Division of Management Work and Organisation

HRMUMHT – Human Resource Management Techniques Spring 2020/21

PLEASE NOTE: In addition to the detail contained within this handout, it is your responsibility to read
and understand the information provided within the programme’s Canvas site. Please pay close
attention to the plagiarism documents.

Module Assessment Brief

This module is assessed by 3 components:

Group Academic Poster Video Presentation 20% of your overall mark

Individual Report 40% of your overall module mark
Exam worth 40% of your overall module mark

The assessment will cover the following Module Learning Outcomes:

Group Academic Poster Video Presentation MLO3

Individual Report MLO5
Exam MLO 1, 2, 3, 4

Assessment 1: Group Academic Poster Video Presentation

This assessment looks at the increasing interest in the proactive management of

mental and physical health in the workplace.

This assessment allows you to design a wellness initiative to solve an organisational

problem around workplace wellbeing. For the purposes of this assessment, you will
be allocated to ‘Organisations’, your group will act as this ‘Wellness Team’ tasked
with designing a wellness initiative.

Each group present their initiative in the form of a poster video presentation.

A copy of your poster should be submitted electronically by 11.00 am on

THURSDAY 1 APRIL 2021 via CANVAS.

A copy of your video should be submitted electronically by 11.00 am on SUNDAY 4

APRIL 2021 via CANVAS.

Assessment support will be provided during our ‘live’ online sessions.

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Assessment 2: INDIVIDUAL REPORT

You are an HR consultant reviewing the managerial issues experienced by Gerry

Pecorino, owner of the ‘Big Top’ travelling circus. Gerry has asked you to prepare a
report outlining your review.

Please read the case study ‘Trouble at the Big Top’ and answer the questions
(Appendix 1)

Assessment Criteria

Your assignment will be marked by the following assessment criteria:

 Use of resources as evidence to support your argument.

 Quality of the written presentation.
 Quality of the argument put forward.
 Please see Appendices 2 & 3
Please note the following additional requirements:

 You are expected to present in an academic manner and to provide evidence

 from theoretical literature to substantiate your analysis.
 Your work ought to be fully referenced using the Harvard Style
 Your written assessment must be submitted through Turnitin/Canvas, we
 cannot accept copies sent via email.
 Your work will not exceed 2,500 words (+/-10%)
Submission

Your assignment should be submitted electronically by 11.00 am on SUNDAY 18

APRIL 2021 via CANVAS. Please ensure that your student registration number and
module code are stated on every page of your assignment (either in the header or
footer). The assignment will automatically be uploaded into Turnitin on Canvas. It is
the individual responsibility of each student to ensure that there is a low similarity
index score. A high similarity index score must be investigated and rectified by the
student prior to final submission of the assignment.

Information can be found at: https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/professional-

services/student-academic-and-corporate-services/academic-
registry/academic-policy-and-practice/quality-handbook/academic-integrity-
policy-and-academic-misconduct-procedure/

ASSESSMENT 3: EXAM

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The two-hour examination enables you to further develop your understanding of
topics covered in the module. This form of assessment also encourages you to
develop your skills in time management, written communication, and organisational
skills.

You are required to answer TWO questions out of a choice of four. All questions
carry equal marks.

The exam questions will be based on the readings for the lectures and seminars.
There will be a revision lecture at the end of the module.

Exam preparation by lecture slides only will not be sufficient!

The examination period for the spring semester runs from 26 April 2021 until 14 May
2021.Specific dates and time of your exam will be made available.

Appendix 1: ‘Trouble at the Big Top’

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All around towns across the country brightly coloured posters proclaim the imminent
arrival of Gerry Pecorino’s traditional family travelling circus. Gerry’s round red face
smiles out inviting all to gaze and wonder at Alice and Maximillian’s amazing feats on
the flying trapeze, to gasp in amazement as Little Stan the human cannonball is
propelled at speed across the circus ring, to laugh at the crazy antics of Micky the
clown and his chums, and to applaud as Daisy the elephant dances daintily on her
hind legs. But Gerry is not smiling at all. He is very worried about the future of his
circus. His star performers may help bring in the crowds, but they are also causing
him a variety of managerial headaches.

