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Contents

How do I choose a FOW topic? ………………………………………………………………………………….. 2

Can I choose a FOW topic that is not in the textbook? ………………………………………………….. 3

Can I analyse this topic in the broader context of business or only HRM? ………………………… 3

What do you mean by ‘make the business case for this change’? …………………………………… 4

What is the difference between a case study and a business case? ………………………………… 5

Is this assignment a case study or a business case? ………………………………………………………. 6

Is peer review mandatory? ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

I would like peer review, how can I do this? ………………………………………………………………… 7

How do I include the business case elements in a 5-minute presentation? ………………………. 7

Who is the audience for my presentation? ………………………………………………………………….. 8

How much referencing is required? ……………………………………………………………………………. 9

Where can I put any references I use? ………………………………………………………………………… 9

What is the role of PESTLE? …………………………………………………………………………………….. 10

Is using PESTLE mandatory for my FOW topic analysis?……………………………………………….. 11

I want to examine my topic using just a few of the PESTLE elements. Is this possible? …….. 11

I already know the viewpoint/s I want to discuss in my presentation. Can I use PESTLE for the assignment 2 essay instead? ………………………………………………………………………………. 12

What do you mean by “advocate”? ………………………………………………………………………….. 13

Do I need to submit my presentation slides separately? ……………………………………………… 14

What tool can I use to record my presentation? Can I give a link instead of an upload? …… 14

Appendix 1: Harvard Ascend Business Case information ……………………………………………… 16

Appendix 2: Elements to include in a business case …………………………………………………….. 24

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How do I choose a FOW topic? Q: Are we supposed to take a topic that we think represents how work will be done in the future? For e.g. gig-work, and how full-time jobs will be converted to task/project-based jobs?

A: The required text for this subject — Wilkinson, A., & Barry, M. (Eds.). (2020). The Future of Work and Employment — presents and discusses a variety of FOW themes classified under the two focus areas of change and emergent practices: “Changing Practices” and “The Future of the Future of Work”. As identified in the opening chapter and required reading for this subject, these are complex areas or “grand narratives” and can be polarising as they are often driven by agendas and vested interests.

As a first step, choose one of the topics from the textbook. FOW topics examined in The Future of Work and Employment include:

• What is our emerging relationship with work — do we see it as ‘work’ or ‘employment’? What is the difference and what is the significance of this difference?

• Unpaid work and internships • What might diversity and inclusion look like going forward? (e.g. multigenerational

workforces, greater gender parity, neurodiversity) • Contemporary challenges in meaningful work • Financing the future of work: who pays? • Biotechnological change and its implications • The gig economy • Automation and AI • Governing Global Production Networks in the new economy • Navigating the future of work to build meaningful careers • The future of employee engagement

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Can I choose a FOW topic that is not in the textbook?

Q: I want to examine work practices like Working From Home (WFH) after COVID for example. Is this ok?

A: Yes. The Wilkinson, A., & Barry, M. (Eds.). (2020). The Future of Work and Employment text presents a range of topic areas. However, there are other FOW topics you could consider. For example, COVID has been a transformative and disruptive influence that is likely to have significant future work impacts.

Can I analyse this topic in the broader context of business or only HRM?

Q: Are we choosing these topics in the context of HR or in general? because AI, or biometrics, etc are more generic FOW progressions than they are HR-related.

A: There is diverse representation in this subject. No discipline area has a monopoly on the future work landscape or employment. However, we are all implicated. Thus, while the assignments and reading materials for this subject have an HRM or people and human capital emphasis, these themes are applicable across all management disciplines and beyond. AI, biometrics, platforms such as Airtasker or Uber that drive work opportunities do not originate with HR, but impact on people and the world of work and it is therefore

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imperative for HR to have a voice and contribute to the conversation. Members of our class are taking the following courses:

• Master of HRM • Master of Management • MBA

What do you mean by ‘make the business case for this change’?

