MOST Analysis

Mission Statement

Management Paradigm is aimed at helping companies in healthcare, financial services, technology, manufacturing and R&D successfully transform their managerial processes and practices to provide for greater organization agility and employee engagement. These industries have experienced the impact of intense pressure for profitability and innovation. Roles have been eliminated and some replaced by technological advancements. Many department heads feel as if they are running as fast as they can yet not making headway. Management Paradigm provides multiple lenses through which existing business unit and department heads view effective, accountable managerial leadership and their role in it. It introduces a new paradigm about work systems and effective management built upon the scientifically based Requisite Organization (RO) framework. RO is proven to create more trust-based systems, providing clarity about what workers are accountable for and to whom they must account.

At the conclusion of Management Paradigm, you will have experienced, first-hand the adage “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. The combination of understanding how large- scale work systems perform using a consistent set of managerial processes across the board, results in significant yet sustainable improvements. Management Paradigm also views individual senior managers as whole systems and provides them with processes and practices to increase their EQ and manage their own self-care. This combination puts you the individual accountable managerial leader at the hub of the wheel. The adage “there is strength in numbers” holds true. Those of you taking this journey will create dialogue amongst yourselves creating a cohort within the company that will demonstrate significant outcomes in engagement, creativity, innovation, retention, customer service, quality and profitability. Not only are you adding value to the company, but you are strengthening your managerial acumen. These processes and practices are transportable. Once experienced you cannot go back to the old ways.

Month 1 consists of a preliminary assessment of your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. You will be asked to conduct a preliminary analysis of your organization identifying what is working and not working. Essentially to get a clear picture of what is and what could be. We will identify key roles and what and if they are adding value. Each of you are accountable for the overall performance of your department. Management Paradigm provides not only the tools but the processes you will use to transform your organization’s overall effectiveness.

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Objectives

01. Company Positioning: Preliminary company-wide assessment; self-assessment, outlining personal goals for the program. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Company Uncertainties: What keeps you up at night. Setting targets for improvement. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Business Unit Assessment: Analyze your business unit identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Defining Issues: Using the two preliminary assessments you’ve done identify the defining issues you see and must address. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Session Infrastructure: Analyze and assess the interplay of organization structure and you. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Managerial Leadership: Analyze and assess the managerial roles in your organization. Identify authorities and accountabilities each have. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Organization Structure: Compare and contrast the organization structure of your organization with the information provided. What works? Where are their fractures? Time Allocated: 1 Month
08. Personal Awareness: What do you know about yourself? How are you received, experienced at work? Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Awareness Knowledge: Introduction and take DiSC Behavioral Workplace Style Profile Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Organization Development: Introduce, plan and preliminary implementation of an OD process for your organization. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Self-Care: Assess and analyze how you take care of yourself and encourage others to take care of themselves. What habits need to be broken and new ones created. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Demonstrating Interconnectedness: Synthesizing what has been learned and demonstrating the interconnectedness. Time Allocated: 1Month

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Strategies

01. Company Positioning: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Company Uncertainties: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Business Unit Assessment: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Defining Issues: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Session Infrastructure: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Managerial Leadership: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Organization Structure: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Personal Awareness: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Awareness Knowledge: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Organization Development: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
11. Self-Care: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
12. Demonstrating Interconnectedness: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.

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Tasks

01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Company Positioning.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Company Uncertainties.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Business Unit Assessment.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Defining Issues.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Session Infrastructure.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Managerial Leadership.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Organization Structure.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Personal Awareness.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Awareness Knowledge.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Organization Development.
11. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Self-Care.
12. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Demonstrating Interconnectedness.

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Introduction

Albert Einstein once said, “the mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size”. Think of Management Paradigm as an adventure in transforming how you think, see, feel and even smell the world of work and in particular your company. It’s a quest for you to be your best and to assist your company and, in particular, the unit you manage to excel in new and different ways.

The Management Paradigm Program is a multiyear program intended to provide an in-depth experience of science-based managerial principles and processes and individual worker awareness of their accountability, emotional intelligence and how to take care of themselves in turbulent corporate environments. This first session will provide a macro view of what participants will be learning and experiencing in the upcoming sessions of the program.

