Question: A large retail organisation owns a supermarket situated on the edge of a town. This is just one of 200 supermarkets that they own

26 Sep 2022,10:41 PM

 

CASE SCENARIO

A large retail organisation owns a supermarket situated on the edge of a town. This is just one of 200 supermarkets that they own. The supermarket was built in the 1990’s and has two storeys: one at ground level (the ground floor) and one directly above it (the first floor). The ground floor stocks food and drink products; the first floor sells a range of non-food items including small electrical equipment, clothes, and soft furnishings. At the end of the first floor there is a café area with a large balcony overlooking the ground floor shopping area. The drop from the balcony to the ground floor is approximately 16 feet (5 metres). The edge of the balcony has a toughened glass barrier that is supported by regularly spaced metal poles.

 

The supermarket employs 255 permanent workers. The workforce comprises of shopfloor, warehouse and administrative workers, shopfloor supervisors, three shift managers, six heads of department, the deputy supermarket manager (DSM) and the supermarket manager (SM). The SM has been managing similar sized supermarkets for over 20 years; they joined this supermarket two years ago. The DSM alternates their hours so that they work over the three shifts during any 3-month period. The SM works the same shift every day (between 10:00 and 18:00 which are usually the busiest times of the day).

The café has seating for approximately 80 people and at peak times it is usually full. Each day approximately 5000 customers use the supermarket. The supermarket is open between 05:00 and 22:00 Monday to Saturday, and between 10:00 and 16:00 on Sundays. There is a shift-system in operation for the workers:

 

Monday - Saturday
Shift hours	Lunch break
05:00 – 15:00	30 minutes
09:00 – 19:00
12:00 – 22:00

 

Sunday
Shift hours	Lunch break
10:00 – 14:00	None
12:00 – 16:00

 

In addition to these times, workers are expected to be at the supermarket 30 minutes before their shift starts so that activities can be assigned. The workers are also expected to work six days per week.

 

Profit margins on most goods are small, so the supermarket needs to sell products in high volumes. Therefore, the SM is mainly concerned with their workers keeping shelves fully stocked to meet

 

customer demand. When not in their office, they spend their time walking up and down the aisles checking for empty shelves. There have been occasions when the SM has criticised workers in front of customers for allowing stock to run low.

 

Last year, the supermarket was listed in the top 10 for sales and the SM wants to do even better this year. The SM has, therefore, set the sales target at 25% higher than the previous year. They have told the workers that they do not care how it is done, but the supermarket must be in the top 5 this year for everyone to receive their bonus. The SM is reluctant to spend money on anything that is not directly linked to increasing sales and profit. They also want to cut costs. The latest initiative to achieve this is to reduce working hours of their external cleaning contractors. Instead, workers will do some of the cleaning at the end of their shifts, using the contractor’s equipment. The SM is also proud of the fact that the supermarket was second lowest in the country for the number of ‘lost time incidents’.

 

As a result of high demand, leading up to a very busy national holiday period, 20 additional temporary workers have been recruited on zero-hours contracts. This type of contract means that the organisation only has to pay the temporary workers for the hours they need them to work. The hourly rate of pay is set at the minimum that the organisation is legally obliged to pay.

 

The SM generally thinks it is not worth investing too much effort in training temporary workers. Instead, training should be kept to a minimum. However, before starting work, all temporary workers have the same brief induction, which is delivered in English. This consists of a 2-minute video explaining the organisation’s values. This is followed by some specific instruction on shelf-stacking techniques. Also included are some tips on keeping customers happy and enticing them to buy more. However, five of these temporary workers are not fluent in either written or spoken English and have asked for more training and information (including a job description). They are told by one of the shopfloor supervisors to just copy what everyone else does and to read the documents that are on the noticeboard in the rest room (where workers take breaks). The supervisor said they would check on these workers later in the week. The documents on the noticeboard include old versions of the supermarket’s health and safety policy, and the procedure for reporting any health and safety issues and equipment defects, or problems. These documents are obscured by other notices such as ‘items for sale’ and social events that have been placed there by other workers.

