Unit 724 Development as a Strategic Manager
The unit aims to supports organisational and self-awareness in Learners. It provides foundations for a self-critical and reflective approach to personal development to support the Learner when operating at a strategic level. Wider context organisation and environmental factors are also considered as contributors to overall strategic success of the individual and the organisation.
Scenario
Learners may use their own employment context, or that of another organisation with which they are very familiar, to base their assignment. However, in the case that they are not able to do so, please use the below scenario:-
You are a senior manager in a business unit of a medium sized enterprise, with functional management and organisational leadership development responsibilities.
Please select and research an organisation of your choice to identify its vision, strategic goals and objectives, and welfare culture. Provide brief details of your research in a summary of between 200 and 250 words which are in addition to the suggested word counts. Use the results of your research to answer the tasks below.
Task 1:
Critically evaluate the vision and strategic objectives of your organisation or those of an organisation of your choice.
Critically evaluate the managerial and leadership competencies required to deliver the strategic ambition over the period of the plan.
Demonstrate that you have used one or more attributed skills analysis models from management theory. Present the conclusions of your evaluation, identifying the four most significant skills the organisation needs to enhance in the next year to begin to deliver the strategic direction.
In addition, identify at least three new skills the organisation will be likely to need to enhance in the next 3-5 years to achieve strategic ambitions. Discuss the implications of the skills gaps you have identified.
Guideline word count: 900 - 1,000 words
A.C. 1.1 - Critically analyse the strategic direction of the organisation
A.C. 1.2 - Critically evaluate the strategic skills required of the leader operating in a complex environment to achieve personal and organisational strategic ambitions
A.C. 1.3 - Assess the relationship between existing, required and future skills to achieve the strategic ambitions
Task 2:
Research and critically discus how environmental conditions may provide opportunity to support leadership development. Highlight both favourable and adverse environmental conditions. Review smart ways of converting possible constraints, ambiguities and risks to good effect through effective leadership development.
Using at least two different analysis frameworks, assess your own leadership skills against those required by the organisation now and in the future, and identify areas for development for the next three years. Determine the methods most appropriate to meet each of these development needs, showing that you understand your personal learning style by the completion of an appropriate analysis exercise.
Describe how and when you plan to meet these development needs over the next three years, and detail the outcomes you hope to achieve as a result of the development plan. Describe at least three actions you have taken to develop your leadership skills in the last six months, and analyse the progress you have made as a result.
NB. You may complete this task by means of a comprehensive personal development plan with SMART objectives and tangible outcomes that has also been reviewed and updated, with the starting point taken as the commencement of your current Qualifi studies.
Guideline word count: 600 - 650 - 450 words
A.C. 2.1 - Critically discuss the opportunities to support leadership development
A.C. 2.2 - Design a personal development plan to direct leadership development in a complex environment
A.C. 2.3 - Devise an implementation process to underpin the success of the development plan that can realise substantial changes in leadership style
Task 3.
Taking the results of the personal development plan you have produced in Task 2, analyse how your development has contributed to the performance of your own function and to the strategic ambitions of the wider organisation. Keep in focus the originally stated strategic human resource objectives.
Evaluate how leadership style has favourably supported or presented adverse leadership conditions, keeping in focus the originally stated human resource objectives of the organisation.
Discuss where the development has made a greater contribution than originally envisaged, and where the contribution has been less than expected, giving reasons for the variances. Review how these variances may be avoided in the future, and how learning may be cascaded to the wider organisation.
Guideline word count: 300 - 350 words
A.C 3.1 - Critically evaluate the achievement of outcomes of the plan against original objectives
A.C. 3.2 - Evaluate the impact of leadership style and the achievement of objectives on strategic ambitions in different organisational settings
A.C 3.3 - Critically review and update the leadership development plan
Task 4:
Critically evaluate a broad, high level interpretation of the influence a staff welfare environment can have on the achievement of organisational objectives. Include reference to relevant legal duties and obligations.
Discuss yours or your chosen organisation's welfare culture. Give practical examples of the commitment to staff welfare and identify any areas for improvement. Keep in focus the previous stated strategic human resource objectives.
Analyse and determine the impact a commitment to staff welfare has on strategic objectives and on organisational values, staff morale and motivation.
Guideline word count: 950 - 1,050 words
A.C 4.1 - Critically evaluate the impact of corporate commitment to employee welfare on strategic organisational objectives
A.C 4.2 - Discuss how an employee welfare environment can effect achievement of strategic organisational objectives
A.C 4.3 - Determine the influence of corporate commitment to employee welfare on the development of organisational values that will realise strategic ambitions
Unit 708 - Strategic Marketing
Assignment
You have been accepted onto a Future Leaders Development Programme (FLDP) within a large organisation. It is a yearlong programme and involves developing and presenting specific projects to other programme delegates; all the projects are viewed by the CEO. The delegates come from across the organisation and you are the sole representative from the Marketing Department.
This is an excellent opportunity for ambitious staff to make an impression on senior managers and leaders. In the past graduates from the programme have been promoted within the company. The introductory session of the programme is personally led and overseen by the CEO.
The company is currently successful but is going through a period of intense change. There are new competitors entering the market, whilst new technologies are changing both production capabilities and consumer preferences.
All the work from the FLDP should be retained in a personal file which will be reviewed at the end of the programme.
Task 1 - Understand the principles of strategic marketing.
