Community Management and Organisations
Assignment 3: Additional Information Sheet with Questions and Answers
This document is to provide summary and additional information on the third assignment for Community Management and Organisations. It is designed to complement the information provided in the Learning Guide. Students should also refer to the Learning Guide for more detailed information.
Assignment 3: REPORT
Format:
Report.
A standard structure for a report would include:
- A brief introduction to the organisation and the approach used in the comparative analysis;
- A table or list that compares a number of the key features and/or attributes of the community organisations;
- An analysis that compares and contrasts the two organisations; (iv) A brief conclusion.
You may choose a reporting format that suits your style of reporting. Please refer to the ACOSS and Deloittes reports on the community sector in Lecture 2 for some examples.
Length: 1,200 words (Leeway on the world limit: Plus or minus 10%)
Weight: 50% of total mark
Aim: The aim of this assignment is for you to research and explore the ways in which the concepts of community management covered in this unit are applied in the practices of community organisations.
Instructions:
Research and outline the activities and practices of two (2) existing community organisations, and prepare a report that outlines the key issues to their operation including:
- What is the community that they aim to serve?
- How and why did they come to be established?
- How do they describe their purpose?
- What activities do they undertake?
- How is the governance and management organised to reflect their service to community?
- How do they resource their activities?
- What are the important issues that these organisations need to address for their future sustainability?
References:
You are still expected to use appropriate referencing, with in text citations when you are relying on resources to support claims that you make in your analysis.
It is expected that you will reference the websites two organisations that you choose to report on.
In addition, you may draw in additional resources from the course materials, academic journals, or industry reports to support your analysis.
Take care with the references that you use ensuring that they are suitable for an academic paper. Do not using on-line encyclopaedias as a reference as they may be an unreliable source of information for academic purposes.
What community organisations can I report on?
You have flexibility, so long as they meet the criteria of being a community organisation.
A number of community organisations have been referred to during the lectures. These examples may give you a sense of the type of organisation that you can choose to research and report on.
Can I use community organisations referred to as examples during the lectures?
You may choose to report on one of the community organisations referred to during the lectures, with one exception (see below), although you are encouraged to look for others.
HOWEVER: The assessment asks you to undertake independent critical thinking. If you merely paraphrase from the lectures using the same examples, you will not demonstrate this attribute and will be marked accordingly.
The exception is First Peoples Disability Network who have been referred to consistently as a case example to highlight important concepts and points. Due to the level of commentary on this community organisation that has been provided during the lectures, do not select the First Peoples Disability Network as one of your community organisations you report on in your assessment.
Must the organisation be a community organisation?
Yes. You will be penalised if you report on a private sector or public sector organisation, as this is fundamental to your understanding of what a community organisation is.
How do I know whether the organisation I am researching meets the criteria as a community organisation?
This should be evident from your research, so look for their vision, mission and governance structures. There are also clues in their website address:
COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS will likely have ‘org.au’ or ‘org’ suffix on their website address
AVOID Organisations with the following suffixes in their website address: • ‘.gov’ or ‘.gov.au’ : These are Government organisations
- ‘.edu’ or ‘.edu.au’ : These are educational institutions.
- ‘.com’ or ‘com.au’: These are private sector enterprises
Must the organisation be in Australia or can it be international?
You can research organisations in Australia or international, or one of each.
Note that this assignment involves some comparative analysis between the two community organisations, so consider this when selecting your organisations. To make a comparative analysis between the two community organisations manageable for you, you may consider selecting the organisation that operate within the same sector (for example, two disability organisations); or have a similar type or characteristic (for example, two Indigenous community organisations).
Marking Criteria:
Research: (Weighting 15 marks)
- Demonstrates a capacity to research, analyse and present materials on the practices of community organisations.
Application of key concepts: (Weighting 15 marks)
- Demonstrates a capacity to relate the practices of community organisations to relevant concepts of community organisational management.
Critical analysis: (Weighting: 10 marks)
- Demonstrates an ability to identity the key issues affecting the management of community organisations and their sustainability.
Expression: (Weighting: 10 marks)
- Can express ideas clearly and coherently in written form, using a consistent style of writing and referencing.
Can I send my tutor a draft of my essay to review prior to submission?
- You can ask questions of your tutor or the unit coordinator, but unfortunately, they will not be able to review of draft of your assignment before you submit it.
How do I seek an extension?
You may find you need to seek an extension if you are finding it difficult to meet an assignment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. In most cases it isn’t a problem – the teaching team is trying to help people get through. It is important to ask yourself here first however: “Will this help me or am I putting off a problem?”
If you think an extension you will need to fill in a Request for Extension form and email this directly to the Unit Coordinator, Dr Scott Avery.
- Please remember that you need to provide some evidence as to why you need the extension and that you will still need to apply even if you already have an Academic Integration Plan (AIP).
- You must abide by the conditions surrounding an ‘Extension’ and/or ‘Special Consideration’. This includes having to continue to work on your submission (as much as is possible) whilst you are awaiting your response.