wrtiting assignments

8/11/2019 Wrtiting Assignments

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Writing Assignments

Why write assignments?

There are two major reasons for writing assignments.

1. Researching the assignment, thinking about the reading you undertake and

developing your own viewpoint on the subject are all valuable learning

activities in themselves

2. Assignments are a form of assessment to help establish if you are meeting

the required standards

Assignment formats.

During your CIPD course you will write a variety of assignments. Some of the

common formats you may encounter include:

Essays: these are more general in nature and require you to focus on key

professional issues and debates and to set out your own position and justify it.

Reports: addressed to the mangers in an organisation (either your own or a

case study organisation). Here you must specifically focus on the

organisation. You are expected to reach conclusions about the key issues

and make recommendations, justifying them.

Briefing papers

An article for a professional journal

A personal reflective account

Requirements:

Whatever form the assignment takes, one key aim is to test your ability to study at

level 7 therefore it is important to understand what distinguishes a good level 7

assignment from one that falls short of the standard.

The key features being sought all derive from the QAA descriptors (these are

detailed in the list of our study resources What does Level 7 study involve?).

1. Substance


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An assignment at this level should be seen as a substantial piece of workone

that you have clearly spent time researching and writing. You need to:

Address the debates and issues

Analyse some of them in depth

Set out your own views

Justify these

2. Study and evidence

At level 7 your assignments need to demonstrate that you have studied the

subject. This is why referencing is so important; it shows that you have read

widely and taken on board the evidence in the books and articles you used to

build your own arguments. Referencing demonstrates that you have read

beyond the textbooks and tracked down peer reviewed articles and other

authoritative sources of evidence.

There should be adequate evidence to support assertions you make. These

make take the form of references to previous writers, or it may be the evidence

of your own experience or your own arguments. Remember that where you refer

to others the reference must be supplied. Theory should be included where

relevant but used to help generate insights, pose questions or answer others

rather than simply regurgitated for its own sake. Remember that you should treat

the writings of others critically not simply accept them because they were

published.

As a guide we would expect around 1015 good quality references for an

assignment of around 3000 words.

3. Originality

Level 7 assignments should be evaluative not descriptive. It is not enough to

given an account of what you have read. You need to evaluate it and subject it to

some critical scrutiny. Having given an issue your full consideration in the way,

you can then use your assignment to set out your own original argument,

explaining why you reached the conclusions you did.


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Your assignment should have a coherent thread running through it, pursuing an

idea or the implications of an issue in practice. Often it is easy to amass a great

deal of material to support yourargument: but at level 7 this is not enough. You

need to present a balanced argument giving evidence against it, taking account

of counter-arguments and alternative positions, discussing either why they are

not applicable in this case, or why you find them inadequate or inappropriate.

4. Critical analysis

M level assignments are analytical and not descriptive. This does not mean that

you cant include descriptive passages but you need to restrict these. You will

only be awarded with marks for your ability to evaluate what you have read, and

to analyse the issues you are studying. As a rough guideline you should ensure

that at least 75% of what you write is analytical

By "critical" we mean that you do not take ideas for granted, but subject them to

critical examination. This sentence in itself serves as a good example. In it we

have defined a key term. Often there are different interpretations of terms and

concepts e.g. educationalists, psychologists and HR professionals all talk about

"learning". Do they mean the same thing?

You should also be exposing the potential and limitations of an idea or

perspective, and pointing to the consequences of using it as the basis for

argument or investigation.

It is easy to write about what "should", "ought" or "must" happen. But at level 7

you are expected to dig behind any self-evident truths, to expose the

assumptions behind them and to consider any potential alternatives.

Ask "why?" or "so what?" about everything

5. Justification

A good strong level 7 assignment does not just develop an original argument. It

also justifies that argument effectively. You need to use your assignments not

just to reach a conclusion or make recommendations on key professional issuesbut also to justify your position as effectively as you can.


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6. Structure

A good strong assignment is well structured and planned. Typically they will start

with a section introducing the issues or organisation, defining any key terms.

Then they briefly introduce what is going to be argued before taking the reader

through the argument stage by stage, with each key point appropriately justified.

At the end there is a conclusion and/or recommendations section typing together

the various points.

7. Presentation

When it comes to marks, content matters more than presentation. There are no

marks for making your assignment pretty (e.g. including pictures or niceborders). However, this is a professional qualification and your work should

reflect a professional standard. If you would be unhappy giving the work to your

Chief executive (from a presentation viewpoint) then you should not be handing

this in. Double check your work to ensure you have spellchecked this, that your

punctuation helps the reader makes sense of the text and that you do not fall into

jargon without defining this.

Assignments should be word processed and presented in an attractive, readable

format. Use the spell checker and make sure your written work is grammatically

correct. In particular your assignments must clearly convey what you think about

the issues. So write in good, plain and readily understood English. Keep your

sentences short and avoid using more words that are necessary to get your point

across clearly and concisely. Unless a personal account or reflection is called

for your work should be written impersonally avoiding the use of I.

