HRM70104 Managing People for Performance Assignment

Assessment Task/Activities

Individual Assignment:

Each student is required to write a review of journal articles that incorporate cultural factors in the research of performance management. The review should

1) provide a clear summary of no less than 1 (ONE) credible journal articles,

2) establish the theoretical, methodological, and managerial implications,

3) suggest specific directions for future research near the end of the review.

Teaching and Learning Activities:

MLO1 is achieved after students are introduced to the key concepts and elements of a performance management system. Each student will explore the latest and best literature on performance management and learn to manage based on scientific evidence by keeping cultures in perspective. The lecturer will facilitate students through interactive and self-direct learning activities such as quiz, forum, poll, and role-playing to form their own perspectives on the conceptualisations, theories, and approaches of performance management.

MLO 2& 3

• Analyse benefits and challenges in implementing performance management.
• Demonstrate effective leadership skills.

Assessment Task/Activities

Group Assignment Assessment Task 2:

Students are to report on the performance management practices of ONE

(1) successful organization of their group’s choice. The organisation should be large for your group to articulate the issues on performance management efforts. Open-ended questions (usually question starts with who, what, where, when, why, or how) and the students were to interview TWO

(2) managers (top manager, middle-level manager or line manager) from the chosen organisation or industry. During the interview session with the managers, the students are to seek the relevant people and organisational design issues and get specific examples of how these managers implement a performance management system in their organisation.

Teaching and Learning Activities:

MLO2 and 3 are achieved through active discussion of various current issues in performance management and case studies. This is a case-based learning approach where real-world examples are being analysed so that students learn to identify issues in various working environment pertaining to the implementation of performance and the monitoring system within an organisation. Group discussions are expected among students as well as the presentation of the ideas. Feedback would be given to gauge the level of understanding and the mastery of communication skills. Students would also learn to integrate various aspects of management of a performance system and analyse the organization more holistically. Leadership skills are acquired and developed through the process of working together in groups.

MLO 4

Evaluate the effectiveness of a performance management system.

Assessment Task/Activities

The final exam assesses the MLOs in the form of a case study. It is an open-book take-home exam. The exam lasts EIGHT (8) hours.

Teaching and Learning Activities:

1. Brief on exam preparation.
2. Independent and/or group learning and revision.

Details of each assessment task:

Write a review of the following journal article:

Dastmalchian, A., Bacon, N., McNeil, N., Steinke, C., Blyton, P., Satish Kumar, M., ... & Varnali, R. (2020). High-performance work systems and organizational performance across societal cultures. Journal of International Business Studies, 51(3), 353-388.

Click on the following link to retrieve the article:https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/23058/1/

Structure:

1. Summary of the reviewed article
   1. Summarise the background and aim of this journal article (word count: 100)
   2. Define the following terms: High-Performance Work System (HPWS); Societal Culture; and Organisational Performance (Word count: 100)
   3. Describe the research methods used to produce the data collection and data analysis (Word count: 50)
   4. Summarize three key findings of this article (Word count: 100)
   5. Explain the limitations of the journal article (Word count 50)
2. Discussion of the managerial implications
1. Discuss 3 (THREE) managerial implications: (Words count: 600)
1. Read the journal article thoroughly and identify three key findings (consistent with d under Part 1).
2. Explain how each finding can be applied in your country or organization to improve managerial practices.
3. Use additional literature or your experience/observation in real-world organizations to support your answer.
4. You can also include theoretical and/or methodological implications.
5. Make sure to discuss three points in total, regardless of the implication types (theoretical2 , methodological3 , or managerial).

Assignment Format:

1. Times New Roman, 1.5 spacing and 11-point font.
2. The document should be between 800 and 1200 words (excluding the title page, tables, charts, and references).
3. The report should be written in accordance with parts.
4. Use APA/Harvard referencing style.

Writing Resources:

You are expected to communicate your ideas with effective writing. A quick guide to write clearly, concisely, and precisely. You can hone your writing skills by referring to Purdue Online Writing Lab You are highly recommended to check your writing with Grammarly.

Submission:

Merge all the documents (as doc. or .pdf) and submit your assignment to Submission (Assignment 1 Submission) on TIMeS. Name your document with your full name and student number e.g., “James Bond-123456”. Submission should include (please order them as below):

1. Assignment cover page (find the template at the end of this document)
2. The article review (title, abstract, keywords, body, references, and appendices if applicable)
3. Turnitin report (only insert the similarity report, and only check the body, i.e., excluding cover page, abstract, references etc)
4. Assignment 1 rubric

Turnitin similarity index

Students need to check their assignment using ‘Turnitin’ for duplication. All assignments should not exceed 20% in the overall similarity index, which excludes bibliographies and references, with no more than 5% similarity from each individual source. If this similarity is not fulfilled, the module leader will provide adequate justifications and send the assignments to the academic Integrity Officer for examination.

