Current News Events in Human Resource Management

Purpose:The purpose of this assignment is to explore how Human Resource Management (HRM) issues may exist in real life scenarios outside the classroom. You mustapply various HR concepts to current events in the broader business, local, national or international spheres that may have a foreseeable impact on HR functions and/or employees. Content:Your task has two components: (1) Find a newspaper article related to HRM, and (2) write an essay about the article.Your newspaper article should be from a reputable newspaper (paper or online source). Examples include, but are not limited to, the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail and the National Post. The article must be from the past 12months, at least 4 paragraphs long, and related to HRM concepts that we discuss in class.The article can be about local, provincial, national, or international topics, however, original articles must be written in English. You do not need to include actual copies of the article or reference articles/reports, but be sure to include full citations to all information used at the end of your report.
(C)MHR523–Individual Project –Article AnalysisInstructor: MHR523 Instructional Team2Format:Your essay should include:•A brief summary of the article (approximately 100-200 words).•An identification of the main HR issue(s) raised in the primary news article; one sentence per main issue.Followed by adetailed explanation of the main HR issue(s) supported by references. •A detailed discussion of the implications for businesses, employees, and/or society that arise from the article. (In other words, how does the subject of your news article affect any or all stakeholders: business, employees, and/or the general public?). •A conclusion emphasizing whatthe field ofHRcan learn from the issues raised in your news article.
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A detailed discussion of the implications for businesses, employees, and/or society that arise from the article. (In other words, how does the subject of your news article affect any or all stakeholders: business, employees, and/or the general public?).
• A conclusion emphasizing what the field of HR can learn from the issues raised in your news article.


Analysis:


Your essay should include references from the textbook and at least Five (5) credible and reliable sources written in the last 10 years, to support your analysis of the news article:
Three (3) of your credible sources must be from a peer-reviewed academic journal.
Two (2) of your credible sources must be from an industry publication.
Please do not reference blogs or Wikipedia. Do not count any references already used in the course.


A list of examples of relevant HR journals and industry publications is attached. This list is not exhaustive and is only meant as a guideline. You are welcome to use information from other academic journals or industry publications not on this list. You may search for and access scholarly journals through the University Library’s home page. Be sure to include appropriate APA citations for all references used in your essay.
Summary of Marking Criteria:


• The news article chosen is relevant to HRM, meets the criteria, and a detailed and compelling reason for relevance to HR is given. Article is clearly and accurately summarized. (you do not need to paraphrase the entire article; the emphasis of the assignment is on your analysis). (10 Marks)



• The HR issues in the article have been clearly and correctly identified (one sentence per issue). At least3 HR issues from the article have been explained in detail using appropriate, additional external references to support the discussion. HR issues may come from any part of the textbook. (40 Marks)


• A detailed discussion of the potential implications of the main news article for various stakeholders is provided and supported by appropriate references. (Who may be impacted by the issue, and how arethey impacted?) (20 Marks)



• A conclusion highlights what HR can learn (in general) from the issues raised in the news article. (10Marks)



• All paper requirements must be met as detailed on the next page, please read them carefully and check your paper for each before submission. (20 Marks)



Use the marks assigned as a guide to the amount of content required.
Paper Requirements:

☐ The assignment must be between four and five pages long (excluding cover page and appendices – you do not need to attach articles).
☐ Please write in essay format (do not use bullets). Use short descriptive sub-headings. The nature of the paper requires you to write in the third person (i.e. The article suggests...)

☐ Writing is clear and includes effective use of vocabulary. Ideas are expressed fluently and in an organized manner. The essay uses at least 5 additional scholarly sources (above and beyond the course textbook). It is important to proofread for both grammar and spelling.
☐ Be sure to follow all APA Guidelines for cover page, citation, referencing and formatting as per the ------------- University – Student Learning Support – APA Basic Style Guide made available in ------------- (please note, an Abstract is not required).
☐ Your cover page (in APA format) should include your name and student number; as well as the course name, section, and your instructor’s name.

☐ Your ‘References’ list should include all sources including the course text. Be sure to include a permanent link to your primary article so that it can be accessed if needed.

☐ Submit your assignment in MS Word format (2-page view) through -------------. Your document name should follow the format ‘(C)MHR523-XXX-QYYYY-IP-News-JHughes’
– where XXX is your section, Q is the semester, YYYY is the year; and replacing JHughes with your name.



Failure to adhere to any of the above requirements will result in marks being deducted.
FAQ

How do I choose an appropriate news article?

