Participants are divided up into groups of 4/6 people. They, their bosses and ICOM will choose key business problems to study and find solutions to. They may deal with improving customer care, changing a key business process, solving a technical maintenance problems or reorganising the department etc. The task will be to analyse the problem and to define and implement a solution.  This will involve making presentations to senior managers and to their colleagues on the programme.

The group project will be used to promote learning in:

Technical operational issues;

Team working skills;

Problem solving processes;

Chairing meetings, setting agendas, time management, presentation skills;

Processes for planning and implementing change.

Senior managers will be asked to sponsor group projects and to act as a resource to team members.  Projects chosen should:

Be of significance to the organisation and of interest to the participants;

Lead to improvements in organisational performance;

Be capable of being tackled within the time-scale of the programme.

The content of these programmes was made up of group and individual projects, personal development plans (PDPs) and customised workshops.The group projects were done by groups of 5 participants and ealt with key strategic issues chosen by directors of each company.  For example, how to improve customer satisfaction?  How to introduce a performance management system?  How to transform the Sumatra operation into a world-class operator?  What are the key issues around convergence?  How to develop a knowledge management system and how to manage the revenue drivers better?

The aims of the group projects are firstly, to solve a business-critical problem, to et participants to understand how to research a difficult issue, to put together a feasible action plan, sell it to senior management and to learn about how to implement change by being involved in the implementation of their recommendations.

Secondly, to provide a real management situation where participants could learn about how effective teams are created and how they can provide a framework within which individuals can learn about their managerial strengths and weaknesses, obtain positive feedback and improve their performance. Participants also learn how to chair meetings and how to participate in them when not chairing. They achieve an understanding of group dynamics and how individual behaviour can influence a group performance positively or negatively, how to deal with friction, rivalries and under-performance and how to ensure delivery targets are achieved. These group projects were examined by the University presented to senior management and followed-up by the participants and senior managers.

Of particular significance to organisations is their ability to define corporate, divisional and departmental strategies and to implement them.  Our experience suggests that organisations are good at the former, but not at implementation. Group projects can be particularly valuable if they tackle this strategy-execution gap.

Learning Set Meetings

In its simplest form, action learning involves groups of managers learning through joint analysis of real managerial problems. Within these groups, or “sets”, members explore and compare insights and experiences and discuss projects they have been set, which feature improving the performance of their departments. They also discuss the workshop subjects and define what they have learned and what individual development needs are in each area of knowledge or skill. Many managers report that some of their richest experiences in programmes were gained by interaction with other participants. Managers have a great deal to teach one another and small group situations facilitate a sharing of experiences between people with different roles and backgrounds.  They can also provide an arena within which managers can experiment with particular competences, such as interactive skills, skills in leading groups and managing group processes.  The group can also provide supportive feedback, contribute to each manager’s self-awareness and give insight into their existing skills.

The group project meetings are the set meetings and are supported by the Programme Director, whose role is to help managers recognise learning opportunities and to learn from exposure to experiences and to each other.  The set adviser must ensure that managers are prepared to listen to each other, to question each other and to build up an environment of trust and support.  His/her main role is, therefore, to advise on the process of learning rather than the content.  The relationships established between set members are critical in establishing and developing the right learning atmosphere.  When group cohesion and trust is established, individuals look to their peers for constructive feedback on their managerial style and for achieving their personal development plans.