1. business and industrial

Faculty of Engineering, Kingston University in partnership with KLM UK Engineering, Norwich:
Foundation Degree in Aircraft Engineering
Tracking Maths from the first module to Maths in the operational
environment
This is important in this exemplar because:
1. There is a sequential ‘chain’ of recontextualisation i.e. the use and
development of mathematical skills throughout the programme.
2. There is an emphasis on learners being able to estimate and ‘work
things out in their heads’ and know roughly what answers to expect
from their calculations.
3. The aim is for learners to be able to ‘understand and manipulate
number patterns’ so that they can undertake aircraft maintenance
safely.
This Guidance Note will be of interest to any provider wishing to understand the
sequencing of knowledge in modular programmes i.e. Content and Pedagogic
Recontextualisation.
A programme for career entrants that addresses a skills shortage by meshing a Foundation Degree with
industry licensing requirements
Faculty of Engineering, Kingston University in partnership with KLM UK Engineering, Norwich:
Foundation Degree in Aircraft Engineering
Maths in the first course module:
Module Code:
AE0311
Module Title:
Technology Mathematics 1
Level:
3
Entry Requirements:
None
Delivery Mode:
Daytime block
Aims:
To teach students the fundamentals of engineering mathematics and equip them with the
mathematical skills necessary for the completion of the Aircraft Engineering course.
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of the module the student should be able to:
i)
Understand the terms associated with arithmetic, select and use appropriate
arithmetic methods to solve problems and perform arithmetic calculations using
standard rules of precedence and notation.
ii)
Describe the properties and uses of different numbering systems, convert numbers
between bases and perform basic arithmetic operations on numbers with different
bases.
iii)
Evaluate algebraic functions and solve linear, simultaneous and quadratic equations.
iv)
Identify geometric constructions and solve geometric and trigonometric problems.
v)
Demonstrate the characteristic features of graphs and be able to represent data and
functions in graphical form. Relate Cartesian (polar) co-ordinates to vectors and vice
versa and perform related calculations.
vi)
Explain the uses of integration and differentiation and solve practical problems using
elementary differential and integral calculus.
We can see that key elements of the Maths module are:
•
Basic arithmetic; fractions and decimals; factors and multiples; weights,
measures and conversion factors; ratios and proportions; averages and
percentages; areas and volumes, squares, cubes, square and cube roots.
•
Simple algebraic equations; indices and power; binary and other numbering
systems, logarithms.
•
Geometry; graphs; trigonometry; tables etc.
A programme for career entrants that addresses a skills shortage by meshing a Foundation Degree with
industry licensing requirements
Faculty of Engineering, Kingston University in partnership with KLM UK Engineering, Norwich:
Foundation Degree in Aircraft Engineering
How does Maths play out in other modules?
Here is a sample of modules with their Maths components…..
In the Science module:
•
•
•
Forces, moments and couples are represented as vectors (in
Mechanics).
Solid, fluid and gas have to be measured and represented.
In thermodynamics, volumes and pressures have to be
calculated and represented.
A programme for career entrants that addresses a skills shortage by meshing a Foundation Degree with
industry licensing requirements
Faculty of Engineering, Kingston University in partnership with KLM UK Engineering, Norwich:
Foundation Degree in Aircraft Engineering
In the Electrical Fundamentals module:
•
•
•
Learners have to use Ohms Law and undertake arithmetical
calculations to find resistance, voltage and current.
Power, work and energy calculations are undertaken following
particular formulae.
Magnetomotive force is calculated and represented using
appropriate algorithms.
In the Materials and Hardware module:
•
•
•
Ferrous materials have to be tested for hardness, tensile
strength, fatigue strength and impact resistance and results
recorded mathematically.
Measurement is required in defect repair.
Screw threads for fasteners have to be measured.
In the Maintenance Practices module:
•
•
•
Learners have to understand the nature and properties of gas
and electricity in order to take adequate safety precautions.
Dimensions, tolerances and allowances have to be calculated in
order to comply with standards of workmanship.
Tools and equipment have to be calibrated.
In the Digital Techniques module:
•
•
•
All electronic and digital systems work on the basis of
numbering systems and binaries.
Data have to be converted from analogue to digital and vice
versa.
Logic diagrams have to be understood and interpreted.
In the Aerodynamics module:
•
•
•
Air flow around the body of the plane has to be calculated.
Thrust and weight need to be understood.
Glide ratios have to be calculated and represented.
In the Structures and Systems module:
•
•
•
Learners need to be able to understand and calculate the speed
of sound.
Classify airframe structures.
Understand the principles of cabin pressurisation.
A programme for career entrants that addresses a skills shortage by meshing a Foundation Degree with
industry licensing requirements
Faculty of Engineering, Kingston University in partnership with KLM UK Engineering, Norwich:
Foundation Degree in Aircraft Engineering
In the Propulsion and Propeller modules:
•
•
•
Engine indication systems require understanding of
temperatures, engine pressure ratios, engine speed, and oil
pressures.
Angles of propeller blades and their rotational speed.
Understanding how gross thrust, net thrust, choked nozzle
thrust etc are calculated and represented.
Although the above modules have a practical dimension to them, it is
in modules pertaining to working on the aircraft that the learners
have to perform mathematical functions on an actual aircraft:
Module Code:
AE1301
Module Title:
Workshop and Hangar Practice (B1 and B2 licence)
Level:
4
Entry Requirements:
None
Delivery Mode:
Daytime block
Prerequisites:
Modules AE1317 and AE2318 should be completed prior to commencing this
module or should run concurrently with it.
Aims:
To ensure the student is competent at using hand tools, power tools and other workshop and
hangar equipment, safely and correctly in accordance with verbal and/or written instructions.
To teach the students the disciplines associated with the category of licence they are being trained
for.
To teach the student to work with aircraft materials, equipment and hardware and produce the
standard of workmanship required of an aircraft maintenance engineer.
To teach students to maintain clean working conditions, to observe safety precautions for
themselves, others, the aircraft and the working environment and to have a responsible attitude in
respect to flight safety and airworthiness of the aircraft.
Some examples:
A programme for career entrants that addresses a skills shortage by meshing a Foundation Degree with
industry licensing requirements
Faculty of Engineering, Kingston University in partnership with KLM UK Engineering, Norwich:
Foundation Degree in Aircraft Engineering
•
•
•
•
•
A steel block exercise requires learners to manufacture a stud block
within a tolerance of +/- 0.02mm using cutting and measuring
equipment.
A butt plate and solid rivet exercise requires learners to mark out,
drill and countersink holes in order to install a selection of blind and
solid fasteners.
In order to insert a repair to a wing structure, a learner has to
manufacture a repair plate to the dimensions laid down in the
relevant manuals/repair schemes.
Remove, inspect and refit an aircraft propeller spinner.
Carry out functional checks of fuel control and cross-feed systems.
WHAT WE SEE HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF ‘GRADUAL RELEASE’
WHEREBY THE KNOWLEDGE ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAMME
ARE SEQUENCED TO FACILITATE LEARNERS’ THEORETICAL
UNDERSTANDING AND THEIR SKILL DEVELOPMENT.
A programme for career entrants that addresses a skills shortage by meshing a Foundation Degree with
industry licensing requirements
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
Using ‘learning conversations’ to recognise, develop and
accredit knowledge: Setting up the ‘learning conversations’
This is important because:
1. Learning conversations pose challenges to conventional ways of
doing things.
2. Learning conversations link learning and assessment.
3. They require particular skills, knowledge and qualities on the part of
the facilitator.
4. They support particular kinds of learners.
5. They require careful setting up.
This Guidance Note is the first of three pertaining to ‘learning conversations’. It
will be of interest to providers working closely with companies – particularly
medium-sized businesses - where learners are highly skilled people who struggle
to further their education because the formal system does not cater for their
requirements – and for whom a structured programme of work-based learning is
the only viable option (Pedagogic and Workplace Recontextualisation).
A programme to accredit and extend senior companies managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
What is a learning conversation?
At their simplest, learning conversations are one-to-one telephone (or occasionally
face-to-face) dialogues + observations of the learner-manager in the workplace paperless as far as the learners are concerned
It is important to recognise the originality of (and challenges
posed by) this approach:
•
It views learning as a process owned by the learner and best stimulated by an
interest in what they want to do or achieve.
•
It is based on the learner-manager and the facilitator learning together.
•
It continuously links learning and assessment in an oral process.
•
It relies on the professionalism of the facilitator to be able to research what
the learners are saying and to make a judgement about their competence and
the gaps in their knowledge.
•
It reconstructs experience as knowledge and as a basis for change and more
learning.
•
It encourages the deepening and extending of existing learning.
•
It does not deny the valuable roles of formal study processes and academic
research but emphasises that these are not always directly relevant to
employment contexts.
•
It challenges providers, awarding bodies and quality assurance systems to
address the viability of the work-based learning approach in the context of
qualifications beyond NVQs e.g. national and higher diploma and degrees.
•
It emphasises the potential of learning conversations to contribute to
improving the performance of British Industry.
A programme to accredit and extend senior companies managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
What skills, knowledge and qualities are required of a learning
conversation facilitator?
Here is an introduction to a facilitator and his work:
“My name is Alan Hearsum. I am the Chief Executive of Glass Training Ltd., the
industry training organisation for the glass sector in the UK. I am also principal
consultant and part of that role is supporting managers in the glass industry to
operationally and strategically improve business performance by using
management NVQs as a framework of learning and assessment”.
“I do this mainly through a series of one-to-one, not necessarily face-to-face,
learning conversations and observations of the candidate in their workplace or on
the telephone at a distance. It is paperless as far as the candidate is concerned
and the evidence is mainly collected by me orally and by observation. The
process is approved and verified by the awarding body”.
