PLAN AND LEAD CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Assessment Submission details:

1.Please include following details on the top of your assessment:

• Your Name
• Your Student Id
• Your Trainer's name
• Assessment Due Date
• Actual Submission Date

Please Note: Any changes in the assessment due date must be approved by your trainer.

2.This assessment must be in Microsoft word format. Following settings should be made for this assignment to keep consistency among all the assessments:

Body text

Page setup

Font: Times New Roman

• Font size: 12 point
• Line spacing: Double
• Text style: Normal

Top: 2.54 cm

• Bottom: 2.54 cm
• Left: 3.17 cm
• Right: 3.17 cm
• Header: 1.25 cm
• Footer: 1.25 cm

3.Do not forget to attach the Cover Sheet at the front of the assessment.

4.Make sure you have signed the Cover sheet to declare this is your own work.

5.You can e-mail this assessment to your trainer's e-mail address with following details: In 'subject' mention your 'student Id - Your name'.

Achieving Competence:

To be deemed competent in this assessment you must:

Correctly address all the assessment requirements as described in this task

Correctly address all the submission instructions

Successfully complete the Assessment Questions

Submit assessment on or before the due date with an assessment cover sheet

Performance objective:

In this assessment task, you will demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to plan and lead continuous improvement systems and processes.

Assessment description:

Using the simulated business information provided and in response to a scenario, you will prepare and deliver a presentation to the management team on proposed continuous improvement strategies to be deployed in work teams; proposed systems to communicate to stakeholders; proposed approaches to meeting sustainability requirements; proposed approaches to coaching continuous improvement; and strategies for knowledge management. You will then submit a summary report. You will also prepare a monitoring strategy to monitor progress on the implementation of the continuous improvement system, a communication strategy, and several relevant procedures.

Note: You will use the planning and portfolio documentation you develop in Assessment Task 1 for completing Assessment Task 2.

Assessment Questions:

Part A: Prepare and deliver a presentation

Research, plan and deliver a 20-minute presentation to a peer group of managers on proposed continuous improvement (CI) systems and processes.

1.Review the following scenario.

You are a continuous improvement consultant. Australian Hardware has contracted you to analyse the business in order to propose an overall approach to continuous process improvement, including a general methodology such as Lean or Six Sigma.

The approach will be used across the business, including application to areas such as:

sustainability across the organisation

revenue per customer interaction

operational costs

customer service satisfaction across product areas such as timber, plumbing and electrical, garden products, hardware, tools and homewares

delivery lead times for customers.

You will need to consider the appropriateness and applicability of different continuous improvement methodologies in order to find the best fit for Australian Hardware.

In your overall approach, you will need to develop several supporting strategies and procedures.

You intend to trial your proposed quality systems and processes at the Wollongong store.

You will need to gather feedback from the management team on your proposed continuous improvement approach. In accordance with organisational practice, you will need to prepare a summary report incorporating feedback and suggestions for amendments and refinements.

2.Review Australian Hardware documentation, including strategic plans and operational plans. Note what the organisation does, how it does it, what its goals and objectives are, and who its stakeholders and customers are.

3.Research or review continuous improvement methodologies and tools and identify strategies for improving quality and performance in targeted areas. You will need to select and prepare for discussion in your presentation:

a.a continuous improvement methodology, such as TQM, Lean and Six Sigma to apply to the organisation

b.problem/opportunity identification and decision-making tools, such as value stream mapping, root cause analysis and brainstorming.

c.strategies for including and encouraging participation by the right individuals and teams

d.strategies for building ownership and a work culture that is conducive to improving quality, reducing waste and high performance.

4.Analyse the impact of your proposed introduction of continuous improvement measures on the organisation as an integrated whole. In particular consider, for discussion in your presentation, the impact on:

a.communications to various stakeholders

b.knowledge management and information flow, including information technology relevant to document storage and sharing

c.sustainability and sustainability objectives

d.performance management, including setting goals and KPIs, monitoring, training and coaching, and rewards and recognition

e.legislative compliance.

5.Arrange a time and location to deliver a presentation to the management team with the results of your findings in steps 2-4.

6.Deliver the presentation to the management team. Ensure you:

a.Seek input for improvements or additions to your approach to be incorporated into your summary report and portfolio documents. Ask questions and use active listening techniques.

b.Deliver your presentation in accordance with the deliverables and quality specifications outlined below.

Part B: Prepare a summary report

1.Summarise the contents of your presentation in a one- to two-page written report, including recommended changes or additions. Ensure you:

a.use an appropriate style and tone for business reporting

b.use headings, paragraphs and full sentences (except in illustrations or bulleted lists).

2.Submit your summary report in accordance with the deliverables and quality specifications outlined below.

Part C: Portfolio of work

1.Develop a communications strategy for implementing your proposed continuous improvement initiatives that includes:

a.two to three communications objectives

b.at least two audiences, for example, senior management, work teams, or individual employees

c.at least two methods of communication or media.

2.Develop a short (less than one page) procedure for informing teams of the outcomes of continuous improvement activities.

3.Develop a monitoring strategy for an area of team performance identified in the scenario. Include:

a.targets (aligned with or consistent with organisational goals)

b.standards (compliant with relevant legislation, policies and procedures)

c.KPIs

d.responsibilities for recording and reporting

e.timelines

f.technology and systems used for capture, storage and reporting of performance information.

4.Develop a short (less than one page) procedure for managers and special continuous improvement teams to run continuous improvement sessions; for example, if poor performance is observed through monitoring systems.

Your procedure should:

a.outline how to run a team session to capture opportunities for improvement and share required knowledge

b.include at least one measure to ensure adherence to legislative requirements such as health and safety, privacy, or anti-discrimination.

5.Submit your portfolio deliverables in accordance with the deliverables and quality specifications outlined below.

Specifications

Deliverables:

You must:

deliver a 20-minute presentation on continuous improvement strategies in response to the scenario

submit a summary report

submit a portfolio of work: monitoring strategy, communications strategy, and procedures for communications and continuous improvement team processes.

Quality (presentation):

Your assessor will be looking for evidence of your ability to:

seek feedback on your approaches to continuous improvement processes and outcomes

relate your CI approaches to meeting sustainability objectives

relate your CI approaches to mentoring, coaching and other support to enable people to participate effectively in continuous improvement processes

describe how insights will be incorporated into the organisation's knowledge management systems and future planning

demonstrate reading skills through:

identifying and extracting relevant information from texts on CI

locating, interpreting and analysing workplace documentation to gather information relating to continuous improvement

demonstrate oral communication skills through:

presenting information to management audience

listening and comprehending information

confirming understanding through questioning and active listening techniques

navigate the world of work, through:

developing CI strategies to enable compliance with legislative requirements and achievement of the organisation's goals

interact with others, through:

identifying and using appropriate conventions and protocols when communicating with peer managers

collaborating with others to achieve joint outcomes, playing an active role in facilitating effective group interaction and influencing direction

get the work done, through:

using analytical and lateral thinking to review current practices and develop ideas for improvement

reflecting on the ways in which digital systems and tools are used, or could be used, to achieve work goals.

Quality (summary report and portfolio):

Your assessor will be looking for evidence of your ability to: demonstrate writing skills, through:

developing a complex text (report) related to CI processes according to organisational requirements

ensuring the vocabulary, grammatical structures and conventions of the report are appropriate for the context and target audience

navigate the world of work, through:

developing strategies and procedures to enable compliance with legislative requirements and achievement of the organisation's goals

monitoring adherence to organisational policies, procedures and protocols through a monitoring strategy.