Diploma of School Business Management

Reflective Log

1 Purpose

The purpose of the Reflective Log is to provide you with a record of your thoughts, observations, ideas and reflections as you work through the programme. You can use the Log to record:

a) Reflections on activities carried out at the three phase workshops

b) The outcomes of any Module Activities you complete

c) Reflections on online discussions conducted through ‘My Groups and Discussions’

d) Comments/feedback from your mentor

You will find these reflections useful when you come to complete the assessment task for the module.Most of the Module Activities have a clear link to the assessment task. By completing the activities as you work through a module, you will be building up some of the knowledge and information that you will need to fulfil the assessment requirements. By regularly reflecting upon what you have read or investigated, you will be developing your ability to provide evidence against the ‘Analysis, reflection and personal learning’ assessment criteria.

Assessment criteria: Analysis, reflection and personal learning

This area focuses on the ability of you to manage your own professional learning, reflect on experience, develop insights into yourself, and take action to enhance your competency through the programme. It also covers your ability to make effective decisions, exercise sound judgement and make ethical choices in your professional practice.

a) The assessment task at phase 5 (reproduced in the box) asks you to produce a personal statement about the impact of the DSBM programme on you and your school, which will then form the basis of a 30 minutes discussion with an assessor. You will find it much easier to complete this task if you record your thoughts as you progress through the programme, rather than trying to recall everything you have done at the very end.

2

Phase 5 Assessment

Phase Five of the programme involves completion on an assessment ‘module’, although there is no taught content related to this. The assessment involves a personal statement and interview, conducted via WebEx. The statement and interview focus on:

Your progression through the programme and completion of the previous phases;

Gains in terms of your professional competency and study skills;

Reflections on the lessons you have learned and your personal development;

The impact on the school in terms of its performance, efficiency, systems and cultures

Your knowledge and understanding of the profession of school business management and your changing role as an SBM; and

Your plans for further professional development and career progression

Additional Notes

1. We recommend that you complete, and store, the Reflective Log electronically until you have completed each module, and then print it off and store in a file.

2. You should keep any diagnostics you complete in your Reflective Log.

3. You are not expected to complete all of the Activities. You should choose those which you feel are likely to be of greatest benefit to you.

4. You may wish to store newspaper articles, extracts from websites etc in your Reflective Log.

5. Your Reflective Log is your personal possession. It does not have to be handed in, nor will your facilitator ask to see it (although he/she may give you guidance as to which Activities he/she thinks you should complete). The Reflective Log is not part of the assessment requirements for the programme.

6. We would advise that you record your thoughts and comments as notes rather than continuous prose.

3

Diploma of School Business Management

Phase 2 Module 1: Personal Effectiveness

Reflections

4

Activity 1.1: Reviewing your leadership and management

Click on the link below to take you to the Leadership and Management survey.When you have completed the survey reflect upon the outcomes in the space below.http://plpsh.ncsl.org.uk/sumtotal75/data/20091014_084855_8723/web_content/m1_personal_effectiveness/docs/Activity_PE1.pdf

5

Activity 1.2: Sources of power (part one)

Pedlar argues that there are various sources of power. In doing so, he is offering us an analytical tool, which allows us to analyse organisations. Analytical tools are helpful because they provide us with a method for looking at organisations/individuals and to break down complex activities in order to understand them better. There are two parts to this activity. Firstly, you will use Pedlar’s framework to analyse your organisation. Secondly, you will reflect on the usefulness of this analytical tool.

a) The sources of your personal power. In column 2 you should provide a rank order of your sources of power (i.e. if you think your power comes from your ‘personal influence’ this should be ranked ‘1’ etc). You should add a comment to explain your choice of rank for each item.b) Which power sources are most frequently used to be influential in your organisation? In column 3 you should rank your organisation as to which types of power appears to be exercised most frequently (for example, if you believe that most decisions are made outside of formal meetings, you might rank ‘Networks and gossip’ as ‘1’).

Source of power My Personal Ranking and comment My Organisation

Positional – status related

Resources and rewards

Knowledge and expertise

Personal influence

Networks and gossip

Energy and stamina

Activity 1.3: Sources of power (part two)

Now consider how useful Pedlar’s model is. You may wish to consider the following questions:

a) How easy was it to understand, e.g. is it clear what he means by each of the six different sources of power?

b) Did the model actually work, i.e. did you find it reasonably straightforward to apply it to your situation? Do you think it is likely to work equally well/badly in other

situations? Why is this?c) Has the model helped you to understand the sources of ‘power’ in your

organisation better?d) Has the model provided you with any ‘new’ learning about yourself or

your

6

organisation?e) What are the limitations of the model? For example, are there other

sources of power Pedlar doesn’t identify? Does he over simplify a complex activity?

