Assignment front sheet - ATHE

Qualification Unit number and title

ATHE L4 Extended Diploma in Management (240

Unit 4.60 and Resource Management
Credit)
Learner name Learner No Assessor name

Dr. Indranil Bose

Date issued Hand in deadline Submitted on

First Submission 30th June, 2020 04th August, 2020

Re-Submission 18th August, 2020 31st August, 2020

Note: students must get feedback within 15 days. Students have 10 working days to resubmit

Assignment No. & title 1 of 1 – Report on effective resource utilisation in business

In this assessment you will have opportunities to provide evidence against the following criteria.
Indicate the page numbers where the evidence can be found.

Eviden
Criteria To achieve the criteria the evidence must show Task
LOs ce/Pag
reference that the learner is able to: no. e No.

Analyse the differing resource requirements of

LO1: 1.1 1
Understand organisations in different sectors of the economy
the key Explain the importance of resource management
features of 1.2 1
and how this is achieved
resource
management Evaluate internal and external factors which
1D1 1
impact on resource management
Evaluate how the use of physical resources is
2.1 2
monitored and managed
LO2: Evaluate the measures to reduce the impact of
Understand 2.2 2
the
resource wastage
importance of Assess the costs of high profile technological
the 2.3 2
failures
effective use
of physical Assess the business case for the use of ethical
2.4 2
resources and sustainable resources
Evaluate recent cases of resource wastage and
2M1 how waste could be used as a resource, using 2
examples
 Assess the need for human resource planning in
LO3: 3.1 3
the workplace

Understand
how to use
human
resources
effectively
Evaluate the methods used to monitor employee
3.2 3
performance

Assess the effectiveness of reward systems in

3.3 3
different contexts

Evaluate the impact of employee engagement in

3D1 3
an organisation

LO4: Explain the data needed to review and make

4.1 4
judgements on employee performance
Be able to
review the
effective
use of
Explain the data needed to review and make
resources 4.2
judgements on the utilisation of physical resources
4

Evaluate how resource management practices have

4M1 contributed to business success or failure, using 4
examples.

Learner declaration

I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own. I have clearly referenced any
sources used in the work. I understand that false declaration is a form of malpractice.

Learner signature: Date:

Assignment brief

Qualification ATHE L4 Extended Diploma in Management (240 Credit)

Unit number and title Unit 4.60 and Resource Management

Assessor name Dr. Indranil Bose

Date issued Hand in Submitted on

deadline

First Submission 30th June, 2020 04th August,

2020
31st August,
Re-Submission 18th August, 2020
2020

Note: students must get feedback within 15 days. Students have 10 working days to resubmit

Assignment No. & Title 1 of 1 – Report on effective resource utilisation in business

Scenario:

You are employed as a researcher for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK.
Funding has been provided for a study of resource management in organisations. The aim is to compare
the management of physical and human resources in different sectors.
Your role is to carry out research into profiled organisations representing different sectors. You will then
choose a specific organisation to carry out further research.
You will present your research findings in a report.
You will find brief profiles of three businesses in Appendix 1 and a more detailed analysis of an
organisation in Appendix 2. In order to ensure your report is comprehensive you will need to carry out
supplementary research into similar businesses in these sectors to ensure you provide detailed findings.

Task 1:

In the first part of your report you must:

• analyse the differing resource requirements of the three profiled businesses in different
sectors. (AC 1.1)
• explain the importance of resource management and how this is achieved within
organisations. (AC 1.2)

Distinction task:

To achieve a Distinction you must:

Evaluate internal and external factors which impact on resource management. (AC 1D1)

[ This provides evidence for LO1 ]

Task 2:

In this part of the report, you should explain the importance of the effective use of physical
resources by providing:
• an evaluation of how the use of physical resources is monitored and managed
• an evaluation of the measures to reduce the impact of resource wastage
• an assessment of the costs of high profile technological failures
• an assessment of the business case for the use of ethical and sustainable resources.

You should give examples from each sector that relate to the organisations profiled.
(AC 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4).

Merit task

To achieve a Merit you must:

Evaluate recent high-profile cases of resource wastage and their impacts (AC2M1).

[This provides evidence for LO2]

Task 3:

Referring to the profiled businesses or similar organisations, provide a section in the report on
how to use human resources effectively.
Include:
• an assessment of the need for human resource planning in the workplace
• an evaluation of the methods used to monitor and improve employee performance
• an assessment of the effectiveness of reward systems in different contexts.
(AC 3.1, 3.2, 3.3).

