week 2.

• In the same email, your tutor will allocate you to a presentation week between Weeks 8–11. Your group presentation will be due on the Thursday of that week at 11:59pm.

• How you choose to record your presentation is completely up to you. Most students record a Zoom meeting, but you may also record voiceovers to a PowerPoint file or create a video any other way (e.g., Powtoon). You will not be assessed on your technical capabilities but the content of your presentation. Use the platform that is easiest and most accessible to your group. On the Thursday of your assigned week, upload or link to your file in the submissions folder on Canvas.

Spring 2020 3

Suggested Structures For the collaborative presentation, this is an approximate guide for how to structure your content:

Item Approx. Length Details

Introduction 1min Introduce the members of the group and provide a succinct introduction to your collaborative autoethnographic analysis, in particular, tell the audience what your theme is.

Vignette 1 3mins Each of the members recount a vivid, evocative and emotionally honest account of their own lived experiences. This could be a vignette that its author reads for the audience. Or maybe it’s a theatrical scene in which the other group members could play characters. You may use any form that helps you best tell your story. You should discuss your proposed approach with your group members as well as the tutor.

Vignette 2 3mins

Vignette 3 3mins

Vignette 4 3mins An additional time allowance will be available for larger groups.

Overview of relevant theories to be applied

2mins Lay the groundwork to analyse your lived experiences by providing a succinct overview of the theories from this subject that you will apply. In presenting this overview, do not simply repeat the lectures or read straight from the articles. Use your own words to articulate what those theories mean to you and why your group has selected these specific theories to use.

Joint analysis of experiences

7mins Applying the theories you just introduced, critically analyse your experiences. What are the similarities and differences with your experiences or how do your experiences provide insight into different dimensions of a common organisational phenomenon?

Concluding remarks

1min Summarise the key argument/s of your collaborative analysis and close your presentation with a strong finale.

Spring 2020 4

The written submission may follow this example:

Item Approx. Length Details

Opening vignette

300 words Open with a vivid, evocative and emotionally honest vignette of your lived experiences (see Learmonth and Humphreys, 2016). A traditional essay introduction is not necessary for this assessment task.

Overview of relevant theories to be applied

300 words Lay the groundwork to analyse your lived experiences by providing a succinct overview of the theories from this subject that you will apply. Do not simply copy the words from the relevant lectures or articles, but instead, use your own words about what those theories mean to you. In particular, explain to the reader why you have selected these specific theories to use.

Analysis of lived experience

700 words Applying the theories you introduced earlier, critically analyse your experiences. Why did things happen in that way? Why did you react or respond in the ways that you did? There will be an infinite number of possibilities for how to analyse your experiences and the choice of which path to take will ultimately depend on what feels most meaningful to you. You should discuss your proposed approach with your group members as well as the tutor.

Concluding remarks

200 words Summarise the key arguments of your autoethnographic analysis. You may wish to include a couple of lines or so to reflect on what this overall experience means to you.

Extensions Requests for extensions up to one week should be made in writing to the Subject Coordinator at least two (2) days before the due date and will only be granted in cases of prolonged illness, misadventure or other circumstances beyond the student’s control. Late assignments without an approved extension will be penalised 10 per cent of marks per day up to five (5) days, after which the assignment will receive a mark of zero (0).

Spring 2020 5

Marking Criteria

Weighting Below Expectations Meeting

Expectations Exceeding

Expectations

Reference to and use of relevant theories

15% Little to no engagement with subject content. Use of introductory mainstream HRM theories irrelevant to the subject.

Demonstrated solid engagement with and understanding of subject content with minor knowledge gaps. Limited original research.

Demonstrated strong engagement with and understanding of subject content. Application of relevant theories to analyse lived experiences, extended with original research.

Depth of critical analysis

20% Descriptive summary of unoriginal ideas and/or lack of critical analysis. Reductionistic interpretations that fail to think beyond individualist and functionalist approaches to management and organisations.

Solid attempts at critical analysis and application of a sociological perspective.

Incisive analysis of systemic power from a sociological perspective.

Engagement with ethical principles

15% Poor understanding of ethical principles and their relevance to management and organisations.

Solid understanding of ethical principles and their relevance to management and organisations. Limited support with relevant theories.

Advanced understanding of ethical principles and their relevance to management and organisations. Arguments are compellingly supported with relevant theories.

Vivid and evocative written analysis

50% Vague, superficial and/or implausible account of lived experiences. Poor structure, more descriptive than analytical.

Vivid account of lived experiences. Clear and logical structure. Solid attempt at critical analysis.

Vivid, evocative and emotionally honest account of lived experiences. Clear and logical structure. Incisive and compelling critical analysis.

Note that the first three criteria refer to the group presentation. All group members will receive the same mark for that component of the assessment. The last criterion refers to the individual written component. Group members will each receive an individual mark.