BTEC Unit 4 Leadership and Management Assignment 1 Brief 2025 | UOS

BTEC Unit 4 Assignment Brief 1

Submission Format:

You are required to submit a cover sheet with details of programme name, module name, assignment title, tutor name, student name, student number, submission date and word count.

The assignment submission is in the form of a case study report, written in a concise style. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate. The recommended word limit is 2,000–2,500 words, although you will not be penalised for going under or exceeding the total word limit.

All work must be supported with research and referenced using the Harvard referencing system (or an alternative system). You will need to provide a bibliography using the Harvard referencing system (or an alternative system). Inaccurate use of referencing may lead to issues of plagiarism if not applied correctly.

Unit Learning Outcomes:

LO1 Examine leadership and management theories and principles, and their impact on the effectiveness of an organisation.
LO2 Review the influence of different leadership and management styles on the culture of organisations.

Transferable skills and competencies developed:

• Understand different leadership styles, how to lead multiple and remote teams and how to manage team leaders
• Able to communicate effectively (verbal, non-verbal, written, digital) and be flexible in communication style
• Able to analyse and evaluate a range of business data and sources of information
• Able to undertake critical analysis and evaluation to support decision-making
• Interpretation of information that allows for evaluation of theory in relation to practice.

Vocational scenario:

Organisation

You are working at a digital tech store* that is one of a chain of retail stores owned and operated by a large multinational company. 

The stores sell various products, including personal computers, smartphones, tablet computers, smartwatches, digital media players, software and both branded and selected third-party accessories. Customers can shop by either walking into the store, buying online or reserving a shopping one-to-one session. Store employees receive above-average pay, are offered money towards education and healthcare and receive product discounts. However, there are limited or no paths of career advancement. 

Role 

You have recently been employed as a sales team leader on the shop floor, reporting to the sales solutions manager. You lead and manage a team of eight members, and your key responsibilities are to: 

• provide direction, leadership, inspiration and motivation to team members 
• coach and mentor team members 
• focus on leading your team on selling products 
• assist team members to reach sales targets 
• work to targets and prioritise tasks to meet and exceed these targets 
• make decisions regarding operational activities 
• undertake regular ‘one-to-ones’ with direct reports, providing feedback 
• manage attendance 
• review and interpret management information. 

*Select local digital tech store. Alternatively, with the approval of tutor, you can select any store of your choice. Subsequent discussion will be on the appropriate industry related to the store of your choice.

BTEC Unit 4 Assignment activity and guidance:

Case study report

As a new employee, you are to complete on boarding training to help you understand leadership and management in action. As part of this on boarding process, you have been asked to undertake a case study report to critically evaluate leadership and management in the company, researching theories and the impact they have on decision-making and the factors that influence culture within the company.

Research into additional digital tech store business examples could be used to assist in your research analysis and evaluation. 

Your report should consider but not limited to the following:

• definitions and comparison between leaders and managers, including a comparison of hard and soft skills
• exploration of different theories of management
• analysis of various leadership theories with examples 
• evaluate the impact of leadership and management approach the on decision-making within the company
• examine the factors that influence the development of the culture within the company organisations including the role of leaders and managers and evaluate the importance of culture in different organisations
• comparison of leadership and management styles and activities in different organisations and discuss their application in a range of business situations in different organisations (e.g. compare different styles of leadership and management approach taken in a business context) and evaluate their effectiveness and the impact that the leadership and management role have on culture and performance.

(Note: You should examine and compare at least three different styles of leadership and management approach taken in a business context to evaluate their effectiveness and the impact that the leadership and management role has on culture and performance.)