Component 1: Group Portfolio Brief

BIRMINGHAM CITY BUSINESS SCHOOL

POSTGRADUATE DEGREES

COURSEWORK FRONT SHEET

MODULE TITLE: Strategic Human Resource Management

1^st Attempt

January start – To be submitted online

MODULE CODE: HRM7053

MODULE LEADER:

OTHER LECTURERS:

ISSUE DATE: 24th January 2022

HAND IN DATE: 13th May 2022 (at 12 pm (Mid-day))

HAND BACK DATE: Friday 17^th June 2022

Learning Outcomes and assessment criteria specific to this :

Critically review contemporary issues, challenges, and complexities of managing organisations in a diverse and multicultural global environment and their impact on the HR function and strategic plans.

Assess the characteristics of strategic models of HRM, HR plans, policies and systems and evaluate their effectiveness and alignment to organisational goals and strategic objectives.

Critically evaluate contemporary HR and employment-related issues regarding their impact on employees. These issues can be legal, organisational frameworks and/or various cultural issues in which international organisations operate.

Prove your ability to collaborate with diverse teams to meet organisational objectives and performance goals.

Critically reflect on the skills and knowledge acquired in the module as an aspiring manager in contemporary management or HR function and on the experience you had in working with a diverse work team to complete tasks of your module.

Overview

The module presents a comprehensive and thematic overview of thinking and research evidence. It is hoped that this will enable you to understand the field and inform your practice from an HR professional perspective. This module will help develop your strategic knowledge and its link with the operational perspectives. This takes a view of the strategic human resource management across a range of organisational structures, industries and cultures from a global perspective. Students will self-manage their studies to develop their teamwork skills to enhance their management practice. The module assessment is divided into two components, one group-based and one individual, both submitted at the end of the module. The group-based coursework is weighted at 50% of the total mark. The individual component covers the remaining 50% and is consisted of an individual essay (30%) and a reflective essay (20%). The module needs the student also to do extensive reading and team working that will be set at frequent intervals.

Contacts:

Teamwork

It is envisaged that students will work in a self-informed team of 3-5 (multinational students) throughout this module. This will allow you to develop several skills that can be transferrable for use in real-life work organisations and other modules. It will also allow you to undertake the tasks that will be given throughout the module. The teamwork that you devise, whether it is presentations, interactive sessions, preparation notes, etc., will be included as evidence of your collaboration and is included in the ‘summative’ assessment at the end of the module. Each team member will have to declare what part/-s of the team project they worked on to evidence their contributions to the team and meet the Learning Outcome 4 of the module.

Assessment

Two forms of assessment will be used during the module. After the first few weeks and when you start working on your tasks as a team, you will be gaining ‘formative feedback’ every week, which will assist your . This feedback is not recorded in your student record but is to be used by you to improve your work further. This feedback will be received from your tutors and peers. The second form of feedback is a ‘summative’ assessment and will be the grade and feedback gained from the work you will submit at the end of the module.

The ‘summative assessment’ is based on a group portfolio and an individual pair of essays for this module. You will submit online on the date indicated on the first page of this document.

There will be two tasks that you will perform over the duration of the module. The team is expected to work on two presentation files (.pptx or .ppt). Students need to provide evidence that they have interacted and participated in the teamwork sessions during the module. In your multicultural teams of 3 to 5 members, you will collect and collate the evidence of your teamwork across the module. Ensure that each person in your team has a copy of the work you have created (e.g. PowerPoint slides, accompanying notes etc.). However, only the team leader should submit the work of the team. It is your responsibility as an individual to ensure this work is complete, despite the unlikely event of a team member’s inactivity. When the work is marked, each team will be assessed equally. Ensure all academic authors’ work on slides, diagrams, and are correctly referenced in the Harvard style format that we use in BCU. There is a flexible word limit for this component, but there must be a minimum of 3,000 words, including the accompanying notes underneath each slide, with an allowance of 30%. (30% allowance mean that extra 900 words, hence, not more than 3,900 words)

The group component of the assessment contributes 50% of the overall marks of the module.

There are two tasks to be completed for this assessment. Together with the supporting evidence, these tasks will constitute the group portfolio for the module. Equal marks are allocated for each task/activity together with the supporting evidence. The evidence for the portfolio will include the PowerPoint presentation slides with explanatory notes underneath each slide where appropriate, research notes/documents, other background material, etc. Both tasks are to be completed by the group, and no individual portfolios will be marked.

Task 1: – [Group Presentation with notes 25%]: – To be ready by week 8

Critically review the impact of any contemporary issues, challenges, and complexities of managing specific organisations in a diverse and multicultural global environment on their HR function and.

