7CO01
Work and working lives in a changing
usiness environment
May 2023 moderation window -
Assessment Questions
Advanced Diploma in
▪ Strategic People Management
▪ Strategic Learning and Development
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
2
Question 4
Global economic growth is leading to increasing levels of affluence around the world.
The rate at which societies are becoming more prosperous is particularly rapid in
some developing economies. Critically review what the main consequences will be
for businesses and for the management of people if these trends continue?
Question 7
How far do you agree that employment regulation in your country strikes a
easonable balance between the interests of employers and employees? Justify
your answer with examples of specific employment laws.
Question 11
The CIPD is campaigning for all employees to have the right to request flexible
working from the first day of employment. Critically evaluate the case for and against
the implementation of this right with reference to your own organisation, providing full
justification.
Question 14
The CIPD’s XXXXXXXXXXHealth and Wellbeing at Work Survey suggests that employee
wellbeing has become less of a business priority in the aftermath of the Covid-19
pandemic.
Critically analyse how People Professionals can ensure that wellbeing remains an
organisational priority. Justify your suggestions.
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
3
Generic
grade
descriptors
REFER/FAIL / 1 PASS / 2 MERIT / 3 DISTINCTION / 4
Focus Fails to address all the
questions either sufficiently
fully or directly.
An adequate attempt to
address all the
questions fully and
directly.
A good attempt to address
all the questions relatively
well and directly.
An excellent attempt to
address all the questions
very well and directly.
Depth &
eadth
of understanding
Inadequate knowledge and
understanding in respect of
one or more of the
questions. Limited depth
and
eadth of analysis.
Adequate knowledge
and understanding
across the questions.
Satisfactory
eadth
and depth of analysis.
Full and solid knowledge
and understanding across
all the questions. Good
eadth and depth of
analysis.
Very full knowledge and
understanding across all
the questions. Excellent
eadth and depth of
analysis.
Strategic
application &
professional
advice
Fails to provide appropriate
or well-justified advice
and/or recommendations.
Lacks a strategic approach.
Provides adequately
justified advice and
informed
ecommendations
Some strategic
application.
Provides solid and
thoughtful advice and well-
informed recommendations.
Clearly strategic in
orientation.
Provides excellent
advice and very well-
informed
ecommendations.
Strategically oriented in
all respects.
Research & wider
eading
Limited original research
and/or appropriate wider
eading for the assignment.
Limited or no referencing.
Evidence of sufficient
esearch and
appropriate wider
eading for the
assignment.
Satisfactory in-text
eferencing.
Evidence of significant
esearch and thoughtful,
appropriate wider reading
for the assignment. A good
standard of in-text
eferencing.
Evidence of considerable
esearch and excellent,
appropriate wider
eading for the
assignment. An excellent
standard of in-text
eferencing
Persuasiveness &
originality
Limited development of
persuasive and original
arguments. Inadequate use
of examples.
An adequate attempt to
develop original
arguments and to
justify these
persuasively. Includes
appropriate examples.
Some strong original
arguments are presented
which are mainly justified
persuasively. Good use of
examples.
Mostly strong original
arguments are presented
and justified very
persuasively. Excellent
use of examples.
Presentation &
language
An inadequate standard of
presentation or language.
The assignment is poorly
written and/or poorly
structured. It is not at the
level required for a
management presentation.
A solid standard of
presentation and use of
language. The
structure and ideas are
satisfactory for a
management
presentation.
A strong and professional
standard of presentation and
use of language. The
structure and ideas are well
crafted for a management
presentation.
An outstanding standard
of presentation and use
of language. The
structure and ideas are
very well crafted for a
management
presentation.
7CO01
Work and working lives in a changing
usiness environment
Learner Assessment Brief
Version XXXXXXXXXXJune 2022
Level 7 Advanced Diploma in
▪ Strategic People Management
▪ Strategic Learning and Development
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Introduction
Your knowledge and understanding of the material covered in this core unit will be assessed by the
submission of an assignment. This will be set by CIPD and will take the same form for the following
core units:
• 7CO01 – Work and working lives in a changing environment (sixteen questions)
• 7CO02 – People management and development strategies for performance (seventeen
questions)
Assessors at centres will be provided with a set of questions in advance, from which four will be
selected for submission. We will let your centre know which four questions are to be addressed in
your assignment eight weeks before the results submission deadline. However, the expectation is
for you to research, plan and prepare answers to all of these questions, to ensure that you fully
cover all the required learning in this unit.
The four questions will be drawn from different learning outcomes, featuring one assessment
criterion in each learning outcome. These questions encompass a wide range of generalist HR,
OD & L&D subject areas.
You will write four answers of approximately 1000 words to the questions posed and submit them
together in a single document. This constitutes your assignment for this unit. The total word count
for the assignment will therefore be 4000 words, plus or minus 10%. The bibliography or list of
eferences is not included in the total word count.
You must demonstrate within the submitted evidence (through headings and sub-headings) which
learning outcomes and assessment criteria have been cited. We are unable to moderate your work
if this is not included.
As this is a Level 7 Diploma, it is important that you are able to demonstrate not only good
knowledge and understanding of the material associated with each learning outcome, but also the
ability to develop an original argument and justify it persuasively with reference to wider reading.
