Unit 19 Research Project Assignment Brief- Pearson BTEC HND in Business (RCF) Unit 11: Research Proj

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ICON COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Pearson BTEC HND in Business Unit 19 Research Project (RQF) L5 Assignment Brief Session: September 2022 Programme title

Pearson BTEC HND in Business (RQF)

Unit number and title

19 Research Project

Unit Type

Core

Unit Level and Value

Level 5

Assessor (s)

Dr Fidelis Akanga, Tony Doherty

Assignment Title

Students will choose their own title for this unit

Issue Date

5 October 2022

Final assignment submission deadline

9-14 January 2023

Semester 3

30 Credit

16-21 January 2023 Late submission deadline

The learners are required to follow the strict deadline set by the College for submissions of assignments in accordance with the BTEC Level 4–7 submission guidelines and College policy on submissions.

Resubmission deadline

TBA Formative feedback will be available in class during the semester.

Feedback

General Guidelines

Final feedback will be available within 2 weeks of the assignment submission date.

• • •

The work you submit must be in your own words. If you use a quote or an illustration from somewhere, you must give the source.

Include a list of references at the end of your document. You must give all your sources of information.

Make sure your work is clearly presented and that you use correct grammar.

Internal verifiers

Prof Nurun Nabi

Signature (IV of the brief) *

nabi@iconcollege.ac.uk

Date

1/10/22

ICON COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Pearson BTEC HND in Business (RCF) Unit 11: Research Project (L5) Assignment Brief

Session September 2022 Recommended length: 3,500-4,500 words (excluding references and appendices) Please note that you will not be penalised for going under or exceeding the word limit.

This Unit will be assessed by a presentation and an assignment and will be in two parts.

Semester 3 will cover LO1 and LO2 (Presentation of a Research Proposal) Semester 4 will cover LO3 and LO4 (Writing the whole project) You are strongly advised to read “Preparation Guidelines of the Coursework Document” before answering your assignment.

Assignment Theme: Business recovery Assignment Topic: Please choose your own research project based on the above theme provided

by Pearson Aim of the unit The aim of this unit is to offer students the opportunity to engage in sustained research in a specific field of study. The unit enables students to demonstrate the capacity and ability to identify a research theme, to develop a research aim and objectives and to present the outcomes of such research in both written and verbal formats. he unit also encourages students to reflect on their engagement in the research process, during which recommendations for future, personal development are key learning points.

Introduction to theme In the long term, businesses need to be prepared to face the unexpected, many fail because they are unable to recover from unexpected events such as political disruption, natural disasters, and pandemics. Business continuity planning allows businesses to maintain or quickly resume functions in the event of a major disruption. Essentially, business continuity is like having a back-up plan that outlines procedures and instructions for staff members in the event of a disaster.

The recent COVID-19 global pandemic dramatically impacted industry across all sectors, inevitably affecting disproportionately those businesses that exist to support social interactions and placing strains on both supply and demand. As the pandemic continues to affect industry: lock-down periods, and international and local restrictions on movement have led to a huge drop in revenues and a situation of emergency due to financial difficulties: • Dramatically lower revenues • Operational and financial challenges, including issues with liquidity, debt repayments or how to develop “smart capex” on assets to maintain tariffs and/or competitive advantage.

• Uncertainty about the timing and speed of the recovery depending on the arrival of treatments for the virus in order to return to “normal”.

To meet the challenges posed by unexpected events and disasters, businesses around the world need to react in agile and decisive ways. This involves businesses identifying capabilities and needs to strengthen, refactor, reopen, rehire, re-budget, resupply, by creating long term plans that allow for scaling up. An “after-action review” to collect data and insights on lessons learned, and then using these to prioritise actions to enhance business value today, businesses will build strategic resilience for tomorrow. Businesses that take these steps now will be well-placed to capitalise more effectively 2

on the opportunities during business recovery, and to continue winning in their marketplaces as greater certainty and stability return.

