Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning Exemption ... and qualify/APEL Portfolio... · APEL...

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APEL Examplar 2012-2013 1/12 Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning Exemption Portfolio Candidate’s name: John Greenwood Membership number 099999999 Date of submission of application 4 September 2012 Level of exemption: e.g. Level 5 – Advanced Diploma in Purchasing and Supply Level 5 – Advanced Diploma in P&S Name of unit for which exemption is sought: e.g. Management in the Purchasing Function Management in the Purchasing function Section 1 A brief curriculum vitae Extract from your own curriculum vitae and insert it into this box. However, you should ensure that your CV includes a detailed overview of your current and previous roles, and particularly the role associated with this portfolio. If this is not included within your curriculum vitae, still attach it, but include further detailed description here. Make your entry here: Education 1979-1986 – St Helen’s Grammar School, Bradford 6 O’Levels and 1 A Level (French) 1986-1989 – Leeds Polytechnic, HND Business Studies (Full time) 1991-1993 – University of Plymouth, BA (Hons) Hospitality Management (Part time conversion course) 2004-2005 – Lancaster University – Diploma in Project Management (Distance Learning) Work experience and responsibilities held: October 1989 – August 1996 Sigma Signs Ltd – Marketing Assistant (1989- 1993) and Marketing Support Officer (1993 – 1996) Responsible for general support for the marketing team, including developing a database of current and potential customers. Also involved with working with suppliers to ensure client needs were met

Transcript of Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning Exemption ... and qualify/APEL Portfolio... · APEL...

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Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning Exemption Portfolio

Candidate’s name: John Greenwood

Membership number 099999999

Date of submission of application 4 September 2012

Level of exemption: e.g. Level 5 – Advanced Diploma in Purchasing and Supply

Level 5 – Advanced Diploma in P&S

Name of unit for which exemption is sought: e.g. Management in the Purchasing Function

Management in the Purchasing function

Section 1

A brief curriculum vitae

Extract from your own curriculum vitae and insert it into this box. However, you should ensure that your CV includes a detailed overview of your current and previous roles, and particularly the role associated with this portfolio. If this is not included within your curriculum vitae, still attach it, but include further detailed description here.

Make your entry here:

Education

1979-1986 – St Helen’s Grammar School, Bradford 6 O’Levels and 1 A Level (French)

1986-1989 – Leeds Polytechnic, HND Business Studies (Full time)

1991-1993 – University of Plymouth, BA (Hons) Hospitality Management (Part time conversion course)

2004-2005 – Lancaster University – Diploma in Project Management (Distance Learning)

Work experience and responsibilities held:

October 1989 – August 1996 Sigma Signs Ltd – Marketing Assistant (1989- 1993) and Marketing Support Officer (1993 – 1996)

Responsible for general support for the marketing team, including developing a database of current and potential customers. Also involved with working with suppliers to ensure client needs were met

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in the cost effective manner. Most recent key recent responsibility was for the development of an annual contract with a key supplier of signage fixings.

Sept 1996 – Oct 2000

Tenby Engineering Ltd

Assistant buyer (to Jan 1997), buyer (to Oct 2000). As assistant buyer I was responsible for all consumables purchasing and the setting up of annual call off contracts with key suppliers. In my role as a buyer, I had lead responsibility for raw materials purchasing, this involved developing existing suppliers and also sourcing new suppliers. A key part of this role was the management and development of a supplier database for the key raw materials requirements of Tenby Engineering Ltd.

March 2002 – date

ABC Ltd – Senior Buyer (to Jan 05 and Purchasing Manager (Jan 05 to date)

As a Senior Buyer I worked within two different sections within the purchasing department; the Consumables Section and more recently the Small fabrications section (SFS). In the consumables section I was responsible for setting up a number of annual contracts with local suppliers for the supply of low value, high volume items. In SFS I was responsible for the sourcing and supply of high value items (over £5000). In both sections I was also responsible for the day-to-day supervision of junior staff, this included undertaking their annual appraisal.

In January 2005 I was promoted to Purchasing Manager within SFS and I am now responsible for all items purchased by the section and for all associated supplier sourcing and development activities. In addition to this, I have full line management responsibility for the seven members of staff within the team. I also represent the purchasing department in ABC’s Training and Development Forum (TDF) and I am responsible for making recommendations to the Head of Procurement regarding the training needs and development opportunities within the department.

