Research Project

	HE Assessment Submission
Qualification Title: Higher National Certificate/Diploma in Business
Academic year: 2021/22		Location: Portland Place, Hounslow, Oldham
Assignment number: 1 of 1		Student name:
Assignment name: (Pearson-set theme) Workplace transformation		Student ID/number:
Module number and title: R/508/0522 Unit 11 Research Project
Module coordinator’s name: Agnel Rodrigues
Assignment set by: Quality Department
Assessor name/names: Que Mirza, Patricia Ivbijaro, David Ifasawo, James Ejekwumadu		Date stamp: AssignmentTutorOnline Centre check signature: Agnel Rodrigues 03/02/2022     Nescot check signature: Carole Spicer and Naomi Williams
Assignment issue date: 05/02/2022
Formative Submission: 24/04/2022
Submission due date: 08/05/2022
Academic conduct Work submitted for assessment must be your own, if authorship is misrepresented this may be considered to be academic misconduct. Academic misconduct can be considered to be any act whereby a candidate seeks to obtain an unfair advantage for themselves or another candidate. The penalties for academic misconduct can be serious. Examples of academic misconduct (not exhaustive) are as follows; ·         Using online sites such as Spinbot, Check Plagiarism, Paraphrasing Tool, Seo Magnifer, Article Rewriter    or any such other sites that offer a similar service to reword work to avoid plagiarism detection. ·         Plagiarism; defined broadly as the unacknowledged use of the work of another person.  Including words, images, artwork, computer generated work (including Internet sources), thoughts, inventions and/or discoveries whether published or not. ·         Fabrication; falsification of results or evidence, for example, experiments, interviews, observations or other forms of empirical research and investigation. ·         Collusion; working collaboratively with others in the preparation or production of material submitted for assessment where not explicitly permitted by programme documentation. ·         Misrepresentation; falsification of degree of participation or responsibility for shared work submitted for assessment.
Authenticity declaration I have read the above and confirm that the work submitted is my own. All material for which I am not the author (published or unpublished) has been clearly identified, attributed to others, fully acknowledged and reference made to the original sources. I understand that the College has the right to submit my work to further checks for originality if deemed necessary.   Student signature………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Date……………………..
I am unwell and/or have been affected by unforeseen circumstances [delete as appropriate] during or immediately prior to this assessment or examination. However, I choose to continue to take this assessment or examination and I have drawn this to the attention of the assessor/invigilator.   Student signature…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Date…………………….   Assessor/invigilator name……………. Assessor/invigilator signature………………….Date……………………
Submission arrangements •  All work for submission must be signed in using an electronic signature via Weblearn •  All assignments must be submitted through Turnitin failure to do so will result in your work being unmarked.
Tutors declaration: Whilst marking this work I have duly checked that there is no variations in writing style compared to the students normal submissions, grammar and spelling have been identified in the work and to the best of my knowledge the student has not used any paraphrasing tools to complete this work.   Provisional Grade ….. ……….…………….Tutor’s signature…………………………. Date……………………….   Note this grade is provisional until agreed by the Examination Board
Assessor Feedback related to grading criteria: Turnitin % ……………………………………….

 

Areas of Improvement:

 

Action: (referrals only)

 

Student’s Comments: What grade are you aiming for:

Feedback received from Lecturer: Yes/No   Student signature; _________________________ Date:___________   Date of resubmission (where required)

 

 

Assignment Brief and Guidance

Scenario:

You are working as a business consultant for a consultancy company, Bright Stars.   A local business has contacted you as they would like to review the way their business operates in light of the coronavirus pandemic.  They are considering a range of alternatives to transform their business operations but have asked if you could conduct some research to provide some evidence-based recommendations about a particular area of workplace transformation that they may want to consider.

 

Introduction to theme:

Workplace transformation is the rethinking of flexible workspaces to accommodate different kinds of work, workers, and technology. Driven by new technologies and increasing globalisation the workplace has been evolving rapidly to support these constant changes. The changes in technology, roles and competencies has provided countless opportunities for enhancement and change within organisations and as the world or work changes so does the workplace. Deloitte in their report entitled ‘Workplace transformation in the digital age’ identified four dimensions of the workplace ecosystem that needed to be considered in any workplace transformation strategy:

• space, relating to the design of office buildings and space;
• place, relating to how the workforce is spread across different locations;
• technology and the requirements needed for employees to carry out their roles and collaborate;
• talent relating to organisational structure and culture.

 

In the wake of the recent global pandemic all these dimensions of the workplace ecosystem are having to be reimagined. Many organisations already have had to refocus their workforce plan to ensure a fully remote workforce has the capabilities and technologies available to continue employee connectivity, engagement and productivity. Navigating this new way of work is crucial to support business operations and far reaching implications for the future.

