Human Resource

Module Code:	HR0897
Module Title:	International Human Resource Management
Distributed on:	Week 1 of semester	Hand in Date:	Please do not enter a date in this box. Please advise the relevant programme office of the preferred week for hand in.

Instructions on Assessment:

Task :

The assessment for this module will include both a group and an individual element.

· In GROUPS you are to script and record an audio podcast.

· As an INDIVIDUAL you are to write piece of reflective commentary.

Group Element (weighted at 70%) of overall mark

a) The audio podcast should be discussion based, focusing on an area of common interest that falls within the module content.

b) A completed, agreed, podcast planning document must accompany the audio podcast submission since this demonstrates how the group has managed this group assessment process.

c) A hard-copy of the podcast script must additionally accompany the audio podcast file.

Further guidance on this group element, audio podcast is contained at the end of this brief.

Individual Element (weighted at 30%) of overall mark)

a) A reflective commentary of no more than 1000 words.

b) The commentary should focus on your contribution to the group assessment, for example what part did you play in the choice of topic; did you lead, co-ordinate, monitor or manage conflict; what research did you undertake; what have you learnt about the topic and yourself as a consequence?

You will find using a structured framework or model such as Kolbs Learning Cycle (1984), Gibbs Reflective Cycle (1988) or Race’s Ripples on a Pond Model (2001) will help you to frame the reflection appropriately.

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Important note about ARNA regulations

The regulations specify that students must complete every assessment component contributing to the modules on their programme. This applies to all forms of assessment as defined in the module descriptor. Please note that:

· if any assessment component is not completed, students will be failed in the module even if the module pass mark has been achieved;

· if the requirements for referral specified in section 5 of ARNA1 are met, a resit opportunity will be given;

· if unable to complete an assessment component because of extenuating circumstances, students should follow the procedure described in the Student Guide to Extenuating Circumstances1.

This change was approved by Academic Board on 12 October 2009 in consultation with the Students’ Union. Students should consult their Programme Leader or Guidance Tutor if they have any queries. Independent advice and support is also available from the Students’ Union Advice & Representation Centre ([email protected]) or from a student adviser in Student Services.

1ARNA and the Student Guide to Extenuating Circumstances Affecting Assessed Work are available from http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/central/ar/lts/assess/assproc/assdocstud/

Word Count

The word count is to be declared on the front page of your assignment.  The word count does not include title page, contents page, glossary, tables, figures, illustrations, reference list, bibliography and appendices.

Summarising and compressing the information in your assignment into the word limit is one of the skills that students are expected to acquire, and demonstrate as part of the assignment process.

Word limits and penalties for assignments

If the assignment is within +10% of the stated word limit no penalty will apply. However, if the word limit exceeds the +10% limit, 10% of the mark provisionally awarded to the assignment will be deducted. For example: if the assignment is worth 70% but is above the word limit by more than 10%, a penalty of 7% will be imposed, giving a final mark of 63%.

Time limits and penalties for presentations

The time allocated for the presentation must be adhered to. At the end of this time, the presentation will be stopped and will be marked based on what has been delivered within the time limit.

Submission of Assessment:

All assignments must be submitted via the Postgraduate Programme Office. Each assignment must be accompanied by an Assessed Work Form which must be completed in full. The assignment will not be accepted by the Postgraduate Programme Office unless the form is completed correctly.

Marked assignments will be returned to students. It is advisable to retain a copy of your assignment for you own records. Your mark will be returned on the Assessed Work Form via the Postgraduate Programme Office.

Referencing your work

The APA method of referencing uses the author's name and the date of the publication. In-text citations give brief details of the work you are referring to in your text. References are listed at the end of the text in alphabetical order by the author's name. The general format of an electronic journal reference in the APA style is shown below:

Coutu, D. (2009). Why Teams Don't Work. Harvard Business Review, 87(5), 98-105. Retrieved 29th April 2012 from EBSCO http://searchebscohost.com

Author/s name and initials are listed first, followed by year of publication in brackets. Then there is the title of article and the journal where the article appears, which is in italics. Then state the volume and issue number (in brackets) along with the pages where article can be located. Finally add the date the article was retrieved and then the name of the database, followed by the web address. Wherever possible use the homepage URL rather than the full and extended web address.