Q: The description of the assignment says, ‘What is the business case for this change?’ – What does that really mean? If I’m writing about the work practice that is the FOW, then why am I building a case for it? It’s already happening; either you get on board or you lose.

A: As the diversity of scope in Wilkinson, A., & Barry, M. (Eds.). (2020) The Future of Work and Employment indicates, there is no single definition of or approach to “the future of work”. This is a recent concept that has emerged in the last decade (~2010-2020). The FOW encompasses the various dimensions that future work may take (e.g. job hours, place of work, types of work, composition of the workforce, influence of technology, and disruptive social and economic change). This assignment provides an opportunity to engage in the conversation and contribute to the debate about what FOW means.

Your assignment 1 task is to (1) choose a FOW topic, (2) decide your position in relation to your work or study context and (3) present a case for your position. You are asked to communicate this position as a presentation. You may wish to use (4) the business case categories provided or PESTLE to structure or plan your presentation

Yes, this means that you may find yourself agreeing with some aspects of FOW trends — e.g. multi-generational and diverse workplaces. But you may also find yourself uncomfortable with other aspects — e.g. the trend towards work casualisation/gig work

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and what this means in terms of benefits such as holiday pay and overtime. You may also find that you agree AI algorithms are a benefit to hiring practices but wish to examine the social implications or biases that may be encoded in these.

What is the difference between a case study and a business case?

Q: Building on the business case bit, if, for instance, I’m writing on the gig-work economy and it already exists (transportation services – Uber, Lyft, doordash, contractual hiring – CommBank, PWC, Mckinsey, Consulting companies – project-based work), then why am I, ” intended to provide potential decision-makers with a clear picture of outcomes and benefits”.

A: The emphasis for Assignment 1 is to: “Identify one key change associated with the future of work. What is the business case for this change?”

There are some differences between case study and business case.

Case study

For a case study, refer to the UTS Business School Writing Guide:

Generally speaking, case study assignment tasks require you to do one or more of the following:

• To analyse a case study which is given to you for the assignment task. • To research a particular problem or issue, using case studies that you find from

the published literature as examples to illustrate and analyse the problem. • To collect information for yourself inside a particular organisation in order to

prepare a case study.

Business case

While you may include research and case examples to resource your thinking and decision- making, a business case assumes you are looking for practical application more than analysis

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of an assigned case or scenario. Harvard provides this definition (See Appendix 1: Harvard Ascend Business Case information):

A document or presentation in which you compare multiple alternatives and propose a single course of action that creates the most value.

Your goal when creating a business case is to help people decide whether to invest resources [financial or people capital, time, interest] in your idea. If you’re making a case for a project or initiative within your organization, you already have access to what you need to present a winning case: information about key stakeholder concerns and your organization’s strategic priorities.

Is this assignment a case study or a business case?

As noted in Module 1, “case study” is a legacy title designation for this assignment that cannot be changed in the short term. This assignment will be assessed as a “business case”. The assignment scope and marking criteria are for a business case:

• Content: Demonstrate knowledge of current debates associated with the future of work (35%)

• Analysis: Quality of critical evaluation of business case (50%) • Presentation: Clarity, correct formatting, evidence of engagement with appropriate

research resources (15%) • Peer Review: Quality feedback provided to at least 2 peers (required but not graded)

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Is peer review mandatory?

For the 2020 Spring session, peer review is NOT mandatory due to social distancing.

I would like peer review, how can I do this?

Q: Even though it is not formally part of the assignment, who can provide me with peer review?

A: For example, you can ask a class colleague, a work colleague, friend or advisor to review your draft and provide comment. This is not assessed as part of the assignment. It is designed for you to identify gaps or consider alternatives or other points you may wish to include.

How do I include the business case elements in a 5-minute presentation?

Q: The assignment description gives an in-depth format of writing a case study. How are we expected to incorporate that in a 5 min | 5 slide video presentation?