“I think of my primary role as a learning champion and learning facilitator
although I am also an approved assessor with the NVQ awarding body”.
“It is important that the learning facilitator has knowledge of the research-based
theoretical writings to be able to get managers to change the way they manage
based on research and not simply experience. It is the reconstruction of
experience into knowledge that allows my candidates to learn and change and to
become more effective”.
“I do feel it is essential to be qualified and competent at least in the occupation in
which you are supporting learning. You need to know and understand the culture
of the organisations you are supporting. More than this, I feel you should be
working towards a Diploma or Masters degree in workplace learning”.
Alan highlights some of his skills, knowledge and qualities – particularly:
•
Being a champion of workplace learning
•
Committed to improving business performance
•
Understanding the industry and/or companies
•
Knowing the subject i.e. management at the appropriate level
•
Knowing the occupational area
•
Having knowledge of current academic research in the area
•
Being well-versed in the theory and practice of workplace learning.
A programme to accredit and extend senior companies managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
:KRDUHWKHOHDUQHUPDQDJHUV"
Experienced, highly skilled senior individuals with substantial amounts of
accumulated knowledge which is not publicly acknowledged:
“The candidates that I support are Managing Directors of medium-sized
businesses and the managers in their teams. All these candidates have at least
50% prior knowledge and outcomes of experience of prior learning. This can be as
high 80% in a third of the cases. In most cases the candidates have not formally
reviewed and reflected on their prior experience and resulting knowledge of
managing in the workplace for depth of learning and understanding to occur”.
“In all cases I have found that people in our industry do want to be qualified.
Most of our employees operate at or above level 3 but have never been recognised
or assessed at this level. I have never found any difficulty convincing people of the
need to be qualified. I explain that you may be able to do your job well but to show
to others that you are professional in what you do there is a need to be assessed
and verified by an external awarding body against occupational standards
however crude or misplaced they may be in the realm of things. More and more
companies’ quality control systems require people to be qualified and certificated
as proof of competence. In health and safety regulation you are only deemed to be
fit for purpose if you are competent; qualifications are simply a means towards
competence”.
How is the ground prepared for learning conversations?
•
Spend time meeting those involved in employment – the employer and candidates and
find out how they learn best.
•
Walk around the factory or office or location where the candidate is working. Let them tell
you at this stage what is involved in their role and how this impacts on the organisation.
•
Consider the barriers and concerns of the candidates and employers.
•
Find out why individual development is needed. Is it to meet a particular job requirement
or is longer term development needed?
•
Identify required learning outcomes from the employer. Is there is a need for a
qualification for regulatory purposes? Is the company moving towards a more
professionally-qualified workforce?
•
Undertake a written and oral skills and knowledge scan with each candidate.
•
Discuss with candidates what is involved in learning conversations i.e. identification of
what they already know and can do; reflection on this to see if they know at least how
and why they do things; identification of the knowledge they need to do their job
effectively, efficiently and competently.
•
Ensure there is a written set of learning objectives and outcomes at the outset or an
audio record.
A programme to accredit and extend senior companies managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
Using ‘learning conversations’ to recognise, develop and
accredit knowledge: The question of ‘existing’ and ‘new’
knowledge
This is important because:
1. Learners need support in making
conscious, explicit and more versatile.
their
existing
knowledge
2. A basis has to be created for developing new knowledge by building
on existing knowledge.
This Guidance Note is the second of three pertaining to ‘learning conversations’.
It will be of interest to practitioners wanting to hone their practical skills as
facilitators
of
learning
conversations
(Pedagogic
and
Workplace
Recontextualisation).
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
How do learning conversations support learners to make their existing
knowledge conscious, explicit and more versatile?
Here is an extract from a learning conversation. It is taken from an actual tape recording
with a Managing Director of a privately-owned, 400-employee glass and glazing company
which has recently gained the Investors in People award.
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
Tell me how you provide leadership for your organisation?
We meet as a Board once a month. Each member of the Board is responsible for
a division of the business. My role is to encourage them to set the targets for the
year ahead. I do this by making sure our central services team provide
information that helps them. We do want growth year-on-year but this must be
based on trends and actual past results.… When I meet my directors at the sites
around the country I spend a day with them to review what they have achieved
against budget. I want them to explain the reasons for variances both positive
and negative. I am not too concerned about negative results provided they know
why it happened. I do want to know how they are going to gain further business
to get back on budget. My leadership style is to get my directors and their
management teams to explain what they are going to do. I listen to them – this
helps me decide what further questions to ask.
Do you think there is a need for a different leadership style for different directors?
Yes I do. I need to ask some of my managers a lot of questions so they will know
next time that I want them to be able to clearly say what they are going to do to
improve performance. Some managers need me to be very helpful and tell them
what to do. Others are very clear what they are doing. I try to improve the
performance of those who want me to tell them everything by asking a lot of
questions and they then start to understand what I expect.
Would you say your style of management works?
Yes I do.
Why do you feel this is the case?
I know from the monthly results against budget whether we have problems.
How do you know; do you just look at the numbers?
No, it is through a constant dialogue with my managers that I know if they are
finding difficulty with the job. It is my job for my managers not to fail. If I or
others can support them through the difficult periods the business will perform
best.
This must take up a lot of your time talking to people and listening?
Yes it does but I feel this is the way I find is best for me in managing.
What do you think is the difference between managing and leadership?
I see leadership as the way I get people to achieve results. Management is more
about the results, the numbers: making sure the organisation achieves what we
set out to do.
I think that is a nice way of putting it. How do you get all your managers up to a
standard of leadership and management themselves?
When we promote managers from supervisors or bring in new managers we
encourage them to take responsibility and to be accountable for their results. I
explain that we are there to support them but if they do not tell us they are
having difficulties we will not know to help them. I do this by talking to them on
a regular basis….I also talk to others to form a view... I never ask if others think
they are good managers. I do ask other managers if the performance of the
department is improving or is experiencing difficulty meeting customer needs. I
also talk to customers. I then use this information sensitively to ask questions
to get my managers to explain what needs to be done.
Could you expand a bit more on how you empower people?....
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
What we see in the above transcript is a particular style of questioning with the
following features:
•
Starts simply by encouraging people to talk about what they do –
their real experiences of managing (“Tell me how you…?” “Tell me
what you..?).
•
Does not use too many prompts, put words into peoples’ mouths or
interrupt.
•
Careful and attentive listening.
•
Supportive and enquiring - always wanting dialogue.
•
Questions build on responses given rather than on an interview
schedule (“It is in fact important that I do not work from a list of
questions because I do not get as rich picture of evidence”).
•
Learners are asked to explain why they do what they do (“Why do
you feel this is the case?).
•
Existing knowledge is affirmed where appropriate (“I think that is a
nice way of putting it”).
•
The facilitator follows a line of questioning (keeps ‘drilling down’)
until satisfied that the learner-manager has said as much as
possible.
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
How do learning conversations form the basis for developing new
knowledge by building on existing knowledge?
Here is an extract from another learning conversation. It gives an example of how new
knowledge can be introduced and is taken from an actual tape recording with a Shift
Manager of a glass manufacturing company with 300 employees with 35 people on a shift,
three supervisors and a number of charge hands.
Q
I sense you find it difficult from what you have said with setting priorities
and managing your time?
It is difficult to get everything done on the shift particularly if we have a
major problem at the cold end.
How do you manage your time in these circumstances?
I always meet with the supervisors before going about our work on the
shift. We look at the log of the last shift. We read all the concerns in the
log. I then ask those involved to let me know if they are having difficulty
with a problem so I can decide what needs to be done like bringing in
extra staff.
Is it a regular occurrence not to find enough time to do everything expected
of you?
Yes it is.
Do you use a set procedure to manage your time?
No, I just do things from my experience.
Does it always work - relying on your experience?
It’s the only thing I have.
Would it help if I let you have a video on managing time?
Does it work in a glass factory?
Yes it does, if you can think how you could relate it to your circumstances.
What I will do is send the video to you. Have a look at it. It will not be
directly related to your factory. It will show you the principles and good
practice of managing time. What I will do when you have watched it is to
ask you to talk about what you think what was useful and what was not
right for you. This is not a test - I just want you to think and learn from
others’ experience.
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
What we see in the above transcript is a particular way of extending learning:
•
An invitation is extended to the learner-manager (“Would it help if I
let you…”).
•
The expectation is that the material (in this case a video) will be the
subject of the next learning conversation when areas of usefulness
will be discussed as well as deeper probing as to why certain
strategies might work and others not.
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
Here is another extract which also extends learning and introduces new ideas, this time
with the Managing Director of an automotive glazing company.
Q
A
Q
Talk to me about how you go about improving organisation performance?
HE THEN EXPLAINED ………
There has been a lot of research on improving organisation performance; do you
think this could help you?
I have never considered reading anything about improving my business other
than looking at the market trends and our own performance.
I am sure this has worked for you from the information you have shown me today.
There is some interesting stuff written on how we balance and link organisational
culture, leadership, structure, management practices and other things. It may not
be relevant to you, but it may be worth first of all reading about it so you can
decide if it is worth using.
Well I suppose all information could be useful.
I know it could be useful to you. When you have read it - which is no more than ten
pages then we can discuss it and see how it fits your organisation’s needs. If you
simply read the document I send to you and not think how you could use the
research it will be of little value to you or your business. If you read it and think
how you could use it you may decide the research is highly relevant and could give
you an advantage over your competitors. Give me a ring as soon as you have read
it so I can guide your second reading of the document.
You are not trying to turn me into a Doctor!!! (Comment about me wanting him
to keep learning)
Let’s get back to what you already know about organisational change either from
work or from others you have to listen to in your life.
Do you mean people who I have worked for and made a success in business?
Yes, I need to know what you know and then how you have applied the things you
have learned from others in the organisations you have been employed in.
