Unit 5005 Meeting stakeholder and quality needs Learning Outcome 1: Be able to identify stakeholders and their requirements

1.1: Determine organisational stakeholders and their expectations: A stakeholder is a person who has a stake in the organisation. Depending on the nature of the organ isation, the nature of stakeholders and their expectations vary. Even within a s ingle organisation the stakeholders can shift drastically from one department to the other. But for any organisation to flourish it will have to stay focused an d meet the needs of its stakeholders. Though organisations vary greatly one comm on factor is that each has a web of external and internal stakeholders whose exp ectations have to be carefully managed. Also the key to a successful manager is; understanding that not all stakeholders want the same things from the organisat ions and hence any conflicts of interest have to be carefully managed. So as a m anager one of the responsibilities he or she has to fulfil is to understand the very essence of the organisation and the nature of its stakeholders and how the organisation communicates with its stakeholders. The success of the organisation depends on the effective communication between the two. Stakeholders are people and people inherently tend to be subjective and hence have a subjective stake in the organisation; making it difficult to identify their expectations. Stakeholde r expectations broadly fall into five key areas of; reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles. For example the following table illustrates d ifferent stakeholders and their expectations for this KTP project, NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page1

The following table illustrates the Stakeholders and their expectations for the KTP Project: KTP Project Stakeholders Company CEO Company Supervisor Company Partners Company Staff Knowledgebase Knowledgebase supervisor KTP Associate Government Local Council Service Users Wider Community Stakeholders Expectations Has time and money invested in the project and would l ike to see how that translates into tangible benefits to the company and whether he is getting the right value. Have his time and his reputation invested in the project and expects to see value for both in return. Expects to see value added to companys reputation and thereby raising their profile and reputation. Value f or their time and ultimate pride in companys reputation. Have time, money and rep utation invested and like the company CEO would like to see tangible benefits in terms of research. Have time and reputation invested and would like to see rese arch and its implementation within the company. Investment of time, reputation a nd aspirations. Expects development opportunities The project is partly funded b y the government and though it is not directly involved in the project has expec tations linked to its success. Benefits from the revenue generated in terms of t ax. Local Council has vested interest in the welfare of the community. In many c ases they are directly funding the services provided by the Housing Association. As the project is Community led, the service users are the first source of info rmation and they will be the first recipients of the product the houses Again a major source of information and the direct recipients of the product. Assignment3S ubmission1 TheAEAGroup NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Page2

Manufacturers and Suppliers Specialist Bodies Have a business interest in the project in terms of the building materials to be used for the final implementation. Like CABE, MADE, Building for Life, BRE, etc . have vested interest in the project and its quality. 1.2: Discuss methods of meeting stakeholder expectations or requirements: As a m anager it is important to understand that it is the perception that counts espec ially the perception of the stakeholders as it affects the organisations reputat ion, credibility and its eventual success. Effective communication is the key to happy stakeholders and a happy you. The message and the communication tool can vary depending on the stakeholder expectations and the nature of their relations hip to the organisation. Hence every manager should have a communication plan to effectively manage the stakeholder expectations and requirements. An effective stakeholder communication plan should follow the following six steps: 1. Identif y the stakeholders This can be done by the stakeholder analysis 2. Prioritise th e stakeholders This can be done by the power/interest grid. Not every stakeholde r has similar interests in the organisation or the project. For example in my pr oject the LMC has very different stake in the project compared to the local comm unities that I work with. 3. Understand key stakeholders Knowing and understandi ng each stakeholder makes it simple for the manager to devise an effective commu nication plan. Depending on 4. Determine what you need from each stakeholder 5. Identify what is the message to be conveyed. 6. Identify the actions to convey t he message NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page3

