Appendix 3.2 supported distance learning

CIPD Certificate in Human Resource Management

UNIT TITLE: Using Information in Human Resources

5UIN

Distance Learning Workbook

Name:

CIPD membership number

INTRODUCTION

This workbook has been developed as blended learning material to provide you with materials and activities which facilitate your knowledge and understanding of all the Learning Outcomes for this unit. The workbook will allow you to work at your own pace and is designed in such a way that it is clear which Learning Outcome and Assessment Criteria the activity or material relates to and you can then link this easily to the assessment brief you are working on. The guided learning hours for this module are 20 hours, this is the time you should plan to spend reading the material in this workbook and completing the activities and doing your additional reading and research for this module

The activities you are asked to complete will help you to understand the issuesand you should ensure that you complete them all in the order they appear. Your course tutor is available to help you with anything you don’t understand and to discuss the issues in more detail with you at a mutually convenient time. Contact , 01642 956970 when you need help or advice with anything in the workbook.

There are tasks within the workbook where you are required to send your completed material to your course tutor for their comments and feedback. It would be helpful if you got this feedback before moving onto your next task.

When you open a PowerPoint presentation open in notes view or presenter view so you can see the additional notes which offer a lot more detail around the topic and also provide you with additional reference sources.

The workbooks have been designed in such a way that they fit in with the learning outcomes of the assessments, this will help you to answer the questions and refer back to the work you have done in the workbook when you complete the assessment.

Before you start with your workbooks you will have completed your induction and have received all the unit materials and referencing guidance to help you with your studies.

All additional materials will be available to you via the BeProActive tab/area on the websiteso it is important that you have an internet connection to be able to download these materials, some of the links contained in the workbook will also take you to a live web page.

Unit Title: Using Information in Human Resources 5UIN

Learning outcomes and assessment criteria in this workbook:

Learning outcomes
The learner will: / Assessment criteria
The learner can:
1Understand the research process and different research approaches. / 1.1Summarise the stages of the research
process and compare different data collection
methods
22 Be able toconduct a critical review of information sources in an area of HR/business practice and analyse the findings. / 2.1 Identify an area of HR practice forinvestigation
2.2 Conduct a critical review of differentinformation sources relevant to the chosenarea of HR/business practice
33 Be able todraw meaningful conclusions and evaluate options for change. / 3.1 Draw meaningful conclusions from thereview and make justified recommendationsfor improvements in practice
44 Know how todeliver clear, business-focused reports on an HR issue. / 4.1 Formulate a business report for identified
stakeholders that includes an appropriate mixof diagrammatic and narrative formats

Assignment Brief – this is the assessment you will complete for this Unit, download the document and save it to your computer.

The assessment for this unit takes the form of a report, here are some guidelines to help you when you are completing your report

Use a Title page which includes

Name and CIPD membership number

Unit and Assignment title

Word count (excluding appendices)

Introduction

Give overall aim and objectives, what the report aims to achieve by the end

Background information about your organisation – keep this brief due to word counts

Findings: (main tasks)

Outcomes from the research conducted – what you have found out – make sure you refer to the actual “tasks” you are addressing in the assessment brief – you could use sub headings to make it clear

Conclusions:

Keep this section concise, link it back to the objectives you stated in the introduction, make sure if flows logically from the evidence in the findings

Recommendations:

Discuss suggestions for improvements, how they can be implemented, who would be responsible, timescales and any financial implications.

Bibliography:

Use referencing, ensure entries are listed alphabetically by Surname.

check out how to structure your report.

Activity 1

Learning outcomes: 1.1Understand the research process and different research approaches

(This section should take you 3 hours to complete)

