Question/aspect of the report Maximum possible

Question/aspect of the report Maximum possible

marks Unsatisfactory

Fail

(0-49) Satisfactory

Pass

(50-59) Meets expectations

Credit

(60-69) Exceeds expectations

Distinction

(70-79) Superlative work

High Distinction

(80-100)

Q1 - Strategy of your chosen company 10 Either it was not clearly articulated what the strategy of the chosen company is,

or

the suggested strategy bears little or no resemblance to the actual strategy used by the company,

or

no properly referenced credible sources are used in this section (instant zero if that occurs). The chosen company's strategy is clearly articulated regarding the product strategy or the market focus strategy.

The stated strategy is a plausible interpretation of the actual strategy used by the company, though it may not be accurate in all regards.

An attempt to support the stated strategy with references to credible sources has been made, but further support is warranted. The chosen company's strategy is clearly articulated regarding the product strategy or the market focus strategy.

The stated strategy bears a reasonable resemblance to the actual strategy used by the company.

The stated strategy is supported by references to credible sources. The chosen company's strategy is clearly articulated regarding the product strategy or the market focus strategy.

The stated strategy bears a strong resemblance to the actual strategy used by the company.

The stated strategy is very strongly supported with references to credible sources. The chosen company's strategy is clearly articulated regarding the product strategy or the market focus strategy.

The stated strategy bears a strong resemblance to the actual strategy used by the company.

The stated strategy is very strongly supported with references to credible sources and with examples demonstrating why it is the strategy of the company.

2 - Three types of needs assessment 15(5 for each) The type of needs assessment is neither defined nor is the scope explained,

or

the provided definition or scope of the type of needs assessment is incorrect,

or

discussion of the definition and scope of the type of needs assessment applies only to the company chosen in the report, not any company,

or

no properly referenced credible sources are used in this section (instant zero if that occurs). The type of needs assessment has been defined accurately, but the scope has not been mentioned.

Discussion on the definition and scope of the type of needs assessment is generally applicable to any company, but a few aspects may apply just to the company chosen in the report.

The type of needs assessment has been defined accurately.

The scope of the type of needs assessment is described to a sound level of detail, but some aspects of the scope are omitted.

Discussion of the definition and scope of the type of needs assessment is generally applicable to any company, but a few aspects may apply just to the company chosen in the report.

The type of needs assessment has had both the definition and scope articulated clearly, fully and accurately.

Discussion of the definition and scope of the type of needs assessment is mostly applicable to any company, but a few aspects may apply to just the company chosen in the report.

The type of needs assessment has had both the definition and scope articulated clearly, fully and accurately.

Discussion of the definition and scope of the type of needs assessment is clearly applicable to any company, not just the company chosen in the report.

Q3 - Strategic significance of needs analysis 10 No attempt is made to explain how the three types of needs analysis are of strategic significance,

or

there has only been an attempt to show how one of the three types of needs analysis is of strategic significance,

or

the explanations of how the types of needs analysis are of strategic significance are inadequate or incorrect,

or

no properly referenced credible sources are used in this section (instant zero if that occurs).

It is made clear how at least two of the three types of needs analysis are of strategic significance to a company.

The explanation of how each type of needs analysis is of strategic significance is reasonably complete, although some points of value may be omitted.

Not all explanations may be comprehensive.

Some (but not all) suggestions are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. It is made clear how at least two of the three types of needs analysis are of strategic significance to a company.

The explanation of how each type of needs analysis is of strategic significance is mostly complete, although some points of value may be omitted.

Not all explanations may be comprehensive.

A significant proportion of the suggestions are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. It is made clear how each of the three types of needs analysis is of strategic significance to a company.

The explanation of how each type of needs analysis is of strategic significance is correct, although not all explanations may be comprehensive.

Most, but not all, of the suggestions are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. It is made clear how each of the three types of needs analysis is of strategic significance to a company.

The explanation of how each type of needs analysis is of strategic significance is correct and is comprehensively explained.

All suggestions are supported with strong business logic and relevant references as appropriate.

Q4 - How to identify skills gaps 10 No attempt is made to explain how skills gaps would be identified,

or

the suggested methods of identifying skills gaps would fail to identify more than a small proportion of skills gaps present,

or

the methods suggested applying only to the company chosen in the report, not any company

or

no properly referenced credible sources are used in this section (instant zero if that occurs). It is made clear how each of the suggested methods would identify skills gaps.

The methods suggested would likely help to identify some of the skills gaps present but would miss a noticeable amount.

The methods suggested are generally applicable to any company, but some aspects may apply to just the company chosen in the report.

