Arrangements for submission
Your individualised submission deadline will be available at the bottom of this page under ‘Submission Status’.Although the Assessment Brief on the Module Guide includes details of the standard submission deadline, in all cases those become individualised for you, and presented to you through the assessment point itself. This applies to all forms of assessment on your degree, with the exception of exams, where the date and time will be available in MyGlos approximately four weeks in advance, and certain forms of assessment such as presentations and performances, for which these details will be clarified by your tutor.
Your assessmentfor this moduleshould be submittedONLINE VIA MOODLE.
While Moodle does not require a set naming convention for any files uploaded, please ensure your submission is given a meaningful file name, with no special characters (e.g. commas, speech marks, question marks, etc.).
The Maximum file size for uploading is 50MB
3. The requirements for the assessment
You are required to produce a 2000 word essay; this assignment forms 100 % of the weighting on this module.”
2000 word essay
Draw together a development programme for a group of senior public sector leaders, using the case study provided. Consider the leadership approach you are going to take, and the application of the learning cycle. Demonstrate an understanding of leadership theories and Learning and Development (L&D) approaches, providing critical analysis and evidence for your preferred solutions.
Case study:
Background
The Department for Citizen Affairs (DfC) is a public sector organisation responsible for data analysis on behalf of the government. It has a complex & challenging brief which impacts on most of the citizens in England & Wales (Scotland & N Ireland have similar devolved entities). Initially formed in 1967, the Department has expanded and developed in line with societal changes, and now has a broad remit around commercial and social affairs, including various IT systems, interactions with the public through call centres & offices, and provides numerous services across a range of needs. It is led by the Minister for Citizen Affairs, and links with numerous agencies & local authorities who assist the Dept in the delivery of its remit. About 3,700 people are directly employed by the DfC, with a further 15,674 FTE from associated agencies. The current budget is £3.24bn.
The DfC use data provided by third parties, analysing it for utility to benefit the community. The focus is on co-ordinating interactions and data across government depts to assist in effective decision making over maters such as positioning of new schools targeting areas of social & economic deprivation with specific investment & support of potential employers, location of provider headquarters, affiliation & collaboration with agencies, depts, third sector and probate industry to stimulate regional growth, for example. The DfC is also responsible for funds provided by communities from charity events and lotteries.
There is now a move to create regional offices to provide greater consistency of approach and better engagement with the public. This is a new initiative, which has received a mixed reception; some local authorities and agencies are positive and keen to engage, others see this as a retrograde move.
Challenges
The DfC faces similar challenges experienced by other government depts, such as pressure to be more efficient, cut costs and maximise its budget, in addition to criticisms that the fragmented nature of call centres, local authorities, and agencies is not an effective and efficient scale to be operating at and is likely to mean that costs are higher because management overheads and fixed costs are shared over a smaller base, reducing the scope for broader, strategic planning, as well as specialisation, innovation and investment.
Furthermore, the Minister has been under attack following highly emotive data leaks resulting from a controversial and over-spent programme to introduce a unified National Data System (NDS). The many legacy systems fail on a regular basis, leading to staff maintaining inefficient and insecure paper records. The data breach has led to questions from the Data Commissioner and fierce criticism from the press.
The DfC is not regarded as an attractive place to work and struggles to recruit and retain high flyers. The turnover of staff is high, leading to a shortage of experience, with associated complaints about poor service, inefficiencies, missed deadlines, and inconsistent or contradictory messages given out to the public. A recent highly embarrassing Twitter exchange revealed the extent of dissatisfaction from staff over the services provided and poor morale across the Department.
The people
The DfC has decided to recruit & appoint 20 senior people as Regional Centre Leaders. They come from a range of different backgrounds, although most have been career civil servants in government departments and some are from local authorities. A programme of development has been outsourced to a contractor (the consultancy for whom you work) with the brief to support the new leaders’ development to enable them to create and run the 20 new Regional Centres. The leaders will be recruited in 2 groups, with the first Cohort of 10 starting in a few months. There is considerable scrutiny from the DfC and the Minister over the programme’s contents.
TNA
Interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders, including service users, DfC staff, local authorities and newly appointed Regional Centre Leaders were undertaken as a training needs analysis and the following themes identified:
Regional Centre Leaders
experienced in civil service or local authority settings
have technical expertise in IT systems and data management
mixed skill levels around managing people
lack strategic thinking and how to create a compelling vision for teams to follow
tend to fall back on their technical skills when under pressure
have limited influencing skills and experience
lack the skills to navigate very political environments
Key requirements of the role
provide a ‘top of the class’ service to the public regarding data management and security, leading to sound decision making to improve and enhance the lives of citizens in England & Wales
develop strategies to connect the disparate call centres, agencies and local authority staff into unified Regional Centres
create a compelling vision to provide clarity of direction
establish trust-based, authentic relationships with the key stakeholders in each Region
work cohesively and collaboratively with other Regional Centres especially around data security and the implementation of the National Data System (NDS)
manage budgets effectively
improve staff recruitment and retention through establishing Regional Centres as attractive and innovative places to work
Attendance
You are expected to attend every session listed in the Module Content, fully engage in every piece of assessment and attend any appointments punctually. There is a clear correlation between poor attendance and weak assignment submissions. Further, prospective employers routinely ask for references from your tutors and are particularly interested in timekeeping and attendance.
Drafts
With the exception of dissertations, we cannot read drafts of assignments. However, the Module Tutor is happy to answer specific questions about the requirements and criteria for the assessment.
Formatting of assignment
Assignments should be word processed on A4 and have consistent left and right margins, 1.5 line spacing, Arial font size 11 or 12, numbered pages and must show a word count.
Other
Referencing
Careful referencing of sources is vital when making use of the work of others. You are expected to employ the referencing conventions recommended in the Course. These conventions apply to information taken from internet sources, as well as books, journals and lectures. These are some of the points you should check before submitting your work:
·are all direct quotations, from both primaryandsecondary sources, suitably acknowledged (placed in quotation marks or indented)?
·have you provided full details of the source of the quotation, according to the referencing convention used in the Course?
·have you acknowledged the source of ideas not your own, even if you are not quoting directly from the source?
·have you avoided close paraphrase from sources? (Check that you are not presenting other people’s words or phrasing as if they are your own.)
·if you have worked closely with others in preparing for this assessment, is the material you are presenting sufficiently your own?
4. Assessment criteria
Assignment 001 will be adjudged on how well it meets the brief in Section 03 and attends to the criteria set out here addition to the requirements for L6. You will see this reflected in both the mark and comments on your work.
Learning Outcome
What we are measuring
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Assessment Criteria
What we are looking for
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Demonstrate knowledge of how psychology has contributed to our increased understanding of the workplace
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Knowledge should be demonstrated about leadership theories & the experiential learning cycle, including assessment methodologies.
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Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of methodologies used by occupational psychologists
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Critically evaluate different approaches for assessment of leadership skills in terms of strengths and limitations.
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Understand how psychology can be used to improve an individual’s experience of work and benefit organisations
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Demonstrate how effective leadership development programmes can contribute to an individual’s job satisfaction and motivation at work.
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Apply cognitive skills to integrate theory and practice in selected work contexts
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Demonstrate the ability to understand and synthesise the literature on assessment, leadership & learning and development (L&D) in a work context.
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