COMM 181 Human Resource Management

Assignment 1 Reflective Learning Brief (10%)

Due: In Class Monday, September 28, 2015
In this assignment you are to consider the issues of human rights and direct and/or indirect discrimination, and the measures
in place to prevent discrimination, in the workplace in Canada. Students are required to understand some principles
underlying various laws in promoting fairness for (potential) employees, and to gauge whether these are sufficient and
justified. You do not need in-depth knowledge of employment or common law to complete this assignment; you only need to
understand the principles in place and to provide your analysis of these principles. Students may engage in a reflection of
their own experiences of discrimination and/or privilege, the experiences of others, or a critical analysis in their learning
briefs.
Instructions and Guidelines:
1.

Exercise: In class, students are given time to consider the Considering Privilege exercise. It is understood that students
will have different reactions to the questionnaire, as well as to any discussion in class or with classmates. There is no
correct response to the exercise or reaction to the discussion.

2.

Research: There is no specific requirement for research for this paper. However, you are encouraged to engage in some
additional reading to help you refine your knowledge and ideas about privilege and discrimination, and the relation of
these issues to various employment rules in Canada. Some guidelines:
o Ensure you have done all the assigned reading for module 1 of the course
o You can do additional research and reading on your own if desired
o It understood that you are not an expert in employment or common law; you only need to understand the
principles in place to provide your analysis. If you are going to analyze a specific statute or regulation, you
should work to ensure that you understand that segment (suggest you read the statute rather than rely on your
notes).

3.

Scope: The paper should explore and develop your ideas about privilege and/or any aspect of discrimination and the
Canadian legal framework discussed in class (for example, any of the Human Rights Code, Charter of Rights and
Freedoms, Employment Standards Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Pay Equity Act, Employment Equity Act).
o You can relate your reflection to any aspect of the HR legal landscape you wish (human rights, unprotected
grounds for discrimination, employment equity, affirmative action, BFOR, reasonable accommodation or
others)
o You can discuss one or several of these issues. If you discuss several, ensure they are connected by a theme or
thesis
o You may discuss a personal example or a specific case (if you do, ensure you draw some general observations
related to course content from the reflections). You may use the first person if you wish.

4.

Critical Reflection Guidelines: Critical reflection is defined as unsettling individual assumptions to bring about choice, and
possibly change (Fook & Gardner). The Considering Privilege questionnaire was designed to unsettle some assumptions
you may or may not have had about the ability and equal opportunity for everyone to flourish in society. Hopefully you
have had a chance to think about your own experience, or lack thereof, of discrimination and/or privilege. Perhaps you
can think about the experiences of those who might have checked the boxes you did not in the exercise.
To help you get started with this type of thinking, consider some of the following questions to guide your written
response:
o What do you think of human rights and worker protections in Canada?
o Should there be more protections for workers in Canada (think about unprotected grounds, reverse
discrimination, legal discrimination)?
o Should there be fewer protections (have we gone too far? Think about employment and pay equity laws)?
o Are there gaps in our rules that need to be filled? Are the rules too restrictive?
o Are there gaps, conflicts or contradictions in your own response to these rules?

COMM 181|OGrady| Fall 2015 | Section 002

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Do you feel that you have enjoyed unearned privilege? Do you feel you have been discriminated against?
What needs to change for the future? What should not change?
What is the future of this issue in Canada?

These guiding questions are deliberately open-ended. The point of this assignment is for students to explore and analyze the
principles underlying the legal framework for employee relations, and to develop their own responses or positions.
Do not worry about the following issues:
o Not being an expert in human resources or employment law
o Answering the question. There is no specific question. The assignment asks you to hone in on one aspect of
this issue that you find interesting or important, and to create an authentic discussion piece that explores your
ideas
o Having an unpopular viewpoint. You will not be graded for your position but rather for your rationale, analysis
and explanation of the issue and your position.
5.

Structure: organize your reflection paper sensibly. Ensure you have a purpose, thesis or theme. The reflection should
not be a stream of consciousness but a thoughtful discussion that makes some point, argument or position. You must
have:
o An introduction (including a purpose/position/thesis statement). Your introduction should indicate how your
discussion will unfold (a roadmap for paper)
o A discernible body (including arguments or points supported by reason, evidence, research, logic)
o And a conclusion.

6.

References: properly reference any outside source including the text, course readings, and additional research you have
done. You must use APA (American Psychological Association) formatting for your references, but not for the formatting
of the paper (for example, you dont need to use the running head feature). See the assignment tab in the course
website for help.

7.

Format: your paper must meet the following specifications:

o Length is to be a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of four (4) pages
o Text must be double-spaced and margins must be standard one inch
o Font must be 11 or 12 point in Calibri or Times New Roman only
o Pages must be numbered
o Up to one page of appendices may be included which are not included in the 3 4 page limit
o Reference page is a separate sheet at the end of the assignment and is not included in 3 4 page limit
o Title page is optional and if used, is not included in the 3 4 page limit
o Identify yourself on the title page or, if not using a title page, on the first page of your paper in the top right
corner (name and student number, or student number only)

8.

Submission: A hardcopy is to be submitted in-class on Monday, September 28, 2015 at 6:30 pm. An electronic copy of
your paper is due to the D2L dropbox by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, September 28, 2015. These deadlines will be strictly
enforced. Electronic submissions are checked for originality using Turnitin text-matching software.
Late assignments will be accepted, but will be subject to the letter grade penalty per day, including each of Saturday and
Sunday. E-mail the late assignment to me in pdf form (sogrady@business.queensu.ca) and upload it to the D2L dropbox.

9.

Weight: The assignment is worth 10% of your final mark. An evaluation rubric is found on the course website.

10. Academic Integrity: This is an individual assignment and you are to hand in your own work (supported by references if
you wish). You may discuss general concepts with your colleagues (in fact you are encouraged to do so), but you must
not work on papers collectively or in teams. Any internet research must be properly cited along with all additional
sources in this assignment. The penalty for a breach of academic integrity is a grade of 0 on this assignment or a more
serious sanction depending on the infraction.