Some (but not all) suggestions are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. It is made clear how each of the suggested methods would identify skills gaps.

The methods suggested would likely help to identify a decent proportion of skills gaps present.

The methods suggested are generally applicable to any company, but some aspects may apply to just the company chosen in the report.

A significant proportion of the suggestions are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. It is made clear how each of the suggested methods would identify skills gaps.

The methods suggested would clearly help to identify a large proportion of skills gaps present.

The methods suggested are mostly applicable to any company, but small aspects may apply to just the company chosen in the report.

Most, but not all, of the suggestions are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. It is made clear how each of the suggested methods would identify skills gaps.

The methods suggested would clearly help to identify the vast majority of skills gaps present.

The methods suggested are clearly applicable to any company, not just the company chosen in the report.

All suggestions are supported with strong business logic and relevant references as appropriate.

Q5 - Identify trends affecting the future of work 15 No attempt is made to identify trends which will affect the future of work in the chosen company department,

or

few if any of the trends stated are likely to have an effect on the future of work in the chosen company division,

or

few (if any) of the stated trends have their effects clearly or adequately stated,

or

no properly referenced credible sources are used in this section (instant zero if that occurs).

Trends which will affect the future of work in the chosen company department over the next ten years are clearly articulated, though further details could be warranted for some.

Most of the trends stated are likely to have an effect on the future of work in the chosen company division, though more of those effects need to be clearly stated.

Trends considered only examine one or two factors (such as but not limited to political, social, technological, and environmental).

Some (but not all) of the suggested trends and effects are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. Trends which will affect the future of work in the chosen company department over the next ten years are clearly articulated, though further details could be warranted for some.

Most of the trends stated are likely to have an effect on the future of work in the chosen company division and many of those effects are clearly stated.

Trends considered are from at least two different factors (such as but not limited to political, social, technological, and environmental).

A significant proportion of the suggested trends and effects are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate.

Trends which will affect the future of work in the chosen company department over the next ten years are clearly and comprehensively articulated.

Most of the trends stated are likely to have an effect on the future of work in the chosen company division and most of those effects are clearly stated.

Trends considered are from a wide range of factors (such as but not limited to political, social, technological, and environmental).

Most, but not all, of the suggested trends and effects, are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. Trends which will affect the future of work in the chosen company department over the next ten years are clearly and comprehensively articulated.

All trends stated are likely to have an effect on the future of work in the chosen company division and those effects are clearly stated.

Trends considered are from a wide range of factors (such as but not limited to political, social, technological, and environmental).

All suggested trends and effects are supported with strong business logic and relevant references as appropriate.

Q6 - Recommended soft skills 10 Either it was not made clear what soft skills were recommended,

or

the skills recommended were not soft skills,

or

two or more of the suggested soft skills would be unlikely to be of use to the employees of the companys department,

or

fewer than three soft skills were recommended in the report,

or

no properly referenced credible sources are used in this section (instant zero if that occurs).

The suggested soft skills would be of some use to the employees of the company department.

However, one of the suggested soft skills may not be of use to the employees of the company department and/or one of the suggested soft skills may not help with achieving the overall company strategy. The suggested soft skills would be of use to the employees of the company department.

None of the suggested soft skills are irrelevant to the employees of the company department.

However, one of the suggested soft skills may be of limited or no use in helping the company achieve the overall company strategy. The suggested soft skills would be of use to the employees of the company department.

None of the suggested soft skills are irrelevant to the employees of the company department.

All of the suggested soft skills are likely to be of use in helping the company achieve the overall company strategy.

At least one of the suggested soft skills will help the employees of the company department to deal with changes and challenges posed by expected trends affecting the future of work. The suggested soft skills are clearly and undeniably of use to the employees of the company department.

None of the suggested soft skills are irrelevant to the employees of the company department.

All of the suggested soft skills will help the company achieve the overall company strategy.

At least two of the suggested soft skills will help the employees of the company department to deal with changes and challenges posed by expected trends affecting the future of work.

Q6 - Justification of recommended soft skills 10 Either no justification is given for the choice of the suggested soft skills,

or

the justification given is extremely poor (it does not sufficiently support the choice of training methods, or it is often illogical, or it often lacks support),

or

no properly referenced credible sources are used in this section (instant zero if that occurs). Some justification is given for the choice of suggested training methods. However, the justification could be stronger.

There are infrequent linkages between the soft skills recommended, the strategy of the company and the identified trends affecting the future of work, or the linkages are occasionally tenuous.

Some (but not all) suggestions are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. Decent justification is given for the choice of suggested training methods. However, the justification could be stronger.

