7HURM005W.2 Critically discuss the concept of work life balance and evaluate whether it is still an important feature of organisational life in the twenty-first century workplace

ASSESSMENT TWO

INDIVIDUAL CRITICAL ESSAY

SECOND SEMESTER – 2021 / 2022

 

MODULE CODE:     7HURM005W.2

MODULE TITLE:     Human Resource Management

SUBMISSION METHOD:   Blackboard

DATE AND FORM OF FEEDBACK: within 15 working days (via Blackboard)

ASSESSMENT FORMAT: Individual critical essay (2000 words)

ASSESSMENT WEIGHTING: 50%

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES ADDRESSED:

 

LO2     Flexibly and creatively apply knowledge in unfamiliar contexts, synthesises ideas or information in innovative ways and generates transformative solutions.

 

LO4     Incorporate a critical ethical dimension to their practice, managing the implications of ethical dilemmas.

 

1.    ASSESSMENT SUMMARY:

In preparation, formative assessment for this piece will include contribution to two formative discussion boards and a formative feedback meeting on a concept map which will inform the writing of your summative essay.

 

The individual Critical Essay (2,000 words) will address ONE of the four essay questions. Learning outcomes 2 and 4 will be assessed.

 

1. In an increasingly competitive business environment, it is important to understand the nature of the people-organisation relationship and main influences on behaviour in the workplace. Evaluate the nature and importance of the psychological contract and its implications for managers and HR practitioners.

 

1. Using the studies of Hofstede consider how dimensions of cultural differences influence the behaviour of people at work and what implications there are for managers and HR practitioners. Where possible draw on the experiences of internal colleagues or those colleagues whom have spent some time in other countries.

 

1. Critically discuss the concept of work life balance and evaluate whether it is still an important feature of organisational life in the twenty-first century workplace. Ensure your answer also evaluates the challenges that work life balance presents to managers and HR practitioners in the twenty-first century workplace.

 

1. Personality is a defining feature of individual differences and qualities. Explore the application of personality studies to the workplace and evaluate the value of personality tests and assessments in the workplace. Your answer must also address the challenges faced by managers and HR practitioners.

 

 

2.    DETAILED ASSESSMENT GUIDE AND STRUCTURE:

A note on Word Count

The total word count is 2000 words maximum, excluding cover page and list references.

 

 

Structure and Style of Submission

 

• You need to submit ONE WORD DOCUMENT or PDF FILE as follows.

 

·         Style

Arial, Single-spaced, 12-point text, standard margins.

References should use Westminster-Harvard style and be on a single list in alphabetical order of author names. Do not keep web references separate, do not forget the access dates for the web references.

 

• Structure of your individual critical essay

 

1. Cover page with name of the student and student id number, module title and code, assignment title, name of your seminar leader, semester 2.

 

2. Introduction

 

3. Body

 

4. Conclusion

 

5. List of references.

 

 

 

3. MARKING CRITERIA

 

Criteria	Weighting
Concepts and theories explained clearly	20%
Your ability to ability to critically evaluate HRM concepts and theories taught on the module as well on your ability to combine analysis and theoretical underpinnings. Examples are given to illustrate arguments.	30%
Students explicitly understand their own values, have increasing capacity for reflexivity and anticipate various ethical dilemmas that emerge from their research and/or practice.	20%
Your ability to write clearly, effectively and concisely	10%
Presentation & essay format References & Westminster Harvard System	10%
Conclusions relate well to analysis and arguments	10%

 

 

 

 

 

Assessment General Threshold Criteria

 

80-100 An outstanding piece of work: All assessment criteria have been met at an exceptionally high standard.

• Displays exceptional initiative, creativity, sophistication and originality.
• Provides insightful analysis.
• Demonstrates originality and rigour of argument.
• Shows independent synthesis of ideas and understanding.
• Demonstrates reflexivity and critical analysis to generate transformative solutions/responses.
• Demonstrates substantial independent research.
• Communicates complexity clearly and succinctly with excellent standard of presentation.

 

70-79 An excellent piece of work: All assessment criteria have been met at a high standard.