Think about your reader. In most case this will be the tutor who led the module.

They do not expect to be told (at this level) what they already know or could be

reasonably expected to know. An example here is if referring to Lewins model

of change there is no need to describe in detail the three phases of this.

However, if you are bringing in material which may not be familiar, you may have

to give more description about this.


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However, more important than this is what you yourself dowith the ideas. Marking

assignments is boring unless you have something to add to what I already know,

whether it is application to/reflection on your experience, or the employment of an

original perspective on a standard problem (I like those best). Get an angleon the

material. Argue it out. At this level, the more interested I am, the more generously I

mark, and I don't think that is unprofessional.

Common errors

Being of target: This is a common error that you can easily avoid by taking care

about the way you approach wiring an assignment. Off target assignments are often

well written, well structured and well referenced but they receive poor marks

because they do not address the question or brief fully and directly In short the

student writes about what they want to rather than addressing the task set for them.

Often the assignment starts looking on target (with a full and direct answer to the

question asked) but then drifts away from the central issue as it unfolds. So make

sure you are clear in your own mind before you start writing, exactly what you arebeing asked to write about.

Collages: A collage is a label for poorly structured assignments. Parts are good and

interesting, but a poor or no structure undermines the overall effect because the

student cannot convey the mastery of the subject required at M level. In short it gives

the impression that the material is on top of you, rather than you being on top of it.

Collages are typically written when you read an article... then write a bit...then read,

Are you surprised by anything in this list? Are there any other features

you would expect to be included or any features which surprise you.


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write, read write etc. As a result there is no overall control, no plan, no real structure

pout in place Instead you are trying to link a series of points

Late take offs: Here you avoid reaching a conclusions and or developing an original

argument until close to the end. Typically the first two thirds of the assignment

consist of descriptive, scene setting paragraphs that explore aspects of the issue,

but dont convey what the student thinks or why . That only appears in the final

paragraphs by when it is too late to justify any original argument in enough length or

depth.

To avoid this trap state in your introduction what you are going to argue, and then

spend the rest of the assignment developing this argument. In other words set out

your conclusions up front and then explain how you got to them.

Rushed jobs: Studying alongside a full time job and personal life is difficult. Many

students underestimate how much time a good assignment will require and leave

writing the assignment until too late and hence end up rushing. These assignments

often answer the question directly however tend to be descriptive rather than

analytical. They do not generally convey the clear sense that you have studied the

subject. Arguments tend to be justified anecdotally and there are often just a fewreferences.

To avoid this you need to plan your time effectively

Activity. Marking assignments

In this activity you are placed in the position of a tutor marking assignments from 2

different students. There are 2 assignments to read and mark. In each case the

brief was to write a report of around 2500 words critically evaluating their

organisations approach to agility and resilience. You should note that only the

assignment, implementation plans and reference lists are included. Any other

appendices which have been referred to are not provided for you to review.


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As you read these think about the points we have looked at, the strengths and

weaknesses of each assignment. In each case award a mark in one of these

categories:

Refer: an assignment below the pass level

Pass:at or slightly above the pass level demonstrating an ability to meet the

required standard

Merit: an assignment beyond the pass level meeting and exceeding basic

expectations

Distinction:considerably exceeding expectations

Set out a brief justification for the mark you have awarded.

Please note that both students have given permission for their assignments to be

used for this purpose however have asked that the company name and any

identifying information be altered. Accordingly we have used ABC, and location

rather than company names and actual town names etc. Only the main report is

provided for you

Example One:

Introduction

An organisation must build agility and resiliency to perform effectively in the current work

environment, the purpose of this report is to evaluate my organisations approach to agility and

resilience. Within the report I will cover best practise of resilience and agility, what I believe works

for an organisation. I will then go on to analyse my organisation of what I believe works well and

what doesnt work well forABC. To draw up the report I will complete with a conclusion and

recommendations going forward.

Agility -The capacity for moving quickly, flexibly and decisively in anticipating, initiating and takingadvantage of opportunities and avoiding any negative consequences of change.

Resilience- The capacity for resisting, absorbing and responding, even reinventing if required, in

response to fast and/or disruptive change that cannot be avoided.

The ability of an enterprise to adapt and respond to internal or external opportunities, demand

fluctuations, disruptions or threats and continue business operations without significant impact.1

Critical Literature Review


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Agile working in an organisation means empowering employees to work where, how and when they

choose to maximise their productivity and deliver the greatest value to the business.2

The concept of organisational resilience was first used to describe the need for companies to

respond to a rapidly changing business environment. Resilient organisations should have: flexible

staff and adaptable supply chains; a range of products which satisfy a range of customers; and agileorganisational structures.

