Final Milestone

MGT 3320: Human Resources Management

Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide

Overview

The final project for this course is the creation of a ​Human Resources Evaluation Management Plan​.

You will be given a scenario in which you will assume the role of a human resources (HR) manager who has just been hired at an organization. In this role, you have been tasked with taking an inventory of the HR department and have been given six weeks to come up with a plan for improving the company’s HR problems. You will write a 10-15 page written plan describing how you will approach this task. .

The project is divided into ​three milestones​, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in ​Modules 2, 3, and 4.

In this assignment you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

· Assess the value of Human Resources as a strategic partner in an organization

· Analyze the opportunities and challenges created or managed by human resources

· Examine the role of human resources in guiding compliance with laws and regulations that affect the organization

· Examine the impact of ethics in business on developing a solid work environment and team

· Analyze the components of people strategy to reduce waste, increase efficiencies, and maintain competitive advantages

Prompt

Scenario

Imagine you are a newly hired HR manager of the organization that you wrote or evaluated a job description for in Milestone 1 and assume the following about the organization:

The organization is in a right to work state, and is also an employment at will state. The organization has high potential but soon after starting your new position, you discover that the work environment appears to be chaotic and discipline is lacking. In fact, discipline is almost non-existent. Employees are threatened with discipline, however it is not followed through. The previous individual in your role was “old school” (meaning they practiced status quo concepts, were not interested in learning new things, and were perhaps afraid of rocking the boat). The previous individual was getting very close to retirement and just wanted to “ride it out” and retire.

You have been given six weeks to develop a plan to present to the management team recommending what should be implemented to turn things around rather than shut down the division.

A quick inventory of the HR department reveals that the following issues are present:

1. Turnover is very high (high turnover is expensive)

2. Absenteeism is high

3. Work related injuries and “sickness” is high and is having a negative impact on various departments and the reputation of the company to provide quality service or products

4. There have been several altercations between employees, and a couple are very concerning

5. Frustration among employees is high

6. Some employees are not following rules and procedures and other employees are starting to lose faith in disciplinary policies and procedures

7. Some employees (including their supervisors) are not sure what their actual job is, nor who it impacts

8. The facility is in need of upgrades, but there is no plan in place to do so

9. There have been a couple of EEO complaints (one is a discrimination concern and the other is an age concern)

10. The pay structure has not been reviewed in several years, in fact, pay has been very subjective in nature.

11. Job descriptions have not been reviewed in several years, and some are questioning why certain jobs even still have employees doing the task because there is no real value associated with them

12. Ongoing employee training has not been implemented because there was no review of its value

13. Attracting quality employees has been a concern

14. The organization has been losing money and there has been discussion at the corporate level to shut the division down and relocate some of the functions to other divisions and outsource/offshore other jobs

15. Competition is strong in the organization’s industry or field

16. A quality succession plan does not exist for key positions

17. There are “older” employees who are not interested in changing their ways and do not relate to the newer and younger employees. They are afraid of changes, and will go out of their way to argue against making changes. They keep longing for the “good old days.” In turn, some of the newer employees are not interested in learning from the older employees because they consider them outdated or stuck in their ways.

Prompt

For your Human Resources Management Evaluation Plan, you will select the ​five​ most pressing issues from the scenario above that you recommend this organization address first.

Specifically, your plan must include the following for each of the five issues you choose:

1. Problem​: Explain why each issue is a problem from an HR perspective (i.e. How does it impact other employees? Recruiting new employees? Patrons/Customers? The organization’s bottom-line?).

2. Cause​: Describe how you would assess what is causing the problem, and include examples hypothesizing potential contributing factors that you might investigate as part of your approach (i.e. Are these quality issues? Training issues? Employee behavior? Management style? etc.).

3. Recommended HR Solutions​: For the milestones in this course, you explored how various human resources tools and methods could be applied in this organization. Now apply what you learned from those assessments to identify ways that HR can help improve the issues you have selected. Provide specific examples of tools and methods that could be used and explain why they could improve each problem.

4. Implementation​: Outline a detailed plan for implementing these changes. (i.e. Will they require training? What materials will be required? Will you need to allocate staff’s time, funding, or other resources? What is the timeline?).

5. Outcomes​: Explain the intended outcomes of the recommended changes; how these outcomes will impact the organization; and how you will measure whether these outcomes are being met.

6. Challenges​: Explain how you would manage potential challenges or resistance you might encounter when implementing these changes.

Milestones

Milestone 1​: ​Analyze Job Specifications and Write or Assess a Job Description

In ​Module 2​, you will analyze job specifications and write or evaluate an existing job description. ​This is graded with the Milestone 1 Rubric.