Section 2

An outline description of your current role and if different, the role you were in at the time of the ‘significant professional event’. (see section 4)

This section is designed to help the assessor recognise the context in which the significant event took place. Your task is to paint a verbal picture so that the assessor can understand the circumstances more clearly.

Make your entry here (Approximate number of words 250):

I am currently employed by ABC Ltd, a medium sized manufacturing company which makes acoustic enclosures for use in power plants. I am a purchasing manager and manage the section responsible for the purchasing of a range of small fabrications. These are critical items and typically on extended lead times. Within my section, I have a team of seven purchasing staff:

1 administrative assistant

1 research coordinator

2 purchasing assistants

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2 buyers

1 senior buyer

Prior to being promoted to the post of Purchasing Manager six months ago, I was the senior buyer within the team for eighteen months and worked with the two buyers and one of the purchasing assistants during this time. The team had been operating with only one purchasing assistant for some time, despite having a budget for two posts at this level. In December last year the company was ableto recruit a second purchasing assistant to this post. The role of the purchasing assistant is well established within ABC Ltd and all sections have at least one purchasing assistant. Typically, a purchasing assistant will be in post for approximately two years and during this time they will move around the purchasing department to give them as broad a range of experiences as possible.

The role of Research Coordinator is a new development for ABC Ltd and I was instrumental in persuading my director of the need for this new post. The appointment was made in January 2006 and is being trialled within the small fabrications section.

(254 words)

Section 3

Here outline your chosen area of the CIPS Syllabus content unit upon which the ‘significant professional event’ is centred

The assessor will be looking for a link between theory and practice in the portfolio and this is your opportunity to start that process. It is also the time to demonstrate that you have a firm theoretical foundation on which to base your practice. This will require you to look it up in text books and write something about it. The assessor will want to be confident that you not only have experiential learning but that you also have a theoretical base to that learning.

Make your entry here (Approximate number of words 850):

The event described below in section 4 provides me with an opportunity to demonstrate that I have a firm theoretical foundation in a number of syllabus areas in the Managing in the Purchasing Function unit.

These syllabus areas are as follows:

Learning Objective 1.2 – Establish the importance of stakeholder groups who directly impact upon the purchasing function and manage their expectations effectively.

• In my significant event (detailed in the next section), there were a number of different

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stakeholder groups which I needed to take account of as I managed the situation. Stakeholders are groups or individuals who can be influenced by an organisation’s decisions (or strategy) or can have an influence on those decisions (or strategies). Johnson and Scholes (2001) note that stakeholders can also arise as a result of specific events and this is apparent in the situation described below. The head of engineering and the engineering department became stakeholders in the situation as a consequence of the appointment of the research coordinator. Other key stakeholders were the senior buyers in my team and my line manager. They would all be affected by the way in which I managed the situation and could also influence the way in which the situation was managed.

• One technique I could have used to help me assess their reactions would be to undertake a stakeholder analysis and mapping exercise. The most well known of these are the Mendelow (1991) Power and Influence matrix, or the Power and Interest matrix. Both of these offer a 2 x 2 grid with power on one axis and interest or influence on the other. Stakeholders are plotted onto the grid and assessments can be made about where efforts need to be directed in order to manage these stakeholders and gain their support for specific actions and strategies. Undertaking some form of mapping exercise would have helped me to understand the importance of working with the engineering team following the appointment of the research coordinator.

Learning Objective 4.2 – Apply techniques for building, motivating, and managing successful teams within the purchasing and supply function.

There are some clear team building issues with the situation outlined below.

• The team was relatively new and I did not spend adequate time with the team allowing it to ‘form’. Forming is one of the key stages identified by Tuckman (1965) in the development of a team; the others are norming, storming, performing and adjourning. The role of the leader is of crucial importance during the forming stage of a team and I did not fulfil my role adequately here. I ought to have ensured that the team was clear about the overall objective; that they were all task focused and that they were given opportunities to get to know one another within the team. I have now recognised this and the introduction of an away day with the team later in the year will be an important part of the team’s ‘forming’. Once the team have ‘formed’ they will then go on and start to have a shared view of the task and their role (norming). As the leader, I will continue to have a significant role here in ensuring that the task is clear. Storming is the next stage and it here where conflicts typically arise. It is an important part of team development but unfortunately, my team seem to be at this stage without having gone through the other stages. This means that the conflict may not have positive outcomes and can be destructive to the team. I have an important role to diffuse this conflict. The actions that I have outlined in section 6 will mean that the team will be able to ‘form’ and ‘norm’ appropriately - any storming which may then emerge is likely to be creative and have more positive outcomes. The stage that I want the team to be at is ‘performing’ and the actions outlined in section 6 have been designed to ensure that the team reach this stage. Given the way the organisation is structured, it is unlikely that this team will be adjourning in the near future.