 

The temporary workers are given a uniform (not including footwear) and immediately start work in areas where they are needed most, such as shelf-stacking and working in the café. They are pleased about this as they want to work as many hours as possible.

 

You are a newly-appointed, group health and safety manager (GHSM) for the retail organisation. You are visiting all of the organisation’s supermarkets to understand how health and safety is managed across the whole organisation. You arrive unannounced at this supermarket at 08:00 one day and request to see the SM. You are greeted by the DSM instead. You ask where the SM is, and are told that they do not start work until 10:00 each day.

 

You ask the DSM to show you around the supermarket. They show you the departments on the ground floor and then take you to the warehouse area. You notice that workers are reluctant to engage with you. However, you do manage to get the attention of one worker and ask them if they could talk to you for a few minutes.

 

Initially the worker is very reluctant to talk, but they seem to relax after a few minutes. The worker tells you that the SM has made it clear to all warehouse workers that they must never speak to external visitors. You note that one of the warehouse workers is stretching upwards to get some stock down from one of the higher shelves. You ask them why they are not using one of the many lifting aids that are available. The worker replies that many of these aids are faulty, and the use of them often results in goods falling from the aids and onto people. They also say that the SM blames workers for any breakages and deducts the cost from their salary. When you ask the worker about the risk to their health from working this way, the worker tells you that they would rather risk injury than lose money. You also ask the worker why they are not wearing their uniform and personal protective equipment. The worker responds that the SM only provides workers with one free uniform.

 

Once the uniform wears out they can order a replacement, but the cost is deducted from their wages. The worker goes on to say that the SM believes that as the warehouse workers do not enter the customer areas, there is no need for them to wear the uniform.

 

You cannot believe what you have just heard and, as you walk away from the worker, you ask the DSM about this. The DSM tells you that, unfortunately, the worker is correct in what they say. They also tell you in confidence that they are about to hand in their notice as they have been offered a new job. You ask why they wish to leave the supermarket, and the DSM says that they are tired of the SM’s attitude, especially when things go wrong (‘it is never the SM’s fault!’). The DSM adds that they cannot see attitudes changing and as time goes on, they have seen other workers beginning to adopt the same attitude towards safety as the SM. In fact, the situation seems to get worse with every new intake of workers.

 

Your tour ends in the café area. The first thing that you notice is the adhesive tape wrapped around one of the metal poles on the glass barrier. The tape is securing the metal pole to one of the main building support pillars and has a small sign on it saying ‘Danger - keep away’. You walk over to get a better look at it and the DSM tells you that they have been trying for at least 12 months to replace the loose pole, but the SM is reluctant to spend money on things that will not return a profit. The DSM goes on to explain that they are particularly concerned about the state of the barrier; and tells you of an incident that happened last month in a similar supermarket in the same town, where a shopper had fallen over a first-floor barrier. The national press had heavily publicised the incident. You ask if the SM had taken any action following this, and are told that the SM just said that the sign should stop the same thing happening in this supermarket. The DSM goes on to tell you that they often arrange for low-cost repairs to be carried out, for especially dangerous cases, without the SM’s knowledge. But they add that there is only so much they can do without the SM finding out. You say that you will immediately arrange for a contractor to replace the damaged metal pole.

 

You ask the DSM if the risk assessment has been reviewed to take account of the additional risks from the damaged metal pole. They reply that there is no up-to-date risk assessment as the SM considered it a waste of time. You can see that the DSM is uncomfortable and believes that risks need to be managed so that all the supermarket’s workers can carry out their job safely. The DSM’s beliefs reflect the values and goals of the retail organisation.

 

The DSM goes on to say that they are concerned that not all workers are reporting incidents; they think this might be because of fearing an adverse reaction from the SM. The DSM also says that they are not sure what the SM does about any incidents that are reported. The DSM also tells you that they have seen workers turning up for work even when the worker is clearly not well enough to do so.