1.3: Identify methods of communicating stakeholders requirements with team member s: For any manager his or her team is one of the key stakeholders. They are the direct beneficiaries of the teams and organisations success but form an importan t part of delivering that success. Keeping them appropriately aware of stakehold ers expectations and requirements ensures smooth delivery. An effective communic ation strategy for keeping the team informed is: 1. 2. 3. 4. Identify the team P rioritise the team members Identify what is the message to be conveyed Identify the actions to convey the message In my team we have weekly team meetings where everyone is briefed by the manager . Everyones feedback is welcomed and we all feel listened to. Our individual conc erns are addressed by the manager either individually or in the team as appropri ate. Apart from weekly meetings, emails and memos are also a good way of communi cating stakeholder requirements to the team. In certain circumstances where the entire team is not involved a phone call can sort matters out very quickly. 1.4: Explain processes for updating information on stakeholder requirements: Manager s choose to keep the information they have on their stakeholders in very differe nt ways. By recording this knowledge in an accessible format the managers can en sure that the team remains focused on delivering the stakeholders expectations. The recording should follow the what, when, where, how and who list of questions for maintaining up to date information. For the KTP project, an excel spread sh eet was made where the stakeholders were organised, grouped and colour coded acc ording to their priority. All the stakeholders are recorded here with their cont act details and their respective stake in the project and how and when to contac t them. This information has been reviewed regularly and kept up-to-date. As peo ple move jobs and organisations change this exercise proved very useful as I alw ays knew who to contact when. NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page4

Learning Outcome 2: Be able to apply and improve quality standards 2.1: Discuss the meaning of quality to an organisation From an organisations point of view, q uality can be defined as, what an organisation does to ensure customer satisfacti on. Organisations exist to satisfy stakeholder expectations by supplying either a product or a service. The sustained success of the organisation depends on the perceived quality of the product or the service provided. Quality is a relative measure and depends on what the end users value. Quality is difficult to measure in absolute terms but is mostly bench marked by the standards applied to either that product or that service. There are many ways of looking at what constitute s a good quality product and one way to do that is to minimise the margin of err or. Organisations must know what its end users want and value and ensure that th ey deliver the required quality product or service. Usually that means; right th ing at right price on right time and in right place. If the organisation gets th is right than they have a competitive advantage over their rivals. Organisations long-term survival depends on building and sustaining relationships; quality al ong with good customer service is the tool for that purpose. People can buy a go od quality product but the rate of satisfaction depends on the after care. That is where the organisations in a way have a second chance in the unfortunate circ umstance of something going wrong. Quality can become a very competitive tool. Q uality in a product or service is sometimes seen as what the customer gets out o f it and is willing to pay for rather than what the supplier provides. 2.2: Iden tify and apply organisational quality policies and procedures At the advent of t he original quality assurance system known than as BS 5750 there was great confu sion particularly in the construction industry over how a quality control system borne out of manufacturing could apply to the service. Experience since than ha s shown that the only way to apply the quality procedure is to first examine the process map of ones operation. This enables one to identify two things. Firstly where there is a potential for problems to occur thus raising the need to creat e procedures to prevent it. And secondly where there are areas for improvements and change bringing about increased efficiency. Both of these when explored in d etail can form the essence of quality plan or quality manual. The system needs t o be managed properly which must include audits and records. It must not be Nidh iShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page5