I do learn best by doing things.
I agree, but we do learn a lot from others. If we respect their judgement then we are
likely to emulate them. Of course, if we try to implement something we really do not
understand it is likely to lead to disaster. So we do need to reflect on what ever
information we receive and see if it can be contextualised to our environment.
What do you mean, contextualise?.....
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Q
A
Here we see the facilitator taking a more pronounced role:
•
Tentatively inviting the learner-manager to consider reading some of the more
formal literature (“…do you think this could help you…”).
•
Directions about how to read the documents i.e. with an eye on their business
usefulness.
•
A clear task for the next learning conversation (“Give me a ring as soon as you
have read it”).
•
The offer of further support re: a second reading (“I can guide your second reading
of the document”).
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
Alan offers a range of other practical strategies that can form part of a learning
conversation:
•
Ask learners to try doing something a different way and report back at the
next learning conversation: “Sometimes this type of conversation leads to the
candidate saying ‘I tried your way and it did not work’. Then I ask them to tell me
more why they think it did not work. Sometimes the mere process of the conversation
leads to a rich dialogue and they then start to think more deeply about why it did not
work. I often ask then if they would do something differently next time. If the answer is
yes, I then ask them to explain what they would do next time they had a similar task to
do or if they met with a hostile reaction from those they were managing”.
•
Make up for a shortfall in knowledge by encouraging learners to recall
situations where problems have occurred because the principles of
management have not been understood or applied correctly.
•
Maximise discussions about why something worked or did not and whether
a new approach is worth pursuing and why.
•
Before introducing new knowledge, ask the learners if they have heard of
it: “If their answer is yes, then find out where, when, how they know about it. This
helps with context and gives information on learning styles. Also drill down to see if
they really know. Then pose a problem to see if they use the knowledge to solve
problems etc”.
•
If a learner finds reading academic papers difficult, consider narrating the
article onto a CD replacing difficult to understand sentences.
•
Develop a further learning conversation once the candidate has read and
observed the content of the paper. When there is evidence of
understanding, ask the candidate to think how they could use this new
knowledge i.e. put the knowledge to work as soon as possible.
•
Help learners to extend their knowledge to provide solutions for other
problems or to seek opportunities to work more effectively.
•
Always send a written response to learners after each learning
conversation to explain progress and the next stage of the learning plan.
Ask learners for feedback. Seek to find out what they feel they still need to
know in order to be competent – and what they want to do.
•
Plan to visit a candidate at least twice to observe what they are do and to
look at reports and other evidence that they are learning.
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
Using ‘learning conversations’ to recognise, develop and
accredit knowledge: Assessment and accreditation aspects of
the learning conversation
This is important because:
1. Assessment and accreditation infuse the learning process.
2. The learning conversation approach to assessment
accreditation conforms to the awarding body specifications.
and
3. Assessment and accreditation practices success in demonstrating
reliability and validity.
This Guidance Note is the final one pertaining to ‘learning conversations’. It will
be of interest to facilitators of learning conversations and awarding bodies
(Pedagogic and Workplace Recontextualisation).
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
How does the accreditation side of the learning conversation work?
Here is an example of National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) specifications for
part of Unit B7 of the Level 5 Management qualification (see
http://www.ocr.org.uk/Data/publications/units/NVQ_Management_L5_Unit_B07.pdf )
UNIT B7
PROVIDE LEADERSHIP FOR YOUR ORGANISATION
Outcomes of effective performance
You must be able to do the following:
1 Develop and clearly and enthusiastically communicate and reinforce the organisation’s
purpose, values and vision to people across the organisation and, where appropriate, to
external stakeholders.
2 […..12].
Behaviours which underpin effective performance
a.
b.
c.
d.
You articulate a vision that generates excitement, enthusiasm and commitment.
You create a sense of common purpose.
You take personal responsibility for making things happen.
[…..k].
General knowledge and understanding
1.
2.
3.
4.
The differences between management and leadership.
How to develop a compelling vision for an organisation.
The importance of and what is meant by organisational values.
[…..13].
Industry/sector specific knowledge and understanding
14. Leadership styles common in the industry/sector and their strengths and limitations.
15. Legal, regulatory and ethical requirements in the industry/sector.
Context specific knowledge and understanding
16. Your own values, motivations and emotions, and the effect these have on your own
actions and on other people.
17. Your own strengths and limitations in the leadership role…
18. […..22].
Evidence requirements
[…..] possible examples of evidence:
Policy statements, plans and other documents you have instigated that communicate the
organisation’s purpose, values and vision and lead to their being implemented […..]
• reports, newsletters, internet and intranet pages, press releases and other communications
you have instigated, prepared or authorised […]
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
The facilitator uses the specifications in the following way during a
learning conversation:
•
He makes sure he is extremely familiar with the NVQ specifications of
effective performance, the behaviours which underpin effective performance
and the associated knowledge and understanding.
•
He uses the specifications as a ‘framework’ which he describes as: ‘like the
use of scaffolding on a building to gain access to knowledge’.
•
He interprets the specifications in terms of the work of the particular
learner-managers.
•
He records all discussions with the candidate, even at the induction stage:
‘some real gems come out at the start of the process.’
•
He always has the specifications to hand during learning conversations and
uses the main headings as his agenda/guide: ‘I ask questions related to the
units of learning outcomes of effective performance and an understanding of
candidates’ behaviour which underpin effective performance and the
knowledge and understanding that the candidate needs to know and
understand’.
•
He uses the structure of the NVQ units as a background template against
which to cross-reference managers’ knowledge at a particular level.
•
He also maintains a paper-based physical control file to show where the
evidence is and the progress made. This is likely to contain a photograph of
each candidate.
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
The facilitator uses the specifications in the following way subsequent to a
learning conversation:
•
He transfers the digital audio recording onto a computer and re-listens to the
conversation.
•
He ‘flags’ each time there is a distinct change in conversational direction
from the specifications of one unit to another.
•
He notes down (formally on an observation sheet - not a scrap of paper!) the
main performance areas and relates these to the ‘requirements of effective
performance’: ‘This will help when cross referencing to the occupational
standards if an NVQ’.
•
He is mindful that ‘evidence from one learning outcome can satisfy several
learning outcomes or occupational standards’ – because real life does not
mirror specifications!
•
He keeps in mind the need to make sure the learning is directly linked to what
the learner needs to know and do in the job that the employer wants done.
This is vital but ‘often overlooked by formal providers and institutions’.
•
He makes an assessment judgement which essentially recontextualises
learners’ knowledge to meet the requirements of the NVQ.
•
He checks the reliability of his judgements by having someone else listen to a
sample of the recordings.
•
He continually checks with an internal verifier that his system of recording
and assessing evidence is valid i.e. tests the things it should.
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
Glass Training Ltd in partnership with companies in the glass, fenestration and automotive glazing
industries: Management Development in the Glass Industry
Some final technical advice from a seasoned facilitator:
“Some of this may sound like simple stuff but it’s important to be competent in using
the technology”
•
Use a digital recorder so you can store the data electronically for ease of use
and access.
•
Do understand the controls on the recorder. Pretty embarrassing when you
have to tell the candidate after 40 minutes that you have failed to record the
learning conversation! You will make mistakes.
•
If you connect your recorder direct to some phones you get a lot of crackling
on the recording.
•
I find using a phone on the open system, with a microphone attached to the
recorder is a better way of recording.
•
Always explain you are recording the conversation and be sure that the
learner agrees.
•
Before starting the recorder ask the candidate to say their name and the
date.
•
Press record + play and let them know when to start speaking.
•
Never go beyond 45 minutes in a learning conversation unless the candidate
is clearly enjoying it and wants to continue. The tape recorder normally has
a time indicator.
•
Transfer the recording immediately to your computer and test it before
destroying the message on the recorder! Keeping the recorder clear avoids
over-taping a previous conversation.
A programme to accredit and extend company managers’ existing expertise
City College Norwich in partnership with Norwich Union Insurance and Marsh UK: Foundation
Degree in Financial Services
The potential of company-based mentorship
This is important in this exemplar because:
1. There is a challenge to maximise learners’ exposure to rich learning
experiences in the company – for the three days per week that they
are workplace based.
2. The programme is predicated on access to company documentary
and human resources and learners need support with this.
3. Learners need anchors and some stability in company environments
that are often fast-changing.
This Guidance Note will be of interest to company HR departments or those
responsible for the learning programme in the company – and to colleges or
other providers in their programme design activities i.e. Workplace and Content
Recontextualisation.
AFoundation Degree with dual accreditation, designed by a college with local
employers to address skills shortages in the industry
City College Norwich in partnership with Norwich Union Insurance and Marsh UK: Foundation
Degree in Financial Services
The Financial Services Skills Council offers the following guidelines for
‘employer mentors’:
It should be recognised that students will require adequate support for workbased learning. Employer mentors fulfil this role in the workplace […] with good
mentors increasing the chance of a successful learning experience for the
learner. Mentors should be members of the organisation who are equipped with
the skills and experience to facilitate student learning and development. In
many organisations, the mentor will be the learner’s line manager and reviews
of progress on the foundation degree can be linked to the ongoing review of
work performance [….]
The mentoring process should be integrated as fully as possible into the
mentoring/coaching processes that already exist within the organisation. One
of the mentor’s key roles will be to ensure that learners have the opportunity to
apply their learning to their job roles and to the organisation as a whole. The
mentor is likely to play a role in assisting the learners in finding business
opportunities for the research components of the foundation degree. If the
learners need to liaise with other colleagues and departments during their
course of study, the mentor should act as the link between the other parts of
the organisation and the learners, ensuring that all parties understand what is
expected of them. Irrespective of the precise role of mentors within the
organisation, it is important that they have the breadth of understanding and
authority to make things happen.
