Question 1 Give examples of the three organisational objectives that the HR function is responsible for delivering, and briefly explain how these have evolved/are evolving in contemporary organisations. In your discussion you could cite business partnering, strategic partner. • building organisation capability through people and performance, • organisation and job design, • staffing objectives, • performance objectives, • contributing to organisation change, • promoting good employment relations and employee engagement, • developing careers and skills. You also need to consider in your response how the role of HR has changed over time i.e. the move from personnel management to a more strategic role. In your answers you must also provide a brief justification for why HR should be managed in professional, ethical and just manner. Question 2 Give a brief summary of two different ways HR objectives can be delivered in organisations. You should compare two different models for delivering HR services e.g. • shared services - the three-legged stool (ulrich) model • outsourcing, • the Harvard model of hrm • hard and soft HR model • warwick model You are then asked to analyse how the HR function varies between organisations in different sectors and sizes. You could consider how the HR function differs in the following: • private and public sector • small or medium enterprises • multi-national organisation across borders. Question 3 Give a short explanation of at least two major theories of change management such as Lewin’s three-phase model and more contemporary models e.g. Kotter’s eight-stage model. Then select one of the theories and illustrate how it can be used and provide an evaluation of it. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of the model. You could compare and contrast them against one another. Question 4 You are responding to a CEO’s request for a report on the contribution of the HR function to the business. You don’t need to actually write a full report, just a summary of the criteria and methods you would use to evaluate HR’s contribution. You can suit to an organisation of your choice. Please mention about time to hire, cost to hire, retention rate. You should put together a brief summary of what the criteria would be and how you would arrive at these. Then move on to how you would evaluate the contribution of the HR function. You should then outline at least two examples of different approaches to HR evaluation: • metrics, • balanced scorecard, • benchmarking, • SLA’s, • KPI’s, • surveys. Question 5 Choose one of the four articles in the assessment week that identifies and evaluates research evidence linking HR practices with positive organisational outcomes. You must briefly summarise the findings of the article. Then evaluate the article from your perspective considering the following areas: • quality, validity, authenticity, currency, credibility • do you agree – if so why or why not, is it valid or not. Try to use evidence to support your view. • how useful is the article • you must comment on the persuasiveness of the article, in terms of how well it makes it’s case, You must also comment on how the article has linked HR practice with positive organisational outcomes. Conclude by explaining how high-performance working and investment in human capital can impact on organisational practice. Articles for selection Articles for selection Below are listed the four articles that can be used for Question 5. You should select one of these articles. For articles 1, 3 and 4, click the link below, then click on “Download full-text PDF” to view the full article. 1. Human Resource Development Practices and Employee Engagement: Examining the Connection With Employee Turnover Intentions https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brad_Shuck/publication/264781508_Human_Resource_Development_Practices_and_Employee_Engagement_Examining_the_Connection_With_Employee_Turnover_Intentions/links/55aa505608aea3d086826e60.pdf 2. A Capability Approach to organisational talent management http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/16882/1/SwailesTalent.pdf 3. Evaluating human capital: An exploratory study of management practice https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Harry_Scarbrough/publication/227837275_Evaluating_human_capital_An_exploratory_study_of_management_practice/links/0deec5303d6394a3a0000000.pdf 4. Strategic HR functions and firm performance: The moderating effects of high-involvement work practices https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hyondong_Kim/publication/283152033_strategicHR/links/562d031b08ae04c2aeb4a044.pdf __________________________________________________________________________ CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY 5 __________________________________________________________________________ Climate Assignment Ecologically and climatically appropriate building design. Most traditional construction around the world is well-adapted to its environment and generally makes use of ecologically appropriate building materials and forms. Before mechanical space heating and cooling were available, traditional settlements developed a natural harmony with their climate and had as a consequence, a minimal carbon footprint. With global warming, we are returning to ecologically sustainable and climatically appropriate building designs. Particularly in this assignment, we