Learning Objective 4.3 – Manage the sources of conflict which may arise within the purchasing function.

It is clear from the event described below, that there is a significant amount of conflict around the appointment of the research coordinator.

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• There are many sources of conflict, but the main one I believe to be relevant to my event is role conflict. According to Mullins (1999) role conflict arises from ‘inadequate or inappropriate role definition’ and can include, role incompatibility, role ambiguity, role overload and role underload. The case described below, there was clear evidence of role ambiguity. The role of the research coordinator lacked clarity all round; the role was not made clear to the engineering department or to the senior buyers in my team. I am also now questioning whether the research coordinator himself was clear about his role. The actions that I have outlined in section 6 will make a significant contribution to ensuring that all parties are clear about the role of the research coordinator and as a consequence of this – the key source of conflict will be removed. (868 words).

Section 4

A description of the significant professional event.

This section is designed for you to help the assessor know what happened in the event. It could be in the form of a diary but certainly you must provide a narrative of the event. You may find the following questions helpful in writing this section:

What happened?

When did it happen?

Where did it happen?

Make your entry here (Approximate number of words 500):

Background to the event

The appointment of a Research Coordinator was new post within ABC Ltd in January 2006 and was really being seen as an experiment within my section. I had always believed there was a need for this role and had been instrumental in persuading the company to provide resources for the post. The primary objective of the research coordinator was to become fully familiar with the small fabrications market and, through liaison with in-house engineering departments and supplier appraisal visits, to develop a comprehensive database of potential suppliers for the various categories of fabrications needed by ABC Ltd. The appointment has been a little controversial and there had been some resistance to it from the buyers within the small fabrications section (who believed that this was a key element of their role) and also from the in-house engineering department, who believed that they should take the lead in bringing any new suppliers on board due to the complex engineering and technical issues involved in small fabrications.

Detailed description of the event

In April this year the Head of Engineering called me to say he was concerned about the attitude of the research coordinator and suggested we needed to have a chat about it before it caused some serious issues. I went to see him straight away and he explained that there appeared to be some animosity between the research coordinator and some of the engineers. The engineers were getting tired of being told that they did not have a role to play in the selection of suppliers as they’d always taken a very proactive role and provided advice to the small fabs section in the past. I assured the Head of Engineering that I would look into it and get back to him. The research coordinator was on annual leave at the time, but I decided to have a chat with him when he returned. He came back the following week and I tried to arrange a meeting with him. He informed me that he would be out of the office for three days on three separate supplier visits and so we agreed that the meeting would

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have to wait until the next week.

During the week when he was out on his supplier visits, the research coordinator telephoned into the office and asked the admin assistant to cancel two of his planned visits and said he would be in the office the following day. The next day he came into my office, clearly agitated and said he was fed up with being undermined by everyone and was seriously considering resigning. He went on to explain that during his visit it had become clear that there was a long-standing, well-understood business relationship between the supplier and our engineering department and no-one had informed him of this. He also said that the senior buyers in our section had not been very helpful or forthcoming with any historical information since he had joined the section. I was unaware of this and told him so but I went on to say that his relationship with engineering was obviously a cause for concern and that we needed to discuss it. At this point, he became very angry and said that if he didn’t even have my support then there was no point in him carrying on and he might as well resign sooner rather than later.

(553 words).

Section 5

A reflection on the significant professional event and relevant learning experiences resulting from it.

It may help to answer the following questions in order to structure your reply, building upon those given above:

Why did the event happen?

Who else was involved and what part did they play?

Was the outcome expected or unexpected?

What were your thoughts / ideas / assumptions – immediately before / during / after and some time later?

What were your feelings immediately before / during / after and some time later?

How did the experience change you and your ideas and what did you learn about ideas / principles / connections and any patterns of relationships or behaviours?

Make your entry here (Approximate number of words 850):

Why did it happen

I believe the event happened for four main reasons and was in fact a culmination of all these reasons.

1. There was a lack of clarity about the role of the research coordinator. This lack of clarity did not just reside with the research coordinator himself but extended to his colleagues in the team and also to the in-house engineering department.

