MOST Analysis

Mission Statement

Stakeholder Optimization is a process by which those who have a particular stake or interest in the outcome of a project or strategy are engaged. A company does not exist in isolation. It exists within a “political” environment populated by all those who have a particular stake or interest in that company. Key leadership and management can build support and avoid negative consequences by utilizing Stakeholder Optimization to establish a systematic process for stakeholder involvement, projecting the right questions to the right people, at the right time. The Stakeholder Optimization plan establishes a ranking system to calibrate interests on a sliding scale in order to optimize the value of feedback from all involved. It strikes the right balance between stakeholder involvement and isolation of the project from external influences in order to achieve delivery on cost and time, while maximizing the benefit for the company and stakeholders. Whether in market research, exploratory panels, employee engagement, or stakeholder consultation – new dimensions of insight and creativity are revealed when people collaborate in generating ideas and making decisions, resulting in long term sustainability, productivity, and alignment.

The first workshop will focus on establishing a baseline for evaluation, and establish the vision, goals, and objectives for the company, collectively called the vision strategy. The vision strategy will be critical in planning what you want to achieve through the initiative and determining the process to get there. People become committed and engaged when they have a full understanding of the common goals and objectives, creating a roadmap to which everyone can adhere. A motivating vision strategy can shape an organization’s behavior, aligning many separate elements. It can empower people who are then able to translate strategy into action.

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Objectives

01. Establish Baseline: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Gathering Data; departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Information Analysis; departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Brainstorm Strategy; departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Vision Statement; departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Establish Outcomes; departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Define Objectives: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Action Plan: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Evaluation and Monitoring: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Review and Revise: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month

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Strategies

01. Establish Baseline: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Gathering Data: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Information Analysis: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Brainstorm Strategy: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Vision Statement: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Establish Outcomes: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Define Objectives: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Action Plan: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Evaluation and Monitoring: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Review and Revise: 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 Establish Baseline.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Gathering Data.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Information Analysis.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Brainstorm Strategy.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Vision Statement.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Establish Outcomes.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Define Objectives.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Action Plan.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Evaluating and Monitoring.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Review and Revise.

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Introduction

The purpose of Stakeholder Optimization is to establish an objective and systematic process for collecting and analyzing data about key individuals who have a particular stake or interest in the outcome of a project or strategy. A company does not exist in isolation. It exists within a “political” environment populated by all those who have a particular stake or interest in that company. Key leadership and management can build support and avoid negative consequences by utilizing Stakeholder Optimization to establish a process for stakeholder involvement, projecting the right questions to the right people, at the right time. Pressure from stakeholders generates change and change increases the complexity of the management task, therefore it is essential to establish a culture of Stakeholder Optimization throughout the company. Bespoke Stakeholder Optimization will accelerate business improvements, mitigate risk, and create a shared vision amongst key influencers. The ultimate aim of Stakeholder Optimization is to put action-oriented tools into the hands of informed professionals who develop a complete set of skills to excel in today’s competitive market.

The first workshop will focus on establishing a baseline for evaluation, and establish the vision, goals, and objectives for the company, collectively called the vision strategy. The vision strategy will be critical in planning what you want to achieve through the initiative and determining the process to get there. People become committed and engaged when they have a full understanding of the common goals and objectives, creating a roadmap to which everyone can adhere. A motivating vision strategy can shape an organization’s behavior, aligning many separate elements. It can empower people who are then able to translate strategy into action.

Establishing your baseline

Important stakeholder groups are inherently known to companies and most companies interact with stakeholders in some form or another as a matter of course. Engagement happens in different formats and at various levels in any organization. However, the process is often ad hoc without a formal structure and process in place. Developing a stakeholder engagement program must begin with establishing a baseline of current activities, types of engagement, stakeholder involvement and personnel involved. This step will provide a systematic way to evaluate your current capacity, and identify gaps, and resources needed to achieve the vision. A baseline will provide a direction as you go through the stakeholder optimization process, as well as assist in establishing a budget for institutionalization. The baseline will be done through a stakeholder GPMMR analysis completed by each department: Group, Personnel, Message, Method, Results.

Group: Which stakeholder groups are you communicating with?

Personnel: Which person, or group of persons is responsible for communicating with a specific stakeholder group?

Message: What is being communicated.

