Assignment Task for Unit: Solving problems and making decisions

TASK
Identify a workplace problem facing you or your team (or a team within another organisation if you are
currently unemployed) and examine ways to resolve it.
For the purposes of this assignment, ‘problem’ may be interpreted as ‘a deviation from the norm’ OR ‘an
improvement opportunity’ OR ‘a potential or anticipated problem’.
NOTE:
You should plan to spend approximately 10 hours researching your workplace context, preparing for and
writing or presenting the outcomes of this assignment for assessment. The ‘nominal’ word count for this
assignment is 1200 words; the suggested range is between 1000 and 2000 words.
Check your assignment carefully prior to submission using the assessment criteria.
Please use the sub-headings shown below when
structuring your Assignment Assessment Criteria
Background
Briefly describe your organisation, what it does, and your
role within it.
• This aspect is not assessed, but is
designed to help the assessor understand
the context of the information you provide
throughout the remainder of this
assignment
Present situation (Analysis of the problem)
Describe:
• What the problem is and what may have caused it.
• Its scope (e.g. how widespread, how often, how much
etc).
• Who, how and what it affects in the workplace/team.
• What you are trying to achieve by solving the
problem.
• What the result would be if no action is taken.
• Describe a problem, its nature scope and
impact (12 marks)
Investigation and identification of possible solutions
to the problem
Briefly describe possible solutions to the problem. To do
this you must gather and interpret information to identify
possible solutions.
The evidence you gather should be fact supported by
evidence and not just your opinion.
• Gather and interpret information to identify
possible solutions to a problem (24 marks)
• Prepare a summary of the options
providing facts and evidence (16 marks)
Evaluation of possible solutions
Evaluate the possible solutions using a simple decision
making technique to arrive at the best solution. Your
• Apply a simple decision making technique
to evaluate options to arrive at the best
solution (24 marks)
evaluation should include human, material and financial
resources.
State your chosen solution clearly and concisely.
Recommend implementation plan to solve the
problem
Provide an action plan for the implementation and
communication of the solution. Your action plan should
include actions, timescales and required resources
including people.
Briefly describe the monitoring and review techniques
you could use to evaluate the effectiveness of your
chosen solution.
• Plan the implementation and
communication of the decision (16 marks)
• Describe which monitoring and review
techniques could be used to evaluate
outcomes (8 marks)
By submitting I confirm that this assignment is my own work
MARK SHEET – Solving problems and making decisions
Centre Number : Centre Name :
Learner Registration No : Learner Name:
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ASSESSMENT AND USE OF MARK SHEET
Assessment must be conducted with reference to the assessment criteria (AC). In order to pass the unit, every AC must be met.
Assessors will normally award marks for every AC and then total them into a percentage. However, for greater simplicity, there is the
option to not use marks at all and merely indicate with a ‘Pass’ or ‘Referral’ in the box (below right). In order to pass the unit every AC must
receive a ‘Pass’.
Where marks are awarded according to the degree to which the learner’s evidence in the submission meets each AC, every AC
must be met, i.e. receive at least half marks (e.g. min 10/20). Any AC awarded less than the minimum produces an automatic
referral for the submission (regardless of the overall mark achieved).
Sufficiency descriptors are provided as guidance. If 20 marks are available for an AC and the evidence in the submission approximates to
the ‘pass’ descriptor, that indicates it should attract 10 marks out of 20, if a ‘good pass’ then ca. 15 out of 20. The descriptors are not
comprehensive, and cannot be, as there are many ways in which a submission can exceed or fall short of the requirements.
1. Learner named above confirms authenticity of
submission.
2. ILM uses learners’ submissions – on an
anonymous basis – for assessment
standardisation. By submitting, I agree that ILM
may use this script on condition that all
information which may identify me is removed.
However, if you are unwilling to allow ILM use your
script, please refuse by ticking the box: □
Learning Outcome / Section 1: Know how to describe a problem, its nature, scope and impact
Assessment Criteria (AC)
Sufficiency Descriptors
[Typical standard that , if replicated across the whole submission, would produce a referral, borderline pass or good pass
result]
Assessor feedback on AC
AC 1.1
Describe a problem,
its nature scope and
impact
Referral [ca. 3/12] Pass [6/12] Good Pass [ca. 9/12]
• The problem or improvement
opportunity is ill-defined and so
is vague or unclear
• There is limited or no
consideration of the problem’s
scope or impact
• The problem or improvement
opportunity is described,
including both scope (how
widespread, how often, etc.)
