Assessment One

Assessment One – case study report Word count: 2,000 Select  a  New  Zeala nd - based  work  organisation.  It  can  b e in  any  sector; domestic or multi - national; and have at least five employees. Identify  a  key  employment  relations  issue  for  this  organisation.  In  your  case study report, you will need to answer the following questions: • What is the issue and why is it important to this organisation? • How is  the  issue  relevant  to  the  management  of  employment  relations generally? You  should  expend  approximately  half  of  your  word  count  on  the  first  (two - part) question, and half on the seco nd question. Please  use  your  ‘Writing  Guidelines  for  Business  Students’  book  as  a guideline when drafting and presenting your report. The case study report assesses LOs 1 and 2. Learning outcomes: 1. Analyse the  significance  and  dynamism  of ER as  a  discipline  and  for organisational success (LO1); 2. Reflect on  the  ideological,  institutional,  legal ,  economic  and  social considerations which shape, and are shaped by, ER (LO2); Assignment Marking Guide Assignment grading for Assignment 1 – case study report Approximately  90%  of  marks  will  be  awarded  on  the  basis  of  the  quality  of your discussion and coverage in the case study report. That is, up to 45% of marks will be awarded for your response to the first question, and up to 45% on your response to the second question. The   remaining   10%   of   marks   will   be   awarded   for   clear   and   coherent presentation of your assignment. Marks will be available for: • using correct referencing • c orrect grammar and spelling • s tructure and style of writing • o verall impact Assignment writing guidelines In  this  course, the  formatting  requirements  are  as  follows.  Please  note  that some marks are allocated for correct formatting. Formatting Write  on  one  side  of  the  page  only.  Leave  a  wide  right - hand  margin  (3 - 5cm) for markets’ comments. Please use 1 ½ line spacing. Id entification Please  ensure  your  student  ID  number,  paper  number  and  assignment number  (and  essay  choice,  where  applicable)  is  noted  in  the  header  of  each page.  A  title  page  is  not  necessary,  but  it  is  helpful  to  include  the  essay question on the first pa ge. Presentation Ensure  that  your  work  is  well  presented,  and  follows  guidelines  presented  in the  Assessment  Criteria  and  Writing  Guidelines.  Typing  your  assignment  is preferable as this facilitates easy reading marking. Spelling and grammar There w ill also be marks allocated for correct use of English. Your grammar, use of words, punctuation and spelling will influence your grade. Please use a dictionary  to  check  spellings.  It  is  unwise  to  rely  solely  on  computer - based spelling checks because of the problems of American spellings and difficulties with context. Please use New Zealand/UK spelling (not USA). Citations The  correct  format  for  presentation  on  in - text  citations  is  listed  in  Emerson’s Writing Guidelines for Business Students. This course uses APA style. Reference list You must provide a reference list indicating which articles, books, newspaper articles  or  other  source  material  you  have  read  and  used  in  connection  with the assignment. This should be entitle ‘References’ and attached a t the end of each  assignment  on  a  new  page.  Reference  lists  should  be  in  alphabetical order by author surname. Reference lists are NOT included in the word count. Please  follow  the  style  set  out  in  Emerson’s  Writing  Guidelines.  You  do  not need to include a bibliography. If you have read material that is relevant to the assignment,  try  and  include  it  to  develop  and  support  your  argument.  Aim  to use each reference several times during your assignment. If you can’t it may not be that relevant Language For  a cademic  essays,  writing  is  formal  and  is  in  third  person;  that  is,  do  not use  persona  pronouns  such  as  I,  me,  we,  us,  etc.  You  are  expected  to develop and present an informed opinion by critically evaluating others’ ideas and  presenting  this  in  an  objectiv e  manner.  Do  not  over  rely  on  personal experience  or  anecdotes.  Do  not  use  gender  biased  or  sexist  language  in assignment writing. Authenticity Please not that you MUST submit your own work. If you use another author’s words/ideas, you must cite your s ources correctly. See guidelines in Part Two. It is expected that you will use the reading material provided at a minimum for starting  your  assignments.  