 

The DSM gives you an example of this, where a temporary warehouse worker was taken to hospital after a forklift truck had accidentally run over their foot. The worker’s foot was badly broken and needed surgery; they were released from hospital two days later and told to rest. Despite having to use crutches, the worker immediately returned to work, as they could not afford to lose the money. The SM refused to accept liability for the accident even though the accident was caused by the FLT’s faulty brakes, and said it was the worker’s own fault as they should not have been in that area. However, the SM did eventually agree to offer the worker money to compensate them. The SM also told the worker that they could take time off and receive full pay if they agreed to keep quiet about the matter. The worker agreed to this and so the SM told the DSM to not bother reporting the accident outside of the supermarket.

 

As you complete the tour the SM arrives. Word has already reached them that you have been talking to workers. They start by saying “You have no right to interfere in the running of my supermarket. Things are fine as they are!”. They point out that their accident rate is low. You calmly explain that you are here to help, not hinder. To emphasise this point, you explain that you will be arranging for the replacement of the metal pole. The SM asks who will pay for that as there is no money in the budget. You explain that, on this occasion, the cost will be covered by the central head office budget. The SM appears happier, but tells you that the money does not really need to be spent as health and safety is unnecessary bureaucracy. They also tell you that they do not need to know any of the details, so you should liaise with the DSM.

 

You tell the SM that, in your short visit, you have seen several examples where safety is well below the standard you would have expected. You will contact the SM next week to discuss the SM’s responsibilities and the specific issues noted during the visit. You thank the DSM for their time and give them your contact details. You tell the DSM to contact you at any time if they need any support.

 

When you return to head office you report back to the group health and safety director (GHSD). You tell them about the SM’s attitude, but report that the DSM was very helpful and open about the challenges that they face. You tell the GHSD that you will arrange for the pole repair and will arrange to contact the SM next week.

 

You immediately arrange for a contractor to carry out the repairs, but the first available appointment is in four days’ time. However, two days after your visit to the supermarket you receive an urgent phone call from the DSM. They tell you that a customer has sustained very serious injuries. The customer was meeting a friend in the café. While they were talking, the customer leant against the glass barrier attached to the broken pole. The metal support pole broke free, the customer fell over the edge onto the floor below. They landed on a metal shelving unit, suffering severe injuries. The customer’s friend later told the DSM that they did not see the sign warning of the danger.

 

The DSM is upset by this accident. You ask to speak to the SM, but are told that the SM is unavailable. After hearing the news about the accident, the SM left the supermarket saying that they were unwell, leaving the DSM in charge.

 

Task 1: Enforcement Policy Statement and Regulation

 

1            The local health and safety enforcement agency has investigated the accident and has decided to prosecute the retail organisation. To come to this decision, they used the principles in the ‘Enforcement Policy Statement’ produced by the British Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

 

(a)     Referring to the principles of proportionality, targeting and consistency of approach within the ‘Enforcement Policy Statement’ what will the enforcement agency have considered when deciding on this enforcement

action?                                         (10)

Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.

 

(b)     It appears the supermarket’s SM does not understand the impact of legislation on health and safety.

 

(i)      What role can legislation play in improving health and safety in the supermarket?                           (12)

 

Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.

(ii)     What are the limitations of health and safety legislation in any

workplace?                                  (8)

 

(c)     The International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) ‘Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation’ (R164) Article 10 (a) - (c) and 10 (f) - (g) sets specific obligations for organisations to meet.

 

 

How might these obligations have been contravened by this supermarket?

 

Notes: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.

You do not have to consider obligations 10(d) and 10(e).

 

 

Task 2: Preparation for, and challenges with, behavioural change programmes

 

2            (a)     What actions could the retail organisation take to help ensure that the

SM’s goals align with theirs?                                           (8)

 

(b)     Explain why the SM appears to have a mainly ‘transactional’ leadership

style.                                (12)

 

Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.

 

(c)     The GHSM thinks a blame culture exists at the supermarket.

(i)      Explain why the GHSM might think this.   (6)

 

(ii)      How could the retail organisation develop a no-blame culture at the supermarket?                           (10)

 

Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.

 

(d)     The retail organisation decides to use a behavioural change programme to improve safety performance at the supermarket.

