These are instructions for a 3000 word HRM essay. Find the full essay HERE.

Introduction

Prompt – Select an organisation with which you are familiar to be the case study. This could be:

• your current employer
• a previous employer
• an organisation that you have or have had contact with, possibly through work experience or through a family member or close friend, or
• an organisation you have an interest in that has readily available information on its structure, the ways in which they manage their staff and how the company organises its HRM activities and functions.

The size and the structure of your chosen organisation is not important. All organisations employ people and, therefore, manage their ‘human resources’ in some way. What is important, however, is that you have some knowledge and understanding of the approach the company strategically manages HRM to recruit, retain and manage their staff and how they organise their HRM activities and functions. 

You will use this knowledge to produce a report in which you will critically assess existing HRM practices within the organisation, making recommendations as appropriate to those who run the business. It is strongly suggested that each task represents a sub-section of your report and that you also include a brief introduction, conclusion and recommendations.

For all tasks you should undertake a literature review, based on textbooks and published articles, to identify at least ONE (1) established model of HRM and apply this model to the organisation to support the critical assessment of their approach to managing people.

Task 1 – 20 Marks

Strategic perspectives of HRM

Critically assess the extent to which HRM is linked to organisational objectives and also how HR practices manage the relationship between employees and the organisation. Does the organisation demonstrate ethical and socially responsible principles to manage these relationships and shape their objectives?

Task 2 – 20 Marks

Recruitment and selection

Identify and critically evaluate the organisation’s approach to recruitment and selection. Evaluate the stages of recruitment the organisation undertakes, its selection methods and identify any legal aspects that should be considered.

Task 3 – 20 Marks

Employee performance and reward

Critically assess the methods used by the organisation to measure employee performance and reward strong performance.

Task 4 – 20 Marks

Learning and Development

Critically review the approach to learning and development used by the organisation.  To what extent does this support the strategic direction of the organisation?

Task 5 – 20 Marks

Workplace relations

Critically assess the employment relations practices that are available, and used within the organisation and the extent to which these contribute to employee engagement.

Guidance

Complete all the tasks in order. Consult with your tutor if you are uncertain about any aspect of the assignment.

Instructions on Assessment:

You will need to research appropriate literature and make use of both lecture and seminar input. Use examples and in particular any organisational comparisons that may be appropriate. Always reference your work using the correct conventions.

Word limits for assignments

The word count is to be declared on the front page of your assignment. The word count does not include:

Please note, in text citations [e.g. (Smith, 2011)] and direct secondary quotations [e.g. “dib-dab nonsense analysis” (Smith, 2011 p.123)] are INCLUDED in the word count.

Summarising and compressing the information in your assignment into the word limit is one of the skills that students are expected to acquire, and demonstrate as part of the assignment process.

Submission of Assessment:

·        A single word-processed document containing all reports and other documentation (i.e. explanations, output reports and page images of graphic tools etc. pertaining to all tasks).

·        The word count is 3000 words, not including the appendices.

·        The document should be properly structured with a table of contents, reference list (online and literature sources) and appendices (where necessary).

·        Produce clear and specific reasoning to justify answers.

·        Work containing viruses, or work that cannot be run directly, will result in a fail grade being awarded for this assessment.

·        The document should be All submitted via the Dropbox located on the Sunspace site not later than 23:59 hours on the due date.  

·        It is advisable to retain a copy of your assignment for you own records. 

·        Your mark and feedback will be made available to you electronically once the internal moderation process has taken place, you should note that at this stage marks are still subject to external examiner and academic board approval.

Referencing your work

In this institution the Harvard method of referencing is used.

The Harvard method of referring to publications and of arranging references uses the author’s name and the date of the publication. References are listed at the end of the text in alphabetical order by author’s name. The general format of a journal reference is shown below:

Smith, J. (1999) How to succeed! Journal of Entrepreneurs , 1(2), p. 34-56

Author’s name and initials are listed first, followed by year of publication in brackets. Then there is the title of article and the journal where article appears, which is underlined or in italics. Finally, state the volume and issue Number (in brackets) along with the pages where article can be located.

A short guide to Harvard referencing will also be available on the Sunspace site under the module assessment navigation button.

Academic Integrity and Misconduct:

Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE (a full bibliography and/or a list of references must be submitted as prescribed in the assessment brief).

Please note that this is intended to be an individual piece of work.  Action will be taken where a student is suspected of having cheated or engaged in any dishonest practice.  Students are referred to the University regulations on plagiarism and other forms of academic irregularity.  Students must not copy or collude with one another or present any information that they themselves have not generated. 

Assessment Criteria