The discussion assignment for this week includes a review of the Key Assignment draft completed by one of your classmates.

Deliverable length: 300-400 words. Your first task is to post your own Key Assignment draft to the discussion area for other students to review. Attach your document to the main discussion post, and include any notes you feel are appropriate. The purpose of this assignment is to help improve the quality of the final Key Assignment you will complete next week.

Company information: Please indicate the name of your company and provide a brief (1–2 paragraphs maximum) summary of the company. It can be an existing, small operation, a large company, a company that you work for currently, or a fictional company. Use the following to generate a brief description of your company:

• Type of company
• Description of its product or service
• Length of operation
• Number of employees
• Location
• Additional relevant information

Challenge: Describe challenge, threat, or risk that the company’s HR management must effectively handle. The challenge that you identify will depend on the type of company, location you choose, and the nature of the company. For example, your company could be located in an inner-city region with increased diversity, selling a product or service that is increasingly becoming available on the Internet; or located on or near precious natural resources.

Also, take into consideration how the current economy may play a role in the various functions of HR within your company.

Your report should address how the challenge will affect or change the following:

• Role of HR, including any organizational ethical issues
• Effectiveness of HR management practices.
• Job design, job analysis, and job descriptions, as well as the nature of work–life balancing efforts (e.g., telecommuting)
• Strategic recruiting decisions, screening and selection processes, and performance and turnover, including how these operations will be measured
• Plans for developing motivations for performance maintenance and retention, including how these will be measured by HR

Additionally, describe in your report what adjustments you will make to the following:

• Training needs, analysis, and evaluation
• Development of talent management
• Succession and career planning
• Performance management and appraisal
• Compensation, pay increases, rewards, organizational incentives, and benefits