| Course | HR499 Bachelor's Capstone in Human Resource Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 6 |
| Paper type | Cost and resource estimate |
| Length | About 940 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration (Human Resources) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HR499 Unit 6
About $399,000, Half of It Benefits: A Unit 6 Cost and Resource Estimate for a Scheduling Standard
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HR499: Bachelor's Capstone in Human Resource Management
Unit 6 Cost and Resource Estimate
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Hobbyline Crafts, its rates and every figure are composite and illustrative, carried from Units 2 to 5; the sources cited are real.
The Total and Its Driver
Option C's first-year cost is $399,188. The benefits line, $200,880, is 50.3 percent of it. Of the total, $47,192 is one-time and $351,996 recurs each year. Staff time accounts for $114,506, most of it in the stores. Lines are grouped by who writes the check or gives the hours: the vendor, the stores, payroll, benefits and counsel.
Vendor
Scheduling software module. $1.85 per store employee per month for 1,292 employees: $28,682 a year. Source: vendor quote.
Implementation fee. $16,000, one-time. Source: vendor quote.
Stores
Store manager time. Building schedules fourteen days ahead, and checking them against the rest rule, adds about two hours a week per store. Two hours across 34 stores for 52 weeks at a loaded $29 an hour: $102,544. Source: estimate from four store managers who trialed the template.
Ordinance premiums at the nine covered stores. If managers hold changes after posting to 0.25 per employee per month, the nine stores' 342 employees generate about 1,026 premium events a year. At an average premium of $14.20, one hour at the average wage of $16.40 for some events and half pay for cut hours for others: $14,569. Source: the case file's ordinance and the payroll register.
Rest-window premiums. Time and a half for the hours inside the ten-hour window when an associate consents to a close followed by an open: $3,150, assuming such shifts fall to a fifth of today's rate at the covered stores.
Payroll
Premium code configuration and testing. $6,400, one-time, for the vendor's payroll consultant and internal testing hours.
Benefits
Employer health contributions for core employees. Sixty core positions at 32 hours a week, with take-up assumed at 52 percent, give 31 enrollees. At an employer share of $6,480 a year, the plan's current contribution for single coverage: $200,880. Source: benefits director; take-up assumption from the current full-time enrollment rate.
Enrollment administration. About $70 of benefits staff time per new enrollee: $2,170.
Training and Counsel
Manager training. Four hours for 34 store managers and 68 assistant managers at $24 an hour: $9,792, one-time.
Outside counsel. $15,000, one-time, an estimate pending counsel's quote for the seven questions in Unit 5.
The software is the line people argue about and the benefits are the line that decides the budget; one is a seventh of the other.
One-Time and Recurring
The four one-time lines, implementation, payroll configuration, manager training and counsel, total $47,192 and fall in the first six months. The six recurring lines total $351,996 and will grow with the benefits renewal and with headcount. In year two, without the one-time items and before any renewal, Option C would cost about $352,000. Finance should budget the recurring figure as a permanent change to the cost of running stores, since the scheduling standard and the core roles are designed to last, and treat the one-time items as the price of starting.
Sensitivity
The ordinance premium line depends on discipline in the stores. At the change rate observed today, about 0.6 per employee per month, the nine stores would generate $34,966 in premiums instead of $14,569, adding $20,397 to the total. The benefits line depends on take-up: at 70 percent, enrollment rises to 42 and the line to $272,160.
What the Estimate Leaves Out
Three items are deliberately excluded. Raises for the 60 associates who move into core roles are not counted, because the core roles pay the same hourly rate and add hours rather than pay. Recruiting costs for the core roles are left out, since they are offered first to current part-time associates. And the cost of any change to the attendance policy is excluded, because the legal review recommended that the policy wait for counsel's answer. If any of these assumptions changes, the affected line should be added rather than absorbed into an existing one, so the estimate stays traceable.
Offsets, Shown but Not Subtracted
Several savings are likely, but they are uncertain and the costs are not, so none is netted against the total.
Fewer part-time positions. Sixty core roles at 32 hours carry hours now spread across more part-time associates, so the chain needs about 17 fewer part-time positions. At Hobbyline's turnover, that is roughly 14 fewer hires a year.
Productivity. In the Gap field experiment reported by Kesavan et al. (2022), stores given steadier schedules lifted productivity by roughly 5 percent, mostly through higher sales. Hobbyline's results could differ, so the finding is cited as a reason to measure, not as a saving.
Fewer no-shows. If earlier posting cut unexcused absences, managers would spend less time filling gaps by text message. No estimate is offered until the pilot produces one.
Ton (2014) argues that steady staffing pays for itself through lower turnover and better execution over several years. The expectation is reasonable enough to describe here and unproven enough to leave outside the $399,188, where finance will not have to discount it.
Resources
Of the $399,188, $114,506 is staff time rather than purchases. Store managers carry most of it, $102,544 a year in schedule building. Cascio and Boudreau (2011) recommend counting such time explicitly, because a program that looks inexpensive in purchases can still take hours from the people whose work keeps stores running. The roadmap in Unit 7 should schedule that time, not assume it.