will be looking at building designs, in climatically diverse locations across Australia and our near neighbours, investigating appropriate solutions for that location from elsewhere in the world that will have a minimum carbon footprint. You will be focusing on traditional solutions (say prior to 1900’s) from around the world, in similar climatic locations; to derive possible solutions for the location you will be assigned. As a group of 5 (minimum) or 7 (maximum) students, you will be allocated a location and your group is to become familiar with its peculiar climatic constraints. You are then to investigate other locations around the world in similar climates and discover the type of traditional building that developed to solve their particular needs for warmth (or cooling) and shelter. The list at the end of this handout has locations from around our region which are climatically diverse. When you have formed your groups a location will be allocated. Please form groups early in the semester. You must research the following topics to determine their influence on building design for your location: 1. The characteristics of the climate. i. Average maximum summer and minimum winter temperatures. ii. Diurnal temperature range both in summer and winter. iii. Humidity levels in summer and winter. iv. Solar characteristics (sun path and intensity of solar radiation). v. Atmospheric conditions (dust, cloudiness, precipitation e.g. mist & rain). vi. Incidence and extent of snow, if applicable. vii. Evaporation rates, rainfall intensities, flooding, fire and any other extremes of climatic conditions encountered at your location. viii. Remember to consider the use of vegetation to control the extremes of the climatic conditions, if at all possible. 2. Lighting needs of the building i. Glare problems; snow or bare ground. ii. Natural and artificial methods of lighting. iii. Lighting control throughout the day. 3. Acoustic background of the building i. External noise levels ii. Internal noise levels The locations chosen have some degree of discomfort in their climate in either summer or winter conditions. It might be the hottest day recorded or length of hot days or the highest evaporation rate. Or it could be the lowest or highest rainfall recorded with associated extremes of flooding or the highest altitude with resultant snow loads. Your group is to overcome these extremities and make your building solution an ecologically sustainable solution using ideas developed from traditional methods sourced from overseas. We are primarily focusing on characteristics of the environment and climate that impinge on building design and deriving solutions that would be acceptable to our culture in Australia. You can use modern building methods or materials to construct your building designs, but the focus is traditional solutions. You can use solar panels to generate both electrical & hot water, but again the focus is traditional solutions. The keywords are ecologically sound solutions that are climatically appropriate to the area you are assigned. Common problems • You are to discover countries that have similar climatic zones, and determine from your research the type of traditional building, that might have appropriate lessons for your allocated area. You must NOT include a general discussion of the cultural, geographic or political background of the country, unless it relates to the design of buildings. Marks will be deducted for padding. • Structural concerns, from snow, floods, earthquake & hurricanes should only be discussed if they affect the lighting, acoustic or thermal characteristics of the building. • You must include a Table of Contents, Conclusion and Reference list (Harvard method); overall it must be a professional report. See the Learning Guide for more details. Assessment (20% of final mark for the unit) Demonstrate how the environmental factors influence the design of traditional buildings in your similar region and how these principles can be applied and implemented to buildings at your location in Australia. This will be done through: 1. A 25 minute maximum verbal presentation (say 15 minute talk {i.e. app. 3 minutes each} and 5 minutes questions to the whole group). The presentation must be accompanied by PowerPoint slides (or similar). 2. A written submission; The length of the report is not critical but there should be input from all members of the group and heat, light and sound should be covered.. Diagrams and photographs are encouraged and should be referenced separately. This is a guide only. You may write a longer or shorter report if you want to do so. It is the quality of what is written that counts. 3. List of Locations: These will be allocated once you form your group Avoca TAS Marree SA Barrow Creek NT Mataranaka NT Birdsville QLD Meekatharra WA Bothwell TAS Menindee NSW Ceduna SA Miena TAS Cobar NSW Moree NSW Coober Pedy SA Peak Hill WA Cromwell NZ Pedirka SA Curie TAS Port Arthur TAS Daly Waters NT Queenstown NZ Derby WA Red Cliffs VIC Emerald QLD Renner Springs NT Halls Creek WA Robinvale VIC Hopetoun VIC Rosebery TAS Innisfail QLD Rotorua NZ Invercargill NZ Taupo NZ Karumba QLD Tumbarumba NSW Laverton WA Wangaratta VIC Mackay QLD Wilpena SA Maningrida NT Windorah QLD 4. Value of the Assignment, including PowerPoint & live presentation: 20% Submission Date: At time of presentation either week 13 or 14, as scheduled later in the semester