APPENDIX GA36a

LEVEL 4 ASSESSMENT SPECIFICATION

Student name: Student ID number:

Programme: Certificate of Higher Education in Skills for the Workplace

Module: Problem Solving and Decision Making

Contribution to
Module code: BMSW 4004 100%
Overall Module
Assessment (%):
Module Coordinator: Internal Verifier:

Assignment Title: Problem Solving and Word count for report 2000 ± 10%
Decision making (or equivalent):

Submission Task 1 - Presentation Return date of

deadline: slides to Turnitin – provisional marks &
Sunday 13th March written feedback:
2022 15:00 GMT
Task 1 – Presentation
– Week commencing
14th March 2022

Task 2 – Final report:

Friday 8th April 2022
15:00
All written assessments, where practical and possible, must be submitted
Submission method:
via Turnitin unless otherwise instructed by the Lecturer. (Please DO NOT
put this assessment specification into Turnitin or it will match many
similarities with other students’ submissions.)
Alternative submission method (if applicable):
Late submission of the assessment will result in a late penalty mark.
Penalties for late submission: Up to one week late, maximum mark of
40%. Over one week late, 0%. Only the Extenuating Circumstances
Panel may approve a change to submission dates.

Academic honesty / Academic honesty is required. In the main body of your submission you
referencing: must give credit to authors on whose research and ideas your work is
based. Append to your submission a reference list that indicates the
books, articles, etc. that you have used, cited or quoted in order to
complete ther assessment.

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 Module Learning Outcomes
(from module syllabus)

 LO 1 Describe a problem, its nature, scope and impact;

 LO 2 Gather and interpret information to solve a problem;

 LO 3 Evaluate options to make a decision;

 LO 4 Plan, monitor and review the implementation and communication of decisions.

TASK DESCRIPTION
Scenario –
Reducing Long term absenteeism

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHT), like many similar medium-sized district general
hospital trusts, has had a problem with staff absenteeism. The Trust’s rolling average, despite being
well within the target of 4.51%, which was previously set by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and
NHS North West, steadily increased from 2007 to 2012. Absence was costing the Trust more than £1
million each year per percentage point and a high level of absenteeism was also leading to poorer
quality of service, due to a resultant increase in the use of temporary and agency staff.

Recognising the importance of this, the Trust’s head of human resources requested the secondment of
a human resources (HR) specialist to spearhead the implementation of several measures designed to
reduce staff absenteeism.

Assuming you have been assigned by the head of human resources in identifying measures to reduce
absenteeism, complete the following tasks;

Task 1:

Produce and deliver a 10 minutes individual PowerPoint presentation containing:

 A research-informed discussion on the nature and impact of the complex problem on employees
and their organisations.
 A PESTLE analysis of the macro-environmental factors contributing to the complex problem.
 A research-informed cause-and-effect analysis of the complex problem.
 An evaluation of alternative solutions to absenteeism with an aim of choosing the most appropriate
solution among these alternatives.
(50 marks in Total)

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 Task 2:

In addition to your presentation, you are required to produce a report that elaborates on each bullet
point in task 1.
Your report should also present a plan to implement the decision you’ve made to solve the complex
problem and a discussion of success indicators to measure the effectiveness of your decision.

(50 marks in Total)

GUIDANCE FOR STUDENTS IN THE COMPLETION OF

TASKS
NOTE: The guidance offered below is linked to the five generic assessment criteria overleaf.

1. Engagement with Literature Skills

Your work must be informed and supported by scholarly material that is relevant to and focused on the
task(s) set. You should provide evidence that you have accessed an appropriate range of sources, which
may be academic, governmental and industrial; these sources may include academic journal articles,
textbooks, current news articles, organisational documents, and websites. You should consider the
credibility of your sources; academic journals are normally highly credible sources while websites require
careful consideration/selection and should be used sparingly. Any sources you use should be current and
up-to-date, mostly published within the last five years or so, though seminal/important works in the field
may be older. You must provide evidence of your research/own reading throughout your work, using a
suitable referencing system, including in-text citations in the main body of your work and a reference list at
the end of your work.