As the basis of your search, select two of the companies outlined in the following selective list of some of the top companies mentioned in Fortune 100 Best Companies to work for 2021.

· ICBS (China)

· KPMG (USA)

· Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) (Saudi Arabia)

· American Express (USA)

· Cisco (USA)

· Intuit (USA)

· Tata Motors (India)

· Samsung Electronics (South Korea)

· Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands)

· Mercedes Benz (Germany)

Compare their contemporary strategic HR approaches; you can identify and argue about their effect on the HR function as a whole and the organisation’s strategic plans.

This will include issues such as:

the hard or soft approach to HRM,
changing patterns of work practices to manage complexities of multicultural organisations,
the cultural dimensions in which organisations operate in the global environment and the impact these have on HR, and
the challenges the HR function faces being strategic in the management of international organisations.

Examples could be drawn from different parts of the world, and issues related to multi-culturalism, workplace diversity and equality will need to be considered. It will be necessary to use relevant literature and concepts and their contribution to our understanding of organisations and the HR function in diverse and multicultural global environments. [LO1]

Task 2 [Group presentation with notes 25%] – To be ready by week 12

Assess the characteristics of strategic models of HRM, , policies, and systems, including – but not limited to – the recruitment, selection, induction, training and development, discipline, and dismissal procedures of an international organisation of your choice. Critically assess any common patterns you may see in the HR functions of your choice.

This organisation must derive from the website list given above and can be one of the companies you explored in task 1. Evaluate their effectiveness and alignment to the organisational goals and strategic objectives of an organisation of your choice. Create a PowerPoint presentation on how these strategies and policies support the organisation’s strategic objectives. You will need to critically assess the various policies and functions in the presentation, not simply describe.

It will be expected, where possible, to highlight the link of the organisation’s policies and procedures to statute and or other external agencies (not focusing only in the UK, but internationally). Your presentation should draw on the involvement of these third parties in the design or creation of the organisation’s policy. [LO2]

Other instructions

If a group member did not contribute anything or his/her name is not on the list of a given task, she/he will lose part or all marks pertaining to that task.
All members of the group are expected to make an equal contribution to all group tasks and activities

Component 2: Individually written essays

Element 1 [Individual essay 30%] – To be completed in week 12

Critically evaluate contemporary HR and employment-related issues regarding their impact on employees. These issues can be legal, organisational frameworks or structures, and various cultural issues in which international organisations operate. Your challenge is to relate one or combinations of the above with the performance of employees in international organisational settings.

Your essay could include a critical review of legal issues such as employment law and associated legal dimensions (e.g., Human Rights; Collective Bargaining; Equality Act, etc.) and changes to the legal framework within which organisations operate such as (but are not confined to): equality/ discriminatory practice, health and safety responsibilities, Data Protection, family-friendly requirements and flexibilities, pension’s provision and consultation.

OR could include evolving types of organisational structures under technologically advanced systems of communication and operations.

OR include the mixture of work cultures in various parts of the world where the West meets the East, and the North meets the South.

Filter the above through the lenses of how these present a dynamic and sometimes complex environment for the HR function and HR planning.

This time your task is not to apply it to a particular company but argue about it, supporting it theoretically with the appropriate academic pieces of literature. Express your well-stated opinion about contemporary HR issues regarding one of the three areas mentioned above. Use of recent cases to support your argument would be helpful. The length of this element should not be longer than 1500 words (±10% allowance) [LO3 and LO4]

Element 2 [Individual reflective essay 20%] – To be completed in week 13

This element should demonstrate the skills and knowledge you have developed and acquired as an aspiring global manager and reflect on the teamwork experiences on the various tasks performed by your group.

In this section, you need to write a 1000 word essay (±10% allowance) critically reflecting on the skills and knowledge you have developed and acquired as an aspiring global manager working in an HR strategic role. This essay should not be random but structured using any of the reflective frameworks/models covered in the module.

It is suggested that you keep an academic diary from the first day of your studies within Birmingham City Business School. When attempting this section, you are likely to specifically remember issues or aspects that have happened during the Term.

This individual component (the two elements) is submitted individually online and separately from the teamwork. Parts of the diary could be added to the reflective essay as appendices to support your views.

The individual component of the assessment contributes 50% of the overall marks of the module.

Overall, both components need to be attempted to achieve a pass overall – you cannot pass this module by submitting less than the specified sections.