a chore or a wholly paper based exercise but more a formalisation of good practi ce embracing existing techniques and procedures. As quality is the most importan t tool for ensuring organisations long-term success, most organisations have set policies and procedures that usually follow set minimum acceptable standards. F or our department we have Key performance indicators (KPIs) that have to be met. We also have procedures that everyone has to follow, like each drawing has to be checked and signed off before being issued and all the comments are logged on t he project planner for everyones benefit. For this KTP project we are aiming for Building for Life gold standard and a commendable design review from MADE, the W est Midlands Design Agency. Once the designs are done to a satisfactory standard set by the Company Supervisor, the drawings (checked and signed off) will be se nt to both agencies and the comments incorporated. On a daily basis we have a di gital as well as physical folder that is kept current everyday with all correspo ndence, meeting notes, and any other relevant information. 2.3: Determine how to encourage staff to contribute ideas to improving quality For most organisations staff is one group of key stakeholders that are involved in most cases in both the delivery and consumption of the end product or the service. They are importa nt resource in terms of knowledge and experience. They mostly offer practical su ggestions that can prove extremely valuable to the organisation. When staff is i nvolved in the decision-making there is a much greater buy-in and hence the prob ability of success is increased as well. There are various ways of engaging staf f and some may prove more successful than others but there is no full proof meth od and the success mostly depends on the management and their handling of the sc heme. The most successful schemes are the ones in which staff feel that their in volvement is valued and acted upon and that the scheme is just not tokenistic. S uccessful schemes can boost staff morale, increase productivity and enhances sta ffs sense of achievement. Some of the ways in which staff can contribute ideas is by meetings, briefings, suggestion box, brain storming etc. At every team meeti ngs everybodys views are actively sought out and we have a dedicated section on t he company website called staff voices where everyone is encouraged by their man agers to contribute. NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page6

2.4: Conduct a quality audit and make recommendations for improvement A quality audit follows predetermined procedures that capture information, record progress and keep track of mile stones. In my organisation, it forms a group of tasks ca lled project manager which are basically guidance notes. It has a group of input s called quality plan that consists of a brief that tells whats happening and it is here that all comments are recorded. There is also a process map to guide and keep the individual project tasks on track. For the purpose of this assignment I will conduct a quality audit of one of my presentation drawing. Firstly the ti tle block is checked to see if the drawing is correctly labelled and signed by t he person creating the drawing. The next thing on the list to be checked is whet her the credits due are appropriately given. Then all the titles on the drawing itself are checked and the scale of the drawing is checked. Lastly the actual dr awing is checked to see if it corresponds to the title block, all the credits an d the titles on the sheet. If any information is found missing or if there is an y mismatch between the information given and the drawing, it is raised with the owner of the drawing who then addresses every concern raised. The drawing is the n checked again before it is issued to the client. NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page7

Learning Outcome 3: Be able to promote continuous improvement and change 3.1: Di scuss the concept of, and need for, continuous improvement Continuous improvemen t is an ongoing activity to develop and upgrade the organisations products and s ervices. There are several internal and external factors that make change inevit able. Continuous improvement is the process by which organisations ensure that t heir services and products are aligned with what consumers want. Continuous impr ovement helps the organisation to survive any external changes like current econ omic recession and ensures its long term future. Lack of continuous improvement may render a product obsolete and the eventual demise of the organisation. No bu siness can develop and grow without an appreciation of improvement. The improvem ent can either be a product or a service or both. If improvement is ignored rega rdless of originality or innovation of the initial business plan the business wi ll stagnate as it is virtually impossible to survive by standing still. Even a b usiness with an outdated product can stave off almost inevitable stagnation by r ebranding and updating the simplest component of the product. When one understan ds the basic survival technique that product improvement provides one needs to m ove on and accept that if the business is to grow faster than by simply reinvent ing itself or its product it must look to adopt a process of continual improveme nt. This expects elements of business to be improved not only in line with perha ps customer feedback but equally importantly in line with technological advances . This enables product or service to adapt to change, become more efficient, bec ome cheaper without compromising quality or delivery and whose services and prod ucts are not just updated but replaced in recognition of their shelf life. 3.2: Assess work activities and identify areas for improvement This KTP project is a research led design project with heavy involvement of the academic supervisor an d has subsequently lacked a separate project status within the company. The comp any supervisor changed and the new supervisor did not attend the supervisors work shop or receive proper briefing from the LMC and has not fully appreciated or un derstood the Knowledge transfer partnership treating it as a student project rat her than a profit making project within the company. This in turn led to lack of proper integration of the associate within the company. The NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page8

academic supervisors input though valuable made the project too academic further alienating the company. The project would benefit strongly in the immediate fut ure by rethinking its methods of communication and making sure that every stakeh older is heard and given their due importance. The formal methods of communicati on, i.e. the monthly meetings and the LMC are not always the best places to show case the grievances and hence a system for informal communication where the comp any culture already does not have one would prove highly valuable. 3.3: Encourag e staff to contribute ideas for continual improvement This bears similarity to s taff encouragements for quality assessments. Please refer to point 2.3 NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page9