During the work-based learning process the mentor should act as the main
point of contact between the student and the HE/FE institution, and have a key
role to play in providing both academic and pastoral support. As they will be
expected to perform some of the roles of the tutor in facilitating the student
experience in the work place it is important that programme staff consider the
development and training needs of this role in order to underpin quality and
consistency of provision.
In addition to providing academic and pastoral support, mentors may have
responsibility for assessing some elements of the work-based learning,
particularly engagement in formative assessment processes that can facilitate
the link between work-based learning and the application of academic
knowledge and understanding.
It is important not to underestimate the commitment required of a mentor for
the process to work effectively. It may be the case that different mentors are
used during the course, matching expertise within the organisation to the
module being studied. For example, it might be more effective for a learner
undertaking customer service elements of the course to be mentored at that
point by someone with responsibility for customer service within the
organisation. If the multiple mentor method is used, there should still be one
overall mentor who remains the point of contact for the provider.
http://www.fssc.org.uk/cgi-bin/wms.pl/Qualifications_and_careers/1026 p9-10
A Foundation Degree with dual accreditation, designed by a college with local
employers to address skills shortages in the industry
City College Norwich in partnership with Norwich Union Insurance and Marsh UK: Foundation
Degree in Financial Services
The highlighted points represent good practice in mentorship namely:
1. Mentors need suitable skills and experience and training should be
given.
2. There is some merit in linking work review with FD review.
3. FD mentoring benefits from being closely linked to any other
coaching/mentoring activities in the company.
4. Mentors are crucial in helping learners to put their knowledge to
work i.e. apply their learning to their job roles.
5. Mentors need to facilitate the research that FD learners conduct
within the company.
6. Mentors can link the learner to company resources.
7. Act as a link between the learner and the college.
8. Undertake some formative assessment of work-based learning.
9. Facilitate links between work-based learning and academic learning.
10. Each learner should have a main mentor.
IT IS CLEAR THAT A MENTOR HAS A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE TO PLAY IN
PUTTING KNOWLEDGE TO WORK!
A Foundation Degree with dual accreditation, designed by a college with local
employers to address skills shortages in the industry
City College Norwich in partnership with Norwich Union Insurance and Marsh UK: Foundation
Degree in Financial Services
On the practical and experiential side, some additional very useful
strategies are discussed in the exemplar, as follows:
•
Mentors selected who have substantial amounts of skill and
experience in the company.
•
Mentors who use their company knowledge and contacts to ‘book in’
meetings for a learner.
•
Mentors who organise for learners to visit teams in the company and
report back.
•
Mentors who spread the mentorship role within the work team so
that the learner benefits from a range of insights.
•
Mentors who take learners with them in the face of organisational
change.
•
A college member of staff with allocated time for company linkage
and liaison with mentors.
•
A college member of staff who keeps the mentors up-to-date about
the FD assignments and projects.
•
College member of staff and mentor liaison re: learner progress.
AFoundation Degree with dual accreditation, designed by a college with local
employers to address skills shortages in the industry
City College Norwich in partnership with Norwich Union Insurance and Marsh UK: Foundation
Degree in Financial Services
)URPWKHOHDUQHUV¶SHUVSHFWLYHJRRGSUDFWLFHLQPHQWRUVKLSUHTXLUHVLQYROYHV
•
“A committed mentor – an individual who takes on the responsibility of
mentoring a student and sticks to it regardless of disbanding teams due to
organisational restructuring and/or changing job roles”.
•
“A mentor who fits the three ‘types’ of mentor – the corporate mentor, the
qualification mentor and the community (friend) mentor (Parsloe et al.
(2000)”.
•
“A mentor who understands the support and advice that he or she must
provide to assist and encourage learning – this understanding must be
supported by both the company and the college”.
•
“The mentor should support the link between the college, the workplace
and the learner – it should be a three-way relationship. Regular meetings
must take place – where the mentor meets with representatives from both
work and college”.
•
“The workplace mentor must always work closely with workplace
managers (as these managers might change) - to ensure that the latter
know how to support learning”.
•
“Mentors should be used as a ‘sounding board’ for college assignment
ideas and career plans (an up-to-date course syllabus is required for this!)”.
•
“Mentors should use workplace colleagues and contacts to organise visits
for students, for example - ‘days in the business’ – these days would
ensure that students gain exposure to different business areas and job
roles. Mentors should also have knowledge of where to obtain key
information and documents, for use at college”.
•
“Mentors should encourage and facilitate workplace Personal Development
Plans (PDP) which should in theory be used as a resource to secure role
advancement in the workplace. The PDP could for example link key
qualification goals at college with workplace roles, i.e. once a student
completes the Foundation Degree and is working competently in xxxx
position; they can progress to the next working level. This would also
encourage the identification of strengths and achievements as these can be
forgotten by the organisation”.
•
“Mentors should be motivated and remain motivated in their role; there
should be incentives in place to ensure they remain focused and committed.
Incentives might include the mentoring position being written into their own
PDP”.
[The project is grateful to Lindsay Springall for the above insights gleaned from her BA Hons (Professional
Studies) dissertation. Lindsay is an FD graduate who also gained the CII Diploma].
A Foundation Degree with dual accreditation, designed by a college with local
employers to address skills shortages in the industry
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
Assessing applicant suitability for the programme
This is important in this exemplar because:
1. The course is over-subscribed.
2. There is a need to target learners with particular capacities and
abilities.
3. The process acts as a ‘self de-selection’ activity.
This Guidance Note will be of interest to other providers and practitioners in the
creative and cultural sector i.e. Pedagogic Recontextualisation.
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
Two activities are sent to potential students who have expressed an initial
interest in the Foundation Degree:
•
They have been designed to help the staff members decide who to
interview.
•
The course team are looking for ‘flair’ and ‘heart’ and an aptitude for
working in media as well as ‘a willingness to participate in their own
intellectual development’ (course director).
•
Experience has shown that 19-year olds have ‘thirst and hunger’ –
50-year olds have ‘determination’ – ‘you need both to get something
really good’ (course director).
•
A fair number of potential learners do not rise to the challenges of
these activities – they essentially ‘self deselect’.
Exercise One
17 January 2008
London College of Communication
School of Media
Elephant & Castle
London
SE1 6SB
Dear Applicant
Foundation Degree Award–Media Practice - Application Stage One
In order for us to determine student suitability to be called for interview, you are
requested to complete the following two exercises and return them to Carmelita
Walters, Media Practice Admissions Co-ordinator by Thursday 31st January
2008.
Late returns will NOT be considered for interview.
Exercise One
Write a two minute script using dialogue only. Your script must begin with:
‘I answered the telephone to hear a voice saying: “that’s it… I’m going to jump!””
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
What does Exercise One show?
According to the course director:
“The task relies on dialogue – only dialogue – no camera movements – this
gives us an idea of applicants’ ability to produce visual and imaginative
dialogue – if they are visual-like people then their dialogue will be visual”
Visualisation, imagination and originality are important in film and video
making. The course team can gauge this from the scripts.
An example:
I answered the phone to a voice saying, “that’s it…I’m going to jump’
Captain: Negative soldier, I repeat negative….The ship is still preparing the engines; any
excess pressure during charge would almost certainly destroy your vessel
Soldier: Sir, if I don’t jump now, I haven’t a chance in hell of ever catching up to her
Captain: Soldier, I cannot give you permission to do it. I’m sorry but its not an option
Soldier: Fuck options! Your daughter is nearly a parsec away on a corillian space
destroyer heading straight into the mother of all gas clouds, and you can still bring
yourself to talk like you were back at the academy!?
Captain: I….I can’t allow you to do it soldier…Even through challenge we must follow
protocol
Soldier: I can’t believe I’m hearing this! F*** you, f****protocol, f**** the academy.
Hyperdrive online…
Captain: (In a hushed, almost regretful tone) Soldier, I repeat, stand down or face the
charge of treason
Soldier: See ya on the other side brother. Parkin over
Captain: Parkin….wait….if you find Sally tell her I didn’t….
(Line is cut to harsh distortion)
Captain: I didn’t…..
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
How is this exercise assessed?
The course team look for ‘markers’. For example, the above dialogue:
•
Is counter-intuitive and original – it is NOT about a relationship break-up!
•
Creates a powerful outer-space visual context.
•
Is full of suspense – it creates and builds tension throughout.
•
Is unpredictable and mysterious – it holds audience attention – it gives
nothing away.
•
Is extremely plausible in its own terms.
•
Shows a clear understanding of the brief and what was expected.
•
Demonstrates a clear understanding of the requirements of the industry.
Exercise Two
17 January 2008
London College of Communication
School of Media
Elephant & Castle
London
SE1 6SB
Dear Applicant
Foundation Degree Award–Media Practice - Application Stage One
In order for us to determine student suitability to be called for interview, you are
requested to complete the following two exercises and return them to Carmelita
Walters, Media Practice Admissions Co-ordinator by Thursday 31st January
2008.
Late returns will NOT be considered for interview.
Exercise Two
Using the two images below (in any order) write a synopsis for a short film (up to
300 words).
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
What does Exercise Two show?
This activity draws attention to skills of interpretation. As the course
director put it:
“We always get synopses about white plantation owners and slavery – that
indicates that students have interpreted the images literally – then there’s a
problem”
If we take a dictionary definition of ‘literal’ as ‘in exact accordance with or
limited to the primary or explicit meaning of a word or text’ (or image in
this case), then we can see how important particularistic, creative and
non-literal interpretations are in this industry – particularly when it
comes to ideas for films.
Extracts from two synopses:
1. ‘This is a story of the struggles between a slave and his owner. This film is set in
the 1800s in the height of the slave trade where infants, children and adults
were being sold by boatloads. This child wasn’t bought by this particular family;
he was a gift from one of the white farmers in the local area…..’
