Individual Paper Assignment: Individually, every student must write a paper analyzing a current event
that integrates human resource management topic from the course with a current event from media
sources. For it to be “current” coverage of the event must have occurred since the beginning of the
semester (January 29, 2024). Not all media articles are current events. Do not write about an opinion or
an advice piece. It must be based on an event that happened in a real organization. Students must find
their own HR topic in the media and cannot use articles assigned for class. This will require research for
information about the organization and the HR implications or theory. The individual assignment is worth
50 points. The general grading consideration for this paper is the amount the student learned
independently while researching and presenting it in the paper. More specifically, I will grade the papers
on three equal criteria: 1) knowledge and presentation of the current event/organization, based on quality
of research, 2) coverage of the HRM topic, based on quality of research, and 3) general writing resulting
in a well-organized and readable document consistent with American Psychological Association (APA)
format guidelines (available at https://library.brockport.edu/citing/apa)
nevitability, students ask about the length of the paper. As a guideline, the body of the papers should be
about 1200-1500 words not including cover page, references, etc. The individual research paper is due,
April 21st and is worth 50 points.
Research; Web and Otherwise: For research papers where outside sources are a requirement for the
project, it is important to understand two tenets of research, validity and reliability. To be valid suggests
the data are legitimate or accurate; to be reliable means that the same research results would be
replicated if someone else were to perform it at another time. This means that the information one uses
be respectable and permanently available. Typically, articles that go through an editorial process before
being published are more legitimate than those that are not. How does this relate to the web? Much of
the information one finds on the web does not go through editorial processes. Anyone with access to a
server can publish anything on the Internet regardless of its accuracy. Also, something on the web may
be available one day, but not the next, thereby compromising its permanence or reliability. Since quality
of the research is a grading criterion for papers, students should be reluctant to base their assignments
on information from questionable places on the Internet. Make certain you get your information from
legitimate, well regarded sources, such as recognizable news outlets with reputations for high editorial
standards. Stay away from sources with which you are unfamiliar. Similarly, students should not base
their research on personal interviews because they’re difficult to verify; or solely on information provided
by a single organization as such information compromises objectivity.