It is apparent that large companies which rely on legacy products and traditional customers are not

resilient and will suffer most in the event of an economic downturn. As with failing eco-systems,

organisations which do not adapt will collapse, they would then be replaced later with newer and

more efficient organisations which are better suited to the new environment.

I believe it would be a success if HR focussed its efforts into 6 key areas as highlighted in the diagram

below: - 3

Job Design is the hub where individual agility is encouraged. Work design is often overlooked as an

HR activity but it is vital for agility and needs to be integrated with the approaches taken to

recruitment and reward.

Resourcing requires a balance between the need to flex the numbers and types of employees to

adapt to changing business conditions.

Learning and development requires the development of opportunities across the organisation.

Agility is more likely to be engendered if common performance metrics are utilised.

Reward strategy is criticalin the process. Pay and reward policies linked to performance, balanced

with the requirement for flexibility.

Work contextpersonal accountability and trust, are essential in an agile organisation.


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Communicationfrom HR acts as the conduit which aligns other business processes relevant to

agility. Sharing of new ideas, learning and policy developments are key components of agile and

resilience working practices.

Another major factor towards a resilient workforce involves Managing Change.

Managing change is the responsibility of everyone in the corporationfrom senior managers on

down. - 4

It is apparent that Change Management must be handled in a way that employees can cope with.

Therefore it is the manager's role to interpret, communicate and enable and not to instruct and

impose, which nobody really responds to well. A major learning is that employees do not have a

responsibility to manage change the responsibility for managing change is with management and

executives of the organisation.

Basic Principles to follow include.Change management principles Business Balls 5

1. At all times involve and agree support from people within system (system = environment,

processes, culture, relationships, behaviours, etc., whether personal or organisational).

2. Understand where you/the organisation is at the moment.

3. Understand where you want to be, when, why, and what the measures will be for having got

there.

4. Plan development towards above No.3 in appropriate achievable measurable stages.

5. Communicate, involve, enable and facilitate involvement from people, as early and openly

and as fully as is possible.

Another key learning to utilise is John P Kotter's 'eight steps to successful change6

1. Increase urgency - inspire people to move, make objectives real and relevant.

2. Build the guiding team - get the right people in place with the right emotional commitment,

and the right mix of skills and levels.

3. Get the vision right - get the team to establish a simple vision and strategy, focus on

emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive service and efficiency.

4. Communicate for buy-in - Involve as many people as possible, communicate the essentials,

simply, and to appeal and respond to people's needs. De-clutter communications - make

technology work for you rather than against.

5. Empower action - Remove obstacles, enable constructive feedback and lots of support from

leaders - reward and recognise progress and achievements.6. Create short-term wins - Set aims that are easy to achieve - in bite-size chunks. Manageable

numbers of initiatives. Finish current stages before starting new ones.

7. Don't let up - Foster and encourage determination and persistence - ongoing change -

encourage ongoing progress reporting - highlight achieved and future milestones.

8. Make change stick - Reinforce the value of successful change via recruitment, promotion,

new change leaders. Weave change into culture.

Flexible working is a key factor within a business and is a popular factor to aid agility and

resilience. This includes Part-time, Term Time Working, Job Sharing and Flextime.

Agility and Resilience in the workplace is aided by all the above factors.


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These are the styles to be followed to ensure that business can deliver its requirements

Analysis of ABC

Within ABC agile and resilient working has been a key feature now for many years.

The workforce is empowered to manage themselves wherever possible which has improved

ouLocationuts and performance in many areas. The business has created a team environment where

everybody has a voice and everybody plays a part.

All of the Manufacturing Plants have now been through a process of Lean Manufacturing which is

geared around involvement and engagement of all the employees. They are heavily involved in

planning the expanse of their roles and arrangements to deliver the Key Performance Indicators. To

deliver this mindset we have allowed employees time off the job to review their roles and change

accordingly with the support of the Management team.

The teams are coached and mentored to flex the crewing numbers to manage everything with the

resources available, self sufficiency. One of the downsides of this style is when high absence levels

arise the flexing can be very hard to manage and put extra strains on the workforce causing

problems.

The other side of the agile workforce is to ensure you do not lose experience in roles and end with

numerous people with minimal skills in a large area. Therefore within these Management styles

there is a major requirement to ensure the workforce have the skills and competency required to

meet the demands of the flexible working. All our employees are taken through 1-1 coachingsessions to discuss their needs and we develop a suitable training plan to suit the individual and the

company. The only downside of this over the years has been the sense of false hope set to

employees which are not met. Managers must be careful not to raise expectations and then not

meet the employees needs. The employees are regularly asked for feedback and ideas for

improvements.

Linked to employee engagement we have a process where an individual agrees his yearly

targets/expectations with his manager to ensure they are aligned to the business KPIs. These targets

are reviewed and managed throughout the year with employees and are linked to Pay and Reward

Policies. In theory this is a very good system however, if Managers do not involve there directreports fully and it becomes a paper exercise with no outcome. I believe this is a very good process

but needs the full commitment of the Management team on the site.

