CIPD Level 7 Assignment / CIPD_7CO01_24_01

• Version 1 – Released June 2024
• Expires June 2025
• Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2025

7CO01
Work and working lives in a changing
business environment
Student Assessment Brief
Assessment ID / CIPD_7CO01_24_01

Level 7 Advanced Diploma in
▪
Strategic People Management
▪
Strategic Learning and Development
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Introduction
Your knowledge and understanding of the material covered in this core unit will be assessed
through your answers to four of the questions listed below. Your assessor will let you know
which questions you are to answer. You are expected to complete all the learning for the unit,
irrespective of which questions you are asked to answer.
The four questions will be drawn from different learning outcomes, featuring one assessment
criterion in each learning outcome. These questions encompass a wide range of generalist HR,
OD & L&D subject areas.
You will write four answers of approximately 1000 words to the questions posed and submit
them together in a single document. This constitutes your assessment for this unit. The total
word count for the assessment will therefore be 4000 words, plus or minus 10%. The bibliography
or list of references is not included in the total word count.
You must demonstrate within the submitted evidence (through headings and sub-headings)
which learning outcomes and assessment criteria you have addressed. We are unable to
moderate your work if this is not included.
As this is an Advanced Level Diploma, it is important that you are able to demonstrate not only
good knowledge and understanding of the material associated with each learning outcome, but
also the ability to develop an original argument and justify it persuasively with reference to
wider reading. Examples of approaches taken in a range of organisations are also an effective
means by which to justify your arguments.
The six main criteria that CIPD requires centres to use when marking your assessment are
outlined below, but it may be that not all these criteria are present in every question.
(1) focus
(2) depth and breadth of understanding
(3) strategic application and professional advice
(4) research and wider reading
(5) persuasiveness and originality
(6) presentation and language
• Version 1 – Released June 2024
• Expires June 2025
• Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2025
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Assessment questions
Question 1 (AC 1.1)
Assess the trend towards greater globalisation of international business activity and consider
whether this has now peaked and there will be reduced globalisation in the future. Justify your
answer.
Question 2 (AC 1.2)
Critically evaluate whether advancing technologies, and particularly artificial intelligence (AI),
will soon destroy a good proportion of existing jobs, leaving many people either unemployed or
under-employed. Justify your answer with reference to examples.
Question 3 (AC 1.3)
What do you consider to be the most significant current demographic trend affecting your
country? Justify your choice. Evaluate its significance for labour markets, employment and the
world of work.
Question 4 (AC 1.4)
What is the most important long-term economic trend currently affecting your country? Justify
your answer. Appraise the significance of this trend for your industry now and in the future.
Question 5 (AC 2.1)
Evaluate how technological developments are currently affecting the practice of recruitment
and selection in organisations. Drawing on examples from your own experience and reading,
explain why these developments are occurring and what benefits flow from them for employers.
Justify your answer.
Question 6 (AC 2.2)
Assess any one contemporary public policy development in your country in terms of its likely or
potential future impact on work and employment. Justify your answer with reference to
examples, statistics or published research.
• Version 1 – Released June 2024
• Expires June 2025
• Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2025
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Question 7 (AC 2.3)
Analyse a major legal development or likely future development in your country and justify a
proposal for a change in your country’s current employment law based on this. Explain what your
proposed change would involve, what it would look to achieve and in what ways it might be
contested either by some employers, employees or their representatives.
Question 8 (AC 2.4)
Critically discuss the current state of the major labour markets in which your organisation
competes for staff in terms of both demand for and supply of skills. Explain whether these
labour markets are loosening, tightening or stable. How do you anticipate that this situation may
change over the next ten years? Justify your key points with reference to statistics and
examples.
Question 9 (AC 3.1)
Analyse any one of the major published models that have been developed to guide managers
when leading organisations through major change episodes. Explain what features of the model
you find most and least useful from the perspective of contemporary people management.
Justify your answer with reference to published examples or your own experience and
observations.
Question 10 (AC 3.2)
Resistance to change is inevitable but can be reduced. Examine to what extent the mantra
‘people support what they help to create’ should underpin the approach taken by managers when
restructuring an organisation. Justify your answer with reference to examples or to your own
experience and observations.
Question 11 (AC 3.3)
Evaluate the current trend for organisations to move from a five-day to a four-day working week
without reducing their employees’ pay. Justify your answer with reference to published research
and your own thinking in respect of your organisation.
Question 12 (AC 3.4)
Assess the contribution of people management professionals in helping their organisations to
become more creative and innovative. Justifying your answer with examples, assess the roles
played both by organisational culture and human resource management practices in promoting
innovation and creativity.
• Version 1 – Released June 2024
• Expires June 2025
• Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2025
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Question 13 (AC 4.1)
You are asked to advise a public sector organisation of your choice that is keen to develop
formal ‘values-based recruitment’ (VBR) practices. Explain to managers what the purpose of VBR
is and its major potential advantages and disadvantages. Propose one measure that could be
swiftly introduced to make the organisation’s recruitment practices more values based. Justify
your answer.
Question 14 (AC 4.2)
Explain what the term ‘psychological resilience’ means in practical terms. Evaluate your own
organisation’s activities in the promotion of better resilience and set out any one new measure
you would like to see adopted that will help your people become more psychologically resilient.
Justify your answer.
Question 15 (AC 4.3)
A colleague asks you to recommend how your organisation could make its activities more ‘green’
(i.e. environmentally sustainable). Critically evaluate underpinning theory and practice in this
area and make recommendations for your organisation.
Question 16 (AC 4.4)
Critically discuss the view that organisations can never be considered as true equal opportunity
employers unless they have in place formal measures to tackle the prevalence of unconscious
bias among managers and employees. What kinds of measures would you expect to see in place
in an organisation that was serious about reducing unconscious bias? Justify your answer with
reference to published research.
• Version 1 – Released June 2024
• Expires June 2025
• Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2025
Level 7 Advanced Diploma
Marking Grid
The student will receive a Pass, Merit, Distinction or Refer/Fail result at unit level.
Assessors must provide a mark from 1 to 4 for each Learning Outcome in the unit.
To pass the unit assessment the student must achieve a 2 (Pass) or above for each of the
learning outcomes.
The overall mark achieved will dictate the grade the student receives for the unit, provided NONE
of the learning outcomes have been failed or referred.
Overall mark
Unit result
0 to 7
Refer / Fail
8 or 9
Pass
10 to 13
Merit
14 to 16
Distinction
The student result will be recorded in a marking grid similar to the example below.
Marking grid:
Learning
outcome
Mark
LO1
2
LO2 3
LO3 3
LO4 2
Overall mark
10
Unit Result
Merit
• Version 1 – Released June 2024
• Expires June 2025
• Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2025
Level 7 Advanced Diploma

