ACCOUNTS AND BUDGET SUPPORT

Level-III

Learning Guide-23
Unit of Competence: Lead small team
Module Title: Leading small teams
LG Code: BUF ACB3 29 0220 MO22 LO1-LG-23
TTLM Code: BUF ACB3 23 M023 TTLM 0220v4

LO3.Monitor and evaluate workplace learning

 Instruction Sheet Learning Guide #1

This learning guide is developed to provide you the necessary information regarding the
following content coverage and topics:

 Provide team leadership

 Assign responsibilities
 Set performance expectations for team members
 Supervised team performance

Records and reports of Competence are maintained within organizational requirement

This guide will also assist you to attain the learning outcome stated in the cover page.
Specifically, upon completion of this Learning Guide, you will be able to:

 . Provide team leadership

 Assign responsibilities
 Set performance expectations for team members
 Supervised team performance

Learning Instructions:
1. Read the specific objectives of this Learning Guide.
2. Follow the instructions described below 3 to 6.
3. Read the information written in the information “Sheet 1, Sheet 2, Sheet 3 and Sheet
4”.
4. Accomplish the “Self-check 1, Self-check t 2, Self-check 3 and Self-check 4” in page
-6, 9, 12 and 14 respectively.
5. If you earned a satisfactory evaluation from the “Self-check” proceed to “Operation
Sheet 1, Operation Sheet 2 and Operation Sheet 3 ” in page -15.
6. Do the “LAP test” in page – 16 (if you are ready).
 Instruction Sheet Monitor and evaluate workplace learning

3.1. Using feedback from individuals or teams.

Monitor and evaluate workplace learning and development| 360-degree feedback: This review
mechanism consists of performance data generated from a number of sources and almost always
includes those staff to which the individual reports, their peer group, their staff and, in
appropriate circumstances, their customers. This approach typically includes a self-assessment
using a common process to allow the individual’s own perceptions of their performance to be
compared with the other assessing groups. | Performance Development Reviews (PDRs): The
process aims to help staff and their managers/supervisors to achieve the best results by: *
Identifying the individual work objectives that are most important in achieving the unit’s and the
University’s strategic goals * Ensuring a sustainable workload * Setting development goals that
meet the staff member’s job and career goals and which help to provide the University with a
highly skilled and flexible workforce.

In traditional performance appraisals the manager and employee evaluate the employee’s
strengths and weaknesses. In a 360-degree performance appraisal, feedback is gathered from
supervisors, peers, staff, other colleagues and sometimes clients. The results of an appraisal can
be used to identify areas for further development of the employee . Have employers/supervisors
conduct monthly checks with group managers and discuss current status of groups-
information such as behavioral aspects, work quality & efficiency & individual member analysis.

We have been assigned to solve the problems and are keen to change the way the company
works in order to better the company as a whole. There have been problems in the staff such as
low morale, low efficiency and etc. The management of the company is also suffering from poor
and out dated leadership techniques. This company’s staff and management has not been
reviewed and updated since the 1970s and must be done as soon as possible if this company is to
continue to operate. This is a growing concern as the company has entered its first year with a
loss in profit.

To the 21st century with improved individual skills & team development, & better company
performance. The organization is still living in the past and thus has suffered in the market
greatly, staff morale & efficiency are at an all-time low, the majority of staff are well over 50
years old, and are unfamiliar with the new modern technical age. The majority of managers are
performing appallingly, which in turn is affecting employee morale, productivity as well as
negatively affecting the overall working environment. To counter these problems I will attempt
to implement new management/operational methods and improved leadership performance
& skills, while tending to each employee individually to improve their skill set & value to the
company.

* Sharing feedback about achievements and problems so that the staff member and their
supervisor/manager can
* identify and address issues that impede progress

Performance appraisal

* Performance appraisals are partly evaluation and partly developmental.

As a leader, one of the greatest gifts you can give your team members is honest feedback — and
contrary to what you might think, it doesn’t necessarily have to be positive. Studies have found
that an employee’s preference for the type of feedback they receive — positive versus negative
(or constructive) — may vary according to their experience level. While positive feedback can
be a confidence booster, negative feedback may be more valuable to employees with higher
levels of proficiency looking to step up their game.

One fact is certain: Meaningful employee feedback increases employee engagement. In fact, according

to a Gallup report, employees would prefer to receive negative feedback than no feedback at all. An
employee who is ignored by a manager is twice as likely to be actively disengaged at work as an
employee whose manager focuses on his or her weaknesses, according to the report. Likewise, receiving
feedback from employees can offer valuable insights that can help leaders become stronger and more
efficient in their roles.

