Managing Organizations
Discipline: Management
Type of service: Essay
Spacing: Double spacing
Paper format: APA
Number of pages: 9 pages
Number of sources: 18 sources
Paper details:
How does the subversive respond?
The 1980s saw profound change within organisations and how they are managed. These changes took place around the World, and are still impacting upon your life today – the most obvious way being tertiary tuition fees. What you may not know is that these global changes were instigated here in New Zealand. Our beautiful country is still seen as the global laboratory for many economic and social changes.
As an introduction to the topic, you will need to watch some documentaries which provide a good insight into the changes of the 1980s. I suspect that what you will see – and subsequently read about – may well make your hair curl! Your parents and grandparents who lived through the implementation of the changes will be a very useful resource as you do this assignment.
Considering the structural and cultural changes taking place in Aotearoa New Zealand in the last decades, you are required to write a 2500 word essay which critiques the impact of these changes over organisations and the workforce.
It is important to remember that there is no right/wrong answer to this question. What is important is the way in which you support your arguments with evidence.
For this assessment, we will watch one of the following documentaries and discuss its relevance in class. Feel free to watch them in advance. There will be also additional readings available on Stream to support your arguments in the essay.
Someone Else’s Country – this can be found here: https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/someone-elses-country-1996
Revolution – this can be found here: https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/revolution-1996/series
In Land of Plenty – this can be found here https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/in-a-land-of-plenty-2002
Format: Essay
Length: 2500 words maximum (plus minus 10% – excluding references)
Worth: 50%
Much (this is probably an understatement!) has been written about the reforms. The definitive book was written by Jonathan Boston and his colleagues at VUW. This is the reference:
Boston, J.; Martin, J.; Pallot, J. and Walsh, P. 1996. Public management. The New Zealand model. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
A very sympathetic account of the changes is offered by Graham Scott. As the Secretary to the Treasury in the mid 1980s, Scott was one of the architects of the changes. His account can be found here:
Scott, G. 2001. Public sector management in New Zealand: Lessons and challenges. Canberra: ANU.
Both Jane Kelsey and Brian Easton have written extensively on the changes are both critical. Probably Kelsey’s best (and most thorough) account is in this book:
Kelsey, J. 1995. The New Zealand Experiment: A World Model for Structural Adjustment? Auckland: Auckland University Press.