Companies and other work systems are being impacted by disruption, technology, local economies and geo-political phenomena. These four factors provide the contextual framework through which corporations must function. It is the intention of this first session to help attendees understand they are dealing with outside forces that are impinging on the business.

Industry disruption is nothing new. We’ve seen Uber, Lyft and Via disrupt the taxi and black car industry in many large cities. Outer borough car services once the only source of non-personal private transportation options have also been severely affected. AirBNB has totally disrupted the hotel and motel industry allowing people to travel more cheaply while at the same time providing options for people with a spare bedroom to become hosts and recoup some of the income lost in the recession. Add VRBO to the mix and you can see the impact on the resort rental markets. Realtors have lost a significant market segment as companies like Zillow, Compass and Triplemint are using data to transform how we buy and sell homes and property. Carvanna, Vroom and others are disrupting how we buy cars and sell them too.

Technology is developing by leaps and bounds. Scientists are now able to identify where in the Human genome the genetic code, there is an oddity. They can correct the oddity replacing the wrong gene with the correct one. Studies underway at the National Institute of Health in Washington DC believe they may have found the answer to eradicating Sickle Cell Anaemia an excruciatingly painful and debilitating disease. The hope is this process can result in curing hundreds of illnesses. Laboratories around the world are frantically working to find a vaccine for the coronavirus. The pandemic has intensified the need for speed in laboratories and its hopeful vaccines will be available as well as treatments in the next 12-18 months. This all because of technological advancements. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing robustly. When we call the number on the back of a credit card or have an online chat more often than not, we are connected to a bot not an actual person. These advancements will impact millions of people around the world. The need for low skilled labor will be diminished. New compensation systems will need to be created. More importantly, the mindset countries have to take care of their people, will need modification as corporate wealth generation may require many fewer workers. How will countries both industrialized, and developing, feed, clothe and educate their own? Roughly 30 million people in the US are unemployed in October 2020. That is about 20% of the workforce. People staying home and cooking has reduced demand for food products. Dry Cleaners mostly small mom and pop businesses are closing their doors, no one is dry cleaning their clothes in the midst of a pandemic. Demands for work attire have crashed while demands for pyjamas have risen dramatically.

Management Paradigm provides the processes by which corporations can thoroughly review how they are organized to conduct business. Today’s companies must be agile and have engaged workforces. Yet worldwide surveys indicate most workers acknowledge being disengaged. Five generations are working side by side today with young managers overseeing the work of employees old enough to be their parents or grandparents.

Baby Boomers, many of whom lost significant savings in the 2008 recession are working longer. The millennial generation came of age in prosperous times. Consequently, their prosperous parents having grown up in challenging times themselves showered their children with toys and praise, a “you can do anything mindset”. Everyone got an award when their Little League team won or even lost. Character building suffered inadvertently. When Millennials entered the workforce, many had little or no staying power with a mindset that devalued of corporate loyalties. They got up and moved whenever things were not going their way. Generation Z grew up in a very different environment. Their families were seriously affected by the 2008 recession. They are more thoughtful and perhaps more conservative about spending. And perhaps most importantly they were born into the digital age and know nothing about an analogue life experience.

No one as of yet knows the impact of the Pandemic on the world of work. The true impact will take years to realize as researchers get to work to analyze the lasting changes. We do know that many more people are working from home. We also know that in the US many women have dropped out of the workforce to take care of children and elder parents. We know brown and black communities have been hit the hardest. We also know that this forced pause out of fear for one’s health has also provided an opportunity for people to ponder and reflect on their lives. For some this has been an important time of reflection. Many have been caught up in “doingness”. That is, doing whatever they have been asked to do without thinking about it. Potential ramifications of actions have been lost. Fear of losing one’s position and income, demotion and avoidance of any potential conflict has sucked out the vibrancy and left our organizations hollow. Trust has eroded in companies and subsequently in valued relationships amongst workers.

In Session 1 an overview of the topics which will be addressed in depth in the subsequent sessions of the Management Paradigm will be provided. In its entirety, MP introduces processes that will build viable structures upon which trust can be built. Organization structures exist without roles being occupied by people. The managerial roles themselves have accountabilities and authority that managers must have to effectively oversee the workflow in their areas. Even though participants may not be authorized to redesign their business units it is hoped that the processes and knowledge shared will provide them with enough information to begin to dialogue with those in power in their organizations about organization transformation. Additionally, by providing participants in Session 1 with knowledge how to increase their own EQ and provide techniques to improve their own self-care we expect their experience of empowerment and engagement will also be increased.