 

(i)      For the programme to be a success, what actions could the retail organisation take, before the behavioural change programme is

implemented?                               (10)

(ii)      What barriers could affect the success of the behavioural change

programme following implementation?                               (15)

 

 

Task 3: High reliability organisations

 

3            High reliability organisations have five characteristics. Two of these are ‘learning orientation’ and ‘mindful leadership’.

 

(a)     Comment on how effectively the supermarket meets the ‘learning

orientation’ characteristic.                  (12)

 

(b)     Comment on how effectively the retail organisation meets the ‘mindful

leadership’ characteristic.                    (8)

 

Note: You should support all your answers, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.

 

Task 4: Why health and safety risks must be integrated into main business risk

 

4            An investigation into the incident has criticised the supermarket for putting profit before safety.

 

 

How can this supermarket make sure it treats health and safety risks equal to other business risks?

 

Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.

 

(15)

 

Task 5: Accident frequency rates

 

5            The table below shows the lost time accident history of this supermarket over the past 3 years.

 

Year	1	2*	3
Number of reported accidents	12	4	3
Number of hours worked	250000	300500	350000
Days lost due to accidents	30	22	21

 

* The SM joined the supermarket at the beginning of year 2.

 

The table below shows the lost time accident history of a different supermarket within the same retail organisation over the past 3 years.

 

Year	1	2	3
Number of reported accidents	9	8	7
Number of hours worked	250000	250000	250000
Days lost due to accidents	20	18	16

 

(a)     Calculate the accident frequency rate, based on 100000 hours worked, for EACH of the years for BOTH supermarkets.

 

Show your calculations at EACH step.                                   (6)

 

(b)     What conclusions are the retail organisation’s Board of Directors likely to

make when comparing the accident data of the two supermarkets?                                           (5)

 

(c)     What are the possible limitations of this data?         (5)

 

 

Part 2: Workplace-based activities

 

The following activities must be carried out on your chosen workplace. Typically this is the workplace in which you normally work. However, if your workplace is not suitable (for example it does not provide sufficient scope), you can choose any suitable workplace, provided you can access the information you need to complete the activities in this part.

 

Activity 1: Description of your chosen organisation

This section is very important. It describes the context of your organisation. The answers you give to the remaining activities in Part 2 must be consistent with the information you provide here. This information ‘paints a picture’ that helps the Examiner award you marks for relevance and suitability in those later activities. For example, if you work in the service sector, such as banking or insurance, it would be unusual to later describe a situation where welding contractors are repairing a chemical storage tank in your own organisation; but that would not be unusual in a chemical factory.

 

1            Provide a detailed description of your chosen organisation. Representative examples should be included where relevant.

 

As a minimum, your description must include the following

-        Industrial sector, eg agriculture, service industry, manufacturing, etc

 

-         Physical features of the site (if your chosen organisation has multiple sites, describe only the site that you are basing your assessment on)

 

-        location

 

-        approximate site area

 

-       number and types (eg offices, warehouse, etc) of buildings -         Main activities carried out at the site

-        Worker profile and work organisation at the site

 

- the main roles and responsibilities within the organisation with examples

 

- number of workers by employment status with examples, eg contract, full-time, etc

 

-        number and types of vulnerable groups

 

-        the typical work shift pattern(s).                        (10)

 

Note: You are free to include any other information that you think is relevant, but no additional marks are available. You are therefore advised to include as much relevant detail as you can under the above categories.

If the location or activity of your organisation is sensitive (for whatever reason) you are permitted to create fictitious (but nonetheless representative) details. For example, the location may be changed if this would otherwise reveal sensitive detail.

 

 

Activity 2: Hazard identification techniques

 

2            Task analysis is one form of hazard identification.

 

Select ONE work activity from your chosen organisation and carry out a task analysis using the following steps

-        outline the task AND then break the task down into individual stages

 

-        carry out an evaluation of the hazards and risks associated with EACH stage

 

-        develop a safe working method for the task

 

-        describe how you will implement the safe working method

-        outline how you will monitor the safe working method to make sure - it is effective.

