LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
• To identify one key current issue in work and employment from your
media portfolio that will impact on today’s organisations and locate this
issue in a company context from this semester
• To demonstrate academic research skills in providing an analysis of and
recommendations for managing this issue (including providing an
accurate APA 7 formatted and annotated reference list)
• To demonstrate clear business writing skills suitable for the professional
workplace
• To provide a clear and concise (1500 words maximum or equivalent)
written document or presentation – using either of the two templates
provided and required accompanying documents (i.e. explanatory notes
for the PowerPoints and the annotated reference list for both the
presentation or document briefing) – appropriate for briefing a CEO or
Board
Generative AI tools cannot be used in the assessment tasks in this unit:
In this assessment, you must not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to
generate any materials or content in relation to this assessment task.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Choose ONE of the issues from your media portfolio this semester.
2. Research it thoroughly using recent academic literature (peer-reviewed
journal articles, scholarly book chapters) and relevant reports (e.g.
government, consultancy, tribunals/commissions, other appropriate
bodies). You should aim for at least 12 sources but you do not cite
these in your documents only in your annotated reference list.
3. Choose a company context in which to locate your ‘issue’ and policy
briefing from this semester e.g. FibreTek (you will need to rely on the
company information provided in the three parts of the case study
throughout the semester) or Qantas or Southwest Airlines or New
Zealand (you could look up more about these companies online or in
IBISWorld – remember Air New Zealand and Southwest Airlines are
international i.e. New Zealand and the US respectively so different legal
and industrial relations systems apply but you do not need to know the
idiosyncratic details of these systems but have understanding that their
systems are different from ours).
4. Watch the short video by Niki Howells-Schramm from Healthscope on
how she briefs her CEO. Note that she has chosen to address a family
and domestic violence leave policy in her workplace as her briefing issue.
5. Follow the document template structure and complete the sections
using an appropriately concise, clear, professional writing style OR
follow the presentation proforma also provided below by Niki.
6. If you choose the PowerPoint presentation, you need to provide
explanatory notes for each slide (slide content and notes to be less than
1500 words) – no academic referencing on the slides only in the
annotated reference list – see immediately below.
7. There is no need to reference the actual briefing document in text or
PowerPoint slides on the slides but a complete and accurate APA 7
formatted reference list must be provided with a concise comment on
how each source was used in the briefing document – this means your
reference list will be an ANNOTATED reference list so please see the
example provided. The reference list is not counted in the 1500 words.
8. Please see an example of an annotated reference list below.
What is a briefing document or presentation?
A briefing document is a good communication vehicle to keep others abreast of
issues or situations in a professional manner.
A briefing document may provide a very concise background to an issue or
situation or problem.
A briefing document identifies a particular problem, with the goal of getting
others to also address the issue.
This type of document also usually offers a proposed solution or
recommendations for the presented problem.
No more than two pages; ideally between 700 and 1000 words – remember that
1500 words is an absolute maximum).
A presentation is no more than five slides (see the proforma below and
instructions).
Steps to follow:
1: Summarize Key Information
As the author of a briefing document, it is your job to filter through interview transcripts, papers and other materials to pull out what is important for others to review. While you should hold on to all relevant research materials, do not include extensive appendices or attachments with a briefing. The document you produce should stand on its own without requiring readers to dig through other documents for corroborating information.
NOTE: You will submit your annotated reference list with your briefing document or PowerPoint presentation though.
2: Verify Details
It is very important for you to verify that all details and other information included in the briefing document are factual and reliable. Other individuals will be relying on the information to determine whether or not they will support the resolution of your issue or wish to propose alternative courses of action. Everything in the document must be accurate; any claims should be backed up with data.
Note: This is what your academic and other research is for.
3: Do Quality Control
It is very important that you take the time to make the document accurate, easy to read and easily accessible. Once you have completed a draft, review it closely to identify areas where other information may be needed or sources may need to be added, making absolutely certain that everything is correct and properly sourced. Ensure that everything flows well and the format is easy to follow. Check for errors and make any adjustments needed.
4: Edit and Proofread Carefully
Take the time to edit and proofread your briefing document prior to presenting it to your colleagues or other professionals. Double-check the content and review the document for spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.
Get at least one other person to review the document to check for errors and omissions, and to make sure that someone who hasn’t dug through all of the research material can fully understand the situation described in it.
Please see the Proforma example of written document below (760
words).
There is also a PowerPoint Proforma below (maximum of 5
slides + explanatory notes).
Brief: Status Update on HR Software Implementation
The purpose of this brief is to provide members of the leadership team – CEO Dougie
Keith, HR Manager Cheryl Jones, Operations Manager Clint Silberer, Financial
Manager Nawaf Zaffir – with an update regarding implementing FibreTek’s new human
resource information system (HRIS).