Scenario and activity You are working as a business consultant for in organisation of your choice (and your own place of work if appropriate). The Board of Directors of your organisation have approached you to conduct research into a key area of business and you have been provided with a theme (Business recovery) which will be the focus of the research. In addition to giving possible areas of study indicated below, the Board of Directors has left it to you to decide what would be appropriate to investigate in this area of business and for you to choose the research topic.

The range of topics discussed could cover the following: • Testing business continuity or crisis management plans

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Integrated response and recovery initiatives

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Examples of disaster recovery planning models

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Developing a business recovery roadmap to rebuild opportunity after a natural disaster, a global pandemic, or political disruption.

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Building a resilient organization through resilient leadership and resilient teams

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Developing recovery strategies

•

The importance of shifting focus from recovery to resilience

Once you have identified your research topic and objectives you will conduct literature review (secondary research), develop a project proposal for researching the research objectives identified, carry out independent primary research and write a report that provides valid and justified recommendations based on the analysis of the results of research. Finally, you should critically reflect on how you have conducted the project, the lessons learnt and alternatives you would consider in the future with recommendations for actions to be taken forward. This will be presented in the form of a research report.

You should identify a specific problem or issue related to the theme (Business recovery) and write a research proposal outlining the issues as a problem statement - identifying the research objectives necessary to address your research question. The research proposal should include a relevant literature review which supports and justifies your research objectives. If your proposal involves expenditure, you must supply a cost benefit evaluation to show what it costs and what management will get from it. This will form the basis of your research project. When you have completed the research proposal, you should complete an ethics form and get this approved by your tutor.

You must carry out and conduct the whole research project yourself to show your independent enquiry and critical analysis throughout. You must submit as evidence project findings, research proposal and ethics form, and scanned copies of all research instruments (e.g., completed questionnaires, interview guide, etc.). Nothing should be included that is not referred to in the report.

If you use a questionnaire, the respondents should not be more than 20. You must attach all completed questionnaires in the Appendix. If you use interviews the respondents should not be more than 10, and the interview guide should be attached as an Appendix. If you fail to attach either the completed questionnaires or the interview guide, your submitted assignment will not be assessed and will be awarded a Referral grade.

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What you must do Part 1: In developing your research proposal, you should examine alternative research methodologies.

You should explore alternative methods and tools used for the collection of research data that consider costs, ethics and access in order to solve the problem identified in your organisation. You should also evaluate alternative research methodologies and data collection methods and justify choices made based on philosophical/theoretical frameworks.

Based on your chosen business research project, produce a research proposal that clearly defines a research question or hypothesis, supported by a literature review. You should conduct literature in your research proposal. You should evaluate the merits, limitations and pitfalls of approaches to data collection in compiling the research proposal.

The research proposal should be agreed with your tutor prior to undertaking any research. The research proposal and ethical forms should be agreed and completed and submitted prior to the collection of primary data. The research proposal will be presented at the end of Semester 3.

Part 2: Based on your chosen business research project, conduct primary research using appropriate methods for a business research project. You should analyse the data from the research findings to communicate research outcomes in an appropriate manner for the intended audience. You should present the analysis of data utilising appropriate analytical techniques, charts and tables to meet the research aim and communicate outcomes.

You are required to communicate the research findings and outcomes, including justified recommendations in a manner that is appropriate to the Board of Directors of your chosen organisation.

As part of learning from the research project, reflect on the effectiveness of research methods you applied for meeting the objectives of your chosen business research project and consider alternative research methodologies and lessons learnt in view of the outcomes of your research project. Provide a critical reflection and insights and recommend actions for improvements in future research undertakings. You should demonstrate self-reflection and engagement in the resource process leading to recommended actions for future improvement. You should also demonstrate critical self-reflection and insight that results in recommended actions for improvements to inform future research.

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Relevant Information To gain a Pass in a BTEC HND Unit, you must meet ALL the Pass criteria; to gain a Merit, you must meet ALL the Merit and Pass criteria; and to gain a Distinction, you must meet ALL the Distinction, Merit and Pass criteria.

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria Pass

Merit

LO1 Examine appropriate research methodologies and methods to identify those appropriate to the research process P1 Examine alternative research methodologies.

P2 Explore alternative methods and tools used for the collection of research data that consider costs, ethics and access.