Participants will be asked to keep a journal between sessions and write about any aha’s they may have. What questions do they have? Whether or not they have attempted to discuss or implement any of the learning they’ve had and subsequent outcomes.

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Executive Summary

What if your company or business unit was zipping along in a flow state never before experienced? What if your employees were totally engaged? Demonstrating improvements in engagement of 50% or more. What if both internal and external customers were commenting on how effectively your organization responds to their needs and requests? What if you had a mindset shift enabling you to see new opportunities? What if your self-confidence, managerial skill and experience at work was transformed spilling over into improved connectivity with others both inside the company and in your life in general? What if positivity became your modus-operandi? What if you noticed an overall improvement in your health?

Perhaps this sounds like pie in the sky. But it is not. Would you be willing to participate in a 12-month transformational experience guarantying significant sustainable growth for not only your company but you and your team members?

Management Paradigm, one of Appleton Greene’s newest program offerings, does just that. In Management Paradigm a multi-year program you will be introduced to managerial processes, self-management processes, scientific principles, increased emotional intelligence (EQ) and selfcare skills and tools that support your total transformation.

Management Paradigm will provide you with a new framework from which to view organization effectiveness and identify the supportive processes you can institute which provide insight into how work gets done. MP introduces management processes enabling greater effectiveness of work getting done; while managing employees with deep connectivity, respect and valuing their efforts. When “trust” exists in the workplace many things are possible. Management Paradigm is a two-pronged system introducing managerial processes the company can embrace while at the same time providing opportunities for individual participants to learn and grow. The knowledge provided in Management Paradigm allows for sustainability in the company. At the same time, it is transportable. Participants can use what they learn wherever their career takes them. In the end, both the company and the individual participants realize success. The company realizing increased employee engagement, and release of creativity and innovation among its workforce. Connected, respected and engaged workers transform a company. Concurrently, participants will be demonstrating new managerial processes and skills enabling them to experience greater satisfaction at work. A stronger sense of self. When your human capital is fully engaged success is close at hand.

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History

Devaluation of effective accountable managerial leadership has not happened overnight. During the 1980’s academia provided a plethora of books touting the importance of leadership. For those who were yet born, this was the time when the Viet Nam War was coming to an end. Many Americans were angry at what had transpired. Soldiers returning home were vilified and emphasis was on the military industrial complex’s failures. It’s command and control management (aka ways of getting work accomplished) was devalued. At the same time a shift took place in corporate America emphasizing the importance of shareholder value. Corporations’ purpose was to provide profits for their shareholders. This led to the requirement of quarterly earnings reports. Fear of stock price declines resulted in an emphasis on meeting short term market analyst analyses. This confluence of sociological phenomena took root and like a tree takes years to grow into fullness the damage to the business community has taken years to blossom in fullness. Leadership was in, and management out. Shareholder value took top priority. Companies were required to report earnings quarterly, CEO salaries grew exponentially, and long-range planning fell by the wayside. Management training programs were abolished. Employees were suddenly informed they had to be leaders.

Corporations’ value is not only for shareholders. It is how we provide for our citizenry to create security for their families. Corporations are anchors for communities. We are forty years into the decline, and we are now seeing and experiencing levels of worker disengagement never seen before. The middle class is rapidly disappearing before our eyes, poverty and homelessness are on the rise. Work has seen dramatic changes over the last three to four decades. Emphasis shifted from developing and engaging the workforce to profitability and shareholder returns. Salaries of CEOs, Presidents and other key executives skyrocketed. In some cases, 300+% that of the average workers. Salary incentivization has also grown for the mid and top tier of the employment ranks.

All this happening while average wage-earners salaries remained stagnant. Although the workforce is likely now to be 51% female women and minorities still earn significantly less per dollar than men do.