Key details:
• The significant proposed growth in market share over the next five years
will see a substantial increase in FibreTek’s workforce which necessitates
the company moving forward with a more streamlined way of managing our
employee data.
• Recent events within FibreTek have demonstrated the necessity to
maintain employee profiles including gender; cultural, ethnic, and language
backgrounds; learning and development needs; performance management
processes; WorkCover requirements; and streamlining our recruitment
processes.
• The company would also benefit from automatic deduction of trade union
membership dues from employees’ salary to enable union densities to be
established across the workforce.
• The 21 May 2022 Federal election resulted in a change in government that
will likely see industrial relations changes that would facilitate this automatic
deduction process.
• Greater employee data security will be required to protect this sensitive
information and comply with Victorian privacy legislation.
• HR Tech First Australia has been selected as our new HRIS application.
• The HR Tech First Australia’s implementation team is currently working on
customisation.
• Our HR and accounting teams are gathering data requested by HR Tech
First Australia that is necessary to begin converting our data. This data is
due by 31 October 2022.
• The data conversion is expected to take approximately four weeks, which
means that we will be aiming to go live with the new system in early
January 2023.
• We need to notify HR Tech First Australia if we prefer to implement the
system one module at a time, or if we prefer to wait until the entire system
is ready to go live.
• We also need to set up some virtual training sessions so that key personnel
will know how to use the new system prior to its implementation.
Recommendations:
1. The HRIS committee recommends opting for a module-by-module
implementation. It is our belief that this approach will help make the
transition go as smoothly as possible. By gradually introducing the new
system, training can be staggered. This will also help make sure that
problems (if any) can be identified early in the rollout. This is the option
the software vendor (HR Tech First Australia) suggests as being the
most effective.
2. We suggest scheduling an initial training session for team leaders two weeks prior to implementation of the first module, with additional weekly sessions for employees through the first week of the initial rollout.
3. We suggest assessing additional training needs at that time, as the system will be live and we will have feedback from the initial groups who created the training. It may be necessary to schedule additional training with HR Tech First Australia for the remaining teams, though it is our hope that the rest of the training can be handled in-house.
4. The HRIS committee recommends opting for a module-by-module implementation. It is our belief that this approach will help make the transition go as smoothly as possible. By gradually introducing the new system, training can be staggered. This will also help make sure that problems (if any) can be identified early in the rollout. This is the option the software vendor (HR Tech First Australia) suggests as being the most effective.
5. We suggest scheduling an initial training session for team leaders two weeks prior to implementation of the first module, with additional weekly sessions for employees through the first week of the initial rollout.
6. We suggest assessing additional training needs at that time, as the system will be live and we will have feedback from the initial groups who created the training. It may be necessary to schedule additional training with HR Tech First Australia for the remaining teams, though it is our hope that the rest of the training can be handled in-house.
Next steps:
Please advise regarding your thoughts on the above recommendations by September 30 which is the Friday before the next HRIS Committee meeting on 3 October.
We will need to provide HR Tech First Australia with a decision about our preference for implementation (module-by-module or all at once) no later than Friday 21 October.
In order to begin training in advance of implementation, we will need to provide High Tech First Australia with our preferred initial training dates by that time as well.
Respectfully submitted by
Charlie Kwok, HRIS Committee Leader
Email: charlie.kwok@FibreTek.com.au
mailto:charlie.kwok@FibreTek.com.au
Proforma of PowerPoint presentation (Niki Howells-
Schramm)
Use five slides only. Remember not everything needs to go on the
slides as you would be there in person or via a technology-driven
medium to explain the extra details needed. This means that you do
not overcrowd the slides.
However, you will need to submit adequate explanatory notes to
accompany your slides (when you watch Niki’s presentation on
Moodle under the Assessment Tile Assessment 3 information, you
will see what sort of information can be included).
Example of an excerpt from an annotated reference list:
Reference list
Pocock B (2011) Rethinking unionism in a changing world of work, family and community life. Relations
Industrielles 66(4): 562-584.
This source looks at the role of unions in protecting their members’ working conditions
around family life. FibreTek has had some issues with removing flexibility from some
workers, thus negatively affecting their existing family commitments.
Stratton K (1992) Strategic human resource planning: A union perspective. Human Resource Planning
15(3): 37-46.
This ‘classic’ source examines classic strategic planning and how trade unions perceive it when
it comes to their members. FibreTek has had some HR issues and issues with their employees’
trade unions.
Thomas A (2020) Cross-border labour markets and the role of trade unions in representing migrant
workers’ interests. Journal of Industrial Relations 62(2): 235-255.
This source provided information on how trade unions represent migrant workers’ interests
in organisations such as FibreTek which has a significant migrant workforce and indicates
how employers could better manage issues facing these employees to prevent unnecessary
union involvement – FibreTek has a heavily unionised workforce and is currently engaged in
enterprise bargaining.