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Building Relationships and Communication

Module description

This module will focus on how to build collaborative relationships, including managing conflict and engaging with stakeholders. You’ll learn how to take responsibility for your own tasks as well as those of your team and be encouraged to build relationships beyond your own department. Throughout, there will be a strong focus on enhancing interpersonal skills, with a particular emphasis on effective communication techniques.

Module aims - intentions of the module

• Explore the different relationships required within the team and organisation to understand the different approaches to partner, stakeholder and supplier relationship management including negotiation, influencing, delegation and effective networking.
• Explore how to earn the trust and respect of the team to build positive working relationships.
• Explore approaches to conflict resolution through communication and practise these.
• Explore and understand your team’s workload and how they effectively meet the needs of employees and organisations.
• Explore influencing and negotiating theories and models and practise how to influence and negotiate by understanding how to flex communication styles to meet the needs of internal and external stakeholders.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Describe and analyse conflict resolution and mediation processes (K14)
• 2. Evaluate influencing and negotiating theories and models and practise how to influence and negotiate with stakeholders to shape and agree goals and outcomes (S16, K13)

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Discuss and practise communication techniques (K15, S1)
• 4. Discuss, evaluate and practise managing relationships across multiple and diverse stakeholders, including an evaluation of the impact (S17)

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Practise working collaboratively with others across the organisation and stakeholders (B6)
• 6. Discuss ways to take accountability and ownership of own and others’ tasks and workload (B3)

Syllabus plan

2 Day Masterclass

• Introduce negotiating and influencing theories and models and discuss these within the context of apprentice’s own organisation/ workplace.
• Introduce conflict resolution and mediation processes.
• Activities and exercises to explore trust and building effective relationships with stakeholders
• Communication exercises to practice effective communication approaches and gaining perspective on communication differences in the workplace, including role playing networking and relationship building.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

All passed components of the module will be rolled forward and will not be reassessed in the event of module failure.

Deferral – if you have been deferred for any assessment you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Managing Conflict: A practical guide to resolution in the workplace – David Liddle
• 7 habits of highly effective people – Stephen R Covey
• Effective Communication – The most important management skill of all – John Adair
• The Art of Connection: 7 Relationship Building skills every leader needs to know – Michael J Gelb

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• 4 Quadrants of Psychological Safety
• Communication Cycle
• Personality Profiling – DISC, Myers Briggs, Insights, Tetra Map, Belbin
• TRUST equation
• Stakeholder Map

Key words search

Relationship building. Communication. Trust. Networking