SECTION 1:
PART A:
‘People skills aren’t important, are they?’
Jarrod was a very experienced bank employee. On the basis of his detailed financial knowledge and experience, he was promoted to team leader of a small client service team which had been operating very effectively for some time. The bank had a lot of public contact, and although the team had no formal performance standards, team members had been selected specifically for their ability to interact well with the bank’s clients.
Apart from his excellent knowledge of the bank’s operations, Jarrod had very little to offer the team. He was not well educated, especially compared with some of his team members. He had an aggressive, bad-tempered manner. He had his favorites and enemies, and hassled those whom he did not care for. Not only did he lack basic people management skills, he had undertaken no management training. He was required to do formal appraisals and, despite having no background in that area, did so with some relish. He frequently allowed his personal biases to influence his assessments.
Jarrod noted that others in the bank were achieving their career goals, but that he was being left in a relatively junior position. This led to a massive ‘chip on his shoulder’. He condemned management, and took out his frustration on anyone who might threaten his personal security – including the manager to whom he reported. Jarrod’s manager was not willing to confront him about these problems, saying that f the team has all the technical skills, ‘people skills aren’t that important, are they?’
As a union delegate, Jarrod was well aware of his rights. He resisted tentative efforts to encourage him to leave, and knew that he could not be sacked unless the bank wet through the appropriate process. He believed he was being discriminated against. He indicated that he would get the support of the union if the efforts to remove him continued.
The client service from lacked cohesion, and morale was now beginning to diminish. They continued to provide a professional level of service, but their hearts were not now in it.
The Departmental Head has now become aware of the circumstances affecting the customer service team and has asked you, as an independent manager, to report on the situation. You need to prepare a short report (approx 750 words in total) for the Department Head providing guidelines on how best to remedy this situation. In your report you need to:
(a) Identify and briefly describe what you see as the core problem(s) which is affecting the performance of the team.
(b) Briefly describe what you see as the longer term impact the core problem(s) will have on the customer service team.
(c) Recommend a course of action to address the identified core problem(s). In your suggested actions you need to address the following issues:
i. Identify performance standards for the relative position(s).
ii. Describe the process you will use to identify learning and development deficiencies.
iii. List and briefly describe the identified development needs relative to the new standards.
iv. Develop learning and development plans for the identified team members.
v. Recommend subsequent strategies to ensure ongoing learning and development within the team.
PART B:
‘Educating Kylie’
You are the manager of your organization’s administration department. For some time now you have been without an assistant manager and hence unable to take leave. Your new assistant manager, Kylie, has recently been appointed and you have decided to take a month’s leave as soon as possible. While Kylie is new to the area she is very experienced and has a basic knowledge of operations in the administration department.
Prior to your proceeding on leave you need to ensure that Kylie is fully capable of relieving in your position.
You now need to plan a strategy for a learning and development program for Kylie. Prepare a short report (approx 750 words in total) to include:
(a) The process by which you will identify Kylie’s current competencies and areas where she will require training.
(b) A proposed learning and development program for Kylie.
(c) A schedule identifying and justifying the various resources required for the program you have designed.
(d) An outline of the strategies you propose for implementing the program.
SECTION 2:
We’ll now look at the learning and development policy of your organization or one with which you are familiar.
Write a report (approx 1500 words in total) which critically analyses the effectiveness of the policy in its ability to cater for the learning and development needs of individuals and teams within your chosen organization. Your report should be broken down into the following:
(a) A description of the policy describing both processes and documentation and the degree to which it flows into the day-to-day operation of the organization.
(b) An evaluation of the policy using the following criteria:
i. The degree to which learning and development needs are systematically identified and implemented in line with organizational requirements.
ii. The ability to collaboratively develop and implement a learning plan which meets individual and team training and development needs.
iii. The degrees to which individuals are encouraged to self evaluate performance and identify areas for improvement.
iv. The way in which feedback on the performance of team members is collected from relevant sources and compared to established team learning needs.
v. The way in which if fosters a workplace environment which facilitates learning a development.
vi. The importance of the development of learning plans as an integral part individual/team performance plans.
vii. The degree to which learning plans reflect the diversity of needs and learning opportunities.
viii. The degree to which it facilitates individual/team access to, and participation in, learning and development performance.
ix. The involvement of training and development specialists resulting in the planning and provision of learning and development which in turn enhances individual, team and organizational performance.
(c) Identification of barriers and impediments to improvements within the policy.
(d) Your views on the overall effectiveness of the policy and recommendation for improvement.
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