2. The relationship between ABC Ltd’s in-house engineering and the Small fabrications section changed with the appointment of the research coordinator and this change was not acknowledged or managed well by any of the parties.

3. I assumed that everyone was as enthusiastic about the appointment of a research coordinator as I was and I did not fully appreciate the extent to which there was resistance

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and disquiet about the appointment.

4. I did not deal with the issues raised by the Head of Engineering about the attitude of the research coordinator as swiftly or as effectively as I might have done.

Who else was involved and what part did they play?

Other than myself and the research coordinator, there were three sets of people who were involved:

1. The Head of Engineering. He tried to diffuse any potential issues by bringing his concern about the attitude of the research coordinator to my attention.

2. The engineers within the in-house engineering team. They were clearly unhappy about the way in which the research coordinator was approaching his role and the impact that this was having on how they saw their own role. They brought this to the attention of the Head of Engineering.

3. The senior buyers within the small fabrications section. They were not convinced that the appointment of a research coordinator was necessary or useful. They saw their own role and responsibilities potentially undermined. They withheld useful background information from the research coordinator and did not support him in his role.

Was the outcome expected or unexpected?

I did not expect to be in a position whereby the research coordinator felt that he had to resign. I was very surprised that he cancelled his visits and came into the office feeling that his position was being undermined. On reflection, it might have been expected (or at least some kind of issue might have been), given the general disquiet about the role of the research coordinator and the lack of clarity around that role.

My thoughts/ideas and assumptions, before, during and after the event

Before the event I had wrongly assumed that everyone shared my enthusiasm for the role of the research coordinator and this made me blind to any potential tensions within the team or between the research coordinator and the engineers. I was pleased that the Head of Engineering alerted me to his concerns about the research coordinator, though I thought he might be exaggerating somewhat.

During the event I was shocked at how angry the research coordinator was.

After the event my immediate thought was that I needed to prevent the research coordinator from resigning. Much later (i.e. the following week) I realised that I needed to consider the rest of the team and also the engineering department.

My feelings before, during and after the event

Before the event I think I felt quite blasé about how I was going to deal with the issue that the Head of Engineering had raised. I felt that a quick meeting with the research coordinator would sort it out. I didn’t feel unduly concerned that we couldn’t meet as soon as I would have liked. I didn’t really have any idea that the research coordinator was not getting any support from his own purchasing colleagues.

During the event I felt shocked by the way the research coordinator behaved. I also felt very disappointed that he claimed he was not getting support from colleagues. I felt hurt that he did not feel that he had my support. I also felt rather embarrassed about having to explain events to the Head of Purchasing, particularly as I had invested so much time and effort into convincing him that this post was a good idea.

After the event I continued to feel disappointment. I also felt angry that people hadn’t been able to

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see the value of the role and did not seem prepared to give it a chance. I reflected on how I might have ‘sold’ the role and its contribution much more effectively. Some four months after the event, I still feel disappointed, but disappointed with myself for not handling the whole situation differently.

How did the experience change me and what have I learnt?

The experience has highlighted the need for me to be more aware of and receptive to other people’s views. I need to listen more carefully and not assume that my view is always shared by others. I do have regular one-to-ones with my team and I have reviewed how I approach these. I now have a ten minute discussion at the beginning of the one-to-one where I encourage the team member to indicate issues that they wish to be included – this ensures that I do not work to my own agenda to the exclusion of anyone else’s and provides opportunities for them to initiate dialogue and discussion.

(876 words).

Section 6

An overview of actions that resulted and any recommendations on how you might improve current situations and associated responses in the future.

This section is designed to transfer your positive experiences and behaviours associated with your ‘significant professional event’ into the future. So, you need to describe what you did in a more recent situation, what you think you should have done that would have been better and the lessons you have learned. You should show the assessor that you are able to reflect on theory and practice in a constructive, professional way and transfer success from one situation into another, or even into a continuous situation.

Make your entry here (Approximate number of words 500):

As a consequence of the actions I put in place immediately after the situation I have described, I have not encountered similar situations. The key actions I put in place are listed below:

• an ‘away day’ with the team to clarify roles and responsibilities within the team;

• a joint briefing to the engineering team by myself and the Head of Engineering explaining the role of the research coordinator;

• the setting up of joint projects with the small fabrications team and the engineering department; and

• the planning of a supplier (and potential supplier) conference for later in the year.