For further information on why it is important to reference accurately go to the Referencing and Plagiarism topic in Skills Plus available from the Library website: www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus You will find other useful help guides on Skills Plus to help you with the skills involved in writing your assessments and preparing for exams.

For further information on the APA style of referencing see the Concise Rules of the APA Style and the APA website http://www.apastyle.org/

Plagiarism and Cheating

Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE (a full bibliography and/or a list of references must be submitted as prescribed in the assessment brief).

Please note that this is intended to be an individual piece of work. Action will be taken where a student is suspected of having cheated or engaged in any dishonest practice. Students are referred to the University regulations on plagiarism and other forms of academic irregularity. Students must not copy or collude with one another or present any information that they themselves have not generated.

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For further information on Plagiarism, see the Referencing and Plagiarism topic on Skills Plus.

www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus

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Mapping to Programme Goals and Objectives:

This assessment will contribute directly to the following Postgraduate programme goals and objectives. (Insert an ‘X’ in boxes where applicable, referring to appropriate programme specification for mapping details)

Goal One: Be independent, reflective critical thinkers

x	1.	Demonstrate awareness of their personal strengths and weaknesses through critical reflective practice.
x	2.	Understand and challenge personal patterns of thinking and behaving.

Goal Two: Be culturally and ethically aware

x	1.	Demonstrate their ability to work in diverse groups and teams.
	2.	Reflect on their own ethical values.

Goal Three: Have developed leadership and management capability

x	1.	Demonstrate their personal contribution to team effectiveness.
x	2.	Communicate complex issues effectively.
	3.	Demonstrate decision making and problem solving skills.
x	4.	Carry out presentations and lead discussions.

Goal Four: Have developed and applied knowledge of international business and management theory

x

1.

Acquire, interpret and apply knowledge of international business, management and organisational functions.

Goal Five: Have developed a range of research skills and project capabilities

	1.	Plan and complete a major individual piece of research on a contemporary business, management or leadership topic of their choice.
	2.	Demonstrate skills of analysis and synthesis in the application of research methods to the exploration of contemporary business issues.

Goal Six: Have developed specialist knowledge about the theory and practice of your programme of study (HRM specialist programmes only)

x

1.

Demonstrate specialist functional knowledge in relation to your programme of study.

Audio podcasting (Additional Notes)

Requirements:

a) To produce a high quality audio podcast.

b) Audio podcast to be no less than ten minutes in duration, no more than fifteen minutes duration, these timings do not include the introduction of team members at the beginning of the recording or any summary at the end.

c) All team members must contribute to the discussion/debate.

d) Topic area for debate/discussion must be consistent with the module content, suggestions for consideration are provided on the penultimate lecture slide each week but ultimately the group is responsible for identifying and selecting an appropriate topic area.

Working in Groups

a) Up to FOUR people in each group.

b) Allocation may be made by the Tutor UNLESS learning sets style groups have already been established in earlier modules. When students are self-selecting they should think about timetabling clashes when considering group membership and the opportunities presented by working with new people.

c) It is the responsibility of the group to agree terms of reference for the production of the audio podcast e.g. delegation of responsibilities; meeting times; recording; managing conflict.

d) It is the responsibility of the group to book a recording session during teaching weeks 11 and/or 12 although recording independently is also permitted (see further below).

Technical Support/Assistance

a) Tracy Connell [email protected] will make appointments available for the recording of the audio podcast, these will be made available on the module site not later than week seven of teaching.

b) Only one appointment should be booked for the group.