References
Cascio, W. F., & Boudreau, J. W. (2011). Investing in people: Financial impact of human resource initiatives (2nd ed.). FT Press.
Kesavan, S., Lambert, S. J., Williams, J. C., & Pendem, P. K. (2022). Doing well by doing good: Improving retail store performance with responsible scheduling practices at the Gap, Inc. Management Science, 68(11), 7818-7836. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4291
Ton, Z. (2014). The good jobs strategy: How the smartest companies invest in employees to lower costs and boost profits. New Harvest.
Reading the HR 499 Unit 6 instructions
The sixth capstone unit asks you to estimate what your preferred option will cost and what resources it will consume. Lead with the total and its largest driver. Price each line with its quantity, rate and source, and group lines by who pays or gives time, such as a vendor, the stores, payroll and benefits. Separate one-time costs from recurring ones so a reader can see the cost of year two. Count staff time as cost even without an invoice, since a plan that looks cheap in purchases can still take many hours from managers. Lines that depend on behavior, such as premiums triggered by late schedule changes, need a sensitivity note showing how the figure moves. Likely savings belong in a separate section, explained but not subtracted, because they are uncertain while the costs are not. Close with the resource view: whose time the change consumes and what the implementation plan must protect.
How the HR 499 Unit 6 example is put together
The estimate opens with the $399,188 total, the 50.3 percent benefits share and the one-time and staff-time figures. Vendor lines come first, then the stores: two added hours a week across 34 stores for $102,544, ordinance premiums built from 1,026 change events at $14.20 each, and a rest-window premium. A margin note explains that the premium line depends on manager behavior. Payroll configuration, benefits contributions for 31 enrollees at $6,480 and enrollment administration follow, then training and counsel. The highlighted sentence compares the software and benefits lines. A one-time and recurring section puts year two near $352,000. Sensitivity shows premiums rising to $34,966 at today's change rate and benefits to $272,160 at 70 percent take-up. Offsets, including about 17 fewer part-time positions, are boxed separately with Kesavan and colleagues and Ton, and a resource section cites Cascio and Boudreau on counting staff time.
Reading the HR499 Unit 6 grading rubric
The cost estimate is graded on completeness, accuracy and honesty. Every line needs a visible calculation and a source or stated assumption, and the lines must sum to the total. Separating one-time from recurring costs earns credit because it answers the question finance asks next. Counting staff time is a point capstone rubrics often name specifically. Sensitivity on behavior-dependent lines shows that the student knows which figures could move and why. Keeping offsets out of the total, while still describing them, demonstrates the discipline a finance reviewer expects; netting uncertain savings against certain costs is a common reason estimates are sent back. The resource section should connect to implementation, naming whose time the plan consumes. Figures must match earlier units, such as the 342 employees at covered stores. Research supporting offsets should be cited in APA 7 and presented as a reason to measure, not as a promise.
HR499 Unit 6 help from the desk
Estimates lose points most often by netting expected savings against costs, which makes the request look smaller than the budget will need. Others leave out staff time entirely, or include it without saying how many hours it represents. A frequent error is applying a local law's premium to every location when the law covers only some, which can overstate a line severalfold. Some students give one total with no split between one-time and recurring costs. Benefits are another weak spot: state the take-up rate and employer share as assumptions, and show what a higher take-up would do. Group the lines in a way a reader can follow and keep sources beside the figures. Check every multiplication. If your plan includes items not listed here, such as new hires or a technology license with tiers, send them and our writers can help you price each line.
Get an HR499 Unit 6 example written to your instructions
Share the recommendation your HR499 capstone carries forward, any cost figures the case supplies and the Unit 6 rubric. A free first estimate comes back inside 24-48h with every line carrying its quantity and rate, one-time apart from recurring, offsets kept outside the total and the staff time it demands listed by role. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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HR499 Unit 6 questions, answered
Where do benefit cost figures come from in a composite case?
From the case file if it supplies them, otherwise from a stated assumption based on published employer survey averages, labeled as such. The sample assumes an employer share of $6,480 a year per enrollee and a take-up rate of 52 percent, and says both are assumptions. A reader can then substitute better figures without rebuilding the estimate.
Why not subtract the savings from reduced turnover?
Because they are uncertain and the costs are not. Netting them makes the total look smaller than the amount the budget must actually fund, and finance reviewers usually reverse it. The sample describes the offsets in a separate box so the argument for them is visible, while the total remains a figure someone could approve.
What counts as work pushed onto other people?
Any time spent by people outside the project because of it: managers building schedules further ahead, payroll staff configuring premium codes, benefits staff processing new enrollments, supervisors attending training. It is real cost even without an invoice, and capstone rubrics in many sections look for it specifically because it is the line most often forgotten.
Where can I find a free HR499 Unit 6 sample paper?
You can read a full HR499 Unit 6 cost and resource estimate here, pricing a craft chain's scheduling standard at $399,188 across ten lines, with sensitivity, offsets and margin notes.
Why is the ordinance premium line so small?
Because the ordinance covers only the nine stores inside the city, 342 employees, and the estimate assumes managers hold late changes to 0.25 per employee per month. At today's rate of about 0.6 the line would be $34,966.