A: Assessment Details

Module Title

Understanding and Managing People

Module Code

BU7039

Module Leader

Carol Braniff

Component Number

Assignment 1 of 1 (covering all learning outcomes)

Assessment Type, Word Count & Weighting

Individual essay and reflection (100% - 4,000 words)

Submission Deadline

9th December 2022 (May 22 cohort - BU7039 22/23 NOV MCA)

Submission Instructions

Online through Turnitin - Word document only

Feedback Return Date

B: Learning Outcomes

LO1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of leading and managing people in the current and future world of work.

LO2. Critically evaluate a range of theories in relation to leading and managing people to resolve organisational challenges.

LO3. Apply a comprehensive understanding of techniques to develop leaders and managers to address organisational challenges and drive success.

LO4. Critically evaluate personal performance through the application of reflective practice.

C: Assessment Task

This assessment is based on a case study which provides a realistic business challenge and has four questions of equal value to answer.

Assessment Task:

The new leadership team at C&C (case study) have asked for your assistance to conduct thorough analysis of the challenges that the business is facing. They would like you to provide an evidenced-based essay to help them to prepare for discussions at the next Board Meeting.

Case study:

Coffee and Cake (C&C) is a privately owned company that runs an established chain of cafes in sixty locations around the UK. Most are located on high streets and in shopping centres, but there are also units located in large railway stations and some airports. The company sells a wide variety of speciality coffees, cakes, sandwiches and other beverages. It markets itself as a sustainable business with high standards of business ethics, which the business is committed to.

Throughout the Twentieth Century there was a single C&C coffee house located prominently in Central London. This was then taken over by a by a company that was keen to profit from the fast growth in the UK’s coffee shop market. Much money was invested in building the chain and for several years good profits were made. After 2015 though, problems started to arise. Sales began to slump in a number of locations as competition from ambitious independents and other coffee shop chains became more intense. Issues arose concerning unpaid debts and the company started to struggle financially. By the time of the Covid pandemic it was in serious financial difficulty and in danger of becoming insolvent. In 2021 the company was sold to a consortium of four former C&C managers with finance largely provided by a venture capital fund.   In 2022 the aim of the new leadership and management team is to expand and open more stores nationwide. However, they first need to ensure that C&C meets stakeholder expectations, reclaims its reputation and returns to profitability in the next two years.

To enable these aims the leadership have made the following commitments to be achieved over the next 3 years:

·         Pay greater consideration to diversity and inclusion in everything they do, at all levels of the business and across departments.

·         Grow and develop employees at all levels and provide opportunities for progression.

·         Role model an inclusive work environment in our stores, a place where every employee feels empowered and consideration of every person’s wellbeing is demonstrated.

·         Listen, check in with teams and act on feedback with the key objective of making C&C a more collaborative, open minded and inspiring place to work.

“A policy or written statement in itself is not enough and we know that engaging with all levels of our business is absolutely critical if we are to deliver on our promises and have an positive and lasting intrinsic impact on our teams and employees of the future.”

The leadership team recognise that to achieve their aims, they first need to:

·         Assess the current situation and the challenges in the hospitality labour market

·         Examine the current approach to leading and managing people and the impact this has had on employees

·         Establish a preferred approach to leading and managing people and the benefits this will have

·         Identify the learning and development needs to enable the new approach to managing people

To do this, the leaders particularly want to address the poor management of people which has been a major problem for some time. Their main concerns are that staff turnover was running at over 100% in 2019 and employee engagement levels have been very poor in several coffee shops for some years. Both ‘employee turnover’ and ‘employee engagement’ have significant implications for the business which is causing considerable concern for the leaders, and if not addressed their ambitions for the next 3 years are at risk. Evidence of these matters is found on the Glassdoor website where hundreds of current and former employees have written troubling reviews of their experiences working for the company. Overall ratings have been below 3 out of 5, which is considerably lower than the scores typically achieved by C&C’s major competitors.

The following are a representative sample of some of the recent comments that have been left in the Pros and Cons section on Glassdoor:

“Lovely regular customers. Met some good friends”

“Friendly and supportive staff who were happy to swap shifts. Tips”

“Staff discount on cakes and food”

“The only good thing was that it was located only three minutes walking from the place that I used to live.”

“You learn basic management tasks and can improve your communication skills. Free lunch and cakes.”

“I guess it pays your bills if you're single and live in shared accommodation”

“If you want a culture where the quality of the product, the customer, the brand and the staff are key to how the business works, avoid C&C.”

“Nothing at all was positive”

“No real opportunities for advancement”

“Never put enough staff on shift. Bad at giving breaks, you can work an 8-9 hour shift and not be given a 30-minute break. Never know when your shift will end.”

“Every unit is understaffed, always.”

“It was soul-destroying, you're taken advantage of and paid very little and you are spoken to by management like you’re a child (in front of customers)”

“No gratitude for anything, lazy people get paid the same as hard working employees”

“Payroll is terrible, consistently mess up pay and will throw the blame on each other rather than own their own mistakes.”

