OTHM Level 3 Diploma in Business Management Assignment Briefs 2026

TABLE OF CONTENTS

QUALIFICATION OBJECTIVES
QUALITY, STANDARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
REGULATORY INFORMATION
EQUIVALENCES
QUALIFICATION STRUCTURE
DEFINITIONS
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
PROGRESSION
DELIVERY OF OTHM QUALIFICATIONS
ASSESSMENT AND VERIFICATION
RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING AND ACHIEVEMENT
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
UNIT SPECIFICATIONS
COMMUNICATION FOR BUSINESS
THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
 PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
 CUSTOMER SERVICE
 FINANCE IN BUSINESS
 MARKETING
IMPORTANT NOTE

QUALIFICATION OBJECTIVES

The objective of the OTHM Level 3 Diploma in Business Management qualification is to provide learners with an in-depth understanding of the operations and structure of businesses.

The qualification will provide learners with the underpinning knowledge, understanding and skills associated with business activities. It will prompt research, investigation and review of aspects of business which include Business Communication, The Business Environment, People Management, Customer Service, Finance and Marketing.

After completing OTHM Level 3 Diploma in Business Management a learner should be able to demonstrate and/or work with:

Knowledge and Understanding

• An appreciation of the body of knowledge that constitutes a discipline of business.
• A range of knowledge, facts, theories, ideas, properties, materials, terminology, practices and techniques about, and associated with, business , its functions and its context.
• Apply knowledge, skills and understanding using some of the basic, routine practices, techniques to address set situations and/or problems related to the business management of organisations.
• Relating  field of  business, functions of business,  industries, sector to a range of practical and/or commonplace applications.
  Generic Skills
• Obtain, organise and use factual, theoretical and/or hypothetical information in drawing  conclusions and suggest solutions to business organisations.
• Use a wide range of skills, such as ICT, basic analysis of range of numerical and graphical data and effective  written and oral communication.
• Take responsibility for carrying out a range of activities where the overall goal is clear, under non-directive supervision.
• Exercise some supervisory responsibility, work in teams, evaluate  the work of others and make use of  limited resources efficiently.
  Successful completion of this qualification will support learners progressing to university, and to provide learners with the requisite skills and knowledge to enter the world of work in their chosen sector.

QUALITY, STANDARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

• OTHM Qualifications are approved and regulated by Ofqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation). Visit the  Register of  Regulated Qualifications

OTHM has progression arrangements with several UK universities that acknowledges the ability of learners after studying relevant Level 3-7 qualifications to be considered for advanced entry into corresponding degree year/top up and Master’s/top-up programmes.

QUALIFICATION STRUCTURE

The OTHM Level 3 Diploma in Business Management qualification consists of 6 mandatory units making a combined total of 120 credits, 1200 hours Total Qualification Time (TQT) and 600 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) for the completed qualification.

DELIVERY OF OTHM QUALIFICATIONS

OTHM do not specify the mode of delivery for its qualifications, therefore OTHM Centres are free to deliver this qualification using any mode of delivery that meets the needs of their learners. However, OTHM Centres should consider the learners’ complete learning experience when designing the delivery of programmes.
OTHM Centres must ensure that the chosen mode of delivery does not unlawfully or unfairly discriminate, whether directly or indirectly, and that equality of opportunity is promoted. Where it is reasonable and practicable to do so, it will take steps to address identified inequalities or barriers that may arise.
Guided Learning Hours (GLH) which are listed in each unit gives centres the number of hours of teacher-supervised or direct study time likely to be required to teach that unit.

ASSESSMENT AND VERIFICATION

All units within this qualification are internally assessed by the centre and externally verified by OTHM. The qualifications are Criteria  referenced, based on the achievement of all the specified learning outcomes. 
To achieve a ‘pass’ for a unit, learners must provide evidence to demonstrate that they have fulfilled all the learning outcomes and meet the standards specified by all assessment criteria. Judgement that the learners have successfully fulfilled the assessment criteria is made by the assessor.
The assessor should provide an audit trail showing how the judgement of the learners’ overall achievement has been arrived at.
Specific assessment guidance and relevant marking criteria for each unit are made available in the Assignment Brief document. These are made available to centres immediately after registration of one or more learners.

RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING AND ACHIEVEMENT

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a method of assessment that considers whether learners can demonstrate that they can meet the assessment requirements for a unit through knowledge, understanding or skills they already possess and do not need to develop through a course of learning.
RPL policies and procedures have been developed over time, which has led to the use of a number of terms to describe the process. Among the most common are: 
●    Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) 
●    Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) 
●    Accreditation of Prior Achievement (APA) 
●    Accreditation of Prior Learning and Achievement (APLA)
All evidence must be evaluated with reference to the stipulated learning outcomes and assessment criteria against the respective unit(s). The assessor must be satisfied that the evidence produced by the learner meets the assessment standard established by the learning outcome and its related assessment criteria at that particular level.

Most often RPL will be used for units. It is not acceptable to claim for an entire qualification through RPL. Where evidence is assessed to be only sufficient to cover one or more learning outcomes, or to partly meet the need of a learning outcome, then additional assessment methods should be used to generate sufficient evidence to be able to award the learning outcome(s) for the whole unit. This may include a combination of units where applicable.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

OTHM provides equality and diversity training to staff and consultants. This makes clear that staff and consultants must comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, and all other related equality and diversity legislation, in relation to our qualifications.

We develop and revise our qualifications to avoid, where possible, any feature that might disadvantage learners because of their age, disability, gender, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation.

If a specific qualification requires a feature that might disadvantage a particular group (e.g. a legal requirement regarding health and safety in the workplace), we will clarify this explicitly in the qualification specification.

UNIT SPECIFICATIONS

Communication for Business

Unit Aims
The aim of this unit is to provide learners with the fundamental and important skills required to communicate in a business environment.  Learners will develop an awareness of different forms of communication – non-verbal, verbal, written and IT.  This will enable learners to effectively communicate different messages by selecting the most efficient form of communication based on the situation and the message to be sent.
Learning Outcomes. Assessment Criteria and Indicative Content

The Business Environment

Unit Aims
The aim of this unit is to provide learners with an understanding of the concept of a business environment.  Learners will develop an awareness of different types of business sectors and forms as well as different business functions.   Additionally, learners will be able to gain an understanding of the internal and external environments of a business, where micro and macro-economic factors have a significant influence on business activity.  This will enable learners to effectively assess a business’ internal and external environments.
Learning Outcomes, Assessment Criteria and Indicative Content