Course Project: Benefit Plan Design Analysis HRM599

Objective | Guidelines | Grading Rubrics | Best Practices

The course project is designed to provide you with a real-life practical application of an organization’s Human Resource benefits program. You will create a written analysis of a real-world organization’s benefit plan design with suggested opportunities for improvement that use the concepts and knowledge introduced in this course.

The below 8 parts need to be completed

Part 1: Select and profile an organization for the benefit plan (40 Points)

Part 2: Statement of the issue (40 Points)

Part 3: Literature Review (40 Points)

Part 4. Issue Analysis (40 Points)

Part 5. Issue Solutions (40 Points)

Part 6. Solution and its Implementation (40 Points)

Part 7: Justification (40 Points)

Part 8: Reflection (30 Points)

The course project must be comprehensive and follow the following analytical stages.

• There are eight parts in this course project. Different parts are due during Weeks 1, 4, and 7.
• Paper length varies according to each section. Please see the grading chart in the course syllabus for page length guidelines.
• Papers should be formatted according to APA or MLA guidelines (12 point font; double-spaced; include a cover page, table of contents, introduction, body of the report, summary or conclusion, and works cited page).
• Even though this is not a scientific-type writing assignment and is mostly creative in nature, references are still very important. At least six authoritative, outside references are required (anonymous authors or web pages are not acceptable). These should be referenced according to APA or MLA guidelines.
• Appropriate citations are required following APA or MLA guidelines.
• All DeVry University Policies are in effect, including the Plagiarism Policy.
• Please post any questions about these papers in the weekly Q & A discussion topic.
• These papers combined are worth 310 total points and will be graded on quality of research topic, quality of paper information, use of citations, grammar, and sentence structure (see rubrics below).

Part 1: Select and profile an organization for the benefit plan (40 Points)

There are a number of ways in which an organization and benefit plan can be selected. You have the option of looking at your current employer’s benefit plan, a previous employer, or a random organization of your choice whose benefit plan has a perceived need for either a revision of specific benefits, addition of needed benefits, or an overhaul of its benefits program. Provide a clear profile of your chosen organization as well as the organization’s current benefits program. Present key facts that are important in understanding your chosen organization’s benefits program.

Part 2: Statement of the issue (40 Points)

This section should present an analysis of the major benefits issue/issues. It should include a statement of the specific benefit plan you are addressing. Some questions to ask when formulating the statement of issue include:

1.       Have I identified the basic issue or am I dealing with the symptoms?

2.       What is the point of the paper?

3.       If I have identified more than one issue, are the issues separate or related?

There are several sources from which the issues can be determined. They include business documents, such as employee surveys and competitive analysis reports; assessment questionnaires that can be created to probe for areas of benefit needs and employee desires; observations of how employees use or do not use their current benefits; and interviews with key management and selected employees to determine benefit issues.

Part 3: Literature Review (40 Points)

Address what was discovered in the search of relevant literature, related articles, and the employee benefit text, as well as what was discovered in Part 2. This means not only reviewing theories, concepts, and studies discussed in the text or in class but also reviewing websites and what other writers have to say about benefit plans. Given the limited number of weeks that a term provides and the number of steps involved in the course project following the literature review, no more than two weeks should be spent in reviewing literature.

It is critical that those completing questionnaires, being interviewed, or providing information in any other manner be assured that their responses will be kept in the strictest of confidence and will not be discussed in whole or part to any member of the organization or outside the boundaries of the classroom. I recommend you begin your literature search by accessing the Keller’s Online Library. While you may use information obtained from HR-related websites, you must also obtain information from current scholarly journals, business publications, and newspapers. Ten or more outside resources or references are required.

Part 4. Issue Analysis (40 Points)

Here, we are bringing Parts 2 and 3 together. This section should provide a detailed analysis of the benefits issue that was identified in Part 2. A major objective is to clearly illustrate how the concepts of the course and gained knowledge of benefits are being used, as well as to show what was learned from the literature review. Show that you are applying course material.

Part 5. Issue Solutions (40 Points)

Create a developmental strategy. Offer several solutions or options that are appropriate for the benefits issue or issues. The solutions should follow logically from the analysis. The expected outcomes, positive and negative, should be addressed.

Part 6. Solution and its Implementation (40 Points)

This segment should outline your recommended solution to the identified issue. The solution will be one or a combination of the solutions provided in Part 5. This part should be specific, stating what benefit plans are recommended, timing for implementation, and in what sequence. It includes not only what should be done, but also how it should be done. A specific solution should indicate what benefit is most appropriate for the issue and how it will be implemented in the organization. Some questions to keep in mind when writing the solution section include the following:

1.       Has an awareness of the problem of implementation been addressed?

2.       Have you been too general?

3.       Does the solution and implementation address the issues identified earlier?

4.       Does my solution take into account the identified pros and cons?

5.       How will you evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented benefit plan?

6.       What process checks or procedures will I put in place to institutionalize the improvement?

7.       Was the realism of your proposed action plan assessed? For example, is there adequate time, money, and other resources for your solution?

Part 7: Justification (40 Points)

This section of your analysis should, using course knowledge and concepts, tell why your solution and implementation would work. A major objective is to clearly show how you are applying course concepts and content to arrive at a workable solution and implementation for the issue identified. Some questions to ask when writing your justification segment include:

1.       Have I applied the appropriate course material?

2.       Do I support my conclusions and recommendations with appropriately referenced facts, quotes, readings, and class activities?

3.       Does my justification recognize the pros and cons identified earlier?

Part 8: Reflection (30 Points)

Think about this assignment and write a well thought-out reflection statement about how this assignment influenced your thinking about benefits.

The following are best practices that should be used in preparing this paper:

• Cover Page – Include your name, who you prepared the paper for, course name, and date.
• Table of Contents – List the main ideas and section of your paper and the pages in which they are located. The illustrations should be included separately.
• Introduction – Use a header on your paper. This will indicate you are introducing your paper.
• Sub-Title each section – Use the section titles to indicate in the body of your paper each individual section (i.e. Statement of Issue, Literature Review, Issue Analysis, etc.) Each section should be clearly marked.
• Body of Your Report – Use a header titled with the name of your project. Example: “The Development of Hotel X – A World Class Resort”. Then proceed to break out the main ideas. State the main ideas, state major points in each idea, provide evidence. Break out each main idea you will use in the body of your paper. Sub-titles will help divide each individual section; separate group of paragraphs; or headers. Include the information you found during your research and investigation.
• Summary and Conclusion – Summarizing is similar to paraphrasing but presents the gist of the material in fewer words than the original. An effective summary identifies the main ideas and major support points from the body of your report. Minor details are left out. Summarize the benefits of the ideas and how they affect the industry.
• Work Cited – Use the citation format specified in the Syllabus.