“Head office only cares about the numbers, not the people”

“Some managers are controlling to the point of bullying. While others couldn’t care less. The unit managers and HQ are also incompetent. Nothing gets resolved quickly or accurately.”

“Horrible management, no training at all”

“Terrible company to work for expected to give absolutely everything for nothing in return. Won’t pay for overtime.”

“A lot of unfairness. If the manager is your friend you'll have advantages Senior managers tend to be offensive and won't think twice before humiliating you.”

“Customers can be super nasty. They will call you names and shout at you for the smallest things.”

“The staff at my store are nice. You get free food and drink, even though you aren't officially allowed it. You get to keep your tips if you are a waiter.”

“Management are underqualified and not trained. Many health and safety violations, especially regarding food. Equipment doesn't get fixed, and the lack of training means things break a lot”

“Management are more concerned about reaching unrealistic goals than the wellbeing of their staff or the quality of service provided.”

“Longstanding staff are not appreciated or rewarded. Low pay. Little to no training.”

“Managers don’t listen, they tell us what to do with little or no consideration for us.”

"Rude customers sometimes, repetitive and same tasks most shifts."

“Managers seem to treat staff as a machine, they don’t know how to treat us.”

“People do not stay with the company for long and there are not enough trained people to work in the shops.”

“A very poor company on SOOOOO many levels - they won't care about you - don't go & work for them - they are full of the proverbial !!”

Assessment Questions:

Question 1:  Construct an evidenced-based discussion to demonstrate how the approach to leading and managing people in the current world of work, affects people’s performance and as such the performance of the organisation.  The answer should reflect the challenges in the sector in which C&C operates.

Question 2:  Using your analysis in question 1, critically evaluate the existing and a potentially new approach to leading and managing people at C&C, in particular on the retention and performance of employees, and as a result the performance of the business.

Question 3:  Using your analysis in question 2, identify the key learning and development requirements for the managers at C&C. Then, critically assess a range of learning and development interventions to help leaders and managers to retain and engage valuable employees and drive business success.

Question 4:  Reflecting on your learning and experience throughout this module, and using a reflective model, critically assess your response which should include the following, this is the template for question 4 of your assessment:

(i)                 Which session helped you to best assess your own performance within this module?

(ii)               How did this, and also any other concept help you to develop the discussion in your assessment, for example, how was your thinking challenged, how has your thinking shifted during the module?

(iii)               Include evidence of your engagement with Studiosity (i.e. date and time, content of the session and how you responded, and how you applied this to your assignment).

(iv)               In terms of your reflection and performance in this module, what will you do differently in the next module?

D: Specific Criteria/Guidance

YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR WORK IN A WORD DOCUMENT, PDF’S WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

It is important that you familiarise yourself with the marking rubric for guidance, as it applies to each question, and will be used to assess the quality of your work.

Essay structure:

·         The assessment structure should have the following sections:

o   Title page

o   Introduction (gives context to your essay)

o   Main body (critical analysis of the topics, each assessment question could be used for the topic headings within this section, with numbered sub-headings)

o   Conclusion

o   Full reference list at the end of the assessment

o   Appendix (only if necessary)

·         Write in full sentences and construct paragraphs around the issues and topics you discuss. You can use some bullet-points but try not to rely on this too much as it can restrict your ability to present an analytical discussion which is required at master’s level study.

·         It is recommended that a minimum of 30 sources are referenced. Use credible academic sources where possible, e.g. textbooks and journal articles.

Your essay should refer to and be informed by relevant academic theory, models and literature throughout, to present evidenced-based discussions.

YOUR ESSAY MUST RESPOND TO THE CONTEXT OF EACH ASSESSMENT QUESTION, each of the four questions carry 25% marks, see further guidance below.

Information to help with Question 1: The leadership team believe that the world of work has changed over recent years in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and the current economic pressures. For example, expectations of work have changed the way businesses operate, the economy has provided opportunities for some businesses whilst for others they are struggling to survive, social issues and ethical practices seem to be receiving more attention, placing pressure on organisations to operate in fair and ethical ways. The leadership also believe that expectations of employees have shifted, and traditional approaches to leading and managing people are being questioned. They are concerned that some sectors will experience a shortage of high-quality workers and they want to avoid this. Instead, C&C want to attract and retain high performing people to help drive their aims over the next three years.

Information to help with Question 2: The management team at C&C acknowledge that the way they lead and manage people needs to change. They are conscious that staff turnover is high which is likely to be affecting the quality of customer service and profitability. The leaders want to build a team that is motivated, engaged with their work and committed to the organisation. To make sure they make the appropriate choice, they have asked for a critical evaluation of the current approach AND a potential new approach leading and managing people.

Information to help with Question 3: Leaders and managers will require learning and development interventions to support the organisational aims over the next 3 years. To enable appropriate choices to be made, the leaders would justified, evidenced-based suggestions on how learning and development interventions can support the shift from the existing approach to leading and managing people to the proposed new approach.