Your first task of the programme is to prepare a presentation, with accompanying notes. The presentation will be viewed by the CEO, other senior managers and programme delegates. The content of the presentation and notes should:
• analyse the relationship between corporate strategy and marketing strategy.
• analyse the development of marketing strategies.
The presentation and notes should also:
• explain, using examples, how different marketing strategies contribute to competitive advantage.
Extension activity:
To gain a Distinction grade you should also produce a report for your line manager that:
• evaluates the relationship between: strategic intent, strategic assessment, strategic choice and their impact on the formulation of marketing strategy.
Task 2 - Understand how to carry out strategic environmental analysis
The participants in the FLDP are taking part in a training day and each member of the programme has been given a task to complete. You must prepare a set of briefing notes for the other programme delegates.
The briefing notes should:
• evaluate different approaches to conducting an internal environmental analysis.
• evaluate different approaches to conducting an external environmental analysis.
The third briefing note should:
• assess the integration of internal and external analyses.
Task 3 - Understand the role of customer behaviour in marketing strategies.
Your next task is to prepare a section of an information file to be used by future participants in the FLDP. You are responsible for the section on Strategic Marketing; the finished section will be reviewed by the CEO.
The information file should:
• analyse the role of marketing research process and its relationship to consumer behaviour
• explain the different types of consumers and their behaviour in B2B and B2C markets and factors underpinning customer loyalty.
• evaluate the role of relationship marketing in customer behaviour analysis.
Extension activities:
To gain a Merit grade you must also:
• analyse the influences on and the psychology of consumer behaviour.
Task 4 - Understand how to develop an implementable strategic marketing plan.
This is a major element of the development programme. You are required to develop a realistic and workable strategic marketing plan for a given organisation. The choice of organisation is important to ensure successful completion of this task.
For the selected and named organisation you must:
• analyse the factors to be taken into account in the development of a marketing plan
• develop an implementable plan for your named organisation: you should select the most appropriate format for the plan
• design monitoring systems that are capable of identifying performance deviations from the plan's original objectives
• anticipate the need for contingency plans.
Extension activities:
To gain a Merit grade you must also:
• develop alternative marketing mix related action plans that address selected objectives and selected strategies.
Task 5 - Understand how to create a marketing strategy to meet business objectives
This is the final task of the development programme and on its completion your file will be ready to submit to your line manager. You must:
• evaluate the requirements of a marketing strategy
• explain the relationship between a marketing strategy and a corporate strategy
• explain how the marketing strategy should address competitive forces and their likely impact
• design a dissemination process to ensure internal stakeholders are informed and committed to the marketing strategy.
Extension activities:
To gain a Merit grade you must also:
• create monitoring systems to ensure the successful implementation of a marketing strategy.
To gain a Distinction grade you must also:
• construct a marketing strategy for a named organisation.
Unit 712 - Strategic human resource planning
Scenario
Learners may use their own employment context, or that of another organisation with which they are very familiar, to base their assignment. However, in the case that they are not able to do so, please use the below scenario: -
You are a senior manager at a medium sized organisation. You have been asked to review your current staffing in relation to meeting the organisational strategic plan. Analysis of internal and external factors affecting the plan is part of your remit and it has been suggested you examine options to meet the plan in the present and anticipate future HR needs. Within your analysis there may be the possibility of staff redundancies and so legal compliance is a key factor
Task 1:
Within a strategic framework critically assess the strategic importance of the vital human resource function of projecting future human resource needs to avoid skills shortages and vacuums, with its potential adverse effect on competitive advantage. Suggestions of appropriate approaches, theories and concepts to conduct such activities would support here. The nature and speed of change within your given senario is also important, as is the degree of certainty in a programmed world and ambiguity in a programmed or programmable business environment.
Research and analyse how the full human resource planning cycle, impacts positively and adversely on the strategic planning cycles, areas of compatibility and non compatibility may be considered, as well as appointed duration of the planning cycles. A Gap Analysis may be considered here if appropriate.
A.C. 1.1 - Critically assess the strategic importance of current, future and anticipated HR requirements
A.C. 1.2 - Analyse how HR planning impacts on the strategic plan
Task 2:
Select four HR laws and evaluate how the legislation influences organisational HR plans. Ensure the four laws cover different aspects of HR legislation. Describe a process for recruitment and selection of new staff that complies with current legislation and organisational requirements. Review how effective the process is in relation to the acquisition of suitable staff.
Guidance word count: 700 - 800 words
A.C. 2.1 - Evaluate the current legal requirements influencing a HR plan
A.C. 2.2 - Identify approaches and methodologies to support the recruitment and selection of staff (external candidates) and the impact on current legislation and organisational requirements
Task 3:
Describe what is meant by organisational culture. Identify key factors of organisational culture which may affect the recruitment and retention of staff. Ensure positive and negative aspects of the culture are identified when describing the possible effects on recruitment and retention.
Evaluate the ways in which organisations provide flexibilities and changes to working practices. Identify the drivers for such changes including a discussion concerning the ‘work- life balance'.
Guidance word count: 750 -850 words
A.C. 3.1 - Critically evaluate how organisational culture affects recruitment and retention of staff
A.C. 3.2 - Discuss the work environment influences where personal work life balance issues and the changing patterns of work practices determine motivation and commitment
Attachment:- Development as a Strategic Manager.rar