Method: What methods are being employed to accomplish the communications and the frequency of communication.

Results: What feedback are your receiving? How is it being utilized? Is it of value to the department specifically and the organization as a whole?

Strategy Visualization: Vision, Goals, Objectives

One of the first steps in establishing a stakeholder engagement program is to identify the vision and purpose, desired goals, and objectives for securing established outcomes. The scope and boundary of the stakeholder engagement policy should be clearly defined, articulated, and communicated. The background logic and impact of the policy will ensure ownership, enhancing the credibility and support for the business process. Certain decisions made by companies will affect and be of interest to many different stakeholder groups. Having a clear purpose is key to effective stakeholder engagement. Companies need to remain relevant to survive in a challenging business environment and being relevant requires regular interactions with important stakeholder groups. A robust stakeholder engagement model is vital for companies to be able to understand and respond to legitimate stakeholder concerns. Therefore, during the analysis process, senior management will establish a vision strategy for stakeholder engagement. The engagement process will be more meaningful when the company has a vision of what they want to achieve.

Vision – Businesses are forever expanding, working to ensure customer satisfaction, dealing with competition, and concerned with making a profit. To assist in staying on track with the Stakeholder Optimization initiative, it is imperative to establish the company’s ultimate vision for the initiative. The stakeholder vision statement should be based on the overall vision for the company and how you want your Stakeholder Optimization initiative to support and advance that vision by accessing the knowledge, interests, positions, and opinions of key stakeholders to increase support for any given program or initiative of the company. A powerful vision statement can be the differentiator between great results no matter what issues arise and a program that falls apart when first tested. The vision is the company’s reason for implementing Stakeholder Optimization. It is critical that a company, a project team, and even an individual understand the ultimate purpose. Otherwise, the company may have tactics that are directed from different starting points. Without a clear stakeholder engagement vision, it is difficult to evaluate the organizational actions’ ultimate outcomes. It provides a measuring stick for success in order to reach your goals.

Goals – The desired outcomes should include the results and impact your company wants to achieve through its engagement initiative. Getting results is the goal of the overall program. The process of making this happen starts with defining the desired deliverable outcomes. Ultimately, outcomes should support the vision. Projects eventually succeed or fail depending on how well people work together. Engaged people find ways to work through problems, maintain a positive attitude and be constructive, which mitigates risk. Clearly defined outcomes promote clarity of purpose, effective and efficient communications and management support. Stakeholder engagement is a two-way communication process that provides a mechanism for exchanging information and promoting stakeholder interaction. It provides an opportunity to improve stakeholder’s understanding and secure greater support for decisions the company is making. Engagement outcomes should be purposeful, inclusive, timely and respectful.

Objectives – The core premise of Stakeholder Optimization is that success in any environment largely depends on completing successful projects which are done by aligned teams, supported by effective project sponsors. Established objectives will define the programs success. The overall objective is to achieve a transparent decision-making process with greater input from stakeholders and their support of the decisions of the company. Deliberate objectives will help maintain alignment throughout the Stakeholder Optimization process and ensure the team is acting strategically. One principal objective is to provide information about the effects of a program or initiative to improve the positive effects and diminish the negative effects so that the impact can reach an optimal balance among all stakeholders. Some impacts may not be changeable, in which case stakeholders’ perceptions about them can be influenced by the information provided. It is important to translate stakeholder strategies into organization actions by identifying a company’s objectives for engagement. Some companies may seek profits or market share or an improved stock price. Others may choose from a variety of other value propositions or goals. In order to achieve these outcomes, specific actions must be defined.

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Executive Summary

Today’s companies serve not only shareholders, but an ever-widening array of stakeholders. Understanding how to operate in this increasingly challenging environment will be crucial to a companies’ future business success. This includes listening to the views and beliefs of stakeholders as well as seeking their feedback. These are the people who will help shape and influence future successes or failures. The key to mitigating the risk of those failures involves the development of constructive and productive long-term relationships based on mutual trust and understanding of benefits. The benefits of stakeholder consultations are clear: enable more informed decision making; ensure greater clarity and a shared vision among influencers; understand the relationship one has with key stakeholders; help build collaborative partnerships; identify strategies to gain a competitive advantage; reduce the level of risk.