• Your article should come from a reputable news source (i.e. Globe and Mail, New York Times, Forbes, etc.) and bedated within the past 12 months (the incident/event described in the article may refer to an earlier time period as longas the article itself is not more than 12 months old).
• Your article should be about an HR-issue (e.g. downsizing), or an issue that is closely related to HR. Primary news articles should NOT be from an HR (or closely related) magazine or news feed, since the article would havealready described the HR implications, there would
be little room for your analysis. However, HR industry publications may be used as part of your supporting references (i.e. you can use these sources to support your analysis).
• The subject of the article may be an event or issue within Canada or something taking place internationally. TIP:for articles dealing with legal issues, try to avoid getting into the legal
technicalities, especially of jurisdictions outside of Ontario, as the legal systems may differ dramatically. If there are legal implications arising from your article that are important to HR, then you can state that if in Ontario, the legal implications would be . . .


How do I go from choosing a news article to explaining the main HR issue(s)?

• Provided that you have chosen an appropriate news article (i.e. one that is sufficiently related to HR), you should then be able to identify the main HR issue(s) in that article. Depending on your article, there may be one major HR issue, or several related HR issues. For example, if you find an article about an employer closing a business, the main HR issue would be layoffs/downsizing. Related issues may include employee severance packages,reemployment
of displaced workers, effect on the local economy, effect on the employer’s brand, etc.
• This is the section of the assignment where you will want to use the references (the course textbook as well as 5 additional sources). In other words, once you have identified the main HR issue(s), you will need to do some research on that topic and provide the reader with a detailed discussion of the topic and related HR issues.


What do you mean by implications for stakeholders?

• The implications could focus on how the event/topic/theme in your article might impact different groups of people (e.g., employees, the management of employees in organizations and/or society as a whole). If we continue with thedownsizing topic as an example, you might
discuss the challenges laid-off employees may experience finding work, the difficult choices the management of the organization has to make when deciding which employees lose their jobs, and the effect of large-scale layoffs on the local economy.
• This may be an opportunity to make further use of your references to support your arguments for how the HR issue(s) in the article will affect various stakeholders.


What do you mean by what HR can learn?

• This section should serve as the conclusion for your assignment, wherein you summarize the main HR issue(s)raised in the news article and then describe what HR departments can generally learn from this event in the future. To ensure that this section contains sufficient
detail, it would be a good idea to aim for at least 3 items that can be learnt.
List of Academic Journals and Industry Publications:

Academic Journals
• Academy of Management Perspectives
• Advances in Developing Human Resources
• Applied Psychology: An International Review
• Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources
• Asia Pacific Journal of Management
• Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences
• Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science
• Career Development International
• Compensation and Benefits Review
• Cross Cultural Management
• International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management
• European Journal of International Management
• European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology
• European Management Journal
• Gender, Work and Organization
• Group and Organization Management
• Human Relations
• Human Resources Development Review
• Human Resources Development International
• Human Resource Management
• Human Resource Management Journal
• Human Resource Management Review
• Human Resource Planning
• International Journal of Cross Cultural Management
• International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment
• International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management
• International Journal of Human Resources Management
• International Journal of Intercultural Relations
• International Journal of Manpower
• International Journal of Psychology
• International Journal of Selection and Assessment
• International Journal of Training and Development
• International Studies of Management and Organization
• The Irish Journal of Management
• Journal of Applied Psychology
• Journal of Applied Social Psychology
• Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management
• Journal of Business and Psychology
• Journal of Career Development
• Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology
• Journal of Employee Assistance
• Journal of Human Resources
• Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies
• Journal of Management
• Journal of Management Studies
• Journal of Managerial Psychology
• Journal of Management Development
• Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
• Journal of Occupational Psychology
• Journal of Organizational Behavior Management
• Journal of Organizational Change Management
• Journal of Vocational Behavior
• Journal of Workplace Learning
• Journal of World Business
• Personnel Review
• South African Journal of Human Resources Management
• Research and Practice in Human Resource Management
• Training and Development Journal
• WorldatWork Journal
Industry Publications
• Benefits Canada
• Benefits and Compensation Digest
• Benefits Quarterly
• Canadian HR Reporter
• Employee Benefits News
• Employment Relations Today
• Harvard Business Review
• HR Focus
• HR Magazine
• HR Professional
• Human Resources Management International Digest
• Industrial and Commercial Training
• IOMA’s Human Resources Department Management Report
• IOMA’s Pay for Performance Report
• IOMA’s Report on Managing Benefits Plans
• IOMA’s Report on Managing Training and Development
• Ivey Business Journal
• Managing Training and Development
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Organization Studies
• Organizational Dynamics
• People Management
• Personnel Today
• Training Journal
• Training Magazine
• Training and Development
• Training and Management Development Methods
• Workforce Management
• Workplace Today
• Workspan