Contemporary Issues and Challenges in Management Practice and Theory

There are two parts to the assignment. The first part asks you to consider the role of the manager as a professional and the place of theory for practising managers.

Taking argument(s) from part 1 of your answer you should demonstrate how the professional manager might address a particular organisational problem of your choice that is relevant to your own organisation.

Part One

Critically analyse the role of the manager as professional with particular reference to managerial activities and the place of management theory in desirable management practice. (3000 words)

Part Two

Considering theoretical perspectives on change and the manager as professional, critically analyse a particular problem or issue from your own organisational and managerial context in light of your study to date. How, therefore, might you approach the problem or issue? (3000 words)

You must demonstrate inter alia the desirability (or otherwise) of the recognition of management as a profession, whether particular managerial change ?toolkits? might help, the role of management theory and anything else you deem particularly relevant to your chosen problem or issue.

Your work will be evaluated against the learning outcomes listed in the module specification:
1 Critically review a range of the accepted practices of
management and their underpinning rationales.

2 Critically review some of the more established theories and
debates within management literature.

3 Identify and review some of the complex and uncertain contexts
within which senior managers operate;

4 Evaluate change agents and their appropriateness for various
present and future business and management challenges;

5 Explore and assess various scenarios for developing future
business relationships;

6 Critically consider the concepts of organisational change and
change agency.