7CO04 Business Research Project Proposal Feedback Sheet
Centre Name
Acacia
Student Name:
Naif Al-Khalif
CIPD Membership Numbe
Student Numbe
XXXXXXXXXX
Assessor Feedback
Naif,
Thank you for the 2nd submission. As you have not used a different colour to identify the changes you have made, it is less easy to review. However, I have given feedback identifying where there are gaps when you match to the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria. My comments on this 2nd submission are shown in blue
Learning Outcome 1 – Be able to plan a people practice business research project aimed at adding organisational value
Assessment Criteria 1.1 Justify terms of reference for the business project
Task 1.1: Explain how and why you chose the terms of reference for your project
Rationale
Feedback
The topic needs to be a people practice area – this project looks at employee motivation
Researching this topic must be aimed at organisational value and you identify this as employee performance
Your rationale for undertaking this work will include.
· A short outline of the organisation – please compile a very
ief overview of your company
· A factual statement of the business problem e.g., how are you measuring employee performance and employee motivation
· The resources required for project completion in terms of
oad costs and support, and the deadline date for submission. These must be precise, manageable, and achievable in the time allowed. It is a good idea to use a GANTT chart which shows a clear timeline for each stage of the project – this can be located in the Appendix (please note this is not included in the word count). Please add these to the proposal.
When you write this up, the guidance is for 150 words to be used (including the aims and objectives in the section below), so you need to keep focused, be precise, factual, and succinct.
Development areas
· Add in an overview of the company
· Quantify the business problem/improvement area
· Add in the timeline, resource requirements
Feedback on 2nd submission
· Identify more clearly the business area you are researching. If you are researching to find the views of employees – is this across the whole of Amazon, how many employees are in this group. It is one business area? This still needs further clarity
· What is the people practice area – it appears to be employee motivation
· What is the business problem – it appears to be low levels of motivation in a particular business area
· The resources required for project completion in terms of
oad costs and support, and the deadline date for submission. These must be precise, manageable, and achievable in the time allowed. It is a good idea to use a GANTT chart which shows a clear timeline for each stage of the project – this can be located in the Appendix (please note this is not included in the word count). Please add these to the proposal.
This business rationale still requires more clarity
Learning Outcome 1 – Be able to plan a people practice business research project aimed at adding organisational value
Assessment Criteria 1.1 Justify terms of reference for the business project
Task 1.1: Explain how and why you chose the terms of reference for your project
Aims and Objectives
Feedback
The project needs 1 overall aim (project purpose) and 3-5 supporting objectives
Format of these statements is important. E.g. (example only)
Aim – to identify the HR processes and practices that drive employee motivation in order to impact positively on employee performance
Objectives – these looks reasonable in support of your aim and the rationale
Development areas
When you have identified timescales, costs and resources needed to meet these aims you may need to reconsider as this is a
oad topic
Feedback on 2nd submission
· With more detail on the business rationale, I now have some concerns out aim and objectives
Is the aim – To identify the role that HR professionals can take to establish improved levels of motivation in department xxx
The objectives as stated require little primary research.
Some possible objectives
To identify the reasons for low motivation in department xxx
To review the cu
ent HR processes that support improvements in motivation
To identify the policy and processes that could be facilitated by HR to improve motivation
To propose improved HR policy and process to address low levels of employee motivation
These are just examples but will lead to some targeted research
Please review your aim and objectives
Learning Outcome 1 – Be able to plan a people practice business research project aimed at adding organisational value
Assessment Criteria 1.2 Critically analyse key publications and other evidence to underpin the research questions
Task 1.2 - Develop a literature review which focuses on the key people practice issues you are investigating, and critically analyses a targeted range of literature from academic, professional and practitioner sources
Overview of Literature Review
Your topic needs to have a clear link to theory. In this section you have given a commentary but cited few publications. Consider the following requirements
This section requires an analysis of published material and reputable on-line sources relating to the terms of reference and provides the underpinning support for the research questions. Sources may include:
• textbooks on HR/L&D and relevant papers in peer-reviewed academic journals.