Alice is his longest-serving artiste. For 35 years, partnered by a succession of male

trapeze stars, she has nightly swung and somersaulted high in the air above a safety
net, before descending to take her bow. Unfortunately, over time, the once lissom
Alice has become less agile and has put on a great deal of weight. As a result, when
she enters the ring in her leotard and climbs up to her trapeze the audience
increasingly see her as a figure of fun. When she carries out her final triple
somersault and falls into the safety net, the structure wobbles alarmingly, causing
the audience to scream with laughter. The contrast with the much younger and very
athletic Maximillian is becoming more and more obvious, and he is not happy. ‘Fine
me a new partner,’ he says, ‘or I will find a better circus to work for.’ But what can
Gerry do? Alice is well paid and popular among the troupe. For several months he
has been able to placate Maximillian by saying he cannot find a replacement for
Alice, but now a perfect new
partner for Maximillian has become available. A beautiful 18-year-old trapeze artist
called Melanie who has the rare capacity to carry-out a Russian-style backflip
quadruple somersault has left a rival circus and is begging Gerry for a job. Can he
sack Alice? Can he redeploy her? Redeployment would be preferable, but the only
suitable job he has for her would involve performing with Micky and his crazy clowns.
Alice would get the laughs, but it would be much less well-paid work and undignified
for a senior artiste with years of loyal service behind her.

Gerry’s second managerial headache concerns another long-serving employee.

Jethro has for many years acted as keeper and trainer of Daisy the elephant. They
are devoted to one another. Every day Jethro feeds her, cleans her wagon, takes her
for walks, washes her and then, in the evening, the two of them perform together to
the delight of the audience. For many this act is the highlight of the circus. But six
months ago, an unfortunate accident occurred. In the middle of their act a large light
bulb exploded above the circus ring, which gave Daisy a terrible fright. She panicked
and instead of continuing to dance, she charged at Jethro and tossed him into the
air. He sustained serious back and neck injuries in this accident and has been in
and out of hospital ever since. Gerry now realises that Jethro will not be able to
return to work again for many more months. Daisy is back to her old self and has
apparently bonded well with her new keeper, Gerry’s daughter Romy. Jethro visits
her when he can, but
he comes with his carer and is unable to get up out of his wheelchair. What should
Gerry do? He is still paying Jethro but cannot afford to continue doing so forever.
Can he dismiss him? Should he try to reach a financial settlement, and if so, would
his insurance company reimburse him?

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And finally, what is Gerry to do about Little Stan, his much-loved but increasingly
awkward human cannonball? Stan has worked in the circus for years, delighting
generations of audiences with his acts. He started out as a tumbler. Then as he got
older, he turned to fire-eating and knife-swallowing, before winding up being fired
from a cannon across the ring through several paper hoops and landing
spectacularly in a meticulously placed bouncy castle. Stan is not happy. He feels his
life is unfulfilled and he wants to change direction. Stan has dealt with his depression
in the past by drinking heavily but has now managed to stop. Instead, he has found
great solace by becoming an active Christian. He attends church in each town the
circus visits and continually regales the other performers with stories about how his
faith has changed his life. But this has caused difficulties for Gerry because Stan has
said that he will not in future be able to perform on Sundays or at any time over the
Christmas and Easter periods. He has asked Gerry if he could give up performing
and assist him in a management role, taking responsibility for publicising the
circus. Failing that he would like to run the box office. But these jobs are already
taken and are not, in truth suitable for Stan. Gerry insists that he can only employ
him as a specialist performer.
What should Gerry do? Mondays and Tuesdays are the days the circus does not put
on a performance and on which everyone takes time off. Two performances are
mounted every Sunday, and Easter and Christmas are periods when audiences
increase substantially. Should he threaten to sack Little Stan? Could he employ
someone else to be a human cannonball on Sunday’s and reduce Stan’s wages to
compensate?

The worry of what to do about Stan, Jethro, Maximillian, and Alice causes Gerry to
suffer many sleepless nights.

As an HR consultant reviewing the managerial issues experienced by Gerry

Pecorino, owner of the ‘Big Top’ travelling circus. Gerry has asked you to
prepare a report outlining your review of the following issues.

Gerry decides that he has no choice but to employ Melanie as a replacement for
Alice. He tells Alice that from next week onwards she will have to perform
alongside Micky and his clowns. Her role will be to act as foil and a victim of
his many practical jokes. For the next six months she will be paid the same
salary that she currently earns. After this date is will be reviewed.

1. Assuming that she is unhappy, with Gerry’s decision, what possible legal claims
might Alice be able to bring?

2. What defence might Gerry’s be able to deploy were Alice to take her case to an
employment tribunal?

Gerry decides to dismiss Jethro, offering him a one-off payment of £25,000 by

way of full and final settlement.