7

Activity 1.4: Johari Window

Complete either (or both) of Pane 2 or Pane 3 of the Johari window. Use the outcomes to help you determine your personal development needs and reflect upon them in your Reflective Log.

Known to self Not known to self

Known to others

1. Arena 2. Blind Spot

Not known to others

3. Facade 4. Unknown

8

9

Activity 1.5: Influencing skills

Choose one of the influencing skills from column 1 in figure 1.6 that you would like to develop (you may wish to refer back to your diagnostic to identify a skill). Next, spend some time considering the question raised in column 2 (for example, if you have chosen assertiveness from column 1, you may wish to consider how you will ‘say “no” clearly and firmly without causing offence’). It may help to carry out some research into possible strategies or to talk to someone you know who is particularly skilled in this area. When you are confident that you can put into practice what is required – do it. So, if you chose assertiveness, the next time you are in a position that requires you to be assertive try the strategies. Finally, make a note of the outcomes below.

10

Activity 1.6: EthicsThe link below will take you to a newspaper article on a recent high profile case involving alleged professional misconduct or unethical behaviour.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/4316886/Superhead-guilty-of-professional-misconduct.html

Read the article carefully. What could you do as an SBM to prevent this occurring in your school? You should consider, not just systems and processes, but also how you might seek to create an ethical culture.

11

Activity 1.7: Codes of conduct

The need to behave and act ethically is often stated or implied in a school’sprofessional professional code of conduct(s). Carry out a short investigation into the guidance on ethical matters your organisation currently provides to:

a) Support staffb) Teaching staffc) Governors

For each group identify:a) Relevant documentsb) The areas of professional conduct they cover.

Are there any significant differences between what is provided for each group? If the answer is yes, why do you think this is the case?

12

Activity 1.8: Time management (1)

Peer ReflectionContact one of your peers on the programme and compare your current stage of development. Discuss which ‘generation’ of time manager you are. Suggest strategies for improving your performance in each ‘generation’.

Activity 1.9: Time management (2)

13

To find out what or who steals your time,. Jones (2005) offers the following self assessment chart. Complete the chart and then commit yourself to action. Write brief notes in your Reflective log reflecting the outcomes of your self evaluation.

a) What are your biggest ‘time-wasters’?b) What are you going to do about them?

Choose one of your ‘time-wasters’ and for the next fortnight focus on reducing thetime you log because of it. When the fortnight is finished, write down how successful you were belowin your Reflective Log. Then consider what further steps you might take to improve your time management. See following page.

Activity 1.9: Time management (continued)

14

Almost always

true

Frequently

trueSometimes

trueAlmostnever true

The telephone constantly interrupts me and the conversations are usually longer than they need to be

Numerous visitors from outside or within the school often keep me from carrying out my work

Meetings frequently last much longer than planned, with little in the way of satisfactory outcomes for me

I usually put off weighty tasks because I can’t seem to concentrate for long enough

I lack priorities and I try to perform too many tasks at once - I can’t seem to concentrate on what’s important

I can only meet my schedules and deadlines under pressure - something unexpected always comes up

There is too much paperwork, which means that my desk is never orderly or tidy

There is often too little communication with others resulting in delayed information and understandings

Delegation of tasks almost never works out - I end up taking care of things myself

It is difficult for me to say no when others ask me to do things

I don’t have any clear professional or personal goals, so I don’t see much meaning in what I do every day

15

Sometimes I lack the necessary self-discipline to carry outwhat I had planned to do

Activity 1.10: Time management (3)

Congratulations if you are already a great time manager. If you think, however, that you would like/need to manage your time more effectively, try Jones’ LEAD strategy for one week. (You might also consider reading Fiore’s (2007) ‘The Now Habit’ which has many useful strategies and ideas for avoiding procrastination.) During the week you should make a determined effort to follow the recommended processes recommended. At the end of the week reflect back:

Did you achieve more than normal? Consider how stressed you felt this week - was it any different to previous

weeks? (You may, of course, never suffer from stress!) Can you manage time, or does it manage you?