Getting results is the goal of Stakeholder Optimization. The process of making this happen begins with knowing where the company is now, where it wants to go and why, as well as how to get there. In other words, defining a purpose, forming a vision, and working through goals to deliver outcomes, preferably outcomes desired by the key stakeholders.

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Establishing a baseline – Reference point to establish current capacity

There is a fundamental idea in strategic planning that you have to know where you are in order to determine where you want to be and how to get there. At the initiation of any project, it is important to set a baseline that represents your starting point of work. The first step in team alignment around the Stakeholder Optimization initiative is diagnosis of current systems and initiatives for each department or individual currently engaged in stakeholder communications. It is imperative to perform a situational analysis to evaluate where the company currently stands in terms of communications, gathering and analyzing relevant information within the company.

The baseline process will include:

• Customizing the Group, Personnel, Message, Method, Results (GPMMR) survey to ensure we are asking the right questions in order to collect the right data to meet the criteria for our data analysis.

• Prioritize the key internal stakeholders who will be integral to the success of the initiative, directly involved in each phase and represent current and future leadership of the company.

• Determine a distribution method that is easily accessible and will deliver the survey information effectively and efficiently.

• Establish resources for the survey participants that will provide detailed instructions, guidance, and advice on the intent of the survey and what information to provide.

• Develop a timeline of activities to establish the urgency of the process and certify each step is completed in a timely manner.

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Data Collection – Clear communication of purpose and criteria

For a baseline analysis to be useful, it must be focused on specific criteria for its collection. The criteria for collection must be specific and definable. The quality of the data is largely dependent of the outlook of the person collecting the data. Their attitude can be influenced by leaderships messaging and branding of the data collection process. The goal is to encourage personal accountability and ownership of the process. It is important to establish the purpose of the questionnaire to yield an appropriate survey. The data collection message to key internal stakeholders should establish the purpose of the survey, how the information will be utilized and the criteria on which to judge what needs to be included. Data collection will include:

• Messaging to participants which includes purpose, intent, criteria, as well as instructions and available resources

• Distribution of the GPMMR survey

• Timeline and deadline

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Information Analysis – Plan for examination of information

Once you know the who, what, when, you can best diagnose where there is misalignment with the intensions of the initiative, as well as between processes and messaging. Information analysis is a systematic examination of data by breaking it into component parts. The first step is to review the criteria established for the GPMMR data survey to renew the understanding of the central issues and objectives. Why is the information necessary? What questions was it to answer? What kinds of decisions are to be made based on the information? The information analysis will:

• Establish the analysis process by ascertaining the criteria for analysis.

• Determine how information is to be organized and whether this process can be automated

• Select the personnel who will be involved with the analysis

• Resolve who will deliver the final report, to whom it will be delivered, as well as the format for presentation

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Brainstorm Strategy – Identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

Stakeholder engagement must be built around a comprehensive strategy that supports the long-term goals of the organization. This strategy will then translate into organizational actions. Understanding what one is trying to accomplish through stakeholder engagement is crucial to creating a successful process. We will begin with a SWOT analysis of the information gathered through the GPMMR survey. By strategically examining the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats inherent in current stakeholder engagement activities, leadership can begin formulating the focus of the strategic vision that will achieve the company’s intention for Stakeholder Optimization. The strengths will allow the company to consider its competitive advantages in the marketplace. Understanding the weaknesses will guide the desired outcomes and the objectives needed to improve engagement. Identifying opportunities is critical to the development of the company vision strategy, ascertaining ways to enhance sustainable growth. Analyzing threats to the business will help inform appropriate messaging and initiatives to better control the risk factors, particularly with external stakeholders.

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Vision Statement – Ensuring clear communication and messaging

Clear, sustained, inclusive communication is essential to maintaining strong relationships at all levels of an organization. This has become even more critical since Covid-19 forced many people to work remotely, challenging the work dynamic. Companies who invest time and energy into developing clear vision, based on aspirational goals that will express what we want to achieve through Stakeholder Optimization are more likely to institute a robust, on-going initiative. A clear vision will rapidly build understanding and trust among employees, leading to increases in productivity, output and morale related to the initiative. Meanwhile, employees who effectively articulate the vision with colleagues, managers and customers are valuable assets to an organization. During the workshop we will determine an appropriate vision statement for the Stakeholder Optimization initiative by:

• Reviewing the key qualities of an effective vision statement, combining inspirational aspirations with assessments of reality

• Determine the purpose of the vision statement for this specific initiative and company strategy

• Clearly define what the company wants to achieve with Stakeholder Optimization.

