The Participant is asked to assume the role of acting General Manager of Wholesome Foods Ltd, a market leader in the manufacture of ready-made meals. The items to be faced in this In-Basket typify those which would normally face a middle manager. Examples include personnel, administrative, general management, Health & Safety and financial issues.
Competencies: Attention to Detail
The Participant assumes the role of a Trainee Manager working for a new public sector agency, the Wellbeing Agency. The Participant is asked to deal with a range of typical public sector issues and stakeholders. Issues include standard day-to-day management and administrative tasks relating to budgets, purchasing, staffing challenges and liaising with various external and internal stakeholders.
As a Manager, the Participant is charged with the responsibility of moving this small but expanding company into new premises on a defined date. This will involve allocating space to named individuals, arranging furniture supplies, carpeting, partitioning, cabling for computing networks and ensuring that all the services are switched on in time. Naturally all the existing staff, files, computers etc, will have to be moved with minimum disruption. The objective of the Exercise is to design a schedule to ensure that the move takes place over a weekend, enabling the Company to open for business on the following Monday.
As a Human Resources Administrator, the Participant is given the task of planning and implementing a new appraisal system. The objective is to schedule the whole process including the design of the appraisal, training of staff, delivery and collection of materials and paperwork. The deadline is tight because the results of the appraisals are linked to pay awards. The challenge is to work out a schedule that will ensure the appraisal process is completed by the given date.
The Participant assumes the role of an Administrative Assistant working in a small company, who has been tasked with organising a conference. Among the items to be scheduled are the booking of the venue, arrangements for audio-visual aids, travel arrangements, guest speakers and transportation to the venue. The objective is to work out a schedule so that all of the components are completed in time for the conference.
As a Public Relations Manager of a plastics manufacturer, the Participant is given the task of planning and organising a 25-Year Anniversary Party. The task involves designing a schedule to ensure that all of the necessary actions, for example logistics and invites, are co-ordinated within certain constraints and a tight timescale. Although this appears straightforward, there are a number of requirements which have to be understood before a plan can be produced.
The Participant assumes the role of a Project Manager working for an International Investment Bank, Providentia. The Bank is expanding its Malaysian office, and the Participant has been tasked with co-ordinating the recruitment of new staff, ordering new office equipment, and relocating the existing staff to a new premises. The Participant is provided with the timings and staff requirements for the recruitment activities, costs and constraints associated with the relocation of equipment, and timeframes for ordering new office equipment. In addition to producing a schedule to deliver the project, the Participant is also asked to produce a table of costs, and to identify key risks with the project and how these might be mitigated.
The Participant is asked to assume the role of a Team Leader heading up a team of machine operatives. Their challenge is based on the need to meet an extremely tight deadline for a very important contract recently secured from a new customer. The task involves planning how to utilise the available labour whilst working within certain constraints.
Participants meet as a team of managers tasked with co-ordinating an event for the national Universal Insurance Company. Presented with information relating to logistics, content & format, co-ordination & communication and marketing, they must arrange a seminar to promote a new tax planning scheme to individuals. Tight deadlines and fixed budgets must be adhered to if the event is to be successful.
The Participant assumes the role of a General Manager within a service organisation, who has been asked by the Marketing Director to do an analysis of the level of service provided in comparison with competitors. The Participant is provided with a large amount of numerical data in tabular and graphical form as well as textual information relating to feedback from customers and reports on general industry trends. The Marketing Director has asked for a report highlighting appropriate conclusions and recommendations for action.
