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 organisation, the nature of stakeholders and their expectations vary.
Even within a single organisation the stakeholders can shift drastically from one
department to the other. But for any organisation to flourish it will have to stay
focused and meet the needs of its stakeholders.

Though organisations vary greatly one common factor is that each has a web of
external and internal stakeholders whose expectations have to be carefully managed.
Also the key to a successful manager is; understanding that not all stakeholders want
the same things from the organisations and hence any conflicts of interest have to be
carefully managed.

So as a manager 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.

Stakeholder expectations broadly fall into five key areas of; reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles.

For example the following table illustrates different stakeholders and their
expectations for this KTP project,

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The following table illustrates the Stakeholders and their expectations for
the KTP Project:

KTP Project Stakeholders Stakeholders Expectations

Company CEO Has time and money invested in the
project and would like to see how that
translates into tangible benefits to the
company and whether he is getting the
right value.
Company Supervisor Have his time and his reputation invested
in the project and expects to see value
for both in return.
Company Partners Expects to see value added to company’s
reputation and thereby raising their
profile and reputation.
Company Staff Value for their time and ultimate pride in
company’s reputation.
Knowledgebase Have time, money and reputation
invested and like the company CEO
would like to see tangible benefits in
terms of research.
Knowledgebase supervisor Have time and reputation invested and
would like to see research and its
implementation within the company.
KTP Associate Investment of time, reputation and
aspirations. Expects development
opportunities
Government The project is partly funded by the
government and though it is not directly
involved in the project has expectations
linked to its success. Benefits from the
revenue generated in terms of tax.
Local Council Local Council has vested interest in the
welfare of the community. In many cases
they are directly funding the services
provided by the Housing Association.
Service Users As the project is Community led, the
service users are the first source of
information and they will be the first
recipients of the product – the houses
Wider Community Again a major source of information and
the direct recipients of the product.

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Manufacturers and Suppliers Have a business interest in the project in
terms of the building materials to be
used for the final implementation.
Specialist Bodies 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 manager it is important to understand that it is the perception that

counts especially the perception of the stakeholders as it affects the organisations
reputation, 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 relationship 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. Identify the stakeholders
This can be done by the stakeholder analysis
2. Prioritise the stakeholders
This can be done by the power/interest grid. Not every
stakeholder has similar interests in the organisation or the
project. For example in my project the LMC has very different
stake in the project compared to the local communities that I
work with.
3. Understand key stakeholders
Knowing and understanding each stakeholder makes it simple
for the manager to devise an effective communication 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 the message

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1.3: Identify methods of communicating stakeholders’ requirements with
team members:

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 important
part of delivering that success. Keeping them appropriately aware of stakeholders
expectations and requirements ensures smooth delivery.

An effective communication strategy for keeping the team informed is:

1. Identify the team

2. Prioritise the team members
3. Identify what is the message to be conveyed
4. Identify the actions to convey the message

In my team we have weekly team meetings where everyone is briefed by the

manager. Everyone’s feedback is welcomed and we all feel listened to. Our individual
concerns are addressed by the manager either individually or in the team as
appropriate.

Apart from weekly meetings, emails and memos are also a good way of
communicating 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:

Managers choose to keep the information they have on their stakeholders in

very different ways. By recording this knowledge in an accessible format the
managers can ensure 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 sheet was made where the stakeholders were
organised, grouped and colour coded according to their priority. All the
stakeholders are recorded here with their contact details and their respective stake
in the project and how and when to contact them. This information has been
reviewed regularly and kept up-to-date. As people move jobs and organisations
change this exercise proved very useful as I always knew who to contact when.

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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, quality can be defined as, ‘what an

organisation does to ensure customer satisfaction.’ 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 constitutes a good quality product and one way to do that is to
minimise the margin of error.

Organisations must know what its end users want and value and ensure that they
deliver the required quality product or service. Usually that means; right thing at
right price on right time and in right place. If the organisation gets this right than they
have a competitive advantage over their rivals.

Organisations long-term survival depends on building and sustaining relationships;

quality along with good customer service is the tool for that purpose. People can buy
a good 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
circumstance of something going wrong.

Quality can become a very competitive tool. Quality in a product or service is

sometimes seen as what the customer gets out of it and is willing to pay for rather
than what the supplier provides.

2.2: Identify and apply organisational quality policies and procedures

At the advent of the original quality assurance system known than as BS 5750
there was great confusion particularly in the construction industry over how a
quality control system borne out of manufacturing could apply to the service.
Experience since than has 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 create procedures to prevent it. And secondly where there are areas for
improvements and change bringing about increased efficiency. Both of these when
explored in detail can form the essence of quality plan or quality manual. The system
needs to be managed properly which must include audits and records. It must not be

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a chore or a wholly paper based exercise but more a formalisation of good practice
embracing existing techniques and procedures.

As quality is the most important tool for ensuring organisations long-term success,
most organisations have set policies and procedures that usually follow set minimum
acceptable standards.

For our department we have Key performance indicators (KPI’s) 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
the project planner for everyone’s benefit.

