CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN PUBLIC POLICY

Issues and Trends Research --Each student will investigate a career development issue that has both current and future significance to the HR profession and to themselves. The possible topics are limited only by your imagination. You may wish to focus on a particular issue (e.g., retaining productive employees, capitalizing on diversity, motivating knowledge workers, the changing role of management, leading people to lead themselves), population segments (e.g., women, minorities, immigrants, blue collar workers, the unemployed, the under-employed, the "chronologically gifted"), a societal trend and its impact on careers (e.g., tele-commuting, job sharing, intrapreneurship), or some combination of these or other areas. The 2 requirements I expect your topic to satisfy are:

 

1)      The topic has something to do with career development, broadly framed per the definition on page 3 of this syllabus, and

2)       The topic (and the title of your presentation) is in the form of a researchable question. Examples: “How do social service agencies address issues of workforce diversity?”  “What effects does the glass ceiling have on women’s career development in law firms?” “What kinds of jobs and individuals are best suited for tele-work?”

 

It is strongly suggested that you begin formulating your proposed topic immediately. I will help you narrow down or broaden your topic if necessary.

 

You will give an oral presentation on your research. No set format is required[1], but the presentation is required to include the following:

 

1.      a thoughtful analysis of the issue based on relevant literature[2]

2.      example(s) of the issue or trend’s application in one or more workplaces

3.      the major findings obtained from an interview you conduct with at least one person who has dealt with your chosen issue/trend. This could be an HR professional, a career development professional, or a manager. Interviewing a friend, relative, or boss is not acceptable.

 

This presentation will be given in the form of an executive summary. This means you need to hit the major points (#’s 1, 2, and 3 above) persuasively and convincingly in a 5-minute span. For most of us, this will require considerable preparation and practice before you give your presentation. The 5-minute time limit will be enforced. If you run out of time before covering all 3 elements listed above, your grade will be impacted negatively.

 

In addition to your presentation, create a WORD document that contains complete citation information of all your print and/or electronic source material. To be considered “complete,” citation information must include author(s), title, date, and publisher plus, if a journal or magazine article, the name of the journal or magazine, volume and issue numbers, and page numbers. If the source is accessed electronically, include the above information in your citation. Providing only the URL is insufficient.

 

You are expected to read, analyze, and cite no fewer than 5 such published written sources. In addition to citation information, include in this document explanations of where and how each reference was used in your presentation.