Submitting your group audio podcast

a) Audio podcasts should be saved as MP3 files on a USB stick or CDRom.

b) Scripted notes should be saved as a word or .pdf document and saved to the same USB stick or CDRom.

c) A printed copy of your script must be submitted at the same time as your USB stick. The script must also include a list of bibliographic references using a footnote facility since this will align the research and reading you undertook with the content of your podcast.

d) You should submit your USB stick, hard copy of the script and the agreed planning pro-forma to the Postgraduate Office by the assessment deadline date using a Group-work submission form – one per group with the details of all group members included.

Allocation of Marks

a) The audio podcast will be assessed using the general and specific criteria (see later).

b) Internal moderation will be conducted in accordance with university rules and regulations on assessment, a sample from the highest and lowest marks awarded will form part of the external examiner sample.

c) A group mark will be awarded to all members of the group, however, the tutor reserves the right to amend the mark of individual students, if evidence is provided by the group, that their contribution falls short of others in the group e.g. missed deadlines, missed meetings, lack of preparedness on recording day.

General Hints and Tips

a) Listen to the CIPD and example student podcasts on the module site, print-off and read the scripts.

b) Don’t make a hasty decision about a topic BUT do keep the deadline in mind.

c) Read the newspapers and professional journals, what is making the headlines in this area? What articles can you read to support your discussion or debate?

d) Agree how you will run the discussion/debate; a question time format? Or an introduction, round table and conclusion? Whatever format you choose remember more marks will be awarded for critical discussion than agreement with the status quo.

e) You only need a computer, a microphone plus recording (and possibly) editing software.

f) Audacity software which will allow you to create your own audio podcasts is available to download free, an editing facility is also provided with this software.

g) Practice, Practice, Practice … this makes the recording more likely to be achieved in one take … remember limited access to equipment and expert help.

Why an audio podcast?

Clear evidence emerging that this form of assessment encourages and supports the attainment of:-

a) Deep rather than surface knowledge of a specific subject (or subjects).

b) Develops the ability to succinctly prepare and disseminate information suitable to a wide audience including both HR professionals and non-professionals.

c) The ability to work appropriately in groups and teams including the ability to plan and organize against a designated deadline.

d) Development of awareness and ability to use new technology as part of personal, professional and organizational learning.

e) Post-graduate goals and objectives as identified above.

Assessment Brief – Postgraduate

E:\SAB Week Paperwork\Proposed HR0897 Assessment 2012-13.docx Page 4 of 9

Assessment Criteria (NBS)

General Assessment Criteria

Trait	0 Fail	1 – 39 Fail	40 – 49 Fail	50 – 54 Pass	55 – 59 Pass	60 – 69 Commendation	70 – 100 Distinction
Knowledge and Understanding	Work not submitted OR Work giving evidence of serious academic misconduct (subject to regulations in ARNA Appendix 1) OR Work showing no evidence of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to level 7. None of the learning outcomes are met.	Work is not acceptable and provides little evidence of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to level 7. Few of the learning outcomes are met.	Work is not acceptable in providing evidence of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to level 7. However a majority of the learning outcomes are met and others are nearly satisfied	Adequate work providing evidence of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to level 7 but only at a bare pass level. All learning outcomes are met (or nearly met and balanced by strengths elsewhere).	Satisfactory work providing evidence of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to level 7. All learning outcomes are met.	Commendable work providing evidence to a high level of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to level 7. All learning outcomes met, many are more than satisfied.	Excellent work providing evidence to a very high level of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to level 7. All learning outcomes met, many at high level. Marks at the high end of this range indicate outstanding work where all learning outcomes are met at a high level.
Structure, Alignment and Research		Inadequate in some of the following aspects or seriously inadequate in at least one: use of relevant material; development of analysis and structure of argument; evaluation of theory; application of relevant theory, research methods and findings to the problem in question; presentation of information to the intended audience.	Adequate in most but not all of the following aspects: use of relevant material; development of analysis and structure of argument; evaluation of theory; application of relevant theory, research methods and findings to the problem in question; presentation of information to the intended audience.	Adequate in all of (or most of, with balancing strength elsewhere): use of relevant material; development of analysis and structure of argument; evaluation of theory; application of relevant theory, research methods and findings to the problem in question; presentation of information to the intended audience.	Satisfactory in all or most of: use of relevant material from a variety of sources; development of analysis and structure of argument; evaluation of theory; application of relevant theory, research methods and findings to the problem in question; presentation of information to the intended audience.	Good in all or most of: use of up-to-date material from a variety of sources; development of analysis and structure of argument; critical evaluation of relevant theory, research methods and findings to the problem in question; presentation of information to the intended audience.	Excellent in all or most of: use of primary sources of literature from a range of perspectives; development of analysis and structure of argument; critical evaluation and creative use of theory, research methods and findings; presentation of information to the intended audience.