Guidance specific to this assessment:

• You are expected to have a minimum of 8 references in your report

• Ensure that secondary evidence is used in addressing bullet points 1 and 2 of task 1.

2. Knowledge and Understanding Skills

At level 4, you should be able to demonstrate knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles
associated with your area(s) of study. Knowledge relates to the facts, information and skills you have
acquired through your learning. You demonstrate your understanding by interpreting the meaning of the
facts and information (knowledge). This means that you need to select and include in your work the
concepts, techniques, models, theories, etc. appropriate to the task(s) set. You should be able to explain
the theories, concepts, etc. to show your understanding. Your mark/grade will also depend upon the extent
to which you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding.

Guidance specific to this assessment:

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 • Demonstrate your subject knowledge during the presentation through explanations (rather than
reading off the screen / scripts) and answers to questions asked at the end of your presentation.

3. Cognitive and Intellectual Skills

You should be able to present, evaluate and interpret qualitative and quantitative data, in order to develop
lines of argument and make sound judgements in accordance with basic theories and concepts of your
subject(s) of study. You should be able to evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving
problems related to your area(s) of study and/or work. Your work must contain evidence of logical,
analytical thinking. For example, to examine and break information down into parts, make inferences,
compile, compare and contrast information. This means not just describing what! But also justifying: Why?
How? When? Who? Where? At what cost? You should provide justification for your arguments and
judgements using evidence that you have reflected upon the ideas of others within the subject area and
that you are able to make sound judgements and arguments using data and concepts. Where relevant,
alternative solutions and recommendations may be proposed.

Guidance specific to this assessment:

• Use a PESTEL analysis, Fishbone diagram and a PMI / Grid analysis to show your analytical skills
in both tasks.

4. Practical Skills
At level 4, you should be able to apply the basic underlying concepts and principles to evaluate and
interpret these within the context of your area of study. You should be able to demonstrate how the subject-
related concepts and ideas relate to real world situations and/or a particular context. How do they work in
practice? You will deploy models, methods, techniques, and/or theories, in that context, to assess current
situations, perhaps to formulate plans or solutions to solve problems, or to create artefacts. Ther is likely to
involve, for instance, the use of real world artefacts, examples and cases, the application of a model within
an organisation and/or benchmarking one theory or organisation against others based on stated criteria.

Guidance specific to this assessment:

 Apply your knowledge of planning by including a plan to implement your decision in the report.
 Follow the rational problem-solving approach discussed on the module.

5. Transferable Skills for Life and Professional Practice

Your work must provide evidence of the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment
requiring the exercise of some personal responsibility. Ther includes demonstrating: that you can
communicate the results of your study/work accurately and reliably, and with structured and coherent
arguments; that you can initiate and complete tasks and procedures, whether individually and/or
collaboratively; fluency of expression; clarity and effectiveness in presentation and organisation. Work
should be coherent and well-structured in presentation and organisation.

Guidance specific to this assessment:

 Follow the generic submission guidelines provided on page 2

 Poor time management such as lateness to your presentation or exceeding allocated
presentation time may affect your marks for this criterion.

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 STUDENT FEEDBACK FORM
This section details the extent to which the assessment criteria are demonstrated by you, which in turn determines
your mark. The marks available for each category of skill are shown. Lecturers will use the space provided to
comment on the achievement of the task(s), including those areas in which you have performed well and areas that
would benefit from development/improvement.

Awarded
available

Marks
Marks
Generic Assessment Criteria

1. Engagement with Literature Skills

.

Presentation 0

Report
10
2. Knowledge and Understanding Skills

Presentation (5 marks for Q & A inclusive) 15

Report
10
3. Cognitive and Intellectual Skills

Presentation 15

Report
10
4. Practical Application Skills

Presentation 10

Report
10
5. Transferable Skills for Life and Professional Practice

Presentation 10

Report
10
Late Submission Penalties (tick if
Assessment Mark (Assessment marks are subject to ratification at the appropriate)
Exam Board. These comments and marks are to give feedback on module work Up to 1 week late (40% Max) %
and are for guidance only until they are confirmed. ) Over 1 week late (0%)

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