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
2. ‘In an alternate reality to our own, 1995. A rich and powerful scientist had
gained enough power and money through the development of various drugs and
medicines so that his latest and most dear project would be cleared for
development no matter the cost. A virus would be worked on that will eventually
cure any cancer no matter where in the body, by finding it and feeding directly
on the cancerous tissue itself. In theory, the drug would save millions of lives,
but for the development to be successful, thousands of human beings must
undergo life-threatening medical trials…..’
How is this exercise assessed?
The course team look for ‘markers’ of creative interpretation:
•
Even though located in social issues, extract one is a literal interpretation
of the two images. The learner concerned was directed to see a broader
range of movies (some learners are too immersed in Hollywood films!).
•
Extract two is original. It is located in unexpected social issues. The
learner concerned was a well-read individual. He creates a synopsis with
imaginative ‘twists’.
Taken together, these two exercises enable staff to identify students most
likely to benefit from the course and thereafter to succeed in a highly
competitive industry.
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
Using ‘reflective diaries’ and presentations to link work
placement to programme content
This is important in this exemplar because:
1. It maximises the learning from work placement.
2. Everyone learns – staff and students.
3. It represents one of many concrete strategies in this exemplar that
close the gap between the industry and higher education, a strategy
which values the industry as a site of knowledge production.
4. The diary is a ‘boundary object’ that facilitates connections between
the content of the college-based modules and the demands placed
on learners during the work experience.
This Guidance Note will be of interest to any provider and/or practitioner wishing
to provide opportunities for learners to evaluate course content against industry
requirements and practices and to develop an understanding of the interrelationships i.e. Pedagogic and Workplace Recontextualisation.
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
What is a reflective diary?
The London College of Communication ‘Work-Related Learning Staff Handbook’
(2006-07) offers guidelines on the principles and practice of the reflective diary.
These guidelines can be used with learners. Here is an extract from the section
entitled ‘Keeping a Reflective Diary’ (p30-31). The highlighted points draw
specific attention to the relationships between forms of knowledge.
The word “reflection” has many meanings. Here are some of them:
Consideration,
absorption,
imagination,
observation,
pensiveness,
thinking,
contemplation, deliberation, study, mediation, cognition, concentration.
If reflection means to think and contemplate etc., what is reflective writing?
Reflective writing is writing that helps you to:
• Clarify your thoughts and emotions
• Focus on your development
• Work out your strategies for learning
• Progress towards your goals
As opposed to academic writing, reflective writing is about YOU!
So what’s the point? Well, reflective writing is a useful way of focusing on your own
development.
Everyone is individual and has different experience and ways of seeing the world of
work. By recording your ideas, theories and opinions, you become more analytical
about your progress. It helps you to realise things about the way you are that will
enable you to develop ways of dealing with future issues.
Ultimately the aim of reflective writing is self-awareness to achieve more from workplace
learning.
In your reflective diary you might want to write about:
• Your feelings about the work experience, the employers, the other employees
• Your progress
• Changes in your attitude
• How you tackle learning tasks (your learning style)
• Ideas and theories that arise from all your units of study
• How your different areas of study link up
• How your studies link to your work-life….
In order to help you focus your mind on this new style of writing, here are some
questions that you should bear in mind when embarking upon writing a reflective diary
entry:
• Where have I been? How can I analyse my previous experience?
• Where am I now? What do I need to focus on immediately?
• Where do I want to be? What are my aims and objectives in terms of this
programme and my career?
• What do I need to do to get where I want to be? What resources do I need to help
me reach my goals?
Some questions you might consider from across your course are:
• What am I best at in workplace learning? What makes me good at it?
• What have I improved upon since starting this?
• What ideas/theories/principles can be transferred across the whole course?...
Tutorial preparation
Prior to returning for your tutorials, go through your reflective diary and list issues for
discussion….
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
How are reflective diaries used in the Media Practice Foundation Degree
(FD)?
Before and during the placement:
1. Learners are prepared for placement by the workplace learning
coordinator who is an alumnus of the college and also industryactive.
2. A college ‘placement brief’ outlines how the work experience:
‘gives you an opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge
in a workplace or simulated workplace environment. It builds
on and synthesizes the learning and teaching accomplished
during units one, two and three in TV production, Film and
Video and Sound Design’. Learners are advised to focus on ONE
of the units during their placement.
3. Each learner develops a ‘learning brief’ which sets out their
aims for the placement in line with the learning outcomes for
the placement module.
4. Part of the learning brief is to keep a diary. Although guided by
the above notes, learners have a degree of autonomy over how
they organise their diaries: ‘The students organise how they
want to do their diaries’.
5. Learners are advised to be regular in their diary keeping: ‘the
really good production diaries are the one where someone has
literally sat down every day and filled in what they have done’
(course tutor).
6. Keeping a reflective diary is a way of creating time ‘to track the
learning’ and to focus on relationships between forms of
knowledge in a way that can be developed later.
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
What happens after the placement?
The culmination is a live presentation by each learner in a de-briefing
session:
•
Each person’s experiences are shared and discussed.
•
This happens as quickly as possible after the placement – while
the learners as still ‘buzzing’ and fired up’.
‘It is especially important for them to take stock of their achievements at once, to
assess areas where they have succeeded and failed, to note the comments and
reports that have been written about them and to evaluate what they have
learnt and the value of the experience to them – before they return to the
academic requirements of the latter part of the course’ (Staff Handbook).
•
The tutors keep the process relatively informal: ‘It’s a holistic
organic approach to the presentations’ and ‘light’ and
enjoyable: ‘we love to hear them talk about their placements –
it’s fascinating’.
•
Tutors look at each learner’s diary first to get a general idea of
their workplace experience and learning.
•
Members of the programme’s Industry Steering Group are also
invited to participate.
•
Each learner makes a 5-minute presentation.
•
Tutors and steering group members ‘ask a lot of questions to
draw them out’. Questions revolve around a) the work
experience in its own terms and b) the linkages with
programme content.
•
Each learner receives verbal feedback from the tutors during
the de-briefing session.
•
The individual presentations and ensuing discussions are
structured a) to focus on what individuals want/don’t want to
do career-wise and b) to allow for peer learning.
‘…The thing is, they learn from each other – you get one student who had the
most fantastic experience doing something – others get interested’.
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
Some examples of where forms of knowledge connect:
•
A learner takes a placement with an independent social
documentary company where she undertakes camera work. In
the de-briefing session, discussion centres on the TV Production
unit of the course especially comparing types of cameras and
using them safely and effectively.
•
A learner takes a placement that involves editing a film about
violence in post-Apartheid South Africa. In discussion, his
attention is drawn to the parts of the TV Production unit where
the relationship between form, word and visual image was
addressed. The ‘classic way of editing’ is revisited.
•
A learner helps produce a sound track during his placement. He
notes how the track resembles particular movies he has seen.
This resemblance and movie genres in general, are discussed.
In particular, there is an opportunity to revisit the relationship
between movies and the theories of the day e.g. the way kitchen
sink realism was informed by the realities of post-war Europe.
•
In general terms, learners are encouraged to talk in a
theoretical way and in cinematic language about what they have
experienced.
•
Team work is discussed as this is such an important dimension
of the industry and one that is reflected in the organisation of
the course. Learners are encouraged to compare their team
work in the field with their team work on the course.
•
In some cases, there are double recontextualisation loops.
Learners take their knowledge into the workplace and use it to
understand connections in practice that are not necessarily
subject to observation. On their return to the course, the tutors
can use learners’ accounts of, and insights about, their work
placement to deepen and enrich the experiential base of the FD
thus constituting a form of double recontextualisation of
workplace knowledge.
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
School of Media, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London: Foundation Degree
in Media Practice
The assessment
There are four components:
1. The diary
2. The presentation
3. A written report drawing from both of the above: ‘an analysis of
your learning experience related to the learning outcomes for
the unit’
4. The employer’s appraisal of the learner – based on
employability criteria i.e. punctuality, attendance, appearance,
behaviour, confidence, initiative and ability to work in a team.
Each learner receives written feedback on the above (in addition to
the verbal feedback received during the de-briefing session).
The ease with which most learners undertake their placements and bring
industry knowledge back into the course-college environment highlights
how ‘putting knowledge to work’ is at the heart of this programme.
A programme to assist (mainly) mature learners to access a flexible, contract-based employmentlabour market
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
A termly ‘employer forum’ meeting to discuss the programme
This is important in this exemplar because:
1. Learners are proactive in setting agendas and organising the forums
– they take a partnership role in relation to their own programme and
gain hands-on experience of planning and contributing to meetings.
2. All current learners, company managers, college lecturers and
representatives from the recruitment agency (“The Brokerage”)
attend.
3. The forums facilitate learner-led and/or learner-focused discussions
about all aspects of the programme.
4. Forums help company managers to gain the ‘whole picture’ of the
Trainee Programme.
This Guidance Note will be of interest to providers and employers wanting to
maximise Workplace and Learner Recontextualisation i.e. the embedding of the
college part of a programme into the company and its culture via learner-led
activity.
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
How is each employer forum meeting set up?
•
•
•
•
•
A designated learner gathers information from all programme
stakeholders regarding pressing issues.
That learner works with a senior company manager to make the
meeting arrangements.
The learner circulates agenda and relevant background
information.
The meeting is chaired by the most senior manager from
Commerzbank.
Minutes complete with action notes are circulated by the learner
concerned.
The following extract from the minutes shows good attendance
and commitment to the forum:
Minutes
Programme Committee Meeting/Employer Forum
Higher National Diploma 2007-08
29 January 2008
Present: Bill Whitehead, Karsten Wenk, Keith Robinson, Yariv Yehuda, Klaus DieterRohe, Stuart Ball (Commerzbank Management), S Varty, A Howitt, E Apunte, T
Holmes, N Jalal, S Pittman, J Cooper, S Goold (HND students, Commerzbank), Dr
Christine Scheck, Richard Bills (ECBM), Dan Christmas, Jonathan Ray (The Brokerage).