• Version 1 – Released June 2024
• Expires June 2025
• Study Centre information only: Last moderation window is September 2025
Generic grade
descriptors REFER/FAIL / 1 PASS / 2 MERIT / 3 DISTINCTION / 4
Focus Fails to address all the questions
either sufficiently fully or
directly.
An adequate attempt to address
all the questions fully and
directly.
A good attempt to address all the
questions relatively well and
directly.
An excellent attempt to address
all the questions very well and
directly.
Depth & breadth of
understanding
Inadequate knowledge and
understanding in respect of one or
more of the questions. Limited
depth and breadth of analysis.
Adequate knowledge and
understanding across the
questions. Satisfactory breadth
and depth of analysis.
Full and solid knowledge and
understanding across all the
questions. Good breadth and
depth of analysis.
Very full knowledge and
understanding across all the
questions. Excellent breadth and
depth of analysis.
Strategic application &
professional advice
Fails to provide appropriate or
well-justified advice and/or
recommendations. Lacks a
strategic approach.
Provides adequately justified
advice and informed
recommendations Some strategic
application.
Provides solid and thoughtful
advice and well-informed
recommendations. Clearly
strategic in orientation.
Provides excellent advice and
very well-informed
recommendations. Strategically
oriented in all respects.
Research & wider
reading
Limited original research and/or
appropriate wider reading for the
assignment. Limited or no
referencing.
Evidence of sufficient research
and appropriate wider reading for
the assignment. Satisfactory in
text referencing.
Evidence of significant research
and thoughtful, appropriate wider
reading for the assignment. A
good standard of in-text
referencing.
Evidence of considerable research
and excellent, appropriate wider
reading for the assignment. An
excellent standard of in-text
referencing
Persuasiveness &
originality
Limited development of
persuasive and original
arguments. Inadequate use of
examples.
An adequate attempt to develop
original arguments and to justify
these persuasively. Includes
appropriate examples.
Some strong original arguments
are presented which are mainly
justified persuasively. Good use
of examples.
Mostly strong original arguments
are presented and justified very
persuasively. Excellent use of
examples.
Presentation & language An inadequate standard of
presentation or language. The
assignment is poorly written
and/or poorly structured. It is not
at the level required for a
management presentation.
A solid standard of presentation
and use of language. The
structure and ideas are
satisfactory for a management
presentation.
A strong and professional
standard of presentation and use
of language. The structure and
ideas are well crafted for a
management presentation.
An outstanding standard of
presentation and use of language.
The structure and ideas are very
well crafted for a management
presentation.

7CO01 Assessment Brief