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• Module overview
• 1. Introduction to the effective leader and manager
  • 1.1 The effective workplace manager -The roles and traits approach.
    • 1.1.1 Early proponents of the role approach
    • 1.1.2 Roles and functions
    • 1.1.3 Role of the modern industrial manager
    • 1.1.4 Managerial roles and traits
  • 1.2 The Effective Workplace Manager - The Behaviour Approach
    • 1.2.1 Early behavioural approach to management
    • 1.2.2 Theory X and Y managers
    • 1.2.3 The Blake and Mouton management grid
    • 1.2.4 Behaviours and traits
  • 1.3 The effective workplace manager - The competency approach
    • 1.3.1 International approaches to competency development of managers and leaders
    • 1.3.2 Behaviours and competencies
    • 1.3.3 Competence- an Australian perspective

• 2. Leadership styles

  • 2.1 Leadership styles
  • 2.2. Motivation, commitment and collective responsibility
  • 2.3 Leadership approaches and styles: The situational (contingency) approach
    • 2.3.1 Five decision-making styles
    • 2.3.2 Situated leadership styles
    • 2.3.3 Path goal related leadership styles
  • 2.4 Leadership styles and transformational leadership

• 3. Learning styles and learning to learn

  • 3.1 Learning styles
    • 3.1.1 Personal learning style(s)
    • 3.1.2 The Four Learning Styles
    • 3.1.3 What is Your Learning Style?
  • 3.2 Difference between how adults learn and how children learn
  • 3.3 Learning styles and multiple intelligences
    • 3.3.1 Types of intelligence
    • 3.3.2 Instruction and types of intelligence
  • 3.4 Study skills
    • 3.4.1 Concentration
    • 3.4.2 Set S.M.A.R.T. Learning Goals
    • 3.4.3 Skim reading
    • 3.4.4 Taking notes
    • 3.4.5 Writing papers and reports
  • 3.5 Learning online
    • 3.5.1 Definitions
    • 3.5.2 Are you ready to learn online?
    • 3.5.3 Technical requirement

• 4. Personal development planning

  • 4.1 Personal development needs and career planning
    • 4.1.1 Professional development and goal alignment
  • 4.2 What career do you want?
    • 4.2.1 What are we developing in our transport and logistics leaders?
    • 4.2.2 Human functioning
    • 4.2.3 Assessing current competencies gaps and development needs
  • 4.3 Benchmarking or measuring professional development against organisational goals
  • 4.4 Setting and integrating job performance outcomes
    • 4.4.1 Personal development questionnaire anticipating your future skill needs
    • 4.4.2 Personal improvement plan-Personal and work context
    • 4.4.3 Professional Development Plan

• 5. Modelling high standards of ethics and performance

  • 5.1 Modelling high standards of performance
  • 5.2 Being a role model in an organisation that has integrity and credibility
    • 5.2.1 Corporate culture
    • 5.2.2 Organisational policy to enable integrity and credibility
    • 5.2.3 Individual responsibility
  • 5.3 Ethical and inclusive practices
    • 5.3.1 Ethics, morals and values
    • 5.3.2 Business ethics
    • 5.3.3 Ethics and the law
  • 5.4 Building trust and confidence-Treating people with integrity, respect and empathy
    • 5.4.1 Communicating to develop trust and confidence
    • 5.4.2 Building a culture of trust

• 6. Developing professional networks or communities

  • 6.1 What are communities?
    • 6.1.1 Types of communities
  • 6.2 Harnessing divergent networks
  • 6.3 Harnessing convergent networked communities
  • 6.4 Internal convergent (purpose-driven) networks
  • 6.5 Knowledge and communities
  • 6.6 Public and external networks
  • 6.7 Professional development bodies and networks
    • 6.7.1 Professional management bodies and networks
  • 6.8 Stakeholder management

• 7. Enhancing workplace learning

  • 7.1 Types of workplace learning
    • 7.1.1 Training and education
    • 7.1.2 Workplace training
  • 7.2 Coaching and mentoring
    • 7.2.1 Coaching
    • 7.2.2 Mentoring

• 8. Training needs analysis

  • 8.1 Profiling individuals within organisations
    • 8.1.1 Functional job profiling
    • 8.1.2 Profiling skills gaps using human capital approach
    • 8.1.3 Framing capability inventories
  • 8.2 Linking individual and organisational capabilities
    • 8.2.1 Integrating capability reporting and management
  • 8.3 Developing a learning plan using SWOT analysis
  • 8.4 Implementing a learning plan
    • 8.4.1 Step 1 Prepare a learning project brief
    • 8.4.2 Step 2 Discuss your plan with training personnel
    • 8.4.3 Step 3 Break down your learning plan into its basic elements.
    • 8.4.4 Step 4 Provide costings for each element
    • 8.4.5 Step 5 Provide a list of benefits derived from the learning intervention
    • 8.4.6 Step 6 Discuss your findings with training personnel