6 STRATEGIES TO DELIVER EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK

Feedback can motivate individuals and teams; facilitate the resolution to a specific challenge;
open lines of communication; foster employees’ professional development; and increase
employee engagement. The way in which you provide feedback to employees has a tremendous
impact on its effect. These strategies can help you deliver feedback that is both powerful and
productive.

1. Time it right — Feedback comes in many forms; while the annual performance review is
usually held at a specific corporate-mandated time, many other opportunities for delivering
feedback crop up throughout the year. Grab them! Feedback is generally most effective when it
is delivered when the event or issue is fresh in both parties’ memory. One caveat: It is not wise to
vent anger under a veil of “providing feedback.” When negative emotions are running high, it is
usually best to allow yourself ample time to cool down before meeting with an employee to
ensure a productive feedback session.

2. Prepare — Employees take feedback seriously, and so should you. Take the time to prepare
for a feedback session as you would any other important meeting. Use facts, examples and
statistics to substantiate your references to particularly outstanding work on the positive side, or
to issues in need of attention on the negative side.

3. Ditch the “sandwich approach” — once a popular technique to cushion the blow of
delivering negative feedback, the sandwich approach has now fallen out of favor. This technique
— slipping a criticism in between two compliments — has been recognized for its faults. For
starters, employees see right through it. When served as a way to make it easier to digest
negative feedback, praise is diluted. Second, delaying the inevitable evokes anxiety.

If you are meeting with an employee to deliver negative feedback, be direct: “Jay, as we both
know, things haven’t been running very smoothly lately. Let’s see if we can address the problem
together.” In order to provide effective feedback, make sure it is authentic.

4. Understand the power of negative feedback — Research conducted by Professor Andrew

Miner (then of the University of Minnesota) and his colleagues showed that employees reacted to
a negative interaction with their boss six times more strongly than they reacted to a positive
interaction with their boss. Clearly, negative feedback packs a far stronger punch than positive
feedback. As such, leaders need to be cognizant of its effects on an employee’s well-being and
productivity.
When you do have to deliver negative feedback, when possible, do so in person (versus via
email). Approach the issue as a challenge to conquer together, exploring causes and possible
solutions. A less punitive tone to the conversation will decrease the likelihood that it will feel
like a personal attack — and will likely yield greater results.

5. But don’t assume that everyone wants only positive feedback — Research has found that
while novices prefer positive feedback, once people become experts in a subject area, they prefer
negative feedback. The reason: Positive feedback provides encouragement to novices, who may
lack confidence when starting a new venture (in the study, subjects were learning to speak a
foreign language). By contrast, those with greater expertise were already committed to the
venture and felt that negative feedback was more instrumental to their progress.

6. Avoid gender (and other) biases — As evolved as we think we are, one place gender bias still
rears its head is in employee feedback. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on research
conducted by Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research, suggesting that men
and women are evaluated differently in the workplace. “Specifically, managers are significantly
more likely to critique female employees for coming on too strong, and their accomplishments
are more likely than men’s to be seen as the result of team, rather than individual, efforts,”
according to the research. Effective employee feedback is based on equal standards fairly applied
across gender lines, age brackets and races.

GUIDELINES FOR DELIVERING CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

Often, negative feedback takes the form of constructive criticism. As Gregg Walker, professor in
the Department of Speech Communication at Oregon State University, explains, critical
feedback can promote constructive growth in individuals and relationships if handled
appropriately. Following are some of his guidelines for offering constructive criticism:

Understand why you are offering criticism. (Is it appropriate/constructive?)

Engage in perspective-taking or role reversal.

Offer criticism of the person’s behavior, not the person.

Focus on a particular situation rather than a general or abstract behavior.

Direct your criticism to the present rather than the past.

Avoid “critical overload.”

Focus criticism on behaviors that the other person can change.

FEEDBACK IS A TWO-WAY STREET

Receiving feedback can be equally valuable for leaders, who can gain powerful insights from
employees. While it might seem awkward to turn the tables, asking your team members to
provide feedback on your performance as a leader can help you strengthen your performance. A
couple of ways to pose this question without making anyone feel uncomfortable is to ask: “How
can I make your job easier?” or “What type of support could I offer to help you perform your job
better?” Another is to give your team members an anonymous survey (let’s face it: not many
employees would be bold enough to air a beef if their name was attached to it).

3.2. Assessing and recording outcomes and performance of individuals/teams.

Your organization accomplishes performance expectations in three key ways.

You need to show constancy of purpose in supporting individuals and teams with the resources
of people, time and money that will enable them to accomplish their goals. When you provide
the resources teams need to succeed, you ensure the development of teamwork and the team's
best chance for success. Sometimes, this requires the reshuffling of resources or the renegotiation
of goals. But, the visual application of resources sends a powerful message of support.