Distinction task

To achieve a Distinction you must:

Evaluate the impact of employee engagement in an organisation you have researched (AC
3D1)

[ This provides evidence for LO3]

Task 4:

For this section of your report, you will need to explain the data required to make judgements
on the effective use of human and physical resources. You can use the case study provided in
Appendix 2 to assist you. When using the case study you must ensure that you utilise all of
the information provided.
In this section of the report, you will:
• Explain the data needed to review and make judgements on employee performance
• Explain the data needed to review and make judgements on the utilisation of physical
resources.

(AC 4.1, 4.2).

Merit task
To achieve a Merit you must:
Use examples to evaluate how resource management practices have contributed to business
success or failure (AC 4M1)

[This provides evidence for LO4]

Guidelines for assessors

Work submitted by learners must achieve the learning outcomes and meet the standards
specified by the assessment criteria for the unit. To achieve a merit or distinction grade, the
learners must demonstrate that they have achieved all the criteria set for these grades. Where
work for the pass standard is marginal, assessors can take account of any extension work
completed by the learners. The suggested evidence listed below is how learners can
demonstrate that they have met the required standards.

Task number Learning outcomes and assessment criteria Suggested evidence

1. LO1: AC1.1, 1.2, 1D1

In this section of the written report the learner must provide a thorough analysis of resource
requirements related to businesses in different sectors of the economy. Learners can refer to
the case studies provided but they should exemplify their work by using examples from other
organisations to demonstrate understanding required by the LO.
Distinction candidates will evaluate a range of internal and external factors impacting on
resource management. The evaluation should consider the factors in turn and their impact on
organisations. The evaluation should lead to judgements

2. LO2: AC 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4,2.5, 2.6, 2D1

The evaluation should clearly show how the use of physical resources is monitored and
managed. The learner must use examples to illustrate their understanding of this topic. The
evaluation of measures to reduce resource wastage should include the impact on businesses
and the wider environment. The assessment must make use of current examples of high
profile technological failures and in addition there must be a full assessment of the range of
different costs involved in failure. The business case should include a range of different
benefits. Examples should be used to demonstrate understanding of this issue.
The work for the Merit standard must be a balanced evaluation of recent high profile cases of
resource wastage and this should lead to realistic proposals for how waste can be used as a
resource. The learner should use examples to illustrate the points which are made.

3 LO3 : AC 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3D1

In this section of the report the learner should demonstrate their understanding of maximising
the effectiveness of resource management. Their assessment of human resource planning
must clearly show its importance for business effectiveness. A number of motivational theories
should be referred to. A range of methods to monitor employee performance must be included
and the evaluation must show the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches.
There must be an assessment of the impact of different reward systems in differing contexts
and judgements made on their effectiveness.
A Distinction candidate will evaluate how employee engagement can impact on an
organisation, both positively and negatively.

4 LO4: AC 4.1, 4.2,4M1

In this section of the report, the learner will provide a detailed explanation of the data needed
to make judgements on employee performance and the utilisation of physical resources. The
learner may use the case study provided or alternative information which has been
researched.
Merit candidates will extend their work and evaluate the application of resource management
practices and their contribution to business success or failure. The learner must refer to
named examples.
Suggested Evidence

Task number Learning outcomes and Suggested evidence

assessment criteria
1. LO1 In this section of the written report the learner must
AC1.1, 1.2, provide a thorough analysis of resource
1D1 requirements related to businesses in different
sectors of the economy. Learners can refer to the
case studies provided but they should exemplify
their work by using examples from other
organisations to demonstrate understanding
required by the LO.
Distinction candidates will evaluate a range of
internal and external factors impacting on resource
management. The evaluation should consider the
factors in turn and their impact on organisations.
The evaluation should lead to judgements
2. LO2 The evaluation should clearly show how the
AC 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, use of physical resources is monitored and
2.5, 2.6 managed. The learner must use examples to
illustrate their understanding of this topic. The
2D1 evaluation of measures to reduce resource wastage
should include the impact on businesses and the
wider environment. The assessment must make
use of current examples of high profile
technological failures and in addition there must be
a full assessment of the range of different costs
involved in failure. The business case should
include a range of different benefits. Examples
should be used to demonstrate understanding of
this issue.
The work for the Merit standard must be a balanced
evaluation of recent high profile cases of resource
wastage and this should lead to realistic proposals
for how waste can be used as a resource. The
learner should use examples to illustrate the points
which are made.
3 LO3 In this section of the report the learner should
AC 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, demonstrate their understanding of maximising the
3D1 effectiveness of resource management. Their
assessment of human resource planning must
clearly show its importance for business
effectiveness. A number of motivational theories
should be referred to. A range of methods to
monitor employee performance must be included
and the evaluation must show the strengths and
weaknesses of the different approaches. There
must be an assessment of the impact of different
reward systems in differing contexts and
judgements made on their effectiveness.
A Distinction candidate will evaluate how employee
engagement can impact on an organisation, both
positively and negatively.