For this KTP project we are aiming for Building for Life gold standard and a
commendable design review from MADE, the West 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 sent to both agencies and the comments
incorporated.

On a daily basis we have a digital as well as physical folder that is kept current
everyday with all correspondence, 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 important resource in terms of knowledge and experience.
They mostly offer practical suggestions that can prove extremely valuable to the
organisation. When staff is involved in the decision-making there is a much greater
buy-in and hence the probability of success is increased as well.

There are various ways of engaging staff and some may prove more
successful than others but there is no full proof method and the success mostly
depends on the management and their handling of the scheme. The most successful
schemes are the ones in which staff feel that their involvement is valued and acted
upon and that the scheme is just not tokenistic. Successful schemes can boost staff
morale, increase productivity and enhances staff’s 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 meetings everybody’s views are
actively sought out and we have a dedicated section on the company website called
staff voices where everyone is encouraged by their managers to contribute.

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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 called project manager which are basically guidance notes. It has a group of
inputs called quality plan that consists of a brief that tells what’s 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 title block is checked to see if the drawing is
correctly labelled and signed by the person creating the drawing. The next thing on
the list to be checked is whether 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 drawing is checked to see if it corresponds to the title block, all the
credits and the titles on the sheet.

If any information is found missing or if there is any 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 then checked again before it is
issued to the client.

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Learning Outcome 3:

Be able to promote continuous improvement and change

3.1: Discuss the concept of, and need for, continuous improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing activity to develop and upgrade the

organisations products and services. There are several internal and external factors
that make change inevitable. Continuous improvement is the process by which
organisations ensure that their services and products are aligned with what
consumers want. Continuous improvement helps the organisation to survive any
external changes like current economic recession and ensures its long term future.

Lack of continuous improvement may render a product obsolete and the

eventual demise of the organisation.

No business can develop and grow without an appreciation of improvement. The

improvement can either be a product or a service or both. If improvement is
ignored regardless of originality or innovation of the initial business plan the business
will stagnate as it is virtually impossible to survive by standing still. Even a business
with an outdated product can stave off almost inevitable stagnation by rebranding
and updating the simplest component of the product.

When one understands the basic survival technique that product improvement
provides one needs to move on and accept that if the business is to grow faster than
by simply reinventing itself or its product it must look to adopt a process of
continual improvement. This expects elements of business to be improved not only
in line with perhaps customer feedback but equally importantly in line with
technological advances. This enables product or service to adapt to change, become
more efficient, become cheaper without compromising quality or delivery and whose
services and products 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 and has subsequently lacked a separate project status within
the company. The company supervisor changed and the new supervisor did not
attend the supervisor’s workshop or receive proper briefing from the LMC and has
not fully appreciated or understood the Knowledge transfer partnership treating it as
a student project rather than a profit making project within the company. This in
turn led to lack of proper integration of the associate within the company. The

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academic supervisors input though valuable made the project too academic further
alienating the company.

The project would benefit strongly in the immediate future by rethinking its
methods of communication and making sure that every stakeholder is heard and
given their due importance. The formal methods of communication, i.e. the monthly
meetings and the LMC are not always the best places to showcase the grievances
and hence a system for informal communication where the company culture already
does not have one would prove highly valuable.

3.3: Encourage staff to contribute ideas for continual improvement

This bears similarity to staff encouragements for quality assessments. Please

refer to point 2.3

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 Unit 5008 Marketing Planning

Learning Outcome 1:
Be able to understand the meaning and role of marketing in achievement
of organisational objectives

1.1: Explain marketing as a management process

According to CMI marketing is, ‘a management process responsible for

identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.’

Traditionally companies existed in response to a consumer demand, where

marketing was more about 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 the 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 companies to
ensure that the level of demand is appropriate in achieving organisational objectives
within the available resources. It is more about managing consumer expectations and
ensuring that there is no gap between the demand and the supply.

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 products and services. Marketing is the
process that allows appropriate exchange between the company and the
stakeholders hence allowing the company to gain the required understanding of the
stakeholder’s wants and needs. Through marketing the company can raise awareness
of its activities and gather valuable data on how the company 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
directly contacting our current tenant base. The event raised awareness of the
project and company’s interest among its direct customers. As the event was
arranged with 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 knowledge in what the customers needs and were. Hence a single marketing
event allowed us to identify the current consumer needs and predict what the future
trend would be in the housing design industry.

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Learning Outcome 2:
Be able to identify the organisation’s current and future position in the
sectors or markets in which it operates

2.1: Discuss the current position of the organisation within its chosen
sector or market

Ashram Housing Association works in the most deprived inner-city

neighbourhoods with constantly changing demography, in areas like Sparkbrook,
Sparkhill, Small Heath, Washwood Heath, Bordesley Green and Nechells in
Birmingham and Foleshill in Coventry. These communities fall within the 10% most
deprived neighbourhoods in the country. Ashram houses a relatively young and
diverse tenant group in its general needs housing with one third of tenants being
single parents. Nearly 2/3 of Ashrams tenants are from BME background with more
than half being of Asian origin. 2/5 of tenant’s 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.

