| INTERMEDIATE ASSESSMENT Managing and Co-ordinating the Human Resources Function Ref No Students’ name: | |||
| CRITERIA | MET/ NOT YET MET | COMMENTS | |
| LO1: Understand the purpose and key objectives of the HR function in contemporary organisations. | |||
| 1.1 Summarise the organisational objectives that the HR function is responsible for delivering and how these are evolving in contemporary organisations. | |||
| 1.2 Explain the major theories of effective change management and how these are implemented and evaluated. | |||
| 1.3 Evaluate the business case for managing HR in a professional, ethical and just manner. | |||
| LO2: Understand how HR objectives are delivered in different organisations. | |||
| Explain the different ways in which HR Objectives can be delivered in organisations. | |||
| Analyse how the HR function varies Between organisations in different sectors and of different sizes. | |||
| LO3: Understand how the HR function can be evaluated in terms of value added and contribution to organisation performance. | |||
| 3.1 Discuss the main criteria and methods used to evaluate the contribution of the HR function. | |||
| LO4: Understand the relationship between organisational performance and effective HR management and development. | |||
| 4.1Identify and evaluate research evidence linking HR practices with positive organisational outcomes. | |||
| 4.2 Explain how high-performance working and investment in human capital impact on organisational practice. | |||
| ASSESSMENT OUTCOME | |||
Students should please note that the above Assessment Outcome for this Unit is provisional and is subject to Internal Acacia Learning verification (IQA) and external CIPD Verification (EQA).
Marked by (tutor): Date
CIPD Candidate Assessment Activity
| Title of unit/s | Managing and Co-ordinating the Human Resources Function | |
| Unit No/s | ||
| Level | ||
| Credit value | 6 | |
| Assessment method(s) | Written answers to questions | |
| Expiry date | ||
| Learning outcomes: Understand the purpose and key objectives of the HR function in contemporary organisations.Understand how HR objectives are delivered in different organisations.Understand how the HR function can be evaluated in terms of value added and organisation performance.Understand the relationship between organisational performance and effective HR management and development. | ||
| Assessment brief/activity You are required to provide written answers to all five of the questions below. Question 1 Give examples of the main organisational objectives that the HR function is responsible for delivering and briefly explain how these have evolved/are evolving in contemporary organisations. In your answer, provide a brief justification for managing HR in a professional, ethical and just manner. Question 2 Give a brief summary of two different ways HR objectives can be delivered in organisations. Analyse how the HR function varies between organisations in different sectors and of different sizes. Question 3 Give a short explanation of at least two major theories of change management and illustrate how they can be used and evaluated. Question 4 Your CEO has asked for a report on the contribution of the HR function to the business. In preparation for the report, give a brief summary of the criteria and methods available for use in evaluating the HR function’s contribution. Question 5 In consultation with your tutor, select an article that identifies and evaluates research evidence linking HR practices with positive organisational outcomes. Briefly summarise the findings and state how convincing you find these to be. Conclude by explaining how high-performance working and investment in human capital can impact on organisational practice. | Assessment Criteria 1.1, 1.3 2.1 2.2 1.2 3.1 4.1, 4.2 | |
| Evidence to be produced/required Written responses to each of the five questions of approximately 3,900 words in total (divided appropriately across each of the five questions). You should relate academic concepts, theories and professional practice to the way organisations operate, in a critical and informed way, and with reference to key texts, articles and other publications and by using organisational examples for illustration. All reference sources should be acknowledged correctly, and a bibliography provided where appropriate (these should be excluded from the word count). | ||
Assessment guidance
| Managing & Co-ordinating the Human Resources Function (5HRF) LOs 1 – 4 Candidates should provide written responses to each of the five questions of approximately 3,900 words in total (divided appropriately across the five questions). Candidates should relate academic concepts, theories and professional practice to the way organisations operate, in a critical and informed way, and with reference to key texts, articles and other publications and by using organisational examples for illustration. All reference sources should be acknowledged correctly, and a bibliography provided where appropriate (these should be excluded from the word count). | |
| Question 1 AC 1.1, 1.3 | Some of the examples you would expect them to include (not all of them) could be: building organisation capability through people and performance, organisation and job design, staffing objectives, performance objectives, contributing to organisation change, promoting good employment relations and employee engagement, developing careers and skills. They should indicate how the role of HR has evolved e.g. they could cite business partnering, strategic partner. In their answer candidates should also provide a brief justification for why HR should be managed in professional, ethical and just manner. |
| Question 2 AC 2.1, 2.2 | Candidates should compare two different models for delivering HR services e.g. shared services, outsourcing, or consultancy. They should provide a brief analysis of how the HR function varies between organisations in different sectors and sizes e.g. candidates may choose to address this by comparing the size and role of HR services delivery in an SME with a large multinational organisation. |
| Question 3 AC 1.2 | Candidates should give a couple of examples of major change theories that may include classical theories such as Lewin’s three-phase model and more contemporary models e.g. Kotter’s eight-stage model. They should select one of the models and illustrate their understanding by showing how the model can be used and evaluated. |
| Question 4 AC 3.1 | Candidates should give examples of different approaches to HR evaluation e.g. metrics, balanced scorecard, benchmarking, SLA’s, KPI’s, benchmarking, surveys. |
| Question 5 AC 4.1, 4.2 | Candidates should identify the article that has linked HR practice with positive organisational outcomes. They should summarise the main findings and comment on the persuasiveness of the findings. They may include some of the following points: the link between high organisation performance and effective HR services, human capital, human capital perspectives and building organisation capability. |