3. What possible legal claims could Jethro bring were he to reject Gerry’s offer?

4. What actions could Gerry take to minimise his chances of losing these cases in
court?

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Gerry decides to allow Little Stan to take Sundays off and to take his annual
leave over the Christmas and Easter periods. Another performer will be trained
up to take his place at these times. In return Gerry will reduce Stan’s pay by
20%

5. What possible legal claims might Stan be able to bring?

6. How might Gerry be able to defend himself were the dispute to reach a tribunal
hearing?

The possible places to be redeployed are unsuitable for stan and are in fact are
already taken
The circus is unable to pay the full salary ya stan and at the same time find a
replacement for him..Gerry to invite stan to renegotiate salary cut off to a lower figure
like 10% or something

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(Adapted from CIPD, 2013)
Appendix 2:

Your Report will be marked against the following rubric:

Criterion Mark and Comment

Use of resources as evidence to
support your argument.
E.g., books, journal articles and online
Resources.
Weighting 30%
Quality of the written presentation.
E.g., clarity, coherence, grammatical
accuracy, tone, and style, correct and
consistent referencing in the Harvard
format
Weighting 20%
Quality of the argument put forward.
E.g., evidence to support points made
clear structure with logical progression
from one point to the next, evidence of
understanding of issues, logical
conclusion.
Weighting 50%
Overall Comments
Points for Development

Your assignment must be submitted by 11:00 hrs on FRIDAY 16 APRIL 2021 via the
assignment submission link in the module Canvas site. Please ensure that your student
registration number and module code are stated on every page of your assignment (either in
the header or footer). An assignment cover sheet should be completed and attached to the
front of your assignment. Cover sheets will be available via the module Canvas site. It is
the individual responsibility of each student to ensure that their submitted work is free from
plagiarism and due acknowledgement is given to all sources. For details on plagiarism
including the University’s policy on academic integrity students should consult the webpage
detailed above. Once marked, you will receive your grade and feedback on your assignment
via the module Canvas site.

Appendix 3: Report Guidance/Structure

I have detailed below the appropriate structure for your individual reports. I have also
highlighted what I expect to see in each section; this is not an exhaustive guide but
will help to ensure you cover all areas required

Section What should be there? Word Count

Y/N

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Title Page Module Name Not included in
Module Number word count
Student ID
Executive A full overview of the report in its entirety. Not included in
Summary This should provide the reader with a full word count.
understanding of the report without having
to read the report in full.
No longer than 1 side of A4
ALWAYS WRITE THIS SECTION LAST (to
ensure you cover everything)
Table of Contents Please ensure this reflects your report and Not included in
you have detailed page numbers. word count.
REMEMBER YOUR PAGES SHOULD BE
NUMBERED THROUGHOUT!!!!
Introduction Start numbering your headings from here INCLUDED IN
e.g., 1.0 Introduction. This should provide WORD COUNT
some background to what your report is all
about
Do not be too descriptive and keep it short
(do not use too much of your word count
here)
Add your Methodology after the Intro e.g.,
1.1 Methodology. This only must be a few
lines for a report of this size. E.g.,
Information was gathered from secondary
sources such as academic textbooks,
academic journal articles and online
sources.
Main Body DO NOT USE MAIN BODY AS THE INCLUDED IN
HEADING! WORD COUNT
In this section you should be discussing
the area of research. Remember to
number your headings, e.g., 2.0. Your
headings should provide signposting for
the reader.

Conclusion & Tie your research up into a summary – do INCLUDED IN

Recommendations not provide any new information or WORD COUNT
references you have not previously used.
The Conclusions should be presented
BEFORE the recommendations
Reference List This is the list of sources you have cited in Not included in
your report and should mirror all word count
references within your report.
Stirling Harvard Referencing should be
used throughout the report – if you are
unsure please refer to the guide on
Canvas.
Your Reference List should be in
alphabetical order by the surname, do not

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 split into books/journals/internet – it should
be 1 continuous list in alphabetical order.
Do not number it or bullet point it.

Bibliography Different from the Reference List as it Not included in

details sources you have read to widen word count
your knowledge but have not actually cited.
Follow the Stirling Harvard Guide for
format.
Appendices If you have any, remember they must be Not included in
referred to in the body of your work. the