Since 2005 onwards Ashram has been the founding member of Matrix
Housing Partnership which secured Housing Corporation, now HCA’s Investment
Partner Status. Today Ashram’s 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 position for the organisation in

line with organisational objectives

Ashrams core objectives are:

Making a Difference
Excellence through Innovation
Putting People First
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, Bangladeshi and the other (Mixed
Race) there is almost three times increase. We have no data on ‘New and Emerging
Communities’ especially from Europe as they would class themselves as white.

White

1991 Caribbean
African
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Chinese
Other

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 White
Caribbean
African

2001 Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Chinese
Other

White
Caribbean
African

2006 Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Chinese
Other

The changing demography of West Midlands means that Ashram with its
specialist knowledge is a key player regionally as well as nationally. The population
projections suggest that the overall population is going to be more and more diverse
with ethnic groups like Pakistani and Bangladeshi population trebling by 2025. There
will be significant rise in the mixed race population as well. The projections also
suggest that BME elderly population is going to rise by one and a half times the
present. By 2025 the BME population under the age of 16 is going to cross 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 BME population
but in the long run there is a projected rise of the young BME population. This also
means that over the next two decades there is a significant rise in young families
needing affordable housing.

Ashram is in the right place to provide both affordable housing to young

families and elderly population. In fact through the KTP project, Ashram is the
market leader in providing culturally appropriate and innovative housing solutions to
its customer base in line with its 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 specialised services like extra care
facilities for elderly from ethnic groups, mental health 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.

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Learning Outcome 3:
Be able to devise and implement a marketing plan that contributes to
achievement of organisational objectives

3.1: Construct a marketing plan that supports current market or sector

and targets potential new markets or sectors

Different communities will be approached through the KTP project and

community consultations to be organised to gather relevant market data on
community needs 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 prior
permission in the community centres that the people visit and gather at thereby
keeping the cost of the consultations to nil.

Ashrams monthly news letter will also carry periodical updates on the KTP
project to inform and maintain the interest of Ashrams existing customer base. By
doing this we are also relying on spreading 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 will be nil.

Like the monthly newsletter Ashram’s website can have a dedicated section
on the project where the research can be logged and progress updated. This will
help keep the Company as well as other stakeholders and interested parties
informed of the project and its progress.

As soon as the house types are ready individual presentations can be

organised to showcase the project and the work done. These presentations can be
targeted to specific stakeholders like the Homes and Communities Agency, Local
pathfinder agencies, Local Authorities, other Housing Associations and private
developers to share the knowledge learnt, market the housing product and in return
secure some funding or sponsorship to carry the project forward.

Towards the end of the project a cross cultural international conference

should be organised for knowledge transfer. It will also allow different cultural

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communities as well as important stakeholders to see new house types and gain
insights 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 University
to raise their profile internationally and advertise the pioneering work that they
would have accomplished in this sector.

3.2: Evaluate the support necessary to implement the plan

For the community consultations I will have to speak to various community

organisations and organise the events. I will have to rely 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 confirmation from the people attending and
make sure they get the agenda before the consultation event is to take place.

For publication in the monthly newsletter I will 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 newsletter 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 dedicated 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 company CEO and my company supervisor. I will than
have to write to them or contact them 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 KTP budget has no
funds for organising such event hence external sponsorship or funding is needed.
Ashrams fundraising officer has been identified for this task.

3.3: Implement the marketing plan

Seventeen community consultations have been organised over the next six
months with the help of the company’s administrative staff. Couple of citizen
journalists have been recruited with the help of housing and HR staff to help facilitate

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the consultation events. One of the administrative staff has been asked to be present
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 updates will now be published every two months. A
dedicated webpage for the KTP project has been set up on the website which is now
being continuously updated. User feedback on the website is encouraged for content
as well as the website design and changes acknowledged and incorporated with
every update.

Concept presentation have been organised and delivered with the Local
Authority, the Homes and Communities Agency and the local path finder – Urban
Living’s developers’ forum. This was done with the help of the academic supervisor
and was very well received.

Some links have been made and I am currently talking to some experts in the
field to come 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 forward with their contacts and I am talking to all to decide the agenda and
the content of the conference. I am trying to develop a network of people working
in the same or similar area as mine in the housing design sector.

3.4: Assess the progress of the plan, through monitoring, reviewing and
end evaluation, in the achievement of organisational objectives:

Once the community consultations were organised the administrative staff

followed it up to ensure the events took place smoothly. The data gathered at these
events was recorded and analysed at every monthly 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 debated and evaluated at these meetings. In
some cases the whole method of the consultation had to be tailor-made to suit the
communities being consulted. I started 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 visuals and in some communities where
English was not their primary language the quality of the data would have suffered.

By organising these consultation events and by incorporating the findings in

the design process I have tackled all Ashrams objectives of Making a Difference,
Excellence through Innovation, Putting People first, and Committed to
Communities. We aim to make a real difference to the lives of the communities
we work with.

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 The KTP project and its update has been on the website and in the
newsletter often enough to keep everyone interested but without giving away any
details for the 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 incorporated 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 receive funding and sponsorship hence has been
successful.

With the conference that 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 thus 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.

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