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Current Position

Many in managerial leadership roles believe the only way to get people to work harder, aka really do their jobs, is to incentivize them. It’s the old carrot and the stick philosophy. What no one actually discusses is what beliefs and values lie beneath these decisions. What is the non-expressed value underlying these decisions? What message are incentives sending to workers? “I/we can’t trust you to give your full attention to the tasks assigned to you”. Another way of putting this is “I can’t trust you to apply your full effectiveness to the tasks assigned to you in the role you are in.” The pandemic has demonstrated that the belief people really don’t want to work, and the demonization of workers as being out only for themselves doesn’t hold up. First responders, front line and essential workers have continued to go to work providing necessary medical care, safety and stocking grocery shelves regardless of the potential of catching the virus themselves and impact on their own families.

Additionally, a number of factors have come into play recently, affecting the worldwide corporate landscape. Industry disruptions, economic uncertainty, and an attempt to satisfy stockholders’ thirst for profitability, particularly in the US, many companies are scrambling to stay afloat. Many have lost sight of the importance of accountable management. In recent decades quarterly earnings have taken priority, sometimes by whatever means possible, while workforce issues took a back seat. Many people have lost their jobs. Some of those have started their dream business. Others however have focused on get rich quick schemes, which more often than not have failed. Still others have been enticed by scams and get rich quick schemes which have developed into them preying on others for their own financial benefit. The number of scams in the US has been on a steady increase. Not everyone can be a business owner or independent contractor. Most of the world’s population just wants to be told what to do at work, do it effectively and go home and enjoy family and or hobbies.

Concurrent with an emphasis on shareholder earnings, is the focus on leadership attributes. Books by academics have flooded the marketplace each with their own “unique” take on leadership, inadvertently, in some cases devaluing the importance of management excellence. Companies’ strive for success whether measured by profitability, employee engagement or both. Despite dramatic increases in technological innovation and industry disruptions the human factor is still the key differentiator to sustained organization effectiveness. Foundational underpinnings form the bedrock of both corporate and personal success. For work to get done effectively and efficiently in organizations, accountable managerial leadership is necessary. Unfortunately, the world has shifted to appreciate more superficial knowing. Management Paradigm provides a process by which the organization entity and its employees will learn, advise and teach key organization players a process which emphasizes the necessity of excellence in both organization and self- management.

The recent global pandemic has taken its toll on companies throughout the world. It has uncovered bloat in organization hierarchies, while demonstrating people can work effectively remotely. Human beings are social animals. We thrive on relationships, are goal directed and desire to be recognized, appreciated and respected. Most want to do a good job and experience a sense of accomplishment at work. When people’s efforts are acknowledged, and their contribution validated engagement occurs. We don’t know how working from home, often isolated from actual in person connections, will affect worker mental health and overall effectiveness on the job. Time will tell. Management Paradigm actually provides a process by which workers can not only be accountable for their effectiveness in their role but also empowers them to be proactive about their work, the impact their self-awareness can have on their work experience and how to care for themselves in stressful environments.

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Future Outlook

Without worker engagement companies are unable to realize true success. Management Paradigm is infused with a passion and appreciation for the experience of employees at work.

Yet, we must compare this with global trends like aging populations throughout most of the world. Foreign Affairs Magazine Nov/Dec 2020 edition has an interesting article by Michael Beckley in which he highlighted a few significant trends. In 2018 there were more people over 64 than under 6 years of age. With that being said, the US, Australia and Canada will have growing populations of adults 20-49 until 2070. Fifty percent of those born in 2021 will likely live to be over 100 years old. How might this phenomenon play out in these countries? Will there be enough jobs for people in these countries? Or will it encourage workers from these countries to travel abroad where their skills and expertise are needed? The rise of machine learning is another trend. These new machines combine the number crunching of computers with the brute strength of industrial machinery fortifying AI and human dexterity. The result: 50% of today’s jobs are likely to be automated by the 2030’s. That being said, new jobs will emerge. Presently there is a shortage of skilled labor. The question remains, Will today’s workforce have the initiative to learn new skills? How do you educate an older workforce which may not be digitally proficient in the first place?

Years ago, people advocated retiring as early as possible. An aspect of the American dream. More recently the 4-hour work week. There is only so much golf or tennis you can play. Much of the workforce lost significant wealth especially in retirement accounts during the recession and now again with the Pandemic. How will they cope? How will they refill their coffers? How will those who can retire, or perhaps more importantly those that cannot replace their work, use their free time? How will they live?

