Learner Assessment Brief

Level 5 Associate Diploma in

• People Management

• Organisational Learning and Development

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Centre number:	8		7			5
Centre name:	Oakwood International LTD
Learner number (1st 7 digits of CIPD Membership number):
Learner surname:
Learner other names:
Unit code:	5CO01
Unit title:	Organisational performance and culture in practice
Assessment ID:	CIPD_5CO01_24_01
Assessment start date:
Assessment submission date:
First resubmission date for centre marking – if applicable:
Second resubmission date for centre marking – if applicable:
Declared word count You MUST add a new word count for every submission. Please use red font for submission 2 and blue font for submission 3

5CO01 Organisational performance and culture in practice

This unit assessment examines the connections between organisational structure and the wider world of work in a business context. It highlights the factors and trends, including the digital environment, that impact on business strategy and workforce planning, recognising the influence of culture, employee wellbeing and behaviour in delivering change and organisational performance. 

CIPD’s insight

Organisational climate and culture (October 2023)

Organisational culture is an important aspect of organisational life and a term that has become a mainstay among business leaders. The work of HR, L&D and OD influences and is influenced by organisational culture because every organisation is made up of human relationships and human interactions.

Despite its dominance, the language of culture is often unclear and difficult to define, meaning it is also hard to measure. Consequently, real culture change is near-impossible if we can’t actually pin down what we’re looking to change. Rather than culture, focusing on organisational climate – the meaning and behaviour attached to policies, practices and procedures employees experience – is a much more specific, tangible way to positively influence the workplace.

This factsheet explores why organisational culture is a popular but limited construct, and why shifting to organisational climate is much more effective for employers.

Explore our viewpoint on organisational culture in more detail, along with actions for government and recommendations for employers.

https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/factsheets/organisation-culture-change-factsheet/

Organisation development (May 2023)

In an ever-evolving world of work, it’s important that organisations adapt to ensure businesses performance. This factsheet explains what organisation development (ODV) is, what areas of focus and expertise it involves, and explores what ODV looks like in practice. 

There are many ways to describe organisation development (ODV), all of which share common features despite their varied meanings. In this factsheet we will use the abbreviation ODV rather than OD to distinguish organisation development from organisation design. 

 https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/factsheets/organisational-development-factsheet/

Please note that the purpose of this insight is to link you to CIPD’s research and evidence within the subject area, so that you can engage with the latest thinking.  It is not provided to replace the study required as part of the learning or as formative assessment material.

Preparation for the Tasks:

·         At the start of your assessment, you are encouraged to plan your work with your assessor and where appropriate agree milestones so that they can help you monitor your progress.

·         Refer to the indicative content in the unit to guide and support your evidence.

·         Pay attention to how your evidence is presented.

·         Ensure that the evidence generated for this assessment remains your own work.

You will also benefit from:

·         Completing and acting on formative feedback from your assessor.

·         Reflecting on your own experiences of learning opportunities and continuous professional development.

·         Reading the CIPD Insight, Fact Sheets and related online material on these topics as well as key research authors on the subject.

Task - Questions

To complete the task, you should provide a written response to each of questions below, making appropriate use of academic theory and practical examples to expand your response and illustrate key points. 

1. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of both a divisional structure and a matrix structure. Within the evaluation, you should include the reasons underpinning each structure. (AC 1.1) 
2.  Analyse the extent to which the organisational strategy in your organisation (or an organisation with which you are familiar) helps to ensure products or services meet customers’ needs. (AC 1.2)
3. Analyse the current impact of interest rates, inflation and one other external factor on your organisation (or one with which you are familiar). Identify organisational priorities arising from your analysis. (AC 1.3)
4. In February 2024, Peter Cheese, current CEO of CIPD stated, “AI is transforming jobs, careers and workplaces. People professionals have a key role to play in encouraging safe experimentation and rapid learning, so that we can reap the benefits and mitigate the risks.” Assess the extent that AI is, or could be, used in your organisation (or an organisation with which you are familiar) and assess how AI impacts work. (AC 1.4)
5. Explain Charles Handy’s model of organisational culture and explain David Rock’s SCARF theory. (AC 2.1)
6. Assess how employee selection or employee development impacts organisational culture and behaviour in your organisation (or one with which you are familiar). (AC 2.2)
7. An organisation is planning a change relating to hybrid working. Many employees moved to home working during the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst this approach worked well at the time, the organisation now wants all employees to work at least two days a week on site.  Explain how Kotter’s approach to managing change could be used to successfully implement this change. (AC 2.3)
8. Using the Kubler-Ross change curve, discuss how change is experienced. (AC 2.4)
9. The CIPD’s Health and wellbeing at work survey 2023 found the percentage of organisations that have a standalone wellbeing strategy has risen from 40% in 2018 to 53% in 2023. Although the percentage has increased, this means that 47% of organisations do not have a standalone wellbeing strategy.  Assess the importance of wellbeing at work and assess how good work could impact wellbeing. (AC 2.5)
10. Provide a brief overview of the employee lifecycle and discuss people practice roles at the recruitment, development and separation stages of the lifecycle. (AC 3.1)
11. Analyse how people practice supports organisational strategy through vertical integration and how people practice supports wider people strategies through horizontal integration. (AC 3.2)
12. An organisation is planning to introduce a four-day working week. Discuss the processes the people function could use to consult and engage with managers and employees to understand their needs when moving from a five-day to four-day working week. (AC 3.3)

Your evidence must consist of: 

• Written answers to the assessment questions (approximately 4550 words, refer to CIPD word count policy).
• IMPORTANT NOTE: At Associate Level Referencing is mandatory – you must provide a reference where you have drawn from a secondary source; Harvard referencing is preferable. Please use the Reference box provided to record all your long references. Short references should be included within the narrative. We advise you read the guidance on how to set out your references on the Learner Hub.
• Upload the completed Learner Assessment brief, with both tasks completed, through the Assignments option in the Oakwood Learner Hub.

References  

Please provide your full long reference list here. The Harvard method is preferable. Please refer to the guidance on the Learner HUB.

 Assessment Criteria marking descriptors.

Assessors will mark in line with the following assessment criteria (AC) marking descriptors, and will indicate where the learner sits within the marking band range for each AC.

Assessors must provide a mark from 1 to 4 for each assessment criteria within the unit. Assessors should use the mark descriptor grid as guidance so they can provide comprehensive feedback that is developmental for learners. Please be aware that not all the mark descriptors will be present in every assessment criterion, so assessors must use their discretion in making grading decisions.

The grid below shows the range for each unit assessment result based on total number of marks awarded across all assessment criteria. 

To pass the unit assessment learners must achieve a 2 (Low Pass) or above for each of the assessment criteria.

The overall result achieved will dictate the outcome the learner receives for the unit, provided NONE of the assessment criteria have been failed or referred.

Please note that learners will receive a Pass or Fail result from the CIPD at unit level. Referral grades can be used internally by the centre.

Marking Descriptors 

Mark	Range	Descriptor
1	Fail	The response DOES NOT demonstrate sufficient knowledge, understanding or skill (as appropriate) to meet the AC. Insufficient examples included where required to support answer. Insufficient or no evidence of the use of wider reading to help inform answer. Presentation or structure of response is not appropriate and does not meet the requirement of the question/assessment brief.
2	Low Pass	The response demonstrates an acceptable level of knowledge, understanding or skill (as appropriate) to meet the AC.  Sufficient acceptable examples included where required to support answer. Sufficient evidence of appropriate wider reading to help inform answer. Satisfactory in-text referencing. Answer is acceptable but could be clearer in responding to the question/task and presented in a more coherent way. Required format adopted but some improvement required to the structure and presentation of the response.
3	Pass	The response demonstrates a good level of knowledge, understanding or skill (as appropriate) to meet the AC. Includes confident use of examples, where required to support the answer. Good evidence of appropriate wider reading to help inform answer.  A good standard of in-text referencing. Answer responds clearly to the question/task and is well expressed. Presentation and structure of response is appropriate for the question/task.
4	High Pass	The response demonstrates a wide and confident level of knowledge, understanding or skill (as appropriate) to meet the AC. Includes strong examples that illustrate the points being made and support the answer. Considerable evidence of appropriate wider reading to inform answer. An excellent standard of in-text referencing. Answer responds clearly to the question/task and is particularly well expressed or argued. Presentation and structure of response is clear, coherent, and responds directly to the requirements of the question/task.