M1 Evaluate alternative research methodologies and data collection methods and justify choices made based on philosophical/theoretical frameworks.

Distinction LO1 and LO2 D1 Justify chosen research methodologies and processes supported by a credible academically underpinned literature review

LO2 Develop a research proposal, including a supporting literature review P3 Produce a research proposal, including a defined aim and objectives supported by a literature review.

M2 Evaluate the merits, limitations and pitfalls of approaches to data collection in compiling the research proposal.

LO3 Analyse data using appropriate techniques to communicate research findings P4 Conduct research using appropriate methods for a business research project.

P5 Analyse data from research findings to communicate research outcomes in an appropriate manner for the intended audience

M3 Present the analysis of data utilising appropriate analytical techniques, charts and tables to meet the research aim and communicate outcomes.

D2 Communicate to the intended audience the research findings and outcomes, including justified recommendations.

LO4 Reflect on the application of research methodologies and process.

P6 Reflect on the effectiveness of research methods applied in meeting objectives of the business research project.

P7 Consider alternative research methodologies and lessons learnt in view of outcomes.

M4 Demonstrate self-reflection and engagement in the research project process, leading to recommended actions for future improvement.

D3 Demonstrate critical self-reflection and insight that results in recommended actions for improvements to inform future research.

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Guidance for Students a. You should read this information before starting to define and work through your research brief.

You should refer to these instructions as you complete work for this unit. b. Consider the development of a methodical and valid research proposal as the foundation for the project. c. Choose a topic of personal interest in a specialism. The topic chosen should allow a sufficient and suitable degree of research through the existence of adequate background materials. d. A good project proposal title should meet the following criteria: e. The proposal is one that has an existing body of literature or source material that can be reviewed. f. The proposal extends a current line of learning that will lend itself to further rigorous exploration. g. Decide on appropriate research methods and select an appropriate sample. h. Ensure that your proposal is ethical, reliable and valid. An ethics form must be submitted prior to completion of research as part of the research proposal. i. Agree your research proposal with your tutor before beginning your research. j. Conduct your research as outlined in the proposal agreed with your tutor. k. Carry out your research, analyse your research findings and draw conclusions. Apply either qualitative or quantitative (or both) research methods to evaluate data collected from primary research. l. Communicate your research outcomes in a manner appropriate to your audience. m. You will be asked to reflect on the success of your research project and evaluate the problems/ issues encountered. n. You must complete the research project in order to complete your work for this unit. o. You will need to reflect on the success of your research project and your performance at the end of the project with the inclusion of a project evaluation and recommendations.

1. Preparation guidelines of the Coursework Document a. All coursework must be proof-read. b. Document margins must not be more than 2.54 cm (1 inch) or less than 1.9cm (3/4 inch). c. Font size must be within the range of 10 point to 14 points including the headings and body text (preferred font size is 11). d. Standard and commonly used type face, such as Arial and Times New Roman, should be used. e. All figures, graphs and tables must be numbered. f. Material taken from external sources must be properly referred and cited within the text using Harvard system g. Do not use Wikipedia as a reference.

2. Plagiarism and Collusion Any act of plagiarism or collusion will be seriously dealt with according to the College regulations.

In this context the definitions and scope of plagiarism and collusion are presented below: Plagiarism is presenting somebody else’s work as your own. It includes copying information directly from the Web or books without referencing the material; submitting joint coursework as an individual effort.

Collusion is copying another student’s coursework; stealing coursework from another student and submitting it as your own work.

Suspected plagiarism or collusion will be investigated and if found to have occurred will be dealt with according to the College procedure (For details on Plagiarism & Collusion please see the Student Handbook).

3. Submission a. Initial submission of coursework to the tutors is compulsory in each unit of the course. b. The student must check their assignments on ICON VLE with plagiarism software Turnitin to make sure the similarity index for their assignment stays within the College approved level. A student can check the similarity index of their assignment up to five times in the Draft Assignment submission point located in the home page of the ICON VLE. c. All Final coursework must be submitted to the Final submission point into the Unit (not to 6

the Tutor). The student would be allowed to submit only once and that is the final submission. d. Any computer files generated such as programme code (software), graphic files that form part of the coursework must be submitted as an attachment to the assignment with all documentation. e. Any portfolio for a Unit must be submitted as an attachment in the assignment 4. Good practice a. Make backup of your work in different media (hard disk, memory stick, etc.) to avoid distress due to loss or damage of your original copy.