On reflection, I consider these actions to have been appropriate. The results have been positive and both teams are now working much more effectively together. The research coordinator has continued his visits and is frequently accompanied by an engineer; they produce joint reports. The database of potential suppliers for particular categories of fabrications is now developing and this was the key objective of the role. The buyers and senior buyers within the team are now generally supportive of the work of the research coordinator and they have provided him with a full set of contact notes from any of their previous meetings with potential suppliers.

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More recently, I noted there was potential for conflict within the team, as morale appeared low and overall performance was deteriorating. Mindful of my previous experience, I was keen to ensure that any issues were addressed before frustrations spilled over and a major incident took place. At our weekly team briefing I shared my concerns with the team and it became apparent that the two purchasing assistants were worried about their promotion prospects. One had been in post for almost two years and one had been appointed more recently in December last year, however the one most recently appointed, was better qualified than the one who had been in post longer and this was causing some issues between them. I recalled how the previous situation had ‘exploded’ largely as a consequence of me not dealing with it sooner and so immediately after the meeting I arranged one-to-ones with each of the purchasing assistants. The outcomes of these meetings enabled me to understand their relative positions and subsequently work with the HR department to plan appropriate development activities for them both. I also brought forward my regular one-to-one with my director so that I could alert him to the situation. We now have a clear development plan for both purchasing assistants, which includes a clear plan of progression through the various sections within the department to prepare them for the next available promotion.

The learning gained from my ‘significant professional event’ enabled me to realise the importance of being much more aware of what was going on in my team and to recognise the need to deal with issues sooner rather than later. By acting immediately after our weekly team meeting, I was able to prevent further frustrations arising in the team which in turn improved overall morale and led to satisfactory outcomes for all concerned. With hindsight, I could have put individual development plans in place sooner, i.e. immediately on the appointment of the second purchasing assistant and this would perhaps have avoided the issues of low morale which had begun to emerge. I still need to listen more carefully during one-to-ones to ensure that I am receptive to other people’s agenda as well as my own. I am currently working on this and am developing active listing skills.

Section 7

A Bibliography

You should submit a bibliography within your portfolio that provides a detailed overview of the text books you have used, and any other relevant reading

Make your entry here:

Barker A (1993) ‘Making Meetings Work’ The Industrial Society

ISBN 1 85835 111 1

Blanchard K, Zigarmi P, Zigarmi D (2004)

Leadership and the One Minute Manager, Harper Collins

ISBN 0 00 710341 7

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Buchanan D and Huczynski A (2004) Organisational Behaviour, An introductory text, FT Prentice Hall, 5th Edition

ISBN 0 273 68222 9

Handy C (1999) Understanding Organisations, Penguin Books

ISBN 0 14 015603 8

Johnson G, Scholes K and Whittington R (2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy, Prentice Hall, 7th Edition

ISBN 0 273 68734 4

Mullins L (2004) Management and Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall, 7th Edition

ISBN 0 273 63552 2

Section 8

Authenticity statement.

Upon submitting your portfolio you must complete the table below with the required details. Failure to complete this section will mean that your application is not be processed.

I confirm that all of the work included within this portfolio, is wholly and unequivocally my own work and is not the work of others.

Membership Number: 0999999

Please note that the insertion of your membership number constitutes your own personal signature.

Name: John Greenwood

Address: ABC Ltd

X Street

Telephone: 01234 567890

Email: [email protected]

Payment Details

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Please note that your form will not be processed if your payment is not received with this form.

Payment by Mastercard Visa Amex Maestro (delete as appropriate)

Name of Card Holder

Please debit my card

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1

Issue number

01

Start date

0 1 0 1

Expiry date

0 9 1 3

Exemption fees • UK & ROW £77 • Africa £62

• Southern Africa R760 • Australia AUS$180

(from 1st November 2011)

Total Amount: @£XX UK & ROW • £XX Africa

Checklist of evidence to be provided

Section

Official Use Y/N

(delete as appropriate)

1. Curriculum vitae Y/N

2. Current professional role and your role at time of event Y/N

3. Syllabus area Y/N

4. Description of the event Y/N

5. Critical reflection Y/N

6. Overview of actions Y/N

7. Bibliography Y/N

8. Authenticity statement Y/N

Official use only:

CIPS customer service advisers to confirm all of the above areas are completed prior to processing.

If ‘no’ is ticked for any item, the application will be returned in full, with the missing area highlighted for completion by the applicant.

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Easton House, Easton on the Hill, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 3NZ, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1780 756777 • Fax: +44 (0)1780 751610

• Email: [email protected] • Web: www.cips.org