61660 and 61663 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for HR Practitioners Assessment 1: Group Presentation June 2025 and Sept 2025 cohorts

Assessment task details and instructions

In small groups (max 4 students) deliver a PowerPoint presentation that proposes a business case to support the creation of a diverse workforce in an organisation.

The presentation will be 20 minutes with 5 minutes for questions and feedback. The presentation should be designed for senior board members of the organisation.

You should:

• Identify a suitable organisation
• It is advisable to select an organisation that you determine needs development or is limited in EDI policy, thereby allowing you more scope to evaluate and make recommendations

To source an organisation, example sources: 
Prospects - Employer Profiles
FAME database - Financial information for public and private companies based in the UK and Ireland.
Brightmine HR (formally XpertHR) Information and legislation for the HR industry.

DO NOT use Google, Apple or Microsoft. 

• From your research identify up to three themes (issues related to diversity management) that are of concern for the organisation
• Critically examine the organisations current approach to diversity, drawing upon academic theoretical and commercial contexts
• Propose a business case for strategically improving diversity in the organisational context with rationale to support the creation of a diverse workforce in the organisation
• The business case should be supported with analysis, evaluation and synthesis of your research findings
• Consideration should be given to the strategic and operational role of HR practitioners in supporting the business case in the promotion of diversity in business
• Present the above in a professional, ethical and convincing manner for the ‘senior management board’ of your chosen organisation. Each member of the group must present.
• For academic purposes refence your work. Your final slide should include a reference list: Please ensure you use Harvard referencing guidelines: University of salford APA 7TH EDITION
  

*Note in assessment 2 you provide detail implementation plan. This will be supported with indicators for critical success. 

You will be provided with assessment preparation and feedback time during your timetabled sessions; support will be provided by your module tutors. Attendance is therefore critical. You will be required to also prepare in your own study time.

If you are unsure or have any queries relating to the assessment criteria, please ensure you contact your tutor in the first instance to check for clarification. 

Using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools

For this assessment you may use tools, software, or features of software which use artificial intelligence to generate content such as text or images, in an assistive and supportive capacity. This means you may use the tool to explore the topic or suggest draft structures and refine the wording or your work. However, the final work you submit must be the collective work of the group. Use of AI to generate content to misrepresent your own abilities or mislead your assessor is academic misconduct. When using AI tools, please use University provided tools within the requirements of the University's ICT Acceptable Use Policy, and do not upload sensitive or personal information.

Word count/ duration (if applicable)

There is no word count applicable to this assessment. The presentation will be 20 minutes with 5 minutes for questions and feedback.

How to submit

Each student will submit a copy of the presentation slides to the submission area in the Assessments Folder on Blackboard. 

The presentation will be delivered via MS Teams. A schedule for the delivery your presentation will be determined at the start of the module.

As this is a live group presentation assessment, anonymous marking will NOT apply in this case. 

Do not upload links in the submission area, as we cannot access them and therefore cannot mark your work. If you have saved your files on your University of Salford OneDrive, dragging files to the submission area may attach a link instead of the file. Always attach files using the paperclip icon. 

Feedback

You can expect to receive feedback by 31st October 2025.

Formative feedback will be provided in class sessions. General feedback will be provided orally in class after the presentation are complete.

Assessment criteria

You should look at the assessment criteria and grade descriptors within this document to find out what we are specifically looking at during the assessment. A marking rubric will be used to provide additional feedback; a copy is located within the assessment area of blackboard. 

Marks for your assessment will be allocated based the criteria below. You will receive an individual mark based upon the group content combined with the individual presentation delivery mark.

A marking rubric will be used to support the marking; a copy is available in the module blackboard site.

Please note that the standard University of Salford L7 grade descriptors will also be used when determining the level of your assessment. At level 7 the pass mark is 50% and the scale is:

Assessed intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

1. Critically examine equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) from a legal, social, economic and human resource management context from an organisational perspective.
2. Critically evaluate the importance of an EDI strategic approach that sits with the wider organisation strategy and the role of human resource practitioners in promoting EDI and in assuring organisational compliance, including critically evaluating the business case for Diversity.
3. Develop influencing and negotiation skills
4. Present ideas in a professional, ethical and convincing manner for different types of audiences
5. Demonstrate digital skills via use of various technologies.

Employability skills developed / demonstrated

You will develop a range of employability skills sought by employers through each assessment.

Through this assessment will have an opportunity to develop and demonstrate the following employability skills:

(please put a cross in the box for the skill and level demonstrated in the assessment

I = You will have been introduced to this skill
U = You will have developed an understanding of this skill in the context of your subject
A = You will be able to apply this skill in the context of your subject
D = You will have demonstrated an enhanced understanding and application of this skill in a wider context

Support for this Assessment

You can obtain support for this assessment by ….

• Attending the lecture and seminar sessions.
• Using the learning materials provided
• Emailing the lecturers with specific queries that are not covered in the support materials– allow 3 working days for a response
• Attending lecturer’s drop-in consultation sessions (noted on Blackboard).

Other sources of support

Understanding your assessment brief/assessment tips for success 

Develop your academic and digital skills 

Assessment rules and processes 

Support services

Issues affecting your assessment

If exceptional circumstances have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about the Exceptional Circumstances Procedure (previously Personal Mitigating Circumstances) here.  Independent advice is available from the Students’ Union Advice Centre. 

Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct

You must learn and demonstrate good academic conduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correct referencing of source materials. 

Academic integrity & referencing

Referencing  

Academic misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in your academic work.  Some examples are plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment for you, unauthorised use of AI or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconduct seriously. 

Reassessment arrangements

If you fail your assessment, and are eligible for reassessment, you will be able to find the date for resubmission on your module site in Blackboard. You will also be notified by the Programme Admin team. There is no resubmission if you are on a retake attempt.

For students with accepted personal mitigating circumstances for absence/non submission, this will be your replacement assessment attempt.  

The assessment will remain the same but delivered on an individual basis.

We know that having to undergo a reassessment can be challenging however support is available.  Have a look at all the sources of support outlined earlier in this brief.

ASSURANCE OF LEARNING

The purpose of this section is to help students to identify the professional skills which they will have gained or developed through completing this assessment.  
These are the relevant skills and attributes aligned to the AACSB Assurance of Learning (AOLs). 

AACSB PG AOL Competencies and Traits

EDI HRP Marking Rubric Assessment 1 – Group Presentation (20 Minutes)

AACSB Marking Rubric