Literature Review on Contemporary Human Resource Management Topics HRM3004

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ASSESSMENT RATIONALE

What is this assessment about?

In this assessment you are required to complete an academic literature review. But what exactly does it mean to review literature?

You might have heard about annotated bibliographies, whichis a list of four to five articles, eachincludingacorrectly formatted academic referenceand a 250-word summary of an articles key points.All articles are distinct from each other and are not explicitly put into relation to each other. In aliterature review, however, you look at the articles in comparison with the objective to discern different perspectives, viewpoints, and correlating or opposing arguments and approaches to a specific topic. You can view it as a conversation or a story that you are establishing by choosing and relating sources to each other.

A literature review is an integral part of academic work and sets the foundation and context for the research. It shows what research has already been done in the field, so that you know where more research and discussion might be needed.

The library has a very informative tip sheet on literature reviews that you can accesshere. It says that in a literature review, your central focus is examining and evaluating what has been said before on a topic and establishing the relevance of this information to your own research (ECU, 2008, p. 1). The main point is that you are interested in the topic you choose as the anchor point of your research. Finding relevant literature is fun.

The challenging part is to decide which sources to include and which to leave out. We recommend that you choose sources that have been published since 2010, are relevant for your topic, have been peer-reviewed and published in an academic journal and contribute valuable knowledge to the field of research.

Over the next couple of weeks, this subject will provide you with opportunities to develop your literature review skills, so that you are all set to submit your assignment in Week 5.

You might wonder why writing a literature review is important, given that becoming a researcher is not what you aspire towards.Have a look at this image:

Source: de Wolf, S. (2019). This researcher created cartoons to make science more popular.Erasmus Magazine.https://www.erasmusmagazine.nl/en/2019/10/15/this-researcher-created-cartoons-to-make-science-more-popular/

What is the message behind this brief story? If you think the message is that research is fundamental for the success of businesses and enterprises in various industries, then you are on the right track. As a professional, but also in your personal life, we are so often required to look for information, to evaluate and assess sources in terms of their validity and reliability and to take responsibility if things go wrong due to us not having done our research thoroughly enough. The farmer in the cartoon above relied on one source only the wrong one. What if he had researched more widely and come across a more diverse conversation that would have pointed out that the product he had chosen was not the right one?

The skill to research and find reliable sources and to read, understand, assess, evaluate and place them into the context of a larger discourse (discourse is a fancy word for conversation) applies as much to human resource management as to academia. In your future HR profession, you will need to research, collate, and organise information, gather and evaluate data sets and effectively present and communicate your findings. All of this is the main focus of writing a literature review. And, as a cherry on top, you get to read many interesting current perspectives on HRM, which will increase your knowledge base in regard to the nature of HRM and prepare you for work in the field.

When you prepare your literature review, you look at the potential impacts of contemporary HRM issues for business practice. This assessment helps you to develop the skills needed and to write through a business lens by looking what happens (practically) in organisations.

INSTRUCTIONS

Now, lets look at the specifics of the assessment task:

What am I required to do?

Overall:Provide your individual academic understanding ofaselected topicand its implications for HRMand business strategy.

To do so, conduct independent research for your literature review and use at leasttwelve (12)scholarly peer-reviewed articles (published since the year 2010).

The literature review should identify key themes and issues and have a clear, logical structure.

Step 1:Read all assessment materials provided on Canvas. Please refer to the marking rubric for this assessment to see marking criteria and achievement expectations. Highlight everything you dont understand. If you have any assessment-related questions, pop them into the Assessment Q&A discussion board, and your facilitator will respond.

Step2:Choose oneof the following topics for your literature review:

1. Generation Z
2. Psychological well-being
3. Flexible work practices
4. Expatriation
5. Talent management
6. Gender diversity
7. Gig economy
8. Green human resource management
9. Artificial intelligence
10. Other topics can be selected in consultation with your lecturer

Step 3:Have a look at theECU literature review academic tip sheet.

Step4:Nowstart your research into your topic. You can find tips on how to conduct research here:https://ecu.au.libguides.com/business-resourcesLinks to an external site.

Step 5:Read your articles closely and make yourself more familiar with their content. Take notes while reading and ask yourself, for example, what is the purpose of the article? What is the literature about? What are the key findings reported in the article?

Step6:Follow the template below to complete your assessment.The following is a suggested literature review format:

• A title page: Includes title of literature review

• Abstract(not included in word count):This should contain the aim of the literature review a brief background summary, brief details of the investigation or research you have undertaken, the major findings or key issues arising, and any recommendations if these are appropriate.

• An introduction(200 words +/- 10%): In a literature review your introduction needs to identify the purpose of the research and theselected topic. This section should also set the scene by discussing the significance of the area under investigation and map out the remainder of the literature review for the reader.

• The main body (1,600 words +/- 10%)should include relevant headings and sub-headings identifying the key themes, issues and discussion of the selected topic. Headings should be kept simple, and the content should be able to be read without these. Your literature review shouldbe referenced to supportyour arguments and analysis.

• A conclusion(200 words+/- 10%):This section should be written in your words and must pull together the key points you have discussed and identify future directions (i.e.where to from here). It should not introduce new material.

• A reference list(not included in word count): APA 7th edition

How long should my review be?

Word countis2,000 words (plus or minus 10%), excluding abstract, table of content and reference list.

Which referencing style do I use?

APA 7^thedition is the required referencing style.Check here for more information:https://www.ecu.edu.au/centres/library-services/how-to-guides/referencing

All references cited in the body of your paper should be listed in full at the end of the assessment. You should not have any source material in your reference list which is not included within the text of the assessment. Valuable marks are thrown away by not taking enough care with referencing.

REQUIREMENTS

Prescribed textbook and exclusively scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles (since the year 2010) must be cited.

Please note, while your textbook is a useful starting point for this assignment, it is expected that you will consult a wider variety of academic sources and conduct significant research prior to writing the review.

PREPARATION ACTIVITIES

Throughout unit - Assessment practice corners: Writing a literature review

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• apply knowledge and skills to demonstrate judgement and problem solving of contemporary HRM issues

• formulate strategies for effective HRM in relation to recruitment and retention, learning and development, compensation and performance management

• appraise literature and theories on selected HRM topics and issues

• evaluate the contribution that effective HRM can make to organisational objectives.

MARKING CRITERIA

• Content and analysis (50 marks)

• Organisation (20 marks)

• Reference quality and skills (10 marks)

• Mechanics and length (20 marks)

FEEDBACK

Feedback will be available 7 working days after the deadline. Find instructions on how to view feedback from your facilitator after your assessment has been graded here:

https://courses.ecu.edu.au/courses/8492/pages/canvas-grades-and-feedback

Rubric

Assignment 2: Literature review