Apologies: G Harman-Baker (ECBM)
I.e. Six managers from Commerzbank + Eight learners + Two senior
representatives from the College + Two members of The Brokerage
IT IS CLEAR THAT THE MEETINGS ARE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY ALL
PROGRAMME STAKEHOLDERS.
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
Most of the agenda items are learner-led, covering, for example:
Agenda item
Extract from minutes & action
points
Work-college balance
“The students discussed the issue of
balance between work and college,
taking into account the pressures of
being part-time students. Overall, they
were of the opinion that it was OK,
and were coping with the programme
workload”
Tutors marking draft assignments
“The students discussed the issue of
tutors marking draft assignments
before submission. It was explained by
college tutors that they could not look
at drafts, but were willing to look at,
for example, a list of contents that
students’ wanted to submit along with
questions about assignments”
Assessment
outcomes
learning
“Students
must
be
given
an
assessment brief with a summary of
learning points at the end of each
tuition session. RB/CS to reiterate this
to staff”
Summaries at end of teaching
blocks
“It was requested by SP, on behalf of
the student group, that tutors provide
a summary of key points at the end of
each teaching block of three days,
using a visual aid such as a ‘spider
diagram’ in order to summarise
learning
and
reading
for
the
assessments. Agreed”
briefs
+
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
Other agenda items are learner-focused but raised by other
forum members, for example:
The issue of ‘referencing’ - raised
by the college
“Referencing must be standardised.
RB/CS/GHB
to
hold
a
standardisation meeting to ensure
that all tutors are marking the
same on this point and giving the
same advice”
The issue of ‘recruitment’ and
students-as-ambassadors raised by The Brokerage
“The Brokerage said that they
recruited from all 32 London
boroughs, and would welcome help
from students on the scheme who
wished to promote the scheme in
their old schools”
Job rotation - raised by the Bank
“There was a general discussion
about the scheme for next year,
and the way positions were rotated
in the bank. The students were
very satisfied with the way the
bank’s scheme was working”
THE ISSUES DISCUSSED ARE ALL HIGHLY PROGRAMME SPECIFIC. THE
DEGREE OF FOCUS IS ENHANCED BY THE FORUM ONLY INVOLVING
ONE EMPLOYER (EVEN THOUGH THE COLLEGE WORKS WITH OTHER
COMPANIES): ‘SINGLE COMPANY MEETINGS SERVE TO EMBED THE
TRAINEE PROGRAMME FURTHER INTO COMPANY CULTURE AND THE
ORGANISATION’ (Director, ECBM).
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
Providers and companies wishing to utilise the ‘employer forum’
idea need to:
1. Ensure that meetings only involve one employer so that discussions
can be extremely focused.
2. Ensure that learners lead the process and equip and support them to
do so.
3. Allocate the most senior company manager to be the learner-liaison
person re: each meeting.
4. Approach the meetings in the same way as other important company
meetings.
5. Stress that attendance is expected.
6. Hold meetings on company premises in ‘normal’ committee-type
accommodation.
7. Treat learners as equals in the meeting and take their concerns
seriously.
8. Act on the action points.
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
Contextualised assessment
This is important in this exemplar because:
1
The HND assessment guidelines are ‘elaborated’ to link as closely
as possible to work.
2
Commerzbank becomes a resource for learners; the process
benefits from being relatively informal.
This Guidance Note will be of interest to providers and employers working in
partnership on the design and implementation of programmes with a work-based
component i.e. Content, Pedagogic and Workplace Recontextualisation.
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
Two extracts are used to illustrate how assessment happens:
The first extract is from the Edexcel BTEC Higher National Diploma
(Business [Finance]) specification. It shows the formal assessment
requirements and specifications for Unit 11: Outcome 1
http://www.edexcel.org.uk/VirtualContent/94887/B014393_HN_in_Business_L4_Specification.pdf
Unit 11:
Financial Systems and Auditing
Learning hours:
NQF level 4:
60
BTEC Higher National – H2
Description of unit
This unit examines the accounting and management control systems of a business. Learners
will analyse these systems and evaluate their effectiveness, particularly in terms of controls
and safeguards against error and fraud. The purpose and conduct of an audit will be covered,
together with the process of audit reporting.
Summary of learning outcomes
To achieve this unit a learner must:
1
2
3
4
Evaluate the effectiveness of accounting systems within a business
Analyse the management control systems of a business
Contribute to the planning and conduct of an audit assignment
Prepare audit reports.
Content
1
Accounting systems
Accounting records: books of prime entry (daybooks), accounts and ledgers (sales,
purchase, nominal/general), trial balance, final accounts
Fundamental accounting concepts:
concern, materiality, business entity
accruals,
prudence,
consistency,
going
Accounting systems: manual and computerised, effect of business size and
structure
Outcomes and assessment criteria
Outcomes
1
Evaluate the effectiveness of
accounting systems within a business
Assessment criteria for pass
To achieve each outcome a learner must
demonstrate the ability to:
• explain the purpose and use of the
different accounting records
• explain the importance and meaning
of fundamental accounting concepts
• assess the factors which influence the
nature and structure of accounting
systems
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
This extract is from the college Higher National Diploma, Business (Finance),
Assessment Booklet, Year 2, 2006-2007]. The highlighted/numbered areas show
how the college augments the Edexcel specifications (across the whole unit):
BTEC HIGHER NATIONAL
Financial Systems & Auditing
Assessment Method: Work-Based Assignment
Rationale
In the following WBA you are to focus on your employer [1], in gathering any information. The
WBA should be written as a formal report for the attention of your Finance Manager [2].
For the last section of your findings you will be provided with an example audit report to analyse.
Contents of the report:
Section 1
a) explain the purpose and use of the different accounting records
b) explain the importance and meaning of the fundamental accounting concepts
c) assess the factors which influence the nature and structure of accounting systems
(Learning Outcome 1)
Guidance: You should consider all books of entry starting from the ‘book of original entry’,
continuing through to the cash flow, trading & Profit & Loss Account, and the Balance Sheet.
Factors which influence the nature and structure of accounting systems may be non-financial as
well as financial. [3]
Section 2
a) identify the different components of business risk
b) describe and evaluate the control systems in place in a business
c) assess the risk of fraud within a business, and suggest methods for detection of fraud
(Learning Outcome 2)
Guidance: you should address the commercial implications of fraud as well as the purely
financial.
Section 3
a) define and explain the duties, status and liability of the auditor
b) describe the relationship between internal and external audit
c) plan an audit with reference to scope, materiality and risk
d) identify and use appropriate audit tests
e) record the audit process in an appropriate manner
(Learning Outcome 3)
Guidance: You should confine your audit plan to a small section of your business. Your
department would be an ideal size.
Section 4
a) explain and illustrate different types of qualification within an audit report
b) draft suitable management letters in relation to a statutory audit
c) explain the purpose and content of a statutory audit report
(Learning Outcome 4)
Guidance: An example audit report is attached [4]
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
Extract continued…
Outcomes
Pass Assessment Criteria [5]
1
Evaluate the effectiveness of accounting
systems within a business
a) explain the purpose and use of the different
accounting records
b) explain the importance and meaning of the
fundamental accounting concepts
c) assess the factors which influence the nature and
structure of accounting systems
2
Analyse
the
management
systems of a business
a)
b)
control
c)
identify the different components of business risk
describe and evaluate the control systems in place
in a business
assess the risk of fraud within a business, and
suggest methods for detection of fraud
Continues for outcomes 3 & 4
Grade Descriptors
Grading criteria [6]
Merit
1 Identify and apply strategies to find
appropriate solutions
2
You will show how the organisation can find ways of
ensuring financial assets are properly channelled through
the organisation
Select/design and apply appropriate
methods/techniques (ctd.)
You will design and apply methods/techniques that make
the channelling efficient as well as effective and with the
risk of fraud minimised.
Distinction
1 Use critical reflection to evaluate own
work and justify valid conclusions
2
You will need to critically assess the options to ensure the
best is chosen from those available.
Take responsibility for managing and
organising activities (ctd.)
You must show that you can turn your ideas in to action in
a feasible operational manner.
Feedback Sheet
Student Number:
Outcome / Criteria
Feedback [7]
1.
Evaluate
the
effectiveness
of
accounting systems within a business
a) explain the purpose and use of the
different accounting records
b) explain the importance and meaning of
the fundamental accounting concepts
c) assess the factors which influence the
nature and structure of accounting
systems
Continues for all outcomes…
Tutor signature and date:
Internal Verifier Signature and Date:
External Verifier Signature and Date:
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
How are HND assessment guidelines contextualised and ‘elaborated’ to
link as closely as possible to work?
In the college Assessment Booklet:
1. The rationale directs learners to research in their own organisation.
Although the possibility of a ‘workplace-based project’ is suggested in the
Edexcel guidance it is concretised in the college Assessment Booklet.
Knowledge is put to work! The workplace becomes a ‘living case study’ –
“I had to use my own work experience to back up the college theory”; “The
assignments that they set - you have to relate it to what you’re doing at
work on a day-to-day basis”; “All the assignments link to work” (learners).
2. ‘The Work-Based Assignment should be written as a formal report
for the attention of your Finance Officer’. This clearly states the form
the assignment should take and encourages learners to treat it as a real
work exercise which will be read by and commented on by the company
Finance Officer. Knowledge is put to work - with the possibility of an
additional feedback loop to the learner i.e. from the Finance Officer as well
as the college lecturer! Moreover, the report could have a direct impact on
company life.
3. ‘Guidance: You should consider…..’ This additional guidance augments
the learning outcomes and acts as a prompt to learners. It ‘scaffolds’ the
assignment i.e. encourages the learners to stretch themselves in the task
– to put maximum knowledge to work!
