Sample BUS2004 Human Resource Management Assignment

BUS2004 Human Resource Management Assignment Sample

Assessment Brief

Word count/Time provided: 2000 words

Weighting: 40%

A Case study will be provided comprising answers to three or four case study analysis questions. The business report format is required for the individual assignment. The headings and subheadings are strongly recommended to structure the business report. The Harvard Referencing Style is required. For detailed requirements, please refer to the guidelines of how to write Business Report and academic writing style. It is strongly recommended to review SLS learning Enhancement Section in APIC Canvas. The link of Business Report Guideline was provided in the assessment section of this subject in the Canvas.

ETHICAL DILEMMA – Case study

WILL ROBOTS STEAL OUR JOBS?

‘I heard on the radio today that robots are going to make many of us economically valueless,’ says Cathy O’Sullivan, HR manager for Star Industries as she takes a bite from her sandwich.

‘That’s a bit scary, but it sounds plausible. What’s going to happen to such people?’ asks Peter Vivakis, CFO.

‘I guess if you can’t earn a living wage you join the welfare queue,’ replies Chris Moore, production manager.

‘That sounds like higher taxes and more social problems to me,’ interjects Wendy Smith, IT manager.

‘I agree,’ says Peter. ‘Unequal societies are not happy ones.’

‘You know, I read somewhere that some academics reckon that almost 50 per cent of US jobs are at risk from automation,’161 says Cathy.

‘And it’s not just the unskilled,’ adds Chris. ‘The jobs of bankers, lawyers, financial advisors and the like are also under threat. Robots are going to significantly change the way we all live and work.162 Traditional career paths are going to disappear.’

‘What is more worrying is that some young people will never secure a permanent full-time job,’ interjects Cathy. ‘Their future is unemployment or at best underemployment. The division between the employed and the jobless is going to get worse.’

‘Yes, and massive youth unemployment means civil unrest,’ says Peter. ‘We need to find smarter ways of working to create growth promote investment and improve the education of our young.’

‘The question is will automation make our lives better or worse? It seems to me that there are going to be many losers,’ says Chris.

‘Automation is going to be very stressful for those who lose their jobs. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t work,’ says Wendy.

‘Me too,’ Peter says in agreement.

‘Perhaps we would all be better off without robots and their job destroying capabilities,’ Chris offers.

‘But not if they take on the boring, repetitive work,’ says Cathy.

‘And the dirty and dangerous jobs,’ adds Peter.

‘Automation sounds great, providing that workers can acquire new skills and are able to relocate to where the jobs are, but I remain sceptical,’ says Chris.

‘How do we know that there will be enough better quality jobs available or that new jobs will be created quickly enough to replace the jobs taken over by robots?’ Wendy asks.

‘And think of the industrial relations implications. Some unions could lose all their members,’ adds Cathy.

‘The workplace clearly is going to be revolutionised,’ says Peter. ‘Everything will be more efficient. Productivity will receive a major boost. We should all be much better off.’

‘I agree,’ says Cathy, ‘but with the qualifier that you have one of the good jobs supervising the robots.’

‘Which means you must have the required skills — without them you will be road kill? It all sounds terribly depressing,’ says Wendy.

‘You know, what really worries me is that we could become a society with more losers than winners,’ says Chris.

‘Alas, I must agree,’ sighs Peter, ‘but one can hardly be a Luddite and stop all technical progress.’

Chris nods his head in agreement and says, ‘I see the former Treasury Secretary says Australians are in denial about the risks of a fall in our standards of living and that we are ill prepared to meet future challenges or to seize the opportunities ahead.’163

‘Perhaps as the lucky country we have run out of luck?’ Peter offers.

‘More like a lack of hard work!’ Wendy says. ‘It’s obvious that our education system is failing. We need to focus on STEM subjects and not on some of the “fluffy” nonsense that passes for education today. Most of the new jobs that will be created in the next decade will require science, technology, engineering and maths. If people don’t have these skills, they will be unemployable.’

‘I agree,’ says Cathy, ‘and I’d add that our labour laws make it more difficult for investors to establish new businesses, create new jobs and want to hire more people.’164

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What ethical issues are raised in this case?
2. What are your views regarding the economic, political and social implications of automation?
3. What are some of the possible major implications of automation for HRM and HR managers?

Solution

1. Introduction

Nowadays, employees are replaced by a robot in the workplace, which also reduces their economic value. Due to advanced technology, many companies increase their productivity and economic growth by using robots in the workplace. On the other hand, it also increases unemployment in industries.