Unit 5008 Marketing Planning Learning Outcome 1: Be able to understand the meaning and role of marketing in a chievement of organisational objectives 1.1: Explain marketing as a management p rocess According to CMI marketing is, a management process responsible for identi fying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. Traditionall y companies existed in response to a consumer demand, where marketing was more a bout creating more demand. But in recent times there is a change in the way the companies do business, where marketing is not just the sole responsibility of th e traditional marketing department but sees the entire organisation involved in the marketing process. Marketing now is more about managing the exchange between the company and the consumers rather than selling. Marketing is now used by com panies to ensure that the level of demand is appropriate in achieving organisati onal objectives within the available resources. It is more about managing consum er expectations and ensuring that there is no gap between the demand and the sup ply. 1.2: Describe the role of marketing in identifying and predicting the needs of current and potential stakeholders Organisations need accurate understanding of their stakeholders to allow efficient decision making regarding their produc ts and services. Marketing is the process that allows appropriate exchange betwe en the company and the stakeholders hence allowing the company to gain the requi red understanding of the stakeholders wants and needs. Through marketing the comp any can raise awareness of its activities and gather valuable data on how the co mpany is perceived by the stakeholder and what the stakeholder really wants. For example early on in the KTP project I had organised consultation events by dire ctly contacting our current tenant base. The event raised awareness of the proje ct and companys interest among its direct customers. As the event was arranged wi th the view to provide a platform for the customers to raise their concerns and give suggestions on housing designs, it helped the company in gaining valuable k nowledge in what the customers needs and were. Hence a single marketing event al lowed us to identify the current consumer needs and predict what the future tren d would be in the housing design industry. NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page10

Learning Outcome 2: Be able to identify the organisations current and future posi tion in the sectors or markets in which it operates 2.1: Discuss the current pos ition of the organisation within its chosen sector or market Ashram Housing Asso ciation works in the most deprived inner-city neighbourhoods with constantly cha nging demography, in areas like Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Small Heath, Washwood Hea th, Bordesley Green and Nechells in Birmingham and Foleshill in Coventry. These communities fall within the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. Ash ram houses a relatively young and diverse tenant group in its general needs hous ing with one third of tenants being single parents. Nearly 2/3 of Ashrams tenant s are from BME background with more than half being of Asian origin. 2/5 of tena nts households include someone with long term illness or disability. Only 1/5 of the tenants are economically active with over 50% reliant upon state benefits. S ince 2005 onwards Ashram has been the founding member of Matrix Housing Partners hip which secured Housing Corporation, now HCAs Investment Partner Status. Today Ashrams general needs housing stock stands at 1200 units and by 2012 Ashram aims to acquire at least 2000 units. 2.2: Determine a future market or sector positio n for the organisation in line with organisational objectives Ashrams core objec tives are: Making a Difference Excellence through Innovation Putting People Firs t Committed to Communities The three pie diagrams suggest that from 1991 to 2026 there is a reduction in the white population by one third but the Pakistani, Ba ngladeshi and the other (Mixed Race) there is almost three times increase. We ha ve no data on New and Emerging Communities especially from Europe as they would cl ass themselves as white. White 1991 Caribbean African Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese Other NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page11

