Wikipedia:Sandbox/Archive

COMPENDIUM OF GOOD PRACTICE STRUCTURE AND EXAMPLES

Scope

What is Leadership and Management Development?
Which entities are contributing to this Compendium?

Business Models and Programme Structures

Internal resources or buy in resources
Course structures
Information notes and programme descriptions
Keys to success
Design considerations

Modalities, Methods and Media

A modality is a general classification which is distinct in its conceptualization from other modalities, which can be delivered through a range of methods. The media are the ways in which information is conveyed. Delivery methods are clearly modality-specific, although some methods can be used in more than one method.

• Modality taxonomy and blending
  
• Group course Workshop, Seminar, Symposium, Conference
  

Group work

A SSAAYYEEDD AT WORK implies a collaboration of people who work together in order to achieve specific targets. This collaboration can be very useful for the learning process, because the members can put their experiences together and develop complex ideas that are the results of several opinions and thoughts. More over, working in group during a training session is very useful in order to learn how collaborate with other people and how to be a part of a team.

Role plays

Role plays involve having trainees act out characters assigned to them. Information regarding the situation (e.g. work or interpersonal problem) is provided to the trainees. Role plays differ from simulations on the basis of response choices available to the trainees and the level of detail of the situation given to trainees. Role plays may provide limited information regarding the situation, while the information provided for simulation is usually quite detailed. Moreover, role plays focus on interpersonal responses. In other words, outcomes depend on the emotional (and subjective) reactions of the other trainees.

Simulations

A simulation is a training method that represents a real life situation, with trainees' decisions resulting in outcomes that mirror what would happen if they were on the job. They are used to teach production and process skills as well as management and interpersonal skills (e.g. participants are assigned different roles and each of them interacts with other members of the management team. Participants' behavior and interactions in solving the problems described in correspondence are recorded and evaluated. At the conclusion of the simulation, participants are given feedback regarding their performance). A key aspect of simulators is the degree to which they are similar to the equipment and situation that the trainee will encounter on the job. For this reason simulators are expensive to develop and need constant updating as new information about the work environment is obtained.

Energisers

Groupwork exercises for helping people get to know themselves, one another, and the nature of their group.

Ice breakers

Groupwork exercises for helping people get to know themselves, one another, and the nature of their group.

Presentations

Training methods in which trainees are passive recipients of information.

Debates

Debate is a formal method of interactive and position representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, since it includes persuasion, which appeals to the emotional responses of an audience, and rules enabling people to discuss and decide on differences, within a framework defining how they will interact. Informal debate is a common occurrence, but the quality and depth of a debate improves with knowledge and skill of its participants as debaters.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a group creativity technique designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution to a problem. There are four basic rules in brainstorming. These are intended to reduce the social inhibitions that occur in groups and therefore stimulate the generation of new ideas. The expected result is a dynamic synergy that will dramatically increase the creativity of the group.

• Focus on quantity: this rule is a means of enhancing divergent production, aiming to facilitate problem solving through the maxim, quantity breeds quality. The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas generated, the greater the chance of producing a radical and effective solution.
• No criticism: it is often emphasized that in group brainstorming, criticism should be put 'on hold'. Instead of immediately stating what might be wrong with an idea, the participants focus on extending or adding to it, reserving criticism for a later 'critical stage' of the process. By suspending judgment, one creates a supportive atmosphere where participants feel free to generate unusual ideas.
• Unusual ideas are welcome: to get a good and long list of ideas, unusual ideas are welcomed. They may open new ways of thinking and provide better solutions than regular ideas. They can be generated by looking from another perspective or setting aside assumptions. That is why during the brainstorming session the attendance of managers and superiors is strongly discouraged, as it may inhibit and reduce the effect of the four basic rules, especially the generation of unusual ideas.
• Combine and improve ideas: Good ideas can be combined to form a single very good idea. This approach is assumed to lead to better and more complete ideas than merely generating new ideas alone. It is believed to stimulate the building of ideas by a process of association.

The brainstorming method is generally organized in several different phases:

• Definition of the problem: the problem must be clear, not too big, and captured in a definite question.
• Create a background memo: the background memo is the invitation and informational letter for the participants, containing the session name, problem, time, date, and place. The memo is sent to the participants at least two days in advance, so that they can think about the problem beforehand.
• Select participants: the chairman composes the brainstorming panel, consisting of the participants and an idea collector. Ten or fewer group members are generally more productive than larger groups. Many variations are possible but the following composition is suggested:
  • Several core members of the project who have proved themselves;
  • Several guests from outside the project, with affinity to the problem;
  • One idea collector who records the suggested ideas.
• Create a list of lead questions: during the brainstorm session the creativity may decrease. At this moment, the chairman should stimulate creativity by suggesting a lead question to answer, such as Can we combine these ideas? or How about a look from another perspective?. It is advised to prepare a list of such leads before the session begins.