• 9. Assess and review workplace learning

  • 9.1 Assessment of workplace learning
  • 9.2 How to assess?
  • 9.3 Applying the principles of assessment in the workplace
  • 9.4 Conducting Competency-Based Assessment
    • 9.4.1 Setting Evidence Requirements
    • 9.4.2 Develop instructions for assessment tool use
    • 9.4.3 Satisfying the assessee needs
    • 9.4.4 Conducting Assessment
    • 9.4.5 Instructions to remove ambiguity
    • 9.4.6 Collecting and judging evidence
    • 9.4.7 Review the assessment processes
  • 9.5 Keeping training records

5.3.2 Business ethics

This section is not an in-depth study of ethics but we do need to appreciate that ethics guide collective action and that values, standards and morals that are based on ethics guide the everyday actions of a workforce. The ethics of leadership often revolve around balancing individual and organisational values. In some cases, unfortunately, ethical dilemmas arise that provide no clear-cut course of action. Actions that appear ethical at the time may be interpreted later by others as unethical.

Business ethics is a complex subject because it can be argued that human dignity is often debased by the organisation of work. Philosophers argue that people deserve to be treated differently from other factors of production, that they need to be treated with respect and dignity and therefore that they should be treated this way. The concept of human dignity rejects the idea of using employees as economic tools. Ethics then:

. . . [has] to do with the consequences of our acts to ourselves and to others. It recognizes that life has an overall purpose and accepts the inner integrity of each individual. Since organisational behaviour always involves people, ethical philosophy is involved in one way or another in each action. Human decisions cannot, and should not, be made apart from values (Davis, 1981:13).

The concept of ethics in business and assessment is important to reflect upon. We will revisit this issue in other chapters within the Diploma of Training and Assessment. The following reading is a very basic introduction that may provide some ideas to stimulate your thinking.

Reading 2

Ivy Sea (2004, revised), 'Defining and Communicating Ethics in Your Enterprise'. Sourced at http://www.ivysea.com/pages/ldrex_0600_02.html .

Activity 10

Your ethical commitment

How strong is your personal adherence to ethical beliefs and behaviours? This exercise differentiates between two types of ethical commitment: Absolutist and Relativist (explanations of each type will be provided by the instructor upon completion of this activity).

For each of the following items, circle either A or B.

1. Peoples' actions can be described as motivated by pursuit of:
   A. Right or wrong
   B. Happiness or harm
   
2. When making an ethical decision, one knows it is right by its:
   A. Adherence to societal expectations
   B. One's conscience and its impact on others
   
3. Solutions to ethical problems usually are:
   A. Black or white
   B. Some shade of grey
   
4. When thinking through ethical problems, I prefer to:
   A. Think up practical, clear boundaries and solutions
   B. Make reasonable distinctions and clarifications
   
5. When people disagree over an ethical matter, I know:
   A. Which one is right or wrong
   B. We can devise a workable compromise
   
6. A lie is:
   A . Truth waiting to be uncovered
   B. Someone's opinion of what is true
   
7. If I were a judge I would be a person who:
   A. Applied the law and was totally impartial
   B. Sought justice and applied it in context
   
8. The aim of science should be:
   A. To discover and apply fundamental laws
   B. To solve problems
   
9. A nation that let dictators like Hitler exist:
   A. Failed to adhere to basic principles of human dignity and rights
   B. Considered power before consequences
   
10. It is important to work with others:
    A. To achieve agreed outcomes
    B. To be a worthy team member
    
11. I know when someone has acted unethically because:
    A. They have violated laws or rights
    B. They have caused another to suffer a degree of harm
    
12. The purpose of government legislation should be:
    A. To set boundaries and expectations for all citizens
    B. To represent collective will while ensuring equal opportunity.

Give yourself a score of one (1) for every A. Give yourself a score of two (2) for every B.

A responses-Absolutist: Believe ethics equal concrete boundaries on how all should live their life and that ethical behaviour revolves around goodness or ultimate virtue. If you scored less than 14 then it seems you have a strong commitment to this basis of thinking.

B responses-Relativist: This may be argued to include utilitarian views. However, let us concentrate on how relativists believe that we can set a target to which all should aspire to achieve as a moral duty, but that other factors may impinge upon its ultimate attainment, e.g. legal obligations, ethnic variations in interpretation, self-actualisation/ satisfaction, family needs, etc. If you scored over 20 you are very strongly oriented to this ethical basis.

While the Absolutist may argue that boundaries must not become blurred, the Relativist sees virtue and goodness as subjective and highly variable. Equally, actions may have been carried out with the best of intentions, but the consequences were not fully appreciated. Actions can also adhere to one set of ethical practices while they conflict with another (acting for the interests of your family may conflict with societal expectations).

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