1.1Summarise the stages of the research process and compare different data collection methods by way of a literature review commenting of advantages and disadvantages of differing approaches
Why is Practical Business Research relevant to you? As a manager it is important that you make sense of what is going on both within your organisation and within its environment in order to take effective decisions and actions Business Research is about the process of collecting and interpreting the information needed for this. (Cameron, S. and Price, D. (2009) Business research methods: a practical approach. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Timely, valid and reliable information is vitalto help managers and staff within organisations to make informed decisionsand for organisations to function successfully and remain competitive. Effective management decision-making is aided by informed research which is all about evaluating the current situation on a particular issue and identifying and determining potential future actions that are required to improve or enhance the position.Information is critical to any organisation and will enable you to
  • Plot trends
  • Analyse customer requirements
  • Assess how well other organisations are doing (act as a comparator)
  • Make better informed decisions
  • Evaluate performance
  • Operate within the law
  • Update policies and procedures
Informed research can be seen as a systematic and methodical process of enquiry and investigation that provides insights into a particular issue in order to make informed decisions about actions to take.
Types of decisions within organisations can be Strategic– focusing on the long term direction in terms of the scope of its products / services and the geographic markets in which the organisation operatesTactical– focusing on maintaining competitive advantage or increasing client numbers. For example changes in prices or new ways of getting the product / service to the consumer.Operational– focusing on the day-to-day decisions that will enhance efficiency and effectiveness within the organisation, for example the introduction of new HR Information System
The more informed the decisions are the more likely the organisation is to be successful in its pursuit of achieving client value and organisational objectives.
You have already looked in depth at the decision making process in the first Unit, review the different models you identified to recap on your previous learning (this will help you later in this Unit)
Any decision you make as an HR professional will require some form of analysis and collation of information to ensure that your decisions are informed and where possible backed up with evidence of success. General business information that can aid decision-making includes:
  • Analysis of sales / market share
  • Analysis of client requirements
  • Buying trends
  • External analysis of key factors (e.g. PEST, PESTLE,SWOT)
  • Financial and investment appraisal
  • Demographic trends – in terms of client and staff supply

Follow the link to see how Google use data driven decision making within their company
From an HR perspective Information about employees is an essential requirement for the successful operation of any business. Management need to know what is happening to the human resources available to them, just as much as to the financial and material resources’ Put simply, information facilitates planning, monitoring and decision making in the organisation and to meet external requirements such as the provision of statistics to Government agencies. (Cole, G.A. (1997) Strategic Management Theory and Practice Kogan Page)
An effective HR practitioner will compare and contrast data from different sources and publications and determine how this data can aid further research and decision-making.
Open the presentation and complete the activity, you will need to send your findings to your course tutor and await their feedback and to agree your next target
The difference between primary and second research collection is that primary research data collection involves conducting research oneself, or using the data for the purpose it was intended for. Secondary research data, on the other hand, was collected by a third party or for some other purpose.
Primary data can be collected by someone in the organisation. This person has to have a clear plan for conducting research, including specific research questions and methodology. The data that is collected is used for its intended purpose.
Secondary data might actually be the product of other research, or might have been collected by someone else. Unlike primary data, secondary data is not tightly controlled by the researcher. The process has already happened, or the data was collected for a different purpose. have a look at some questions and answers about primary and secondary data then read the case study to help you to put the issues into an organisational context.

Secondary data
A great deal of this information can be accessed on-line which allows for ease of access, speed / flexibility, current up to date reports, cross-disciplinary searching (subject areas within the same database), ability to identify further research and / or correlations.On-line information provides a great deal of additional opinions and views in various media formats including blogs, podcasts and RSS feeds.
As well as investigating issues, research can provide solutions, generate new ideas and help create new ways of working. For example an organisation might identify that its recruitment and selection processes do not help the organisation to recruit the right type of people to the organisation. By conducting informed research on this issue the organisation can identify the current issues and problems with the recruitment and selection processes and identify workable solutions based on the views of key stakeholders and further research of good practice within this field.
Research aims to generate ideas and provides the effective practitioner, to some extent, to test how these ideas can be implemented in reality.
Research design can be based on a philosophy of positivism or phenomenology. While positivism involves research that is focused on observed facts, phenomenology looks at the meaning of a certain issue or phenomena where the aim of a researcher is to analyse the sources to develop meaning. Additionally research can be:
  • Explorative– this is new research that looks for patterns, trends and new ideas. Techniques used: case studies, surveys, observation
  • Descriptive– describes a current issue. Techniques used: questionnaires, surveys and focus groups
  • Analytical– expands on descriptive research and tries to determine reasons for the issue occurring through measurement
  • Predictive– goes one step further and looks at the likelihood of an issue occurring in another situation / scenario
The actual planning of the research involves:
  • Identifying a particular area of research
  • Identifying the aims and objectives of the research
  • Identifying outcomes to the research issue
  • Scoping the size of the research
  • Formulating research questions
  • Formulating the methodology (i.e. how will the research be conducted)
  • Identifying sources for the research (primary or secondary)
  • Analysing the key stakeholders, their needs / concerns and how these will be managed
  • Identifying barriers (e.g. low response rate from questionnaires) and how to overcome these
  • Formulating a plan as to how the research will be communicated and presented to key stakeholders

