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Leading High-Performing Organisations

Module description

This module is designed to familiarise the student with performance measurement, management and governance applied to different types of organisation.  It has 2 masterclasses and 5 webinars through which content related to the relevant learning objectives of the Senior Leader standard will be delivered.

Module aims - intentions of the module

In this module you will build skills and knowledge in the concepts, systems and processes that underpin the effective working of business enterprises and other forms of organisation. You will study the basic economics of organisations and learn to work with accounting and finance specialists and the data they use. This will allow you to understand different aspects of performance and to plan effective use of the rich mix of human, financial, information and technological resources that form your organisation. You will also learn about the role the Senior Leader plays in establishing and managing the governance of key processes like technology, finance, talent and procurement.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Critically discuss systems thinking, knowledge/data management. K5:
• 2. Define ethics and values-based leadership theories and principles. K6:
• 3. Apply financial strategies, for example scenarios, modelling and identifying trends, application of economic theory to decision-making, and how to evaluate financial and non- financial information. K8:
• 4. Define financial governance and legal requirements, and procurement strategies. K9:
• 5. K10: Discuss organisational/team dynamics and how to build engagement and develop high performance, agile and collaborative cultures.
• 6. Evaluate approaches to strategic workforce planning, for example, talent management, learning organisations, group work, workforce design, succession planning, diversity and inclusion. K11:
• 7. Evaluate approaches to developing a Corporate Social Responsibility programme K19:

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 8. Challenge strategies and operations in terms of ethics, responsibility, sustainability, resource allocation and business continuity/risk management. S7:
• 9. Critically apply principles relating to Corporate Social Responsibility, Governance and Regulatory compliance. S8:
• 10. Oversee development and monitoring of financial strategies and setting of organisational budgets based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and challenge financial assumptions underpinning strategies. S10:
• 11. Oversee procurement, supply chain management and contracts. S12:
• 12. Optimise skills of the workforce, balancing people and technical skills and encouraging continual development. S18:

Syllabus plan

Week 1 Creating economic value; creating social value; creating financial value
Week 2 Masterclass #1
Week 3 Understanding individual motivation; understanding role theory; building trust
Week 4 Recruitment and selection; diversity and inclusion; talent management; team decision-making
Week 5 Cost behaviour; margin of safety; target profit; profit-volume charts
Week 6 Organisational health; organisational resilience; behavioural economics
Week 7 Masterclass #2
Week 8 Organisations as complex systems; scenarios and forecasting; integrated reporting
Week 9 Assignment planning
Week 10 Law and competitive advantage; corporate governance; corporate risk
Week 11 Social responsibility; the bottom of the pyramid; ethical decision making
Week 12 Creating shared value

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.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Atrill, P. and McClaney, E. (2020) Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists, Twelfth edition, Pearson
Widdowson, L., & Barbour, P. (2021). Building Top-Performing Teams,. Kogan Page.
Additional suggested reading:
Brealey, N. (2008), Together to Create a Sustainable World.
Follett, M. (2016) (originally published in 1924), Creative Experience, Ravenio Books,
Grove, A. (1998), Only the Paranoid Survive, Profile Books,.
Hopkin, P. (2018), Fundamentals of Risk Management, Kogan Page.
Handy, C. (1993) Understanding Organizations, 4th edn. Penguin,
Haskins, G. and Thomas, M. (2018) Kindness in Leadership, Routledge.
Kotler, P. (2015), Confronting Capitalism, AMACOM.
Marr, B. (2008) Strategic Performance Management, Routledge.
Poole, E. (2017) Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership, Bloomsbury.
Senge, P. et al, (2009) The Necessary Revolution: How Individuals and Organizations Are Working. Crown

Key words search

Performance, Finance, CSR, Workforce planning, Governance, procurement; compliance; financial modelling, behavioural economics, ethics, social responsibility, Shared value, CSR, Recruitment and selection, complex systems