• Demonstrates sophisticated understanding across the field of study and related areas.
• Draws on a range of techniques and information sources for independent analysis.
• Demonstrates creativity and flair in task/enquiry.
• Provides robust and insightful argument.
• Provides a high quality critical and reflexive analysis.
• Demonstrates substantial independent research
• Communicates ideas clearly and succinctly with good standard of presentation.

 

 

60-69 A good piece of work: All assessment criteria have been met at a good standard.

• Demonstrates breadth and/or depth of understanding across the field of study and related areas.
• Synthesises knowledge to address task/enquiry.
• Presents argument cogently and clearly.
• Demonstrates extensive research and critical use of resources.
• Communicates ideas clearly with a good standard of presentation.

 

50-59 A sound piece of work: All assessment criteria have clearly been met.

• Demonstrates understanding of appropriate range of concepts and theoretical approaches.
• Provides an argument to frame response to enquiry/task.
• Uses a range of relevant sources provided to undertake research.
• Undertakes meaningful analysis/reflection in relation to the enquiry/task.
• Communicates ideas using an appropriate format with few weaknesses in presentation.

 

40-49 FAIL: An inadequate piece of work: One or more relevant assessment criteria are not met.

• Provides clear limitations in the range of concepts/principles explored
• Demonstrates lack of clarity and depth of understanding in relation to the task/enquiry.
• Uses a narrow range of sources to support task/enquiry.
• Provides limited analysis/reflection.
• Communication is unclear with significant weaknesses in presentation.

 

39-0 FAIL: A poor piece of work: Most of the relevant assessment criteria area not been met.

• Demonstrates poor understanding of key concepts and principles.
• Shows significant weaknesses and omissions in completing the task.
• Omits analysis/reflection.
• Uses inadequate information sources.
• Communication is unclear with significant weaknesses in presentation.

 

 

 

4.    TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH SUBMISSION:

If you have a financial hold situation a hardcopy plus electronic version will be accepted via the WBS Registry Coursework Lobby before the deadline. Please contact the Marylebone Registry to clarify how you should submit assessment in this situation: [email protected]

Please do not email your module leaders or your seminar leaders your coursework unless you have been asked to do so. The Registry does not accept such a submission in most cases.

If you are having technical difficulties on the date of submission and cannot submit the coursework on time you need to log a call via the IT Service Desk that can be found on this webpage: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students.  Please make sure that your message is very specific. The Service Desk will then email you confirmation that you will be able to use as supporting written evidence for your MC claim.

You can also email the module leader and ask for advice: Dr W. Flanda [email protected]

5.    PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION:

Any assessment submitted late online will be penalised unless you submit a claim for Mitigating Circumstances (MC) and the claim is accepted by the Registry. Check this page for more information: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students/guides-and-policies/assessment-guidelines/mitigating-circumstances-claims

If you do not submit an MC claim or if your MC claim is rejected then the penalty for assessments submitted individually online within the 24 hours late period is a reduction of 10% of the overall marks available for the assessment, except for work which is marked in the range 40 – 49%, in which case the mark will be capped at the pass mark (40%). Assessments submitted individually online more than 24 hours late will be given the mark 0%, unless the Mitigating Circumstances claim has been accepted officially by the Registry.

6.    AVOIDING PLAGIARISM:

Your assignment must demonstrate your own work and ideas. You may use graphs and clipart as appropriate.  All written work must be the work of the individual student. Similarities between the work of students will be reported as collusion.

Any quotations and references that you include in your assignment will be identified by the Plagiarism detection programme as being similar to other sources. Therefore it is vital that you reference correctly.

Please check information about Westminster Harvard Referencing style here: https://libguides.westminster.ac.uk/referencing

Westminster Harvard Referencing Style booklet can be downloaded here:

https://www.westminster.ac.uk/sites/default/public-files/general-documents/referencing-your-work.pdf

Any evidence of plagiarism will be reported to the Academic Standards team. A similarity content of 0% will be investigated by the Academic Misconduct Panel as it is regarded as being an indicator of an attempt to circumvent the plagiarism software. Since your document should have several different references the plagiarism detection programme should identify them.

Please see more information about plagiarism here: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students/guides-and-policies/academic-matters/academic-misconduct/plagiarism