Purpose

This assessment will assist students to develop skills in analysing an issue and discussing it in terms of the relevant theory and literature. It will give students the opportunity to enhance their research, analysis, critical thinking and written communication skills; particularly in the areas of argument development and report writing.

Before starting this assessment, please read the marking criteria (at the end of this document).

Assessment Task

Throughout the term, we have discussed news stories and the HR implications arising from these stories.

For assessment 3, you will write a report as if you were a consultant to an organisation. You will write about one of the three news stories on Moodle (i.e. one on penalty rates, one on gender equality, and one on performance and rewards), identifying the problem, analyzing it in terms of the relevant theory and literature, and provide practical solutions.

You must draw on the material relating to Strategic HRM (Week 1) as well as material from 2-3 themes from Weeks 6 to Week 11 (i.e. employee relations challenges, managing diversity, performance management, learning and development, motivation and rewards, and employee turnover and retention).

You should engage in extensive research within the academic literature to develop an argument with appropriate theoretical discussion and references. You must cite at least ten (10) relevant peer reviewed journal articles. You can cite other academic references such as books, conference papers, and book chapters but these will NOT be counted as part of the 10 journal articles.

Suggested Report format Title page: It contains the name of the report, who prepared the report, for whom the report was prepared, the nature of the report, the date the report was prepared.

Executive summary (ideally be approx. 50-100 words): The executive summary is a one page (or less) statement of a report's purpose, findings and recommendations, enabling the reader to see the "big picture" without getting absorbed in technicalities.

Table of contents: List the page numbers for headings and sub headings of the report.

Introduction (approx. 200 words): The introduction consists of two or three paragraphs in which the aims, structure and methodology of the report are outlined. It states clearly the purpose or main task of the report and what the reader can expect. Please include a thesis statement that clearly mentions the main purpose of the report and your argument.

Body of report with Headings and Subheadings (approx. 1500 words): The main body of the report should be structured into logical sections by topic, using headings to organise arguments and evidence.

Conclusion (approx. 250 words): The conclusion is a brief section in which the writer analyses the significance of the report's findings and reiterates the main points of the report. These findings must derive logically from material presented in the report. A generalisation is then drawn from the specific findings of the research. New information is not included in the conclusion.

References: A Reference List is a listing of all external resources that were consulted and mentioned during research for the report, and information from which is directly referred to in the text of the report. It is strongly recommended to avoid secondary referencing in assessments. Read the references before mentioning in reference list.

APA referencing.