4 LO4 In this section of the report, the learner will provide

AC 4.1, 4.2, a detailed explanation of the data needed to make
4M1 judgements on employee performance and the
utilisation of physical resources. The learner may
use the case study provided or alternative
information which has been researched.
Merit candidates will extend their work and
evaluate the application of resource management
practices and their contribution to business success
 or failure. The learner must refer to named
examples.

Appendix 1

Business 1 is an agricultural business in the primary sector.

‘Stems’ is a family business based on the concept of ‘pick your own produce’. Four family members are
permanent employees of the company and seasonal workers are hired as needed. Some of the seasonal
workers are students who need accommodation and this is provided on site in a number of wooden lodges
and caravans.
The season lasts from June to October. The main crop is strawberries but there are 20 crops in all and
the family is hoping to expand on this range. The crops cover 50 acres. Facilities are provided to attract
customers and these include car parking, toilets, baskets/ boxes for the picked crops, a shop with snacks
and drinks and a picnic area.
The farm has its own reservoir to provide water for irrigation. A series of drains and filters carry the
water to the crops.
A new development has been to make picking easier by growing plants in troughs filled with peat. The
troughs are supported by a steel structure. This gives the troughs height so that customers do not have to
bend to pick the crops. It also reduces crop damage from pests such as slugs and woodlice.
Business 2 is an engineering business in the secondary sector.
AluPan is a private limited company run by two friends and business partners. The business consists of a
factory manufacturing lightweight panel systems for ships, planes and rail cars. The panels are made of
aluminium.
The factory relies on lightweight panel technology and specialist machinery. There are 10 factory staff
who provide the necessary labour. They are relatively unskilled and can be quickly trained in the factory
process. In addition the company employs 3 administration staff who answer the telephone, deal with
initial queries and invoicing using systems set up on the computers in the office. Sales are handled by the
partners.
Business 3 is a call centre operating in the tertiary sector on a 24/7, 365 days a year basis.
Spirus provides a professional telephone answering service for a range of organisations.
The centre employs 100 telephonists who each require 2 weeks training to be fully operational and some
staff who are dealing with emergency issues for organisations have additional training.
The business is heavily dependent on technology using:
• callscriptor software which creates scripts for agents
• web based technology which uses a client’s database on the call centre’s server
• an interactive voice response system with a menu of options, messages and music
• call recording

