Posted: August 5th, 2015

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