Assignment 1 JR
Team Research Paper / Presentation:
The term paper assignment directly relates to Course Competency # 6: “Assess the distinctive HR practices of employers-of-choice and compare and contrast HR policies and practices across organizations.”
Your job is to investigate a specific firm’s human resource policies and explain what is so special about this organization in executing certain HR practices. What HR policies make them an excellent place to work? Identify and discuss at least two or more of these best HR practices. The format of your paper should be as follows:
1. Cover page with a descriptive Heading / Title
2. Abstract and/or Introduction
3. Overview of the HR best practices topic (and/or company or industry) being studied
4. Distinctive HR Policies and Practices (an introduction followed by second-level sub-headings for each policy and/or practice that you are going to discuss)
5. Implications / Recommendations for HR Practitioners in other companies / industries
6. Summary / Conclusion
7. References and Appendices, as relevant and needed.
The research paper should be of publishable quality and about 20-30 double-spaced pages in text length depending on the size of your team (you should write about 4-6 pages per team member), not
including cover page or Appendices. Like all other assignments in this course, this paper must be written according to APA style and be carefully referenced.
Appropriate references: This is a research paper, and you must use at least ten or more different sources, in addition to textbooks; so be sure to pick a company about which a lot has been written. At least five or more of these sources should be published journal articles related to your topic and literature; the others may be organizational websites, government websites, or other reputable Internet sources.
The introduction of each paper should include a statement of the purpose and organization of the paper. Before your conclusion, you should have a section entitled “Implications for HR Practices in Other Companies” where you explain what other companies can learn from the company you are studying. This is the one section of the paper where you are analyzing what you have learned and extrapolating in order to make recommendations. You are not expected to have citations in this
section. Instead, this section should show some original thinking and your own personal recommendations.
Be sure to use published journal articles as your sources, not less-reliable Internet web sites.
Appropriate source journals include (among others) HR Magazine, Academy of Management Perspectives, Personnel Journal, Fortune, Human Resource Management, SAM Advanced Management Journal, Journal of Management, HR Focus, Human Resource Development Quarterly, The Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, The Journal of
Leadership and Organizational Studies, and Organizational Dynamics. You may use the company’s website but do so sparingly and remember that what a company has on their own website may be positively biased in their favor.
Grade Rubric Guide for Paper Points
Focused Introduction 10%
Strong literature on the HR topic with relevant citations 30%
Implications and Recommendations for Practicing Professionals 30%
Summary and References 10%
The research is fully in the APA format. 20%
Total 100%
Appearance, punctuation, grammar, neatness, and spelling count. This must be a professional looking and publishable quality paper to receive full credit. This paper should have an introduction, body, conclusion, and reference section along with appropriate headings and sub-headings in the
body of the paper. Write transition sentences between sections so that the reader knows where you are going and why. Note that this is a research paper; whenever possible, avoid all first-person pronouns and personal opinions. Here is the recommended grade rubric guide for the assignment.