It  is  also  expected  that  you  source  additional material as required; in particular, relevant journal ar ticles and publications . Quality of material Source  material  must  also  be  of  high  quality – preferably  peer - reviewed, published  academic  journal  articles,  or  good  quality  material  from  reputable, relevant  organisations.  At  700 - level,  introductory  or  gen eral  employment relations,  management  or  other  texts  are  considered  to  be  poor  sources  as they only touch on basic ideas of this area. They may help your understanding at a basic level, or may be useful for definitions and context, but in general try and a void them. Age and relevance Sources should generally be up - to - date and relevant. While it is acceptable to reference  a  model  or  theory  that  may  have  been  developed  some  time  ago, bear  in  mind  that  academic  thought  and  research  develops  over  time,  and accordingly  some  theories,  ideas  and  models  may  have  been  strengthened, while  others  may  have  become  less  relevant  or  refuted.  A  lot  can  change  in even  10  years  so  make  sure  your  evidence  is  as  timely  as  possible.  This  is another  reason  why  journals  are  ge nerally  better  sources  than  books – they generally  have  shorter  lead  times  for  publication  so  the  data  presented  are more up - to - date. Academic journals An  academic  journal  is  a  periodical,  usually  produced  quarterly  or  monthly, with referenced articles written by scholars for an academic audience. Articles tend  to  be  (1)  research  evidence,  (2)  development  of  theory  and/or  (3)  a review of the literature. Some of the most relevant journals for this course are listed in this guide. Most (although not all) j ournals have the word ‘journal’ in their title. Study guide commentary The   study   guide   commentary   is   there   to   guide   your   reading   and understanding  of  the  course  and  should  not  be  used  as  a  source.  However, any  articles,  readings  or  excerpts  provided  in the  course  material  (via  the study guide or Stream) may be used as the basis of your written assignments. These  will  usually  be  articles  or  reports  from  journals  or  other  reputable sources – for  example,  in  this  course,  government  organisations.  Note  that you  must  cite  and  reference  the  original  article,  not  the  study  guide.  Full reference  details  of  these  have  been  provided  in  the  guide  or  are  available from the original document. Websites Ensure  that  information  from  websites  is  from  reputable  organ isations  (e.g. government  agencies,  industry  or  professional  organisations),  is  of  good quality and is relevant. In general, if the document has a published date and details, those should be included. However, if there is no published date, you will need t o cite the date retrieved and the full web address (URL) details. For full  formatting  requirements,  follow  the  APA  guidelines  set  out  in  Emerson’s Writing Guidelines or on the APA style website. Essay structure Introductions  should  be  about  10 - 15%  of  t he  word  limit.  Ensure  you  have addressed: why is the topic important, how it is relevant, what specific issues and/or  questions  you  will  address  and  why,  and  outline  your  main  ideas  and the order in which you intend to discuss them. The body of your disc ussion is usually about 80% of the word limit. make sure your structure is logical – that ideas are presented in order of importance, or in  a  sequential  manner.  Ensure  you  introduce  each  main  idea  clearly  in  the first  sentence  or  two.  Explain  to  the  reader how  this  idea  is  relevant  to  your own  discussion.  Develop  each  idea  by  presenting  a  range  of  views,  or examining it at a deeper level. Briefly conclude this idea before starting a new idea. Make sure to link each key idea in an essay to develop and mainta in a good flow. Conclusions  are  usually  10 - 15%  of  the  word  limit.  Review  the  key  points raised in the essay. Explain why or how they were important. What evidence is  there  to  support  your  conclusions?  Use  Emerson’s  Writing  Guidelines  and the  Essay  Checkl ist  (overleaf)  to  make  sure  that  you  have  covered  the  key points we are looking for. Assessment scale g rade Meaning A+  Outstanding A Excellent A Very good - B+ Good B Competent B Satisfactory - C+ Acceptable C Pass D Flawed E Deficient