Assessment 1
HR Challenge: Contemporary Issue
Instructions
Resources
Activity
Attempt 1
available
Attempt 2
Attempt 3
In a 3-4 page memorandum to your HRM supervisor, you will outline a contemporary HRM issue and the laws associated with it. In the memorandum, you will provide background research on the issue, which your supervisor will share with the leadership team as they plan for scientific, technical, or social trends that might impact the workplace in the near future.
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Introduction
The employment relationship is predicated on the exchange of power and authority for compliance and reward. As a result, employees voluntarily relinquish control of their time, effort, and industry. When employees determine that their employers inadequately compensate them for their work and seem to control their lives, conflict can result. This transforms a viable transactional relationship into a crucible of conflict and strife. When people come together in a workplace, they bring with them their values, opinions, prejudices, and sensitivities. Frequently, conflict occurs from within the employer-employee relationship as a result of these differences.
Controls, policies, and procedures must thus be created to address conflict and enable organizations to operate effectively. Employers predominantly control the workplace, so most laws and regulations restrict, inhibit, or guide the behavior and authority of employers with respect to employees. Employment law guidelines provide the philosophical, legal, and moral foundations for conflict resolution in the workplace. They embody a vital component of our system of government.
This assessment investigates a contemporary, HR law-related issue of your choice (not social media, it is addressed later in the course) and create a memorandum to your supervisor describing the scientific, technical, or social issue and how it impacts the workplace.
Scenario
In your work as an HRM professional, you will often encounter situations where current events, issues, and technologies impact your work with the employees and systems in human resources. This assessment asks you to take a broad look at the human resources spectrum of topics and select a current, law-related topic. You will then analyze and assess the ethical ramifications of the issue in the workplace.
Scenario
Your supervisor has asked you to research some of the latest law-related trends in human resources so that the team can project ahead to scientific, technical, or social trends that might impact the workplace in the near future. This is intended to be a background research project—you will present your findings in a 3–4-page memorandum to your supervisor that might also be shared with other HRM executives.
Your Challenge
You are an HRM professional who is tasked with researching at least one law-related article about a current issue in human resources and writing a memorandum about the background research that you have completed.
Instructions
1. Write a memorandum to your supervisor describing and analyzing a contemporary scientific, technical, or social issue impacting the workplace. Select your issue from the list below (do not choose social media because it will be addressed in another assessment). You may use the listed article as your required resource.
EEOC-Discrimination by Type
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Discrimination by type. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/index.cfm
LEAP 2019: The top 10 lessons for HR. (2019). HR Specialist: Employment Law, 49(5), 5.
Age Discrimination
How to avoid age bias when talking retirement with employees. (2014). HR Specialist, 12(1), 8.
Race/Color Discrimination
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Race/color discrimination. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/race_color.cfm
Assigning black employees to black clients: Is that racial bias? (2010). HR Specialist, 8(1), 3.
Hawkins, D. (2016, February 8). Racial discrimination – Title VII. Wisconsin Law Journal.
Inclusion and Diversity
Bisco, J., Gradisher, S., & Mulholland, B. (2019). Women and diversity: Why the conversation must continue in financial services. Journal of Financial Service Professionals, 73(1), 72–84.
Burnham, C., Puckett, B., & Deakins, O. (2017). In contentious times, reaffirm commitment to inclusion, diversity. HR Specialist, 15(2), 7.
Respect Culture
Ahlrichs, K. (2018). Go beyond harassment best practices: Add respect to your culture. HR Specialist, 16(8), 8.
Whistle-Blowers
Whistleblower at work? Protect, don’t reject. (2019). HR Specialist, 17(11), 3.
LGBTQ Protections
Nagele-Piazza, L. (2019). Creating LGBTQ-inclusive workplace policies. HRNews.8.
Gun Violence at Work
Are you prepared for gun violence at work? (2019). HR Specialist: Employment Law, 49(10), 1–2.
2. Research the topic you selected using the law-related article associated with the issue from the list. Support your assertions with citations from your course readings, workplace examples, and any relevant additional research.
3. Address the following elements in your issue synopsis:
Describe your chosen contemporary scientific, technical, or social issue, including how it has impacted the workplace.
Analyze how your issue influenced or could influence employee productivity in your own current or former organization. Be sure to keep the organization anonymous.
Explain the impact of your issue from your perspective of an HRM executive.
Assess how relevant legislation affects your issue in the workplace.
Assess the ethical ramifications of your issue on HRM practices in the workplace.
Academic Requirements
The deliverable for this assessment applies professional skills in Human Resources Management (HRM) to workplace situations that you will likely encounter in your day-to-day work in HRM. As part of your learning, we focus on the development of effective professional communication skills for the workplace.
Length of paper: Your memorandum should be 3–4 double-spaced pages, including the resources page.
Organization: Make sure that your assessment writing is well-organized, using headings and subheadings to organize content for the reader.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Number of resources: A minimum of one law related article and any course readings.
Evidence: Support your assertions with data and/or in-text citations. Use current APA format for in-text citations and create a reference list at the end of your documents.
APA formatting: Resources and in-text citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting.
Written communication:
Convey purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards.
Write for a specific audience, using the vernacular of the profession.
Use spell-check and other tools to ensure correct spelling and grammar.
Note: Faculty may use the Writing Feedback Tool when grading this assessment. The Writing Feedback Tool is designed to provide you with guidance and resources to develop your writing based on five core skills. You will find writing feedback in the Scoring Guide for the assessment, once your work has been evaluated.
Competencies Measured
Competency 3: Examine relationships between law, human resource management practices, and business activities.
Analyze how a described scientific, technical, or social workplace issue influenced or could influence employee productivity in an organization.
Explain the impact of an identified scientific, technical, or social workplace issue from the perspective of an HRM executive.
Assess how relevant legislation affects an identified contemporary scientific, technical, or social issue in the workplace.
Competency 4: Assess ways in which human resource professionals resolve conflicts between ethical and legal aspects of practice.
Assess the ethical ramifications of an identified contemporary scientific, technical, or social issue on HRM practices in the workplace.
Competency 6: Communicate clearly, accurately, and professionally in the HR field.
Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.
Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.