Assignment Type: Continuous Assessment – QQI Level 6 (6N3750)
Sometimes it feels like HR has always been there — the quiet bit of the workplace that keeps things steady. But it hasn’t. It grew, step by step, from simple payroll sheets and attendance books to something far bigger. These days, HR touches almost everything in an Irish business: how people are hired, trained, spoken to, and, in truth, how fair the place feels. In practice, good HR keeps a company alive. It stops small cracks from turning into rows and helps people trust the system, whether they’re in a busy Dublin store or an office in Limerick trying to keep hybrid shifts ticking along.
This module pulls the curtain back on how HR really works. It looks at where it came from, how it fits with business goals, and how everyday things like planning, training, or performance reviews keep a place running. Each brief opens a small window into what happens behind those policies and meetings — what actually keeps people showing up and doing their best.
Here, we will describe some assignment briefs. These are:
It started as “personnel.” Mostly admin — clock cards, wage slips, a bit of rule-keeping. Nothing too grand. Over time, the tone changed. Managers began to notice that paperwork alone couldn’t keep people motivated. To be fair, a fair word and a plan mattered as much as a payslip. Slowly, HR turned into something wider, linking law, behaviour, and care.
In Ireland, that shift grew stronger once the Equality Acts and GDPR rules came in. Files had to be clean, treatment even. These laws nudged companies towards fairness, but the better ones went further. They began to use HR to build capability and trust. Now, the scope of HR runs from hiring and training to wellbeing and exit interviews. The real goal hasn’t changed much though — treat people right and the organisation runs better.
It’s one thing to have HR. It’s another to use it smartly. Strategic HRM feels different — it ties what happens with people to what the business is trying to do. In a Cork logistics firm, for instance, workforce plans often sit right beside delivery targets and fuel costs. When the company knows where it wants to go, HR plans how many hands, heads, and skills it needs to get there.
In practice, SHRM keeps everyone pulling the same way. It connects the dots between staff development and results — safety scores, retention, quality checks. At the same time, it has to stay human. A chart might show KPIs, but the HR manager still sees tired faces after long shifts. Balancing both is the art. When it works, performance quietly climbs, not because of pressure but because the system finally fits the people inside it.
Every year, HR sits down with numbers — headcount, retirements, sick leave, new contracts. It’s not glamorous work, but it tells the story of a business. Human Resource Planning is that story written forward. It asks, who do we need, and who might we lose?
In an Irish care home, for example, staff shortages can hit hard when flu season rolls in. Managers plan early, keeping agency lists and cross-training staff for cover. That’s HR planning in motion — demand and supply meeting halfway. When there’s a surplus, things get tricky. No one likes hearing about cutbacks, so HR looks for softer fixes: retraining, moving people between sites, waiting for natural turnover.
To be fair, it’s never perfect. But a living plan means fewer shocks. It keeps people employed and keeps the place steady, even when the market wobbles.
Some days, motivation hides in small places — a thank-you note on a payslip, a manager who actually listens. Money helps, but meaning goes further. Training and development make that meaning visible. They tell workers that growth matters.
A simple training plan usually starts with a gap. Maybe customer complaints are up. HR runs a quick needs check, sets up a short workshop, pairs a strong employee with a new one, and later reviews what changed. In practice, the process feels human: learn, try, get feedback, tweak, repeat.
A café chain in Galway once ran a small communication course for baristas after a few tense mornings. Nothing fancy — just listening games and role play. Complaints dropped, tips rose. It wasn’t easy at first, but it worked out. That’s motivation and development in one.
Performance talks can make people nervous. No one enjoys being scored. Still, when they’re done with honesty, they help. The best systems keep it simple — set clear goals, check in often, and talk, not lecture.
Irish firms are slowly moving away from once-a-year reviews. Monthly chats or short “check-ins” feel fairer and less stressful. Rewards have changed too. Along with pay, there’s now space for days off, learning vouchers, or even public thanks in a staff email. Those things sound small, but to be fair, they carry weight.
The challenge is keeping bias out. Some managers praise the loudest voices. That’s why HR trains them to notice patterns and document facts. When people trust the process, they don’t mind the feedback — they use it.
Things go wrong. Maybe it’s a clash of personalities, maybe an unfair comment in the staff room. Grievance handling exists to stop those moments from spreading. Irish workplaces lean on the WRC’s Code of Practice for guidance, but what really matters is tone.
A good manager deals with issues early — a quiet chat near the canteen rather than a cold letter. If that fails, HR steps in formally: listen, record, review, decide. Every step gets written up, kept safely under GDPR rules. It protects both sides.
Handled well, a grievance meeting doesn’t break trust; it rebuilds it. Discipline, too, works best when it’s fair and explained. People can live with a warning if they know the reason. What hurts more is silence.
Industrial Relations in Ireland carries a bit of history in it. From the docks of Dublin to the call centres of today, workers and management have always had to find their rhythm. The unitarist view says everyone’s on the same team. The pluralist one admits that interests sometimes clash. In practice, both play out daily.
