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New Perspectives in Management and Human Resources
Coursework assessment 2017-18
You are required to present a 2,000 word essay which addresses the following question:
Drawing upon relevant theoretical perspectives, provide a critical evaluation of job quality in a case study in contemporary management and human resources of your choice.
Word count: 2,000 words, within a margin of +/- 10%
Hand-in format: Please submit an electronic copy to the Dropbox by the date and time due. No paper copy is required.
Download more instructions link: now.ntu.ac.uk
Account: T0027448
Password: zhaomingze123
Assessment criteria:
1) Structured well and presented in an appropriate essay format in line with the requirements of the assessment brief;
2) Identifies and outlines a set of relevant concepts and theories from the module, which are discussed and analysed critically, rather than simply being described – these are then applied relevantly to the case study;
3) Describes a relevant case study which critically informs the theoretical and conceptual issues outlined previously, drawing out relevant issues for job quality, and the management of human resources
4) Written in an academic style which is concise and coherent and benefits from thorough proof-reading;
5) Draws upon a relevant range and depth of reading and research for both theoretical and case study material;
6) Correct use of Harvard referencing is employed throughout the essay, with a reference list presented using Harvard style;
A separate marking grid shows how these criteria are graded.
Choice of case
Case studies can be sourced from a number of areas –from academic sources (but don’t simply rewrite a case study from one article); from the press, a television programme etc. A number of cases are used within the seminars – feel free to use these but also make sure that you undertake further research into them rather than relying on seminar handouts. What is important is that your case is backed up by a good range and quality of research and reading.
What counts as a choice of case is quite broad, however make sure the case study is a well-known case so you can source your data from various relevant sources. You can draw a question or set of question, which will guide your essay. During seminars some specific questions will be suggested, which you might choose – these are based on the discussions of the seminar topics during the module. However, I would like to emphasise that you can choose your own question – in doing so, please refer to your tutor and discuss the possible questions you are envisaging.
You can choose a traditional organisational case study, where you focus on one particular organisation. Make sure, however, that this is drawn from a range of relevant sources. Don’t simply source a case in one article or chapter and rewrite that, find a number of different sources and perspectives that you can bring in. For example – if you took flexibility and working time in a specific organisation [or sector] as your case, you would need to draw upon a mixture of academic articles, newspaper articles, and reports, etc.
Equally, you may choose to address a general organisational topic or issue that is not specific to any one organisation, for example skill and task discretion in different sectors [such as manufacturing and creative industries]; flexibility and job security [in the gig economy]; or work intensity [in retail sector] etc. As with an organisational case study, the topic that you choose should have a variety of material outside of the academic literature upon which you can draw, and some of this may refer to specific organisations (eg if you were doing flexibility and job security, it would be useful the cases of warehousing in Britain where you can source data from Amazon, SportsDirect, or ASOS; or in the gig economy, drawing from Deliveroo or Uber). Again you can suggest one or a set of questions that may guide your essay, or you may use and adapt some of the questions addressed during the seminar activities.
Links to theory
Whichever type of case you choose, it is important not to get carried away with description. Whilst some background and context will be needed, it is too easy to get carried away with descriptions of organisational events, reports and so on. Instead, the material should always be used with relevant theories and concepts in mind: How does the material you have chosen highlights or brings to life some of the theoretical issues? How does it help to support certain arguments and criticise others? Instead of simple description, you should be looking to use the materials in this section as a means for analysing both the case study and the theories used to analyse the case. The theories that you examine will be those relevant to your case. For example, on the one hand, if you are studying warehouses or supermarkets, it is expected that you will examine theoretical issues relevant to the flexibility and job security, or work intensity. On the other hand if you address call centres of creative labour you should address skill and task discretion. A sophisticated approach to theory will address the issue using a framework of analysis – for example, why is job security important to job quality, and how can it vary within an organisational context.
A useful guide to thinking about levels of critical analysis (which is reflected in the marking criteria) is provided by Bloom’s taxonomy (see http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html as an example)
Another caution is not to choose case study material simply because it is easily accessible or something that you like personally. This is fine if there are definite issues that you can bring from it which are relevant to issues of management and organisation, but if not then you should think about looking elsewhere.
There will be plenty of opportunity before and after Christmas to discuss your topic and case choices with your tutor, and it is recommended that you take advantage of this.