Description:-
Assessment task 3 requires the writing of an argumentative essay. This essay should be an ‘argumentative/ academic essay', and must therefore contain an argument that is used as the structuring element of the paper. The assignment is based on a case study that describes the impact of leadership styles and change management on business activities. The purpose of the essay is to identify the roles of work-life balance, flexibility in work arrangements and other challenges in managing dynamic organisations. Students are expected to engage in extensive research within the academic literature relating to work-life balance, flexible work arrangements, and job satisfaction andemployee performances. Students are expected to engage in extensive research within the academic literature relating to human resource management.
Details:-
The assessment item is based on the case study titled Flexibility and work-life balance: who benefits? (pg. 315-316 of textbook: Human Resource Management in Australia (5th Ed., 2014) by Kramar, Bartram, De Cieri, Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, McGraw-Hill Australia). You should read, and carefully analyse, the case and respond to the issues presented at the end of the case study within the context of an argumentative essay. You are required to support your argument with appropriate theoretical discussion and references.
This assignment MUST be a properly constructed academic essay. It MUST NOT contain headings and sub-headings. Refer to Academic Learning Centre and Library Help pages for the guidelines regarding writing argumentative essays. You are required to follow the guide to structure your essay. Your essay should be a properly constructed academic essay. It should contain an effective introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should introduce the essay and include your argument. The body should present the evidence you have collected to support your argument, and the conclusion should restate your argument, summarise the evidence and make a conclusion regarding your argument. You are required to support your argument with appropriate theoretical discussion and references.
The essay should contain a coherent, but necessarily restricted review of the academic literature on the Human Resource Management topic in question. The literature review should be integrated into the essay, not a separate section. Advice regarding formatting of the essay can be found at the link above. Do not use headings or include an abstract. A reference list is compulsory.
This assessment item involves researching your assigned topic to enhance your understanding of Human Resource Management (HRM) concepts and utilisation of academic literature. AVOID using only the textbooks, however, the prescribed textbook for the course should be cited in regard to broad HRM principles. You will be expected to present information and evidence from, and cite, at LEAST fifteen (15) relevant peer-reviewed, academic journal articles (twelve relevant and well applied academic articles will gain a pass mark for this criterion). Refer to your recommended readings for examples of academic journals. While you can cite these you must find fifteen (15) journal articles not listed in the course materials. Your citations will show the breadth and depth of the literature used to answer the questions. Your marker is interested in the analysis that you have developed from YOUR review of the literature and how well you use the literature to respond to the topic.
Case Study: Flexibility and work-life balance: who benefits?
The concepts of flexibility and work-life balance are not clear-cut. Different people will think of flexibility and work-Life balance in different ways. Flexibility of work arrangements are an important part of facilitating work-life balance. The benefits of flexibility are interpreted in different ways by different stakeholders.
Employees across all levels of organisations desire flexibility so that they can accommodate the competing responsibilities and interests in their lives. Almost 37 per cent of employees work part-time.
During the economic downturn there were a number of contradictory influences on the way organisations achieved work-life balance and flexibility. A survey by Hewitt Associates found 79 per cent of organisations were seeking to avoid redundancies and at the same time provide greater flexibility in their working arrangements. Some employers sought to retain employees by reducing the length of the working week, introducing part-time work and increasing the availability of flexible working arrangements.
KPMG and Virgin Australia experienced a decline in demand for business. At KPMG a number of people elected to reduce their work hours, accessing KPMG's existing employee flexibility and employee assistance scheme. Flexibility is regarded as a critical part of the employee-engagement strategy and essential for developing a diverse, adaptive and high-performing workforce. Virgin Australia implemented a hiring freeze and natural attrition for 200 roles. In addition, 100 staff were deployed and another 100 staff were offered flexible working arrangements. These working arrangements include part-time work, job sharing or leave without pay for 12 months.
Flexibility has been used by employers to further economic outcomes. However, this can result in employees being required to work even longer hours in order to achieve the requirements of the role and company results. Most Australians are increasingly dissatisfied with the balance between their work and non-work life. More than 20 per cent of people work 48 hours or more and 60 per cent do not take regular holidays. Three-quarters of these people would much rather work fewer hours.
There are expectations in the workplace, particularly when companies are seeking to reduce costs, that people will work longer hours and get the necessary results. Executives have been affected by this expectation. The expectation in the regional offices of multinational companies is that managers will be available for conference calls across time zones. This reduces the cost of travel, but Nick Greenhalgh of Career Innovations claims it also means work-life balance is disintegrating for some people in senior management positions. He claims it is not unusual for executives working for US multinationals to do all-night conference calls and also come to work during Developing people.
MANAGING FOR PERFORMANCE
The day, Working long hours often 'creeps up on people' and before the executive knows it these hours are taken as normal. However, when this occurs the executives often lose perspective because they are overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of the work.
The previous discussion demonstrates the complexity around the term 'flexibility: It demonstrates that initial stimulus for the use of flexible working arrangements to provide for better work-life balance has been recast. Juliet Bourke, a partner at Aequus Partners, is concerned that 'the whole paradigm has shifted to something a little negative-that is, flexibility is now about how we get more out of fewer people.
Ross Gittins argues workers pay the penalty for one way flexibility. Although the Fair Work Act makes it more difficult for employers to buy out penalty rates, employers continue to seek to redefine ordinary hours of work. In 2012 the banks sought to redefine ordinary hours of work to include Saturday and Sunday. They argued this was to 'promote flexible and efficient modern work practices in a way that had proper regard to the considerations of productivity and employment costs'. Ross Gittins claims the flexibility being sought is 'one sided', because employers gain employees when they need them in order to maximize profits.
Nick Greenhalgh believes the requirement that people work extraordinary hours will have a long-term detrimental impact on employees.
Employees will become disillusioned, unproductive, resentful and unproductive. This will have a detrimental impact on discretionary effort and productivity as a consequence of a decline in engagement.
Barbara Holmes of Managing Work Life Balance International claims this approach to work life is not sustainable. She says that employers should consider the health, safety and wellbeing of staff. Employees can only cope with excessive hours for a short time.
Tasks
Case Study: Flexibility and work-life balance: who benefits?
Based on the above mentioned case study, write an essay entitled "Work-Life Balance" to critically discuss the following questions:
1. Do you agree with Juliet Bourke that the use of flexibility has moved away from its original paradigms?
2. Critically discuss the implications of excessive working hours on the performance of employees and managers.
3. Analyse ways in which employers could facilitate work-life balance during an economic downturn.