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BUSM4505 Strategic Human Resource Development

Aims

The main aim of this assessment is to provide you with the opportunity to conduct in-depth analysis related to a challenge faced by a real organisation. You will propose appropriate strategies as a solution for this challenge. You will apply your knowledge and skills across various SHRD areas to solve an authentic organisational problem.

Human resource development is integral to the organisation of your choice or if you do not have an organisation, a Health Care organisation e.g. a hospital or aged care facility. In this assessment you will be examining career development efforts to improve individual/group and organizational effectiveness. Therefore, the report you write must cover two areas – the individual/group and the organisation.

Case Study – An Organisation in Trouble:  

Background

Career development in the organisation has not been a priority. This can be an organisation of your choice or if you do not have an organisation, a Health Care Organisation. You are new to the organisation and as the HRD Manager you have convinced the HRD Director that career development is important for all workers regardless of what position they hold. The staff have made several complaints over the years, but the hierarchy has basically ignored their requests for a strategic focus on human resource development particularly around career development. Unfortunately, the organisational climate is quite negative and as the HRD Manager you want to change that and support the staff in their pursuit of career development.

Knowledge retention

The issue of career development is compounded by the absence of a formal system for transferring and transmitting critical knowledge and experience. There have been different mentoring programs over the years with varying levels of success. Most of the staff involved in management projects have complained that they have not received adequate support or training for career development. You have to argue that knowledge retention is critical to the performance of individuals and the organisation. The organisation has tightened their expenditure, and this has meant HRD training has decreased.  The issue to consider is how knowledge retention impacts on staff career development and how you can convince the executive that career development and knowledge retention are important. The HRD Director will present your report to the Executive Team.

Case Report

You have been asked by the HRD Director to develop a career development strategy that can provide the organisation with a skilful and capable workforce over the next 10 years. It is envisaged that your report will:

• Based on a literature review, recommend and describe a suitable career development strategy with proposed development programs (e.g. training, coaching, mentoring, etc.) that is feasible within the organisation’s context.
• Provide a brief implementation plan for your recommended strategy, by considering the potential implication of the program intervention from an organisational change perspective. Articulate your plan to ensure this new program can be implemented successfully.

You are asked to keep the report short (within 1500 words) as the organisation’s executive team would only like a broad overview at this stage and will ask you for more details if they would like to investigate your proposal further. However, you are welcome to use appendices to provide supplementary materials and these appendices would not be included in the word count.

Assessment Guideline:

1. Your report must focus on an organisation or your choice or if you do not have an organisation, a health care organisation. Your report should be written for your target audience (the Executive Team).
2. Your report must provide a clear understanding of career development and the issues and challenges around career development.
3. Your report should include applied knowledge from refereed journal articles and case studies that present a well-developed career development strategy for the organisation.
4. Your report should generate solid recommendations for the organisation to undertake at a strategic level to ensure a career development strategy for all employees at all levels. You must also include an implementation plan.
5. You must include a minimum of 15 academic refereed journal articles that are no older than 10 years – do not use old literature or textbooks and do not cite the internet.
6. All referencing should be RMIT Harvard style – see http://www.lib.rmit.edu.au/easycite/
7. Your report should be presented in an appropriate report format. Your report should be structured in a way that is easy for the target audience to read and understand.