MGT 6500 Managing Organizations and People

ASSIGNMENT
Presentation and Facilitation

DUE DATE
You will be assigned to lead one class session.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This assignment assesses the extent to which you have become proficient at the following:
Critically examine organization theory and practice.
Work collaboratively with team members toward accomplishment of interdependent
purposes.
Deliver a formal speech.
Lead a group discussion.

DESCRIPTION
You are assigned to lead a class session. The scheduled class session will be organized into three
segmentsa Training Forum and two Executive Seminars. During the Training Forum, two
teams will unite to deliver a 40 minute training presentation that establishes the theme for the
class session. During the two Executive Seminars, each of the two teams will respectively
assume responsibility for leading a 75 minute discussion of a case selected from course readings
by the instructor. The team in charge of the Executive Seminar will contextualize the case and
then facilitate a full-class discussion, surfacing important issues for critical examination and
debate.

CHECK LIST
Read the assigned materials for the class session. These materials will include essays at
the beginning of the Part and the Sections, the case for which you will lead a discussion,
and the case for which the other team will lead a discussion.
Take notes (and make notes) as you read the essays and cases. Look for questions,
problems, and issues that would stimulate interest in a discussion.

 Collaborate with the other team with which you will unite to conduct the Training Forum.
Contemplate the class sessions theme and the contents of the essays and cases. Be sure to
refer to your notes. Consider questions such as: What is the meaning of this textbook
module? What management concepts, theories, models, or tools are related to this
theme? How can these concepts, theories, models, or tools be applied to the cases? What
relevance do these essays and cases have to your study and practice of management?
How is this module relevant to you and other class members?
Prepare to deliver the Training Forum. Prepare a written presentation Plan that contains
1) a 100-word abstract of the presentations theme; 2) an itemized list of objectives that
the presentation is designed to accomplish; and 3) an annotated outline of the
presentation with a time frame for each segment of the presentation. In addition to the
facilitation plan, you should prepare a deck of PowerPoint slides to be used during the
presentation.
Prepare to facilitate the Executive Seminar focusing on the case your team has been
assigned by the instructor. Prepare a written facilitation plan that contains 1) the learning
objectives of the Executive Seminar and 2) questions for stimulating the case discussion.
Submit to the instructor the Presentation Plan with the PowerPoint slides to be used
during the Training Forum as well as the Facilitation Plan for the Executive Seminar.
In collaboration with your partner-team, Deliver the Training Forum during the
scheduled class session. The Forum should be designed for 40 minutes.
Facilitate the Executive Seminar during the scheduled class session. The Seminar should
be designed for 75 minutes.

GUIDELINES

Preparation: Design the Training Forum. Then, write a Presentation Plan as described
above. Further, design the Executive Seminar. Then, write a Facilitation Plan as
described above.
Content: The content of the Training Forum must be more than a summary or reading of
the essays contents. The content of the Training Forum should expand and extend the
understanding of class members. The content of the Executive Seminar is an
amalgamation of the thoughts and questions you use to frame the discussion as well as
the thoughts of class members. The executive Seminar should stimulate a discussion that
produces novel content and insights relative to the theory and behavior of organizations.
Delivery: The Training Forum requires delivery of a formal presentation; whereas, the
Executive Seminar requires facilitation of a probing discussion. While a formal
presentation denotes the dissemination of information, the distinguishing characteristic of
a Seminar is that you are facilitating a discussion rather than delivering a presentation.
Facilitation means that you are leading a discussion that motivates the involvement of
class members. Facilitation, though, is more than a conversation. Facilitation requires a
structured approach to soliciting involvement through raising perplexing topics, asking
questions, and encouraging discussion among all members that leads to novel insights.

The most effective discussions are those in which the facilitator is not at the center of the
dialogue but rather when the discussion is distributed among all members. Your conduct
and appearance should exude professionalism.

EVALUATION CRITERIA
Deficient
No presentation
plan
No facilitation
plan

Developing
Partially
complete
presentation plan
Partially
complete
facilitation plan

Content

Inadequate
presentation
theme and
coverage
Inadequate
facilitation of
case discussion

Adequate
presentation
theme and
coverage
Adequate
facilitation of
case discussion

Delivery

Presentation:
incoherent
Facilitation:
delivered as a
presentation or
conversation with
limited structure

Presentation:
organized, but
not interesting
Facilitation:
delivered
through a
structured
presentation with
limited
involvement of
class members

Preparation

Accomplished
Complete
presentation plan;
description,
objectives, agenda,
and slides of
acceptable quality
Complete
facilitation plan;
objectives and
questions of
acceptable quality
Effective framing
of presentation
theme
Effective framing
of case discussion

Presentation:
organized and
interesting
Facilitation:
delivered through
structured
facilitation;
Discussion
directed at
facilitator; most
members involved

Mastery
Complete
presentation plan;
description,
objectives, agenda,
and slides of
exceptional quality
Complete
facilitation plan;
objectives and
questions of
exceptional quality
Effective framing
and insightful
examination of
presentation theme
Effective framing
and insightful
examination of
case discussion
Presentation:
organized and
engaging
Facilitation:
delivered through
structured
facilitation;
Distributed
discussion; all
members involved