Trade unions like SIPTU or Fórsa still give staff a voice. They sit across the table when pay talks or roster disputes come up. When discussions hit a wall, the WRC or Labour Court steps in to keep things from falling apart.
All the same, partnership works only when there’s trust. A company that listens early rarely ends up in formal hearings. Industrial relations, at heart, are about balance — not victory. Keeping that balance is what lets people work side by side, even when they don’t agree on everything.
Recruitment always sounds tidy in theory. In real life, it’s half paperwork, half instinct. The HR table usually has a cup of cold tea, a few CVs, and someone trying to word the ad so it sounds fair but still real. The job specification lists what must get done — hours, duties, who reports to who. The person spec is softer; it sketches the kind of person who’d actually fit.
Take a small hotel near Killarney. For a night porter, the job spec names safety checks and late-hour cleaning. The person spec adds patience, a steady manner, maybe a sense of humour for 3 a.m. guests. During interviews, marking sheets keep things fair — weights for punctuality, teamwork, and local awareness. Notes stay short and factual, tucked safely under GDPR. To be fair, good hiring is as much about noticing tone as ticking boxes.
An interview can make even confident people shaky. The best panels know that. They pick a quiet room, close to the main door so no one gets lost, maybe with a jug of water and chairs that don’t creak. A balanced panel matters too — different genders, maybe someone from another department to keep things even.
Questions stay structured but human. “Tell us about a time…” opens more truth than any checklist. All the same, every interviewer reviews the Employment Equality Acts before they start, just to keep the line clear. In one Dublin shop, the manager keeps a post-it on her folder: no personal questions, stay kind. It wasn’t easy at first, but with practice the chats turned fairer, warmer, and more revealing.
Performance talks can feel tense. Still, when they’re regular and short, they work. A transport depot in Offaly uses weekly chats beside the trucks — five minutes to spot issues early. No PowerPoints, just honest words.
Methods like OKRs or the balanced scorecard sound grand on paper, but in practice they boil down to simple things: goals that make sense, feedback that lands. HR keeps records, but it’s the tone that matters. Managers are reminded to start with what went right. At the same time, small mistakes get logged quickly before they grow. So it turned out that fewer surprises made everyone calmer come year-end.
Every role has its rhythm. A sales rep’s success might live in figures; a care worker’s in smiles or calm clients. One model can’t measure both. In Galway, a local clinic switched from numbers to observation logs — nurses jotting short notes after shifts. It felt more real.
Managers still use metrics — safety incidents, client feedback — but they pair them with coaching chats. Sometimes the talk happens over tea, not in an office. To be fair, those informal moments do more than any graph. Over time, people start owning their progress. It wasn’t easy to drop the old forms, yet the atmosphere lightened.
When tempers flare, paperwork won’t fix it straight away. Still, the structure helps. Say an employee keeps missing early shifts. The supervisor has that awkward chat near the canteen first — quiet voice, no audience. If it repeats, HR steps in, follows the stages: verbal warning, written, final. Everything written, everything signed.
The key is tone. Nobody wants to feel cornered. Under GDPR, notes are locked away, never whispered about. Mediation sometimes steps in — one table, two mugs of tea, one neutral chairperson. All the same, the goal stays steady: repair the working bond, not break it.
Theory makes sense after you’ve seen the mess it tries to prevent. In one warehouse in Limerick, morale dipped, absenteeism rose. HR dusted off Herzberg’s theory — motivators and hygiene factors — and looked again. Pay was fine; recognition wasn’t. They started a small “good catch” board where anyone could pin a colleague’s name for helping out.
It felt silly at first. After a month the board was full. Attendance improved. So it turned out that a bit of heart and public thanks can do what memos can’t. That’s HR in motion — fixing things quietly, guided by the old theories but shaped by real people.
Behind every payslip and policy sits a few tired but organised people. HR staff know Friday payroll deadlines like clockwork; they hear every complaint before lunch. Files, spreadsheets, and soft words — all mixed together.
A solid department runs on habits: update the HRIS before it glitches, double-check sick notes, chase missing signatures before the weekend. Still, it’s not just admin. A quick smile at induction, a follow-up call after someone’s first week — those tiny gestures keep trust alive. To be fair, when HR hums quietly in the background, the whole place runs smoother, and nobody stops to think why. That’s usually the sign it’s working.
The assignment sample discussed above is based on 6N3750 Human Resource Management. We understand the complexity of this topic and provide comprehensive writing services to students struggling with their assignments. Our professional assignment writers have extensive knowledge in the field of Human Resource Management and are capable of composing top-notch quality papers that meet all academic standards.
We provide essay help for students specifically looking to write their Human Resource Management assignments. We make sure that the essay paper is written following all the requirements provided by the professor and formatted according to the professor’s instructions.
We also offer the best online exam help services. Our expert writers have access to the best resources available, which enable them to write unique papers with in-depth analysis and research. We understand the importance of exams and guarantee that all questions are answered accurately. Moreover, our experts provide students with tips and tricks to ace their exams. Contact us today to discuss your requirements and get started on your assignment right away!
Get Free Assignment Quotes
