Your focus in this subject has been on new trends impacting global business. For instance:

1. Organisations are experimenting with radical workplace arrangements such as, amongst others, hot-desking, working from home, corridor meetings standing-up etc. What is the motivation for these developments and are they succeeding?
2. Assessing worker performance and productivity is a challenge for managers. What methods are commonly used and what evidence is there of the success of these methods?
3. Is the ability of individuals to work in a team important and how is collaboration encouraged. Or is privacy an issue that precludes collaboration?
4. Managers continually are required to make decisions – to make the ‘right’ decisions. But decision making is affected by biases.  Discuss some of the common biases in decision making and how they might be overcome.
5. What are the key factors in successful leadership?
6. What examples of the execution of successful businesses strategies can you find in your research?
7. Is the ‘freedom to fail’ essential to encourage business innovation? [Cite some examples of entrepreneurs successful now but who failed, even going bankrupt prior to their success]. Can experimentation help?
8. ‘Digital disruption’ has launched a number of successful innovations. Research examples and identify the role of digital disruption?
9. Some commenters foresee major impacts of information technology still to come in the workplace.

You will conduct this assessment as a group effort (size 3 or 4 persons). Your tutor will ensure all students are allocated to a group

1. Choose one of the questions (a to i above). You might also frame your own question provided it is acceptable to your tutor.
2. You will research the question you have chosen (using Proquest) collecting learned opinion on that question.  You may also use any material that any of your group members might have found in their Literature Review (first assignment).This is a research assignment; we are NOT interested in your opinion, we want you to research scholarly articles and find learned opinion on the question you have selected.  Do not be surprised if learned opinion makers differ amongst themselves.  Your job is to collect a range of learned opinion on the question you have chosen.
3. Your group will prepare a written research paper outlining the various learned opinions (and their sources) that you have discovered. It is essential that all your sources are from scholarly academic publications. If there is any doubt please consult your tutor to ensure Academic Integrity.
4. Prepare a presentation of your findings in regard to your chosen question in the style of a 15 minute briefing to your manager.

Be prepared, at the end of your presentation, to respond to the question “Where do you think this is going?”  In other words, at this stage only, you will be asked where you think the trend in leading.