For us to reach our current state we have been through numerous Change Management systems

and had I believe we have had a lot of learnings on the way.

The main ingredient is always extensive involvement and engagement of the workforce throughout

the process. Ideally setting up working groups to ensure everyone has a voice and they are included.

One failing for the company has been the lack of involvement of ALL employees, sometimes the

unions have had full involvement but not the workforce.


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people responsible for meeting them. This allows employees to meet there line manager quarterly

to discuss their performance, concerns and aims and to give and receive feedback. This is also an

opportunity to clarify roles/responsibilities in the business. The fact that it is linked to an individuals

yearly bonus makes it personal to the employee and something he can aspire too, it is a important

action that all line managers find the time to meet employees and give constructive feedback with

evidence. This will provide financial rewards and career incentives for innovation and continuous

improvement required moving forward.

The resilience of the workforce has been tested over the years with the amount of change they have

regularly faced. It is obvious with a long serving workforce you cannot impose change - people and

teams need to be empowered to find their own solutions and responses, with facilitation and

support from managers, and tolerance. Employees need to be able to trust the organization.

Workshops would be very useful processes to develop collective understanding, approaches,policies, methods, systems, and ideas. This would be a very good item for the yearly communications

sessions and I have added this to the action plan.

Staff surveys will also be a helpful way to repair damage and mistrust among staffwe need to

allow people to complete them anonymously, and publish results and findings.

Management training, empathy and facilitative capability are priority areas - managers are crucial to

the change process - they must enable and facilitate, not merely convey and implement policy from

above, which does not work. The Senior Team need to ensure there Managers fully understand the

commitment and involvement required.

ACTION TIMELINE

January

Managers to set Key Performance Indicators for the individuals for the year.

Spend time with them to set Targets and aims for the year, talk about priorities and expectations.

February

Meet employees on 1-1 to agree training needs and requirements for the year

March

Quarterly review to ensure employee is on track

June

Mid Year review to agree performance and amend any targets going forward

July

Yearly communication sessions across business to be based around Change Workshops


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September

Quarterly review to ensure employee is on track

October

Business wide survey (Anonymous)

December

Finalise years performance, agree outcomes and look forward to next year

I believe the delivery of this action plan will strengthen the Agility and Resilience of the business.

Throughout the process there will be a requirement to review and amend where necessary if this is

not going to plan.

References

1- htLocation://www.acpoc.com/events/documents/4809MeetingBusinessResilience.pdf

2- The workplace intelligence unit Presentation

3- HR Process for AgilityCIPD

4- Helping employees embrace change Jennifer A. LaClair and Ravi P. Rao

5- Change management principlesBusiness Balls

6- 4 - John P KotterJohn P Kotter's 'eight steps to successful change

Example two

1. Introduction

Organisations today are caught in a paradox: those that are not agile, being too slow to respond to

external changes or seize new opportunities significantly decline, or lose their position in the market.

Yet those who do not balance their agility practices risk weakening their infrastructure, exposingthem to internal collapse (McCann et al; 2009). This dilemma is not restrained to one industry, but it

is particularly acute in the Supply Chain industry (Centre for Logistics & Supply Chain Management,

Cranfield University; 2003).

Two central themes to organisational agility and resilience that this report will predominantly focus

on are flexible working practices and change management. They are also two key areas HRM/HRD

specialists have contributed to and in which the HR function plays a crucial role. Flexible working is

an oft-used method that enables companies to become more agile. It orders organisations to

reassess their current state in terms of market and customer demand versus current organisation

design; specifically the employment relationship. It includes its proposed benefits include higher

productivity in increased engagement and higher cost effectiveness with a lower headcount, a

workforce that works efficiently with demand trends and lower absenteeism and staff turnover. It


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describes a move away from traditional working patterns i.e. the permanent contract, nine to five

office hours(Steven Taylor, Leading & Managing People Workbook 4; 2010; p.9).

Change management refers to a range of areas such as new policies, new technologies, new ways of

working and new structures. Inherent is the notion of transition from something old (often a

hindrance) to something new (hopefully better). When companies are restructuring or redesigningto become more agile, they undertake change management. In order for this to be successful they

also need to consider bolstering their resilience during the time of change and once change is

embedded. McCann et al (2009) emphasise that organisations must find the right balance between

agility and resilience measures or it could lead to either organisational fragility with too much agility,

or slower-responding, under-performing with overweight resilience (McCann et al, 2009; p.45).

Both themes are interlinked, introducing new flexible working practices is a common example of

change management and organisations that want to seize new opportunities to achieve competitive

advantage are those who have developed flexibility through robust change management (Taylor,

2010; p.9).

Throughout this report runs a meta-narrative of sustainable organisational performance, the topic ofa recent research study by the CIPD, Shaping the Future. Agility was identified as one of eight key

drivers of long term performance, recommending senior leaders of organisations to be open to new

approaches and continuous improvement options (CIPD, Shaping the Future; January 2011 pp.2-3).

