The Social Enterprise Management Business Essay

These materials act as a guide for the delivery institutions. There are a number of permutations that can be used to support robust and coherent assessment structures. Institutions are advised to make use of a structure that is best suited to the learner profiles. This sample offers tutors a guide that they can use to develop their own assessment procedures.

1.1 Use of the materials

The materials:

Provide assignments to cover all outcomes and criteria in the ABP unit.

Provide a model assessment and answer guide

Include references showing the coverage of assessment criteria associated with each task

Show how the assignments can be managed

Provide example assessment recording materials

Social Enterprise Management

Learning Outcomes:

LO 1: Understand the strategic management of a social enterprise

LO 2: Be able to develop a strategic plan for a social enterprise

LO 3: Be able to operationally manage a social enterprise

LO 4: Be able to measure and manage social enterprise performance

LO 5: Be able to manage key stakeholder relationships

The assignments provide examples of the type and style of assessment tools required for the qualification. Assignments may be designed using the principles of this example but many institutions will want to develop them to meet local business contexts and to make them more relevant to current events.

Assignments can be split or combined in any way that makes a coherent set of assignments for a unit and a programme. So, for example, a single integrated assignment for a unit can be broken down in to two, three or four separate stages. It can therefore be kept as one single assignment that can be issued at one go or done in stages.

The conditions in which the assignment can be done are for institutions to decide. They can be done as in-course assignments or they can be run as examinations in which there is some pre-seen material but with work done under supervision and under time constraints. There is little indication in the assignments as to how they might be run within an institution and it is left to institutions to decide on the assessment approach to be used. However, assignments might need to be adapted if a particular approach is chosen. For example, an examination based on the supplied case study might need learners to do some preparatory work and research which they might then be allowed to take in to the examination. The questions themselves would be unseen. It is important to note that the assessment criteria for units are publicly available and would normally have been discussed with learners at the start of the teaching of a unit and again in the briefings for assessments.

All work submitted by learners in the form of course work and/or assignments must be accompanied by a signed form documenting that the work:

is the learner’s work alone

is original

has used a suitable referencing system (Harvard Referencing system is advised)

All assignments must be internally quality assured before they are issued to learners. The assessment management materials have a place to record the internal quality assurance of the assignment instrument. In addition, the assignment management documents include an assignment front sheet where the internal quality assurer (also known as the internal verifier or internal moderator) can show decisions if a specific piece of marked work is selected for sampling by the internal quality assurance process.

The management information documents can be customised by institutions running ABP programmes.

2 Assignment

This assignment covers the following Learning Outcomes within the unit:

Social Enterprise Management

LO 1: Understand the strategic management of a social enterprise

LO 2: Be able to develop a strategic plan for a social enterprise

LO 3: Be able to operationally manage a social enterprise

LO 4: Be able to measure and manage social enterprise performance

LO 5: Be able to manage key stakeholder relationships

Strategy is about the direction, intentions and approaches to resource management. Social Enterprise management sets out the framework an organised social enterprise will use to manage its resources, governance, social and business relationships as a business enterprise.

This unit is designed to offer students an understanding of the complex nature of creating a sustainable entity without compromising the core values of the social enterprise. The role of social enterprise management demands the driving of efficiency within the challenge of the social ownership and the social mission. Through the material covered by the unit, students will recognise the diverse activities that required to effectively deal with the challenge of constantly adapt to ever-changing environments – the balancing act requiring strategic reflection and analysis to achieve ongoing sustainability. They will recognise the role that management plays in supporting the effective achievement of strategic goals and meeting the mission and objectives of a socially oriented organisation. Also the development of an efficient and effective organisation can be expensive, in terms of generating data, staff time and investments in information technology. Therefore the unit should allow students to examine social enterprise strategy and management in the light of the resource issues.

This unit is part of the ABP Post-graduate Enterprise Diploma suite of units. Two core units Strategic Enterprise Management and Applied Financial Management for Enterprise can be found in all three of the ABP Post-graduate Enterprise Diploma qualifications: Strategic Entrepreneurship, Strategic Intrapreneurship and Strategic Management for Social Enterprise. This unit and its partner unit, Applied Marketing for Social Enterprise are paired with those core units to form the ABP Post-graduate Enterprise Diploma in Strategic Intrapreneurship. This unit is therefore intended to be studied in conjunction with the other three units and thus should be delivered accordingly. The teaching and assessment guidance at section 3 shows where these units may overlap

As a mandatory unit in the social enterprise pathway the content offers a number of routes that can be followed. The essential overall teaching and learning strategies must focus on students developing their knowledge and strategic thinking around human, physical and information resources within an organisation.

2.1 Methodology

The teaching and learning approach in this module needs to be built around developing the learner’s confidence and ability to engage with Social Enterprise Management using a wide range of teaching and learning approaches such as; lectures, tutorials and seminars, including discussion groups where personal and professional practice can be shared and discussed. Learners are encouraged to meet informally to do practical work and work on group cases studies, prepare reports for presentation, and carry out research into Social Enterprise Management.