Corporations are the lifeblood of communities throughout the world. Dr Elliott Jaques’ whose Requisite Organization (RO) principles inform the Management Paradigm process, used to say and I paraphrase, the role of corporations is to support the development of thriving economically viable communities. In one of his earliest writings, he discusses that a company set up in a requisite fashion enables people to relate to one another with confidence while rooting out suspicion and trust. A July 2020 article in Workplace discusses the most significant drop in worker engagement since Gallup started tracking worker engagement in 2000. Of the 68 % identifying as not engaged, 14% identify as “actively disengaged” meaning they actively undermine efforts to improve corporate culture and communication. As many institutions have begun to crumble, think about the cause and effect, connection between the impact of a primary focus on quarterly shareholder earnings on the steadily increasing rise of worker disengagement. Jim Hartner, author of the Workplace article states: “Improving employee engagement starts with clarity among leaders and managers.” The decades-long emphasis on leadership has been a tsunami traveling through the world’s corporations. Leadership has nothing to do with the role you are in. Rather, it’s about characteristics and behaviors individuals have. Leadership requires followers. There is nothing said about work being done, in leadership.

Management on the other hand, is an authorized role in companies the purpose of which is to ensure that the service or product is delivered or made to the company’s standards of excellence. Until we recognize that management is what enables the work of the business to get done, hard-working people will be chasing their tail never realizing their goal. Frustrations will continue to rise, and distrust continue to be viral. Remember workers and people in general are social animals. We need to learn how to communicate effectively with one another. Corporations despite their financial successes have not served their workforces. The absence of managerial processes and development opportunities has resulted in workers being viewed as robots. Interchangeable. A colleague recently told a story worth repeating here to make the point. “When complaining to a clerk early AM in a grocery chain, the customer asked to see the manager on duty. She was told there was no manager available and should come back later in the day to make her complaint. Irate she did go back later and spoke to the manager. She was advised “We don’t pay them to think we pay them to ring up numbers”. Management Paradigm designer Bova refers to this as “the dumbing down of the workforce’. It’s time to appreciate the unique contributions each of us can make.

Management Paradigm is a comprehensive system illustrating the importance of management and clarity of communications. It provides participants with knowledge, processes, and skills that are transferable. Participants will recognize the portability and transferability of what they’ve learned as a key to their own self confidence and personal empowerment. They can take their knowledge of accountable managerial processes and organization dynamics coupled with their own appreciation of their natural tendencies and heightened self- awareness with them, ensuring they can proactively manage their work life experience wherever they are.

Management Paradigm is a unique training program which focuses on both the company and their employees. Providing foundational principles and processes for each becoming and achieving their best. During each session there will be input on management and organization dynamics and processes to initiate organization learning. Concurrently, attendees will learn skills to heighten their own self-awareness and self-care heightening their overall effectiveness. Thirdly there will be attempts to build community. The knowledge and skills are portable.

Management Paradigm is a unique process synthesizing knowledge from a variety of systems into a comprehensive program which allows individual workers to be their best while concurrently introducing management principles and processes upon which to build a profitable organization built upon a foundation of trust and integrity. Companies providing employees with empowering foundational processes and skills succeed to new heights. At the same time, addressing the age-old worker question “What’s in it for me? Concurrently, these same companies can renovate their infrastructures by eliminating bloated hierarchies, using scientifically proven methods to design role relationships that by their very nature eliminate corporate politics.

Albert Einstein once said, “the mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size”. Think of Management Paradigm as an adventure in transforming how you think, see, feel and even smell the world of work and in particular your company. It’s a quest for you to be your best and to assist your company and in particular the unit you manage to excel in new and different ways. The world needs people at every level of organization life working in an engaged or flow-state fashion. Only then will we realize we are one. Management Paradigm is the first step in the process.

