BUS 4373
Strategic Human Resources Management
Assessment 1 – Reflection Paper
Spring 2017
Week of Assessment – Week 4
Weightage – 15%
Submission on – BB Learn using Safe Assign
Based on below Newspaper Article, write a reflection paper.
Your reflection paper should be 2-3 pages long (Times New Roman, 12 font size,
1.50 line space)and should dig deeply into this experience to reflect on your
learning. It should connect to academic
concepts and critically examine your own development through this learning. You
will be graded based on the reflection rubric provided at the end of this
document.
Scope of Reflection:
1. Identify
the challenges your business will face and how it will affect your HRM
strategies.
2. Design
HRM strategies to address these business challenges.
Steps in Writing a Reflection Paper:
Reflection papers will allow you the chance to reinforce
what you have learned through coursework, lectures and personal experience.
Although reflection paper focus on your personal feelings and experiences, they
often require multiple sources and frequent use of concrete examples. Learning
how to write a reflection paper helps you organize your thoughts methodically
and gain more from practical experience.
Step 1
Provide a brief summary of the article
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Step 2
Identify the challenges your business will face. Scan both
internal and external environment.
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Step 3
Evaluate the effects these challenges will have on your HR
Strategies.
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Step 4
Design HR strategies for each challenge identifies in Step
2.
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MARKING RUBRIC
Criteria Superior (21-25 points) Sufficient (16-20 points) Minimal (11-15 points) Unacceptable (0-10 points)
Depth of Reflection Response
demonstrates an in-depth reflection on, and personalization of, the theories,
concepts, and/or strategies presented in the course materials to date.
Viewpoints and interpretations are insightful and well supported. Clear,
detailed examples are provided, as applicable. Response
demonstrates a general reflection on, and personalization of, the theories,
concepts, and/or strategies presented in the course materials to date.
Viewpoints and interpretations are supported.
Appropriate examples are provided, as applicable. Response demonstrates a minimal reflection on, and
personalization of, the theories, concepts, and/or strategies presented in the
course materials to date. Viewpoints and interpretations are unsupported or
supported with flawed arguments. Examples, when applicable, are not provided or
are irrelevant to the assignment. Response
demonstrates a lack of reflection on, or personalization of, the theories,
concepts, and/or strategies presented in the course materials to date.
Viewpoints and interpretations are missing, inappropriate, and/or unsupported.
Examples, when applicable, are not provided.
___/25
Required Components Response
includes all components and meets or exceeds all requirements indicated in the
instructions. Each question or part of the assignment is addressed thoroughly.
All attachments and/or additional documents are included, as required. Response includes all components and meets
all requirements indicated in the instructions. Each question or part of the
assignment is addressed. All attachments and/or additional documents are
included, as required. Response is
missing some components and/or does not fully meet the requirements indicated
in the instructions. Some questions or parts of the assignment are not
addressed. Some attachments and additional documents, if required, are missing
or unsuitable for the purpose of the assignment. Response excludes essential components and/or does not address
the requirements indicated in the instructions. Many parts of the assignment
are addressed minimally, inadequately, and/or not at all.
___/50
Structure Writing
is clear, concise, and well organized with excellent sentence/paragraph
construction. Thoughts are expressed in a coherent and logical manner. There
are no more than three spelling, grammar, or syntax errors per page of writing. Writing is mostly clear, concise, and well
organized with good sentence/paragraph construction. Thoughts are expressed in
a coherent and logical manner. There are no more than five spelling, grammar,
or syntax errors per page of writing. Writing
is unclear and/or disorganized. Thoughts are not expressed in a logical manner.
There are more than five spelling, grammar, or syntax errors per page of
writing. Writing is unclear and
disorganized. Thoughts ramble and make little sense. There are numerous
spelling, grammar, or syntax errors throughout the response.
___/10
Evidence and Practice Response
shows strong evidence of synthesis of ideas presented and insights gained
throughout the course. The implications of these insights for the respondent’s
overall learning practice are thoroughly detailed, as applicable. Response shows evidence of synthesis of
ideas presented and insights gained throughout the course. The implications of
these insights for the respondent’s overall learning practice are presented, as
applicable. Response shows
little evidence of synthesis of ideas presented and insights gained throughout
the course. Few implications of these insights for the respondent’s overall
learning practice are presented, as applicable. Response shows no evidence of synthesis of ideas presented
and insights gained throughout the course. No implications for the respondent’s
overall learning practice are presented, as applicable.