-        actions you will take should the method not be effective.                          (15)

 

Activity 3: Risk profile

 

3            Select the TWO most significant health and safety risks that your chosen organisation faces.

 

For EACH of these risks

•         justify why the risk has been selected

•         explain the nature and the level of the risk

•         outline what adverse effects may happen if the risk is realised, and the likelihood of the effects occurring

•         if the risk was to be realised, outline the level of disruption this would cause to your chosen organisation

•         comment on the effectiveness of the controls in place and any other

actions required to maintain or improve the level of risk.                                  (30)

 

Notes: The costs do not necessarily have to have a monetary value attached. There are 15 marks available for each risk.

 

 

Activity 4: Consultation

 

4            The British Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE’s) guidance document ‘Involving your workforce in health and safety’ (HSG263) sets out four stages for successfully involving workers in health and safety consultation.

 

Stage 3 is ‘Get it done: consult and involve’ which includes the following steps

 

- understanding health and safety consultation obligations (including setting up health and safety committees) with reference to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO’s) Occupational Safety and Health Convention (C155) and Recommendation (R164)

-        methods for involving the workforce.

 

(a)     Comment on the strengths and weaknesses in your chosen

organisation’s consultation process for EACH of these two steps.                               (20)

 

Notes: You must support your answers with relevant examples from your chosen organisation.

There are 10 marks available for each step.

 

(b) Based on your evaluation from 4(a), identify THREE realistic improvements for the consultation process.

 

For EACH improvement, give

-        a description of the improvement

 

-        an explanation of what the improvement is intended to do

 

-        an explanation of how the effectiveness of the improvement will be

measured.              (15)

 

Notes: You must use the Activity 4(b) format table provided in the answer sheet to record your answers.

 

There are 5 marks available for each improvement.

 

 

Activity 5: Key principles of organisational change

 

5            (a)     Select a recent or future change that your chosen organisation has carried out/is planning to carry out.

 

(i)      Provide a description of what the change is and what it is intended

to do.                            (5)

(ii) Analyse how well your chosen organisation has or will manage the change compared to the HSE’s ‘Key principles of managing

organisational change’ 1 and 3* – 9**.                          (30)

 

Notes: * Key principle 2 relates to major accident sites only. This can be included in your answer if it is relevant, but this will not attract any marks.

** Reference source: https://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/topics/orgchange.htm

 

(b)     From the analysis carried out in 5(a)(ii) select an improvement that could be made to the change process.

 

(i)      Describe the improvement and what difference it will make to the

change process.                    (5)

 

(ii) Analyse the improvement against EACH stage of the Kubler-Ross Curve to show how the proposed improvement would impact on

your chosen organisation’s workers.                 (20)

 

 

Part 3: Reflection

 

Task 1: Stakeholder engagement

 

1            (a)     Consider your personal approach to engaging with stakeholders in your professional capacity.

(i)      Comment on how you understand different stakeholder

requirements.         (10)

(ii)      Comment on how you influence different stakeholders.                                  (10) (iii)     Comment on how you act on feedback from stakeholders.                             (10)

Notes: In (a) (i), (ii) and (iii) you must give relevant examples to support your answers.

 

Your stakeholder engagement does not have to be health and safety-related; it can relate to a previous job or experience.

 

 

(b)     From your analysis in part (a) suggest THREE actions that you consider will improve your engagement with stakeholders.

 

For EACH action you must

-        provide a detailed description of the action.

 

-        explain what difference the action(s) will make to your engagement with stakeholders.

 

-        explain how you will review the effectiveness of these actions.                            (30)

 

Notes: You must use the Task 1(b) format table provided in the answer sheet to record your answer.

 

There are 10 marks available for each action.

 

 

Task 2: Transferable leadership skills

 

The aim of this part of the assessment is for you to reflect on transferable leadership and professional skills that you may already have and/or need to develop. These skills could have been acquired either through your work life (whether this is in health and safety or some other work activities) or your personal life.

 

For instance, you may want to draw examples where you have been chairing a meeting or been required to make decisions under pressure. Alternatively, you may carry out voluntary work and want to draw on this for your examples. The examples can be from any element of your working or personal life.

