MGT C22
MGH B12 Group Assignment: HR Insight (due Nov. 27th 2013) Prof. Heathcote OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT • To see how human resource management is practiced in companies today through meeting with members of an HR department. • To hone your research skills. • To think critically about HR practices and to use theory and research to evaluate those practices. COMPONENTS OF THE ASSIGNMENT The major focus of this report is to describe three HR functions of a company and to critically evaluate whether those functions are suited to the business of the company (i.e., do they fit with the strategy and environment of the company). Executive summary This should be a one page summary of everything that is discussed in the paper. The purpose of this section is to provide the reader with an overview of the entire report. So, you should provide a brief introduction to the company, an outline of the three HR functions that were analyzed, and a summary of the general conclusions that you made. Company background This section should provide the contextual information about the company. Thus, you should describe the general business of the company, the industry in which it is set, its size, and geographical location. The company’s strategy and the relevant factors in its external and internal environment should be identified. The discussion of these three factors should be set up so that you can refer to them when assessing the appropriateness of the HR functions (e.g., you might suggest that a particular HR function is appropriate given its use of the prospector strategy and the rapidly changing external environment). HR functions There are many HR functions that could be analyzed in an organization (e.g., training, selection & recruitment, performance management, diversity, compensation). You should describe and critically analyze 3 functions of HR within an organization. Description of HR function You should identify, and where necessary, explain the relevant characteristics of a particular HR function. This section should describe the nature of the HR function, its structure, and objectives. You will need to document how you know that this information is accurate. You might learn about the HR function through interviews with the HR department, or with the employees of the company. You might have internal documents from the company that describe the details of the HR tactics that are used. You might conduct your own survey to discover whether the HR practices are effective. All of this information should be cited appropriately.
Analysis of HR function In this section you should discuss how effectively the HR function contributes to the organization. Is it aligned with the organization’s strategy? Is it aligned with the organization’s internal environment (e.g., its managerial philosophy, its culture)? Is the HR tactic appropriate given the industry and the organization’s external environment? You will need evidence to support your analysis. The evidence might include company data, anecdotes taken from interviews, independent research concerning whether the company uses best practices, academic research concerning the HR practices. This information should be used to determine whether each HR tactic is effective, and appropriate for the company. Depending on your conclusion (as to whether a particular practice is effective), you should make recommendations for how the practice should be adjusted to improve it. Conclusion In this section you should draw general conclusions that take into account the analyses of all three HR functions. References In this section you should include a list of all sources that were cited in your report. RECOMMENDATIONS I urge you to research the company of your choice and its HR practices thoroughly before conducting interviews with the HR department. You will want to have prepared questions that address specific issues about the HR practices. If you have not researched the company ahead of time you may not have time to get to these issues during the interview. Further, you may need to clarify information that you have learned via company websites or need to gain information about issues (e.g., company strategy) that are not available to the general public. FORMAT REQUIREMENTS The assignment should be approximately 10 to 15 pages in length. This includes the executive summary, the company background information, the description and analysis of the three HR functions, and the conclusion. The title page, reference section, and any appendices are not included in the page count. The assignment should follow the American Psychological Association (APA) style manual for style and referencing. If you are unfamiliar with this style and method for referencing articles, please see the APA manual. The report should be written in Times New Roman 12-point font. Spelling, grammar and formatting will be taken into account when grading the papers.
MEMBER CONTRIBUTION EVALUATION Peer evaluations will be conducted upon completion of the assignment. At this time you will be able to indicate the contribution that was made by each of the members of your group. Group members who do not participate and contribute to the project in an equitable manner will have their grades adjusted accordingly. Additional details concerning how these evaluations will be conducted will be provided in class. Some general questions to keep in mind when conducting your HR Insight Project are listed below. • What is the company’s current business strategy? • What are the official objectives of the HR department? • What are the most urgent/pressing problems the HR department faces? • How is the HR department structured? • How does the HR department measure its effectiveness? • How does the HR department support overall productivity? • How involved / satisfied are the company’s employees? • What HR practices would the company like to implement in order to improve its competitiveness? • What do employees think about the HR department? • What changes would you recommend for this HR department?
Analysis of HR function In this section you should discuss how effectively the HR function contributes to the organization. Is it aligned with the organization’s strategy? Is it aligned with the organization’s internal environment (e.g., its managerial philosophy, its culture)? Is the HR tactic appropriate given the industry and the organization’s external environment? You will need evidence to support your analysis. The evidence might include company data, anecdotes taken from interviews, independent research concerning whether the company uses best practices, academic research concerning the HR practices. This information should be used to determine whether each HR tactic is effective, and appropriate for the company. Depending on your conclusion (as to whether a particular practice is effective), you should make recommendations for how the practice should be adjusted to improve it. Conclusion In this section you should draw general conclusions that take into account the analyses of all three HR functions. References In this section you should include a list of all sources that were cited in your report. RECOMMENDATIONS I urge you to research the company of your choice and its HR practices thoroughly before conducting interviews with the HR department. You will want to have prepared questions that address specific issues about the HR practices. If you have not researched the company ahead of time you may not have time to get to these issues during the interview. Further, you may need to clarify information that you have learned via company websites or need to gain information about issues (e.g., company strategy) that are not available to the general public. FORMAT REQUIREMENTS The assignment should be approximately 10 to 15 pages in length. This includes the executive summary, the company background information, the description and analysis of the three HR functions, and the conclusion. The title page, reference section, and any appendices are not included in the page count. The assignment should follow the American Psychological Association (APA) style manual for style and referencing. If you are unfamiliar with this style and method for referencing articles, please see the APA manual. The report should be written in Times New Roman 12-point font. Spelling, grammar and formatting will be taken into account when grading the papers.
MEMBER CONTRIBUTION EVALUATION Peer evaluations will be conducted upon completion of the assignment. At this time you will be able to indicate the contribution that was made by each of the members of your group. Group members who do not participate and contribute to the project in an equitable manner will have their grades adjusted accordingly. Additional details concerning how these evaluations will be conducted will be provided in class. Some general questions to keep in mind when conducting your HR Insight Project are listed below. • What is the company’s current business strategy? • What are the official objectives of the HR department? • What are the most urgent/pressing problems the HR department faces? • How is the HR department structured? • How does the HR department measure its effectiveness? • How does the HR department support overall productivity? • How involved / satisfied are the company’s employees? • What HR practices would the company like to implement in order to improve its competitiveness? • What do employees think about the HR department? • What changes would you recommend for this HR department?