This highly important to all organisations in a business environment which faces increased local and

global competition, rapidly changing new technologies and fluctuates widely (Heifetz et al., 2009;

McGrath & MacMillan, 2009).

This reports case study focuses on Location Sourcing Unit, a manufacturing site in DEF UK Ltds Fast

Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) operations. The site manufactures the well-known tea brand XY

Bags, amongst others. It is DEFs biggest European tea factory, producing approximately 34,000

tonnes of tea annually and 250 full time employees (FTE) are currently employed. Location is partof DEFs sophisticated Supply Chain (SC) network working towards achieving an End to End (E2E) SC.

It is the market leader with 27% in a highly saturated and competitive UK & Ireland black tea market;

its main competitors are Tata (Tetley), Typhoo, Yorkshire tea and Twinnings (see Appendix A). Black

tea volumes have been declining over the past decade due to lower demand and the market is

notorious for on deal promotions and low brand loyalty (see Appendix A). Locations customers are

big retailers and the catering community. Tea is not a seasonal produce such as ice cream, but in the

current markeLocationlace it faces the challenge of having to respond quickly to fluctuating demand

from customers who react to consumer trends. Therefore it needs to ensure that its workforce

resource is allocated most effectively to respond. We have 99% customer service and this is our

target to maintain despite fluctuating demand. The factory works towards low cash in inventory with

a quick stock turnover to maximise cost efficiencies and not become overstocked in our warehouse.

Similar to other manufacturing sites its operations are continuous and the majority of employees

work on a 3 rotating shift pattern during the week or a separate rotating weekend shift. It is also

quite hierarchical in nature although DEF UK operates a more horizontal hierarchy overall. This

structure will provide a challenge when implementing change and flexible working practices as well

as the culture that has been embedded due to the structure. However, there is critical need for the

organisation to become more agile to meet business needs, without exposing its internal structure

or it will lose competitiveness and risk being sold off by the business.

This report will aim to critically review Locationsapproach to organisational agility and resilience

against the following specific objectives:


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Critically review contemporary literature contribution by HRM/HRD specialists and

referencing those made by Supply Chain specialists who have also made important

contribution to change management best practice.

Assess the organisations current approachtowards change management and flexible

working practices.

Make recommendations to increase flexible working practices that will increase agility andusing change management models, show how this change can be implemented.

2. Literary reviewreviewing contemporary theory and best practice

As outlined in the introduction, over the past decade organisational agility and resilience havebecome a la modefeatures in research conducted by business analysts and HRM/HRD specialists

worldwide. Joseph McCann et al (2009) define agility as the capacity for moving quickly, flexibly and

decisively in initiating and taking advantage of opportunities and avoiding any negative

consequences of change and resilience is the buffer, the capacity for resisting, absorbing and

responding, even reinventing if required, in response to fast and/or disruptive change that cannot be

avoided. (McCann et al 2009; p.45). Todays turbulent market environment and external eventssuch as rapid globalisation, technological innovations and the recent, ongoing 2007 global financial

crisis have contributed to organisational decline and exposed many frailties in both private and

public sector market organisations. A balance of organisational agility and resilience tailored to the

context of an organisations industry is supposedly the key (McCann et al 2009; pp.45-46).

Conditions vary depending on organisation and industry (Christenson & Overdorf, 2000); Selsky &

McCann, 2008), but business strategies must seek building adaptive capacity to successfully meet

these demands. Turbulence can also be a period that organisations can use to their advantage if they

are agile enough, pushing through market changing innovations. Those with less agility will suffer as

exemplified in the SmarLocationhone industry with Apple and Samsung soaring above former

market leaders such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson. The management of a companys human resourcesis critical to the management of turbulence; an area where the HR function unequivocally can add

value to the business. CIPDs report in Shaping the Future recommends that HR practices in this

area should focus on instilling leaders and employees with an agile mindset that is change-ready, to

adapt to help their organisation keep fresh, keep progressing and make necessary changes to ensure

its survival (CIPD Shaping the Future; January 2011). McCann et al (2009)s research on 471 North

American companies showed that companies with high levels of agility and resilience were more

competitive and profitable, despite the high levels of business turbulence (McCann et al 2009; p.45).