 

2            (a)     Compare your own leadership experience against the characteristics of a transformational leader. You should identify EIGHT transformational leader characteristics and show how these are, or are not, reflected in your own leadership style.

 

You must use relevant personal examples to support your answer.                            (20)

 

Note: You must use the Task 2(a) format table provided in the answer sheet to record your answers.

 

(b)     Select what you consider to be the TWO most important transformational leader characteristics, and comment on how you will develop these, what difference they will make to your leadership style, and how you will review

the effectiveness of the changes.                          (20)

 

Notes: You must use the Task 2(b) format table provided in the answer sheet to record your answers.

 

There are 10 marks available for each characteristic.

 

Part 4: Research project

 

Task: Short research report on health and safety management systems

 

Task brief

 

Prepare a brief report on what you believe are the THREE most significant critical success factors (CSFs) for effective health and safety management systems.

 

Make your report no more than 3500 words; approximately 500 words of the 3500 must be used for the executive summary.

 

Your report should NOT be based on your chosen organisation but on the body of evidence you research.

 

The report must

 

-        include a justification for your selection of EACH CSF

 

-        cite reliable evidence from a range of sources such as authoritative guidance, expert opinions, and other evidence to support your justification

 

-        include references for the evidence sources that you have consulted. The report must not

-        present a case study based on your chosen organisation.

 

Your research report should be presented under the following format - Executive summary

-        Introduction

-        Justification for selection of three CSFs (including evidence of research and referencing)

 

-        Conclusion

 

-        Other references, if applicable (references used in addition to those used for each identified CSF)

-        Appendices (if relevant).                                               (150)

 

MARK SCHEME

 

Marks will be awarded as follows

Criteria	Marks
Presentation, focus and executive summary	10
Introduction	10
Justification for selection of three CSF*	120
Conclusion	10

 

* Each CSF identified will be marked using the descriptors Ϯ for the following criteria	Marks
	CSF 1	CSF 2	CSF 3
Outline of CSF	5	5	5
Justification for selection of the CSF	25	25	25
Evidence of research and use of appropriate referencing	10	10	10
	[max 40]	[max 40]	[max 40]

Ϯ Marks will be allocated using the descriptors on the following pages.

 

 

Ϯ Descriptors

Criteria	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Presentation, focus and executive summary [max 10]	7-10	4-6	0-3
Structure and focus Coherent and logical structure	Structure and focus The report has a clear, logical structure and the focus of the report has a clear link to the task brief.	Structure and focus The report generally has a clear, logical structure in the majority of areas; the focus of the report is generally to the task brief.	Structure and focus The report is unclear and not logically structured. The focus of the report does not generally relate to the task brief.
Uses concise and clear language to convey the information	Clear concise language has been used to convey the information.	The language used is generally concise but is slightly ambiguous or unclear in some areas.	The language is unclear and does not convey information in a concise way.
Appropriate technical language is used	Technical language has been used appropriately.	Technical language has generally been used appropriately.	Technical language has not been used appropriately.
Presentational devices used where appropriate	Appropriate presentational devices, eg tables and figures are used where relevant.	Presentational devices used, eg tables and figures are mostly appropriate for the information being conveyed.	Presentational devices, eg tables, figures are limited or not relevant.
Executive summary Coherent and logical format giving clear information	Executive summary A clear, logical format giving clear information.	Executive summary Format is generally good but does not flow in some areas and some information appears to be missing.	Executive summary Format is poor and information is unclear.
Outline of 3 CSFs	3 CSFs outlined clearly/briefly.	2 CSFs outlined, but outline is unclear in some areas.	1 or no CSF outlined. Where an outline is included, it is unclear.
Outline of main findings/ conclusions	Brief but clear outline of findings/ conclusions.	Outline of findings/ conclusions that is unclear or missing key information in some areas.	Findings/conclusions are poor.
Approximately 500 words (one sheet of A4) used.	Approximately 500 words used.
Introduction [max 10]	7-10	4-6	0-3
Clear and concise aims and objective of report   Relates to task brief	The aims and objectives are clearly stated and relate to the task brief.	The aims and objectives are given but detail in some areas is brief or unclear; they generally relate to the task brief.	The aims and objectives have either not been given or are described poorly and/or do not relate to the task brief.

