HRPD-701-Final Assignment Page 1 of 7

Course Code: HRPD-701 Your Section_______________

Course Name: Introduction to Human Resources Management
Assignment: Final Culminating Assignment – Interview

Final Assignment [Assignment 3]: Culminating Interview with an HR Practitioner

Purpose

This GROUP assignment provides an opportunity to increase [and demonstrate] your

understanding of the role of Human Resources Management [HRM] in today’s organizations’,
using a “real life” exemplar.

Instructions

Step 1

Contact a relatively senior person within an organization who has responsibility for HRM
functions. The organization must have a person responsible for the HR function. This might
be a designated HR Professional or a Manager with HR responsibilities.

Once you have decided who you will be interviewing, send your Instructor [a WORD
DOCUMENT submitted into proper eDropbox by due date provided]: the name, position,
organization information [with the Organization’s name, address, and website], and full contact
information of the individual you will be interviewing.

This should be a Canadian Organization, or an Organization with operations in Canada, ideally

within Ontario. All requirements are based on this.

If, however, you do this assignment within a non-Canadian Organization, you must add
this following other aspect to your assignment:

Explain how Canadian practices would be different for those aspects you
are reporting on. This instruction is an “automatic and implied” addition to
the requirements listed below.

Step 2 – Group Logistics

This is a complex group project. Clarity, of group members’ roles, responsibilities, deadlines, is
critical to your group’s success, as is clarity/agreement/ implementation about how you will
communicate with one another. To ensure your success, as a group you should first do the
following:

 Decide how you will communicate, with each other, about your work. A discussion
board can be created for you (Assignment #3: Culminating Interview of an HR
 HRPD-701-Final Assignment Page 2 of 7

Course Code: HRPD-701 Your Section_______________

Course Name: Introduction to Human Resources Management
Assignment: Final Culminating Assignment – Interview

Practitioner). However, you are not limited to using this board. As a group, you
determine the best way to communicate / interact to coordinate your work. It may be
necessary for your Instructor, later, to review your communications, so make sure all
electronic, and written, communications are stored and retrievable.
 Decide upon roles and responsibilities. This means establishing who will complete
which tasks, i.e. who will take on which specific part[s], who will be responsible for
submitting the document, by WHEN, HOW it will be shared/reviewed in advance of
submitting, etc.
 Establish deadlines. This means be clear by when each task should be done. As a
group, be sure to leave yourself enough time to edit the work, collectively, to ensure it is
a well edited document that speaks with a unified voice.

Step 3

As a group, once you are clear about how you will conduct your work, [which, by now in your
course and program, you are accustomed to doing] begin to complete your work.

Organization Research

Conduct an in-depth interview (in person, and / or virtually) with your Interviewee to
familiarize your team with the Organization and HR-related practices. You may need more
than one Interview – a couple shorter Interviews may be better than one very long one.
- What does the Organization “do” – i.e. products and / or services? Include url
- How large are they [$ sales / revenues, # ‘ee’s, locations[s] ], ?
- What is the scope of their operations? [i.e. where do they operate]
Obtain information about the Organization’s mission statement, values, strategic
goals/direction, and any other points of interest you think relevant to your project. Some of this
data may also be obtained, via internet, or articles, or other printed documentation available
from, or about, the Organization. But. DO NOT MERELY COPY POSTED MATERIAL FROM
THE ORGANIZATION'S WEBSITE, SEC FILINGS, OR THE LIKE. And always cite and
reference.

CONFIDENTIALITY: Please advise / confirm with your Interviewee: that anything

disclosed, and not on public websites, and the like, will be held in strict confidence
between yourselves and instructor, and is only intended for use as an Academic /
Educational exercise.

It would be useful to present [some of] the information you obtained from your Interviewee in a
table [which can be landscape oriented] which looks like the following:

These are typical things to have in your paper. [you may decide on others]
 HRPD-701-Final Assignment Page 3 of 7

Course Code: HRPD-701 Your Section_______________

Course Name: Introduction to Human Resources Management
Assignment: Final Culminating Assignment – Interview

Name of team members who attended the Interview [if there is more than one interview,
complete a separate line for each]:

Name of the person(s) Interviewed and their position / title within the organization:

Name of the organization [and url]:

Location[s] of the organization:

Date [and time – duration] of the Interview[s]:

Describe the organization’s philosophy, values, and general approach to its market(s).

Describe the organization’s philosophy, values, and general approach to its employees.

What does the Organization do? [i.e. products / services]

What is the Organization’s size and scope of operations [$ revenues/sales, # employees,
categories of employees, as examples.]

Request an organizational chart if one is available. If one is not available, attempt to construct
one.

Request any other relevant written documentation about the organization (such as annual
reports, brochures, newsletters, employee orientation materials, handbooks, employment
contracts, collective agreements, benefits brochures, etc.) Where possible please include
these [PERHAPS JPEGS] in your submission Include as Appendix to your paper.

If the organization maintains a website, check for relevant information about the organization
and its human resources/ employment practices.

The questions you decide to ask should allow you to describe in detail how at least 4 HRM
Functional areas are handled by the organization. [please remember the difference
between HRM, SHRM, and the management of human resources – for example, and as a
reminder, all managers of human resources [i.e. people/ee’s] are responsible for “Motivation”
– it is not a specific HRM functional area].

