Assignment Brief
Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Leadership and Management
Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria
LO1 Explain the impact of the role of HRM in creating sustainable organisational performance and contributing to business success.
Keywords for students Guide:
- Apply
Put into operation or use.
- Create/Construct
Use skills to make or do something, for example a display or set of accounts.
- Compare
Identify the main factors relating to two or more items/situations or aspects of a subject that are extended to explain the similarities, differences, advantages and disadvantages. This is used to show depth of knowledge through a section of characteristics.
- Critically Evaluate
Make a judgement, taking into account different factors and using available knowledge/experience/evidence where the judgement is supported in depth.
- Determine
Find out, decide, e.g. what is relevant. To find a solution by following a set of procedures or to obtain a numerical value by carrying out a series of calculations.
- Devise
Plan or create something complex through careful planning thought.
- Discuss
Consider different aspects of a theme or topic, how they interrelate and the extent to which they are important.
- Evaluate
Work draws on varied information, themes or concepts to consider aspects, such as: strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages, alternative actions, relevance or significance. This should lead to a supported judgement, showing relationships to its contact. This will often be a conclusion.
- Examine
Gather information, scrutinise and draw conclusions based on the findings, to gain a deeper understanding.
- Explain
Give an account of the purposes or reasons.
- Illustrate
Make clear by using examples or providing diagrams.
- Investigate
Conduct an inquiry or study into something to discover and examine facts and information.
- Review
Make a formal assessment of work produced.
LO2 Produce a workforce action plan for recruiting and retaining talent to address skills shortages in an organisation.
Recommended Resources
Please note that the resources listed are examples for you to use as a starting point in your research – the list is not definitive.
Textbooks
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2023) Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 16th Ed. London: Kogan Page.
Leatherbarrow, C. and Fletcher, J. (2018) Introduction to Human Resource Management. 4th Ed. London: CIPD and Kogan Page.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R. and Kynighou, A. (2020) Human Resource Management at Work: The Definitive Guide. 7th Ed. London: CIPD and Kogan Page.
Torrington, D., Hall, L., Atkinson, C. and Taylor, S. (2020) Human Resource Management. 11th Ed. London: Pearson.
Textbooks accessible online
Itika, J.S., 2011. Fundamentals of human resource management. African Studies Centre. Available at, https://sdm.ac.in/elibrary/bitstream/handle/123456789/1170/Fundamentals%20of%20HRM%20-%20Joseph.pdf?sequence=1
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2006. Human resource management practice. Distributed Computing (10th ed.). https://doi. org/10.1002/9781118802717. Available at, http://elib.vku.udn.vn/bitstream/123456789/3376/1/2006.%20A%20Handbook%20of%20Human%20Resource%20Management%20Practice%20%2810th%20Edition%29.pdf
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong`s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice: Edition 13. Kogan page. https://shorturl.at/IAxkQ
Websites
www.cipd.co.ukChartered Institute of Personnel and Development
www.hr-guide.comHR-Guide
www.personneltoday.comPersonnel Today “Topics” and “Webinars”
www.shrm.orgSociety for Human Resource Management
Assignment Brief
Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Leadership and ManagementUnit Number and Title Unit 3 Management of Human ResourcesAcademic Term Sep 2025 – Dec 2025Assessor Name Noor ul AinIV Name Corina SavaIssue Date 15/09/2025Formative Feedback 20/10/2025 – 16/11/2025Submission Date 05/12/2025Submission Format Report, Job AdvertisementSubmission FormatThe submission is in the form of an individual report.● All your work must be appropriately referenced using the Harvard referencingsystem. Please also provide a bibliography using this system.● The report should be in a formal business style using 1.5 pt spacing.● Use formal fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial, and Open Sans. The font sizemust be at least 12pt, and all the content must be appropriately aligned.● All figures, graphs, and tables must be numbered.● The recommended word limit is 4000 words, +-10%.● Turnitin similarities (including AI) should not exceed 20%.● Avoid the use of AI-generated content in your report.● Try incorporating a good mix of academic and web-based sources into your write-up. Online sites such as Wikipedia, MindTools, CourseHero, etc., are unsuitableacademic writing sources.LO1 Explain the impact of the role of HRM in creating sustainable organisationalperformance and contributing to business success.Transferable skills and competencies developed● Communication skills● Research skills● Organisation skills● Technical skillsVocational scenarioJohn Lewis Partnership (JLP)—the UK’s largest employee-owned retailer operating JohnLewis and Waitrose—is recognised for its ethics and sustainability commitments andinvests substantially in apprenticeship pathways across retail, distribution, data &