Milestone 2:​ ​Design a Training Program for New Recruits or Existing Employees

In Module 3,​ you will design a training program for new recruits or existing employees. ​ This is graded with the Milestone 2 Rubric.​

Milestone 3:​ ​Employees Right to Know and Safety Data Sheets

In ​Module 4​, you will develop a process to ensure that Safety Data Sheets are kept current. ​This is graded with the Milestone 3 Rubric.

Final Submission:

In ​Module 7​, you will submit a Human Resources Management Evaluation Plan. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing ​all ​of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This milestone will be graded using the Final Product Rubric.

Deliverable Milestones

Milestone	Deliverables	Module Due	Grading
1	Analyze Job Specifications and Write or Assess a Job Description	2	Graded separately; Milestone 1 Rubric
2	Design a Training Program for New Recruits or Existing Employees	3	Graded separately; Milestone 2 Rubric
3	Employees Right to Know and Safety Data Sheets	4	Graded separately; Milestone 3 Rubric
	Final Product: Human Resources Management Evaluation Plan	7	Graded separately; Final Product Rubric

Rubric

Requirements of Submission: ​ Your written analysis must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document, 10-15 pages in length, with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins. Additionally, your paper must include a cover sheet and a reference page citing a minimum of five scholarly resources in APA format.

Instructor Feedback ​: Students can find their feedback in the Grade Center.

Critical Elements	Exemplary ​(100%)	Proficient (85%)	Needs Improvement (75%)	Incomplete (55%)	Not Evident (0%)	Value
Problem	Demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of human resource management through the explanation of why five pressing issues are problematic from an HR perspective.	Explains why five pressing issues are problematic from an HR perspective.	Explains why five pressing issues are problematic from an HR perspective, but may lack in detail or clarity, or may only discuss four issues.	Explains why 1-3 pressing issues are problematic from an HR perspective, and may lack in detail or clarity.	Does not explain why issues are problems from an HR perspective.	25
Causes	Demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of human resource management in the through description of how contributing factors would be assessed for five pressing issues; including examples hypothesizing potential contributing factors that might be investigated as part of the approach.	Describes how contributing factors would be assessed for five pressing issues; including examples hypothesizing potential contributing factors that might be investigated as part of the approach.	Describes how contributing factors would be assessed for five pressing issues; but may not list examples of potential contributing factors, or may only discuss four issues.	Describes how contributing factors would be assessed for 2-3 pressing issues; but may not list examples of potential contributing factors, and may lack in detail or clarity.	Does not describe how contributing factors would be assessed, nor list examples of potential contributing factors.	10

Recommended HR Solutions	Demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of human resource management through the explanation of how specific HR tools and methods could improve five pressing issues.	Explains how specific HR tools and methods could improve five pressing issues.	Explains how specific HR tools and methods could improve five pressing issues, but may lack in detail or clarity or may only discuss four pressing issues.	Explains how specific HR tools and methods could improve 1-3 pressing issues and may lack in detail or clarity.	Does not recommend HR solutions.	15
Implementation	Demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of human resource management through the outlining of a detailed plan for implementing recommended changes to improve five pressing issues.	Outlines a detailed plan for implementing recommended changes to improve five pressing issues.	Outlines a plan for implementing recommended changes to improve five pressing issues, but may lack in detail or clarity or may only discuss four pressing issues.	Outlines a plan for implementing recommended changes to improve 1-3 pressing issues and may lack in detail or clarity.	Does not discuss implementation of recommended changes.	25
Outcomes	Demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of human resource management through the explanation the intended outcomes of recommended changes; their impact the organization; and how they will be measured for five pressing issues.	Explains the intended outcomes of recommended changes; their impact the organization; and how they will be measured for five pressing issues.	Explains the intended outcomes of recommended changes; their impact the organization; and how they will be measured for five pressing issues, but may lack in detail or clarity or may only discuss four pressing issues.	Explains the intended outcomes of recommended changes; their impact the organization; and how they will be measured for 1-3 pressing issues and may lack in detail or clarity.	Does not discuss intended outcomes.	10

Challenges	Demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of human resource management through the explanation of how potential challenges or resistance encountered when implementing these changes would be managed for five pressing issues.	Explains how potential challenges or resistance encountered when implementing these changes would be managed for five pressing issues.	Explains how potential challenges or resistance encountered when implementing these changes would be managed for five pressing issues, but may lack in detail or clarity or may only discuss four pressing issues.	Explains how challenges or resistance encountered when implementing changes would be managed for 1-3 pressing issues and may lack in detail or clarity.	Does not discuss how challenges or resistance would be managed.	10
Articulation of Response	Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy to read format. References are accurately cited in APA format.	Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization. References are cited in APA format.	Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas. References may not be cited in APA format.	Submission has substantial errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization and unclear articulation of main ideas that make readability very difficult. References are not cited in APA format.	Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas. References may not be not cited.	5
Comments				Earned Total	100 %

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