Learners are assessed against the learning outcomes of the unit. They have an opportunity to display a combination of knowledge and understanding, coupled with skills development through the application of their Social Enterprise Management knowledge to practical application in a business/work environment. Formative assessments can be used to develop and consolidate knowledge and understanding in the subject.

A range of assessment instruments (assignments) can be used such as (but not confined to) practical work, presentations, displays; articles, diaries, reflective accounts, reports, proposals, plans, discussions, observations, debriefings on investigative activities, case studies, assignments, examinations, exercises and simulations. All assessment methods are acceptable provided the assessment enables the learner to produce the relevant evidence that can be judged against the assessment criteria and the assessment method is a cost-effective one to use.

It is possible to assess work orally with the learner explaining and describing things to the assessor in discussion or in group work or in a presentation. If oral assessments are used then the work must be directly attributable to the learner. The assessor must provide a signed statement that includes detail of the evidence presented that is aligned to the criteria. The evidence must support achievement of the criteria. If there is sufficient evidence from the oral work or from observations to make an assessment decision then the assessment decision should be shown.

The route through the content selected by teaching and learning practitioners should be sympathetic to the learners’ professional contexts, previous understanding and experience. As this is part of the core, learners must be assessed against all learning outcomes and assessment criteria in order to ensure that the material is understood and provides a solid foundation for building the qualification.

2.2 Case Study & Tasks

LO 1: Understand the strategic management of a social enterprise

Case Study: JAY Right

JAY Right is social enterprise that is being formed from three existing community projects. The three were set up by the old government and have come together due to changes in local boundaries. All three were set up to deliver facilities management services such as cleaning and building services and repairs to domestic homes across three deprived localities.

As an amalgamated organisation it now has 10 employees who manage the office and service delivery, around 50 volunteers in the office and helping with service delivery and a board of 9 members (3 from each of the original projects. A new Chief Executive has been appointed from a commercial business. He was chosen because of his all round business experience which Board members had been advised they needed by Jailo Consultants, a consultancy firm that specialises in advising social enterprises. You have recently completed your studies in Social Enterprise Management and you are working for Jailo Consultants.

The new Chief Executive has a good track record of working with all areas of commercial business. He has developed a number of SMEs with a speciality of taking on businesses with between 5 and 10 staff and growing them into profitable businesses with between 50 and 100 staff. However he has very little experience with growing social enterprises. He quickly needs to transfer his experience to this new environment.

Task 1

The Chief Executive has asked Jailo to brief him on the strategic concepts that make a social enterprise developing a clear view on what disciplines and actions separate social enterprises with a growth objective from commercial businesses. You have been asked to prepare a succinct 600 word briefing paper that prepares the Chief Executive for the first Board meeting. He will need to understand this within the size of this social enterprise and in the knowledge that one of the main reasons he has been appointed is because of his record on growing businesses. It is clear he will need to inform the Board about future ways of operating.

The agenda for this meeting comprises

Developing objectives

Developing a plan for the next 3 years

Business Development

Future income

Managing stakeholders

LO 2: Be able to develop a strategic plan for a social enterprise

Given the range of services JAY offers and the fact that the organisation is made up of 3 existing projects it is clear that they will need a new strategic plan to go forward. They are bringing together 3 original concepts of social enterprise and mentioned the Board are very interested in growing the organisation. There is recognition that there is no one size fits all way forward but all Board members know how important it is to start off in the right way in order to sustain the organisation. They are flexible in the way they are looking at the future but also realise that there are large number of possible stakeholders who may be looking to them for support.

Task 2

The Board has asked Jailo to advise them on the strategic planning process. You have been asked to prepare a draft executive summary of the strategic plan with a covering letter that guides them on your advice:

The covering letter will specifically need to brief them on:

The options on the legal status and organisational structure at commencement and how this affects long term decision making

The factors considered in setting goals from their current position

The range of internal and external stakeholders

The various options on how they can fulfil the needs of those stakeholders

The factors considered when setting the vision, mission and purpose of the new organisation

LO 3: Be able to be operationally manage a social enterprise

JAY Right has 10 members of staff who have all just come together. Up to now they have worked only on a series of short term projects. It is clear the Board wished the organisation to move on in a more sustainable way. The organisation will need to bring together the finances, customer relationship management, project management and ways of working. At the moment, because of the past nature of the work there has been no real statement of operating practices or formal way of carrying out the specific areas of operations. Also because they have been so busy none of the current staff have kept up to date with new technology or techniques for carrying out operational activities.

Task 3

The new Chief Executive is aware that his staff will need upskilling and they will need a lead on many aspects of operations, but as yet there is no one with sole responsibility for operational management of the social enterprise. With his new confidence in you he asks you to prepare guidance notes for each of the following areas of activity

Project management

Budgeting

Income generation

Customer Relationship

Data management

Each of these guides will need to illustrate the available and advisable methodologies and how these methodologies might be flexed depending on what the Board eventually decides as the strategic direction and whether they lean towards social or business priorities.

