LO1. Examine the role and importance of traditional and more recent leadership theories and concepts for the health and care setting.

	Assessment Brief HCM5003 Concepts and Leadership Theories in Health and Care
Module title:	Concepts and Leadership Theories in Health and Care
Module code:	HCM5003
Assignment title:	Consultancy Portfolio
Assignment format:	Portfolio
Word/time limit:	3000 words
File type	Word Document (.docx)
Percentage of final grade	This assignment is worth 100% of your final grade for this module.
Submission deadline	See module iLearn page for date of submission.
Grade release	You will normally receive your provisional grade and feedback within 20 working days of the submission deadline.

Useful terms:

Learning outcomes (LOs)	The skills and knowledge that you should be able to show in your work.
Rubric	A set of rules or guidelines used to grade or assess work.

Task summary:

You are required to produce a leadership consultancy portfolio for an organisation listed as ‘requires improvement’ on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website. This portfolio will examine relevant leadership theories and provide recommendations for improvement.

Assignment instructions:

For this task, you must produce a written consultancy portfolio based on an organisation requiring improvement on the CQC website. Your portfolio should include:

• An introduction with an analysis of organisational culture and leadership theories (500 words)
• A presentation of the organisation undergoing change (500 words)
• A report on selection, recruitment, vision/mission, and scanning tools such as PESTEL (1000 words)
• Leadership development suggestions and advice to the board (1000 words)

Your work must show an understanding of the leadership needs for improvement and should be informed by relevant theories and models.

For this task, you must produce a Word Document.

You are welcome to create your own structure for your portfolio, but you can use the following structure to ensure you cover all of the requirements and learning outcomes:

• Table of Contents with page numbers to demonstrate the structure of the leadership consultancy portfolio.
• Executive Summary – (100-150 words) – not included in the main word count.
• Introduction to the portfolio (100-150 words) – Outline the assignment’s aims and topic, introduce the selected health/care organisation and two key issues from its CQC report, and explain the structure of your portfolio.
• Part 1: Introduction and Analysis (Approx. 450-500 words) – Define organisational culture and leadership within health/care settings, explore key leadership theories, explain the CQC’s role in assessing and improving service quality, and link these concepts to the selected organisation and its identified areas for improvement.
• Part 2: Presentation of the Health/Care Organisation (Approx. 450-500 words) – Describe the organisation and its service scope, outline two key challenges identified by the CQC, explain their significance through relevant policy and regulation, assess their impact on care quality and operations, and demonstrate how effective leadership can address these issues using appropriate approaches and attributes
• Part 3: Report on Organisational Tools and Processes (Approx. 900-1000 words) – Introduce the report’s focus on addressing CQC-identified issues through change and service improvement, highlight the importance of improvement for quality care, explore relevant leadership models and organisational tools, emphasise the role of effective recruitment and leadership attributes, align leadership with the organisation’s mission/vision, and use strategic tools like PESTEL, SWOT, and benchmarking to support leadership decision-making and build a capable team for driving change
• Part 4: Leadership Development Recommendations (Approx. 900-1000 words) – Highlight the importance of effective leadership during transitions, identify challenges and required attributes, apply relevant leadership and change management theories, assess leadership competencies across transition phases, and recommend strategies including recruitment, motivation, and resistance management to drive service improvement and resolve CQC-identified issues using tools like PESTEL, SWOT, and benchmarking.
• Conclusion (100-150 words) – Summarise the portfolio’s focus on addressing CQC-identified issues through leadership-driven recommendations, and emphasise the importance of understanding leadership theories to support effective decision-making during transitional periods
• Reference list – Please include a full reference list using AU Harvard style. Please ensure that all elements of your discussion in the portfolio are supported by relevant academic citations, and that all citations are recorded in your reference list.

Essential assignment resources

Please use the CQC website to search for health and care organisations that are rated as “Requires Improvement” and choose one to use for your Portfolio.

https://www.cqc.org.uk/

Learning outcomes (LO)

By completing this assessment, you will have shown and be assessed on all five of the learning outcomes:

LO1. Examine the role and importance of traditional and more recent leadership theories and concepts for the health and care setting.

LO2. Analyse the value of using theoretical models when building an effective leadership team in a health and care setting.

LO3. Explain the role of leaders, the relevance of leadership styles and desired leadership personality characteristics in leading change in health and care settings.

LO4. Discuss recommendations on how to lead teams during transitional periods in a health and care setting to achieve maximum organisational performance.

LO5. Graduate Attribute: Discipline expertise – Knowledge and understanding of the chosen field. Possess a range of skills to operate within this sector, have a keen awareness of current developments in working practice being well-positioned to respond to change.

You will be graded based on how well you meet these learning outcomes. Your marker will use a rubric to grade your work, and you can click here to access the marking rubric for this assignment.

Guidelines and policies

You can find links to more useful information about the assignment and university policies below.

Word/time limit policy	Click here to view the Arden University word count/time limit policy
Referencing guidelines Please follow the referencing guidelines that are appropriate for your degree programme. If you are unsure which you should be using, please contact your module team.	AU Harvard: https://links.arden.ac.uk/jtp7lrog
Academic integrity and misconduct policy	Click here to view Arden University’s policy on academic integrity and misconduct
Statement on use of artificial intelligence on assessment	Click here to view Arden University’s statement on the use of artificial intelligence on assessment
Support information	Click here to view guidance on how to apply for short-term extensions Click here to view guidance on how to apply for extenuating circumstances Please click here for link to academic skills team support

About HCM5003: Concepts and Leadership Theories in Health and Care Assignment

The HCM5003 assignment is designed to help students show how leadership thinking connects with the daily realities of health and care practice. It is not about repeating textbook definitions, but about choosing one real issue in a service and linking it to leadership ideas that can guide change. For example, you might look at a team with low morale and explain how a transformational approach could build confidence, or how a situational style could help a manager adapt support for different staff members.

Strong answers are short, focused, and rooted in practice. Instead of listing many models, compare two or three and show how they would work in your chosen setting. Use plain examples such as handover delays, staff turnover, or patient complaints, then show how leadership theory can address these. Finish with a brief reflection on what the theory taught you about improving care and managing people.

Key Points for Concepts and Leadership Theories in Health and Care Assignment:

• Choose one service issue and stay focused.
• Apply leadership theory to action, not just description.
• Show clear outcomes for staff, patients, or the organisation.
• Reflect on your learning and personal leadership growth.