Activity 2

Learning outcomes 4, 2 Assessment criteria: 4.2 2.1 (Identify an area of HR practice for investigation, and give reason for your choice (the business driver that has made you “curious” to investigate something)

(This activity should take you about an hour)

Taken from the assessment brief: 4.1
“Your CEO has asked each departmental head to undertake a critical review of their systems, processes and practices as part of a major organisational change agenda. You have been asked to review an area of HR/business practice and present a business report to key stakeholders with recommendations for improving practice. To provide the basis for your report, you have been asked to conduct a critical review of information sources relevant to the area of practice. You should:
  • Select an area of HR/business practice and give the reason for your choice”
Think about the area of HR/business practice you are going to select as the basis for your report. Some suggestions for you:
Improving Sickness absence
Employee Engagement
Management Development
Flexible working policies
Performance management systems
Send your choice to your personal tutor for their comment and ask them if they can suggest any research areas you could start to look at. Set your next target date.
When determining the research area a number of factors can be taken into account to aid the you in identifying an area:
  • Views of stakeholders on what the key issues are
  • Analysis of organisational surveys to identify key issues
  • Evaluation of reports / documents e.g. training evaluation
  • New legislation
  • Key business objectives or future strategies
Reading up to date news and specialised professional journals e.g. good practice may be identified that can be transferred.
Tools and models such as mind-mapping, fish-bone analysis and force field analysis enable the researcher to identify key issues and the causes of these. In addition these can help the researcher develop clusters and ideas from a broad starting point and provide further focus for a research area. Undertaking research will involve:
  • Determining the subject area
  • Identifying key sources
  • Examining good practice
  • Collecting and analysing the data
  • Putting in place the proposal

Activity3

Learning outcomes: 2

(This activity should take you about 5 hours in total)

