Identify three examples of good practice/strategies for employing older workers and discuss why these are appropriate. The examples should be from different sectors within the case study

Submission Deadline

Marks and Feedback

Before 10am on:

20 working days after deadline (L4, 5 and 7)
15 working days after deadline (L6)
10 working days after deadline (block delivery)

Unit title & code

Human Resource Management   SHR018-2

Assignment number and title

1: Employing older workers in contemporary organisations

Assignment type

Report

Weighting of assignment

40%

Size or length of assessment

2000 words

Unit learning outcomes

1. Critique and debate key and contemporary arguments about the theory and practice of HRM and how ethical expectations are met in practice whilst assessing its contribution to the organisation.
2. Evaluate and analyse workplace scenarios relating to relevant business strategies for professional, ethical, effective and efficient HRM within current organisational contexts.

What am I required to do in this assignment?

Background

People are living longer and working for longer and are in better health. Since 1960, life expectancy has climbed by eight years, and demographic projections foresee a further five-year increase over the next forty years.

The European Statistical Office projects that by 2060 there will be only two people of working age (15-64) in the EU, for every person aged over 65, compared to a ratio of four to one today. The strongest push in this direction is expected to occur during the period 2015-35 when the baby boomers who were born in the two decades after World-War II, start to retire (European Commission 2012). The authors, Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott[1], predict that, given the average level of savings of people in advanced economies, many currently in their twenties will be working into their seventies and perhaps their eighties. Their research also suggests employers are not prepared for the inevitable extension of working lives with only a few giving considered thought to the opportunities and challenges for their workforce.

Using the information provided in the document Case Studies for Assignment 1 (in the Assessment and Feedback Section on the BREO unit shell) write a short report of no more than 2000 words which addresses the following tasks:

1. Identify three examples of good practice/strategies for employing older workers and discuss why these are appropriate. The examples should be from different sectors within the case study.
2. Identify three key challenges, using wider reading, in employing older workers and discuss the implications of these challenges.
3. Make recommendations as to how these challenges can be addressed and overcome.

What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)

In order to pass Assessment 1 you will need to:

• Investigate a limited range of relevant literature around a topical HR issue impacting contemporary organisations.
• Evaluate literature to a basic level around current theories and practice of effective HRM and the basic strategies used to promote greater employee performance in organisations.
• Present a business report to a basic professional level 

How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?

We will be filling this section in together in class on Click or tap to enter a date. make sure you have downloaded/printed out the Assignment Brief and bring it to the session with you.

How does this assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?

The aim of this assessment is to increase your critical thinking around HRM in organisations and how it is impacted regularly by environmental changes as well as developing your skills in in writing a practical business report.

As this assignment will be focused upon investigating the ageing workforce, you will take into consideration the external environment, the hyper-competitive state of organisations and the role of organisational stakeholders in creating a complex work environment that helps or hinders higher levels of employee performance and engagement. The first four teaching weeks as indicated in the guided learning folder on BREO establishes the context of  HRM with the pursuant weeks paying specific attention to key people management areas which you may wish to highlight more specifically in your discussion. The seminar sessions will help to consolidate your understanding of each of those areas in relation to the assignment.

Successful completion of the unit will give you a comprehensive and detailed overview of how you as a business management graduate with specialised knowledge of HR are able to make a greater impact in the organisation, increasing your contribution and effectiveness in working through and with your organisational colleagues to increase the well-being of the business for sustained competitive advantage.

How will my assignment be marked?

Your assignment will be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page.

You can use them to evaluate your own work and consider your grade before you submit.

3^rd Class – 40-49%

Lower 2^nd – 50-59%

Upper 2^nd – 60-69%

1^st Class – 70%+

1

Identification and discussion of good practice.

Three examples of good practice/strategies have been identified, but these might not be from different sectors. The appropriateness of the practices/strategies is discussed in limited depth.

Three examples of good practice/strategies have been identified and these are from different sectors. The appropriateness of the practices/strategies is discussed in reasonable depth.

Three examples of good practice/strategies have been identified clearly and these are from different sectors. The appropriateness of the practices/strategies is discussed in detail and demonstrates good evidence of wider reading.

Three examples of good practice/strategies have been identified clearly and these are from different sectors. The appropriateness of the practices/strategies is discussed in detail and demonstrates excellent evidence of wider reading.

2

Identification and discussion of challenges.

Three challenges of employing older workers have been identified, but these are not discussed in any depth and there is only limited evidence of wider reading from, generally, low-quality sources. The discussion shows limited understanding of the challenges of employing older workers.

Three challenges of employing older workers have been identified. These are discussed in limited depth, but there is some evidence of wider reading from good quality sources. The discussion shows some understanding of the challenges of employing older workers.

Three challenges of employing older workers have been clearly identified. These are discussed in some depth and there is evidence of wider reading from good quality sources. The discussion shows good understanding of the challenges of employing older workers.

Three challenges of employing older workers have been clearly identified. These are discussed in some depth and there is evidence of wider reading from high quality sources. The discussion shows excellent understanding of the challenge of employing older workers.

3

Recommendations

Some of the recommendations make sense and are ‘actionable’, but too often the candidate may produce proposals which appear not to emanate from the internal logic of the report, or which have little evidential foundation, or which raise more questions than they solve. The latter recommendations may be platitudinous without any adequate accountabilities having been identified.

Most of the recommendations make sense and are ‘actionable’, but occasionally the candidate may produce proposals which appear not to emanate from the internal logic of the report, or which have little evidential foundation, or which raise more questions than they solve. The latter recommendations may be platitudinous without any adequate accountabilities having been identified.

By and large the recommendations and proposals for action are logically derived from the conclusions and the preceding analysis; most of the recommendations are ‘actionable’ in the sense that they could be implemented by the reader without further enquiry about precisely what is meant. There are no significant omissions.

All the recommendations and proposals for action are cogent, defensible, relevant and strategically imaginative. The responsibilities for implementation are clearly identified, and the recommendations themselves follow logically from the preceding literature analysis and conclusions.

4 Presentation and Persuasion

Though the report is generally systematic, there are improvements that the candidate should have implemented, for example, over-long and discursive paragraphs or too short and fragmented paragraphs which render some pages un-reader-friendly; new information wrongly introduced in the closing sections of the assignment or unpersuasive recommendations.

The report is satisfactorily presented, and the content is coherent and logically presented. However, there may be scope to make the report even more business-like in structure and tone and the recommendations made even more persuasive.

The overall presentation of the report material is articulate, lucid, structurally sensible and mature in expression. The concept of age diversity and having an older workforce is clearly explained and the subtleties concerning its operation in practice are discussed in an appropriately logical, clinical and persuasive fashion. The references are organised conscientiously and comprehensively. 

This report is produced in strict conformity with the guidelines contained for the assignment brief. The text is wide-ranging, the style mature, the approach measured, the presentation is reader friendly. Third-party sources are properly described, and the logic of the argument throughout the ‘report’ is strongly persuasive.

5