2. Ethical issues are raised in this case

From the case study, many ethical issues were found that are discussed below for assignment help

Robots are going to make many people economically valueless

In the workplace, employees are replaced by new advanced technology such as robots. In modern times technology modernises business operations to introduce the robot mechanism. Robots are more efficient rather than human workers. It helps to increase productivity in the workplace. Similarly, it helps to increase the Higher living standards of employees. In an organisation, employees get wages which help lead their life when an organisation uses the process robot, so they use fewer humans in their working process. For the same reason, an organisation reduces the economic value of thor employees.

Higher taxes and more social problems

For an organisation, higher tax is another problem in replacing workers' robots in the workplace. Robots are to lead a different type of change in labour life because it helps to increase the skill level of employees. So it helps to increase the production of an organisation with high taxes. From the same point of view, inequalities in the market also increased by using robots because many employees are left their jobs. As a result, society faces the issues of inequality and unemployees issues.

Their future is unemployment or, at best, underemployment.

In future, unemployment is the best result of using robots in working place. Robot is the key source the unemployment. It can be stated that robots replace employees, which helps increase productivity and economic growth. The organisation is less like human employees than robots because they are more efficient. Robots are working 24 hours a. They make more products rather than employees. When an organisation replaces their employees with robots, so the number unemployment increases. As a result, it helps to increase the amount of large number unemployment.

Massive youth unemployment means civil unrest.

Another ethical issue is civil unrest which is a company by the result of automation using robots in the workplace. In society, when a huge number of employees are left their job by robots. So it also increases the number of youth employment. That simply provokes civil which become feel unrest because of jobless. Most of the employees are between the age of 15 to 30, which are called youth. Replacing workers using machine or robot negatively impact the youth to increase unemployment.

Enough better quality jobs are available, or that new jobs will be created quickly enough to replace the jobs taken over by robots.

Another ethical issue is when many employees are replaced by robots or robots take away jobs, so organisations also make jobs available for jobless employees. Gradually, the number of jobless people is increasing due to the using robot in the workplace. To handle this situation, that is important to produce different places where jobs are available for others. From the same point of view, civil unrest is also created by using robots in the workplace.

Some unions could lose all their members.

Another ethical issue is losing members from the union of an organisation. By using robots in the workplace, they definitely lose their members. In the workplace, when everybody works together, they are to be a beloved friend to each other. They do their work every day to gather. When the authority replaces their member with a robot, they easily lose their team members from their group.
a society with more losers than winners

The ethical issue is that society loses more compared to winning. With the help of the technology revolution, companies go with automation possess, so they make a robot and replace it with employees. When a company uses robots in operation, they increase productivity and replace employees. In different sectors, robots play different roles, and their impact also is several, and that depends on the situation.

3. Implications of automation in different sectors

The economic implication of automation:

Increased productivity

Gradually, the organisation implicates automation, which helps in various ways. In addition, improving the process of operation also increases economic growth. In any organisation, automation helps to increase productivity and increase the scale of income and profit level in a firm (Macrorie et al. 2021). Another function of using automation is that it helps to lead to more tax revenue spend on public goods.

Lower costs of production

In an organisation or sector, automation reduces the costs of production. Through automation, an organisation is reduced costs because it needs fewer employees to make products or services for the public (Lowenberg-DeBoer et al. 2020). In addition, automation helps to increase the efficiency of workers. As a result, they increase productivity with the help of increasing their efficiency. On the other hand, automation also reduces labour costs to reduce the workload and save time (Fernández-Macías, 2018). It means lower prices for consumers or the public and more disposable money for an organisation to spend on businesses.

Greater choice

In the business sector, automation is the best choice to increase economic growth in the market. In addition, it also helps to produce a wide range of goods and services. In the same context, it also helps to increase convenient options for consumers or the public (Ivanov, 2020). From the same point of view, automation is used in the workplace as an ATM, producing many options for the public or consumers. For example, it can be used as ATM while tellers are unavailable. In the same context, it also works as a chatbot while customer service reps are busy (Fernández-Macías, 2018).

New kinds of jobs created.

Automation is not taking itself based on repetitive tasks. From the same point of view, it also creates new jobs for the public in the industry. An organisation is providing new job opportunities which are also more flexible and creative (Fernández-Macías, 2018). Automation can also support economic growth in the market.

The political implication of automation

Automation plays various roles that help increase profit levels and economic growth. On the other hand, automation is also breaking some political challenges in the job market. It also steals jobs from employees in many sectors. Through automation, many organisation is also introducing robot in the workplace to replace workers (Andrejevic, 2019). As a result, it negatively impacts the political aspects. In the same context, technology also introduces workplace automation, which is often the result of corporate investment. On the other hand, some cases found that automation needs to happen faster and produces dismal productivity (Milakis, 2019).

