Reference no: EM133840895

Managing Employment Relations ePortfolio

In this workbook you will complete nine activities designed to assess your learning against the unit's learning outcomes in the weeks ahead. By successfully completing each activity, you will demonstrate that you can:
• Describe institutions, systems of laws, processes, rights, and actors in the regulation and management of work and employment
• Identify and explain different employment relations perspectives, considering how they influence organisational strategies. policies, and management practices in maintaining safe and harmonious workplaces in Australia.
The following course learning outcome will be introduced throughout the portfolio:
• Independently initiate, plan and execute a substantial project to meet agreed deliverables. The workbook is organised and structured by activity using the navigation tabs at the top of this page. The activities to complete in this workbook are:

• Activity 1: Planning Your Portfolio
• Activity 2: Institutions
• Activity 3: Systems of Law
• Activity 4: Processes
• Activity 5: Rights at work
• Activity 6: Workplace Sexual Harassment
• Activity 7: Actors in Employment Relations
• Activity 8: Strategies, Policies and Management Practices
• Activity 9: Managing Performance

Activity 1: Description

Articulate a portfolio vision, develop a plan, document decision-making and any challenges encountered, and reflect on achievements. Showcase instances of seeking feedback, providing concrete examples of integration.
Overview
This activity serves as your roadmap to crafting a portfolio that meets the following deliverables:
1. Activity completion. Ensure the successful completion of all nine activities according to the provided guidelines and objectives.
2. Portfolio submission. Compile and submit the portfolio by the specified deadline, following the formatting and documentation requirements.
3. Documentation of feedback. Showcase evidence of seeking and incorporating feedback for each activity. This may include records of feedback received, specific suggestions, and examples of how the feedback influenced revisions.
4. Alignment with assessment criteria. Confirm alignment with the assessment rubric, ensuring the completed activities collectively address the specified descriptors.
5. Unified presentation. Present the portfolio as a unified and cohesive body of work, emphasising a consistent and professional writing style.
6. Include credible information. Showcase a commitment to including credible information that is current, relevant, authoritative, and accurate.
In this framework, you will be able to articulate a clear vision for your portfolio. As you develop a detailed plan, you will outline specific steps, identify potential obstacles, document decision-making processes, and reflect on your achievements. Acknowledging the importance of feedback in refining your work, you can also record instances of seeking input and show how you have integrated it into your portfolio. This structured and purposeful approach ensures a comprehensive portfolio development experience, allowing you to showcase your ability to plan, adapt, solve problems, and meet deliverables.
Key Components of the Activity
1. Articulating a vision. Write a vision statement for your portfolio that is ambitious (a challenge that you must strive to achieve), feasible (within the realm of what is possible), broad (a big picture of what you want to achieve), and strategic (an ideal future state that is relevant to you).
2. Outlining steps to success. Complete the Steps to Success table. In the What column, clearly define and outline the specific tasks, actions, or milestones necessary to achieve your vision. This column serves as the foundation, detailing the components of your plan. The How column is dedicated to strategising and planning the methods or approaches you will use to accomplish each task identified in the What column. You articulate the action steps, resources, and techniques required for success here. Time is a valuable resource, and the When column establishes a timeline for your tasks. Specify deadlines, milestones, or a chronological order to create a structured plan of when each step will be executed. This column ensures accountability and helps you stay on track.
3. Analysing. Complete a SWOT analysis using the table provided. Conducting a practical SWOT analysis involves a comprehensive and honest assessment of internal strengths and weaknesses, along with external opportunities and threats. To enhance the analysis, you can regularly revisit and update it as circumstances change.
4. Supporting resources. Supporting resources play a crucial role in realising your vision. Identify and list key individuals, relevant journals, online resources, and potential workshops in the table that align with your goals. Leverage these resources for knowledge, guidance, and skill enhancement, enhancing your journey toward achieving your vision.
5. Documenting feedback. Documenting feedback is essential for continuous improvement. Create a systematic approach to record feedback received in weeks four, six, and eight. Include specifics about the feedback, note any actionable insights, and detail how you plan to integrate this feedback into your portfolio using the table. Regularly revisit and update this documentation to ensure a responsive and adaptive approach to your portfolio.
6. Overcoming challenges. Overcoming challenges involves a structured approach captured in the provided table. First, clearly describe the challenge, emphasising its impact on your vision. Record the date when the challenge emerged to establish a chronological context. In the Addressing the Challenge column, outline the strategies, actions, or adaptations implemented to overcome the obstacle.
7. Reflect on your achievements. Take time to assess and document your accomplishments, considering the skills acquired, challenges overcome, and the impact of your efforts. Consider how these achievements align with your vision and identify lessons learned that can inform your future endeavours.

Articulating Your Vision
What is the primary purpose of your portfolio, and how will it contribute to your development? Consider the specific employment relations achievements and knowledge you want to showcase, the narrative you aim to convey, and the impact you hope to make on those who view it.
Write a vision statement that encapsulates your future aspirations related to the portfolio.

Complex plans are easier to achieve if you break them down into smaller steps. What steps will you need to take to achieve your vision?