Record your thoughts below.

16

Activity 1.11: Delegation (1)

To help you arrive at your own view of what is meant by delegation, consider the following arguments. With which do you most strongly agree?

Delegating eases the strain on me as a manager and creates time for more important tasks.

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Delegating helps me exploit the specialised knowledge and experience of others.

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Delegating helps to promote and develop the abilities, initiative, self reliance and competence of others.

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Delegating has a positive effect on the motivation and job satisfaction of others.

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

17

Activity 1.12: Delegation (2)

Think about the colleagues you manage in your workplace and their potential using Table 1.6 ‘Team members’ disposition matrix’ to categorise them.

As a result of this analysis, what scope do you feel you have for delegating greater responsibility to team members? (If you work in a very small school, there will inevitably be less scope to do this. Nevertheless you could consider the scope for using other people to assist you in your role).

Identify one team member to whom you would like to delegate greater responsibility. Make a note of the strategies you could use to achieve this goal in your Reflective Log. You should ensure that the team member is anonymised and only referred to by role.

Disposition Colleague

18

19

Activity 1.13: Delegation (3)

Create your own personal delegation action plan. Your plan should identify:

a) Task to be delegatedb) Person who will take responsibilityc) Desired/expected outcomesd) Details of negotiation or briefing to be undertaken with the delegatee) Support to be providedf) Details of progress monitoring and review

At the end of the process, write a reflective commentary below: in your Reflective Log.

20

Activity 1.14: Managing stress

What are the main causes of stress in your organisation and how do you compare to colleagues?

Part 1Reflect upon what staff in your school say about stress in the workplace. Then, complete column 2 in the table by ranking your school on a 1-5 scale using the following descriptors:

21

1. Not an issue for my school - rarely, if ever mentioned2. From time to time this is seen as an issue, but these occasions are infrequent3. Comments are made quite often by some, but not all staff4. This is a regular cause for concern, and it is often expressed in meetings and private

conversations5. There is evidence that this is causing/has caused some individuals to suffer from ill health,

absence

In making your judgements you should consider the frequency with which staff refer to stress and the level of concern expressed when the topic is raised (i.e. is it individuals ‘sounding off’ after a bad day or is it more deep-seated?)

Part 2When you have completed the exercise for your school, contact a colleague on the programme and exchange notes. (This activity may be facilitated through a WebEx conversation.)

Part 3Reflect upon your analysis and discussions in your Reflective Log. Identify one thing you could do to reduce stress within your organisation. Put this into practice for one month, then write a brief commentary on the impact of your actions. Please see table below.

Causes of Stress My School - what staff say Peer’s SchoolA poor physical working

environmentExcessive working time and

workloadInternal politics

Excessive bureaucracy

A blame culture

Low public esteemIncreasingly difficult

parents, students and other stakeholders

Ofsted and other inspections

Lack of control over the job

22

Activity 1.15: Effective meetings

Reflect back on a meeting you have either managed or attended recently. Now assess the quality of the meeting against the criteria above then decide what actions could be taken to make these meetings more productive:

Positives Areas for development

Before

During

After

Actions to improve the productivity of these meetings:

23

Activity 1.16: Using the Hindle model

Use Hindle’s model to analyse the effectiveness of a presentation you have recently seen; determine how you might improve it. Record your suggestions below.

24

Diploma of School Business Management

Phase 2 Module 2: Leading and Managing Teams

Reflections

25

26

Activity 2.1: Team roles and purpose

Use Wenger and Synder’s classification (reproduced below) to analyse four of the various groups that exist in your school. This can be a useful exercise because it makes us reconsider the role and purpose of groups which may be taken for granted and not always clearly stated.

Team Formal workgroup

Community ofPractise

Informalnetwork

Name of Group (e.g. SLT, RewardsWorking group)What’s the purpose?

Who belongs?

What holds it together?

How long does it last?Which of the four groups you have chosen is most effective at achieving its purpose?Why is this?

27

28

Activity 2.2: Assessing team effectiveness

Jones has provided us with a list of the characteristics of effective teams. Think about a team you are a member of and grade its performance using the following descriptors:

1. Weak feature, missing entirely2. Some evidence of this, but not seen often enough3. Occurs frequently, but room for improvement4. An outstanding feature, occurs frequently

In the final column you should identify the evidence that supports your choice ofgrading. Write a brief commentary on the outcomes in your Reflective Log.