Appendix 2

A case study for International Meducare

Context
International Meducare is a not for profit, voluntary organisation operating in the tertiary sector, which
exists to provide global and humanitarian aid in order to support individuals, relieve their suffering and
save lives. The head office is based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The organisation moves quickly in an
emergency situation, liaising with other aid agencies, so that people in need can be reached swiftly. In
addition a key focus of the aid is to provide training to the indigenous population, where the problems
exist, so that the initial intervention is sustained and self-reliance is developed.
The training provided can be varied. Depending on the need it can focus on re-establishing health care
systems, improving farming techniques, working with local people to build irrigation networks or drainage
systems, developing craft production networks or funding bursaries for aspiring entrepreneurs and
managers. In carrying out this work International Meducare will work with the local communities their
leaders and politicians.
International Meducare is committed to ensuring that all the work of its staff both in the head office and
in the programmes themselves is of the highest quality. The work of individual staff is carefully
monitored and each relief programme has built-in monitoring and evaluation processes, so that the
organisation can learn from what has worked well, whilst also identifying the areas for development. In
these monitoring and evaluation processes the organisation also ensures that the deployment of all
physical resources including medicines is managed, so that they are cost effective and performance
measures and procedures are in place.
International Meducare aims to work openly, be transparent with stakeholders and be accountable for
everything it does. The organisation works to the voluntary, self-monitoring Code of Conduct for the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief. International Meducare
also pledges to work to the Sphere Project – Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster
Response.
In recent years International Meducare has sold on-line some of the craft products produced by people in
the countries where the organisation is working. There is also merchandise including an annual calendar
and Meducare tee shirts, caps and flip flops.
Resources
Given its purpose, International Meducare is labour intensive and the physical resources needed are broad
ranging and can be expensive, particularly where medicines are required. These are often needed in
volume and at short notice. Meducare has a distribution centre to the north of Cambridge near the
motorway and main road networks. This centre has stocks of items such as blankets, tents, dried food
and non-perishable medical supplies. There are monthly stock takes of all items and the data is used to
predict how well the organisation is prepared to deal with an emergency situation. Information from the
stock take is analysed by the Logistics Department and decisions about additional supplies are taken
there. Managers who have responsibility for specific and planned international initiatives have authority
to access the materials held at the distribution centre and items used are charged to their individual
delegated budgets.
Staff at International Meducare are employed in a full time or part time capacity and there are also
volunteers. There are 2,100 staff in total who are currently working in 19 countries but this number
increases when there is an emergency as more part time staff and volunteers are recruited. Staffing at
the head office in Cambridge is 25. These posts are focussed on management positions at a strategic and
operational level, so there is an overview of all the current programmes. Some staff focus purely on
logistics and responding to any new emergencies.
Appointing, training and monitoring the performance of these staff is key to successful operation of the
organisation and the individual projects. All staff participate in an induction programme which includes
job role specific elements. In addition staff have monthly one to one meetings with line managers and
there are formal appraisal processes. All of these meetings are based on qualitative and quantitative
evidence and directly relate to the job role in general and specific tasks and/or projects which have
taken place in the recent time period. The meetings lead to project and personal learning and
development targets as appropriate to the individuals concerned.
Managing the income and costs associated with the work at Meducare is critical. Budget holders are
responsible for managing the spend on their delegated budgets with sign-off limits set for different
management levels. This means that anything of significant cost must be agreed with the CEO for the
organisation. Monthly management accounts are produced by the Finance Department and these are sent
to budget holders irrespective of where they are working in the world.
In preparation for a round of appraisal interviews the Head of HR has generated some information for
staff, which is attached.
Aspects of International Work
Meducare’s main in-country projects in recent years have been varied. Two examples have been working
on issues regarding water and sanitation and gender based violence. All charities are challenged to
demonstrate the difference that is made in real terms and the impact of their work and this is also the
case for Meducare.
The KPIs for these initiatives were:
1. The number of countries where work has taken place.
2. The total number of projects.
3. The number of local people trained.
4. The number of Meducare people involved in the intervention.
5. The cost per head of training for local people and Meducare field staff.
6. Cost of production for information materials associated with the projects.
7. Cost of waste of unused information materials.
8. Cost of water treatment chemicals.
9. Cost of materials for drilling wells and managing the flow of water.
10. Money spent on chemicals for dealing with human waste.
11. Reduction in the number of cases of disease caused by poor water and sanitation.
12. Reduction in cases of gender violence over a 12 month period.
13. The proportion of income spent on head office administration and salaries in comparison to total
income.
14. The number of self-help projects emerging from the original intervention.
15. The profit gained from sales merchandise.
However KPIs will not necessarily show how good or bad the work has been and this needs full
consideration, in order to fully understand the impact and sustainability of the intervention.

KPIs for water Financial Year Financial Year

sanitation 2015-2016 2016-2017
projects
Planned Achieved Planned Achieved
1 6 4 8 9
2 30 15 40 32
3 156 78 160 124
4 30 30 26 26
5a local people £12 £12 £15 £15
5b field staff £8,000 £9,250 £9,500 £9,350
6 £2,600 £2.600 £3,000 £3,500
7 £0 £1,300 £0 £700
8 £90,000 £45,000 £140,000 £112.000
9 £120, 000 £120,000 £160, 000 £160,000
10 £60,500 £60,500 £90,200 £90,200
11 212 people 137 people 273 people 229 people
14 6 4 32 35

KPIs for gender Financial Year Financial Year

violence projects 2015-2016 2016-2017
Planned Achieved Planned Achieved
1 9 7 12 12
2 72 57 90 95
3 3,600 2,925 5,700 4,850
4 18 18 24 24
5a local people £4.50 £4.85 £4.60 £4.45
5b field staff
6 £760 £760 £1400 £1650
7 0 £160 0 0
12 459 368 678 712

