Individual Essay
An essay requires the systematic investigation of a topic and the development of a written argument.
Essays assess cognitive and research skills. Essays are expected to develop coherent arguments, be
founded on thorough research, and provide insight into the topic area.
This unit is about how people and organisations behave. An important aspect of behaviour is
motivation. Each of Bolman and Deal’s four frames would tend to view employee motivation, and
particularly how it is achieved, differently.
Your Task…
Your task is to discuss how each of the four frames would suggest approaching motivating
employees. You must relate each frame’s views to theories of motivation that we have covered in
class or that you have come across in your independent literature reviews and searches. You may
focus your discussion on how motivation is conceptualised by each frame and how each frame
suggest it should be managed. You may highlight the blind spots of each frame. That is, what is the
frame missing in your view and why is it important? It is important to demonstrate understanding both
of the frames and of theories of motivation and the relationships between the two.
In establishing your views you are encouraged to discuss with your group and with class mates. You
are also encouraged to discuss the topic with your lecturer (and we will discuss it in class). In
particular you will have to read many sources (and refer to a number of them in your essay). Start
early as the assignment is a major part of the unit!
I strongly recommend getting a good understanding of the readings relating to motivation (see topics
and readings on iLearn). There are also a number of references below, some of which you are
expected to have read and referred to. In addition, searching for literature on the topic is an essential
part of this assignment. There are a number of ways of finding scholarly articles or books. The most
useful for you will be searching the library databases for books and articles
