Outsourcing a function within Zara company
You are the most senior HR person in your organisation (the same organisation you used for Assessment Item 1) and a part of the senior management team. You have been involved in initial discussions about a new organisational strategy (you will choose from the list below). You have been asked to do some research and to report back to the senior management team outlining the key implications for management of human resources if this strategy were to be implemented. Your report needs to show that you understand the organisational goals and strategies (building on Assessment Item 1), have researched and understood the particular strategy being proposed, have identified the critical considerations if the strategy is implemented, and made realistic recommendations on how to manage the strategy in the case organisation. In addition, you are asked to identify the role you believe the HRM function should play in the implementation of the strategy � in particular focussing on the HR Competency Domains (Brockbank, et al. 2012).
The strategies for you to choose from are:
? Expanding the location of your organisation into a new state or country
? Downsizing your organisation
? Outsourcing a function within your organisation
? Merging your organisation with, or acquiring, another organisation
? Expanding into a new product or service (significantly different to the ones the company now provides)
? Undertaking a major organisational restructure
? Other (this is for cases where a student has an interest in a particular business strategy that is not mentioned
above � needs to be agreed with the Unit Coordinator)
Please note: This is an individual assignment but you will be using the case organisation from Assessment Item 1. However, each strategy can only be used by one person from each team so you will need to discuss in a group your preferences for a focus strategy.
It is strongly advised that once you have chosen your strategy you make it specific to your organisation. For example, if you are choosing to enter a new location, choose the country or state eg. India, NSW etc, or if you are outsourcing a function, identify which function eg. payroll, IT support etc. It should be something that might reasonably be expected in your organisation. You don�t need to justify this detail but you will need to be this specific so that your recommendations are not too broad and you can discuss the specific implications of this strategy.
Target Audience:
The senior management team in your case organisation. This means you do not need to describe the organisation to them but can assume they have the knowledge that you also have as a result of conducting your first assessment item.
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?Format:
This is a report to the senior management team and therefore you should use a report style (for general information on writing reports refer to https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/report.jsp). In particular for this report, it is critical for you to demonstrate that as well as being able to write a report that is informed by research and provides strong analysis, you can also summarise this in a way that provides the key details to a busy management team that may not read your full report. Therefore, your executive summary is a critical part of your report and subject to a separate criterion within the requirements for this assessment. The executive summary should not have any further information than in your report but should summarise your key points (for this reason, it is always a good idea to write it last!). It should be 1-2 pages in length, making use of bullet points to summarise key issues and recommendations wherever possible.
How you will be assessed:
This is an individual assessment item and the CRA for this assessment is on the Blackboard site.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Do we need to revisit information about our case organisation?
? No. Assume that your reader is familiar with your case. If you are referring to specific issues then feel free to summarise again, but do not take up valuable word space going back over things you presented in your first assessment item.
How do I address the criteria about social and legal issues? Should it be a separate heading?
? You could use a separate heading but that is not essential. Throughout your discussion, it is important that you demonstrate an understanding of ethical and/or legal issues relating to your recommendations and have been explicit in discussing these.
How many references do you expect?
? There is no �magic� number. Sometimes assignments have a long list of references (quantity) but have not used them well (a lack of quality). Good assignments normally have used high quality journal articles and have integrated them well in their discussion and used them to back up claims they are making.
Do we have to justify why they have chosen the potential strategy?
? Not in detail � you can assume it is considered a worthy potential strategy. For example, don�t focus on justifying why a function should be downsized, focus on discussing the issues and impacts of downsizing and implications for the organisation.
What if after doing research, I don�t agree that the strategy is appropriate for the organisation?
? It is OK to say you don�t believe it is the most appropriate strategy given your knowledge of the business and it goals. If you do this however you need to give arguments against the strategy backed up by research and make suggestions for alternatives.
MGN421 Strategic HRM 2
Task Instructions � Assessment Item 2
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?Pitfalls from previous semesters:
? Relying too heavily on text books � these are just a general overview of a topic that draws upon research (which is why we use them at university) but you should be using the most recent research you can find in scholarly journals to back up your arguments, claims or recommendations
? Relying on generic SHRM literature. While this is good as a basis, you will also need to research your chosen focus areas � the business strategy and the key implications which will require more specific research
? Relying on theoretical papers and not using empirical research results to back up your claims and recommendations
? Making claims or statements that are not backed up by a scholarly reference
? Not proof reading the final report for typos, grammar, sentence structure (there is a reasonable number of marks applied to this criteria and these are, in some ways, �easy marks� if you take the care to submit a well- formatted and edited report)
