Task 2
Develop critical thinking in others
BSBCRT511
Student Declaration
To be filled out and submitted with assessment responses
? I declare that this task and any attached document related to the task is all my own work and I have not cheated or plagiarised the work or colluded with any other student(s)
? I understand that if I am found to have plagiarised, cheated or colluded, action will be taken against me according to the process explained to me
? I have correctly referenced all resources and reference texts throughout these assessment tasks.
? I have read and understood the assessment requirements for this unit
? I understand the rights to re-assessment
? I understand the right to appeal the decisions made in the assessment
Unit Title
Unit Code
Student name
Student ID number
Student signature Date
Task Number
——OFFICE USE ONLY—–
For Trainer and Assessor to complete:
? Student requested reasonable adjustment for the assessment
Marking Sheet
Completed successfully
Did the student satisfactorily: Comments Y N DNS
The student has satisfactorily completed and submitted the following:
• Report in Task 2.1A
• Survey in Task 2.1A
• Action Plan in Task 2.1B
• Social Media post in Task 2.1B
• Newsletter article in Task 2.1B
• Feedback/Consultation process in Task 2.1B
• Strategy for cross-pollination of ideas in Task 2.1B
• Feedback/advise to Role-Play participants in Task 2.2
• Reflection in Task 2.2
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Demonstrated ability to:
• Research models of critical and creative thinking
• Analyse current organisational systems to identify gaps or barriers to critical thinking
This is evidenced by:
• Report in Task 2.1A
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Demonstrated ability to:
• Develop questions to identify individual and team knowledge gaps
This is evidenced by:
• Survey in Task 2.1A
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Demonstrated ability to:
• addressing identified gaps
• Articulate key features of critical and creative thinking concepts to relevant personnel
• Develop processes that create a safe environment for critical and creative thinking approaches
This is evidenced by:
• Action Plan in Task 2.1B
• Social Media post in Task 2.1B
• Newsletter article in Task 2.1B
• Feedback/Consultation process in Task 2.1B
• Strategy for cross-pollination of ideas in Task 2.1B
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The student facilitated a brainstorming session with departmental managers (Role-Play):
Chose one of the topics for discussion
Was prepared to facilitate the session
• Welcomed the participants
• Explained the aim of the session
• Outlined the structure of the session and any discussion rules
• Explained the decision-making process
• Used the session to build rapport with the managers and supported them in establishing a bond
• Facilitated the session
• Encouraged everyone to participate
• Championed critical and creative thinking
• Coached and mentor the managers as needed
• Noted down how each participant performed during the session to provide them with feedback
Feedback to participants was provided.
Y ? N ?
Feedback in Comments.
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Demonstrated ability to:
• Facilitate opportunities for team members to apply critical thinking skills to workplace problems
• Provide feedback to team members on performance of tasks
This is evidenced by:
• Feedback/advise to Role-Play participants in Task 2.2
• Reflection in Task 2.2
• Facilitation of the session (Refer to Marking Sheet comments above) in Task 2.2
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Task Outcome: Satisfactory ? Not Yet Satisfactory ?
Student Name:
Assessor Name:
Assessor Signature:
Date:
Table of Content
Student Declaration 2
Task 2 – Establish a critical thinking environment 7
Task 2.1 Establish an environment that encourages the application of critical and creative thinking 9
Task 2.2 Facilitate critical and creative thinking opportunities 13
Appendix 1 – Scenario 15
Task 2 – Establish a critical thinking environment
Task summary and instructions
What is this assessment task about? You have been engaged as a consultant by MMI Professional Education to support the development of critical thinking skills in departmental managers.
You are required to:
1. Analyse and evaluate critical and creative thinking in the organisation
2. Establish an environment that encourages critical and creative thinking in the organisation
3. Monitor and improve thinking practices
Task 2 focuses on point 1 and 2.
This task comprises of the following assessment methods:
o Product-based ?
o Direct observation of Role-Play ?
o Case Study ?
o Other (specify) ?
It has been designed to evaluate your ability to/competency in:
• Research models of critical and creative thinking
• Develop questions to identify individual and team knowledge gaps
• Facilitate formal and informal learning opportunities for addressing identified gaps
• Articulate key features of critical and creative thinking concepts to relevant personnel
• Analyse current organisational systems to identify gaps or barriers to critical thinking
• Develop processes that create a safe environment for critical and creative thinking approaches
• Facilitate opportunities for team members to apply critical thinking skills to workplace problems
• Provide feedback to team members on performance of tasks
Your assessor will be looking for demonstrated evidence of your competency in the above.
You are required to address the following:
• Task 2.1 Establish an environment that encourages the application of critical and creative thinking
o Analise and evaluate the current organisational environment in relation to critical thinking
o Address identified needs
• Task 2.2 Facilitate critical and creative thinking opportunities
o Facilitate a brainstorming session (Role-Play)
What do I need to do to complete this task satisfactorily? • submit the completed assessment tasks, according to instructions,
• complete the tasks with sufficient detail and present them in a professional manner,
• use your own words and reference sources appropriately,
• meet the word count where required,
• use the scenario provided,
• use the templates provided where required,
• for your performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task you must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria,
• if part of this task is not satisfactorily completed you will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate satisfactory performance.
Specifications You must deliver/participate in:
• Brainstorming session (Role-Play) in week 4.
You must submit to GOALS
• Report
• Survey
• Action Plan
• Social Media post
• Newsletter article
• Feedback/Consultation process
• Strategy for cross-pollination of ideas
• Feedback/advise to Role-Play participants
• Reflection
Resources and equipment • Computer with Internet access
• Access to Microsoft Office suites or similar software
• Learning material
• Scenario for assessment as provided
• Appendices as provided
• Relevant policies and procedures as provided
• Templates as provided
Re-submission opportunities You will be provided feedback on your performance by the Assessor. The feedback will indicate if you have satisfactorily addressed the requirements of each part of this task. If any parts of the task are not satisfactorily completed, the assessor will explain why, and provide you written feedback along with guidance on what you must undertake to demonstrate satisfactory performance. Re-assessment attempt(s) will be arranged at a later time and date. You have the right to appeal the outcome of assessment decisions if you feel that you have been dealt with unfairly or have other appropriate grounds for an appeal. You are encouraged to consult with the assessor prior to attempting this task if you do not understand any part of this task or if you have any learning issues or needs that may hinder you when attempting any part of the assessment.
Complete the following activities:
Task 2.1 Establish an environment that encourages the application of critical and creative thinking
You have been engaged as a consultant by MMI Professional Education to support the development of critical thinking skills in departmental managers.
A. Analysis and evaluation of the current organisational environment
Your first step is to review and evaluate the following:
• Current organisational procedures: review current organisational policies and procedures that may be used to maximise individual and team access to learning opportunities.
o What are they?
o How are they applied to the organisation?
o Is there any data on their effectiveness? If not, what should be done?
o Do they maximise individual and team access to learning opportunities? If not, what could be improved?
Please note: policies and procedures are provided in a separate folder.
• Current organisational systems: analyse the current organisational systems by reading Appendix 1 and identifying gaps or critical thinking barriers.
Although the existing organisational culture and systems may affect the workplace, you wish to establish a strong organisational culture that values learning and critical thinking.
o Describe the organisational culture.
o Is critical thinking applied to decision-making?
o Do you think that critical thinking is encouraged in the organisation?
o Can you determine any gap between what the organisation wants to be and what the organisation is when it comes to critical thinking?
o Can you identify any barrier to critical thinking in the organisation? What are they? Why are they there?
o What could be improved?
• Benchmarking: research, analyse, and report information about the learning organisation and models of critical and creative thinking. Consider:
o Models
o Best practice
o Innovative approaches
o Current trends
• Barriers and Gaps: identify current gaps or barriers to critical thinking in the organisation.
• Consultation: determine what consultation initiatives should be planned and implemented to identify individual and knowledge gaps in critical and creative thinking in the management team. Additionally, develop a ten (10) question survey to identify individual and team knowledge gaps (Template 2).
Once you have completed your analysis and evaluation, summarise it in a report using Template 1.
Template 1 -Report
Report
Current organisational procedures.
(80-120 words)
Current organisational systems.
(100-150 words)
Benchmarking.
(100-150 words)
Barriers and Gaps
Consultation.
(4-5 initiatives)
Template 2 -Survey
Create a ‘survey form’ to identify individual and team knowledge gaps regarding critical thinking and learning opportunities.
Develop ten (10) questions (a mix of closed and open-ended questions).
Record the questions in the template provided below.
Please note that under ‘Answer’ you can add a rating scale (example: very satisfied, satisfied…)
Survey Form
Thank you for taking the time to complete the Critical and Creative Thinking Survey Form.
The survey should take less than five (5) minutes to complete, and it will provide us with insights to improve our learning opportunities to develop critical thinking in individuals and teams.
Question Answer
B. Addressing identified needs
Assume that you received the following summary feedback report after delivering a survey to all staff:
• Most respondents felt unheard by their direct managers when proposing improvements.
• Staff believes that managers are very busy with their work, and they do not have time to consult with their team members.
• Most respondents could not articulate exactly what other teams in the organisation do and felt their team worked more than others.
• Most respondents did not know the difference between creativity and innovation.
• Staff believes that there is not a culture of problem-solving in the organisation.
• Staff felt that decision making is slow and, often, not as effective as it should be.
• Staff identified the following areas as learning priorities: effective communication, data analysis and evaluation, problem-solving, innovative and creative thinking.
1. Based on your report and the summary of feedback outlined above, determine six (6) key initiatives (including 2-3 learning opportunities) to create a work environment that encourages critical and creative thinking in the organisation.
Record the selected initiatives in the action plan provided in Template 3. Complete all parts of the action plan.
Template 3 -Action Plan
Initiative Timeline for implementation Estimated cost Responsibility
(Departmental Manager)
2. Write a social media post to promote one of the learning opportunities identified in your action plan to departmental managers. The post can be as simple as the content + picture.
Document the social media post in the space provided below.
3. Write a newsletter article for the monthly newsletter to articulate the key features of critical and creative thinking.
Content:
• Benefits of critical and creative thinking and why they matter
• Key features of critical and creative thinking
• Example of critical and creative thinking
The article must be:
• Informative
• Engaging
• Creative
(150-250 words)
Copy and paste your article in Template 4. Add pictures and/or links to external resources as needed.
Template 4 -Newsletter article
Monthly Newsletter
4. Develop a feedback or consultation process that managers can use to gather feedback and inputs from their team members.
The process can be developed in the form of a flow chart or a step by step process.
Document the process in the space provided below.
5. Develop a strategy to encourage the cross-pollination of ideas between different teams in the organisation.
(50-100 words)
Task 2.2 Facilitate critical and creative thinking opportunities
Schedule a time with the trainer and assessor in week 4 of class and conduct a brainstorming session using critical and creative thinking techniques to address a challenge in the organisation. This is a Role-Play.
A group of classmates will play the role of departmental managers, and you will be the external consultant engaged by MMI to support the development of critical thinking in the management team.
This will be an opportunity to support the departmental managers to apply critical thinking skills in the workplace.
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Before the session
• Choose one of the following topics to address during the session:
o How to introduce recycling in the workplace
o How to reduce waste in the workplace by reusing (example: paper, food containers etc..)
o Choose a staff wellbeing practice to implement in the workplace (example: exercise, healthy eating, support others) and explain why that practice is a priority
o How to improve cultural intelligence in the workplace
o Develop a new product idea by associating a random brand with a product (the product must reflect the brand). Examples to choose from: Rolex and mushrooms; Ferrari and a mop; Chanel and pasta.
o How to eliminate gossiping in the workplace
• Prepare for the session by planning how to facilitate it, choosing the most suitable critical and creative thinking technique/s, and researching the topics to support an informed discussion.
During the session
• Welcome the participants
• Explain the aim of the session
• Outline the structure of the session and any discussion rules
• Explain the decision-making process
• Use the session to build rapport with the managers and support them in establishing a bond
• Facilitate the session
• Encourage everyone to participate
• Champion critical and creative thinking
• Coach and mentor the managers as needed
• Note down how each participant performed during the session to provide them with feedback
After the session
• Provide feedback to the managers about their performance during the session and their use of creative and critical thinking.
• Advise the managers on how to improve critical and creative thinking.
• Summarise the advice and feedback provided to each manager (participant) in the table provided below (add additional rows if needed).
Participant (Full Name of the student) Feedback and Advice -Summary
• Reflect on the session and address the points below:
o What topic did you choose?
o What creative and/or critical thinking technique/s did you use during the session? Why?
o What was the outcome of the session? What decisions were made at the end of the brainstorming session?
o How did the participants perform during the session?
o How did you ensure that all managers participated in the session? How did you engage them?
o What did you do well?
o What could you improve?
(80-120 words)
Document your reflection in the space provided below.
The trainer and assessor will evaluate your performance during the session and provide feedback on the marking sheet. The trainer and assessor will also validate that feedback was provided to the participants.
If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to make alternative arrangements with the trainer and assessor to perform the Role-Play.
Appendix 1 – Scenario
The company
XYZ Pty Ltd, trading as MMI Professional Education is an Australian boutique education provider in Melbourne Registered Training Organisation -RTO), offering VET accredited and non-accredited business courses to corporate clients and to local clients (domestic students).
MMI was founded in 1998 by brothers Mark and Andrew White who built the company to become a quality RTO with major accounts in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. Mark Brown sold his shares to his brother Andrew who is the current chairman of the company.
The education provider is centrally located in Collins Street, Melbourne CBD with state-of-the-art facilities:
o Administration and Management Offices (including the main boardroom, 2 meetings rooms and a computer lab with 20 PCs) on Level 45
o 15 Classrooms, kitchenette, client lounge room and a trainers’ room on Level 46
Corporate training is mainly non-accredited and delivered at the clients’ premises around Australia, but it can also be catered for at Collins Street. Corporate clients include major Bank groups, National Management Consultancy firms, Manufacturing companies and Government agencies.
Accredited courses are delivered in Collins Street with a combination of face to face and online training delivery. The accredited courses are the Diploma of Business and the Diploma of Project Management. MMI has a current capacity to enrol 500 clients, current enrolment number is 250 clients.
Important note:
o A VET accredited course has been assessed by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) as compliant with the Standards for VET (Vocational Education and Training) Accredited Courses and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). Accreditation means that the course is nationally recognised and that the registered organisation (RTO) can issue a nationally recognised qualification or Statement of Attainment (this for single units only).
o Non-accredited courses are business courses that have been highly customised to meet clients’ training needs.
The current organisational structure is as follows:
The Teams are composed as follows:
• Board of Directors
o Mr Andrew White – Chairman
o Ms Francis Green – Executive Director
o Mr Eli Brown – Non-executive Director
o Ms Josephine Magenta – Non- executive Director
o Ms Deborah Red – CEO
o Mr Leonard Black – CFO
• Finance Department: CFO and 2 x financial officers (full-time)
Summary of duties: account receivable, account payable; invoicing; payroll; financial record keeping and reporting; taxes/fees
• Marketing Team: Manager (full time) and 1 x marketing officer (part-time)
Summary of duties: promotion; design of marketing collaterals for events; social media; market research; public relations
• HR Team: HR Manager and 2 x admin officers (part-time):
Summary of duties: Recruitment; Induction and training; performance management support; employee relations; safety; compensation and benefits
• Client Services: Client Service Manager and 2 x receptionists; 4x client service officers, 1 x team leader, 1 x maintenance officer
Summary of duties:
o front of office and back of office customer service activities (to include reception and response to enquiries)
o support to academic staff
o client admin: client admission, enrolment, enrolment variations, pastoral care, completion
o building maintenance: 1x maintenance officer
• Academic Services: Academic Manager and 5 contract business trainers for corporate training; 4 full time (ongoing) business trainers for accredited training
Summary of duties: accredited and non-accredited training and assessment; learning material and assessment development and validation; support with compliance monitoring; pastoral care.
• IT services: outsourced to an external company
Summary of duties: network service; database administration (inventory and staff files); maintenance and update of communication system including CRM (Customer Relationship management system); data management and security.
Note: in loco computer maintenance is performed by the maintenance officer who has some IT knowledge
Company Ownership structure
The company structure is a Pty Ltd:
• The Chairman Andrew White holds 51% of the shares
• 40% of the shares are held by an external corporation since late 2017, as a silent business partner
• The remaining 9% is owned by other members of the Brown’s family
Vision
Our vision is to develop outstanding individuals through quality business training that encompasses personal and professional growth.
Mission
o We create successful careers in business to advance business growth and to positively impact on the broader community.
o We strive to provide exceptional business training that focuses on quality of teaching, practical learning, and successful outcomes
Values
Our core values are:
• Quality
• Integrity
• Accountability
• Respect for diversity
• Innovation
MMI quality standards
• Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) standards
• ISO9001 – Quality Management Systems
• ISO 27001 Information Security
• ISO 31000 Risk Management
• Australian Business Excellence Framework
MMI – Boards’ of Director expectation
• Quality of practices
• Innovative solutions for business growth based on hard data and extensive research
• Build an innovative and agile company that can respond to the challenges of an ever-changing business environment
• Become market leader
• Increase value for shareholders and clients
Industry, market, and strategic business direction
MMI Professional Education is a Registered Training Provider (RTO) based in Melbourne, Australia that offers business accredited and non-accredited courses to corporate clients, and local clients.
Strategic Objectives:
• To expand the basis of the operation to Sydney where the company has experienced a high increase in demand for corporate training
• To increase revenue by 10% annually for the next 3 years
• To increase profits by 10% annually for the next 3 years
• To position the company as a leader for quality business education in Australia within the next three years
• To expand the course offering by adding new qualifications to the scope of registration: the Diploma of Leadership and Management and the Advanced Diploma of Program Management
• To increase the base of local clients attending accredited courses
• To implement sustainability to work practices: social, financial, and environmental
• To expand the offering to international students by repackaging accredited business courses to add an internship component during the course
Current positioning
• MMI enjoys a good reputation in the industry as a quality provider of business courses for corporate clients
• Courses are marketed as hands-on, with trainers that currently work in the industry, providing current and cutting-edge skills to business professionals
• MMI currently holds 15% of the corporate business training in Australia
• MMI does not currently deliver business courses to international clients
• MMI does not currently deliver courses overseas
• The company is financially stable and sustainable
Operational overview
• State of the art facility in Melbourne to be replicated in Sydney
• Systems in use:
o Student Management System (MMI system)
o Learning Management System (Moodle)
o Accounting Management System (MYOB) – does not interface with MMI system
o Share drive
o Share points
o Zoom
o Project Management Application for remote teamwork (trainers): Wrike
• Trainers work both on-site in Melbourne and around Australia
• Senior management to stay in Melbourne: campus director and team leaders to be employed to manage and supervise Sydney’s operations
• Staff to be employed for the Sydney Campus
• Administrative tasks such as enrolments will be undertaken by the Melbourne’s campus
• Virtual teamwork practices to be implemented between Melbourne and Sydney
• Website tailored to international students to be developed
• Develop and implement sustainability policy and practices across the organisation, and sustainability has not been on the top five priorities of the company so far
• All trainers are based in Melbourne; this impacts on financial costs when having to move trainers to other Australian capitals to conduct corporate training. Trainers who deliver corporate training receive a generous daily allowance when outside Melbourne ($250/day), all travel and accommodation expenses are paid for by MMI. This generous package impacts an average of 20% on the profit margin for each corporate course that is sold
Organisational culture
The organisational culture experienced at MMI is a mix of market and hierarchy culture.
• The Market Culture: This culture is built upon the dynamics of competition and achieving concrete results. The focus is goal-oriented, with leaders who are tough and demanding. The organisation is united by a common goal to succeed and beat all rivals. The main value drivers are market share and profitability.
• The Hierarchy Culture: This culture is founded on structure and control. The work environment is formal, with strict institutional procedures in place for guidance. Leadership is based on organised coordination and monitoring, with a culture emphasising efficiency and predictability. The values include consistency and uniformity.
(Source: https://popinnow.com/four-types-organizational-culture/ )
• The organisation is top-heavy, and there are concerns that this may not suit the strategic objectives for growth and the opening of a second campus in Sydney.
• The Board of Directors is invested in the change process; however, intervention is needed to bring departmental managers and teams on board.
• It is recommended that an organisational culture more suitable for innovation, sustainability, agility, and progressive growth is developed and implemented.
Operational issues
The following operational issues have been identified internally:
• The increased number of complaints due to lack of cultural sensibility of trainers and client service personnel when dealing with students from the non-Australian background (15% increase in the last 6 months alone)
• All trainers are based in Melbourne; this impacts on financial costs when having to move trainers to other Australian capitals to conduct corporate training. Trainers who deliver corporate training receive a generous daily allowance when outside Melbourne ($250/day), all travel and accommodation expenses are paid for by MMI. This generous package impacts an average of 20% on the profit margin for each corporate course that is sold
• An increasing number of enrolments in Melbourne, projected student population to raise from 205 to 450 by mid-2021. Current facilities are not sufficient to accommodate the increase in numbers (current facilities can accommodate max 350 students)
• Delays in achieving marketing objectives due to the composition of the team (2 part-timers and one contractor) that cannot sustain the increased amount of marketing tasks (corporate events to enhance networking and identify potential corporate clients have increased by 30% in the past 6 months)
• A new student management system has been developed in-house. The system was recommended by the Client Services and the Academic Managers for the seamless integration of the student management and the learning management system. However, the two managers failed to perform due diligence, and they did not consider that the new system does not interface with the finance management system. This will cause operational disruptions to the workflow as finance records (mainly revenues) will have to be manually inputted based on the new system’s reports on enrolment.
• Covid19 has decreased sales by 20%, the company has managed to deliver existing courses and still maintain a reasonable margin of new enrolments online
Marketing
• MMI has not heavily invested in marketing activities, relying mainly on word of mouth.
• The company has a website:
o Old fashioned look, quite austere
o Not responsive
o In the mobile version, after you have clicked in a few pages, the navigation becomes daunting
o Heavy use of text
o Infrequent updates
• Social Media: there is a FB page that is rarely updated, the LinkedIn Page is not in use
• Print advertisement: Industry magazine
• Referrals: education agents are paid 15% commission for referring students
• Discounts: twice/year MMI offers 10% for new enrolments to attract more students
• Yearly marketing budget: $75,000
• The marketing team is small and not experienced in digital and social media marketing
Pricing
Product Target Market Price
Corporate Training
Topics:
• Operational Management
• Leadership
• Project Management
• Emotional Intelligence
• Change Management • Management
• Individuals looking for upskilling to advance their career Face to Face classroom (average of 10 participants) $ 2,000/participant
Online $ 800/participant
Individual coaching $ 150/hour
Diploma of Business Domestic students Blended learning:
$ 4,000/student
Diploma of Project Management Domestic students Blended learning:
$ 6,000/student
Workforce Overview
The following has been reported:
• Turnover rates are high in the academic department (30% yearly) due to the contractual nature of some of the roles. Ongoing training staff is steady, however, there is a need to invest more in their professional development to keep industry currency when teaching.
• Need for a succession plan for management roles
• Gender unbalanced
• Recruitment is done externally, few opportunities for advancement are offered to existing staff
• A recent staff survey outlined the following:
o Lack of opportunities for advancement
o Top heavy management
o Silo mentality
o Not enough room for innovation and improvement
o Lack of well-defined sustainability policy
o Diversity policy is very generic
• HR practices are mainly focused on administrative duties. The Board of Directors has identified the need to embrace HR practices as an essential strategic tool for business advancement.
• Training on HR practise is required for management
• Staff lament a lack of communication from the top
• Sense of working in silos
Remuneration (average) for each role is as followed:
• Board of Director – 25-50 k/year
• CEO – 250 k/year
• CFO – 180 k/year
• Managers – 120k/year
• Receptionist $ 52k/year
• Officers (including team members in the Marketing dept) $ 65k/year
• Team Leader $ 78k/year
• Trainer (ongoing) $ 85k/year
• Trainer (contractor): $ 80/hour. Trainers who deliver corporate training receive a generous daily allowance when outside Melbourne ($250/day), all travel and accommodation expenses are paid for by MMI.
Note:
• The above remuneration must be considered pro-rata for part-time staff.
• Superannuation is excluded and should be added at 10% to employee’s ordinary earnings
• Superannuation is paid to contractors (business trainers)
