Assignment Task

Debate, using appropriate theory and practice, whether globalisation will result in convergence between national patterns of HRM or will cultural and institutional heritages ensure that national patterns of HRM will still diverge?

Unit Learning Outcomes Assessed.

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of country specific approaches to HRM .
2. Evaluate the convergence and divergence of HRM policies and practices in a global context.
3. Analyse the implications of global contexts for HRM policies and practices.
4. Develop an analytical framework within which to undertake comparative research.

Early Career/ World Class Professional Skills (PLOs being assessed or developed)/Assessed.

After successfully completing this assignment, you should be in a position to:

1. Apply critical thinking to practical and theoretical problems
2. Be effective communicators using a range of media
3. Demonstrate global awareness of business practice
4. Explain the theory and practice of GHRM
5. Critique the theory and practice of GHRM

Assignment Details and Instructions.

Debate, using appropriate theory and practice, whether globalisation will result in convergence between national patterns of HRM or will cultural and institutional heritages ensure that national patterns of HRM will still diverge?

Additional Information

The word limit is 3000 words (not including appendices).

Answering the question

•The assignment task is designed to test your ability to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes of the unit by meeting the assessment criteria. Therefore, when you are preparing your work you should consider these throughout.
•Make sure you stay focussed on the question as set. Focus your answer on the specific task identified in the assignment. Analyse the key words in the question and plan your answer carefully.

Appropriate reading/research
•It is not acceptable to solely use text books as your main source material for this assignment. You should try to research from a range of sources particularly evidence based journal articles.
•Try and source articles that link to your specific area of practice.
•Suggested databases:
•Library Electronic Subject Resources → Select E → Education & Teaching Resources → Australian Educational Index/British Educational Index/ERIC are good places to start.

Using the literature appropriately
•Ensure you cite all your sources correctly.
•Ensure that when you lift text from another source and include it in your assignment it is placed in quotation marks with an appropriate citation.
•If you paraphrase from a text you do not require quotation marks, but ensure it is sufficiently different from the original and include the citation.
•It is not appropriate when using the literature to support your work that you make too many direct quotations. This style does not allow you to demonstrate your understanding and can disrupt the flow of your arguments. It is a much better academic writing style to summarise or paraphrase the quotation and reference it accordingly.
•Do not quote material out of context. This often occurs when you take a very short quotation and then incorporate it into your written work.
•Avoid using a quotation and then summarising the quotation in your own words. This is very repetitive. It leads to a lack of focus and can eat considerably into your assignment page allocation. This can prevent you from generating enough detail in the rest of your answer.
•Try to avoid using secondary referencing, e.g. “Jones 2002 cited by Smith 2003”. This is not considered to be best academic practice especially if you are able to access Jones 2002 directly. •Please use the Harvard method of referencing and citation (see guidelines on Moodle). Penalties for lateness will be applied in line with university regulations.

Producing the bibliography
•The bibliography is a single list that should contain all the source material you have used to produce your assignment. You do not need to split the list into books & journals or references & bibliography etc.
•Remember the length of the bibliography is far less important than the currency, appropriateness and utilisation of the material listed. Again use a Harvard format.

Avoiding plagiarism
•Make sure you understand what plagiarism is. The University views plagiarism as a serious matter. You must read the information on plagiarism in the MU Regulations Handbook. Penalties will be applied if plagiarism occurs.
•Beware the dangers of working too closely with your colleagues. Remember that the submission must be your own work. If you work too closely with others, you could find yourselves being penalised for plagiarising each other’s work.
•Remember the Turnitin Moodle drop box enables you to get formative feedback on your citations and referencing. Ensure you leave enough time to submit the assignment, get feedback, re –draft and re-submit (remember there has to be a 24 hour gap between each submission)”
Academic staff will not read drafts of assignments or discuss specific issues related to the completion of this assignment. They will discuss assignment plans and advise you on general issues related to academic writing. Participants with a specific learning disability should discuss their needs with their Academic Tutor.