There are some linkages between the soft skills recommended, the strategy of the company and the identified trends affecting the future of work.

None of the linkages are tenuous.

A significant proportion of the suggestions are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. Solid justification is given for the suggested training methods.

Linkages are regularly shown between the soft skills recommended, the strategy of the company, and the identified trends affecting the future of work.

None of the linkages are tenuous, but not all are clearly highlighted in the report.

Most, but not all, of the suggestions are supported with decent business logic and relevant references as appropriate. Extremely strong justification given for the suggested training methods.

Clear and sensible linkages are frequently shown between the soft skills recommended, the strategy of the company, and the identified trends affecting the future of work.

All linkages are sound and logical and clearly highlighted in the report.

All suggestions are supported with strong business logic and relevant references as appropriate.

Spelling and grammar 10 At some point in the report, the name of the subject company was incorrectly spelt (instant zero in this section if that occurs),

or

more than 5 spelling or grammar errors were identified in the report,

or

the language used did not convey meaning to readers with sufficient clarity.

At no point in the report was the name of the subject company spelt incorrectly,

and

5 spelling or grammar errors were identified in the report,

and

the language used in the report was sufficient for readers to clearly understand the meaning of the author. At no point in the report was the name of the subject company incorrectly spelt,

and

4 spelling or grammar errors were identified in the report,

and

the language used in the report was sufficient for readers to clearly understand the meaning of the author. At no point in the report was the name of the subject company incorrectly spelt,

and

3 spelling or grammar errors identified in the report,

and

the language used in the report was sufficient for readers to clearly understand the meaning of the author. At no point in the report was the name of the subject company incorrectly spelt,

and

no more than 2 spelling or grammar errors were identified in the report,

and

the language used in the report was sufficient for readers to clearly understand the meaning of the author.

Formatting 10 As mentioned in the question document, formatting marks are an all-or-nothing affair. You either meet all requirements with no omissions and thus receive 10 marks out of 10 for this section, or you have made at least one omission and thus receive 0 marks out of 10 for this section. Refer to the question document for detailed requirements of what you need to do when formatting your report.

Total possible score 100

MGMT2009 Assessment Task -1

Employability Skills Report

Expected Word Count: 3000 (Penalty of 10% applies if the word count is less than 2700 or exceeds 3300).

You are to assume you are working for the HR division in a company of your choice. The company can be the one you currently work for (if you are currently employed) or any other company of your choice for which adequate information is publicly available.

To begin with, you must:

1. Choose a for-profit company which will be the subject of your report.

2. Choose a department of the company which will be the focus of your report. For example, if I were allowed to do my report on Curtin University, I may choose the finance department of the university, or the human resources department of the university, or any other distinct department.

For this exercise, you must choose a for-profit company. You may not choose a government organisation, a professional partnership, a not-for-profit organisation or any other form of organisation which is not a for-profit company. Failure to obey this clearly articulated requirement will result in an instant grade of zero being awarded for this assessment.

You have been tasked with preparing a report for this companys executive management on the employability skills (soft skills) that the employees of your chosen company department require. The required soft skills are to be justified through consideration of a needs assessment and trends which are expected to affect the future of work in your chosen company department.

Before you answer any of the six questions your report must cover, you must clearly communicate what company you have chosen and what division of the company you are looking at. Failure to obey this clearly articulated requirement will result in an instant grade of zero being awarded for this assessment.

For example, a statement such as this report will consider the soft skills needed for the staff of Curtin Universitys HR department would meet this requirement.

Once you have made your choice, you are to answer the following questions (refer to the next page):

Question about company strategy

1. What is the strategy of your chosen company? Provide credible evidence to support your choice.

Note: This question refers to the strategy of the company, not just the department of the company you have chosen for this assignment. You may consider strategy in terms of product focus (cost leader vs differentiator) or market focus (concentration, internal growth, external growth or disinvestment).

Questions about needs assessment

2. What are the three types of needs assessment? Briefly define each type and outline the scope of each.

3. Discuss how an organisational needs analysis is of strategic significance to a company. Your answer is expected to cover all three types of needs assessment.

4. Discuss how you would identify skills gaps which may prevent employees from performing job tasks at a desired level.

Note: your answers to questions two, three and four should discuss companies in general and apply to any company. Your answers to questions two, three and four should not focus solely on the company which you have chosen as the focus of your assignment.

Question about the future of work

Now consider your chosen company department. You are to conduct some research on what trends are expected to affect your chosen company department over the next ten years and what effects these trends are expected to have on work performed in that department. You may wish to consider (but are not limited to) technological, economic, social and political trends.