Module Specific Assessment Criteria

Trait	0 Fail	1 – 39 Fail	40 – 49 Fail	50 – 54 Pass	55 – 59 Pass	60 – 69 Commendation	70 – 100 Distinction
Knowledge and Understanding	Audio podcast file, planning document and script notes not submitted OR work not able to be downloaded OR work showing no evidence of the knowledge, understanding . None of the learning outcomes are met. Commentary highly descriptive showing an inability to apply, use or learn from reflection. Evidence of learning, transfer or future development not addressed.	Seriously inadequate in terms of content, that is to say not linked to or relevant to module content. Little evidence of ability to translate knowledge into understanding through engagement in academic debate/discussion. Commentary highly descriptive showing an inability to apply, use or learn from reflection. Evidence of learning, transfer or future development not addressed.	Topic area linked to module content. Evidence of ability to translate knowledge into understanding through engagement in academic debate/discussion demonstrated however the use of a weak structure or weak argument means that you have failed to demonstrate this effectively. Commentary more descriptive than reflective, lacking the use of any recognized framework or model of any sub-heading structure. Evidence of learning, transfer or future development not addressed.	Topic area consistent with module content. Evidence of ability to translate knowledge into understanding through engagement in academic debate/discussion demonstrated with weakness and strengths of argument balanced against weaknesses and strengths of structure. Reflection is unstructured making evidence of learning and/or future use and development difficult to identify	Topic area consistent with module content. Evidence of ability to translate knowledge into understanding through engagement in academic debate/discussion demonstrated. Reflection is unstructured making evidence of learning and/or future use and development difficult to identify	Topic area consistent with module content and contemporary in nature. Evidence of ability to translate knowledge into understanding through engagement in academic debate/discussion. Reflection uses a recommended framework or model to structure and support commentary, with clear evidence of learning highlighted and where appropriate future use and development planned.	Topic area consistent with module content and contemporary in nature. Evidence of ability to translate knowledge into understanding through engagement in academic debate/discussion; prepared to challenge and question finding through critical evaluation. Reflection uses a recommended framework or model to structure and support commentary, with clear evidence of learning highlighted and where appropriate future use and development planned.
Planning, Structure and Presentation.		Audio podcast not acceptable in terms of sound quality and/or poorly scripted notes. Planning document is missing or not adequately completed. Fails to meets requirements of time and inclusion of all group members.	Audio podcast not acceptable in terms of sound quality and/or poorly scripted notes. Fails to meets requirements of time and inclusion of all group members. Planning document is missing or not adequately completed.	Audio podcast and notes acceptable in terms of sound quality and scripting albeit that strengths of one offset weaknesses of other. Meets requirements of time and inclusion of all group members. Planning document is adequately completed.	Audio podcast and notes acceptable in terms of sound quality and scripting. Meets requirements of time and inclusion of all group members. Planning document is adequately completed.	Audio podcast and notes acceptable in terms of sound quality and scripting. Meets requirements of time and inclusion of all group members. Planning document is comprehensively completed.	Audio podcast and notes acceptable in terms of sound quality and scripting. Meets requirements of time and inclusion of all group members. Planning document is comprehensively completed.

Note: For those assessments or partial assessments based on calculation, multiple choice etc. Marks will be gained on an accumulative basis. In these cases, marks allocated to each section will be made clear.

Students must retain an electronic copy of this assignment. This must be made available within 24 hours of any request by the PG office or the Module Tutor.