Burnley Campus

UCLan Coursework Assessment Brief

Academic Year

2022/23

Module Title: Cross-Cultural People Management

Module Code:  BM3011

Level 6

Assignment 2: Individual Report

This assessment is worth 50% of the overall module mark

THE BRIEF/INSTRUCTIONS

Background

The world of work has changed. Global pressures because of the pandemic, unrest and uncertainty due to political upheaval and changing trade alliances prompted by events such as Brexit, make it challenging for any organisation looking to expand its business globally. However, whenever there are challenges there are also opportunities.

The UK is seeking to build new alliances and partnerships across the world as it moves away from its European neighbours. The US is among countries looking to expand their global reach through foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UK – according to the Sunday Times (Business and Money, 05/09/2021) ‘an unprecedented number of UK companies have been snapped up by US private-equity groups this year triggering widespread concerns about the implications for UK jobs, know-how and national security.’(Armitage, 2021). The UK has already significant FDI with countries like Japan (e.g. Nissan) and India (e.g. Tata Group) at the forefront of that investment. The UK government welcomes this approach as is seen in a recent press release ‘Foreign Investment boosts UK jobs during the pandemic’ 

However, what are the implications for UK jobs? And more importantly what are the implications for the work and working lives of those employed through FDI?

Your task

You are a UK People Manager of a software and computer services company which is of interest to FDI from countries such as the US, Canada, China, India and Japan. You have been asked by the Managing Director of your company to carry out a comparison between these countries and the UK to identify what the issues could be for jobs, work and the working lives of your current employees (there are around 150 in a variety of technical and support roles).

You are to choose just ONE of these countries and write a report that compares and considers the institutional and cultural impact if that country were successful in its FDI bid. The core areas your MD wants you to focus on are:

·         Resourcing – what might be the challenges for the FDI parent company in carrying out recruitment, selection and retention of key managers in the UK?

·         Performance, progression and reward – how might the FDI parent company encourage the performance of employees effectively and legally during and after the transition?

·         Multicultural team working – what might be the challenges for communication and effective team working between the two cultures?

·         Corporate identity and integrity – how might the FDI company encourage a common working culture and what might be the implications of this for how work gets done?

Whilst we expect some consideration of FDI, please remember the focus of this assignment is on the management of people and the impact of FDI on their work and working lives.

Your report should include a brief executive summary (ES) of no more than one page and a clear list of separate recommendations for practice based on your analysis.

Please note the ES and references, plus any appendices supplied will NOT be included in your word count.

This assessment is designed to test the following learning outcomes on the module:

Your report will be marked using the following assessment criteria – please use these to guide you in writing and as a check before submitting that you have:

Figure 3 assessment criteria

The expected pass mark for this assignment is 40%.

PREPARATION FOR THE ASSESSMENT

The University operates a banded marking system. Guidance on banded marking will be provided, but full information can be located in the University Assessment Handbook

You will find access to relevant journals through the UCLan Library Search and also on your module reading list which is available through your Bb module box

See referencing guide for our current guide to support accurate referencing. You can also access cite them right for an external referencing guide.

Report writing

Your assignment should be in a report style. A separate template to structure the report and guidance on report writing will be provided in class.

Assignment sources

·         Use workshop/lecture material related to the topics for the assignment as a starting point only. What questions or ideas does this material stimulate?

·         Read from other signposted sources to develop your understanding and ability to analyse critically.  If you need any further guidance, including finding or identifying other material, please ask your tutor. See your module reading list!

·         Don’t simply restate what was covered in the lecture or what you have read in the literature.

·         Analyse the key issues using secondary material to support points or to forward the case that you are presenting. Adopt the ‘PEE’ technique: make your point (P), support this with evidence from your reading (E) and then give an explanation (E) of what this means. If you can and it is relevant, it is also good to give an example to illustrate your point (another ‘E’).

In academic writing, it is important to avoid making simple statements of opinion/assertion. You will always need to support your arguments with evidence and examples – such as from other case or survey studies for example.

Sources of data/evidence about your chosen country:

RELEASE DATES AND HAND IN DEADLINE

Assessment Release date:   27March 2023 Assessment Deadline Date and time: 10July 2023 at 2359hrs

Please note that this is the final time you can submit – not the time to submit!

Your feedback/feed forward and mark for this assessment will be provided from 3August 2023 through MyUCLan

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Submission Date: 10July 2023 through MyUCLan

Length: 3,000 words +/- 10%

Format: Report (Properly researched and referenced using the Harvard system)

Feedback date: From 3August 2023

Include assignment cover sheet with your ID ‘G’ number – NO NAME as anonymous (see last page)

HELP AND SUPPORT

·           Specific guidance about this report will be provided in semester 2 week 7 BUT pay attention to all the workshops as we will signpost you to particularly relevant theories/practices as we progress.

·           For support with using library resources, please contact Francesca Robinson visit You will find links to lots of useful resources in the My Library tab on Blackboard.

·           If you have not yet made the university aware of any disability, specific learning difficulty, long-term health or mental health condition, please complete a Disclosure Form.  The Inclusive Support team will then contact to discuss reasonable adjustments and support relating to any disability.  For more information, visit the Inclusive Support site.

·           To access mental health and wellbeing support, please complete our online referral form. Alternatively, you can email 

·           If you have any other query or require further support you can contact the <i>, The Student Information and Support Centre.  Speak with us for advice on accessing all the University services as well as the library services. Whatever your query, our expert staff will be able to help and support you. For more information, how to contact us and our opening hours visit Student Information and Support Centre.

·         If you have any valid mitigating circumstances that mean you cannot meet an assessment submission deadline and you wish to request an extension, you will need to apply online prior to the deadline.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this assessment brief is correct at time of publication. In the unlikely event that any changes are deemed necessary, they will be communicated clearly via e-mail and a new version of this assessment brief will be circulated.

Version: 1

Seminar Tutor:  Gladys Nyandoro

Student ID (G number):

Module Title: HRM in Cross Cultural context

Programme Title: Cross-Cultural People Management

Module Code: BU3011

Year of Study: 2022/23

Have you checked the following in order to maximise the grade you can achieve for this assignment?

Please mark X to confirm

Learning Outcomes have been addressed

Similarity check via Turn-it-in

Referencing accuracy according to provided guide

Grammar

Spelling

Word count (or other length limitation as described in the brief)