BUSN 2044 Managing Diversity
Assignment 1 – Individual Essay
Individual Essay and Panel Presentation: 25%
Essay length: 1000 words (15%) – 18th April 2016.
Panel discussion: 10 Minutes (10%) – 3rd May 2016
Students choose an essay topic from the list below. Students are to research the academic and practitioner (grey literature) to prepare a 1000-word essay which examines the following:
1. Why is this topic a diversity management issue? Tip: Use the academic literature to answer this.
2. Discuss up to three current/contemporary workplace practices aimed at managing this aspect of diversity? Tip: use real-life examples from organisations to support your argument. It might be where you work or from an organisation you have researched in the media or on an organisation’s website.
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of these practices? Tip: Use the academic literature and lecture content to answer this.
Students will then discuss their essay findings in an interactive panel discussion with other students who researched that same essay topic, facilitated by the lecturer.
The task
1. This assignment is conducted individually.
2. Students need to produce a 1000 word essay.
3. At least 4 primary refereed academic sources should be used that are dated no earlier than 2010. Beyond the refereed academic references students are encouraged to research widely on good quality websites (government sites, professional associations, NGOs etc). Full referencing is expected.
Choose from one of the contemporary Managing Diversity issues below
1. Mental health 2. Lifestyle acceptance (GLBTI)
3. Bullying and harassment 4. Care giving responsibilities
5. Supplier diversity (supply chain) 6. CEO commitment to diversity
Structure of the Essay
Your essay should be structured as follows:
Introduction
1. This states the purpose and structure of the paper, and identifies the main theme or
proposition(s) that you are trying to prove. It tells the reader what to expect.
Body
1. In the body of the paper you are trying to build a logical argument that supports the main theme or proposition. The body needs to be consistent with what you have said you are going to do in the introduction.
2. Each paragraph should have a topic sentence, and the points you are making should reflect that topic sentence.
3. You need to refer to theory to analyse the topic you are discussing.
4. Use theory and examples to explain your argument.
5. Remember that you are trying to present a logical, cohesive and clear analysis of the key issues that you have identified, and to use these to support your proposition or theme in a systematic way.
6. You only have 1000 words therefore you will need to be succinct and persuasive in presenting your argument.
Conclusion and recommendations
1. A conclusion is not just a list of the key points you have made. You need to draw together your key points to demonstrate that you have supported your theme or proven your proposition(s).
2. The conclusion needs to be consistent with both the introduction and the body of the report.
GRADING RUBRIC IS PROVIDED BELOW
Discussion Panel Format
1. Students (panelists) will sit at the front of the class with the tutor.
2. The tutor will introduce the essay topic question being discussed – 1 minute
3. The lecturer will ask each student on the panel to introduce themselves. Each panelist will have 1 minutes to provide an overview of their key findings, in the form of 3 key points, from their essay. The tutor will the panel questions regarding the topic which any panelist
(student) can answer. The tutor may also direct specific questions at a panelist (student)
4. The lecturer will ask the audience to ask questions.
5. The lecturer will thank the panelists and close the session.
Panel session will take approximately 10-12 minutes.
3 2 1 0
Overall
Impression Author directly addresses main question or issue, and adds new insight to the subject not provided in lectures, readings, or class discussions. He/She is able to synthesize this knowledge in new ways and relate to material not covered in the course. Author competently addresses main question or issue, but does not add much new insight into the subject. That said, it is clear that the author has researched the topic and is able to communicate this knowledge to others. Author attempts to address main question or issue, but has not be able to convey their knowledge.
Essay does NOT address main question or issue.
Argument Essay contains a clear argument—
i.e., lets the reader know exactly what the author is trying to communicate. An argument is present, but reader must reconstruct it from the text. Author attempts, but fails, to make an argument. No attempt is made to articulate an argument.
Evidence Provides compelling and accurate evidence that convinces reader to accept main argument. The importance/relevance of all pieces of evidence is clearly stated. There are no gaps in reasoning—i.e., the reader does not need to assume anything or do additional research to accept main argument. Provides necessary evidence to convince reader of most aspects of the main argument but not all. The importance/ relevance of some evidence presented may not be totally clear. Reader must make a few mental leaps or do some additional research to fully accept all aspects of main argument. Not enough evidence is provided to support author’s argument, or evidence is incomplete, incorrect, or oversimplified. Either no evidence is provided, or there are numerous factual mistakes, omissions or oversimplifications. There is little or no mention of information from lectures and readings.
Counter-
Evidence The author considers the evidence, or alternate interpretations of evidence, that could be used to refute or weaken his/her argument, and thoughtfully responds to it. Author acknowledges that counter-evidence or alternative interpretations exists, and lists them fully, but does not effectively explain to reader why his/her argument still stands. Author acknowledges some of the most obvious counterevidence and alternative explanations, but is not comprehensive in this task. There is little or no attempt made to respond to them. No acknowledgement of counter-evidence or alternative interpretations.
Sources
Evidence is used from scholarly journal articles and other credible sources. Evidence is used from many sources, but author relies heavily on a more limited set of sources. Some effort is made to go beyond material presented in class when required, but not much. If outside sources are used, they are primarily non-scholarly (i.e., Uses only a few scholarly sources provided in class, or does not go beyond what has been provided by professor when required to do additional research. Does not use sources.
intended for a general audience) and/or web-based.
Citations All evidence is properly cited in the Harvard referencing style. All evidence is cited using Harvard referencing style, but there are some minor problems with completeness or format of some citations. Some pieces are unreferenced or inaccurately referenced, and there are problems with completeness and format of citations. No attempt is made to cite evidence.
Organization Essay contains an intro, main body, and conclusion. Introduction lays out main argument and gives an outline of what the reader can expect in the essay. The conclusion brings everything together, acknowledges potential shortcomings of the paper, and gives the reader a sense of what further work might be done to advance the subject matter described in the paper. Essay contains an intro, main body, and conclusion. The introduction lays out the main argument but gives the reader little idea of what to expect in the essay. The conclusion nicely summarizes the main argument and evidence, but does not move beyond what has already been presented in the paper. Essay contains an intro, main body, and conclusion. The introduction gives the reader an idea of what to expect in the paper, but does not effectively lay out the main argument. It may begin with a set of rhetorical questions, or an anecdote that is never fully explained. The conclusion does little more than restate the problematic introduction. Intro and/or conclusion may be too wordy or short. Essay has no clear organizational pattern.
Clarity and Style All sentences are grammatically correct and clearly written. No words are misused or unnecessarily fancy. Technical terms, words from other languages, and words from other historical periods are always explained. All information is accurate and up-to-date. Paper has been spell-checked AND proofread and contains no errors. All sentences are grammatically correct and clearly written. An occasional word is misused or unnecessarily fancy. Technical terms, words from other languages, and words from other historical periods are usually, but not always, explained. All information is accurate and up-todate. Paper has been spellchecked AND proofread, and contains no more than a few minor errors, which do not adversely affect the reader’s ability to understand the essay. A few sentences are grammatically incorrect or not clearly written. Several words are misused. Technical terms, words from other languages, and words from other historical periods are rarely explained. Not all information is accurate and up-to-date. Paper contains several errors. Reader’s ability to understand essay may be compromised by these errors. Paper is full of grammatical errors and bad writing. Several words are misused. Technical terms, words from other languages, and words from other historical periods are rarely explained. Not all information is accurate and upto-date. Paper has not been spell-checked or proofread, and contains numerous errors. Reader has a difficult time understanding essay because of errors.