4. ‘An example audit report is attached’. This is a further example of
‘scaffolding’ – double benefits can accrue for learners – first, they analyse
the report as the task requires them to; secondly, they engage with a
model of a ‘good’ report which will help them when they have to compile
similar reports themselves.
5. Pass assessment criteria. These are re-presented for the learners so
that they can refer directly to them as they undertake the assignment.
6. Merit and distinction criteria. College members of staff have followed
Edexcel’s recommendation and contextualised generic merit and
distinction criteria to meet the needs of this particular unit. What this does
is to bring to life rather ‘dry’ criteria that could otherwise be interpreted in
any number of ways.
7. Feedback. This is given for each learning outcome and its associated
criteria, affording a high degree of transparency and specificity for the
learner.
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
Commerzbank in partnership with the European College of Business and Management: Trainee Programme
How does the bank become a resource for learners - a process that
benefits from being relatively informal?
Evidence of what happens:
“It all happens in a very organic way”
(director, Commerzbank)
“My role is not formalised but there is
availability – the students know this and
can use their initiative to come in and speak
to me” (director, Commerzbank)
“The other week a group came in and gave
Keith and I a bit of a grilling” (director,
Commerzbank)
“How do I help them? I tell them if I think
they’re taking too narrow a focus or of I
think they should be more forward looking
in
what
they’re
doing”
(director,
Commerzbank)
“I point them to others in the company –
managers and supervisors – who I know
will have a particular ‘spin’ that would
make the assignment more relevant”
(director, Commerzbank)
“Bill [director, Commerzbank] puts in a lot of
time” (trainee supervisor, Commerzbank)
“The Work-Based Assignments direct
students to research in their companies and
access company-wide knowledge and
information” (director, ECBM)
“Bill looked at one of my pieces of work”
(learner)
“I interviewed people, got different views
and applied the theory to that” (learner)
“You get the support and information you
need” (learner)
Elements of an informal process:
1. Bank personnel make their
availability clear to learners and
stick by it.
2. The expectation is that the
learners will take the initiative,
organise themselves individually
or in small groups, and make
best use of the time they have
with a senior manager.
3. Bank personnel do not exert a
direct influence on what the
learners do - they comment,
make observations, point
learners in particular directions.
4. Informality does not imply lack of
commitment or priority.
5. Learners are readily networked
into the bank’s human and
documentary resources.
6. Informality allows for flexibility if
all parties to the process are
clear about purpose, roles and
responsibilities.
“This really highlights the strength of the
relationship between the business and the
college” (director, ECBM)
A programme for school leavers that embeds a Higher National Diploma within a company
training scheme
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Working with theory in a ‘pragmatic, realism culture’
This is important in this exemplar because:
1. There was openness to the utilisation of concepts and ideas from
beyond the organisation as lenses through which to look at existing
practice and further develop it.
2. It was clear that the learners concerned would not respond to ‘a
purely academic approach’.
3. Any theory that was used needed to be embedded in the culture of
the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
This Guidance Note will be of interest to any provider – public sector or private –
working in the context of a clearly-defined company specification – where some
theoretical input is required i.e. Pedagogic Recontextualisation.
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving
and highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Here is the overall programme:
Baseline
Evaluation
Clinic
Support to
Rotary Wing
Business
Challenge
Launch &
MBTI
360o
October 2006
Review
Evaluation
Cluster/IPT Action
The
Strategic
Leader
Clinic
Business
Challenge
The
Strategic
Partner
Personal
Challenge
Coaching
Action
on RW
Priorities
LT2
Review
Personal
Challenge
Support to
Individual
Leaders
Action on
Individual
Projects
Coaching
Individual Action
March 2007
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving
and highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Here are some examples of models and sets of concepts that were used in
‘The Strategic Leader’ part of the programme together with an introduction
to them:
Developing Strategic Thinking: Rhodes
Introduction
In his original research work with Philips in the Netherlands Jerry Rhodes identified and
described the ‘thinking intentions’ (he calls them “thunks”) which people use in tackling
problems. His view is that whenever quality matters, it is the quality of thinking that
makes the difference.
Rhodes’ thinking intentions can be used to profile our individual thinking style and
highlight how we use our thinking abilities to solve problems. He has extracted seven
key thinking intentions used in strategy and these provide tools that we can use to help us
(either as individual managers or in teams) to be more strategic. Being conscious of
which ‘thinking intention’ you are using (or trying to use) helps strategic thinking both
personally and when working in a team. The intentions help to organise thoughts into
manageable pieces.
The strategic thinking intentions are:
Set level
Pretend
Look
in/ out
Distinguish
Symbolise
Value
Code
Setting the level of thought is important in determining the boundaries and scope of the
strategic issue…avoids muddled thinking particularly in teams. Being able to move up and
down the levels appropriately and ‘in synch’ aids strategic thinking.
Thinking strategically requires us to think beyond what we know or hold dear. Pretend is a
low risk rehearsal for action…
Strategy requires us to look in and out… We need to understand the ‘outside’ through our
understanding of the ‘internal’ and vice versa.
What is special, what differentiates our organisation/team from others? Distinguish
requires the rigorous scrutiny of strategy and is used to assess the extent to which ideas
match or fit with strengths and values. It ensures that unrealistic strategies are rejected
and gaps between current reality and proposed strategy are identified and bridged. It can
be destructive if used inappropriately or too early.
Sometimes seen as a flash of inspiration, seeing connections between very different
things. We need new ideas whether about the future or what is already known. Thinking
symbolically instead of literally opens up the chance of seeing new ways forward and
increasing creativity.
Identifying what is important to those forming strategy, how they align with the organisation
and what will influence what actually gets done. Value informs strategic choices. Good
strategies require people who are involved and care about the outcome – hearts and
minds.
To code the message can be as important as the message itself. Code is vital when it
comes to getting strategy understood and accepted…This is the communication elements
– the art of transmitting the message to everyone…
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving
and highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Strategy and Strategic Thinking: Mintzberg
Henry Mintzberg described the concept of ‘crafting strategy’ – the process that intertwines strategic
thinking with practical experience. His research highlighted five inter-related approaches to strategy the ‘5 P’s of strategy:
1. Plan a consciously intended course of action; a guideline or guidelines to deal with a
situation consciously and purposefully. This is how leaders try to establish direction, to set
organisations on a predetermined path.
2. Ploy – a manoeuvre to outwit an opponent or competitor - an intention, a threat that may not
be realised. Advantages are sought through threats and feints. This is a dynamic process,
with moves provoking countermoves.
3. Pattern - defining the strategy as a plan is not sufficient; we also need a definition that
encompasses the resulting behaviour. Strategies form as well as are formulated. ‘Strategy
is a pattern in a stream of actions’.
4. Position - here strategy is a means of locating an organisation in its environment – a niche,
a domain with respect to competitors. In the military context - the site of the battle.
5. Perspective - if ‘position’ looks out, perspective looks inside, indeed inside the heads of the
strategists. It is the ingrained way of perceiving the world. Some strategists are aggressive
pacesetters; others build protective shells around themselves.
The 5Ps create a view of ‘strategic thinking’ that involves seeing not just thinking. Mintzberg’s
definition of strategic thinking starts by describing what it is NOT. It is not following an ‘industry’
recipe or copying what another organisation or business unit does. It is not continuing to do what has
always been done (unless as a carefully considered choice). It is neither mindless nor imitative.
Strategic thinkers need to be able to see the future informed from different perspectives or points of
seeing:
Framework for Strategic Thinking
Understanding the past: ‘life is
lived forward but understood
backwards’
Finding the diamond in the
rough, ‘being on the dance
floor’, digging in the realities
of the business, vertical T
Seeing ideas, possibilities
lateral thinking
Seeing behind
Seeing
ahead
Seeing below
Seeing
above
Seeing beside
Seeing
beyond
Vision of the future, foresee
discontinuities, intuitive,
creative.
Getting the ‘big picture’, seeing
the wood form the trees. Getting
on the balcony, ‘helicoptering’,
the horizontal T.
Imagines the future, a world
that would not otherwise be.
Seeing it through
Getting it to happen
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving
and highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
The facilitators introduced the above models and concepts in what was
described as a ‘short, sharp style’. They did this by:
1. Locating the model and concepts in place and time e.g. ‘in the
Netherlands’
2. Drawing attention to their status e.g. ‘original research’
3. Sketching the contours of the model and/or concept e.g. ‘seven
thinking intentions’ – ‘five inter-related approaches to strategy’
4. Outlining broadly what the concepts are designed to DO e.g. to
identify how people tackle problems or how strategic thinking and
practical experience combine
5. Delineating concepts by reference to what they are NOT e.g. ‘seeing
not just thinking’
6. Drawing attention to the ‘kernel’ of the concept e.g. ‘it is the quality
of the thinking that makes the difference’ and the need to ‘be able to
see the future informed from different perspectives’
7. Most importantly, OUTLINING HOW THE CONCEPTS CAN BE PUT
TO WORK I.E. HOW THEY CAN BE USED e.g. ‘to profile our
individual thinking style’.
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving
and highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Once introduced, the knowledge was further put to work – how did this
happen?
1. The theory and concepts were first related to each learner’s MyersBriggs profile (see exemplar). It was not assumed that all strategic
thinking styles suit all people or all contexts:
•
•
•
Recognise different approaches to problem solving and different
decision making styles and personalities
Acknowledge that difference is valuable: listen, engage,
understand, work together
Be aware that ‘strategy’ will mean different things to different
people
2. On the basis of the above ‘fit’, learners then practised using Rhodes’
strategic thinking model according to their Myers-Briggs preference.
