BE486 Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management Coursework 1: Individual Essay Session 2025/26

BE486 OB and HRM

ASSESSED COURSEWORK (50% of module assessment)

Module Code: BE486

Module Title: Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management

Coursework 1: Individual essay (2300-2500 words, 50% of the module mark)

Deadline: 17th November 2025

Instructions to students

Write an essay in which you discuss the topic of identity in the workplace. As part of your discussion, reflect on the role that organisational control and performance management may play in relation to identity at work.

Developing your essay

In developing your essay, you should:

-Provide evidence of engagement with recommended literature and knowledge from this module.

-Show the ability to use relevant theories and concepts to critically analyse the statement.

-Apply module readings and conduct additional independent research in the academic databases and from authoritative sources.

Presenting your essay

-A minimum of 10 academic references should be included. In addition to referencing core module content, independent research in the relevant academic databases is strongly encouraged.

-Harvard referencing should be applied. Please refer to the Moodle page for more guidance on referencing or seek assistance from the library or EBS learning team.

-The reference list is not included in the word count.

-Please note that the 10% rule does not apply for this assignment (your essay should be in the range of 2300-2500 words).

-You should base your work on authoritative sources only. Remember that many web sources are not permissible including blogs, Wikipedia, discussion fora, and similar sites.

How your essay will be assessed

Your essay will be assessed in the following areas:

-Structure – logical development of arguments, cohesion and transition between paragraphs, theme development and sign posting.

-Knowledge and critical analysis – depth of knowledge, understanding and critical analysis/ evaluations of core OB concepts, theory, debates and issues. Engagement with competing perspectives and theories as relevant to the topic.

-Task response and academic standards – the essay should meet the task requirements, writing quality, and referencing in accordance with Harvard or APA standards.

Coursework Submission Requirements

Coursework 1 should be word-processed (only WORD format), 1.5 spaced, and written in an appropriate academic style. You should ensure that you have fully acknowledged the work of others in the body of the text by using in-text citations where appropriate. The assignment should include a full list of references at the end for all articles, books and other sources (e.g. Internet sites) that have been cited in the assignment. Coursework will be processed with plagiarism detection software (a sophisticated programme that can detect any form of plagiarism).

Assignments should be submitted electronically to FASER by 10.00am on the 17th November 2025. For details on electronic submission, see: Essex

Academic Offences Procedure

For details of the University’s Academic Offences Procedure, see: Essex Exams and coursework

It is your responsibility to make yourself aware of the Academic Offences Procedure, the regulations governing examinations, and how to correctly reference and cite the work of others.

Additional Support

EBS Learning Team

Lorcan Whitehead provides support for all students at the school. You can use this support to have a general discussion on study skills to help you with your programme, to talk through any difficulties you are experiencing or for feedback on your coursework and advice on how to improve your grades. You can make an appointment for a one-to-one tutorial. The team also runs a series of practical skills development sessions to help students with their studies. You’ll receive regular emails with details of the development sessions that are scheduled. You can contact the team on ebslearningteam@essex.ac.uk or 01206 872314. You can also find study skills resources on Moodle on the EBS Student Resources page.

University Policies:

• Please note that the University runs a zero tolerance policy with regards to coursework submission: All coursework submitted after the deadline will receive a mark of zero. The mark of zero shall stand unless the student submits satisfactory evidence of extenuating circumstances that indicate that the student was unable to submit the work prior to the deadline. Please see guidance on late submission in your Postgraduate Handbook

In submitting coursework online, it must be assumed that you have read and understood the following guidelines about academic offences. Please note that all coursework is being monitored by plagiarism detection software. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the reference database of the respective software solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.

The university regulations state that

“The University, the Students’ Union and the University’s Partner Institutions expect all students:

-to behave with honesty and integrity in relation to coursework, examinations and other assessed work;
-to be familiar and act in accordance with the conventions of academic writing including appropriate referencing of sources and acknowledgement of assistance;
-to show understanding of ethical considerations and be compliant with the relevant University Procedures.

A student who does not comply with any of these requirements (either intentionally or by negligence) may be charged with having committed an academic offence.” (Academic Offences Procedures)

“The following are some examples of academic offences and do not constitute an exhaustive list:

1. plagiarism, that is, using or copying the work of others (whether written, printed or in any other form) without proper acknowledgement in any assignment, examination or other assessed work;
2. self-plagiarism, that is, using or copying one’s own work that has previously been submitted for assessment, at the University or elsewhere, without proper acknowledgement in any assignment, examination or other assessed work, unless this is explicitly permitted;
3. false authorship, that is the submission of work for assessment that has been written wholly or in part by a third party and presented as one’s own original work;
4. collusion, that is, submitting work produced collaboratively for individual assessment, unless this is explicitly permitted and acknowledged;
5. falsifying data or evidence;
6. conducting research without obtaining ethical approval from the University where such approval is required, or the unauthorised use of information that has been confidentially acquired;
7. introducing, or attempting to introduce, any written, printed or electronically accessible information into an examination, other than material explicitly permitted in the instructions for that examination;
8. copying, or attempting to copy, the work of another candidate in an examination;
9. communicating, or attempting to communicate, with another person, other than an invigilator, during an examination.” (Academic Offences Procedures)

“A student suspected of helping another student commit an academic offence may be investigated and dealt with in accordance with the University’s Code of Student Conduct.” (Academic Offences Procedures)