 

The range of topics discussed could cover the following: 

• The impact of the global pandemic on accelerating workplace transformation
• Why linking organisational and employee efficiency transformation is critical to remain competitive
• Employee collaboration tools: How they are being deployed and how they are impacting productivity in sometimes surprising ways
• The Gig Economy: It’s real and redefining the nature of employment and employees
• How remote workers are surpassing their peers in the office in both job satisfaction and productivity and how workplaces are using these insights to transform operations
• The challenges faced by organisations when embarking on workplace transformation initiatives and how the right strategy, funding, and support of management can result in an increase in product and services innovation as well as a long-term competitive edge

 

 

Assignment Tasks

 

Task 1 – Literature Review

 

Prior to undertaking any form of research, it is imperative to plan and collect information on all aspects of your research topic/ question including literature review (secondary source of information) to ensure that you can achieve the desired outcomes.  Evaluate the validity and reliability of the sources, discussing current understanding on the research topic area. Discuss the sources of literature found and how they relate or otherwise to the research topic. Your report should critically evaluate literature in order to assess the validity of the literature in supporting the research topic.

 

Task 2 – Research Proposal

Based on your chosen area of workplace transformation (as outlined above), complete a research proposal form provided to you by your tutor. (Appendix B).

 

• Define specific research question/s, including research aims and objectives.
• Examine different research methods and approaches to primary and secondary research. Evaluate various approaches and methods and give justification on the chosen method basing on the philosophical/theoretical framework.
• Discuss and critically evaluate the merits, pitfalls and limitations of your research methodologies / approaches to data collection in order to justify your chosen research methods and analysis.
• Using the attached ethical form, consider relevant ethical issues and the strategies you will employ to overcome these.

 

 

The proposal and Ethical approval need to be discussed and approved by the tutor before you engage in Activity 2. A copy of the formal written approval will be retained by the tutor.

 

 

 

Task 3 – Conduct Research

 

Following the approved proposal, you should engage in data collection and analysis using the chosen research methodology.  All data evidence should be submitted as appendices to the report.

 

To complete this task, you should:

 

• Design a structured primary research technique to collect data (eg. survey/interview/focus groups)
• Conduct your research as outlined in your proposal that considers costs, access and ethical issues by keeping track of your findings.
• Create visual illustrations using the collected data (eg. Bar charts, pie charts, tables) which will be presented in the final report (task 4)
• Analyse your findings using appropriate analytical tools and prepare this for presentation in task 4.

 

 

Task 4 – Communicating Outcomes – Report

 

Now that you have finished the research and analysis you should communicate your findings to the local organisation to illustrate your ideas to them.

 

• Develop a report that communicates and provides valid and justified recommendations for the organisation based on a critical analysis of the research (both primary and secondary).

 

• Ensure that your outcomes are coherent and logical and relate directly back to the proposed objectives of your research to answer the key research questions set.

 

• Reflect on the effectiveness of the research methods you have applied and your performance at the end of the project and consider other research methods in view of the outcomes. Provide a critical reflection and insight that demonstrates engagement with the project and recommends actions for improvements and future research considerations.

 

 

Submission Format

 

Formal business report

 

This must be in the form of an individual written formal business report with appendices. This should be written in a concise, formal business style using single spacing and Arial font size 12. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate, and all work must be supported with research and referenced using the Harvard referencing system. Please provide a bibliography using the Harvard referencing system. The recommended word limit is between 4500 to 6000 words, although you will not be penalised for exceeding the total word limit.

 

All supporting evidence from tasks 1-3 must be professionally presented as appropriate appendices.

 

A suggested report layout has been provided in Appendix C.

 

Please note that details of the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria for this unit should not be included in your report.

 

 

Recommended resources

 

COSTLEY, C., ELLIOT, G. and GIBBS, P. (2010) Doing Work Based Research: Approaches to Enquiry for Insider researchers.  London: SAGE.

 

FLICK, U. (2011) Introducing Research Methodology: A Beginner’s Guide to Doing a Research Project.  London: SAGE.

 

GRAY, D. (2009) Doing Research in the Real World.  2nd Ed. London: SAGE.

 

SAUNDERS, M., LEWIS, P. and THORNHILL, A. (2012) Research methods for Business Students.  6th Ed. Harlow: Pearson.

 

Journals

 

International Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research.

 

Qualitative Research Journal.

 

A full range of electronic resources are available on HN Global:

 

E-resources

HN Global e-library resources

https://hnglobal.highernatio nals.com/subjects/business/r esource-library

 

Please click on the link to see Pearson Course Specification:

https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/BTEC-Higher-Nationals/Business/2016/Specification/btec-higher-nationals-business-specification.pdf

 

APPENDIX A

 

Research Ethics Approval Form

All students conducting research activity that involves human participants or the use of data collected from human participants are required to gain ethical approval before commencing their research.  Please answer all relevant questions and note that your form may be returned if incomplete.

For further support and guidance please see your respective Unit Tutor.

Before completing this form, we advise that you discuss your proposed research fully with your Unit Tutor. Please complete this form in good time before your research project is due to commence.

 

 

Section 1: Basic Details   Project  title:                               Student name:                          Student ID number:                    Programme:                              Center Name:                      Intended research start date: Intended research end date:

 

Section 2: Project Summary Please select all research methods that you plan to use as part of your project: •              Interviews: •              Questionnaires: •              Observations: •              Use of Personal Records: •              Data Analysis: •              Action Research: •              Focus Groups: •              Other (please specify): ………………………………………………………………………………….

