Reference no: EM132286733

Activity 1
Use two of the decision making tools identified to determine how an organisation you are familiar with or have access to can successfully implement a continuous improvement process into the organisation.

Activity 2

You are required to develop a job aid to assist managers with leading continuous improvement in the workplace.

Your job aid should be a step by step process flow with decision points.

Activity 3

Using the information from earlier activities and the information about the organisation you selected you are now required to develop a commuication plan to enable you to communicate the continuous improvement process you have recommended to your team members.

Your communication plan must include:
• What you will communicate
• How you will communicate and
• When you will communicate

Activity 4
You are required to identify a small to medium organisation that you are familar with. If you are not working select an organisation that you would like to work for or are interested in.

Develop a brief report for the senior management team explaining the advantages and disadvantages of the continuous improvement approaches identified in your reading.

You are required to make a recommendation to the leadership team on the approach that you believe will be most appropriate for the identified organisation to adopt to ensure that the business develops a continuous improvement culture.

Activity 5
Use two of the problem solving tools identified to analyse and resolve potential problems that might be encountered when trying to implement a continuous improvement process into an organisation you have access to.

Activity 6

You are required to develop a training plan to demonstrate how you will train your team members to ensure a continuous improvement culture is implemented into the workplace.
Develop a checklist for a manager to use when designing a coaching program for the team to reinforce training in continuous improvement.

Activity 7

Describe one way to capture organisational knowledge.

Activity 8

How does capturing organisational knowledge contribute to an organisation's continuous improvement?

Activity 9

You work within a large retail clothing store. How would you go about monitoring operational progress and identifying ways in which planning and operations could be improved?

Activity 10
Develop a stakeholder communication checklist.

Activity 11

Case study
Quality Stock Enterprises is a furniture manufacturer supplying indoor and outdoor furniture products at the premium end of the market. The organisation currently employs more than 600 staff. In the last 12 months sales have dropped by 25 per cent causing great alarm amongst management and staff alike.

A competitor has appeared in the market and offers similar products at lower prices. An analysis of the business identified a range of weaknesses that included too narrow a product range; existing products being aimed at the upper end of their niche market with corresponding prices; the nature of their furniture means that they need highly skilled workers who are paid premium wages. All this has impacted on the company at the same time as a global downturn in the economy, with many customers unwilling to pay top prices. They know they need to make some changes to improve their situation.

Senior management are considering a number of options including:
• taking manufacturing offshore
• laying off staff across all areas of the business
• diversifying their product range to include middle and low-range priced goods.

This company will do anything to curtail the current decline in sales so long as the costs of the proposed changes are not excessive.

(a) Explain how you would utilise participation techniques with the employees in this organisation to explore the advantages and disadvantages of each of the options presented in the case study. Based on this approach identify the option that you believe is most viable.

(b) Explain how you would initiate continuous improvement activities related to this option. How would you communicate these initiatives to relevant stakeholders?

(c) Provide a proposal to senior management of this organisation outlining how mentoring and coaching could be used to improve current circumstances.