Research a contemporary issue in employment relations.
Construct a sustained argument in response to the question.
Utilise and conform to the principles of academic rigour in the production of an acceptable, formal response to the question.
DETAILS
Read the following publicised commitment to diversity in the workplace:
‘The evidence shows that a diverse workforce enhances business performance as well as fosters social justice…At Origin diversity and inclusion is imbedded in our principles and values and we are committed to creating a rewarding workplace for our people by valuing everyone’s contribution, encouraging personal development, recognising good performance and fostering equal opportunity.’
Origin Energy (2012) cited in Stone (2013:577) {unit textbook}
Essay question Why is managing diversity an essential component of successfully managing people at work?
Research As a starting point, you will be able to use your reading from assessment 1 to provide insight into the topic. You can also use Chapter 14 from your textbook.
However, to answer this question, you will need to conduct independent research on the topic of managing diversity. Journals are the most useful source of scholarly material because they contain contemporary research that has been reviewed by experts in the field. Some examples include:
D’Netto, B.; Shen, J.; Chelliah, J. and Monga, M. (2014), ‘Human resource diversity management practices in the Australian manufacturing sector’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 25, No. 9, pp.1243–1266.
Houkamau, C. and Boxall, P. (2011), ‘The incidence and impacts of diversity management: A survey of New Zealand employees’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 440-460.
Kramar, R. (2012), ‘Diversity management in Australia: a mosaic of concepts, practice and rhetoric’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 245-261.
Kulik, C. (2014), ‘Working below and above the line: the research–practice gap in diversity management’, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 129–144.
Noon, M. (2007), ‘The fatal flaws of diversity and the business case for ethnic minorities‘, Work, Employment and Society, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 773-784.
Do not limit your research to journal articles. Academic sources include statistics, media releases, newspaper reports and textbooks. Academic textbooks can help with definitions and many of the issues in managing people at work are found in a range of areas, including:
Resource Management and Human Resource Development Employment Relations and Industrial Relations
Behaviour and Critical Management Studies Sociology
It will be crucial for this assignment that you start researching the topic well before the deadline. It will take time to understand the key issues and to create a sustained and coherent argument throughout the essay.
You will not be able to analyse every possible issue, so you will need to select only a few significant issues for your discussion – this is the nature of critical analysis.
Guidelines for the essay Your essay should have a clear introduction, body and conclusion. Headings are permitted, but should be used sparingly.
Assignments should be in Arial, 11 point font, 1.5 line spacing with appropriate margins.
All students must use Harvard style referencing.
The 1500 word limit must be adhered to within the acceptable range of +
or – 10%.
All essays must cite at least six academic sources relevant to the topic.
You must distinguish clearly between your own words and analysis and those of your sources. You must do this by providing appropriate citations using the Harvard style referencing.
Failure to provide appropriate citations is plagiarism. See UWS academic misconduct policy. Your list of references should include only material cited in the paper.
This is an individual assessment task – if a submitted essay is assessed as not being the work of a single author then academic misconducts rule apply