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Curriculum

Management Paradigm – Workshop 1 – Setting Context

1. Company Positioning
2. Company Uncertainties
3. Business Unit Assessment
4. Defining Issues
5. Session Infrastructure
6. Managerial Leadership
7. Organization Structure
8. Personal Awareness
9. Awareness Knowledge
10. Organization Development
11. Self-Care
12. Demonstrating Interconnectedness

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Distance Learning

Introduction

Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling on the Management Paradigm corporate training program. You will be learning through our unique facilitation via distance-learning method, which will enable you to practically implement everything that you learn academically. The methods and materials used in your program have been designed and developed to ensure that you derive the maximum benefits and enjoyment possible. We hope that you find the program challenging and fun to do. However, if you have never been a distance-learner before, you may be experiencing some trepidation at the task before you. So we will get you started by giving you some basic information and guidance on how you can make the best use of the modules, how you should manage the materials and what you should be doing as you work through them. This guide is designed to point you in the right direction and help you to become an effective distance-learner. Take a few hours or so to study this guide and your guide to tutorial support for students, while making notes, before you start to study in earnest.

Study environment

You will need to locate a quiet and private place to study, preferably a room where you can easily be isolated from external disturbances or distractions. Make sure the room is well-lit and incorporates a relaxed, pleasant feel. If you can spoil yourself within your study environment, you will have much more of a chance to ensure that you are always in the right frame of mind when you do devote time to study. For example, a nice fire, the ability to play soft soothing background music, soft but effective lighting, perhaps a nice view if possible and a good size desk with a comfortable chair. Make sure that your family know when you are studying and understand your study rules. Your study environment is very important. The ideal situation, if at all possible, is to have a separate study, which can be devoted to you. If this is not possible then you will need to pay a lot more attention to developing and managing your study schedule, because it will affect other people as well as yourself. The better your study environment, the more productive you will be.

Study tools & rules

Try and make sure that your study tools are sufficient and in good working order. You will need to have access to a computer, scanner and printer, with access to the internet. You will need a very comfortable chair, which supports your lower back, and you will need a good filing system. It can be very frustrating if you are spending valuable study time trying to fix study tools that are unreliable, or unsuitable for the task. Make sure that your study tools are up to date. You will also need to consider some study rules. Some of these rules will apply to you and will be intended to help you to be more disciplined about when and how you study. This distance-learning guide will help you and after you have read it you can put some thought into what your study rules should be. You will also need to negotiate some study rules for your family, friends or anyone who lives with you. They too will need to be disciplined in order to ensure that they can support you while you study. It is important to ensure that your family and friends are an integral part of your study team. Having their support and encouragement can prove to be a crucial contribution to your successful completion of the program. Involve them in as much as you can.

Successful distance-learning

Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes or workshops, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. But unlike traditional internal training courses, it is the student’s responsibility, with a distance-learning program, to ensure that they manage their own study contribution. This requires strong self-discipline and self-motivation skills and there must be a clear will to succeed. Those students who are used to managing themselves, are good at managing others and who enjoy working in isolation, are more likely to be good distance-learners. It is also important to be aware of the main reasons why you are studying and of the main objectives that you are hoping to achieve as a result. You will need to remind yourself of these objectives at times when you need to motivate yourself. Never lose sight of your long-term goals and your short-term objectives. There is nobody available here to pamper you, or to look after you, or to spoon-feed you with information, so you will need to find ways to encourage and appreciate yourself while you are studying. Make sure that you chart your study progress, so that you can be sure of your achievements and re-evaluate your goals and objectives regularly.

Self-assessment

Appleton Greene training programs are in all cases post-graduate programs. Consequently, you should already have obtained a business-related degree and be an experienced learner. You should therefore already be aware of your study strengths and weaknesses. For example, which time of the day are you at your most productive? Are you a lark or an owl? What study methods do you respond to the most? Are you a consistent learner? How do you discipline yourself? How do you ensure that you enjoy yourself while studying? It is important to understand yourself as a learner and so some self-assessment early on will be necessary if you are to apply yourself correctly. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself as a student. List your internal strengths and weaknesses as a student and your external opportunities and threats. This will help you later on when you are creating a study plan. You can then incorporate features within your study plan that can ensure that you are playing to your strengths, while compensating for your weaknesses. You can also ensure that you make the most of your opportunities, while avoiding the potential threats to your success.