Companies responses to increasing their agility have led to cutting red tape, resizing, outsourcing

and reducing headcount, leading to many remaining employees taking up the extra work;

engendering some employeesparticularly management levelto take on increased responsibility,working longer hours and travelling further or more (Julie Coffman & Russ Hagey 2010; p.4). David

Guest comments that to negate these effects, employment flexibility has become a management

mantra (Guest 2004; p.1). It is not a new concept, David Atkinsons flexible firm model in 1984 a

popular early contribution. He described the new 20th

Century firm as consisting of core workers on

permanent contracts, periphery workers on flexible contracts e.g. part-time or seasonal and lastly

outer workers, those who are outsourced or agency workers (Marchington & Wilkinson 2008). All

research agrees that flexible working takes many forms that can be categorised into (Guest

2004; McCann et al 2009):

Temporal

Job Design (functional)

Location of work (functional)


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Temporal practices include part-time working, zero hours and fixed term working (employing

temporary resource). This is quite easy to manage and helps achieve the balance between

employer/employee benefit, which Peter Reilly (2001) terms mutual flexibility. Organisations can

allocate their human resource to work when they are most needed, which can be fitted around the

employees sociallife. However, David Guest emphasises an important watch-out area: the affect

of the psychological contract, which temporal flexibility methods impact.

Job design practices contemporary research usually focuses on designing multidisciplinary roles,

what Michael White terms intelligent flexibility (p.78 Workbook 4). This of course demands

investment in training to increase capabilities of current workforce and ensuring recruitment and

selection practices are recruiting the right-minded people.

Stredwick & Ellis (2005) highlighted that the advent of new technologies, such as laptops and

smarLocationhones, has led to increased ability for flexible working. This means employees are not

confined to office space and can work from home (WFH) or whilst travelling.

Flexible working is claimed to be a satisfaction enabler for employers and employees. It can providea better work/life balance; a factor Purcell et al identified as contributing to their AMO model (Rees

& French, Leading, Managing & Developing People 2010; p.144; John Purcell and Sue Hutchninson

Bringing Policies to Life: the vital role of front line managers 2003;p.ix) that lead to business benefits

including: reduced absenteeism, lower attrition levels, talent attraction and retentionan important

factor identified by Coffman and Hagey in todays war for talent to remain competitive, more

innovative ideas and agility of resources (People Management Benefits of Flex; April 2008).

Engagement is another key outcome because it relates to Shaping the Futures suggestion that

employees Locus of Engagement adds to agility and particularly resilience. Additionally, Purcell et

al have identified in their Unlocking the Black Box model that engagement directly contributes to

high performance (Rees & French 2010; p.143). Nevertheless, Marchington et alwarn against the

tendency for these concepts to be conflated with their anticipated results, so that the descriptions

become prescriptions, accepted as conventional wisdom.

The UK Government is a keen advocator of flexible working. On 13th

November 2012 it announced it

would extend current flexible working legislation so that all employees with at least 26 weeks

employment have the right to request flexible working (CIPD, Employment Law FAQ, 1st

March 2013,htLocation://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/employment-law-faqs/flexible-working-future-

developments.aspx). This recognises that flexible working is not just for those with children,something Eikhoff et al (2007) have critiqued many flexible working practices as being, but

important to employees work-life balance and encourages high productivity. This change in

legislation has a binary function; it accepts and promotes the claimed benefits of flexible working

whilst adding pressure to organisations to do more to implement such practices.As with current

legislation it remains light touch andemployers will still be able to reject requests on eight

business grounds. (CIPD podcast 75 Flexible Working). However, it is surprising that despite the

promotion of flexible working, the number of organisations to take up flexible working

practices varies.Although reports were always suggesting a huge rise since the mid-late 1990s, in

reality increase was only small (Guest 2004; p.4). Ben Wilmott, Senior Public Policy Advisor from the

CIPD has commented: We need to see more organisations who are really thinking about flexible

working when they are going through organisational redesign, organisational development...(CIPD

Podcast 75 Flexible Working). Yet Guest still emphasises that flexible contracts are important as

possible indicators of the shape of things to come (Guest 2004; p.4).

To support the impact of changes agility practices such as flexible working cause, robust changemanagement systems are required. Change is fast becoming a norm for organisations and
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Vermeulen et al even propose change for changes sake; insisting it is an endemic requirement

today, whereas previously organisations only saw periods of change (Vermeulen et al 2010; p.79).

Change can be both structural and cultural, flexible working fits into both categories because the

structure must change, but it needs a culture to support its embedment. It is suggested by Steven

Taylor that large organisations look to change every two or three years and Richard Coates from

Mercer HR Consultancy states that HR must be the Business Partner to manage this. There are manymodels of change; however, two of the most popular and relevant that this report will use are Kurt

Lewins Three Stage Model (1951) and John Kotters Eight Stage Model (1984). Lewins early

contribution, although perhaps more out of date now is useful because it simply shows how change

can be initiated, implemented and embedded.

Some forms of flexible working have been around for a long time, but there is still cultural resistance

in many organisations. There is a perception that asking for flexible working will prevent career

progression or incur biased treatment from the employer and peers (CIPD 75 podcast; Rees & French

2010; Peter Cheese, People Management March 2013; p.5). Kurt Lewins Force-Field analysis is a

useful tool to gage resistance levels throughout change (see Appendix B) and the barriers that will

need to be overcome by recommended actions are outlined in the attached implementation plan(see Appendix C).