Similarity check

You are strongly advised to use Turnitin to check the similarity count with other sources and therefore avoid plagiarism. You will find a link to Turnitin on the module Moodle site (please include the link) which allows you to submit your work and check it before submitting it through the usual submission portal.

Final suggestions

The individual assignment should be word-processed and double-line spaced. Do not use bullet points (except on PowerPoint slides).
Use Arial size 11 points (this font and size) for your assignments – minimum of 18-20 points for the PowerPoint presentations.
State the word count used in your group presentation and your individual document.
On each sheet, ensure you have page numbers in the format ‘Page x of y’.
All work should be referenced in Harvard-style format – there are hand-outs available online at the Library’s website if you are unsure about this: .
Do not use Wikipedia, Google, Google books, or Yahoo – the former is not peer-assessed, the work is unreliable, and the latter are search engines. Do not rely too heavily on Internet sources.
There is no need for a contents page.
Use contemporary academic textbooks and academic journal articles (newspapers are not articles); use post-year 2010 academic work, unless your source is fundamental for understanding your topic.

University Regulations

The word limit for your coursework assignment does not cover material submitted as an appendix. Material submitted as an appendix provides background for your coursework, but it will not be marked unless specified in the brief. Also, you must cross-refer between the main text of your assignment and any appendices to demonstrate the linkage. The Appendices do not constitute additional material unrelated to that included in the body of your assignment. If you do not refer to the work in the appendix, this included work in the appendices is not marked.

Your References page will not be included in the word count, but where you quote within the assignment (e.g. Smith and Jones (2010) identified that…) will be included in the word count.

Since your work is submitted in electronic format, you are required to declare the number of words used in your assignment. A random number of course works may be selected to check for adherence to the word limit.

If you produce less than or exceed the word limit by up to 10%, no action will be taken, though you may receive adverse feedback. If you produce less than or exceed the stipulated word count by more than 10%, a deduction of the mark awarded will be made to reflect that you have not met the assessment requirements.

Team marks

The team members and the team name should be clearly identified within Component 1 of the assignment. All team members identified will be awarded the same mark unless the team specifically decides an alternative distribution – in this case, speak to your lecturer concerning this course of action. The tutor may then have the discretion to adapt the mark of those individuals who have not contributed to the team effort, according to their contribution. In the unlikely event of someone not contributing at all or the contribution of that individual is not acceptable, a team may decide to exclude that member from their team. This sanction must be used responsibly, and team members should consult with tutors and the individual first. The individual should be informed of their concerns and allow the individual sufficient time to take appropriate action before proceeding to exclusion, which should only be carried out following consultation with the tutor.

Suggested structure for your portfolio

Title page, including the name of the assessment (Team Portfolio), the team name and members’ names, the module name (Strategic Human Resource Management), module code (HRM7053), your lecturer, and your submission date

Component 1 of the assignment should be submitted as one PDF file by the team leader only, where both slides and notes underneath are visible on the same page – any other format uploaded is classed as a non-submission. Your tutor will show you how to save your PowerPoints in that format if you do not know. Upload the feedback cover page provided to you by BCU so that markers add their comments and marks in it.

Component 2 of the assignment should be submitted separately on a different submission point on moodle. Upload the feedback cover page provided to you by BCU so that markers add their comments and marks in it.

Birmingham City Business School

Programme: International Master in Business Administration (iMBA)

Module Title: Strategic Human Resource Management–

Module Code: HRM7053

Attempt – First Attempt

Assessment Criteria:

	0 – 39% Fail	40 – 49% Fail	50 – 59% Pass	60 – 69% Strong Pass (merit)	70 – 79% Very Strong Pass (distinction)	80 – 100% Exceptionally Strong Pass (distinction)
Criterion 1 Mark:	Critically review contemporary issues, challenges and complexities of managing organisations in a diverse and multicultural global environment and their impact on the HR function and strategic plans.
Irrelevant material. Failed to look at the diverse environment in which organisations operate. Failed to review contemporary issues and changing patterns of work practices. Lack of use of contemporary literature and poor or no referencing.	No meaningful review of literature Failed to review contemporary issues and changing patterns of work practices. No link with the changing nature of society and the market place. Referencing will be very poor	Some basic review of contemporary literature and discussion on the contemporary issues. Some basic review of the complexities faced by organisations. Superficial review contemporary issues and changing patterns of work practices. Some academic rigour.	Good and critical review of contemporary literature. Superficially reviewed contemporary issues and changing patterns of work practices. Examples will have been drawn and multicultural/diversity issues reviewed. Good academic rigor.	Detailed critical review of contemporary literature and detailed discussion on various issues and challenges. Detailed review of complexities faced by, and the challenges of dealing with, people management. Critical review of contemporary issues and changing patterns of work practices.	Very detailed and comprehensive critical review of contemporary literature. Comprehensive review of the complexities faced by the management or HR function. Critical review of contemporary issues and changing patterns of work practices including cultural/ international dimensions. Detailed examples.
Criterion 2 Mark:	Assess the characteristics of strategic models of HRM, HR plans, policies and systems and evaluate their effectiveness and alignment to organisational goals and strategic objectives
Lacks understanding. Too broad and without any focus. Too many generalisations – very little evidence of research and/or understanding. Very little if any, evidence of team working and no supporting evidence.	Little understanding. Failed to provide examples of the processes and procedures used. Lack of critical evaluation – mainly descriptive. Little evidence of team working and little supporting evidence.	Some understanding and assessment. Rationale for the chosen organisation. Selection of policies, processes and procedures used. Presented in a coherent manner. Some evidence of team working and supporting evidence. Reasonable attempts to provide explanations.	Good understanding of the selected organisation’s approach/policies. Drawn from organisation’s actual policies. To some extent, critically assessed issues. Use of practical examples to illustrate understanding. Good evidence of team working with supporting evidence. Good explanations	Detailed understanding of the selected organisation’s approach/policies and critically assessed how they relate to the organisation’s strategic objectives. Practical examples used to illustrate understanding. Detailed supporting evidence of team working. Detailed good explanations.	Comprehensively and critically assessed the selected organisation’s approach/policies. Very detailed supporting evidence of effective team working. Provided excellent answers and/or explanations.
Criterion 3 Mark:	Critically evaluate contemporary HR and employment related issues regarding the impact they have on employees. These issues can be legal, organisational frameworks and/ or various cultural issues which international organisations operate in
Failed to review contemporary issues related to the selected organisation. Failed to ensure work is current by researching recent cases. Very little evidence of team working and no supporting evidence.	Minimal and insufficient review of contemporary issues related to the selected organisation. Failed to evaluate but only described some issues. Not current by research. Little evidence of team working and little supporting evidence.	Basic description of some contemporary issues that relates to the selected organisation. Basic evaluation. Some currency in the work by research. Some evidence of team working and supporting evidence.	Good evaluation of contemporary issues that relates to the selected organisation. Some evaluation. Evidence that work is current by research. Good evidence of team working and supporting evidence.	Critically evaluated in detail contemporary issues that relates to the selected organisation. Critically and in-depth evaluation. Work will be very current and up-to-date as evidenced by their use of recent cases and research. Detailed supporting evidence of team working. Provided good explanations.	Comprehensive critical evaluation of contemporary issues that relates to the selected organisation. In-depth critical evaluation. Evidence from very recent cases or research. Detailed supporting evidence of effective team working. Excellent explanations.
Criterion 4	Prove your ability to collaborate with diverse teams in order to meet organisational objectives and performance goals.
Depending on the level of contribution of a student (team member), the final mark of component 1 will either keep the full score or be reduced up to 10% If the student has not contributed to the team at all, all marks from component 1 will be removed.
Criterion 5 Mark:	Critically reflect on the skills and knowledge acquired in the module as an aspiring manager in contemporary management or HR function and on the experience you had in working with a diverse work team to complete tasks of your module
Failed to provide a critical reflection. Stated in general terms. Lack of evidence of learning on the module and/or reflection on the experience of working in the team or any lessons drawn.	Some very basic reflection – may not be critical. Generalisations without specific reference. Little evidence of reflection on team working.	Some critical reflection with – much being descriptive. Some generalisations. Some critical reflection on the team working experience. Some discussion on the challenges and opportunities encountered.	Good critical reflection on the skills and knowledge acquired and how these could be used in a contemporary role. Good critical reflection on the team working experience. Critically reflected on role and contribution to the group activities and critically reflected the performance and functioning of the team.	Detailed critical reflection on the skills and knowledge acquired and how these could be applied in the contemporary organisation. Good and detailed critical reflection on the experience of working within a team with detailed analysis of the challenges and opportunities encountered. Detailed critical reflection on role and contribution made.	Comprehensive critical reflection on the skills and knowledge acquired and how these could be applied in the contemporary organisation. Very good, detailed and comprehensive critical reflection on the experience of working within a team with detailed analysis of the challenges and opportunities. Very detailed critical reflection on role and contribution made and critical reflection on how the team performed and functioned, and lessons drawn from those experiences.

Component 1: Group Portfolio Brief