Today's technology shifts the process compared to the previous time of technology. So it makes changes in the sector of political and economic sectors. Automation technology also produces unemployment, creating a political imbalance in the market (Anelli et al. 209). It also disrupts trade and technological improvement. In the same context, trade continues with the help of political opportunities, which restore based on problems solved and policies (Andrejevic, 2019).

On the other hand, technology introduces the most advanced machines, which help to increase the automation process in the workplace. The concept of robotics and Ai systems gradually placed its function through its function and design (Milakis, 2019). With the help of this automation process introduces unemployment for countless workers and requires a small amount of human oversight. In the future, it negatively impacts the job market (Andrejevic, 2019).

The automated system in an organisation also introduces itself in a large number of job descriptions. According to the political aspects, it also increases inequalities. When automation is introduced in the job sector, many workers leave their job, and without work, it also produces inequalities (Milakis, 2019).

The social implication of automation

In society, The social implications of automation are diverse and many. From the same point of view, automation plays its function in the different sectors of society, including that also help to increase the level of standards of life more varied or longer life (Raisch and Krakowski, 2021). The market also introduces an efficient, more efficient use of materials and goods. From the same point of view, it also improves the understanding of the world where people live for some people (De Stefano, 2019). In the same context, automation has also put out its works, repetitive jobs, providing them with dullness, and repealing it with the help of being a part of natural existence. It can not be stated that automation is uniformly unacceptably bad or good for society (S.K. and Barnard, 2020).

In other words, automation is continuing its process with the help of computing, communication, and control and has developed possible, some heretofore impossible, functions and programmes (De Stefano, 2019). For example, in the previous time, man's trip to the moon and colour television worldwide. With the automation process, using mechanisation of physical work possible the revolution. The first aim of automation is to introduce an increase the productivity in the workplace (S.K. and Barnard, 2020). At first, its impacts the service sector, such as banks. From the same point of view, it also plays a role in the mechanism of information handling and operating the skill of employees in the workplace (De Stefano, 2019).

4. Major implications of automation for HRM and HR managers

Human resources automation uses different software technology to automate laborious tasks, streamline repetitive tasks, and aid an HR department in managing personnel in the workplace (Vrontis et al. 2022). An organisation also increases productivity with the help of HR teams. It also adds value to a company by working on more complex tasks, such as decision-making and strategising. in the workplace, Automating HR tasks is used t save time with the help of freeing up employees or workers for complex tasks or more valuable (Bhardwaj et al. 2020). On the other hand, it also introduces improved security, reduces the chances of human error and raises work efficiency.

Less waste

The major implication of using HRM through automation is that when an organisation uses the automation process in the workplace, it helps to reduce waste. After applying the process of automation in an organisation's operations (Al-Harazneh et al. 2021). In the workplace, the HR departments have enough experience with the help of decreasing a wide range of paperwork. From the same point of view, it also helps reduce manual and materials workflow costs (Puhovichova and Jankelova, 2020).

Data-driven decision-making

Another major implication is data-driven decision-making. In an organisation, the HR function is tracking data which allow companies to analyse the different type of process with the help of their effectiveness. Collecting data helps to run the business, report, and measure its activities (Al-Harazneh et al. 2021). Collecting data or information is analysing employee experience, measuring actionable items, and finding out patterns or designs with the help of using this data or information. This information or data is used to produce the best workplace practices, which help increase productivity and efficiency (Puhovichova and Jankelova, 2020).

Transparency and consistency

Transparency and consistency is the other major implication in a working sector. In the workplace, it helps o increase transparency with the help of automation workflows and produces a clear role between employees and staff (Al-Harazneh et al. 2021). In the workplace, Employees or workers easily change their benefits or profit or submit expense reports with h help of processing based on automation. In the same context, business is spread in a different locations, so automation helps to continue the operation (Puhovichova and Jankelova, 2020). A company continue its operation with the help of HR practices by automated processes.

Increased productivity and better resource allocation

The automation process is not only simple but also tedious; HR departments of an organisation spend time completing complex tasks (Al-Harazneh et al. 2021). On the other hand, Employees or workers spend less time based on HR processes, such as choosing benefits or requesting time off.

5. Conclusion

The report explained the ethical issues which identity from the case study. Moreover, it can be identified the implication of automatons in different sectors, such as political, economic, and social. It also described the implications of automation for HRM and HR managers, which help reduce waste and increase productivity.

References