Examples of approaches taken in a range of organisations are also an effective means by which to
justify your arguments.
The six main criteria that CIPD requires centres to use when marking the assignments are outlined
elow, but it may be that not all these criteria are present in every question.
(1) focus
(2) depth and
eadth of understanding
(3) strategic application and professional advice
(4) research and wider reading
(5) persuasiveness and originality
(6) presentation and language
To help assessors start preparing you for this task, we have provided you the assignment
questions which cover all the assessment criteria below.
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Assessment questions:
Question 1
Illustrating your answer with an example, explain how globalisation has led to increased
competition and volatility in product markets. Critically analyse how these trends have
affected the management of people in workplaces around the world?
Question 2
To what extent do you agree with the view that technologies which are likely to mature in
the late 2020s will create a great deal of unemployment and under-employment as people
in organisations are increasingly replaced with machines? Justify your answer.
Question 3
Over the past two decades consumer behaviour has tended to become more ethical. We
spend much more on products and services that we perceive to
have an ethical or sustainable provenance and are more likely to
oycott
ands which develop an unethical reputation. Critically
examine the main consequences of this trend for the management
of people in commercial organisations? Justify your answer.
Question 4
Global economic growth is leading to increasing levels of affluence around the world. The
ate at which societies are becoming more prosperous is particularly rapid in some
developing economies. Critically review what the main consequences will be for
usinesses and for the management of people if these trends continue?
Question 5
Identify any THREE distinct challenges or opportunities for people management in
organisations that arise from the rapid increase in the use of social media on the part of
employees and potential recruits. Which of those you have selected do you consider
having the greatest long-term importance? Justify your answer.
Question 6
Why are prices cu
ently rising so rapidly around the world? Explain what steps
governments can take to reduce this inflation. What are the main implications for
employing organisations?
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Question 7
How far do you agree that employment regulation in your country strikes a reasonable
alance between the interests of employers and employees? Justify your answer with
examples of specific employment laws.
Question 8
Drawing upon your wider reading, critically evaluate up to three HR strategies that can be
ecommended to a People Professional Manager whose organisation is facing chronic
skills shortages in one of its major labour markets.
Question 9
Reflect upon a major change intervention within your own organisation (for example, a.
shift towards more remote working / introduction of new technology).
i) Provide a
ief overview of the change intervention (no more than 300 words).
and
ii) Critically assess the effectiveness of the leadership and management of this
XXXXXXXXXXchange intervention. Draw upon academic theories, models, and research to
XXXXXXXXXXsupport your assessment.
Question 10
Brown et al’s XXXXXXXXXXstudy found that when People Professionals adopt a more strategic
change agent role, rather than a more administrative role, this can help reduce the amount
of cynicism exhibited by employees.
Critically analyse how People Professionals can adopt a more strategic role in
organisational change in order to reduce employee change cynicism. Illustrate your
answer with examples.
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Question 11
The CIPD is campaigning for all employees to have the right to request flexible working
from the first day of employment. Critically evaluate the case for and against the
implementation of this right with reference to your own organisation, providing full
justification.
Question 12
The Office for National Statistics XXXXXXXXXXfound that good management practices were
associated with higher productivity. Critically analyse the main ways in which your
organisation could improve its management practices in order to boost productivity.
Question 13
Epley and Kumar XXXXXXXXXXidentified four pillars of an ethical culture as explicit values,
thoughts during judgment, incentives, and cultural norms. Critically evaluate how ethical is
the culture of your organisation based on these four pillars.
What TWO distinct recommendations would you make to your Senior Leadership Team in
order to enhance the ethical culture of your organisation?
Question 14
The CIPD’s XXXXXXXXXXHealth and Wellbeing at Work Survey suggests that employee
wellbeing has become less of a business priority in the aftermath of the covid-19
pandemic.
Critically analyse how People Professionals can ensure that wellbeing remains an
organisational priority. Justify your suggestions.
Question 15
Sustainable HRM has been identified as an alternative approach to Strategic HRM, with a
oader focus on economic, social, human, and environmental factors compared with
Strategic HRM’s focus on financial goals. Critically assess how People Professionals can
promote sustainable HRM. Illustrate your answer with THREE distinct and specific
examples.
Question 16
The CIPD (2019: 23) refer to inclusion as “belonging without conformity”. Critically analyse
how you can use people practices to promote inclusion in your organisation, justifying your
ecommendations.
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Marking Grid
Learners will receive a Pass, Merit, Distinction or Refe
Fail result at unit level.
Assessors must provide a mark from 1 to 4 for each Learning Outcome in the unit. Assessors should
use the generic grade descriptor grid as guidance so they can provide comprehensive feedback that
is developmental for learners. Please be aware that not all of the generic grade descriptors will be
present in every learning outcome for all the assignments, so assessors must use their discretion in
making grading decisions.
To pass the unit assessment learners must achieve a 2 (Pass) or above for each of the
learning outcomes.
The overall mark achieved will dictate the Grade the learner receives for the Unit, provided NONE of
the learning outcomes have been failed or refe
ed. A detailed marking grid will be released once the
4 questions are published.
Learners’ result should be recorded in a marking grid similar to the example below.
Marking grid:
Learning
outcome
Mark
LO1