White Caribbean African 2001 Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese Other White Caribbean African Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese Other 2006 The changing demography of West Midlands means that Ashram with its specialist k nowledge is a key player regionally as well as nationally. The population projec tions suggest that the overall population is going to be more and more diverse w ith ethnic groups like Pakistani and Bangladeshi population trebling by 2025. Th ere will be significant rise in the mixed race population as well. The projectio ns also suggest that BME elderly population is going to rise by one and a half t imes the present. By 2025 the BME population under the age of 16 is going to cro ss the 65% mark and Pakistani population under the age of 16 would be 30% of the total population. Hence in the short term we will see a surge in the elderly BM E population but in the long run there is a projected rise of the young BME popu lation. This also means that over the next two decades there is a significant ri se in young families needing affordable housing. Ashram is in the right place to provide both affordable housing to young families and elderly population. In fa ct through the KTP project, Ashram is the market leader in providing culturally appropriate and innovative housing solutions to its customer base in line with i ts core objectives. 2.3: Identify other parts of the organisation which are impacted and involved in a future market or sector plan Ashram Housing Association offers other speciali sed services like extra care facilities for elderly from ethnic groups, mental h ealth support and support for domestic violence. These services will be affected by current and future market and will have to be involved in writing a combined and coherent marketing strategy for Ashram. NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page12

Learning Outcome 3: Be able to devise and implement a marketing plan that contri butes to achievement of organisational objectives 3.1: Construct a marketing pla n that supports current market or sector and targets potential new markets or se ctors Different communities will be approached through the KTP project and commu nity consultations to be organised to gather relevant market data on community n eeds and aspirations around housing. The consultations will also be an important platform to spread awareness of Ashrams KTP initiative and its leading the way in the sector to provide culturally appropriate housing. By directly approaching the communities in this way Ashram will not only have access to raw data first hand but also let its customer base know of what is about to come in terms of a new housing product in the market. The consultations can be carried out with pri or permission in the community centres that the people visit and gather at there by keeping the cost of the consultations to nil. Ashrams monthly news letter wil l also carry periodical updates on the KTP project to inform and maintain the in terest of Ashrams existing customer base. By doing this we are also relying on s preading the word of mouth in different communities that the existing customers subscribe to thereby increasing the customer base. Other people from across the West Midlands region will be allowed to register interest with Ashram in the new house types. In this way we will be able to gauge the demand of this new house types in the whole region. Again as this is something that ashram does anyway on a monthly basis the costs to the KTP project for publishing in the newsletter w ill be nil. Like the monthly newsletter Ashrams website can have a dedicated sect ion on the project where the research can be logged and progress updated. This w ill help keep the Company as well as other stakeholders and interested parties i nformed of the project and its progress. As soon as the house types are ready in dividual presentations can be organised to showcase the project and the work don e. These presentations can be targeted to specific stakeholders like the Homes a nd Communities Agency, Local pathfinder agencies, Local Authorities, other Housi ng Associations and private developers to share the knowledge learnt, market the housing product and in return secure some funding or sponsorship to carry the p roject forward. Towards the end of the project a cross cultural international co nference should be organised for knowledge transfer. It will also allow differen t cultural NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page13

