HRD Assignment

Human Resource Development: Assessment 1 Individual Essay 1

BUSM1139 Human Resource Development: Assessment 1

Assessment Type Individual essay

Marks 40

Aims The main aim of the individual essay is to provide you opportunities to conduct thorough literature search, critically evaluate literature, and provide your own judgment on a particular topic. The essay is aimed at developing your skills in literature search and review, critical thinking and synthesising, and academic writing.

Word Limit 1500 words + reference list

Format Double-line spacing, size 12 font (Times New Romans or Arial preferred), double-sided, black and white print

Reference Style Harvard Referencing Style

Due Friday 23 Feb 2018, 7:00 pm Singapore time

Submission Via Turnitin submission point on Canvas

Assessment Overview:

In this assessment task you are required to write a short essay of no more than 1500 words to critically discuss and address the following questions:

 How are trends in the business environment impacting on human resource development (HRD)? Please choose one trend (e.g. globalisation, skills shortages, the ageing workforce, new technology, or another) and discuss it in detail.

 What opportunities and challenges does this trend present for HRD professionals? What recommendations would you give to HRD professionals so that we are up for the opportunities and challenges presented by this trend?

This assessment requires you to be strategic in choosing an area that you are most comfortable with and then engage in substantial and independent literature searches to address the questions. The assessment also requires you to structure your essay well to make it clear and engaging for the reader. Furthermore, your arguments need to be evidence-based. We ask you to make reference to at least 5 high-quality research articles relevant to the human resources field, but referencing to more relevant and high-quality articles are strongly encouraged. You are welcome to draw on personal experiences and observations whenever appropriate in answering the questions.

Assessment Guideline:

Below are some general suggestions about how academic essays should be structured. Please note this is a very general structure and you may choose to have more detailed structures. For instance, you may want to have some sub-sections in the main body of your essay.

 Introduction: In your introduction you should outline what you are going to do and the

position you are adopting – please use your introduction as a map to cover the points you

outline sequentially in the body of your report to stay on track. An introduction needs to

outline the purpose, context, background rationale. Key terms need to be defined. You also

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need to set limits of the research by identifying what you are going to cover and sticking to it

(your road map).

 The Body of Your Essay: This is where you present your detailed literature review and

argument development. Your definitions and arguments must all be supported by your

references – every comment you make that presents as a fact, assertion or argument has to

be substantiated with a good reference that is cited or quoted in text. Marks are lost for

unsubstantiated opinions. What we are interested in is your capacity to synthesise and

communicate well researched information, and to derive your own judgment and argument

from existing literature.

 Conclusion: This where you write what you have concluded based only on your research.

 References: Please cite at least five relevant and high-quality academic publications. More

references that demonstrate your broad literature search are highly recommended. When

referencing please use Harvard style. To learn more about Harvard style please refer to

http://www1.rmit.edu.au/library/referencing.

Assessment Criteria:

 Introduction: Clearly states the purpose of the essay and provides an engaging opening for readers.

 Coverage: Provides a comprehensive overview of the topic. Literature review is sufficient, relevant and recent.

 Content: The content of the essay closely hinges on the questions; analysis and synthesis of relevant literature into a coherent framework; develops solid arguments in asserting own opinions; Ideas and assertions substantiated through use of high quality reference material and key academic perspectives/views.

 Conclusion: The conclusion closely hinges on and is a logical follow-on from the literature review and analysis developed in the main body of the essay. The conclusion finishes with a clear take-away message for the readers.

 Clarity of writing: Clear, logical and engaging writing in delivering your message; Free from typos and grammatical mistakes; Clear structure; Ideas presented are coherent throughout the essay.

 Supporting materials and referencing: The information and analysis was gathered from many diverse, high-quality sources. Referencing style following Harvard reference styles for in-text and list of references.

Assessment policies:

Below are some policies that are relevant for you to consider in preparing your essay. Please note below is only a subset of the assessment policies. To have a comprehensive understanding of RMIT policies please check Canvas (Assessment Tasks – Additional Information: Assessment Guides and Policies).

Turnitin submission:

Submissions must be made through Canvas Turnitin submission point electronically. All submissions are made through Turnitin to check academic integrity (the allowed score in Turnitin is no more than

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20% similarities). It is highly recommended that you submit your work a few days earlier to Turnitin to check for similarities, before submitting your final work.

Late submission and over word limits:

Any late assignment, unless granted an extension by the course coordinator or the Special Consideration Unit, will be penalised. Late submissions will be penalised 10% per day. Assignments submitted more than seven (7) calendar days late will NOT be marked. Please check Canvas and RMIT website about how to apply for special consideration.

You are asked to stay within word limit in the final word count on your essay (1500 words including everything except reference). Usually we allow 10% above or below of the word limit (that means, your final word count can range between 1350 words and 1650 words), yet going beyond word limit by over 10% will incur a penalty to your mark. Please remember, good essays (either academic or general writings) are always concise and focused, and the aim of our essay assessment is to help develop such writing skills.