Learning outcomes:
1 Understand the research process and different research approaches.
2 Be able to conduct a critical review of information sources in an area of HR/business practice and analyse the findings.
3 Be able to draw meaningful conclusions and evaluate options for change.
4 Know how to deliver clear, business-focused reports on an HR issue.
Assessment brief/activity
Workplace health and well-being has risen sharply up the public policy agenda over the past decade with Government initiatives, campaigns and funding, local authority well-being projects encouraging businesses to take on the employee health and well-being agenda. This has been accompanied by growing recognition of the positive link between employee well-being and long-term organisational health. The CIPD is embarking on a long-term project on employee health and well-being and thinks that HR has a vital role to play in creating healthier workplaces.
Activity 1
Identify an area of HR practice related health and well-being. Compile a report for your own organisation’s senior managers (or for another organisation you are familiar with or been involved with) setting out the case for the organisation adopting the concept of employee health and wellbeing in relation to your topic.
Your report should include:
- A brief introduction
- A critical review of at least four different information sources relevant to health and well-being relevant to your topic area. Your review should draw out similarities and differences between the sources. You may also consider the reliability and validity of the sources.
- Draw meaningful conclusions from your review.
- Make recommendations for improvements in practice for your chosen organisation and provide an implementation plan for the recommendations.
Activity 2
- Summarise the key stages of the research process.
- Compare two different research methods.
Evidence to be produced/required
- A written business report for senior managers. The title page and any appendices are excluded from the word count.
- Written answers to activity 2.
The word count for both activities is approximately 2600 words.
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 (the bibliography should be excluded from the word count).