analytics, HR, finance, and leadership. You have been appointed as an HR Apprentice atJLP (or a comparable UK employer with strong ethical credentials). During your first twomonths, your HR Manager will assess your grasp of HR roles andresponsibilities—covering workforce planning, recruitment and selection, learning anddevelopment, reward, employee relations, equality, diversity and inclusion, and health,safety and wellbeing—within a values-driven retail context. You are required to submit aprofessional report demonstrating how core HRM practices underpin capability buildingand early-careers development, explicitly aligning recommendations to the Partnership’spurpose and ethics & sustainability strategy.Assignment activity and guidance● Explain the main areas of HRM and how some of these areas contribute to creatingsustainable performance (i) . You may want to compare the contribution of thoseareas in creating sustainable performance.● In the context of John Lewis Partnership (or any other organisation of your choice),review the effects of the changing nature of organisations (such as work fromhome, workforce diversity, use of technology etc) on the skills and knowledge ofhuman resources. (ii) Furthermore, examine HRM in relation to the changing natureof HR operations in John Lewis Partnership (or any other organisation of yourchoice).LO2 Produce a workforce action plan for recruiting and retaining talent to address skillsshortages in an organisation.Vocational ScenarioJohn Lewis Partnership (JLP)—the UK’s largest employee-owned retailer—has committedto reaching net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions in its own operations by 2035 and acrossits value chain by 2050 in service of its purpose, Working in Partnership for a happier world(John Lewis Partnership, n.d.; 2024a). JLP frames this transition as creating long-term valuefor customers, Partners (employees), suppliers and communities, and anchoring decisionsin Partnership principles of fairness, honesty and respect (John Lewis Partnership, 2025).However, achieving net-zero will be challenging as many retailers and consumer-goodsfirms pursue similar goals, intensifying competition for “green” skills. UK evidenceindicates rising demand for sustainability-related capabilities, creating supply constraintsthat may affect recruitment and retention. For JLP’s HR function, this implies pressure toattract and develop talent in areas such as low-carbon logistics and fleet electrification,sustainable sourcing and farming practices, refrigeration and energy management, carbonaccounting/data analytics, and change leadership—capabilities that the green HRMliterature links to improved sustainability performance. In response, the PartnershipBoard has asked the HR Director to take proactive measures—strategic workforceplanning, apprenticeships and reskilling pathways, targeted employer branding, and
partnerships with FE/HE providers—to mitigate talent bottlenecks and sustain progresstoward net-zero.Assignment activity and guidanceYou have been promoted to HR Manager at the John Lewis Partnership after successfullycompleting your probation. Your HR Director has shared the Partnership’s long-termsustainability vision and asked you to recommend proactive workforce measures toenable delivery. In essence, you are required to produce a concise HR workforce actionplan that outlines priority initiatives (e.g., apprenticeships, targeted recruitment,reskilling/upskilling), with detailed strategies, timeframes, frequency, clear KPIs,implementation and evaluation.● Develop a workforce action plan that will help John Lewis Partnership (or anyother organisation of your choice) acquire and retain the relevant staff withrelevant skills to bridge the skills gaps for such hard-to-fill vacancies for recruitingand retaining talent. (iii) Subsequently, a strategic workforce action plan can bedevised to help improve recruitment and retention in relation to the importance ofthe labour market.● Support your suggested approaches for recruitment and retention conducting theircritical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of HRM in relation to creating asustainable workforce action plan.LO3 Examine how external and internal factors can affect HRM decision-making in relationto organisational development.Transferable skills and competencies developed● Communication skills● Research skills● Analytical skills● Organisation skills● Technical skills● Strategic thinking skillsVocational scenarioAs part of your role at the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), you are required to conduct anaudit of the external and internal factors that could affect HR’s ability to support thePartnership’s 2050 vision. The HR Director emphasises that a thorough, evidence-informed scan will help the function anticipate challenges and avoid costly missteps—suchas adopting ineffective motivation practices or failing to use culturally appropriateapproaches—that could undermine engagement and damage the Partnership’sreputation.Assignment activity and guidance
You, as a HR manager, are required to scan internal and external environment and write areport that:● Investigates both the external factors (such as regulatory conditions, labour forcetrends, and diversity) and internal factors (such as the influence of leadershipstyles, culture, and employee experience) that affect HRM decision-making insupporting organisational development. (iv) While doing so, use relevant examplesfrom John Lewis Partnership (or an organisation of your choice) to illustrate howthese key external and internal factors support organisational development.● Evaluate key factors affecting HRM decision-making and provide validrecommendations to support HRM decision-making for John Lewis Partnership orany other organisation of your choice.LO4-Apply HRM practices in a work-related context for improving sustainableorganisational performance.Transferable skills and competencies developed● Communication skills● Research skills● Analytical skills● Organisation skills● Technical skills● Strategic thinking skills● Interpersonal skills● Leadership skillsVocational scenarioThe Marketing Manager at the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) is due to resign in two months.He has served JLP for the past five years, during which the scope and competencies of therole have evolved substantially. The job advertisement currently held in the JLP HRrepository is outdated and no longer reflects the role’s present responsibilities, requiredcapabilities, or market expectations.Assignment activity and guidanceYour line manager has asked you to research the current information with regards to jobdescription, person specification and other relevant information. Using the information,he has requested you to:● Prepare a job advertisement as evidence of the application of HR practices. The jobadvertisement should cover following mandatory areas:o Company Profileo Overview of the roleo Job Descriptiono Person Specification
o Salary and Benefitso Application process and deadline (v)● Furthermore, explain how this job advertisement will improve sustainableorganisational performance within a work-related context such as John LewisPartnership or any other organisation of your choice.● Determine the strengths and weaknesses of HRM practices (specifically the onesapplied w