LO2: Be able to conduct a critical review of information sources in an area of HR/business practice and analyse the findings
2.2 Conduct a critical review of different information sourcesrelevant to the chosen area of HR/business practice
You have now selected your topic of investigation and you need to start to do some research on that topic:
(Taken from the assessment brief 2.2, 1.1, 3.1)
  • Undertake a critical review of different information sources (at least three) e.g. research digests, academic and professional literature, online databases, key texts relevant to the selected area of practice.
Start to do some investigations around the topic yourself for example have a look in your Essential reading text book, what does Armstrong have to say about your area of investigation. Check out the CIPD website – what are the latest reports/findings/surveys around your chosen research area? What about ACAS, Directgov.uk, google, Managers.org.uk?
  • In your write up of the literature review you should explain why you selected that particular source and highlight some of the different research approaches adopted by the authors and comment on the advantages and disadvantages of these different approaches.
  • Draw meaningful conclusions from the review of the different information sources.
It is important to identify areas of good practice in your chosen research area. This will enable you to identify end results and possibilities as to what can be implemented and add value. This will additionally add substance to your proposal when trying to convince key stakeholders who may invest time and resources into the proposal of the benefits of the research and the return on investment (ROI)
Good practice can be obtained from case studies, research within professional journals, and networking with fellow professionals. Networking should enhance the quality and quantity of information received to aid decision-making.A good example of good practice from a case study could be highlighted, for example, read this case study about how Employee Engagement strategies have helped HMG paints to grow and meet organisational strategies. If this were your topic of investigation you would highlight good practice and reference the case study, this would provide evidence for you, don’t forget you will need to reference your source. Now think about the literature you are using for your report…….and what this means…..
A literature review (including analysis of professional reports) is an essential aspect of research. An awareness of what has been researched on a particular subject area will provide the researcher with reference points and signposts to further research (for example references used in the articles / bibliography).
You need to be careful of the fact that when researching a subject area, unless you refine your research requirements a number ofissuescould arise. When determining how appropriate the research / literature is you need to consider:
  • Relevance
  • The purpose of the research article / text
  • Outcomes of the research article / text
  • Supporting arguments
  • Generation of new ideas / perspectives
  • Clarity and persuasiveness of the article / text
Data collated can be in the form of quantitative data (measuring statistical information) or qualitative (analysis of themes and patterns) As we previously identified Quantitative data involves collecting, analysing and interpreting information then using the information to develop further deeper statistical analysis. Qualitative data can put the information in a nominal form such as words, images and surveys. For example, a report that aims to analyse the impact of sickness absence and solutions may use the following types of quantitative information:
  • Statistical benchmarking with other organisations
  • Statistical benchmarking across the functions / departments
  • Statistical benchmarking in comparison with previous months / years
  • Adoption of a scoring system (e.g. the Bradford Factor) to determine sickness scoring amongst individual
  • Analysis of instances in order to determine trends and underlying issues
  • Providing detailed financial analysis of costs
  • Return on investment analysis in terms of improvements in rates following the implementation of a new process / system
  • Surveys to gather staff views and ideas summarised into percentage terms
Quantitative data is more user friendly when presenting the information or highlighting key issues to enhance the business case (in terms of accessible figures, tables and graphs or charts).
Qualitative information can aid research through:
  • Providing more in-depth analysis of a research area
  • Ascertaining more detailed views and feedback from key stakeholders
  • Making sense of the figures and gaining deeper insights into a subject area to aid decision-making
  • Enhancing credibility and the substance of the business case when trying to convince key stakeholders of a future course of action
  • Gaining further insights into the reasons for particular areas of concern / improvement
  • Obtaining a solutions focus to key issues e.g. feedback from key stakeholders following an interview
  • Determining the reasons / rationale to certain statistical analysis
  • Gaining deeper insights on good practices, the processes and how the outcomes are achieved
Qualitative and quantitative information used collectively will add substance to the research and enable deeper insights into a subject area. This in turn can add substance to the business case, the reasons as to why certain issues occur and the solutions to these.
The information received, no matter what the source is, should be critically evaluated to prevent misinformed conclusions from being made which may impact on effective, reliable and valid decision-making. Critical evaluation is about making informed judgements about the reliability and validity of a particular research text / article. Key factors to determine when critically evaluating research include:
  • Detail and comprehensiveness of the research
  • Qualifications, experience and track record of the author
  • Is it a known source? – e.g. Wiki is not a known source
  • The extent to which a representative sample has been used
  • Currency (how up to date is the research)
  • Gaps in the research (has there been other research not included)
  • Is there a range of balanced arguments that test the objectives of the research?
  • Have full and valid conclusions been determined?
  • Have all factors been taken into account?
Interviews can enable you to obtain deeper insights into an issue including attitudes and feelings. Interviews can be:
  • Structured– clear objectives and questions linked to the research
  • Unstructured– no questions prepared and individual speaks freely
  • Semi-structured– some questions identified but individuals are free to develop further views, ideas and feelings
Questionnaires gather both facts and opinions on a particular subject area or areas. The data is collected and analysed systematically. Effective questionnaires:
  • Provide clear questions
  • Highlight key issues
  • Avoid asking multiple or leading questions
  • Provide codes to ease analysis
  • Start with factual questions
  • Surveys use a combination of questionnaires and interviews and obtain information from a defined population of people.

Open the questionnaire documentabove and complete the activity, highlightthe problems you have identified. This well help you to design the questionnaire you are going to send out to help you to collect the information you need to gather facts and opinions on your chosen topic. Send your own questionnaire to your personal tutor before you send this, he/she will comment on the content and set your next target date.
Now you have designed your questionnaire some factors to consider now are who is your target audience, what is your population sample, how will you distribute. Do some research yourself on questionnaire and best practice when designing and issuing questionnaires.

Activity 5