Assessment 2: Essay: It asks students to critically assess challenges inherent in reward management. These challenges which include the financial crisis, the international outsourcing of jobs andthe emergence of a service economy, have forced organisations to look at their asset bases, including reward management much more carefully. The literature is filled with debates of how organisations should effectively manage reward management in order to achieve optimal organisation performance. Some authors see the reward strategy management in very direct terms; other authors see the management as more complex. Human Resource Management including reward management may facilitate strategic options and outcomes for the organization. However, effective reward management require a knowledge of current theory and specific practices. These challenges are complex ones and encompass how practitioners, organisations and scholars manage the effectiveness of particular practices and approaches. Our interest lies with reward management. The reward management literature is becoming increasingly reflective. There is an emerging critique concerning contemporary reward management. The assessment requires that you read the literature carefully but that you critically appraise the different viewpoints you encounter. We will establish a work program for Sessions 7 for students to consult with the Unit Coordinator about the progress in their readings and their development work in preparing for the essay. This will be through the supply of a one week outline as per a template that will be made available on vUWS. Details Through discussion and analysis students are required to identify the key elements of a reward management strategy in a given organisation. Students are able to identify the scale of organisation, the industry and national context. The discussion should identify the ways in which the selected strategy addresses the complexity of reward management as it pertains to the organisation (employer), individual (worker) and society. It is anticipated that the discussion will assess the issues that are prevalent in the literature discussed in Weeks 5 and 6. For example, your discussion may reflect on, and address the weaknesses in reward strategy identified by Cox, Brown and Reilly (2010). Equally you may address the implications for reward management raised by Armstrong, Brown and Reilly (2011) in their discussion of the need for evidence-based approaches. Students should utilise a minimum of 10 references. The readings identified for Session 5 are a good starting point. Students are not confined to the references listed in this learning guide and are encouraged to identify their own material.