5. Extension and Late Submission a. If you need an extension for a valid reason, you must request one using an Exceptional Extenuating Circumstances (EEC) form available from the Examination Office and ICON VLE. Please note that the tutors do not have the authority to extend the coursework deadlines and therefore do not ask them to award a coursework extension. The completed form must be accompanied by evidence such as a medical certificate in the event of you being sick, and should be submitted to the Examination Office. b. Late submission will be accepted and marked according to the College procedure. It should be noted that late submission may not be graded for Merit and Distinction. c. All late coursework must be submitted to the Late submission point into the unit (not to the Tutor) in the ICON VLE. A student is allowed to submit only once and that is also treated as the final submission. d. If you fail in the Final or Late submission, you can resubmit in the Resubmission window.

Submission deadlines Online to the ICON College VLE Final Submission date: 9-14 January 2023 Late Submission date: 16-21 January 2023 Glossary: Analyse: Break an issue or topic into smaller parts by looking in depth at each part. Support each part with arguments and evidence for and against (Pros and cons). Identify several relevant factors, show how they are linked, and explain the importance of each.

Communicate: To impart (knowledge) or exchange (thoughts, feelings, or ideas) by speech, writing, gestures etc Conduct: To do or carry out, to organise and perform a particular activity.

Consider: Take (something) into account (i.e., different ideas, perspectives, theories, evidence) when making a judgement Demonstrate: Provide several relevant examples or related evidence which clearly support the arguments you are making. This may include showing practical skills Examine: Make something clear to someone by describing or revealing relevant information in more detail. To look at, inspect, or scrutinise carefully, or in detail. Investigate closely Explore: To find out about. To investigate without preconceptions about the outcome Evaluate: Review the information then bring it together to form a conclusion. Give evidence of each of your views or statement. Examine strengths and weaknesses and make points for and against.

Justify: Give reasons or evidence to support your opinion or view to show how you arrived at these conclusions.

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Present: Produce an exposition/resumé for an audience, e.g., at the conclusion of the project to demonstrate what has been done and the outcome Produce: To make, create or form something. Put together, assemble. leads to an outcome/ result.

Reflect: Give thoughtful, balanced consideration to an issue or action in an area of study or field of work to complete well-defined, generally routine tasks and address straightforward problems.

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ICON COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT Pearson BTEC HND in Business Unit 11 Research Project (RQF) L5 Assignment Brief Session: September 2022 This form should be submitted into the Formative Feedback Forum so that I can keep updating your give you feedback on your Achievement based on the Gantt chart (Section Five). You should therefore use the Word version in the VLE. Research Proposal Form: Student Name Tutor Unit Proposed title

Student ID Date

Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities Title or working title of research project (in the form of a question, objective or hypothesis) Research project objectives (e.g., what is the question you want to answer? What do you want to learn how to do? What do you want to find out?):

Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project Reasons for choosing the project (e.g., links to other subjects you are studying, personal interest, future plans, knowledge/skills you want to improve, why the topic is important):

Section Three: Literature sources searched Use of key literature sources to support your research question, objective or hypothe sis:

Section Four: Activities and timescales Activities to be carried out during the research project (e.g., research, development and analysis of ideas, writing, data collection, numerical analysis, tutor meetings, production of final outcome, evaluation, writing the report): Milestone one: See Gantt Chart

How long this will take: (See Gantt Chart below)

Target date (set by tutor): .........................................................................................

Milestone two: .........................................................................................

Target date (set by tutor): .........................................................................................

Section Five: Research approach and methodologies What type of research approach and methodologies are you likely to use and why?

What areas will your research cover?