 

ID1-0003-ENG-OBE-QP-V2 Sept22 © NEBOSH 2022                                                                        page 9 of 11

 

Overview/introduction of research topic.	The topic is clearly and succinctly introduced.	The topic is introduced but detail in some areas is brief or unclear.	The topic is either not introduced or the detail is very poor.
Description of methodology used.	Clear description of the methodology used to carry out the research.	A methodology has been outlined but this is brief or unclear in some areas.	A methodology is very poor/unclear.
Justification for selection of three CSFs The following three descriptors must be used to mark EACH of the three CSFs identified.
Outline of CSF [max 5]	4-5	2-3	0-1
Clear description of CSF   CSF identified is in line with the task brief	Description of the CSF is clear and is in line with the task brief.	Description of the CSF is generally clear, but more detail could have been provided. The CSF identified is in line with the task brief.	Description of the CSF is very unclear The CSF identified is outside of the task brief.
Justification for choosing the CSF [max 25]	15-25	6-14	0-5
Justification for selection of the CSF	Clear justification given for selection of the CSF.	The justification given for selection of the CSF is generally good, but further arguments could have been made, or the arguments made are unclear in some areas.	The justification given for selection of the CSF is generally poor.
Justification includes reasoned arguments	Learner has included clear reasoned arguments.	Learner has included reasoned arguments in the justification but these are brief or unclear in some areas.	Reasoned arguments are very poor and/or not always related to the CSF.
Arguments supported by research evidence and/or relevant literature	Arguments are supported by evidence.	Arguments are generally supported by evidence.	The evidence cited is poor and/or not relevant to the argument.
Evidence of research and use of appropriate referencing [max 10]	7-10	4-6	0-3
Evidence of a range of reliable evidence sources used in research	Clear evidence that learner has researched a range of reference sources.	There is evidence that learner has researched a range of reference sources.	There is little evidence to suggest that the learner has researched a range of reference sources.
Research evidence (literature/reference material) is appropriate and clearly linked to the identified CSF	The research evidence used is appropriate for and clearly linked to the identified CSF.	The research evidence used is generally appropriate for the identified CSF but in some areas the link is not clear.	The research evidence used does not link to the identified CSF.

 

 

Cited evidence is reliable, relevant and good quality	The reference sources used are from reliable, relevant and good quality sources.	The reference sources used are generally from reliable, relevant and good quality sources.	The reference sources that have been used are generally from unreliable sources and/or do not relate to the identified CSF.
Correctly and consistently formatted references and citations, eg Harvard style	Referencing is based on a known/ recognised style.   Reference technique is excellent and consistently formatted.	Referencing is generally based on a known/recognised style.   Referencing technique is good and generally consistently formatted.	Referencing is not based on a known/ recognised style   A poor attempt has been made to reference the research.
Conclusion [max 10]	7-10	4-6	0-3
Conclusion references aims and objectives	Good, clear conclusion that references the aims and objectives of the report.	The conclusion is generally clear but further clarity is required in some areas; generally clear referencing of the aims and objectives.	The conclusion is very poor; there is little or no reference to the aims and objectives of the report.
The aims and objectives are the same as those given in the introduction	Aims and objectives given are the same as those given in the introduction.	Aims and objectives given are generally the same as those given in the introduction.	Aims and objectives given do not generally refer to those given in the introduction
Summary of main findings	There is a concise summary of the main findings.	The summary of the main findings is generally clear but further detail could have been given in some areas.	The summary of the main findings is poor.
Credible conclusions that relate to the task brief	The conclusions made are credible and relate to the task brief.	The conclusions made are generally credible and relate to the task brief.	The conclusions made are generally not credible and do not relate to the task brief.
New factors should not be introduced at the conclusion stage	There is no introduction of any new factors.	There is some introduction of new factors.	There is introduction of new factors.