Accepting responsibility as a student

Training programs invariably require a significant investment, both in terms of what they cost and in the time that you need to contribute to study and the responsibility for successful completion of training programs rests entirely with the student. This is never more apparent than when a student is learning via distance-learning. Accepting responsibility as a student is an important step towards ensuring that you can successfully complete your training program. It is easy to instantly blame other people or factors when things go wrong. But the fact of the matter is that if a failure is your failure, then you have the power to do something about it, it is entirely in your own hands. If it is always someone else’s failure, then you are powerless to do anything about it. All students study in entirely different ways, this is because we are all individuals and what is right for one student, is not necessarily right for another. In order to succeed, you will have to accept personal responsibility for finding a way to plan, implement and manage a personal study plan that works for you. If you do not succeed, you only have yourself to blame.

Planning

By far the most critical contribution to stress, is the feeling of not being in control. In the absence of planning we tend to be reactive and can stumble from pillar to post in the hope that things will turn out fine in the end. Invariably they don’t! In order to be in control, we need to have firm ideas about how and when we want to do things. We also need to consider as many possible eventualities as we can, so that we are prepared for them when they happen. Prescriptive Change, is far easier to manage and control, than Emergent Change. The same is true with distance-learning. It is much easier and much more enjoyable, if you feel that you are in control and that things are going to plan. Even when things do go wrong, you are prepared for them and can act accordingly without any unnecessary stress. It is important therefore that you do take time to plan your studies properly.

Management

Once you have developed a clear study plan, it is of equal importance to ensure that you manage the implementation of it. Most of us usually enjoy planning, but it is usually during implementation when things go wrong. Targets are not met and we do not understand why. Sometimes we do not even know if targets are being met. It is not enough for us to conclude that the study plan just failed. If it is failing, you will need to understand what you can do about it. Similarly if your study plan is succeeding, it is still important to understand why, so that you can improve upon your success. You therefore need to have guidelines for self-assessment so that you can be consistent with performance improvement throughout the program. If you manage things correctly, then your performance should constantly improve throughout the program.

Study objectives & tasks

The first place to start is developing your program objectives. These should feature your reasons for undertaking the training program in order of priority. Keep them succinct and to the point in order to avoid confusion. Do not just write the first things that come into your head because they are likely to be too similar to each other. Make a list of possible departmental headings, such as: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing and Production. Then brainstorm for ideas by listing as many things that you want to achieve under each heading and later re-arrange these things in order of priority. Finally, select the top item from each department heading and choose these as your program objectives. Try and restrict yourself to five because it will enable you to focus clearly. It is likely that the other things that you listed will be achieved if each of the top objectives are achieved. If this does not prove to be the case, then simply work through the process again.

Study forecast

As a guide, the Appleton Greene Management Paradigm corporate training program should take 12-18 months to complete, depending upon your availability and current commitments. The reason why there is such a variance in time estimates is because every student is an individual, with differing productivity levels and different commitments. These differentiations are then exaggerated by the fact that this is a distance-learning program, which incorporates the practical integration of academic theory as an as a part of the training program. Consequently all of the project studies are real, which means that important decisions and compromises need to be made. You will want to get things right and will need to be patient with your expectations in order to ensure that they are. We would always recommend that you are prudent with your own task and time forecasts, but you still need to develop them and have a clear indication of what are realistic expectations in your case. With reference to your time planning: consider the time that you can realistically dedicate towards study with the program every week; calculate how long it should take you to complete the program, using the guidelines featured here; then break the program down into logical modules and allocate a suitable proportion of time to each of them, these will be your milestones; you can create a time plan by using a spreadsheet on your computer, or a personal organizer such as MS Outlook, you could also use a financial forecasting software; break your time forecasts down into manageable chunks of time, the more specific you can be, the more productive and accurate your time management will be; finally, use formulas where possible to do your time calculations for you, because this will help later on when your forecasts need to change in line with actual performance. With reference to your task planning: refer to your list of tasks that need to be undertaken in order to achieve your program objectives; with reference to your time plan, calculate when each task should be implemented; remember that you are not estimating when your objectives will be achieved, but when you will need to focus upon implementing the corresponding tasks; you also need to ensure that each task is implemented in conjunction with the associated training modules which are relevant; then break each single task down into a list of specific to do’s, say approximately ten to do’s for each task and enter these into your study plan; once again you could use MS Outlook to incorporate both your time and task planning and this could constitute your study plan; you could also use a project management software like MS Project. You should now have a clear and realistic forecast detailing when you can expect to be able to do something about undertaking the tasks to achieve your program objectives.