Typical HRM functions / areas to explore include:

 Human Resources Planning

 Job Analysis and Design
 HRPD-701-Final Assignment Page 4 of 7

Course Code: HRPD-701 Your Section_______________

Course Name: Introduction to Human Resources Management
Assignment: Final Culminating Assignment – Interview

 Recruitment
 Selection
 Onboarding and Orientation
 Training
 Development
 Compensation and Benefits
 Occupational Health and Safety
 Employee Relations
 Labour Relations [only if it is unionized]
NOTE: If the Organization has Unionized Employees – you must report this, even if this is
not the focus of your paper.
Which union, which ee’s are unionized, is there more than one union group in the
organization?, how is the ‘ee/union – ‘er relationship [harmonious or conflictual?], the
impact Unionization has had on any HR Function reported in this paper.

You may want to select 1 or 2 specific jobs to assist with the above. If you do, include a copy
of the job description or Job Analysis or any supporting documentation in your final report.
The job description can be one you obtain, or one you create [if one does not exist in the
Organization], for the chosen position. In the "perfect world" every job in every organization
will have a completed full Job Analysis within which this would be contained. This would be
excellent to include.

Provide a list of the questions you asked – which you will have prepared in advance -
and the HR persons corresponding answers (EACH GROUP MEMBER IS TO REVIEW
DRAFT QUESTIONS PRIOR TO THE INTERVIEW).
This needs to be presented as an EXPLICIT easily identifiable portion in your paper.

Remember: If you encounter information or responses that are different from what you
expected or that seem unusual, ask follow-up questions to find out why this situation exists.

A couple sample HR Functional areas with corresponding questions could include [but
you could / should include others]: REMEMBER: these are examples. You may need to
“customize” based on the organization / person you are using for this Assignment.

FOR ALL: Support your recommendations with references to theories provided in the course
text, as well as other supporting materials.
 HRPD-701-Final Assignment Page 5 of 7

Course Code: HRPD-701 Your Section_______________

Course Name: Introduction to Human Resources Management
Assignment: Final Culminating Assignment – Interview

Compensation

Select at least one classification of employees compensated with either wages or salaries at
the management, professional or non-management level. If available, provide the
Compensation / Pay Grid from the Organization.

Identify and explain the current types of pay, and, if applicable, incentive programs for all
positions in this organization, as well as for this position explicitly or, if none exist, what
incentive system would you recommend for this job classification. If you feel this would not be
possible, explain why. Support your recommendations - why you believe such incentive plans
would be beneficial to this particular organization.

Benefits

Identify and explain the types of discretionary employee benefits and services that currently
exist. Make 3-4 recommendations for changes to current systems or 3-4 recommendations for
creation of new systems.

Performance Management

Review the job description for a job and analyze the current performance appraisal system.
Suggest changes or improvements to the current system. If there is not a system for this
particular job classification, then design an effective appraisal program, studied in this course,
aligned with the corporate direction. Explain the FULL Performance Management process for
this job. Provide a rationale for a Performance Management process you may suggest or
changes you may suggest.

Recommendations Section

Whichever areas you choose to explore:

Include a separate Recommendations section in your paper, either included as you review
each HR Function, or as a separate Recommendations Section, as a separate [subheading]
section for reach HR Functional area.

Try for 3 – 4 recommendations / changes for improvement for each area, with rationale. You
should connect your findings and recommendations to the relevant chapter[s] / theory from the
text / course [please remember that the only relevant/valid TEXTBOOK reference is the one
assigned to this course], and [not “or”] any other references you deem necessary.
 HRPD-701-Final Assignment Page 6 of 7

Course Code: HRPD-701 Your Section_______________

Course Name: Introduction to Human Resources Management
Assignment: Final Culminating Assignment – Interview

Additionally, explain how your recommendations would assist this organization,

specifically.

Implementation Plan for Recommendations

The implementation plan should include specific strategies, tactics, techniques which
Organization management can use to effectively implement your recommendations. Identify
and explain possible barriers to implementation. Again, this should follow the Recommendation
Section, whether a separate Recommendations Section, or a subheading under each
functional area.

Step 4 – PROJECT SUBMISSION

As a group, submit one WORD document. Your group’s submission should comply with APA
requirements for a paper, including paper formatting and proper citations and referencing,
including [but not limited to] the following:

 APA compliance is required which includes: professionally formatted, 12 pt. font, double
spaced, bolded headings, subheadings [as applicable], Running Header, 1” margins.
 Spelling, grammar, syntax, etc. … do count, as does attention to detail, working to
deadlines, and thoroughness.
 Maximum ~15-pages [+/-], but, be as concise and clear as possible. Neither cover page
nor References page are included in page limit.
 You must cite and reference your sources.
o Follow APA requirements; provide in-text citations after any quote, statistic,
paraphrase, chart, picture, or other information or material you have used, or
taken concepts from, or otherwise relied on.
 Insert your Reference List as a separate page at the end of your document. If it is cited
it must be on the References Page – if it is on the References Page, it must be cited.
 You should include specific citation / reference to the course text - in-text textbook
citations must include page number[s].
o Failure to cite your sources = Academic Integrity Violation [AIV]. The penalties
can range from partial marks, a zero on the assignment, and for a second
offence, a zero in the course, and a record of the infraction.

Submission
 HRPD-701-Final Assignment Page 7 of 7

Course Code: HRPD-701 Your Section_______________

Course Name: Introduction to Human Resources Management
Assignment: Final Culminating Assignment – Interview

Your file is to be in WORD format ONLY---- uploaded to the appropriate designated

eDropBox by Due Date, and ---- named using the following convention:
GroupName[number] [Link].