Work-Life Balance

Assessment : Essay on “Work-Life Balance”
Length: 2500 words ± 10% (excluding title page and reference list)
Case Study: 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)
Reference Style: APA Style
Document type: MS Word document only, do not submit in PDF format
Objectives:
The primary purpose of this assessment task is to assist students to develop skills in the application of Human Resource Management (HRM) principles, work-life balance theories and models in the analysis of the present and future role of the HRM function in organisations. The assessment task encourages exploration of the effectiveness of the HRM functions (work-life balance, flexible work arrangements etc.) in dynamic environments and how that effectiveness should be evaluated. The secondary purpose of this assignment is to give students the opportunity to enhance their research, analysis, critical thinking and written communications skills including the identification and development of an argument.
Description:
Assessment 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, job satisfaction and employee performances. Students are expected to engage in extensive research within the academic literature relating to human resource management. It should contain an effective introduction, body, and conclusion. 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.
Most academic essays follows a similar general structure, with FIVE main components:

1. Abstract
2. An introduction,
3. A series of body paragraphs (the number will depend on the complexity of your topic, the information available and the word limit of your essay)
4. A conclusion.
5. References
6. Appendices (if needed)

Abstract (ideally be approx. 100 words): Abstract is a concise summary of your essay and should state the following: the purpose of the assignment, the main areas or aspects covered and the main conclusions or findings. It should be written as continuous text, without headings, numbers or bullet points (dot points). All academic journal articles require authors to write abstracts for their papers, so these can provide useful exemplars on which to model your own writing.
Introduction (ideally be approx. 100 words): The introduction consists of two or three paragraphs in which the aims, structure and methodology of the essay are outlined. It states clearly the purpose or main task of the essay and what the reader can expect to obtain from it. Important background information is included, such as what are the main arguments in the essay. Please include a thesis statement that clearly mentions the main purpose of the essay. The introduction should introduce the essay and include your argument.
Body Paragraphs (ideally be approx. 2300 to 2400 words): In this section, you should answer all the assignment questions in paragraphs. That means, there should not be any headings or sub headings in this section. Within each paragraph you must refer to (cite) the sources of specific information and ideas that you found during your literature research to support the topic that you are addressing. At the end of your essay, you should prepare a list of all sources (references), arranged alphabetically. If you compile a full record of your sources as you write your essay you will save yourself a lot of time and stress in the final stages of preparation. An academic essay will often contain an argument beginning with a contentious statement, the author will consider different viewpoints before arriving at a conclusion. Please note that all answers to the assessment questions should be based on arguments, answers developed through research findings (references). Please ensure that you have answered all questions and provide similar lengths of answers for all questions. Avoid using bullet points, direct quotes and unnecessary discussion which are not related to the question.
Please note that a paragraph is a series of around five or six sentences that are all related to a single point or idea. Typically a paragraph is about 200–250 words and starts with a topic sentence that states the main point you are making in that paragraph. The other sentences in the paragraph should all relate to this topic sentence, providing additional: • explanation • evidence and/or • examples. The final sentence in each paragraph should sum up the material on that aspect. It is often useful to revisit those final sentences when you write your conclusion.
Conclusion (ideally be approx. 100 words): The conclusion is a brief section (less than a page) in which the writer analyses the significance of the essay’s findings and reiterates the main points of the essay. These findings must derive logically from material presented in the essay. A generalisation is then drawn from the specific findings of the research. New information is not included in the conclusion. Information in a conclusion should not be presented as dot points.
References : A Reference List is a listing of all external resources that were consulted and mentioned during research for the essay, and information from which is directly referred to in the text of the report. It is strongly recommended to avoid secondary referencing in assignments. Such as, try to avoid too many mention of Cited in …….. Ricardo (2005) mentioned that ……. You are supposed to read the references before mentioning in reference list and applied in the essay. There are a number of different styles of referencing used in academic literature. As mentioned before, please use APA referencing style for reference list.

Note: You will be expected to present information and evidence from, and cite, at LEAST fifteen (15) relevant peer-reviewed, academic journal articles.
Task:

Case Study: Flexibility and work-life balance: who benefits? (pg. 315-316 of the textbook)
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.
All answers must be written with supporting academic references.