3. Evaluating theory in practice in the organisation

DEF UK Ltd. has bought into the need for agility and already begun the journey to become more

agile with its dedicated Agile Working portal on the companys intranet (see Appendix C). It has

many, what it terms, Agile workers who do not work nine to fivehours on permanent contracts

and in set Locations. DEF UK Ltd. can be analysed well using Atkinsons Flexible Firm model. Core

components such as its HR services and financial transactional services have been outsourced to

Accenture and we partner with Manpower to provide agency workers as temporary resource.DEFs structure has changed from working in independent silos of different parts of the business to

a One DEF model. Hierarchy is more horizontal and functions work across each other as well as

closely with our customers, the UK&I retailers. However, at Trafford Park (LOCATION) this structure

becomes much less clear due to the nature of its function. As part of DEFs manufacturing area of

SC it is responsible for the production and delivery of tea to our customers. Like most

manufacturing organisations, this requires continuous shifts amongst the operational employees

with a smaller number of roles as support and management staff. Our factory is operational seven

days per week with shut-down over Christmas bank holidays, therefore the majority of employees

are employed on permanent contracts of set hours, particularly shift work. However, other blue

chip manufacturing organisations have successfully worked around this. For example Seeboard

Energy Ltd. switched its three week rolling shift that had contributed to its 20% turnover and lackof female employees to fixed shift patterns (Rees & French 2010; p.133). Other shift patterns may

help increase our resource flexibility if we identify when we have the most amount of production

demand and instilling core shift patterns. Other additional outcomes such as increased gender

diversity for core shifts that fit in around school times are also likely to be seen; something

Seeboard Energy Ltd. provided.

The FMCG markets are currently difficult for our Demand Planners to forecast with as much

accuracy as before. Whilst the global financial crisis has not affected it as directly as other

institutions e.g. banks, it has indirectly hit us through new consumer and customer behaviour. As

mentioned in the introduction, there is less loyalty to brands, best price value for quality has

become most important. Market data shows that when on promotion deals, brands perform better(Appendix A). This trend has led to most of our products always being on a form of promotion. For


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organisational agility this requires us to be very responsive to the demands of our customers.

When they put certain products on deal our SC needs to flex in order to meet the demand this

requires. This also works in reverse when we do not have products on deal we see a drastic

reduction in stock demand, which impacts on production time for that week/month. CIPDs

research on sustainable high performance working, an outcome of successful organisational agility

and resilience, emphasises that businesses must avoid knee-jerk reactions (CIPD Shaping theFuture 2011; Economist Intelligence Unit 2009; p.6). This is crucial for Location because the

fluctuating demand requires us to respond to demand quickly, but this cannot be at the expense of

the business and employees. Responding to varying demands costs the business. We currently

operate a flexi-time policy where operational employees can be called in within 48 hours notice for

extra hours (Appendix E). They should be able claim back these flexi hours and any remaining

ones will be paid by the company. However, LocationsUnion representatives have raised that the

policy is not effective. Employees are not being able to claim back flexi when they want and

therefore is also costing the business more than desired.

The above point shows that innovation and workforce adaptive capacity will be essential to

LOCATIONs long-term survival and profit. Volume growth is largely out of the sites control whichis why ways of working (WOW) such as flexible working and restructuring are ways in which it can

respond and increase its organisational resilience and agility. Research has emphasised that

infrastructure is important to agility, flexibility and resilience (People Management February 2013,

p.5; McCann et al 2009; Cranfield School for Management 2003).It is essential organisations

combat silos at all stages (Vermeulen et al 2010; p.72) and to help embed any new agility practices

as both Lewin and Kotter highlight in various stages of their models . LOCATION has recently

undergone an organisational restructure, changing reporting lines and downsizing, which is

expected to save 1.5 million Euros. It still has a hierarchical organisational structure due to its

production ways of working. This means that change must be driven by its leadership team who

need to act as change agents. DEF UK supports this, placing responsibility for agile working with

managers (see Appendix D). HR can play a key role here to achieve the leadership teams buy-in,ensuring they make agility changes not only in business areas, but also instilling the new culture

and attitude into its workforce.

In contrast to the Seeboard Energy Ltd. example, Location has a low turnover. Between January

2011 and January 2013 we lost four heads and recruited 5. David Guest points that contract

flexibilityusing fixed-term or temporary contract arrangements to employ a majority of a

workforcehas commonly been a flexible working practice used by companies to have an agile

workforce to react to adjust rapidly to demand (rise or fall), (Guest 2004; p.1). However, Locations

recent restructure has seen a significant reduction in temporary labour with an emphasis in the

SMTs business strategy on permanent employees. This has come from a need to cut headcount,

but also as David Guest highlights, the organisational commitment amongst temporary workers is

often lower than those of permanent employees because in their psychological contract they know

that they are not receiving the same benefits for performance as permanent employees. Therefore

building the capability of individuals, our teams and the organisation will be a big focus point for

our site to drive agility (CIPD Shaping the Future, 2011; Joseph McCann et al, 2009). Our current

Job Descriptions were last reviewed in 2008 and do not take into account the new roles created

through the restructure. The site could implement multi-skilling, particularly training our Technical

Operators to carry out basic Engineer tasks in order to be a more flexible site.