The work of the team needs to receive sufficient emphasis as a priority in terms of the time,
discussion, attention and interest directed its way by executive leaders. Employees are watching
and need to know that the organization really cares.

Finally, the critical component in continuing organizational support for the importance of the
accomplishment of clear performance expectations is your reward and recognition system. Clear
performance expectations accomplished deserve both public recognition and private
compensation. Publically cheering and celebrating team accomplishments enhances the team's
feeling of success. The recognition clearly communicates the behaviors and actions the company
expects from its employees.

Use clear expectations to help your employees develop accountable, productive, meaningful,
participatory teamwork.

Assisting staff to improve their performance

Needs assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or "gaps"
between current conditions and desired conditions or "wants". The discrepancy between the
current condition and wanted condition must be measured to appropriately identify the need. The
need can be a desire to improve current performance or to correct a deficiency.

A needs assessment is an important [says who?] part of the planning process, often used for
improvement in individuals, education/training, organizations, or communities. It can refine and
improve a product such as training or service a client receives. It can be an effective tool to
clarify problems and identify appropriate interventions or solutions. By clearly identifying the
problem finite resources can be directed towards developing and implementing a feasible and
applicable solution. Gathering appropriate and sufficient data informs the process of developing
an effective product that will address the group’s needs and wants.

Factors affecting performance

Performance appraisals are supposed to evaluate the performance of a worker, reward good
performance with promotions and pay raises and set goals to help employees continue to
improve. In reality, however, performance appraisals are affected by a wide range of
psychological factors. Even when supervisors are working with a well-defined guideline to
evaluate workplace performance, they can easily fall off track with results disadvantageous to
both the worker and the company.

Standards of Evaluation

One especially tricky performance appraisal factor is standards of evaluation. Many companies
use subjective terms like "excellent," "good" and "fair" to characterize performance, but these
terms may mean very different things to different people. If a company has two different
evaluators, this can lead to serious bias; a more or less average worker who performs all of his
job duties correctly may receive a "good" rating with one evaluator but only an "average" or
"fair" rating with the other.

General Biases
There are many ways a supervisor can skew everyone's evaluations. Some supervisors exhibit the
central tendency, rating everyone as about average and
only deviating in extreme circumstances. By contrast, an evaluator exhibiting a leniency bias
would rate everyone fairly high, perhaps out of a desire to be nice or a desire to avoid
confronting unhappy employees.

An evaluator might also only look at recent performance, exhibiting a regency bias. An opportunity bias
can also skew results, with evaluators blaming or praising employees for things that were actually out of
their control. For example, a salesman could have declining sales numbers do to a sharp economic
downturn, poor product quality or poor inventory management, none of which would be his fault.

Self-Check 1 Written Test

Name: _________________________ Date: _______________

Directions: Answer all the questions listed below.

1. What is the monitoring and evaluating workplace learning
2. What is the difference negative and positive feedback
3. What is the factors affecting performance
Note: Satisfactory rating - 25 points and above Unsatisfactory - below 25points

You can ask your teacher for the copy of the correct answers

Information Sheet-2 Negotiating modifications to learning plans.

 3.2. Negotiating modifications to learning plans.
One of the most important skills teachers need for classroom management is negotiation.
Teachers and students have very different relationships than in generations past, as students and
parents is more aware of their rights and less likely to consider the teacher to be always right.
This can make relationships between teachers and students stronger in that students feel like they
are heard and respected as teachers teach and model good communication skills to students.
Learning the art of negotiation can make your classroom a place of constant learning as struggles
between students or between student and teacher become teachable moments.

3.2.1. Negotiating with Students

Every classroom has challenging days, and learning to negotiate with students through all of
their emotional ups and downs helps teachers stay balanced, focused and in control. Establishing
clear policies, procedures and expectations at the beginning of each term will help cut down on
conflicts. But when they do arise, having strong negotiating skills can help. Conversations that
begin with positive language like, “I understand you are frustrated in my class, and I am here to
help you. Can you explain what is causing the biggest problem?” Have your class syllabus on
hand so you can refer the student back to what he already knows and ask him what about the
syllabus is confusing or hard to understand. Ask your student what he feels is an appropriate
response to the problem, and help him come up with ways to go forward and be successful.
Letting the student take some amount of control gives him ownership of the problem and lets
him know you heard his concerns and are ready to help.

3.2.2. Negotiating Between Students

Conflicts in the classroom often arise between students, and teachers can find themselves
mediating to keep control. Modeling strong negotiation skills along the way prepares when
conflicts need to be dealt with. If possible, remove the two students from the situation that is
causing the conflict; have them step outside with you to cut down on escalation in the classroom.
Make sure to provide a task that will keep the other students busy. Begin the conversation
between the two students by allowing them to explain their positions. After each has had a turn,
begin your negotiation by summarizing what each student has told you. Start by saying, “What I
hear you saying, Mark is that it frustrates you when Jim does…” Do the same thing for the other
student. Ask each to provide what he thinks would be the best solution and get them to agree to a
plan. This can take just a few minutes or a few meetings over time. You may also need the help
of a principal or counselor if you think the situation is more than can be handled in just a few
minutes.

3.2.3. Negotiating with Parents

Teaching requires good communication skills, including when negotiating with parents when
they feel their child has been treated unjustly. Make yourself available to communicate with
parents at any time during the school year, not just at conference time. Provide an e-mail address
and voice-mail number where you can be contacted at any time. When parents come in for a
meeting, be sure you have all the information you provided the student on hand to show them.
Letting them know that all students have equal and multiple opportunities to get information and
be successful can defuse difficult situations. Always use positive language when speaking about
a child. Let the parents know you are on their child’s side and want her to be successful. If the
parents still feel their child needs some special consideration, offer additional help, after-school
tutoring or testing to see if there is a learning problem. Be flexible and willing to hear what the
parents are saying, and negotiate changes in things such as homework amounts and time given in
class to work.

3.2.4. Negotiating with Other Professionals

An often surprising place where negotiation skills are important for teachers is when
communicating with other educators. Classrooms, multipurpose rooms, computers and supplies
must be shared in equitable ways, and teachers can find themselves at odds with each other
during busy times of the year. To keep professional relationships positive, learn to communicate
in encouraging ways during staff meetings. Find ways to be flexible when scheduling field trips,
assemblies and class parties. Be a leader when it comes to helping others find ways to
compromise, and use your negotiation skills to mediate and support whenever possible. Teachers
are human and can have bad days. Learn to look for opportunities to encourage others and make
friends of everyone you can. This will get you the respect of your co-workers and more
opportunities to negotiate and solve problems.
 3.3. Maintaining records and reports of competence

There are many reasons for keeping records in health care, but two stands out above all others:

 to compile a complete record of the patient’s/client’s journey through services

 To enable continuity of care for the patient/client both within and between services.

The records we keep in health care need to be clear, accurate, honest and timely (meaning they
should be written as near as possible to the actual time of occurrence of the events they describe).

Different means of record-keeping are used in health care settings. Some workplaces use hand-
written records, others have moved to computer-based systems, and many use a combination of
both. You’ll be expected to be able to comply with whatever requirements your employer sets for
record-keeping, be it hand-written or electronic. That means you’ll need to:

 know how to use the information systems and tools in your workplace

 protect, and do not share with anyone, any passwords or ‘Smartcards’ given to you to
enable you to access systems

 make sure written records are not left in public places where unauthorised people might
see them, and that any electronic system is protected before you sign out.

There are principles of record-keeping that we will look at in this section, chief among which is the
need to protect patients/clients confidentiality. The RCN has provided some guidance on record
keeping called `Delegating record keeping and countersigning records’.

But before we begin to explore these principles, we should be aware that apart from being clear,
accurate, honest and timely about what we write, we also need to be careful. This means we have
to ensure that nothing we write is, or could be interpreted as being:

 insulting or abusive

 prejudiced
 Self-Check -2 Written Test

Directions: Answer all the questions listed below. Use the Answer sheet provided in
the next page:
1. One of the most important skills teachers need for classroom management-----------------
2. To negotiate parents while we are teaching the students what is the advantage
3.

Note: Satisfactory rating – 3 and 4 points Unsatisfactory - below 3 and 4 points

You can ask you teacher for the copy of the correct answers.

Answer Sheet
Score = ___________

Rating: ____________

Name: _________________________ Date: _______________

Reference
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Management Development. Gower Publishing Company Limited, University Press Cambridge
Fisher, S. G., Hunter, T. A., & Macrosson, W. D. K. (1997). Team or group? Managers'
perceptions of the differences. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 12(4), 232-242. Flynn, G.
(1997). How do you know if your work teams work? Workforce, 76 (5), May p. 7 Francis, D., &
Young, D. (1979). Improving Work Groups. San Diego, California: University Associates.
Harris, P. R., & Harris, K. G. (1996).

Managing effectively through teams. Team Performance Management: An International Journal,

2(3), 23-36. Johnson,

D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1995). Social Interdependence - Cooperative Learning in Education.