Assessment

The module assessment is based on coursework and exam and includes both seen and unseen elements. You are required to complete an examination lasting two hours fifteen minutes and a research assignment of 2500 words. Assignment The assignment will require you to carry out extensive research into a key issue in the HRM field and produce a literature review based on your findings. It is designed to encourage strategic thinking about people management and development and provide grounding in the fundamentals of HRM. You will be able to choose the focus of your research from a series of predetermined themes (see below) and will acquire through the assignment a critical appreciation of the key concepts, models and perspectives underpinning the subject. The assignment must be submitted no later than 12.00 midday on Thursday 22 November 2012 What is a literature review? A critical review of the relevant literature is a key element of all academic research and has the following purposes. It should: Place research into the context of other work on the topic Identify questions that need to be examined in the research Provide a framework of concepts, theories and analytical models that will be used in the analysis of data An effective review of the literature will be both relevant and critical:

 Relevant. You are expected to refine your chosen theme and focus on what, from your reading, you consider to be the key issues, and you should focus on these rather than writing a general overview of the field. Critical. In this context critical does not mean censorious, or fault-finding. It means a balanced evaluation of ideas, identifying strengths as well as limitations. Effective. An effective literature review will end with conclusions that identify, with reasons, the key ideas from your reading. To achieve this, the review of the literature must be analytical rather than descriptive If you are concerned about the approach and style required, read a number of articles in journals such as Human Resource Management Journal, or the Journal of Management Studies, as these will normally begin with a critical review of the relevant literature.

Themes Your literature review should focus on one of the following themes: The relationship between employee engagement and organisational performance Talent management in a recession The role of performance management in both controlling and developing employees N.B. You are not required to conduct a new piece of research, only a literature review based on one of the above-mentioned themes. You are expected to refine your chosen theme and focus on what, from your reading, you consider to be the key issues.