Completion Deadline
When do you plan to achieve all of the steps in your plan?
Single date Add an end date Ongoing
SWOT Analysis
Describe personal strengths and weaknesses that will aid or hinder your successful plan completion. Also, what opportunities do you have to help your success and what external threats or barriers may be causing it?
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Supporting Resources
List the resources (people, journals, online resources, workshops) that will help you achieve your vision. For example, you may need support from the Academic Skills Centre or Library as you work to complete your portfolio successfully. When you use an existing resource or identify a new one, add the date you used it.

Activity 2:

Description
Create a flowchart diagram that maps all available external complaint pathways for an employee in a given scenario. Support the flow chart diagram with current, relevant, authoritative, and accurate information.
Overview
In this activity, you will construct a flow chart diagram that delineates all available complaint pathways beyond the organisation for the employee in a given scenario. This activity aims to demonstrate your understanding of the external mechanisms and resources available to individuals when they encounter workplace issues or concerns, emphasising the relevance of this knowledge for HR professionals.
HR professionals are frequently tasked with minimising the risks of litigation associated with dismissal. Understanding the rights and protections afforded to employees through external pathways is crucial in safeguarding the organisation's interests.

Key Components of the Activity
1. Identifying the Issues. Read the entire scenario from start to finish to get an initial sense of the overall content. Look for clues about explicit and implicit issues leading up to and including dismissal. Go back and reread sections that may need additional attention or clarification. Use the provided table to list the issues that emerged during the reading. Add evidence from the scenario to support each identified issue.
2. Finding credible sources of information to support your mapping. Review the Library resources on finding sources of information, identifying credible sources, the bespoke Library Guide for the School of Business and Law, and the Business Library Resources Tip Sheet. These resources are designed to help you with search techniques, smart searching, and recognising current, relevant, authoritative, and accurate information.
3. Including credible sources of information. As this is a practical and applied activity, your supporting information may include peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly books, published research data sets, and non-scholarly works such as news, general websites, blogs, government documents and publications, and public speeches. The objective is to demonstrate where the information included in your flow chart diagram is from. Screenshots which document your research process are also acceptable. Can you do my assignment for me? We sure can!
4. Mapping Complaint Pathways. Create a flowchart diagram outlining the employee's various complaint pathways beyond the organisation. This includes all external institutions, regulatory bodies, or relevant channels they can access. Include decision points, steps for each path, and any required information or actions at each stage. Be sure to specify timeframes for each step, where applicable. Conclude with potential outcomes or resolutions for each pathway. ECU provides free access to Lucidchart, which can be used to complete this activity. You may also draw the flow chart on paper and upload a photo.

Scenario

Ben has worked as a Senior Marketing Specialist at Bunnings, a large Australian retailer, for 12 months. Working from Bunnings Perth head office, he is one of only two men aged 20 in a team of 20 employees, most of whom are women over 50. Over the past year, Ben has been experiencing ongoing mental health challenges following a family bereavement, which has impacted his ability to focus at work.
In July 2024, Ben requested flexible work arrangements, asking his manager, Sarah, for the ability to work from home two days a week to better manage his mental health. Sarah agreed but made it clear that the arrangement would be reviewed periodically. Ben continued to perform his duties to the best of his ability but struggled to meet some of his deadlines.
In early September 2024, Sarah told Ben that his performance had declined, particularly regarding a product launch, which was a key project for the marketing team. Sarah expressed concerns that Ben's inability to meet project milestones had delayed the launch, especially since the company was aiming for a "national market" with this product.
Later, in September 2024, Ben noticed that he was being given less support than his colleagues, particularly concerning project resources. On several occasions, Ben raised the issue with Sarah, but he was told that there were "priorities" with other projects that took precedence and that he should "just manage" without further assistance. He also overheard conversations in the office where Sarah appeared more supportive of the other team members, particularly those who had been with the company longer.
As Ben continued to experience mental health challenges, in October 2024, he asked Sarah for further adjustments to his working conditions. He requested additional flexibility in his hours, the option to work from home for more days per week, and assistance with managing some of the project workload. Ben provided medical documentation supporting his request for these adjustments, explaining that they would help him manage his mental health better and perform more effectively at work.
A week later, Ben received the following email from Sarah:
Subject: Termination of your employment
Dear Ben,
I am writing to inform you that, after careful consideration, I have decided to terminate your employment with Bunnings, effective immediately, due to the following reasons:
Repeated and extended periods of absence from work.
Regularly failing to complete work per business needs.
Poor engagement and insufficient collaboration with the broader team.
Repeated and unreasonable requests for flexible working arrangements and additional resources.
While I understand that you have been dealing with personal challenges, and I sympathise with your situation, I must prioritise the overall needs of Bunnings and the team.
Your employment will end immediately. Based on your length of service, you will be paid four weeks' pay in lieu of notice.
You will also be paid your accrued entitlements and any outstanding pay up to and including your last day of employment. This includes the balance of any time off instead of overtime accrued but not yet taken (paid at the overtime rate applicable when the overtime was worked) and superannuation. If you have been paid annual leave in advance, any amount of annual leave you still owe will be deducted from your final pay.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Brown
Marketing Director, Bunnings
After reading the email, Ben concludes that his dismissal was unfair. However, he does not know who to complain to or how. Ben approaches you for advice, considering all the issues he faced leading up to and including his dismissal.
Identifying the Issues
What are Ben's issues leading up to and including his dismissal? Add evidence from the scenario to support each identified issue.