Other KPIs Financial Year Financial Year

2015-2016 2016-2017
Planned Achieved Planned Achieved
13 8% 8.47% 7.9% 8.15%
15 15% 6% 15% 4.5%

To be used with Appendix 2

From: HR Department To: Appraisers

Subject: Grading on staff performance for appraisals (information strictly confidential)

Staff Role Strategic Planning and Working Management of Management Sales figures
Name thinking organisation relationships budget of people for
skills skills with allocation merchandise
stakeholders
 Mr Recruitment 4 2 2 n/a n/a n/a
White Adviser

Ms Administration n/a 3 2 n/a n/a n/a

Brun
Officer

Miss Logistics 3 3 3 3 3 n/a

Coordinator
Malik

Mr Deputy 3 1 2 2 2 n/a
Kumar Director
Recruitment
(International)

Mrs Cost and 3 3 3 n/a 3 n/a

Rowe Pricing Analyst

Mr Training 4 3 2 4 4 n/a
Manager
Oliver

Ms Web and 2 2 2 4 n/a n/a

Net Graphic
Designer

Mr Project 2 2 1 2 2 n/a
Farah Manager South
Sudan

Miss Programme 4 3 3 4 3 n/a

Linker Manager
Health, Yemen

Mr Health worker 3 2 1 n/a n/a n/a

James
Mali

Miss Fund raiser 2 2 1 2 2 n/a

Currie

Mr Trading and 4 3 2 3 3 4
Deng Merchandising
Manager

1. Outstanding performance, 2. Good performance, 3. Satisfactory performance, 4. Poor performance

Sources of information

 Adair J., 1988, Effective Leadership, Pan Books

 Adair J., 1989, Effective Time Management, Pan Books
 Foot, M and Hook, C., 2002, Introducing Human Resource Management 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall
 Hartley P.,1993, Interpersonal Communication, Routledge
 Maund L., 2003, An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice
 Mullins L., 2004, Management and Organisational Behaviour 6th Edition, Prentice Hall
 Naylor J., 2002, Introduction to Operations Management 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall,
 Oakland J. and Porter L., 2003, TQM: Text with Cases 3rd Edition, Butterworth-Heinemann,
  Price A., 2004, Human Resource Management in a Business Context 2nd Edition
 Torrington D., Hall L., and Taylor S., 2002, Human Resource Management 5th Edition, Prentice
Hall

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Properly put citations in your discussions and provide a reference list of these citations using the Harvard
Referencing Format
ASSESSMENT RECORD SHEET
Learner
Programme ATHE L4 Diploma in Business Management Learner name
No:
Unit no. & title Unit 4.60 and Resource Management Assessor name Dr. Indranil Bose

1 of 1 – Report on effective resource

Assignment No. & title Target learning aims LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
utilisation in business

1st Submission Issue Date 30th June, 2020 1st Submission Due date 04th August, 2020

Resubmission Issue Date 18th August, 2020 Resubmission Due Date 31st August, 2020

Resubmission
Date Resubmission
authorisation (Name)
authorised by LIV**
by Lead Internal Verifier*
* All resubmissions must be authorised by the Lead Internal Verifier. Only one resubmission is possible per assignment, providing:
 The learner has met initial deadlines set in the assignment, or has met an agreed deadline extension.
 The tutor considers that the learner will be able to provide improved evidence without further guidance.
 Evidence submitted for assessment has been authenticated and accompanied by a signed and dated declaration of authenticity by the learner.
**Any resubmission evidence must be submitted within 10 working days of receipt of results of assessment.
Criteria Criteria
Task Target achieved? 1st Submission tutor comment achieved? Resubmission tutor comment
No criteria (Yes / No) (Yes / No)

1st Submission Resubmission

1 1.1

1 1.2

1 1D1

2 2.1

2 2.2

2 2.3

2 2.4
 2 2M1

3 3.1

3 3.2

3 3.3

3 3D1

4 4.1

4 4.2

4 4M1

General comments (tutor) – Please comment on the quality of student work, report structure and referencing.

I certify that the evidence submitted for this assignment is the learner’s own. The learner has clearly referenced any
Assessor declaration
sources used in the work. I understand that false declaration is a form of malpractice.

Assessor signature Date

Learner comments

Learner signature Date