Edexcel HND Unit 13 Lecturer: Robson Chihota LL.B (Hons); LL.

M;PGCE

 There

is a number of learning outcomes(L.O) on your assignment. You need to cover every learning outcome Below each learning outcome, there are bullet points on how you are expected to meet the L.O These are assessment criteria and you must cover every one of these in your assignment Assessment criteria will usually be expressed as instructions or questions

 Be

able to demonstrate acquired interpersonal and transferable skills. 4.1 select solutions to work-based problems 4.2 communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels
4.1

& 4.2 above are the assessment criteria. You will cover the learning outcome by answering all of the assessment criteria and that makes you pass.

 Read

the assessment criteria carefully as these are your instructions about what you must write in your assignment.

Quiz

Explain what you need to do in your assignment when you see the following words:

Give

the reasons for and against something

Explain

how useful or worthwhile something is. Include your personal opinion, supported by evidence.

Select

and list

Give

valid reasons for decisions or conclusions

 Theories,

models and concepts learnt must

be used. This is your chance to demonstrate that you are aware of these theories, models and concepts Relate them to what happens in your workplace or another organisation that youre familiar with

 In

small groups discuss your identified work based problems. Problems must be different from person to person. Discuss the learning styles which can be implemented to overcome the problems you identified
This

is an example of how to approach the question. Use the same strategy to answer part 2 and part 3 of your assignment

 Problem:

Employees continually failing to meet targets Solution:

Mutually agree upon targets as opposed to imposed targets Regular milestone checks, feedback & support Give them gifts, recognition lunches, etc., for achieving their targetsmake everyone aware Make working over time mandatory till the work is completed Cut back on incentives

 unimportant

meetings; lengthy and

insignificant discussions
people

misuse the term "authority" in the workplace

incompetence too

much work to do, too little time in hand of work recognition; more criticism

lack

(Buzzle)

 Buzzle.

Problems at the Work Place. [Online] Available at: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/problemsin-the-workplace.html (Accessed 11 October 2013)

 You

could refer to the Conscious/Unconscious Learning Model and show how it will fit in to resolve your problems (Businessballs) the process and stages of learning a new skill (or behavior, ability, technique, etc.) a useful reminder of the need to train people in stages. unconscious incompetence-conscious incompetence- conscious competenceunconscious competence.

 Businessballs.

Conscious Competence Learning Model [Online] Available at: http://www.businessballs.com/consciouscom petencelearningmodel.htm (Accessed 11 October 2013)

 You

could refer to Honey and Mumfords Preferred Learning Styles (1982) (Kolbs) Activist, Theorist; Pragmatist and Reflector. These are the learning approaches that individuals naturally prefer The theorists recommend that in order to maximize one's own personal learning, each learner ought to:

understand their learning style seek out opportunities to learn using that style

 Activists

learn best when:

involved in new experiences, problems and opportunities working with others in team tasks or role-playing being thrown in the deep end with a difficult task chairing meetings, leading discussions

When

do you think they learn less?

 listening
reading,

to lectures or long explanations

writing or thinking on their own and understanding data precise instruction to the letter

absorbing following

 observing
reviewing

individuals or groups at work

what has happened and thinking

about what they have learned

producing

analyses and reports doing tasks

without tight deadlines

 acting

as leader or role-playing in front of

others
doing being being

things with no time to prepare thrown in at the deep end rushed or worried by deadlines

 put

in complex situations where they have to use their skills and knowledge they are in structured situations with clear purpose they are offered interesting ideas or concepts even though they are not immediately relevant they have the chance to question and probe ideas

 they

have to participate in situations which

emphasise emotion and feelings

the

activity is unstructured or briefing is poor have to do things without knowing the

they

principles or concepts involved

they

feel they're out of tune with the other

participants, for example people with different learning styles

 there
they they

is a link between the topic and job

have the chance to try out techniques are shown techniques with obvious

advantages such as saving time

they

are shown a model they can copy

 there

is no obvious or immediate benefit that

they can recognise

there

is no practice or guidelines on how to

do it
there the

is no apparent benefit to the learning

event or learning is all theory

(Mumford, 1997)

 Honey,

P. & Mumford, A. (1982) Manual of Learning Styles London: P Honey Mumford, A. (1997) How to manage your learning environment. London: P Honey

 You

could make reference to the Paretos principle (Koch 2001; Craft and Leake 2002) The 80/20 Rule should serve as a daily reminder to focus 80 percent of your time and energy on the 20 percent of your work that is really important. Don't just "work smart", work smart on the right things.

 When

faced with many problems:

Firstly group together the different types of problems Count the number of cases of each type of problem Prioritise the most common type of a problemsolve it first This clears time to focus on the next set of problems and so forth

 The

urgent/important matrix underscores the same theme of doing the most important things first as in the Paretos principle. According to Covey (1994):

seemingly urgent tasks arent that important Important activities (e.g., working towards your life goals) are not urgent Do important things first as opposed to urgent

 Koch,

R. (2001), The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less, London: Nicholas Brealey Craft R.C,Leake C., (2002) "The Pareto principle in organizational decision making", Management Decision, (40) 8, 729 - 733

 According

to Latham and Locke (2002), there are 5 principles of goal setting:

Clarity Challenge Commitment Feedback Task complexity

Working towards a goal provides a major source of motivation Specific & difficult goals are more motivating than easy goals

You

could also say: There are 5 principles of goal setting (Latham and Locke, 2002)

 Latham,

G.; Locke, E.A(2002), "Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation", The American Psychologist 57 (9)7079

 Multi

tasking Activity logs To do lists Action programmes Scheduling Identify resources to help you Weekly reviews Avoiding procrastination Breaking down tasks Persevering

 Unauthorised

use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the presentation of them as ones own original work. To avoid this you have to quote or cite from a document produced by someone else using exactly their words (see referencing)

 When

providing examples from your work place, it is important that you consider confidentiality especially when youre writing about a sensitive matter Tips

Dont refer to people by name Individuals can be referred to by their job titles Dont refer to the organisation by name if youre writing something which the organisation wouldnt want to be made public

 It

is important to demonstrate that you are aware of and understand models, theories and concepts and that youve read about the subject of your assignment Use references to:

Support your arguments and give credibility to your work Show the scope & breath of your research Acknowledge the source of an argument or idea

Failure to do so could result in a charge of plagiarism

e.g., on the reference list: Books You will need to include Authors Surname and initials Year of publication Title Edition (if not the first) /Place of publication Publisher

 E.g.,

In 1623, Shakespeare wrote the words To be or not to be

you could say To be or not to be (Shakespeare, 1623)

Alternatively,