Students can check as many times as possible and amend accordingly to ensure that duplication is absolutely minimum (Note: the new Turnitin report will be obtained after 24 hours of re-submission). A copy of the ‘Turnitin’ report is to be attached to the assignment for submission, Notes: There is a penalty for Turnitin similarities should it exceeds 20%. Should the similarity index fall between 20% and 25%, 5 marks will be deducted; should the similarity index falls between 26% and 30%, 10 marks will be deducted; should the similarity index exceeds 30%, the heaviest penalty could be zero marks, which is at the discretion of the module leader and/or Taylor’s Business School.

Assignment 2: Group Written Assignment (40%)

You are expected to report on the implementation and effectiveness of the performance management system/practices of ONE (1) organisation of your group’s choice. The organisation should be large in size so that you are able to articulate the issues pertaining to performance management.

You need to interview at least ONE (1) manager (top manager, middle-level manager or line manager) from the chosen organization. The more interviewees, the more comprehensive the data, thus greater chance to obtain higher marks.

During the interview session with the managers, the students are to seek the relevant people and organisational design issues and get specific examples of how these managers implemented a performance management system in their organization. Students are advised to use open-ended questions (usually question starts with who, what, where, when, why, or how). The assignment should be completed in a group of no more than FIVE (5) students.

You are recommended to organise the report in the following sequence:

PART 1 (INTRODUCTION)

Briefly describe the organization’s (e.g., legal name, ownership, structure, workforce, products or services, important resources and technologies, competitors, customers, and any other relevant information, particularly its STRATEGY) to provide an overview of the operating environment.

PART 2 (DESCRIPTION)

This section is to describe the performance management system in the chosen organisation based on interviews or other sources such as the official website and annual report. You can create a flow chart based on Lecture 2 and supplement each chart with relevant key info. You can also just illustrate the system based on the info you gathered from the interview and other sources.

For the interview, you are advised to prepare open-ended questions (usually, the question starts with who, what, where, when, why, or how) and interview two managers (top manager, middle-level manager or line manager) from the chosen organisation or industry. When interviewing the managers, be sure to cover all relevant people and organisational design issues and get specific examples of how these managers implement a performance management system in their organisation. Below are some example questions. You can create your own questions as long as they will help you generate first-hand data to describe and evaluate performance management in the organisation.

1. What are the processes of performance management?
   1. How does the management conduct an environmental analysis? What do they identify as internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external (opportunities and threats) trends?
   2. How do managers engage employees, motivate them to go above and beyond the call of duty to exhibit exceptional performance? (optional)
   3. What kind of training program is organised by the organisation that allows supervisors to increase confidence in their skills to manage the performance management processes and consequently allow them to minimize rating errors? (optional)
   4. How does the organisation gather each employee’s performance information, analyse, release the results and reward the employees? (optional)
   5. How do the managers set the goals for employees? Are employees involved in decision making? How does the management/you encourage creative decision making within the organisation? (IMPORTANT)
   6. How do managers give feedback? How often? How do employees react to feedback? Is there a feedback culture in the company? What are the achievements and challenges? (IMPORTANT)
   7. Suppose that the manager wants to change the organisation’s work culture. What sort of resistance would he/she expect from employees? How would he/she deal with this resistance? (optional)
   8. What are the typical causes of the poor performance of employees, and what has been done to enhance their performance? Can you give some examples?
   9. What sources of stress does this manager have in terms of performance management? How is it managed? What sources of stress do this manager’s employees have? What are the wellness programs that exist in this organisation to enable employees to better deal with workplace stress or its consequences?
2. What does the manager think are some advantages/ challenges of performance management in his/her organisation?

PART 3 (DISCUSSION) (strengths/weaknesses)

1. EVALUTION. Establish the strengths and challenges of the performance management system in this organisation. Make sure your EVALUATION is theory-driven and evidence-based. The evaluation can echo the views shared by the managers in Part 2 but you are expected to form your own critical views by applying concepts, theories, and research evidence of Performance Management.
2. RECOMMENDATIONS. What kind of people management strategies would you suggest the organisation adopt to turn around its performance and move to a greater height? (Theory-driven and evidence-based SOLUTIONS)

PART 4 (CONCLUSION)

Wrap up your report with takeaway messages.

Assignment Format:

1. Times New Roman, 1.5 spacing and 11-point font
2. The document should be of 4,500 words (excluding title page, tables, charts, and references).
3. The report should be written in accordance to parts.
4. Use APA/Harvard referencing style.

Writing Resources:

You are expected to communicate your ideas with effective writing. Quick guide to write clearly, concisely, and precisely. You can hone your writing skills by referring to Purdue Online Writing Lab You are highly recommended to check your writing with Grammarly.

Submission:

1. Merge all the documents (as doc. or .pdf) and submit your assignment to Submission (Assessment 2 Submission) on TIMeS.
2. Name your document with your group code and team name “A2-S1G1-team name”. Submission should include (you can find the documents at the end of MIB and please order them as below):
1. Assignment cover page (find the template at the end of this document)
2. The REPORT
3. Turnitin report (only insert the similarity report)
4. Assignment 2 rubric 3 penalty marks will be imposed if the submission is incomplete i.e. missed any one or more of the documents above.