Welcome to Star Consultancy

Director Development Programme (DDP) provides leadership and management advice and subsidised training to the principal decision maker or key decision makers/directors of companies with between 5 and 249 employees.

The programme covers:

Leadership: Key Development Areas:

• Strategic
• Analytical
• Inspirational
• Personal
• Management: Key Development Areas

Products and Services

• Developing Markets
• People Development
• Finance
• Sales and Marketing
• Operations

Want more information? Call Nick Booker on 01926 864900 or send an email to info@bookerhopkins.co.uk with DDP in the title line

Eligibility

To be eligible for the DDP service, companies must:

• Complete a Diagnostic review of the business, including Leadership & Management assessment, undertaken by a Business Link Advisor, to identify or validate their Leadership and Management Development needs
• Have between 5-249 staff (including unpaid volunteers)
• Be less than 25% owned by a large organisation
• Be based within the West Midlands area

To be eligible individuals must:

• Hold a principal decision maker or key decision makers/directors position
• Have a development need at principal decision maker or key decision makers/directors level.
• Be based within the West Midlands area
• Not have received the DDP grant since April 2007

Funding available from Business Link

Grant Funding of up to £1,000 is available:

• First £500 grant is not required to be matched by the client and is available to the key director (principal decision maker).
• Additional £500 grant is available but must be cash matched. It can be utilised by the key director or additional key decision makers identified by the Key Director.
• Training can be delivered on a one-to-one or group basis. In terms of groups, this can be to management teams from the same company or to a network of leaders and managers from the different companies. The same grant funding regime applies. For example, a management team from the same business (which includes the principal decision maker) can receive a £1,000 grant towards training costs of £1,500.
• For a network of leaders/managers from different companies, those that are principal decision-makers in their business can receive grant funding of up to £500 (fully-funded) and other key decision, up to £500 with the same level of cash match funding.

 

Force Field Analysis - Understanding the Pressures For and Against Change

How to Use the Tool:

 

Force Field Analysis is a useful technique for looking at all the forces for and against a decision for change. In effect, it is a specialized method of weighing pros and cons.By carrying out the analysis you can plan to strengthen the forces supporting a decision, and reduce the impact of opposition to it.

 

 To carry out a force field analysis, follow these steps:

 

List all forces for change in one column, and all forces against change in another column.

 

Assign a score to each force, from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong).

 

Draw a diagram showing the forces for and against change. Show the size of each force as a number next to it.

 

For example, imagine that you are a manager deciding whether to install new manufacturing equipment in your factory. You might draw up a force field analysis using a table like the one here:

 

 

Forces for change	Score	Change proposal	Score	Forces against change
Total				Total

 

 

Once you have carried out an analysis, you can decide whether your project is viable. In the example above, you might initially question whether it is worth going ahead with the plan.Where you have already decided to carry out a project, Force Field Analysis can help you to work out how to improve its probability of success. Here you have two choices:

 

To reduce the strength of the forces opposing a project or

 

To increase the forces pushing a project

 

Often the most elegant solution is the first: just trying to force change through may cause its own problems. People can be uncooperative if change is forced on them.If you had to implement the project , the analysis might suggest a number of changes to the initial plan, for example in a case of technology change and the impact on the work force:

 

By training staff (increase cost by 1) you could eliminate fear of technology (reduce fear by 2)

 

It would be useful to show staff that change is necessary for business survival (new force in favour, +2)

 

Staff could be shown that new machines would introduce variety and interest to their jobs (new force, +1)

 

You could raise wages to reflect new productivity (cost +1, loss of overtime -2)

 

Slightly different machines with filters to eliminate pollution could be installed (environmental impact -1)

 

These changes would swing the balance from 11:10 (against the plan), to 8:13 (in favour of the plan).

 

Key points:

 

Force Field Analysis is a useful technique for looking at all the forces for and against a change plan. It helps you to weigh the importance of these factors and decide whether a plan is worth implementing. Where you have decided to carry out a plan, Force Field Analysis helps you identify changes that you could make to improve it.

 

 

 

Some recent books on change management and usually available from your local bookshop (support local business) or Amazon - yes I know it’s easy…Or your local library perhaps…just keep renewing!

  

Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change by Esther Cameron and Mike Green

 

Leading Change by John P Kotter

 

Change Management Masterclass: A Step-by-step Guide to Successful

 

Change Management by Mike Green

 

The Theory and Practice of Change Management by John Hayes

 

The Change Management Toolkit by C.A. Carnall (

 

Managing Change and Transition (Harvard Business Essentials) by Harvard Business Essentials

 

Change Management Excellence: Using the Four Intelligences for Successful Organizational Change by Sarah Cook and Steve Macaulay

 

Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation by Robert A Paton and James McCalman

 

Harvard Business Review on Change  by HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

 

Heart of Change, The: Real Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations by John P Kotter and Dan S Cohen

 

Managing Business Change for Dummies (For Dummies) by Beth L. Evard and Craig A. Gipple

 

Managing Change Step by Step: All You Need to Build a Plan and Make It Happen by Richard Newton

Star Search and Selection Consultancy is about using creative thinking for change management and dealing with the arising employment and recruitment issues in companies and organisations.  We look forward to your comments and contributions where relevant. For information on marketing techniques see the related and developing web site www.ultramarketing.co.uk and www.bookerhopkins.co.uk