Lastly, assessing Locations functional flexibility, there is significant improvement that can be made

in instilling a more flexible culture. As Stredwick and Ellis highlight (2005), new technologies make

it easier to work from different Locations. Many companies are embracing technologies BT

Livemeet and Skype in order to work from home or other Locations, reducing site costs. Surrey


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County Council recently invested in technology and reported a big increase in engagement and

productivity amongst employees. We have a budget of 2.2 million this year and DEF UK have an

agreement with software companies that provides employees with remote working technologies

such as BT Livemeet and Sharepoint sites. 12 employees who have computer-based roles currently

do not have a laptop and are therefore restricted to office hours. Investment in this would benefit

the site in reduced headcount costs and would provide these employees with a better work/lifebalance, being able to WFH when necessary and concentrate on work projects other than

responsive work whilst in office.

4. Recommendations

Following the analysis of the Location there are several actions this report recommends the site

implements to encourage greater flexibility. Following is a brief summary of these actions, which

can be found in greater analysis in the attached implementation plan (Appendix C):

Research has evidenced that Leadership must act as change agents. Therefore themajority of actions should be owned by SMT members. Our SMT would benefit from

attending a change management course. This can be done through our online

Learning Management System, which provides free training through a DEF managed

fund. Another quick win, to instil a more agile working mindset into our SMT will be

to remove clock-in cards. Our leaders are managed on their performance, not

attendance and therefore these are unnecessary and instil a subconscious mindset

of nine to five hours. The SMT may also be a big barrier to flexible working initiatives

therefore the HR team must ensure they understand why flexible working can

provide business benefits to ensure they are bought-into the process.

Set up a focus group containing Union representatives, nominated employees andthe Operations Manager to review the current shift pattern with a view to perhaps

changing it to a Continental pattern or allowing some employees to do fixed shifts.

This will need to be piloted before converting. The biggest barrier to this will be

reviewing employment contracts, push back from the Union and possibly having to

recruit if people decide to resign.

Invest in laptops and remote working software for office based employees who do

not yet have one. Although it will incur an upfront cost of up to 9000 to provide all

those without a laptop, benefits include reduced site costs and more engaged

employees who can work when the business needs them to. Key amongst these are

our Demand Planners who need to respond to when our customers change demand

plans and this needs to be communicated to those on shift.

Communication and involvement are essential to combating resistance and

implementing effective flexible changes as many employees and managers are

unlikely to have come across flexible working at a factory and why it has business

benefits (p.8 Org agility article on improving agility & resilience). Employees should

be involved in focus groups during the shift review. A town-hall to be led by our

Works Director to give business information will help employees understand the

Review current Job Descriptions to incorporate multi-skilling where possible.

Review our flexi time policy with the Union and an employee focus group to providea balance between getting resource in when necessary and not paying out too much


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for incurred Flexi time as well as allowing employees to take time back. The SMT will

be the biggest barrier here as it is a large piece of work that they may not have time

for. HR will need to propose the potential benefits.

References

Cheese, P. (2013, March). Flexible Friends. People Management.

Christenson, C., & Overdorf, M. (2000). Meeting the Challenges of disruptive change. Harvard

Business Review.

CIPD. (2011). Shaping the Future.

Coffman, J., & Hagey, R. (2010). Flexible Work Models: How to Bring Sustainability to a 24/7 world.

Cranfield School for Management. (2003). Creating Resilient Supply Chains: A Practical Guide.

Economist Intelligence Unit. (2009). Organisational Agility: How businesses can survive and thrive in

turbulent times.EMC.

French, G. R. (2010). Leading, Managing & Developing People.London.

Guest, D. (2004). Flexible employment contracts, the psychological contract and employee outcomes:

an analysis and review of the evidence.

McCann, J., Selsky, J., & Lee, J. (2009). Building Agility, Resilience and Performance in Turbulent

Environments.

People Management. (April 2008). The Benefits of Flexible Working.

Taylor, S. (2010). Leading, Managing & Developing People: Workbook 4.

Vermeulen, F., Puranam, P., & Gulati, R. (2010). Change for Change's Sake. Harvard Business Review.

Wilmott, B. (n.d.). CIPD Podcast 75: Flexible Working. (P. Lamb, Interviewer)


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Conclusions

Good M level assignments are substantial pieces of work that outline and justify

some form of original argument. Students demonstrate that they have studied the

subject and present their work to a professional standard.

Weak assignments tend to be poorly structured, inadequately justified, light on

references or overly descriptive.

wrtiting assignments

Documents