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A: Use your discretion, the knowledge you gain from researching your FOW topic, and your course or industry context. For the presentation format you may wish to include elements that help you make your FOW case. Elements that you should include in your business case presentation are:

• Problem statement (what is your FOW topic and what is its significance?) • Background (current debates and key trends for this FOW topic) • Organizational or industry impact (possible organizational, workplace, industry

impacts … even the broader social impact) • Recommendation and justification (your views and any recommendations or

suggestions to key stakeholders, industry, workplaces, HRM or management practitioners, policymakers, etc.)

Written business cases follow a specific format. You can find further information in the links provided in the assignment page in Canvas, in Appendix 1: Harvard Ascend Business Case information and in Appendix 2: Elements to include in a business case.

• How To Build an HR Business Case (https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr- topics/behavioral-competencies/leadership-and- navigation/pages/businesscase.aspx)

• Smartsheet (https://www.smartsheet.com/

Who is the audience for my presentation?

Q: Who is the audience for this presentation? Who am I presenting to?

A: Your audience is whoever you are ‘pitching’ your case to — this may be a manager or workplace decision-maker, for funding or as part of a change management agenda, a group of colleagues who are interested in your view of this FOW topic, an industry interest group presentation, etc.

You are not assessed on identifying or stating who your audience is — however, having an idea of your audience may help focus your presentation or pitch.

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How much referencing is required?

Q: Do I need to include a slide with all of my references? How much referencing is required?

A: Minimal referencing (e.g. 4-5 sources) is required for assignment 1. Because the emphasis for your presentation is on (1) identifying a FOW topic, (2) establishing your position or view of this topic and (3) articulating or presenting this position, you may find that you use a small number of refences.

While you are likely to need 4-5 references, at a minimum, you will probably refer to the Wilkinson, A., & Barry, M. (Eds.). (2020). The Future of Work and Employment text.

Where can I put any references I use?

Q: Do I need to include a reference slide?

A: No. A separate slide that lists your references is not required, but you may wish to include one.

Where you discuss ideas that specifically come from a source, you may wish to note sources at slide bottom or as part of your slide content. For example:

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Figure 1. Reference included in slide as a talking point and/or at slide bottom

What is the role of PESTLE? Q: Coming to PESTLE analysis, how are we to explore our chosen topic through it? I saw the documents and video on canvas, but I still don’t understand what exactly to do

A:

What is PESTLE?

A PESTLE analysis is a framework or tool to analyse Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors that may influence an organisation or decision. It enables a business to examine a change or potential disruptive influence through a range of different lenses. The analysis is flexible, so it can be used in different scenarios.

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PESTLE is often used to explore a change or influence from different viewpoints to guide strategic decision-making.

Is using PESTLE mandatory for my FOW topic analysis?

Q: Am I required to use PESTLE for my assignment?

A: No

I want to examine my topic using just a few of the PESTLE elements. Is this possible?

Q: PESTLE has a lot of elements. Can I use just 1 or 2?

A: Yes

For example, PEST (political, economic, social, technological) is a frequent ‘cut down’ version. You may instead find that you prefer 1 or more elements of STEEPLE (social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal and ethical). Figure 1 illustrates some example PEST factors you may wish to consider.

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Figure 2. Example PEST factors to consider

I already know the viewpoint/s I want to discuss in my presentation. Can I use PESTLE for the assignment 2 essay instead?

Q: I know how I want to approach my presentation and the perspectives or lens/s that I will look at the topic though. But I want to use PESTLE/PEST/STEEPLE as a way to approach my essay, Is this possible.

A: Yes

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What do you mean by “advocate”?

Q: What do you mean by “to advocate” for a position?

A: To make the case for your position. This term often used in the NFP sector and in politics (e.g. lobbyists). An advocate is someone who publicly supports something. This is what we do in an essay for example, when we argue for or against a position.

Stating your position in a business case is similar to advocating or arguing for a position. This is about:

• Influencing policy and decision makers or making a case for social or other change • Changing attitudes, actions, policies and laws by influencing people and

organisations (BOND) • Changing the policies, positions and programmes of any type of institution and plead

for, defend or recommend an idea before other people (SARA Project) • Speaking up, drawing attention to an issue, winning the support of key

constituencies in order to influence policies and spending, and bring about change (WHO TB Programme)

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Do I need to submit my presentation slides separately?