Performance management

It is one thing to develop your study forecast, it is quite another to monitor your progress. Ultimately it is less important whether you achieve your original study forecast and more important that you update it so that it constantly remains realistic in line with your performance. As you begin to work through the program, you will begin to have more of an idea about your own personal performance and productivity levels as a distance-learner. Once you have completed your first study module, you should re-evaluate your study forecast for both time and tasks, so that they reflect your actual performance level achieved. In order to achieve this you must first time yourself while training by using an alarm clock. Set the alarm for hourly intervals and make a note of how far you have come within that time. You can then make a note of your actual performance on your study plan and then compare your performance against your forecast. Then consider the reasons that have contributed towards your performance level, whether they are positive or negative and make a considered adjustment to your future forecasts as a result. Given time, you should start achieving your forecasts regularly.

With reference to time management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual time taken in your study plan; consider your successes with time-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; consider your failures with time-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to time planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your time expectations. You need to be consistent with your time management, otherwise you will never complete your studies. This will either be because you are not contributing enough time to your studies, or you will become less efficient with the time that you do allocate to your studies. Remember, if you are not in control of your studies, they can just become yet another cause of stress for you.

With reference to your task management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual tasks that you have undertaken in your study plan; consider your successes with task-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; consider your failures with task-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to task planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your task expectations. You need to be consistent with your task management, otherwise you will never know whether you are achieving your program objectives or not.

Keeping in touch

You will have access to qualified and experienced professors and tutors who are responsible for providing tutorial support for your particular training program. So don’t be shy about letting them know how you are getting on. We keep electronic records of all tutorial support emails so that professors and tutors can review previous correspondence before considering an individual response. It also means that there is a record of all communications between you and your professors and tutors and this helps to avoid any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation. If you have a problem relating to the program, share it with them via email. It is likely that they have come across the same problem before and are usually able to make helpful suggestions and steer you in the right direction. To learn more about when and how to use tutorial support, please refer to the Tutorial Support section of this student information guide. This will help you to ensure that you are making the most of tutorial support that is available to you and will ultimately contribute towards your success and enjoyment with your training program.

Work colleagues and family

You should certainly discuss your program study progress with your colleagues, friends and your family. Appleton Greene training programs are very practical. They require you to seek information from other people, to plan, develop and implement processes with other people and to achieve feedback from other people in relation to viability and productivity. You will therefore have plenty of opportunities to test your ideas and enlist the views of others. People tend to be sympathetic towards distance-learners, so don’t bottle it all up in yourself. Get out there and share it! It is also likely that your family and colleagues are going to benefit from your labors with the program, so they are likely to be much more interested in being involved than you might think. Be bold about delegating work to those who might benefit themselves. This is a great way to achieve understanding and commitment from people who you may later rely upon for process implementation. Share your experiences with your friends and family.

Making it relevant

The key to successful learning is to make it relevant to your own individual circumstances. At all times you should be trying to make bridges between the content of the program and your own situation. Whether you achieve this through quiet reflection or through interactive discussion with your colleagues, client partners or your family, remember that it is the most important and rewarding aspect of translating your studies into real self-improvement. You should be clear about how you want the program to benefit you. This involves setting clear study objectives in relation to the content of the course in terms of understanding, concepts, completing research or reviewing activities and relating the content of the modules to your own situation. Your objectives may understandably change as you work through the program, in which case you should enter the revised objectives on your study plan so that you have a permanent reminder of what you are trying to achieve, when and why.

Distance-learning check-list

Prepare your study environment, your study tools and rules.
Undertake detailed self-assessment in terms of your ability as a learner.
Create a format for your study plan.
Consider your study objectives and tasks.
Create a study forecast.
Assess your study performance.
Re-evaluate your study forecast.
Be consistent when managing your study plan.
Use your Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) for tutorial support.
Make sure you keep in touch with those around you.

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Tutorial Support

Programs

Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.

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Support available

You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.

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Support Process

Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.

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Time Management

It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Management Paradigm corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Management Paradigm program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.

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Distance Learning Guide

The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via ema