Unit 6.

1 Level 6

Human Resource Management 15 Credits

Sample Assignment
To succeed in this unit, you are required to complete two assignments. You must ensure that you cover all the assessment criteria for this unit over the two assignments as indicated. . Assignment One You have been invited to contribute an article to the journal Personnel Today. The journal is commissioning a series of articles introducing principles of Human Resource Management (HRM) to senior managers from other functional management areas. The first article is entitled Ensure the success of your business through effective human resource strategies Your article must be suitable for senior managers and written in a style appropriate for a professional journal. You should refer to relevant theory. You may use diagrams and illustrations if you wish. The article must cover: A definition of strategic human resource management and a comparison of at least two models of strategic HRM Reasons for the importance of HRM in organisations Explanation and analysis of an HRM framework Explanation of the HRM process and how strategies are developed An assessment of the roles in strategic HRM

This assignment covers assessment criteria 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3. A bibliography must be attached. Assignment Two Case Study Read the information about British Airways. Carry out further research by reading the latest BA annual report and articles related to employee relations at BA. The suggested titles are not exhaustive and you should find further sources. British Airways British Airways was formed in 1974 from its predecessors merging. Theses airlines were the former BOAC and BEA. British Airways was known as the flag carrier airline for the UK, meaning it was the national airline and owned by the state. This was the case until 1987 when the airline was privatised.

The airline is still the UKs largest scheduled airline. British Airways handles both passenger and freight business, flying to more than 400 destinations worldwide. Many routes are offered in partnership with other airlines using codeshare arrangements. The airline returned to profit in 2010, the first since 2007, making 157 million pre tax profit. British Airways has suffered from employee relation problems over the last few years, in particular, a cabin crew dispute which caused disruption in 2010. A company wide volunteer scheme helped keep planes flying. In 2011, British Airways merged with a Spanish airline Iberia. This meant the creation of a new holding company, International Airlines Group (IAG). The company is registered in Spain but has its head office in London and shares on the London and Spanish stock exchanges. It was anticipated that the merger would produce synergies and therefore reduce costs. A target reduction of 400 million over 5 years was set, some of which would come from reduced labour costs. The merger had implications for training with 9000 BA staff and 4000 Iberia staff to be trained in the new business model. Task 1: Choose four HR strategies that could be implemented by British Airways. Explain each of the strategies and its application to British Airways. Task 2: British Airways merged with Iberia in 2011. Analyse the impact of the merger on strategic HRM at British Airways. Write up your findings for tasks 1 and 2 as a report. Remember to use appropriate referencing and add a bibliography. This assignment covers assessment criteria 3.1, 3.2, 4.1 and 4.2. You will also find articles about BA and employee relations at

1. British Airways dispute 'will undermine staff relations for years'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/mar/30/ba-strike-staff-relations-dispute

BA threat to striking workers raises 'a complex legal issue' http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2010/11/12/56926/ba-threat-to striking-workersraises-a-complex-legal.html

British Airways launches monthly magazine for its 37,000 employees http://www.prweek.com/news/1009920/british-airways-launches-monthly-magazine-its-37000employees/ Employee Benefits Live: British Airways consolidates healthcare schemes into self funded plan (28/9/2011) http://employeebenefits.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=13689&d=23&h=0&f=0