Characteristic Grade EvidenceStrong and purposeful leadershipPrecise goals and objectivesInformed decision makingDecisive action

Free communicationMix of skills and techniquesClear targets for team membersBalance of team members

29

Activity 2.3: Using a model to analyse team performance

Think of a team with whom you are currently working. Choose either the Truckman or Blanchard of the model ands use it to analyse the performance of this team.

Activity 2.4: What type of team member are you?

30

a) Is your school/team a risk taker or a risk avoider? Use the diagnostic below to inform your judgement.

b) Is it better to be a risk taker or risk avoider?

Discuss the outcomes with your group in your online discussion group.

31

Activity 2.5: Does pay motivate?

If we accept Herzberg’s theory it has important implications for school business managers. He argues that pay, so often a topic of discussion in work places, does not necessarily motivate people to work harder, achieve more etc (although poor levels of pay can demotivate them). One of the ways to test theories in the social sciences is to see if they fit with our own perceptions i.e. does the theory fit with our experience of the world. Reflect upon your experience in this area, then post your comments on My Network and engage in discussion with other course members.

32

Activity 2.6: Motivating team members

How do you motivate the members of your team?Consider each of the following:

Achievement Recognition Job interest Responsibility Advancement and growth

To what extent do you currently use each of these as a motivator? What opportunities are there for using one of these motivators more frequently. Can you identify an individual(s) who would be most likely to respond positively to this motivator?

33

Activity 2.7 Ethical considerations

In Module 1 we discussed some of the ethical issues SBMs must deal with in their role. What ethical issues can arise because of the need to motivate individuals to achieve higher levels of performance?

34

Activity 2.8: Feedback

a) Reflect on an occasion when you were given feedback on your performance that was developmental and led to a change in your behaviour. Write down what the person giving you the feedback said or did. Try to recall as much detail as possible, for example exact phrases that were used, the tone of voice, opportunities for you to contribute, the organisation of the room etc. Now repeat the exercise for an occasion when the experience was less positive i.e. write down what the person giving the feedback said and did.

a) Use the model for effective feedback as a guide next time you have to give feedback to someone. If your Reflective Log record how effective you were. You can do this by checking your performance against the checklist below. Afterwards, write a brief commentary in your Reflective Log.

Feedback Behaviours An example of when I did/did not dothis during the feedback session

Being descriptive rather than evaluative. Ensure that the team member knows what you are both talking about.Being specific. When giving positive feedback this identifies positive behaviours you would wish to see built upon. When commenting on less desirable behaviours, this gives the team member clarity about what aspect of their performance they need to change.“Own the feedback- use” I statements

Check understanding frequently- has the team member ‘heard’ what you said? Did you say what you meant to say?Offer alternatives. This is especially important when giving negative feedback. By offering a possible alternative you may well prompt the team member to do likewise.Summarise. Even in informal feedback, summarizing at the end of a feedback session helps both to clarify understanding and also underpins next steps.

35

36

Activity 2.9: Fierce conversations

Reflect on an actual situation in which a colleague is underperforming. Use Scott’s model to produce your own 60 second sentence using the 7 step model. The model is reproduced below to help you.

7 Steps Your SentenceName the issue. I would like to talk to you about…

Give one specific example. Where did you…

Confess your emotion. I feel…

Say what you feel is at stake. I am concerned that this will…

Confess what part you are responsible for

I am responsible for…

Say “I want to resolve this with you”. I want to…

Invite the person to have their say. Would you like to…

37

Activity 2.10: Performance management

How would you set about fully integrating PM for support staff into the overall policies and systems of your school or setting for example, how you link it to the School Improvement Plan, training plan, annual calendar etc?

a) Would all support staff be subject to the same policy and procedures?

b) How would you decide who were to be reviewers, how many staff can they review in one year, what training would they need?

c) Closely identify the skills needed by reviewers (“fierce conversations?”) and say how you would plan suitable training to meet these needs

d) How can you ensure the outputs of support staff PM work to ‘add to maximizing desired pupil outcomes against the ECM agenda’?

38

Diploma of School Business Management

Phase 2 Module 3: Stakeholder engagement

Reflections

39

Activity 3.1: Mapping the school’s interactions with its stakeholders

Start by producing an updated checklist of the stakeholders in your own school. You might like to map them in different ways as internal and external, central or peripheral, influential or marginal, then complete the table as below:

Stakeholder groupTr

ansa

ctio

nal

Dev

elop

men

tal

Acco

unta

ble

Observations

Parents of preschool children Local church

Insert the various stakeholder groups into the left-hand column as shown above.

