IMPLEMENT OPERATIONAL PLAN CANDIDATE RESOURCE WITH SIMULATED ONLINE BUSINESS ASSESSMENT BSBMGT402A

Transcription

1 IMPLEMENT OPERATIONAL PLAN CANDIDATE RESOURCE WITH SIMULATED ONLINE BUSINESS ASSESSMENT BSBMGT402A

2 Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd 9 Koppen Tce, Cairns, QLD, info@precisiongroup.com.au Website: BSBMGT402A Implement Operational Plan ISBN: Copyright Notice No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information retrieval system without written permission from Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd. Legal action may be taken against any person who infringes their copyright through unauthorised copying. These terms are subject to the conditions prescribed under the Australian Copyright Act Copying for Educational Purposes The Australian Copyright Act 1968 allows 10% of this book to be copied by any educational institute for educational purposes, provided that the institute (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. For more information, info@copyright. com.au or visit for other contact details. Disclaimer Precision Group has made a great effort to ensure that this material is free from error or omissions. However, you should conduct your own enquiries and seek professional advice before relying on any fact, statement or matter contained in this book. Precision Group (Australia) Pty Ltd is not responsible for any injury, loss or damage as a result of material included or omitted from this material. Information in this course material is current at the time of publication.

3 Table of Contents 2 Legend 3 Qualification Pathways 4 Qualification Rules 5 Introduction 7 BSBMGT402A/01 Implement Operational Plan Key Points Collate, analyse and organise details of resource requirements in consultation with relevant personnel, colleagues and specialist resource managers Implement operational plans to contribute to the achievement of organisation s performance/business plan Identify and use key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor operational performance Undertake contingency planning and consultation processes Provide assistance in the development and presentation of proposals for resource requirements in line with operational planning processes 19 True or False Quiz 21 BSBMGT402A /02 Implement Resource Acquisition Key Points Recruit and induct employees within organisation s policies, practices and procedures Implement plans for acquisition of physical resources and services within organisation s policies, practices and procedures and in consultation with relevant personnel 33 True or False Quiz 35 BSBMGT402A /03 Monitor Operational Performance Key Points Monitor performance systems and processes to assess progress in achieving profit/ productivity plans and targets Analyse and use budget and actual financial information to monitor profit/ productivity performance Identify unsatisfactory performance and take prompt action to rectify the situation according to organisational policies Provide mentoring, coaching and supervision to support individuals and teams to use resources effectively, economically and safely Present recommendations for variation to operational plans to the designated persons/groups and gain approval Implement systems, procedures and records associated with performance in accordance with organisation s requirements 45 True or False Quiz 46 Summary 47 Bibliography 49 Assessment Pack 1

4 Use considered risk taking in your grey area...and others will follow you! Legend This symbol indicates the beginning of new content. The bold title matches the content of the competency and they will help you to find the section to reference for your assessment activities. Activity: Whenever you see this symbol, there is an activity to carry out which has been designed to help reinforce the learning about the topic and take some action. This symbol is used at the end of a section to indicate the summary key points of the previous section. This symbol is used to indicate an answer to the Candidate s questions or notes to assist the Facilitator. 2

5 Qualification Pathways There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it s easy. Source Unknown This unit of competency is provided to meet the requirements of BSB07 Business Services Training Package although it can be used in a range of different qualifications. The BSB07 Business Services Training Package does not state how a qualification is to be achieved. Rather, Registered Training Organisations are required to use the qualification rules to ensure the needs of the learner and business customer are met. This is to be achieved through the development of effective learning programs delivered in an order that meets the stated needs of nominated Candidates and business customers. 3

6 Qualification Rules You re either part of the solution or part of the problem. Eldridge Cleaver Qualification requirements include core and elective units. The unit mix is determined by specific unit of competency requirements which are stated in the qualification description. Registered Training Organisations then work with learners and business customers to select elective units relevant to the work outcome, local industry requirements and the qualification level. All vocational education qualifications must lead to a work outcome. BSB07 Business Services Training Package qualifications allow for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to vary programs to meet: Specific needs of a business or group of businesses. Skill needs of a locality or a particular industry application of business skills. Maximum employability of a group of students or an individual. When packaging a qualification elective units are to be selected from an equivalent level qualification unless otherwise stated. 4

7 Introduction Whether as an individual, or as part of a group, real progress depends on entering whole-heartedly into the process and being motivated to make you a more deeply satisfied human being. Source Unknown This unit of competency is all about being able to implement an operational plan in your workplace. It will help you with the skills you need to demonstrate competency for the unit BSBMGT402A Implement operational plan. This is one of the units that make up Certificates in Business. This training is broken up into three distinct sections. They are: 1. Implement operational plan: First we will examine how to go about establishing and implementing an operational plan ensuring you have set a plan that can be executed easily. 2. Implement resource acquisition: Then we will examine how you go about purchasing resources and selecting staff to be involved in your operational plan. 3. Monitor operational performance: In the final section we will examine how you can monitor the performance of your plan and ensure that it is reaching the objectives that you established. At the conclusion of this training you will be asked to complete an assessment pack for this unit of competency. The information contained in this resource will assist you to complete this task. On conclusion of this unit of competency you will have demonstrated your ability to implement the operational plan by monitoring and adjusting operational performance, producing shortterm plans for the department/section, planning and acquiring resources and providing reports on performance as required. 5

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9 PART 1: Implement Operational Plan Key Points Section 1 When developing an operational plan for your organisation, the key is to ensure that you collect, analyse and organise all required resource information in consultation with colleagues and specialist resource managers well before it is required to be implemented. The operational plans of an organisation contribute to the achievement of the organisation s performance/business plan. Key performance indicators are developed within operational plans to ensure that the plan is working towards the organisation s goals. 7

10 Introduction to Operations Planning We will examine the idea of operational planning and management. This involves a wide variety of skills and we will spend some time examining the management of people and resources in detail. Operational planning attempts to ensure the successful implementation of operational plans through the effective management of people and resources. Like any management activity, operational planning is based on a set of key management principles. The key functions of management can be simplified into an acronym known as PLOC planning, leading, organising and controlling. Planning Defining goals and developing plans to achieve them. Leading Setting a good example, guiding and motivating the team. Organising Arranging resources to get the work done. Controlling Watching how things are going. Functions of Management Controlling Planning Organising Leading Management is an ongoing process involving four major functions. Planning Your Resources As we mentioned in the previous sections, a key managerial skill that all managers should possess is the ability to define goals and develop plans in order to achieve them. In the case of operations planning you require the ability to plan the resources that you will need to achieve your goals and objectives. There are a range of tools that you can use as a manager in order to plan and allocate resources. The tools that you use will be very much dependent on the nature of the operation that you are undertaking. One of the tools that you may put to use is the Resource Plan. A resource plan is a chart that outlines the objectives you wish to achieve and how you plan going about achieving them. Each objective that you set yourself should have a resource plan provided. A typical resource plan format is provided overleaf. 8

11 XYZ Company Resource Plan Objective Here you must describe what must be done, by when, by whom. Plan Once you have set your objective, you need to define exactly how you plan to achieve it. What tasks are involved? In what order will they be done? What are the key deliverables? Resources Required Here you must list all the required resources to undertake the relevant tasks. These include: financial, staffing, training and materials. Contingencies Finally you should describe What If? situations. What problems can you foresee? How will you go about resolving them if they arise? A plan such as this can be developed for each of your key objectives. It allows you to think out the key sections of your plan and determine how best to achieve them. This forms the basis of your operational planning. As mentioned previously, one of these charts should be completed for each of the major objectives that you wish to achieve. This will become the outline of your operational plan. When you are setting goals, you need to attempt to align them to specific aspects of your business or overall strategic plan. By doing this, you work towards something that is meaningful to the organisation. As with all goals and objectives, there are some attributes that are important they must be clear, concise and measurable. If you can not measure your objective you will have no idea whether or not you have actually managed to achieve it. Completing a chart such as the one following will assist you in identifying who you will need to assist you in achieving the objective and outlining each team member s contribution to the overall project. It will also assist you in defining the resources that you will be required to obtain in order to achieve the given tasks. You may find that you are not in a good position to be able to ascertain all the requirements by yourself. For this reason it is important to remember that it is OK to ask for help. You do not need to feel you are expected to know everything as a manager. A good manager knows when it is time to seek advice and assistance from others in the organisation particularly where they may have their own areas of expertise. You are also likely to find that if you involve others in this early stage they will be more interested and committed to ensuring the success of the plan. A second tool that you could use for your planning processes is the Resource Capability table. This table allows you to determine the skills of your team members, and determine where any weaknesses lie. By doing this you can attempt to determine where changes need to be made in order to improve your ability to reach your objectives. This table may look like this: 9

12 Resource Capabilty Table: Team Member Skill Skill Skill Skill In order to complete this table you need to: 1. Write the operational plan that you are undertaking above the table. This can easily be linked back to the plan you prepared earlier in this section. 2. List each of the members of your team down the first column. You may be able to simply use their first name. However if there are some roles which are yet to be assigned the role title may be added in this column. 3. Label each skill heading by adding a task skill that is needed to deliver your plan. Note that each task should be outlined in the plan you prepared, so it is just a matter of determining the skills that are needed to achieve the overall objective that is required here. 4. Record the skill level of each team member in the appropriate cell. This rating is up to you however you may use a five point rating scale where each number represents a different level of skill. For example: 0 Has no proficiency. 1 Has minimal proficiency. 2 Has some proficiency. 3 Has medium proficiency. 4 Has good proficiency. 5 Can train others, excellent proficiency. A table such as this allows you to identify where your strengths and weaknesses exist; where there are skill gaps, where you are strong, and where you may need to find new staff to fill any gaps that may exist. Where you find that you have any skill gaps you may fill that with new staff, or increase training in order to increase the level of proficiency in the team. 10

13 Developing Objectives and Timelines As we mentioned above, objectives are specific, measurable outcomes of business processes that are the direct result of that process, in this case while implementing strategies. The key question that you need to look at when defining objectives is to decide whether what you are trying to achieve is actually achievable. The objectives that you set should not be set in stone. Businesses and the environment within which they operate are constantly changing, so should the objectives if change is noted. However, do not change things just for the sake of change. Ensure that if a change is made you are sure that it is needed, and you understand why the change must be made. Your planning for new initiatives within an organisation should be related to the overall mission of the organisation. The mission states exactly what you hope to achieve in the operation of the business, and so everything you do needs to work towards that mission. The mission is a large long-term goal that the organisation wants to work towards, so a method that is often used is to break down this goal into smaller goals, and break those down further and further until you have operational goals that can be easily implemented. These operational goals can then be used to work towards specific goals that are set by implementing initiatives. These initiatives can come at any time, but must be related to the way that business operates and the overall goals it wishes to achieve. Any overall planning for long term projects must include an element of strategic planning. This could involve you in examining the vision the business has for its future, its mission, the values it holds and any goals already set. Strategies for achieving long-term goals are critical to success. It is one thing to know where you need to go, it is another to know how to actually get there. Planning for a new business initiative must be tied in to overall planning to be most effective. Once you identify these goals, you can begin to create a framework of ideas that will allow these goals and objectives to be met. Many managers work on the idea that developing new ideas should come in response to a problem this approach could be likened to having the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff just picking up the pieces. However, a more effective approach is to look for continuous improvement by proactively looking for ways to make improvements. The first approach shows you are not considering vision and the organisation s mission in your planning. When you are looking for ways in which to improve your organisational processes, look beyond your staff. Other key stakeholders can offer a unique perspective that staff may be too close to notice. Just think about the purpose of your organisation for a moment. At its basest level it is to satisfy its customers so when you need to know how to improve, why not start your search there. What do your customers want? What do they need from your organisation? Talking through major issues with your key customers can provide you with insights that you otherwise may well have missed. The plan, once developed, needs to be implemented. Plans are only useful if they are implemented in time to actually solve a problem. Implementing plans is also most effective when broken down into milestones which can then be used to measure how well you are doing. By breaking down the implementation into milestones, you can ensure you are on track, you have been realistic in your planning and ensure things are going to plan. You may find it 11

14 useful to set up periodic meetings with those involved these meetings would be used to discuss how things are going, what problems have been experienced and where things are in relation to the milestones that have been set. This review process also allows for problem solving and brainstorming of any issues that have arisen. Setting milestones allows you time to stop and review the progress you are making. What ifs? Business Contingency Planning continually confronts the likelihood of a disaster. For the most part a disaster is seen as being anything that disrupts the normal operations of your organisation - something that involves your organisation not being able to achieve its goals and objectives. There are a huge range of contingencies that you may have to face. The interruption could be related to a winter storm, the loss of electricity to the area, or the complete inaccessibility of a facility for an extended period of time due to fire or an earthquake. Strikes, sickness or many other factors may also cause major problems for an organisation. The cause of the interruption doesn t matter, but being capable of gaining management control of the interruption does. Depending on the length or severity of the interruption, significant consequences or the very survival of your organisation may depend on management s ability to re-establish critical business functions. Usually these business functions have required years to create and establish, but management must re-establish these functions sometimes within hours or days. This is a difficult problem and re-establishing the complex business environment in a timely manner requires a well thought out plan in place and ready to be executed. The answer to this problem is to be prepared in advance with business contingency planning. As we mentioned in the previous section planning for any contingencies that may arise (usually only the critical and likely ones) is an important part of the operational planning process. This process involves you in proactively determining what problems may arise and developing solutions to them before they occur. As the boy scouts say Be Prepared! The plan creates a management team empowered to control any interruptions to the business. Properly constructed, the management team has the capability of responding appropriately to any interruption; from the interruption of telephone service to and including a worst case scenario involving complete inaccessibility of facilities. The objectives of Business Contingency Planning are to: Ensure continuity and survival of the business. Provide protection of corporate assets. Provide management control of risks and exposures. Provide preventative measures where appropriate, and to take proactive management control of any business interruption. 12

15 Business Contingency Planning implementation and ongoing maintenance will provide answers to the questions of: How do I re-establish my business function(s)? What is a disaster? When do the impacts begin? How much loss can be tolerated? What are the options? What will a recovery plan cost? How much is enough? If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. Henry Ford 13

16 Involving Staff Consultation with staff over major decisions is critical to the success of any operational plan. In this section we will examine how to get your staff involved and use them to the advantage of the process. Some of the most important points to note are: When you plan to implement an operational plan, it is vital to gain the involvement and input of staff in all areas of the company. By involving your staff you will have a much smoother implementation process and you will find that the added suggestions that your staff make add value to the process Involving your internal stakeholders and staff in this process is a way that can be used to discuss any issues that you have noted and find ways of resolving them. Remember your staff are there on a daily basis and so have an excellent understanding of where bottle necks and other issues exist. Listen to them and their ideas. You will also find they feel empowered when you act on their suggestions. Don t let a single department run the entire project and then drop any changes it thinks are needed on the company. What you are doing is going to affect the whole organisation, so you need to be sure that your staff are aware of where you are heading. This is vital because input is usually required from various company departments and management. Once your staff understand that everyone is involved, they will be more willing to put forward ideas and offer their knowledge and skills. Process improvement is an organisation wide process. Avoid fears of change. Consider asking people how they feel about the plans. Then make a serious effort to address their concerns. In some cases, the project can be redesigned to take account of these fears. Where fears are unfounded, the sooner they are stopped the better. This is where good communication comes into play. This can take a variety of formats such as briefing sessions, memos on notice boards or informal briefing of work teams by their supervisors. It is vital to fully brief supervisors and managers so they are not giving out contradictory messages. Fears of staff could include concerns about new processes and systems replacing their jobs, effectively making them redundant. Other concerns may include their skill levels. Planning for these and any other questions that can be thought of given the nature of the plan and industry helps to prepare answers to include in the plan and also communication about the plan to staff. You may lose valuable staff to other organisations if they feel at risk. Your staff are like cogs in a machine. They need to be involved in decision making or your organisation is likely to grind to a halt! Proposal Writing The result of the planning process will be a proposal which will be examined by management in order to decide whether or not to implement the operational plan you are proposing. Typically a proposal will be divided into a number of key sections. Each section should outline 14

17 a different part of your proposal. In this section we will examine each of these parts in turn. Every proposal is different and so you may find that your proposal has different sections than those presented here or is in a different order. Since your proposal is unique, work with the information that you have and make it as convincing as possible. Introduction Your introduction should be planned carefully. It is the section that outlines your ideas and needs to give a solid first impression. Ensure that you include all of the following: State that the document is a proposal. Provide information about why the proposal was commissioned and who it had been discussed with. Ensure that you can find a statement that sums up what you are asking for and provides a motivation for its implementation. Give an overview of the contents of the proposal. You may find that some of these sections can be combined together and can be concise and to the point. A brief introduction serves its purpose better than a longer introduction. Background on the Problem, Opportunity, or Situation This section should follow on from what you have written in the introduction and should be aimed at discussing the problem that needs resolution. Discuss the situation as it stands in simple terms so even those not familiar with all the technical aspects of the problem can understand it. The better the background you can provide, the more likely the solution is to be implemented. Benefits and Feasibility of the Proposed Plan In order to get the attention of the decision makers in your organisation, you need to ensure that they understand exactly how any change will be beneficial to the organisation. The benefits will be the motivating reason for approving any proposal. So you need to clearly state the arguments you have for the solution you are presenting. Discuss how likely the solution is in resolving the problem, talk about costs against benefits and try to convince management that the plan will be hugely beneficial to the organisation as a whole. Description of the Proposed Work (Results of the Project) A proposal should describe what it is that you are trying to get out of the project. That means describing the operational plan you propose to implement; its purpose; providing an outline of what will take place; and the resources that you will require to undertake the project as you state it. This is the basic background information. 15

18 Method, Procedure, Theory In this section, you should examine and explain exactly how your proposed actions will work and if approved, how they will be implemented into the organisation. By discussing this, you are showing management that you fully understand what is required and have spent the time thinking through all the issues and how they will actually affect the organisation. This differs from what you outlined in the previous section because you are looking at the broader aspects to the plan, just not what it will involve. Schedule Always be sure to include a detailed timeline for implementation. This should include a range of milestones that are implemented over the lifetime of the project. If your project will take a number of months to complete, you should show the dates by which each milestone needs to be reached. This will allow you to ensure that the project runs to time and that you have thought through the implementation process. Costs, Resources Required Management will be most interested in this section it is where you lay out the costs of actually implementing your project. You will need to justify the cost of the project against the benefits this may in fact be the factor that makes up the mind of the managers to implement a project. You will need to include the hourly rates of contractors, all of the equipment required, staff hours that will be used, and the like. This overall project cost will be the factor that has the most significance in the actual decision making process. Conclusions To conclude your proposal, you should look at bringing the reader of the proposal back into the benefits of implementing the proposal, rather than focussing on the costs and resources needed. All good ideas need to have well written proposals if they are to be accepted. Often good ideas can be shot down simply because the benefits are not well expressed and the almighty dollar comes into play. Organisation of Proposals As for the organisation or arrangement of the content of a proposal, remember that it is essentially a sales, or promotional document. Here are the basic steps it goes through: 16

19 Begin by stating the purpose and content of the document Then look at the background what problem it is trying to resolve, what opportunities it will bring or why exactly the proposal was needed. Once you have stated the problem, discuss what it is that you are proposing to do about it. How will what you propose make things better? What benefits will the project bring about? Describe what the end project will actually look like. How would it work and what would the end user or reader actually notice? Describe the methods that you would put in place to implement the end result. Give a schedule of events that are put in place to implement the changes Provide a list of the costs and resources needed. End by summarising the document and put in a final sales push to ensure that the end user wants to make a positive decision. As you can see, there is a logic to the way the proposal is actually structured. It is much like advertising you begin by getting the reader s attention. You raise their interest by stating the problem and how you will solve it. You create a desire by giving the benefits for the project and you try to create action by urging for a decision to be made. 17

20 Activity One - How good are you at setting goals for your plans? For each of the following items, describe your ability to set work-related goals. Are you skilled or is there room for improvement? After you have finished, share with the group and discuss strategies to deal with the areas where you are challenged. Clarity Specific to achieving goals in work Challenging stretch goals Ability to establish personal work goals Deadlines Sufficiency of resources Sufficiency of skilled labour 18

21 Section 1 - True or False Quiz Please tick True False Management is only about being able to lead and control. Organising involves arranging resources to get the work done. The first step in developing an operational plan is to develop a set of goals and objectives for that plan. A resource plan is a chart that outlines the objectives you wish to achieve and how you plan going about achieving them. Objectives are specific, measurable results produced while implementing strategies. Skill gaps are not an issue that a manager should be concerned with. The objectives that you set must contribute to your organisation s overall strategic or business plan. A good manager always tries to solve problems by themselves. Consultation with staff over major decisions is critical to the success of any operational plan. Proposals do not need to discuss the benefits of a plan. 19