Assessment iii: Presentation and Written Assessment
: Critical Thinking and Managerial Decision Making
This assessment item accounts for 30% of your final grade for this unit and must be
completed by students as a group. This assessment consists of two parts:
(1). An argumentative essay (15%);
(2). An in-class presentation (15%).
Due: For on-campus students, the presentation component of the assessment is due in
workshops in week 11-12 (specific dates will be announced once the group is finalized). For
distance students, during the arranged Zoom session.
The group essay is due on Moodle in week 12, 5.00 PM on Monday, 1st. October 2018 AEST
Task: The argumentative essay must be 1500 words (+/-10%) in length. Format and layout in
professional manner ( i.e. 1.5 spacing, 12-size font, Times New Roman). Assessment cover
page included, within the word count. The presentation is 10 minutes long.
Cover page: The essay must include a cover page that contains student names, student
numbers, resident campus, assessment title, and lecturer.
Minimum number of peer-reviewed journal articles to pass: 10 in APA style
Task Description: The objective of this assignment is to build students’ abilities to structure
arguments based on evidence and structured reasoning, including identify consensus
methods for identifying coherent group arguments.
As a group, you are expected to choose any one of the following debating topics.
o Innovation is more successful in small companies.
o Technological change creates economic disparity.
o Corporate Mission and vision statements are a waste of time and energy.
o Boards of Directors need quotas for women.
o Women employees should put their focus on their families rather than their career development after marriage.
o Employees should not be given a voice at workplace because it generates problems for the management
o Education kills creativity
o Emotional intelligence is more important than technical capabilities in a manager
o Regulation is stifling business
School of Business and Law CQUniversity Australia CRICOS Provider Code: 02219C
Page 2 out of 2
o MBAs are a waste of money
o Ethics and business are not compatible
o People who are smokers should not be employed
o People who are working in the same company should not have romantic relationships with each other
o CEOs deserve the big salary package that they get
o Globalization has exacerbated poverty rather than alleviating it.
You will then need to identify what would be a good response from both sides. That is, you
need to simulate what would be good arguments that the affirmative and the negative teams
are likely to provide on the basis of extensive research using a minimum of 10 peer reviewed
academic journal articles as references. You will need to organize your arguments into an
argumentative essay. Then you will need to put on a presentation/debate/show in class
illustrating the entire arguments featuring both sides.
Students are to be assigned into groups of ideally 3 people, one assumes the role of the
moderator/ mediator/chair, one argues the affirmative and the other, negative side (If the
size of the class is not the multiple of 3, we will allow 2-people group or 4 people group). Each
speaker is expected to speak for 3-5 minutes. Be innovative, entertaining and insightful in
your mode of delivery, here is a link that might inspire you as a team:
Clearly, you need to do a lot of research, formulate your arguments, and remember them by
heart before you go on stage to put on an educational show. Essentially, the process most
definitely tests your ability to look at a contentious issue, evaluate both sides of the argument
and present them in a persuasive manner.