Q: I see there are options to upload a video and include a link? Does this mean my slides need to be uploaded separately?

A: No. Ideally, your video will include your slide deck and you speaking. If this is technically challenging, you can put a photo of your self on each of the slides and record your presentation using PPT or another recording tool. You can then upload the narrated deck. However, this is not as engaging for your audience as using Zoom or Teams to share your screen and record your presentation.

What tool can I use to record my presentation? Can I give a link instead of an upload?

Q: What tool can I use to record my presentation, and can I just give you a link?

A: You can use a range of tools — Your UTS login provides you with access to Microsoft 365 (PPT, Teams — both have presentation and video recording features), Google apps (including YouTube), and Zoom (you can use the UTS Zoom account to set a meeting for yourself, share your screen, and download/share the recording URL that is sent to your UTS

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email account). You can also use your phone, or a different platform, for example one you use for work (e.g. https://wistia.com/soapbox).

Zoom instructions

• Login in to Zoom with your UTS login credentials: https://www.uts.edu.au/current- students/managing-your-course/using-uts-systems/software-available-students/zoom

• UTS sharing your screen/presenting: https://www.uts.edu.au/current- students/managing-your-course/using-uts-systems/software-available- students/zoom/participating-zoom-meetings

• UTS instructions for recording in Zoom: https://lx.uts.edu.au/resources/recording-a- zoom-meeting/

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Appendix 1: Harvard Ascend Business Case information

Know When to Develop a Business Case 7 Nov 03 mins Source: https://hbrascend.org/topics/know-when-to-develop-a-business-case/

As a manager, you may spot opportunities to help your

team, unit, or organization meet important business

goals. You may feel pressure to propose a quick

solution in order to seize the opportunity. But

recommending an action without considering a range of

alternatives is risky—and likely to be rejected by

decision makers.

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Instead, prepare a business case: a document or

presentation in which you compare multiple

alternatives and propose a single course of action that

creates the most value.

Your goal when creating a business case is to help

people decide whether to invest resources in your idea.

If you’re making a case for a project or initiative within

your organization, you already have access to what you

need to present a winning case: information about key

stakeholder concerns and your organization’s strategic

priorities.

Business case vs. business plan

While the terms business case and business plan are

often confused, they address different business

questions.

• A business case answers the question: “What

happens if we take this course of action?” For

example, if your unit is considering expanding sales to a

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new market, your boss might ask, “Which of three

alternative markets should we invest in to create the

most value? Should we even make this investment?”

• A business plan describes how an organization or

business unit intends to navigate successfully through

its unique competitive environment. Business plans

feature long-range projections of revenues, expenses,

business strategy, and other information. Typically,

managers and executives use business plans to secure

financing from investors or to plan strategy execution

for an organization or business.

When to create a business case

The process of building a business case is similar to

solving any problem. For example, suppose you don’t

have enough staff to accomplish your responsibilities,

or you believe your company’s competitors use more

efficient processes at lower costs. Developing a

business case helps you identify potential solutions and

sell the best solution to decision makers.

A business case is useful when you want to:

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• Demonstrate the organizational benefit of a

proposed product or service

• Prioritize projects within your group and identify

which ones to eliminate

• Show the value of a product or service to a customer

to make a sale

• Obtain additional resources for a new project or

initiative

• Modify an existing offering

• Invest in a new capability, such as a software program

or training

• Decide whether to outsource a particular function

Know your organization’s processes

Before you create a business case, learn how your

organization reviews and approves initiatives. For

example:

• Does your company have a formal process for

evaluating business cases? In some organizations,

business cases are reviewed only at specific times

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during the year, such as during the annual budgeting

process.

• Who has the authority to approve your case? Even

small projects sometimes require approval by senior

leaders.

• What level of detail will stakeholders want? Many

organizations require employees to fill out preset

business case templates.