___/15
Total Marks
__/100
Newspaper Article to reflect on:
Labor market: HR to the fore as businesses hit ‘reset’
Author: GeorgiGyton
________________________________________
Oil price spurs rethink in organizational structures, as
companies bid to remain competitive
Shaky economic confidence has led to fears for the health of
the GCC recruitment market, and sparked layoffs at a number of organizations.
But for some HR departments, the falling oil price has ushered in a much-needed
opportunity to restructure and refocus.
Oil exporting countries in the MENA region lost more than
$340bn in revenue during 2015 and, while there are signs of a slowly
stabilizing market, workforce investment remains low.
Organizations are frequently turning to HR to respond.
According to Deloitte’s recently published Global Human Capital Trends 2016
report, 40 per cent of Middle Eastern businesses are currently engaged in a
restructuring exercise, and they are focusing on three key areas:
nationalization, efficiency and budget optimization.
Bharat Gupta, senior director at management consultancy
Alvarez &Marsal Middle East, dates this trend to the immediate
after-effects of the global financial crisis, when companies looked to expand
both product offerings and geographical reach on the back of easy credit and
improved business sentiment. “However, the sharp correction in oil prices since
September 2014 has resulted in a domino effect of reduced liquidity and a
slowdown in demand,” he says. “As a result, the organizations that
over-extended themselves are now adjusting their strategy to focus on their
core businesses, or segments with better cash return ratios.”
Gupta says there have been several notable implications for
organizational structures, including the strengthening of certain capabilities
– such as hiring mid-to-senior managers and retraining employees – as well as
the downsizing of some teams, and the boosting of support functions such as IT,
finance and procurement, which may have been overlooked in the past.
One area that hasn’t seen much focus so far is middle
management, he adds: “Strong and empowered middle managers carry the burden of
the organization – [they] deliver the strategy and free [up] senior management
to focus on strategic matters.”
Source:
http://www.cipd.ae/people-management-magazine/feature-articles/hr-businesses-hit-reset#
Gupta suggests that
HR can bring itself to the fore by helping offset the time it takes to develop
experienced managers through an empowerment of more junior managers, as well as
investing more in learning and development and other career development
practices.
The macroeconomic disruption has spread beyond oil and gas
to affect hospitality and tourism, as well as retail and manufacturing. Abu
Dhabi’s GDP, for example, is likely to fall from 4.4 per cent to 1.7 per cent
this year, and successive surveys have shown recruitment remains sluggish.
But governments, as well as individual businesses, are
refreshing their strategies in response. Saudi Arabia, for example, has
unveiled ‘Vision 2030’, which aims to diversify the country’s economy. Deputy
crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has said he wants to reduce overall
unemployment from 11.6 per cent to 7 per cent by 2030 by expanding the private
sector, promoting enterprise and improving education.
The plan includes the sale of 5 per cent of Saudi Aramco to
create the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, and follows the announcement
of broad economic rebalancing strategies from the UAE and Bahrain.
Trefor Murphy, managing director for MENA at Morgan
McKinley, says such moves – at both a national and organizational level – are
leading to pockets of opportunity: “There has been a noticeably huge increase
in the demand for consultants and consultancy firms – organizations
specializing in lean process improvement or anything that makes a current
process more efficient, whether that’s someone with expertise in reducing
discrepancies in a retail bank, or bringing new technology to improve the
[operational] efficiency of any organization,” he says.
In many sectors, and at various levels, pay freezes are
likely – for the first time in a generation in countries raised on a diet of
ever-increasing rewards. Mosley points to construction, healthcare and the
public sector as areas where pay has taken a downward turn in recent years
(banking, insurance and real estate, by contrast, are still on an upward trajectory).
But a wider tightening of belts could also drag oil and gas, petrochemicals,
technology and telecommunications, among others, into the red.
Source:
http://www.cipd.ae/people-management-magazine/feature-articles/hr-businesses-hit-reset#
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