and impact (who, how and/or
what it affects) although the
description may be limited
• The problem or improvement
opportunity is well defined
and described in detail and
both scope and impact are
thoroughly described and, if
appropriate, quantified
/ 12
(min. of 6) Pass or Referral
Section comments (optional): Verification comments (optional):
Learning Outcome / Section 2: Know how to gather and interpret information to solve a problem
Assessment Criteria (AC)
Sufficiency Descriptors
[Typical standard that , if replicated across the whole submission, would produce a referral, borderline pass or good pass
result]
Assessor feedback on AC
AC 2.1
Gather and interpret
information to identify
possible solutions to a
problem
Referral [ca. 6/24] Pass [12/24] Good Pass [ca. 18/24]
• Little or no evidence of oral or
written information having
been gathered
• Reference is made to
gathering information but that
information is not given in the
submission
• Information has been
gathered and is provided but
is not relevant to identifying
possible solutions; or merely
further describes the problem
instead of helping to identify
possible solutions; or there is
no interpretation to identify
possible solutions
• Evidence is provided in the
submission that oral and/or
written information has been
gathered to identify possible
solutions, and, although the
interpretation may be limited,
the information is effectively
interpreted to identify at least
two possible solutions (not
including ‘doing nothing”)
• Evidence is provided that
substantial oral and/or written
information has been
collected from a variety of
sources in order to effectively
identify possible solutions
• The gathered information is
presented in detail and
thoroughly interpreted to
clearly identify several
possible solutions
/ 24
(min. of 12) Pass or Referral
AC 2.2
Prepare a summary of
the options providing
facts and evidence
Referral [ca. 4/16] Pass [8/16] Good Pass [ca. 12/16] Assessor feedback on AC
• No options are given
• Options are merely listed as
opposed to summarised
• Option summaries are
minimal and/or too subjective
and not based on facts and/or
evidence
• At least two options (not
including the option of ‘doing
nothing’) are summarised,
and not merely listed, with the
options based on facts and
evidence
• A range of varied options are
thoroughly summarised or
described
• The options are clearly based
on facts and evidence
explicitly arising out of the
interpretation of the problem
/ 16
(min. of 8) Pass or Referral
Section comments (optional): Verification comments (optional):
Learning Outcome / Section 3: Know how to evaluate options to make a decision
Assessment Criteria (AC)
Sufficiency Descriptors
[Typical standard that , if replicated across the whole submission, would produce a referral, borderline pass or good pass
result]
Assessor feedback on AC
AC 3.1
Apply a simple decision
making technique to
evaluate options to
arrive at the best
solution
Referral [ca. 6/24] Pass [12/24] Good Pass [ca. 18/24]
• The best solution is isolated
but is not one of the options
or a combination of them
• A solution is given but is
merely stated with no
evidence of evaluation by
using a decision-making
technique; and/or no
consideration of resource
implications in either the
option summaries or the
decision-making technique
• A simple decision-making
technique has been used to
evaluate options individually
or together; and
• the decision-making criteria
are identified although they
may be limited; and
• the simple decision-making
technique is correctly used to
isolate the best solution with
some reference to facts to
support the decision; and
• although it may be limited,
resource implications are
briefly considered in either the
option summaries or the
decision-making technique
• A decision-making technique
has been used to thoroughly
evaluate options, individually
or together, with the decisionmaking criteria described
• Options are weighted and
ranked to arrive at the best
solution with facts to fully
support the decision-making,
the weightings and rankings
• Resource implications are
detailed in both the option
summaries and the decisionmaking technique
/ 24
(min. of 12) Pass or Referral
Section comments (optional): Verification comments (optional):
Learning Outcome / Section 4: Know how to plan, monitor and review the implementation and communication of decisions
Assessment Criteria (AC)
Sufficiency Descriptors
[Typical standard that , if replicated across the whole submission, would produce a referral, borderline pass or good pass
result]
Assessor feedback on AC
AC 4.1
Plan the
implementation and
communication of the
decision
Referral [ca. 4/16] Pass [8/16] Good Pass [ca. 12/16]
• Little or no planning is
provided
• The implementation and
communication of the
decision are merely described
as opposed to actually
planned
• A plan is given but contains
no timescales and/or no
resources required to
implement
• Implementation is planned or
communication is planned
but not both
• An action plan is provided
that plans both the
implementation and
communication of the
decision, although one or
other may be limited; and
• the plan includes time scales
and responsibilities and some
consideration of the
resources required (including
people and finance) although
this may be limited
• A detailed and SMART action
plan(s) is provided that fully
plans both the implementation
and communication of the
decision, thoroughly
describes responsibilities and
details resource requirements
(including people and finance)
/ 16
(min. of 8) Pass or Referral
AC 4.2
Describe which
monitoring and review
techniques could be
used to evaluate
outcomes
Referral [ca. 2/8] Pass [4/8] Good Pass [ca. 6/8] Assessor feedback on AC
• Less than two monitoring and
review techniques are
provided
• At least two monitoring and
review techniques are given
but are merely identified, as
opposed to described, and/or
are inappropriate or minimal
• A description, as opposed to
a mere identification, is given
of at least two monitoring and
review techniques that could
be used to evaluate outcome,
although the description may
be limited
• Several appropriate
monitoring and review
techniques are thoroughly
described
• Clear measures of the
effectiveness of the outcome
are provided, such as
milestones
/ 8
(min. of 4) Pass or Referral
Section comments (optional): Verification comments (optional):
/ 100
TOTAL MARKS
Assessor’s Decision Quality Assurance Use
Outcome (delete as applicable):
PASS / REFERRAL
Signature of Assessor:
Date:
Outcome (delete as applicable):
PASS / REFERRAL
Signature of QA:
Date of QA check: