This course explains the differences between - but also the links between - creativity and innovation ... and then goes on to explain how processes of creativity and innovation can be promoted, facilitated and supported within a business organisation.

This course explains the differences between - but also the links between - creativity and innovation ... and then goes on to explain how processes of creativity and innovation can be promoted, facilitated and supported within a business organisation.

Workforce planning is the process of  looking at what an organisation needs to accomplish in a given period of time, and then  determining what knowledge, skills, and experience are required to get the work done, and how large and the size and type of workforce that is required to provide that mix of skills, knowledge, and experience.

In brief, workforce planning ensures an organisation has the right number of people, with the right skills, in the right places at the right times to carry out its planned activities.

An introduction to Costing & Financial Control in support of productivity improvement.

If we are to improve the productivity of an organisation, we have to bring about change - to what the organisation does or how it   Successful and productive businesses are those that can introduce new processes, system, procedures and working methods easily and quickly, with minimum disruption.

This course looks at the process of change – and the ways it can be managed.  It examines why people – individually and in groups – resist change and then explores how such resistance can be minimised and managed.

Waste in the Lean philosophy is anything that does not add value for the customer.  If we are not adding value but we are incurring cost, then we are reducing our productivity.  All organisations should be looking to identify waste and then eliminate - or at least minimise -it. Waste also impacts on sustainability.  Wasted natural resources deplete the resource available to future generations.

Translating a product idea or prototype into a working manufacturing process is the job of production engineering.  The aim is to design and build a process that makes the product reliably and cost-effectively. To do this, the production engineer adopts a number of approaches and a range of tools and techniques. This course will take you through the concepts of production engineering and introduce a number of these tools and techniques.

Customer Service is a shorthand term for all the interactions with customers that offer them information and support before, during and after any specific transaction.  It is a key function in attracting and retaining customers - and part of the promise your brand makes to the marketplace.  Because retaining customers is much more cost effective than attracting new customers, good customer service makes the organisation more successful - and improves its productivity.

New Product Development is clearly a success factor in maintaining organisational success - but importantly also in our terms is its effect on the productivity of the organisation. New products must be designed and developed to meet market needs; but they must also be designed for cost-effective manufacturability and for long term sustainability in terms of their impact on the environment during manufacture, during use ands during disposal.

This course explains the differences between - but also the links between - creativity and innovation ... and then goes on to explain how processes of creativity and innovation can be promoted, facilitated and supported within a business organisation.

This programme is made up of a set of mandatory units (or modules) which collectively lead to the award of a level 5 Diploma.  Each unit is built as a separate 'course' and each of them ends with an END ASSESSMENT which must be completed and submitted online for marking.

Building and maintaining good working relationships within and across an organisation - and with external stakeholders - is a vital underpinning of high performance and high productivity. This course takes learners through the characteristics of good relations in the workplace, the attributes needed by leaders who wish to create and encourage good working relationships - and through problematic areas such as negotiating and managing conflict.

As this is a Level 5 course, you are expected to work through the courser systematically and completely, but also to undertake some further reading to ensure you have a broad knowledge and understanding of the topic. A bibliography of suggested reading is included at the end of the course.

This course introduces the basic concepts of project planning and management - but  is focused on projects aimed at improving productivity and performance.

Workforce planning is the process of  looking at what an organisation needs to accomplish in a given period of time, and then  determining what knowledge, skills, and experience are required to get the work done, and how large and the size and type of workforce that is required to provide that mix of skills, knowledge, and experience.

In brief, workforce planning ensures an organisation has the right number of people, with the right skills, in the right places at the right times to carry out its planned activities.

This course is designed to explore issues that help align people and processes with the mission and strategy of an organisation in the pursuit of high performance, high productivity and competitive advantage.   Organisational development practitioners are capable of addressing major business challenges and leading an organisation through the necessary change processes.

Clearly this overlaps and inter-relates with other units in this Diploma programme and some duplication of content is inevitable.  However, this has been designed to reinforce and extend, rather than repeat the content of other units.

Of course all businesses have problems. Solving a business problem is a bit like medicine – the earlier you diagnose a problem, the more likely you are to ‘cure’ it and find a solution. 

This course takes you through a structured process of identifying, clarifying and analysing problems before looking at how we might generate and evaluate potential solutions. The course introduces a number of tools and techniques to aid in this process and includes a range of activities so that you get to apply, and practice, these techniques. 

 The course uses a structured case study - based on a real-life history - so that the processes of problem-solving are set in a ‘real’ business. .