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Establish Goals – The importance of SMART goals

When launching a new initiative, the company needs to establish a clear communication plan that begins with not only defining vision, but also establishing outcomes that are SMART; specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time focused. Having SMART outcomes can be the difference between success and failure. Outcomes should be purpose-driven based on the vision statement, forward-focused with organization and departmental milestones for achievement, actionable and measurable to be able to define progress and success. Setting strategic outcomes can have a significant impact on the success and productivity of the team, influencing how and where a team’s energy and resources are used. During the outcomes process we will:

• Establish the key elements for the companies desired outcomes

• Utilize SMART techniques to define desirable outcomes that support the vision statement

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Define Objectives – The key to effective outcome management

The key elements to effective team alignment are purpose, culture, values. When any of these three elements are out of alignment, the result is a loss of efficiency, loss of productivity, loss of motivation, and a stressful work environment. Team alignment is a critical factor for securing a high-performance team. Clearly defined objectives promote team alignment around success and are the foundation for planning. Like outcomes, objectives need to be easily measurable and directly related to the success of the desired outcomes, helping the team understand what needs to be done in order to achieve the intended result. Measurable objectives will enable managers and employees to evaluate progress and developments. Defining objectives will include:

• Reviewing the key elements of successful objectives
• Determining specific objectives that support desired outcomes
• Identifying which outcome(s) the objective supports and why

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Action Planning – the who, what, when, how to achieving objectives

An action plan is an essential part of the process, not only for management, but also for daily decision-making and individual activities. It is a detailed and comprehensive set of plans that outline the actions to be carried out in order to achieve the target objectives and goals. They provide a strong foundation, paving the way to success. According to KPMG research, 70% of organizations have suffered a failure over a 12-month period. While there are many reasons, one of the most common is the lack of proper planning. This workshop will establish:

• What is the importance of an action plan
• How to write an action plan
• Key elements of an action plan

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Review Strategy – Challenges with internal consensus building

Consensus building is increasingly important in today’s interconnected society. Many problems exist that affect diverse groups with different interests. A consensus building approach allows leadership to reach an overwhelming agreement among internal stakeholders and maximize the gains for everyone. Great plans can fail because there wasn’t a consensus of understanding regarding the vision, outcomes, and objectives of executing the plan. When done correctly, participants will see direct and indirect benefits and therefore, develop a sense of cohesion, and a collaborative spirit. The process is based on a clearly defined, understandable vision and strategy. Once the vision, outcomes and objectives have been established, we will want to compare to the SWOT analysis and ensure the vision strategy addresses issues, clearly communicates the intent, and provides an inspirational, effective framework to attain results. Strategy review in include:

• Compare vision, outcomes, objectives to SWOT analysis
• Determine process for testing effectiveness
• Identify key internal stakeholders for testing

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Testing the Strategic Vision and implementing changes – Creating a culture of ownership

Stakeholder Optimization perceives an organization as a complex, dynamic and interdependent network of multidimensional relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders. Performance and competitiveness rely on how well firms manage and nurture these relationships strategically in order to achieve corporate objectives and goals. Equally important is how the organization is perceived to manage them by the stakeholders. From a risk management perspective, the benefits of consulting with internal stakeholders establishes a system by which they better understand the importance and opportunities in effectively implementing the initiative, in addition to how it will impact them personally. The satisfaction and ownership of internal stakeholders are of great importance when judging the success of the initiative. Seeking input from key internal stakeholders will help them understand their importance in the project, enabling them to take the initiative, responsibility and deliver results.

• Establish criteria for test analysis and reporting
• Create opportunities for direct engagement of key internal stakeholders
• Develop plan of action for utilization of results

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Curriculum

Stakeholder Optimization – Workshop 1 – Goals, Purpose, Objectives

1. Establish Baseline
2. Gathering Data
3. Information Analysis
4. Brainstorm Strategy
5. Vision Statement
6. Establish Outcomes
7. Define Objectives
8. Action Plan
9. Evaluating and Monitoring
10. Review and Revise

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Distance Learning

Introduction

Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling on the Stakeholder Optimization 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 Stakeholder Optimization 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 t