They did this using a guided activity based on the type of tasks a strategic
leader would undertake in the MOD:
•
•
•
•
Describing a vision of future success to a junior MOD colleague
Engaging a difficult customer
Managing a leader to accept new ideas
Presenting ideas to a politician.
The guided activity was set up as a case study. The group as a whole was
divided into triads and the tasks distributed accordingly. The facilitators
referred to this as ‘setting up the practice field’. It is a good way of
generating maximum activity – three triads addressing each task but doing
so from particular Myers Briggs preferences.
One member of each triad acted as an observer of the interaction,
providing feedback to the main protagonists. Roles were reversed and the
exercise repeated.
In a plenary session, colleagues shared their learning, recorded their
personal development needs and considered how they could act
differently in the workplace and with partners and clients.
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving
and highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
3. The final part of putting knowledge to work involved moving closer
to the real-life MOD and the actual Business Leadership Challenges
that had been identified. Rhodes’ strategic thinking model (and the other
models) and the experience of using it in a case-study situation, were
aligned to colleagues, customers, leaders, stakeholders and politicians in
the DG Helicopter Business Leadership Challenges.
4. Lessons learned were captured for iterative working later in the
programme
Back to the original question: How was theory embedded in the culture of
the MOD? What the example in this guidance note shows is a particular type of
gradual release where theories and concepts are progressively oriented to the
real-life challenges of the MOD. The process does not end there. Because of the
iterative and cumulative nature of the programme, the fruits of this activity are
recycled and built upon as the Business and Personal Leadership Challenges
continue to be addressed.
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving
and highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Setting up ‘Business Leadership Challenges’
This is important in this exemplar because:
1. Business Leadership Challenges are elicited from learners and
organisational stakeholders.
2. They are embedded in work – in the specific needs, objectives and
challenges facing an organisation/company.
3. They align ideas and activities from the taught part of the programme
to real-time business challenges i.e. are a form of ‘gradual release’.
4. They have a tangible impact on the business, thereby representing a
concrete return on the training investment.
This Guidance Note will be of interest to any provider concerned to embed theory
as far as possible into work practice i.e. Pedagogic and Workplace
Recontextualisation. Learners need to be in work and experienced. The company
needs to be fully involved and the programme facilitators need to be familiar with
the business context.
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving and
highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Some
characteristics
Challenges:
of
Business
Leadership
• A generic method that can be contextualised
• Based on the principle that ‘taught solutions’ to company
problems are rare
• Operate in real-time and in the real world – but learners are
supported
• Take knowledge and ideas from the taught part of the
programme into the work environment to deepen understanding
and maximise learning
• Act as ‘crucibles’ where knowledge and ideas can be ‘roadtested’ rather than ‘applied’
• Provide a ‘living case study’ for all the ideas introduced and
practised within the programme.
Some examples of Business Leadership Challenges:
•
‘Putting in place a ‘coaching’ style of leadership within a particular
team’
•
‘Developing and communicating a strategic vision for an aspect of
the business’
•
‘Building strategic and sustainable partnerships with industry’
•
‘Making stronger linkages within and across the DG Helicopter
cluster especially where physical/geographical distance is involved’
•
‘Empowering a team to deliver change in the context of the new
organisational culture and ethos’
•
‘Taking a strategic role in relation to project management’.
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving and
highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Key steps in setting up a Business Leadership
Challenge
Step 1:
It starts with the design process!!
ITS consultants are committed to a diagnostic phase where they embed themselves
in the culture of the client organisation. During this phase they hold meetings up,
down and around the ‘problem’ that has been presented as the focus for the
intervention. Information gathered attunes the consultants to the context and the
challenges faced. Consultants also have the opportunity to introduce the Business
Leadership Challenge idea to key stakeholders and prepare them for the role they
will play in the challenges.
Step 2:
Start with an authentic example so that learners
experience an actual challenge and can appreciate
the principles behind the idea
In the MOD context, the ITS facilitators developed an activity called “Leadership
Realities: A true story” in which a senior manager was briefed to recount a challenge
he had actually faced. The learners were prepared for the activity via some work on
how to learn from cases. The session unfolded as follows:
• Senior manager outlines the story/challenge (10 mins)
• Question and answer session for clarification (10 mins)
[Senior manager withdraws from the group]
• In small groups, learners discuss the nature of the challenge and analyse
possible approaches to it. The aim is for them to stand back from the detail
and take a wide and strategic view. ITS facilitators provide headings,
structures and prompts for this activity e.g. what, why, how, when, where,
who questions (20 mins)
[Senior manager returns]
• Learners feedback their ideas for approaches drawn from their insights and
experiences. The manager outlines the course of action that was actually
taken (20 mins)
• Facilitators chair a plenary discussion where learners’ options and manager’s
actions are compared and contrasted (20 mins)
• Learners reflect individually on this active learning session, the key insights
gained and the principles behind the Business Leadership Challenge idea (10
mins).
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving and
highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Step 3:
Elicit Business Leadership Challenges from the
learners
It is important that ample time is devoted to this activity as so much hangs on the
authenticity of the Business Challenges. The ITS facilitators:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Briefed the learners further about the principles and practice of Business
Leadership Challenges
Set up brainstorming activities to identify some current challenges faced by
the learners and the organisation
Discussed emerging Business Leadership Challenges in relation to business
culture and vision
Developed and honed the Business Leadership Challenges to ensure that each
challenge was distinct and clear with no overlap
Prioritised an agreed number of them
Identified some broad-based success factors and measures.
Step 4:
Consult with senior managers
ITS consultants ensured that team leaders and senior managers were closely
involved in the final selection of the Business Leadership Challenges i.e.
•
•
•
•
They are invited to provide information and insights as the challenges emerge
They have a say in defining the nature of the challenges to ensure they
represent real organisational priorities
They formally endorse an agreed number of challenges
They allocate a named senior-level sponsor to each challenge.
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving and
highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Step 5:
Allocate learners and
Leadership Challenge
time
to
each
Business
This process may already have started but at this stage it is important to formalise
this. In the design phase, ITS facilitators took into account the optimal size of
Business Challenge groups or teams and the criteria for establishing them. The
criteria were:
•
•
•
Mix of personality preferences (from Myers-Briggs)
Mix of work experience and expertises
Cross-boundary groups to extend intra-cluster networks (part of the original
specification for the programme)
In essence, a system needs to be established through which to negotiate
membership of each challenge team.
Time allocations were also formalised. In this case, each learner was allocated 25
hours. Four people in a group means into 100 working hours per challenge. Care
needs to be taken to ensure that:
•
•
•
•
Time allocation is realistic
Time is allowed for negotiating and networking
Challenges are recognised as part of learners’ workloads
Length of time is taken into account as well as the number of hours – to allow
for gestation and development.
Realistic time allocation increases the likelihood of good quality returns on
investment for the business.
Step 6:
Action Planning
Each group produced a business plan for their challenge including the roleplayers
involved e.g. customers, colleagues, leaders etc. ITS facilitators used SMART to help
learners set goals for each Business Challenge i.e. tangible goals that are Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Each group produced a route map with
dates and requirements. This was agreed with the sponsor to ensure outcomes were
appropriate and operationalisable.
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving and
highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Step 7:
Supporting and stretching the groups as they work
through their challenges
There are two main aspects to this:
1. Once articulated and established the Business Leadership Challenges act as
‘living case studies’ for all the ideas introduced and practised within the
taught programme. For example, ideas pertaining to team work can be
introduced, practised and then contextualised in relation to the Business
Challenge. Or ground rules for giving frank, constructive and sensitive
feedback within a group. Or ideas and theories pertaining to organisational
culture and change. Or models of strategic thinking e.g. Rhodes, Mintzberg.
Moreover, the facilitators continually draw attention to linkages and
connections i.e. ways of putting knowledge to work.
2. Clinics are established to support the Business Leadership Challenges i.e.
operating between the formal programme sessions. Clinics are flexible spaces
where tailored support and feedback can be sought if Business Challenges hit
unpredicted, unintended or difficult patches. Moreover, they are places where
learners can check their own thinking. It is in the clinic environment that
facilitators’ and sponsors’ experience and expertise come to the fore. In this
case, ITS facilitators have been exposed to many organisational contexts and
have lots of knowledge they can put to work.
Final steps….
It is useful if:
•
Business Leadership Challenge groups make interim progress presentations to
the group as a whole and to sponsors
•
Each group presents the outcomes of their Business Challenge at the end of
the programme, with sponsors in attendance
•
Sponsors and senior managers reiterate their commitment to carrying
through the Business Challenges and allocate time and resources for that
•
There is some longitudinal follow-up to monitor the success and impact of the
Business Challenges and to evaluate the value they add to company and
customers.
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving and
highly specialised staff members
International Training Service Ltd with DG Helicopters, Defence Equipment and Support, Ministry of
Defence: Leadership Development
Setting up
CHECKLIST
a
Business
Leadership
Challenge:
1.
Plan the Business Challenges at the design stage.
2.
Gain support for them from senior managers.
3.
Ensure learners are fully aware of the principles and practice
of Business Challenges.
4.
Use an actual challenge to kick-start the process.
5.
Use the Business Challenges as a hook on which to hang
ideas, theories and materials from the programme as a whole
– see the whole programme as a Business Challenge-led
intervention.
6.
Ensure that
authentic.
7.
Ensure they are collectively owned and seen as central to
learners’ work programmes.
8.
Allocate realistic amounts of time for maximum outcome.
9.
Make sure group action plans are realistic and achievable.
10.
Put support facilities such as clinics in place.
11.
Keep sponsors involved throughout.
12.
Ensure the challenge lives on after the intervention ends and
set up systems to monitor and evaluate impact.
Business
Challenges
are
really
‘live’
A pilot programme to develop strategic leadership capability and capacity amongst long-serving and
highly specialised staff members
and