• practitioner-oriented publications and reputable on-line websites, which offer a more practical treatment of the topics addressed in the project.
• CIPD Reports and Surveys, government publications, material from employer organisations/trade unions, and independent think-tanks in the country where the research is undertaken.
With 750 words recommended for this section, I recommend no more than 10-12 sources are actually used directly in the report; however, given that most learners will read more than that, the full list of publications should be cited in the bibliography.
Development areas
Identify all literature sources and undertake some reading to help you to clarify your thinking and focus your project.
Feedback on 2nd proposal
This is still more a commentary than a proposed literature review. You need to review literature around motivation It may include general motivational theory but will also look at business reports. It will also need to address the HR role in improving staff motivation
Learning Outcome 1 – Be able to plan a people practice business research project aimed at adding organisational value
Assessment Criteria 1.3 Develop a range of questions aimed at addressing the project’s main focus and outcomes.
Task 1.3 - Devise one or more research questions to examine during the research and in the final report
Research Question
With more work on your terms of reference and the literature review you may wish to refine and reword these questions.
All the tasks for this section Learning Outcome 1 need to be integrated.
Development areas
· Review once more work has been done on rationale, aim and objectives and literature review
Learning Outcome 2: Be able to justify the most appropriate research methods to collect data for the chosen project.
Assessment Criteria 2.1 Assess differences between primary and secondary data, Assessment Criteria 2.2 Justify the most appropriate research methods to support the project’s intended outcomes, including the value of different research methods.
Task 2.1: Analyse the main differences between primary and secondary data and when they should be used
Task 2.2: Justify your choice of research methods for collecting data to achieve
your own project outcomes
Overview of Methodology
Primary data is material learners collect themselves – please identify what your primary research will be.
It is important to pilot the questions to be used in an interview, focus group or survey - to make sure they are appropriate. Please provide a draft of any questionnaires, focus group structure and questions.
Secondary data is material collected by someone else, either as part of an internal survey in the same or another organisation or published data sets such as in the CIPD Research Reports or from the Office for National Statistics. Please identify the secondary data.
Development areas
Please give further detail on your primary and secondary sources
Feedback on 2nd proposal
Can you look again at the type of questions you will use as I do not feel that the drafts you have produced will give you the data you need
Learning Outcome 2: Be able to justify the most appropriate research methods to collect data for the chosen project.
Assessment Criteria 2.3 Critically assess the ethical issues su
ounding data collection, usage and storage for the project.
Task 2.3: Explain how you have addressed the ethical issues connected with your project
Ethical Considerations
People professionals are expected to display ethical practice, particularly if they are collecting data on other people. Ethical issues arise at several stages in the project, and some guidance can be found in the CIPD’s 2019 publication Ethics at Work: an employer’s guide. Key issues relate to:
espondents signing an ethical approval form if data is collected from them
reassurance that names will not appear in the report without their approval
a commitment not to share personal data without agreement
secure data storage provisions.
Development areas
Please give further detail on how you will address the ethical issues
Naif,
I need a further review of this proposal before approval. Spend a fair amount of time getting the organisational value extremely clear. Then spend some time detailing the people practice area with equal clarity. This then needs to be present throughout the project.
Add a cover sheet to ensure that we have all your details, and that a wet signature is in place
For your 2nd submission please use different coloured font for anything added and also the ‘strikethrough’ to show anything no longer being included.
Summary
Naif,
Thank you for this proposal.
This could provide you with a good research project however it does require a further review to ensure focus, feasibility, and clear business rationale.
Further detail is required to ensure all learning outcomes will be met and to gain approval to procede
Strengths
The content you have detailed is clearly presented.
You show an understanding of the process you need to go through
Development
Add further detail to clarify the points made above
Add a cover sheet to ensure that we have all your details, and that a wet signature is in place
For your 2nd submission please use different coloured font for anything added and also the ‘strikethrough’ to show anything no longer being included.
Many thanks,
Liz
14/11/2022
Assessor Signature
Date
14/11/2022
20/11/2022