Your group has the possibility of being given access to a local internet company, which sells broadband and associated services to small- and medium-sized businesses across the country. The task is to conduct fieldwork into ‘leadership’, and you need to complete a number of interviews in a real organization in order to complete your assignment. The initial contact with the company is through the training manager, and she has arranged for a meeting with the chief executive to discuss the possible research. The meeting will take place on site, and the chief executive has a busy schedule. He has also indicated that he would like to see just two members of the team on this first instance.

Roles Student 1, student 2: Their aim is to gain access on behalf of their colleagues for a project that both fits their academic needs and is also ethically acceptable.
Chief executive: He is prepared to provide access providing the project uses minimal resources/time, offers some potential benefit to the company, and carries absolutely no risks for the company or individuals within it.
Training manager: She is a former employee of the university at which the students are studying, but her own position in the company is slightly insecure.
Other group members: Should act as observers during the role-play and as facilitators of the debrief afterwards