State University of Bangladesh

MBA Program
HRM 556: Strategic Human Resource Management

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ASSIGNMENT

1.0 Introduction

The students of HRM-556 will be required to carry out an assignment on real-life HRM issues
involving empirical analysis. It will be an individual assignment and will be graded mainly on the
basis of originality of works and the quality of the analysis presented.

2.0 Objectives

The objectives of the assignment are to enable students to:

a. Apply theoretical knowledge on ground in analysing a real-life HRM issue.

b. Experience the complexities of analysing an HRM issue in an organization in the
capacity of an HR professional or consultant.
c. Exercise analytical skills and the power of reasoning to arrive at the right conclusions
and recommend measures for initiating and managing change.
d. Produce a good academic paper using standard business communication convention
and research methodology.

3.0 Academic Task

Students are to undertake the following academic tasks in fulfilling the requirements of the
assignment:

1. Choose a mid- or large-sized organisation operating in Bangladesh and present following

analyses through empirical study:
a. What are the traditional roles played by the HR in that organisation?
b. What are the strategic roles the HR plays?
c. What is the status of the organisation with regard to adopting an investment
perspective in managing their HR? Why does the organisation adopt either
investment or non-investment approach to managing HR?
d. Does the organisation have deliberate training & development and performance
management systems that are geared to its strategic objectives?
e. What are the main barriers that prevent this organisation from taking a more strategic
approach to HR? Why do these barriers exist and how can these be removed?

4.0 Special Instructions for Report Writing

Following are the special instructions on the assignment:

a. The report should have a section for a brief description of the organisation being
examined.
b. The report should be based on empirical analysis of the organisation selected; no
recourse to published papers, website contents, or downloaded material to be made.
c. Assume that the readers have sufficient theoretical knowledge on the subject, and as
such, there is no need to cover theoretical aspects of the subject in the paper.
d. Attach any questionnaire, checklist, format, template, and survey data etc., used in the
study/analysis, with the paper as Annexes or Appendices.

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5.0 Schedules of Events

Timetable for completion of the assignment is as under:

Ser. Date Event

1. 17 May 2019 Issuance of Instructions
2. 26 July 2019 Submission of paper
3. To be decided later Presentation and defence

6.0 Grading

The paper and presentation will be a graded assignment.

7.0 Required Readings and Materials

DeCenzo, D. and Robbins, S. P. (2011). Human Resource Management, Tenth Edition. New Delhi,
India: Wiley India Pvt. Ltd. (ISBN 10: 8126531193 / ISBN 13: 9788126531196)
Mello, Jeffrey A. (2011). Strategic Human Resource Management. Delhi: Cengage Learning India
Private Limited. (ISBN 13: 978-81-315-0547-2; ISBN 10: 81-315-0547-2)
McBay, Kenneth J. and Belcourt, Monica (2012). Strategic Human Resource Planning, Second
Edition. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Education Limited. (ISBN 81-315-0018-7)
Lesikar, Raymond V, and Marie E. Flatley. Basic Business Communication. Avenues of Americas,
New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005.

8.0 Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is imperative. Students should work only in their own groups in writing the paper,
although they may discuss problematic issues with other students. The paper of one team should
not resemble others’ paper for this or any other class, and should not be similar to a paper prepared
for another course. They should not quote directly from other sources unless they use quotation
marks and identify their source. Close paraphrasing should be avoided. All statements obtained
from published sources should be carefully documented. Whether the sources are publications,
Internet web sites, or interviews, it is unacceptable and against the law to copy. Copying means the
removal and reuse of phrases, sentences, and longer passages, as well as the reuse of
photographs and data tables in their original form. In most cases it is acceptable to copy an idea as
long as one attributes it to its source, and the idea is either publicly available or is given to them with
permission. Students must use their own words in writing the paper.

9.0 Conclusions

Writing paper and defending it provides a good opportunity to blend theoretical knowledge with
practical experience of dealing with a real-life issue. If carried out with proper methodology and
academic honesty, the benefits of fulfilling this academic requirement far outweigh the time spent in
the efforts.

Date: 17 May 2019 ____________________________

Sheikh Md Zillur Rahman

Course Teacher
Mob: +880 1755643026
Email: smzillur@gmail.com