Assessment One – case study report Word count: 2,000 Select a New Zeala nd - based work organisation. It can b e in any sector; domestic or multi - national; and have at least five employees. Identify a key employment relations issue for this organisation. In your case study report, you will need to answer the following questions: • What is the issue and why is it important to this organisation? • How is the issue relevant to the management of employment relations generally? You should expend approximately half of your word count on the first (two - part) question, and half on the seco nd question. Please use your ‘Writing Guidelines for Business Students’ book as a guideline when drafting and presenting your report. The case study report assesses LOs 1 and 2. Learning outcomes: 1. Analyse the significance and dynamism of ER as a discipline and for organisational success (LO1); 2. Reflect on the ideological, institutional, legal , economic and social considerations which shape, and are shaped by, ER (LO2); Assignment Marking Guide Assignment grading for Assignment 1 – case study report Approximately 90% of marks will be awarded on the basis of the quality of your discussion and coverage in the case study report. That is, up to 45% of marks will be awarded for your response to the first question, and up to 45% on your response to the second question. The remaining 10% of marks will be awarded for clear and coherent presentation of your assignment. Marks will be available for: • using correct referencing • c orrect grammar and spelling • s tructure and style of writing • o verall impact Assignment writing guidelines In this course, the formatting requirements are as follows. Please note that some marks are allocated for correct formatting. Formatting Write on one side of the page only. Leave a wide right - hand margin (3 - 5cm) for markets’ comments. Please use 1 ½ line spacing. Id entification Please ensure your student ID number, paper number and assignment number (and essay choice, where applicable) is noted in the header of each page. A title page is not necessary, but it is helpful to include the essay question on the first pa ge. Presentation Ensure that your work is well presented, and follows guidelines presented in the Assessment Criteria and Writing Guidelines. Typing your assignment is preferable as this facilitates easy reading marking. Spelling and grammar There w ill also be marks allocated for correct use of English. Your grammar, use of words, punctuation and spelling will influence your grade. Please use a dictionary to check spellings. It is unwise to rely solely on computer - based spelling checks because of the problems of American spellings and difficulties with context. Please use New Zealand/UK spelling (not USA). Citations The correct format for presentation on in - text citations is listed in Emerson’s Writing Guidelines for Business Students. This course uses APA style. Reference list You must provide a reference list indicating which articles, books, newspaper articles or other source material you have read and used in connection with the assignment. This should be entitle ‘References’ and attached a t the end of each assignment on a new page. Reference lists should be in alphabetical order by author surname. Reference lists are NOT included in the word count. Please follow the style set out in Emerson’s Writing Guidelines. You do not need to include a bibliography. If you have read material that is relevant to the assignment, try and include it to develop and support your argument. Aim to use each reference several times during your assignment. If you can’t it may not be that relevant Language For a cademic essays, writing is formal and is in third person; that is, do not use persona pronouns such as I, me, we, us, etc. You are expected to develop and present an informed opinion by critically evaluating others’ ideas and presenting this in an objectiv e manner. Do not over rely on personal experience or anecdotes. Do not use gender biased or sexist language in assignment writing. Authenticity Please not that you MUST submit your own work. If you use another author’s words/ideas, you must cite your s ources correctly. See guidelines in Part Two. It is expected that you will use the reading material provided at a minimum for starting your assignments. It is also expected that you source additional material as required; in particular, relevant journal ar ticles and publications . Quality of material Source material must also be of high quality – preferably peer - reviewed, published academic journal articles, or good quality material from reputable, relevant organisations. At 700 - level, introductory or gen eral employment relations, management or other texts are considered to be poor sources as they only touch on basic ideas of this area. They may help your understanding at a basic level, or may be useful for definitions and context, but in general try and a void them. Age and relevance Sources should generally be up - to - date and relevant. While it is acceptable to reference a model or theory that may have been developed some time ago, bear in mind that academic thought and research develops over time, and accordingly some theories, ideas and models may have been strengthened, while others may have become less relevant or refuted. A lot can change in even 10 years so make sure your evidence is as timely as possible. This is another reason why journals are ge nerally better sources than books – they generally have shorter lead times for publication so the data presented are more up - to - date. Academic journals An academic journal is a periodical, usually produced quarterly or monthly, with referenced articles written by scholars for an academic audience. Articles tend to be (1) research evidence, (2) development of theory and/or (3) a review of the literature. Some of the most relevant journals for this course are listed in this guide. Most (although not all) j ournals have the word ‘journal’ in their title. Study guide commentary The study guide commentary is there to guide your reading and understanding of the course and should not be used as a source. However, any articles, readings or excerpts provided in the course material (via the study guide or Stream) may be used as the basis of your written assignments. These will usually be articles or reports from journals or other reputable sources – for example, in this course, government organisations. Note that you must cite and reference the original article, not the study guide. Full reference details of these have been provided in the guide or are available from the original document. Websites Ensure that information from websites is from reputable organ isations (e.g. government agencies, industry or professional organisations), is of good quality and is relevant. In general, if the document has a published date and details, those should be included. However, if there is no published date, you will need t o cite the date retrieved and the full web address (URL) details. For full formatting requirements, follow the APA guidelines set out in Emerson’s Writing Guidelines or on the APA style website. Essay structure Introductions should be about 10 - 15% of t he word limit. Ensure you have addressed: why is the topic important, how it is relevant, what specific issues and/or questions you will address and why, and outline your main ideas and the order in which you intend to discuss them. The body of your disc ussion is usually about 80% of the word limit. make sure your structure is logical – that ideas are presented in order of importance, or in a sequential manner. Ensure you introduce each main idea clearly in the first sentence or two. Explain to the reader how this idea is relevant to your own discussion. Develop each idea by presenting a range of views, or examining it at a deeper level. Briefly conclude this idea before starting a new idea. Make sure to link each key idea in an essay to develop and mainta in a good flow. Conclusions are usually 10 - 15% of the word limit. Review the key points raised in the essay. Explain why or how they were important. What evidence is there to support your conclusions? Use Emerson’s Writing Guidelines and the Essay Checkl ist (overleaf) to make sure that you have covered the key points we are looking for. Assessment scale g rade Meaning A+ Outstanding A Excellent A Very good - B+ Good B Competent B Satisfactory - C+ Acceptable C Pass D Flawed E Deficient