• Are projects approved in phases, or is an entire

project approved at once? Many companies have a

tollgate process in which the business case is only for

the initial discovery phase. If stakeholders approve the

project, they’ll ask the team to break the rest of the

project into phases—such as development and testing—

and return for subsequent approvals.

Check in with colleagues

If your organization doesn’t have a formal business case

review process, find out what people around you have

done to get approval for their initiatives through a more

informal process. Meet with colleagues to learn what

materials they used, whose help they enlisted, what

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problems they encountered, and what mistakes they

made. Knowing what’s worked at your organization—

and what didn’t—will boost your own initiative’s chance

of success.

Identify decision makers

Often one individual or a group will decide whether or

not your initiative gets approved. Find out who will be

evaluating your idea. Then work with your boss to

identify:

• What they stand to gain—or lose—from the opportunity

• Who or what influences them most

• Similar initiatives they have supported in the past

• How they like to receive information

• How they tend to make decisions

Knowing how decision makers behave and what they

care about will help you tailor your business case to the

right audience.

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Once you’ve learned how business cases are approved

in your organization and what decision makers value,

follow six steps to build your case.

• Define the opportunity. Describe the situation and the

business objectives your proposal will impact.

• Explore options. Brainstorm multiple approaches and

choose three or four to analyze.

• Analyze alternatives. Examine how your options will

affect the business objectives and choose one to move

forward with.

• Assess risk. Evaluate how you will mitigate risks

associated with your recommendation.

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• Create an implementation plan. Identify, at a high

level, how you will achieve your goals and who will be

accountable for each milestone.

• Present your case. Create a document, a presentation,

or both, to sell your recommendation to decision

makers.

To build a compelling business case, you need to

complete each step. However, the depth of analysis and

extent of documentation necessary to support your

case will vary depending on the initiative’s scope, costs,

organizational impact, and risk.

Harvard ManageMentor Tools:

a) business_case_template

b) worksheet_for_defining_an_opportunity_and_gener

ating_alternatives-1

For more information on these steps, see HBR Guide to Building a Business Case.

Adapted from “Business Case Development ” in Harvard ManageMentor

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Appendix 2: Elements to include in a business case

Written business cases typically some or all of these elements. Your presentation will not need all these elements. Suggested elements to include are highlighted.

Executive summary

• Provide a summary of the topic and proposed solution. Tailor it to your audience. Offer a high-level overview of research on current debates that leads you to the case you are making.

Problem statement

• Briefly state the problem or topic under consideration and the opportunity.

Background

• Outline the business context. Include information relating to skills, costs, and performance that contribute to the business problem. In general terms indicate what is required to address the problem.

Solution

• In a few points summarise how to address the problem or take advantage of a business opportunity.

Organizational or industry impact

• Identify current roles and processes or legislation that will be impacted by the proposed solution. For example, legislation jobs, policy, processes (e.g. recruitment, training), approaches to work, related industries.

Alternatives and risk assessment

• Outline other options to implementing the proposed solution (e.g., the ‘do nothing’, ‘do the minimum’, ‘implement the proposed solution’ scenarios).

• Summarise the basic requirements for each option Compare and contrast each of the alternatives with your proposed solution and the other alternatives. State similarities and differences, benefits and detriments, risk, or potential costs associated with each option.

• Consider a PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental) or STEEPLE (sociological, technological, environmental, economic, political, legal, ethical) factors analysis to help you identify opportunities and risks. Suggest ways to mitigate risks for each of these options.

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Recommendation and justification

• State the preferred option and summarize its risks and costs (this may be fiscal or other costs, such as continuity, talent pipeline, knowledge transfer, etc.), as well as the justifying factors for this recommendation.

Additional considerations

• List what is essential to the success of the project (e.g., organisational changes to management, changes to existing partnership arrangements, training).

Action plan/Next steps

• Propose specific actions or next steps. State suggested short-term and long-term actions or considerations, including major milestones. Here, you should also include proposed metrics to measure success.