Insert a tick to classify the kind of interactions you have with that stakeholder group.You may find yourself putting ticks into all the cells.

Then add some observations in the column on the right-hand side about the general nature of the school’s interactions with that group of stakeholders.

40

Activity 3.2: Analysing the changing patterns of interaction with stakeholders

Use column 2 to describe some specific examples of such initiatives in your school Use column 3 to summarise the changes that each example has had on the

school’s relationships with its stakeholders

Emerging Patterns of

InteractionExamples from my school

settingImpact on

relationshipswith stakeholders

As a provider of extendedservices

As an agency of social

change

As a key player in local

children’s and young

peoples’ plans (CYPPs)

As a school seeking to

address the socioeconomicdisadvantage

and under-achievement of

pupils

As a partner with private

companies

41

As part of a collaborative

arrangement with other

schools

Activity 3.3: Viewing stakeholders as customersCustomers or clients

Think about your school’s approach to viewing stakeholders as customers. How effectively does the school listen to the views of each of the following groups? To what extent does it systematically analyse their needs and wants? Complete the table below, and then summarise your findings and reflections on these.

Customer group Listen to views? Analyse needs and wants?

external customers

internal customers – employees governors and directors

suppliers

partners

government

society at large

recruitment. Where does it devote most of its resources, time and energy - your potential consumers (pupils) or your potential customers (parents)?

42

Activity 3.4: Core purpose of the school

What is the core purpose of your school?

a) It is possible you will get many different answers according to which stakeholder group you consult. In the table below note down what, in your experience, each of the stakeholder groups would be most likely to say.

43

Stakeholder The school’s core purpose is…..PupilParentTeacherHead teacherLocal AuthorityCentral GovernmentLocal churchesLocal employerSBMSocial services

b) Reflect on these ‘responses’ and the issues they raise. Write 200- 300 words giving your response to the following questions:1. Is it possible for a school to have more than one core purpose?2. Who should decide what that core purpose should be?3. What is the core purpose of your school? How do you know?

44

Activity 3.5: Evaluating your own school’s marketing orientation

Use the table above as the framework for evaluation of your school’s orientation towards marketing, stakeholder partnerships and customer relationship management. You can use the criteria as the basis for your own personal evaluation, drawing on your own knowledge and understanding of current systems and processes. Or, you could involve others in the process too: to compare their perceptions with your own. Either way, use the table as follows:

Draw up a four-point scale for the evaluation of each criterion. Evaluate each statement as follows:

Yes - strongly agree with this statement – wholly true for our schoolYes – some agreement with this statement – partly true for our schoolNo – limited agreement with this statement – not really true for our schoolNo – no agreement with this statement – definitely not true for our school

You can show the results of your evaluation as a simple profile diagram like this:

45

Criterion Strong development

Moderate development

Limited development

Nodevelopment

Attitude of Mind

1234567

Organisational Systems

1234567

Marketing Activities

1234567

Tools and techniques

1234567Write a concluding paragraph summarising your observations. What conclusions do you draw from this exercise? What are the school’s key strengths in terms of its marketing orientation?

What are the school’s current weaknesses? What view do you have about the priorities for development?

46

Activity 3.6: The marketing mix

a) Review your school’s current marketing activity using the ‘7 Ps’ model.

The Mix

What we do……..Give specific activities of

the types ofthing you do in each

category

How well do we do it…..?What is effective?

What is not effective?What is your evidence?

Price

47

Place

Product

Promotion

Process

People

Physical evidence

b) O Write two hundred words outlineing which of the seven ‘ingredients’ in the marketing mix you feel your school most needs to focus upon improving.

48

49

Activity 3.7: CRM in the not-for-profit sector

Review the quote from Buttle. He suggests that schools could replace 3 words from his definition to make it applicable to schools. Think about your school. What words might you substitute for:

Business? Customers? Profit?

50

Activity 3.8: Assessing your school’s image

How would you describe your school’s brand image? Does your school focus on a particular market segment? If so what is this ‘segment? How does your school seek to differentiate itself from other schools?

Activity 3.9: Using data to support CRM activity in schools

51

How does your school use the information it gathers on stakeholders to support its CRM activities?How might it improve its use of data to support CRM activities?

52