Things can go wrong - and awkward things happen - in all businesses and business activity.  The things that might go wrong are the risks the business has to face. The things that have gone wrong and the unpleasant things that happen give us issues to deal with. Since we can't operate without these risks and issues, we have t learn to deal wth them ... anticipating and planning for when they occur or/and managing them when they do.

This course introduces strategies for managing risks and issues to minimise any harmful impact they may have on the business.

Innovation is considered one of the essential attributes of effective and successful organisations. Yet, the number of companies that are held up as exemplars of innovative thinking and activity is very low.

This suggests that, though companies realise the need for innovation, they find it difficult to build the capacity for innovation. This course looks at what innovation is and how to relates to overlapping concepts such as invention, and research & development. It then goes on to give examples of processes, and of tools and techniques, that can be used to build innovative capacity.

Finally, it looks at the concept of Open Innovation – one of the latest approaches to innovation, made possible by networked, socially- based technologies. The course includes a range of case studies and examples...and practical exercises that develop skills and competencies, so that those completing the course develop their personal capacity for creative thinking and innovation. 

This course introduces the concepts and practises of quality management - both quality control and quality assurance.  It does not cover the details of statistical quality control but it does introduce the principles and should allow students to contribute to the design and development of an effective quality management process supporting operational efficiency and higher levels of customer service. 

This course explains the principles and processes of Continuous Improvement  and provides students with the knowledge and skills required to make a significant contribution to av programme of continuous improvement in their own organisation.

Leading productivity and performance improvement sits within overall strategic leadership - and within the overall vision of the future of the organisation. Leaders are, or should be, constantly trying to change the organisation - for the better - making it more efficient, more competitive , more productive. All leaders need ot understand the issues that surround change management - the real strength of a leader is probably his or her ability to successfully manage change.

Operations management is a large subject, but it can be approached specifically. Essentially, operations management relates to the development, implementation, and upkeep of effective processes that creates an organisation's goods or services. By designing and controlling a process which is needed to convert input into output, efficiency and effectiveness in using resources can be focused on, whilst also meeting customer requirements. 

Improving organisational performance and productivity requires a positive contribution from all employees.  A key role of leaders and senior managers is to attract talented staff, develop their skills and abilities, and ensure they are fully engaged, motivated and rewarded.  This course examines the Toyota Kata methodology which uses skills improvement and development to underpin continuous improvement. 

Organisations of all types are feeling the pressure to operative more effectively, whether it be due to cutbacks in funding, global competition for limited resources, or a demand for higher-quality outcomes. To overcome such challenges, improvement is required, and this can only be achieved through a cyclic process of improving an organisation, its teams, and its individual staff members performance. 

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a valuable tool to use when improving business performance. It introduces the voice of the customer as a key asset for organisational success, whilst being enhanced by the use of digital analytics. The business becomes more profitable because it ensures that during the lifespan of the customer, all interactions are positive (where possible), and their product or service is delivered in-full and on-time.

Leadership and leadership development is continuing to evolve as technical advances and social and political structures shift, and whilst much continues to change, leadership is broadly seen as the ability to achieve direction, alignment, and commitment, with personal leadership used as a means to enhance this capacity.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become somewhat 'fashionable' in recent years. Informed and concerned consumers are increasingly demanding that the companies they buy from act in an ethical, responsible and environmentally aware  manner ..... demonstrating that they are concerned about the effects they have on the environment and on the communities in which they operate and which they serve.

However, some organisations fear that adopting a CSR approach will add to their costs and distract them from their main purpose - the pursuit of profit.

This course aims to show that CSR can be a business development opportunity if business leaders approach it in a strategic way. It helps build company/brand recognition and value, create customer satisfaction and increase attractiveness to potential investors.

"A picture is worth a thousand words".  Often, this is true. A picture, chart or diagram can convey information more easily and more effectively than text.  In a business setting, leaders and managers need their staff to follow a vision, to work to established processes, to take informed decisions. Those staff need the information that underpins effective action and secure decision-making.

This course introduces the principles of visual leadership and visual management and covers a range of tools and techniques that can be used to aid the representation and analysis of complex information in forms that make that information easier to understand, to assimilate and to act upon.  These tools  ensure that workers have access to the information they need to carry out work instructions and planned schedules according to the specification, maintaining the quality of output.  They also ensure that managers have access to the information they need to plan and control operations effectively - and that they are aware of quality issues or process errors before too much damage is done.

This is a set of NCQ tests to be used within new units.