communities as well as important stakeholders to see new house types and gain in sights into a different design process that revolves around the customers needs and aspirations. This will also be a good opportunity for the Company and the Un iversity to raise their profile internationally and advertise the pioneering wor k that they would have accomplished in this sector. 3.2: Evaluate the support ne cessary to implement the plan For the community consultations I will have to spe ak to various community organisations and organise the events. I will have to re ly on the administrative staff at Ashram to help me with this. The administrator will have to liaise with the community groups and the organisations and myself to find a suitable date and time. They will have to then get attendance confirma tion from the people attending and make sure they get the agenda before the cons ultation event is to take place. For publication in the monthly newsletter I wil l have to liaise with the marketing manager who is in charge of the newsletter. I will have to make sure that I send regular updates to the manager in time for it to be published. I have already asked the manager to send me the dates of new sletter publications and the due dates for entries to be in that publication. I will aim at bimonthly updates on the KTP project. For the website I will have to speak to our group web manager and see if it would be possible to have a dedica ted section on the website for the KTP project. For organising the presentations to the external stakeholders I will have to acquire the contacts from the compa ny CEO and my company supervisor. I will than have to write to them or contact t hem over the phone to arrange the presentations. I will need the support of the administrative staff. In some cases the CEO or the company supervisor will have to make contact with the respective person themselves, in which case I may have to follow it through. The conference needs a bit more organisation and the staff that will be involved in organising it has been identified at this stage. The K TP budget has no funds for organising such event hence external sponsorship or f unding is needed. Ashrams fundraising officer has been identified for this task. 3.3: Implement the marketing plan Seventeen community consultations have been o rganised over the next six months with the help of the companys administrative st aff. Couple of citizen journalists have been recruited with the help of housing and HR staff to help facilitate NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page14

the consultation events. One of the administrative staff has been asked to be pr esent and record the events for future reference. The newsletter deadlines have been put in the calendar with reminders set for two weeks before every deadline. The KTP project and an update on it have already been published. Regular update s will now be published every two months. A dedicated webpage for the KTP projec t has been set up on the website which is now being continuously updated. User f eedback on the website is encouraged for content as well as the website design a nd changes acknowledged and incorporated with every update. Concept presentation have been organised and delivered with the Local Authority, the Homes and Commu nities Agency and the local path finder Urban Livings developers forum. This was d one with the help of the academic supervisor and was very well received. Some li nks have been made and I am currently talking to some experts in the field to co me and speak at the conference which is planned to take place towards the end of this project. The company supervisor and the academic supervisor have come forw ard with their contacts and I am talking to all to decide the agenda and the con tent of the conference. I am trying to develop a network of people working in th e same or similar area as mine in the housing design sector. 3.4: Assess the pro gress of the plan, through monitoring, reviewing and end evaluation, in the achi evement of organisational objectives: Once the community consultations were orga nised the administrative staff followed it up to ensure the events took place sm oothly. The data gathered at these events was recorded and analysed at every mon thly meeting with the company and the academic supervisors. Everything from the appropriateness of the consultation events as the right tools for data gathering to the approach implemented during the consultations and the data content was d ebated and evaluated at these meetings. In some cases the whole method of the co nsultation had to be tailor-made to suit the communities being consulted. I star ted adding more visuals and images to the consultations with remarkable results. Had I not been evaluating the data continuously I would not have added the visu als and in some communities where English was not their primary language the qua lity of the data would have suffered. By organising these consultation events an d by incorporating the findings in the design process I have tackled all Ashrams objectives of Making a Difference, Excellence through Innovation, Putting Peopl e first, and Committed to Communities. We aim to make a real difference to the l ives of the communities we work with. NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 AGroup Page15

The KTP project and its update has been on the website and in the newsletter oft en enough to keep everyone interested but without giving away any details for th e copyright reasons. This has been really successful as I have had many enquires about the project from within the group and from our customer base. Many people have sent in their comments and they have been very useful and have been incorp orated towards improving the final end product. The concept presentations to the Homes and Communities Agency and the development forum were received very well and the company is now actively talking with the local authority and the HCA to pilot the new house types on some of the upcoming schemes. We are also trying to partner with some private developers and see our new house types built on some of their sites. The idea of contacting these external agencies to partner and re ceive funding and sponsorship hence has been successful. With the conference tha t is still to take place the evaluation at this stage is a bit premature but by judging from the success of the other activities and on reviewing the response t hus received form the persons contacted I have no doubt that the conference will be very well attended and successful. It will achieve its primary objective of sharing the knowledge and provide a platform for the company and the university to showcase their partnership and the innovation in housing design thus achieved . NidhiShah CMINo:4144932 Assignment3Submission1 TheAEAGroup Page16