Comments and agreement from tutor Comments (optional) I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be submitted for another qualification and is appropriate Agreed

Name:

Date:

Comments and agreement from project checker (if applicable) Comments (optional) I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be submitted for another qualification and is appropriate Agreed

Name:

Date: 9

Gantt Chart Milestone M1

M2 M3 M4

M5 M6 M7

Projective Activities Project formulation and Project Planning Literature Review Methodology Data Collection and Analysis Discussion of the results Report writing Presentation of the project to the Board of Directors

W1

W3

W4

W7

W8

W11

W12

Achievement based on Gantt chart (To be completed by students) Week Activities to achieve planned milestones W3

W7 W11

W16

W20

W23 W24

W16

W17

W20

W21

W23

W24

Tutor’s feedback and date

Problem formulation and Project Planning Research Problem and background to the problem Research Topic Research objectives Literature Review Key sources of information Methodology Choice of methodology Sampling Brief description of how data would be collected and analysed Data Collection and Data Analysis Data collection How it was collected Advantages and disadvantages of the technique Data Analysis Technique used to analyse the data Advantages and disadvantages of the technique Interpret the results Discussion of the results What do the results mean based on the literature reviewed?

Recommendations to solve the research problem Report writing Appropriate structure Presentation of the project to the Board of Directors

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Research Ethics Approval Form All students conducting research activity that involves human participants or the use of data collected from human participants are required to gain ethical approval before commencing their research. Please answer all relevant questions and note that your form may be returned if incomplete.

For further support and guidance please see your respective Unit Tutor.

Before competing this form, we advise that you discuss your proposed research fully with your Unit Tutor. Please complete this form in good time before your research project is due to commence.

Section 1 Basic Details Project title: Student name: Student ID Number: Programme: College: Intended research start date: Intended research end date: Section 2 Project Summary Please select all research methods that you plan to use as part of your project: (Copy and paste the tick where applicable) Interviews: Questionnaires: Observations: Use of Personal Records:

Data Analysis: Action Research: Focus Group: Other (Please specify):

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Section 3: Participants Please answer the following questions, giving full details where necessary.

Will your research involve human participants?

Who are the participants? Tick all that apply: Ages 12-16:  Young People aged 17-18: 

Adults: 

How will participants be recruited (identified and approached)?

Describe the processes you will use to inform participants about what you are doing: How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written? How will it be made clear to participants that they may withdraw consent to participate at any time?

Studies involving questionnaires: Will participants be given the option of omitting questions they do not wish to answer?

Yes: 

No: 

If No please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical issues arising from this Studies involving observation: Confirm whether participants will be asked for their informed consent to be observed.

Yes: 

No: 

Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e. give them a brief explanation of the study)?

Yes: 

No: 

Will participants be given information about the findings of your study? (This could be a brief summary of your findings in general) Yes:

No: 

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Section 4: Data Storage and Security Confirm that all personal data will be stored and processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act (1998) Yes:  No:  Who will have access to the data and personal information?

During the research: Where will the data be stored?

Will mobile devices such as USB storage and laptops be used? Yes:  No:  If yes, please provide further details: After the research: Where will the data be stored?

How long will the data and records be kept for and in what format?

Will data be kept for use by other researchers?

Yes:  No:  If yes, please provide further details:

Section 5: Ethical Issues Are there any particular features of your proposed work which may raise ethical concerns?

Yes:  No:  If so, please outline how you will deal with these: It is important that you demonstrate your awareness of potential risks that may arise as a result of your research. Please consider/address all issues that may apply. Ethical concerns may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Informed consent.

• Potentially vulnerable participants.

• Sensitive topics.

• Risks to participants and/or researchers.

• Confidentiality/anonymity.

• Disclosures/limits to confidentiality.

• Data storage and security, both during and after the research (including transfer, sharing, encryption, protection).

• Reporting.

• Dissemination and use of your findings.

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Section 6: Declaration I have read, understood and will abide by the institution’s Research and Ethics Policy: Yes:  No: I have discussed the ethical issues relating to my research with my Unit Tutor: Yes:  No:  I confirm that to the best of my knowledge: The above information is correct and that this is a full description of the ethics issues that may arise in the course of my research.

Name: .....................................................................................................................................................................

Date: ...................................................................................

Please submit your completed form to ......................................................................................................................................................................

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