 

Section 3: Participants Please answer the following questions, giving full details where necessary. Will your research involve human participants? Who are the participants? Tick all that apply Ages 12-16:   Young People aged 17–18:   Adults:   How will participants be recruited (identified and approached)?   Describe the processes you will use to inform participants about what you are doing:   How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written? How will it be made clear to participants that they may withdraw consent to participate at anytime?   Studies involving questionnaires: Will participants be given the option of omitting questions they do not wish to answer? Yes                                          No   If No please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical issues arising from this.   Studies involving observation: Confirm whether participants will be asked for their informed consent to be observed. Yes                                           No   Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e. give them a brief explanation of the study)?   Yes                                           No   Will participants be given information about the findings of your study?(This could be a brief summary of your findings in general)   Yes                                              No

Section 4: Data Storage and Security Confirm that all personal data will be stored and processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act (1998)     Yes:                       No: Who will have access to the data and personal information? During the research: Where will the data be stored? Will mobile devices such as USB storage and laptops be used? Yes:                                   No: If yes, please provide further details:   After the research: Where will the data be stored?   How long will the data and records be kept for and in what format?   Will data be kept for use by other researchers? Yes:                                      No:   If yes, please provide further details:

 

Section 5: Ethical Issues Are there any particular features of your proposed work which may raise ethical concerns? If so, please outline how you will deal with these: It is important that you demonstrate your awareness of potential risks that may arise as a result of your research.  Please consider/address all issues that may apply.  Ethical concerns may include, but are not limited to the following: •              Informed consent. •              Potentially vulnerable participants. •              Sensitive topics. •              Risks to participants and/or researchers. •              Confidentiality/anonymity. •              Disclosures/limits to confidentiality. •              Data storage and security, both during and after the research (including transfer, sharing, encryption, protection). •              Reporting. •              Dissemination and use of your findings.

 

 

APPENDIX B

 

Research Proposal Form

Student Name: ______________________                         

Proposed Title:  ______________________________________________­­­­­­­­­­­­

 

Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities

Title or working title of the research project     Research objectives (e.g what is the question you want to answer? What do you want to learn how to do? What do you want to find out?):

Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project

Reasons for choosing the project (e.g links to other subjects you are studying, personal interest, future plans, knowledge/skills you want to improve, why the topic is important):

 

 

Section Three: Literature sources searched
Use of key literature sources to support your research question, objective or hypothesis:
Section Four: Activities and timescales
Activities to be carried out during the research project (e.g research, development and analysis of ideas, writing, data collection, numerical analysis, tutor meetings, production of final outcome, evaluation, writing the report):	How long this will take:
Section Five: Research approach and methodologies
What type of research approach and methodologies are you likely to use and why? What your areas of research will cover:
Comments and agreement from tutor: The learner has understood the requirements and have made an appropriate selection.
Agreed: __________ Tutor Signature: ___________ Date ______________

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX C

 

Suggested layout for Unit 11 Research Report

 

Title Page

• It is important that you state clearly, at the beginning of the assignment, what its title is, which module it applies to and your name as the author.
• You should also include the College name, report title and the date.

Executive Summary

• A summary should be provided, so that people can see at a glance what the report is about. You should mention your key findings, conclusions and recommendations.
• This summary is usually printed immediately after the title page.

Contents Page

• Page numbers as well as section/chapter titles should be included
• If the report incorporates some appendices, their titles should be listed

Acknowledgements

• A list of names, roles and organisations (if relevant) of all of those who helped you when compiling the report should be listed

Terms of Reference

• Refer to your project proposal

Introduction

• This section should provide some of the background of the subject that forms the principle theme of your report.
• If the report is designed to solve a perceived ‘problem’, the history of the ‘problem’ can be reviewed here, culminating in the situation that prompted the report to be written
• You should also provide some key information about the organisation in which your research is based.

Methodology

• This section is needed for the reader to judge the authenticity of the ‘evidence’ that comprises the main body of the report. All sources should be mentioned and, if appropriate, describe how you put together your questionnaire or survey.
• Copies of questionnaires, interview questions etc. should be included in the appendices.
• If any published documents were studied, this should be mentioned here

 

 

Main Body

• This is likely to comprise many paragraphs or sections. It is often useful to break up your assignment into subheadings.
• This section should be structured around the key themes of your research
• Use tables, charts if possible. Your presentation of data is important
• This section should bring together your secondary and primary research and your findings

Conclusions

• In this section you should say what your facts or findings mean i.e. discuss the key implications arising from the wealth of detail you may have collected.
• Your findings and outcomes should be relate back to your initial research objective and proposal
• The conclusions should not incorporate any new facts

Recommendations

• Your recommendations should clearly spell out your ideas to enable them to be acted upon.
• In particular, if your proposals involve expenditure, you must supply a cost benefit evaluation to show what it costs and what management will get from it.

Bibliography

• All references in the report should be listed in the correct Harvard format

Appendices

• All detailed statistical tabulations, graphs, lists, questionnaires etc. should be organised into separate appendices
• Include a list of references (sources that are actually cited in the report itself)
• Nothing should be included that isn’t in the main body of the report