5. Outline the trends which are expected to affect your chosen company department and the effects these trends are expected to have on work performed in that department over the next ten years.

Question about the soft skills necessary for employees in your chosen company department

6. Identify the employability skills (soft skills) that the employees of your chosen company department require. For each soft skill you recommend, you are expected to justify the recommendation with reference to the company strategy identified in question one and the trends expected to affect the future of work identified in question five.

Information about marks can be found on the following pages. Please ensure you carefully read them all.

Marks breakdown

Question 1 strategy of your chosen company10

Question 2 three types of needs assessment15 (5 for each)

Question 3 strategic significance of needs analysis10

Question 4 how to identify skills gaps10

Question 5 identify trends affecting the future of work15

Question 6 recommended soft skills10

Question 6 justification of recommended soft skills10

Spelling and grammar10

Formatting10

Total marks available100

General information about marks

In addition to the below, please also read the marking rubric for detailed information about how marks will be allocated in each section.

Please read all the following information carefully. If you fail to meet any of the clearly communicated requirements and you receive a low (or zero) score as a result, you will have no grounds for complaint.

Referencing:

In each section, it is expected you will have credible references. Credible references include but are not limited to, academic journal articles, trade journal articles, company websites and trustworthy news sources. Sources such as Wikipedia, Investopedia, etc may be useful for your personal background reading but are not considered credible references which are acceptable for this assessment.

Because you are expected to use (and properly refer to) credible references for each section, for any section which does not contain at least one properly referenced credible reference, you will automatically receive zero for that section.

You are to choose the following referencing style for your assignment:

Chicago 17B

Information about how to reference correctly can be found here: https://uniskills.library.curtin.edu.au/referencing/

Spelling and grammar:

When you enter the professional workforce, you will be expected to display high levels of professionalism and attention to detail in your work. One area in which this is displayed is in the quality and clarity of your writing. It is expected that you will be able to write clearly and concisely. It is also expected that you proofread your work for spelling and grammatical errors. We will therefore mark your assessment accordingly.

Please note the following about spelling and grammar:

If at any point in your report, you spell the name of the subject company wrong, you will automatically receive a zero for spelling and grammar.

If your writing is repeatedly ambiguous or is often hard to understand, do not expect to receive a pass mark for spelling and grammar.

Otherwise, if you do not misspell the name of your reports subject company and your writing is easily understood, you will start the spelling and grammar section with 10 marks. For each spelling or grammar error that the marker detects regardless of how small it is - one mark will be removed. For example, if your report contains 3 spelling or grammar errors, you will receive 7 marks for the spelling and grammar section.

Formatting:

The marks for this section are an all-or-nothing affair you either receive 0 or 10 for this section.

To receive the full 10 marks for formatting your report must display ALL the following elements of good report formatting:

Your report must have a cover page which includes (at a minimum) your name, student ID and a document title. You may use the assessment cover page provided by the university or you may create your own.

Your report must have an executive summary. The executive summary must read like an executive summary, not an introduction.

Your report must have a table of contents. The table of contents is to be automatically generated by your word processing program of choice, not manually created by you (you will need to use your documents heading and subheading styles function to make this work).

The page numbers in the table of contents must be aligned to the right-hand side of the page.

The pages of your report, except the cover page, must be numbered.

All headings and subheadings of your report should be numbered. The numbering scheme for the headings and subheadings should be sequential and should be formatted 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 etc

All text in your report is to be black, except headings which may be in blue.

You must use font size 11 or 12, except for top-level headings which may be in font size 14.

You must use 1.5 or double line spacing.

Your report must include a reference list at the end unless your report includes appendices, in which case the reference list may be placed immediately before the appendices.

Please note: if any of these elements are absent or incomplete even to a very small degree you will automatically receive zero for formatting.

For example, if the marker detects any of the following, you will receive a zero for formatting:

No cover page or the cover page is missing your name, student ID or document title.

No executive summary or the executive summary reads more like an introduction.

No table of contents or the table of contents has been manually created.

Any of the table of contents page numbers are not aligned to the right-hand side of the page.

Any of the pages in the report (except the cover page) lacks a page number.

Any of the headings or subheadings are not numbered in accordance with the report heading numbering scheme.

Any of the text is not black (except for headings which can be blue).

Any font is not in size 11 or 12 (except for top-level headings which can be size 14).

Any section of the report is not using 1.5 or double line spacing.

No reference list is given, or the reference list is not placed at the end of your report (unless your report includes appendices, in which case the reference list may be placed immediately before the appendices).

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