A strong, positive organisation culture is considered important for improving performance in the workplace.  Explain what is meant by organisation culture and discuss how managers may use tools, such as social networking, to improve organisation culture.

Moffat, A. & McLean, A. (2010). Merger as conversation. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. 31 (6). 534-550

2. Explain the concept of 'workforce diversity' and suggest some problems and benefits for an organisation, brought about by having a diverse workplace.

Things to consider:

• What does peer-reviewed journal mean? 

Sometimes this is called and "academic" or "scholarly" journal.  All these descriptions mean an original journal article written by an academic or practitioner (usually based on new research) that has been submitted for publication in a journal relevant to that discipline, but is thoroughly reviewed by experts in the field, before it can be published.  It is generally the highest quality of material available in an area.  Some examples in the management field include the Leadership & Organization Development Journal and Journal of Management Studies.

• I know the author or title of an article, how do I find the article?

Start with the ECU library homepage.  In the centre is a search tool titled 'Library One'.  You can simply type in any details you know, and a range of resources will be found, including  Journal Articles and texts.  Keep refining your search until you get the sort of material you are after. (Hint: don't give up.....there are a number of layers to finally track the article).  You can also go directly to the database (in this case ProQuest or Emerald, or click on the Faculty of Business and Law, School of Management links. Re-examine the library powerpoint slides and video that were provided by the librarians.

• Should I just look for a subheading in the journal that matches what I am looking for?

No.  It is important that you scan the article - start with the abstract.  Focus more heavily on the area that pertains to your area of interest, but if you do not scan the entire article, you may miss the context in which it is written, or other important aspects, which narrows your view.

• What do those numbers at the end of a journal reference mean?

Directly after the name of the journal the number refers to 1) the volume, 2) the issue, and 3) the pages the particular article is on.

• Question 2 is broad.  How do I start finding journal articles about them?

Start with your text book.  Look up the relevant chapter and quickly read the related material so that you can understand the fundamental concepts.

Then.....reconsider the question. What are keywords, key ideas that are being examined? 

For example, the key ideas in question 1 would be: organisation culture; organiZation culture; positive culture; developing culture; social networking.

The key ideas in question 2 may be: diversity: workplace diversity; workforce diversity; advantages of diversity; managing diversity; diverse workplace.

Next step......go back to the ECU library homepage. Under Library One (all library holdings) or Databases (for just Journal Articles), click on the relevant links.  Follow prompts.  You will end up with a list of suitable material.  Remember, when searching databases, I suggested ProQuest 5000 or Emerald databases are sufficient for now.  Feel free to use others, if you wish.

When you are in a journal database, it is time to play....select the words or phrases you have determined to best describe the information you want.  Start broadly.  Some searches will end up with thousands and thousands of articles.  Then you can refine your search.  Some words will only find a few articles - then broaden your terms.