Information to help with Question 4: This question requires you to reflect on your own experience during the module, you are expected to:

·         Assess your engagement with the module and the learning

·         Based on the sessions you engaged in, discuss the most significant session for you

·         Identify how you will apply this in the future to advance your career

Identify practical ways in how YOU can improve your learning in future sessions, for example:

·         How has your knowledge and learning experience on the module informed your thinking on the module.

·         Consider ways in which the understanding of yourself, and the practice of leading and managing people has changed or developed.

·         Consider how you gained the learning, the processes of learning and to what extent you engaged with the learning materials and sessions.

·         How have you used support that is available to you from Studiosity, and the ASK Team, feedback from other assessments and/or your PAT.

·         Has further reflection helped you to develop a deeper understanding of your learning experience to help improve this in the future? What could you do differently in the future to improve your learning experience?

Information about Studiosity:

·         Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

·         For all students, enabling them to submit up to 10 submissions/queries a year.

·         Offers general writing feedback on an assessment draft (minimum 500 words).

·         Can highlight areas of inconsistency with referencing.

·         Not subject-specific – so only top-level feedback about the assignment will be given.

·         Available via Moodle link: https://moodle.chester.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=14003

E: Key Resources

Include recommended texts and peer-reviewed electronic sources which you expect students to use and can access.

Key Resources/Reading

Alvesson, M., & Willmott, H. (2012). Making sense of management: A critical introduction (2nd ed.). SAGE.

Armstrong, M. (2022). Armstrong's handbook of performance management: An evidence-based guide to performance leadership (Seventh ed.). Kogan Page.

Armstrong, M. & Taylor, S (2020) Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice London 15th ed: Kogan Page.

Belbin, R. M. (2010). Management teams: Why they succeed or fail. Butterworth-Heinemann.

Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2019). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan.

Clutterbuck, D. and Megginson,D. (2005) Making coaching work: creating a coaching culture. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Collings, D.G., Szamosi, L.T., & Wood, G.T., (2019). Human Resource Management A Critical Approach (2nd Ed) Routledge.

Garvey B., Stokes P., Megginson D. (2014) Coaching and Mentoring, Theory and Practice 2nd Ed. Sage, London

Hook C and Jenkins J (2019) Introducing Human Resource Management 8th ed.  Harlow UK: FT Prentice Hall

Hooper, A. (2016). Leadership perspectives. Routledge.

Keegan, S. (2015). The Psychology of Fear in Organizations. Kogan Page

Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R., & Kynighou, A. (2020). Human resource management at work: The definitive guide (7th ed.). Kogan Page, Limited.

Mullins, L., & McLean, J. E. (2019). Mullins : Organisational behaviour in the workplace. Pearson Education, Limited.

Taylor S & Woodhams S (2016) Managing Human Resource Management-People and Organisations 2nd ed London UK: CIPD

Chapter 1 "What is leadership: person, result, position or process?" in Grint, K. (2009) Leadership: limits and possibilities, Palgrave (scanned, currently under BU7404 Leading and Managing Ethically)

Rees, G., French, R., & Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (2016). Leading, managing and developing people (5th ed.). Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (Ninth ed.). SAGE.

Journals:

Industrial relations journal

Journal of occupational and organizational psychology

Management today

People management

Human resource management journal

Websites:

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

https://www.ukhospitality.org.uk/

https://www.acas.org.uk/

Chartered Management Institute

Institute of Leadership and Management

F: Submission Guidance

·         YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR WORK IN A WORD DOCUMENT, PDF’S WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

·         The file must be no larger than 40MB.

·         Your writing is expected to conform to Standard English in terms of spelling, syntax and grammar.

·         You must include your Assessment Number (J Number) in the header or footer.

·         Include your word count at the end of the assignment or the front cover.

·         Set up your page for A4 paper in portrait style.

·         The font size must be a minimum of point 12 Calibri (or equivalent) for the body of the assessment and footnotes must be 2 points smaller.

·         Line spacing in the body of the assessment must be 1.5 lines.

·         Number the pages consecutively.

·         Students should submit work before 12 noon (unless otherwise specified) on the deadline date electronically via Moodle. Please follow the ‘Turnitin submission’ link on the module space and follow the on-screen instructions, paying particular attention to any specific instructions for each assignment.

·         You must submit your work with the following details written on the first page:

-       Title of your work

-       Module title and code

-       Module Leader and Seminar Tutor (if relevant)

-       Number of words

-       Your student assessment number (J Number)

Student work that does not have this information on will not be identifiable after marking has taken place and risks being recorded as a non-submission.

G: Academic Integrity and Penalties

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are familiar with all of the information contained in this brief as failure to do this may impact on your achievement. Please refer to the various Assessment Guidance below for detailed information on:

Academic Integrity

Excess Word Count Penalties (found within 5.15 of the handbook)

Cite Them Right Online guidance

University Generic Marking Criteria for L7

Late Work Penalties: Unless you have an extension, any work submitted past the assessment deadline will be subject to a penalty as per university regulations (5 marks per day deduction).

H: Rubrics and Criteria

Please see attached rubric (Appendix 5E).