LO 4: Be able to measure and manage social enterprise performance

In conversation you find out that the new Chief Executive of JAY Right, has recently completed an advanced business programme for Chief Executives and is now eager to use the balanced scorecard concept to measure performance in this organizations. He has carried out a lot of research on the model and has always felt Kaplan and Norton’s (1996) model is a useful business analysis tool however he has not had the opportunity to use it in the situation he now finds himself in.

Task 4

You decide to pre-empt any questions and his probable move towards implementing this model by illustrating a Balanced Scorecard that sets the following within the social enterprise vision and strategy

Finances (4.1; 4.4)

Customers (4.5)

Internal business processes (4.2)

Growth (4.6

You know that in order for this to be applied to JAY right you will have to reform the basic balanced scorecard for the Chief Executive (4.3)

LO 5: Be able to manage key stakeholder relationships

The range of stakeholders for any social enterprise is often wider than for a commercial business. JAY Right has a number of stakeholder groups that may look to it for support. The social enterprise will need to analyse this spread of stakeholders and be set up and managed appropriately to fulfil them in the way it wishes.

Task 5

With growing confidence in you the Board ask Jailo to task you with carrying out a stakeholder analysis for them. You decide to structure a 1000 word briefing paper that offers the following:

A suggestion as to an appropriate structure and as they are currently unincorporated explore whether this is still appropriate to them, based on their current size, future aims, scope of activities and risk.

A suggestion as to an appropriate legal structure in place for its activities, and relevant legal documentation justifying your recommendation.

An appropriate organisational chart that illustrates and describes the possible stakeholder relationships for JAY Right.

A communication plan, suggesting appropriate media that would articulate its value and activities to key stakeholders.

A plan that evaluates possible

Outputs that are the direct and tangible.

Outcomes that are the benefit that results from the organisation’s outputs.

Impact that is the overall difference made by the organisation by achieving the outcomes.

3 Features of Good Assignments

Assignments are written in using the institution’s house style.

The assignment includes:

the tasks for the learners to do based on the requirements of the learning outcomes and the assessment criteria

guidance for the learners on carrying out and completing the assignment such as how to present their work, when to hand it is and a reminder to submit it after using a plagiarism checker

assignment management information which identifies hand out and hand in dates, the assessment decisions and the feedback to learners

Tasks are based on the requirements of the assessment criteria. By using the wording of the assessment criteria learners are guided in to producing work that can be judged by the assessor applying the assessment criteria.

Related assessment criteria are merged in to a single task so there is coherence to the questions and the number of tasks that learners have to do is manageable.

Wherever feasible a holistic approach should be adopted when assignment writing. This requires a team to co-ordinate is assignment writing and to keep track of outcome and criteria coverage. It ought therefore be possible to adopt a holistic approach to assessment by identifying topics that are common to several units in a single assignment.

The tasks must be mapped to the assessment criteria. This focuses the assessor on writing questions that are relevant. Any question that cannot be mapped to a criterion is not relevant for assessing work against the published assessment criteria for the unit.

Provide a case study or stimulus material that is up to date and relevant. Local organisations can provide case study material if assessors build links with local employers and businesses. The context can be changed from year to year so groups of learners do not get the same assignments as their predecessors. Learners are enabled to apply the theory and practice of what they have learned to new and different contexts. There is little likelihood that there will be answers to questions that assessors set that are available on the internet. Centres need to develop their capacity to develop their own assessment materials. Useful sources include:

The Times 100 (http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/)

Bized (http://www.bized.co.uk/)

http://tutor2u.net/

with video resources at:

http://tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/video-case-studies-resource-listing/

Materials from these and similar sources are not always immediately relevant for Level 7, but the case studies can easily be adapted

The assignment must incorporate the requirements of the generic level descriptors identified for level 7 in respect of the intellectual skills and attributes, processes and accountability associated with that level.

Learners should be given a role that reflects what they might be expected to do if they were in work.

Learners are required to write using business formats. Many formats are used in business and learners should become familiar with a variety of formats but failure to use a format should not result on a learner being failed as acceptable work may be produced in a different format from the one requested.

Learners are required to write in business styles and in ways that meet the needs of their audiences.

Marking guidance that learners can read should be provided. This might indicate, for example, what is expected in terms of work quality if a task requires “critical evaluation” of a topic.

Adopting this approach demonstrates that assignment design is well managed and reflects positively on the centre’s management of its programmes. The quality of assessment practice is sound and this will be reflected in the reports produced by both the IQAs and the EQAs.

Learners’ work will be improved because:

assignment information is presented in a consistent way

they are only asked relevant questions.

4 Sample Quality Assurance Forms

4.1 Assignment Front Sheet With Internal Quality Assurance Sign Off (SAMPLE)

ABP Extended Diploma in International Marketing

Learner Name: __________________________

Unit title: Social Enterprise Management Unit number: _________________________

Assignment title: ___________________________ Assignment reference: (Assignment 9 of 99)

Date issued to learner: DD/MM/YYYY Date due for submission: DD/MM/YYYY

Actual Date submitted DD/MM/YYYY

Name of Assessor(s): ______________________________________________

Outcome

Feedback

(Evidence presented against the published criteria)

Assessor’s decision

Internal Verification

1.1

1.2

1.3

2.1

2.2

2.3

Assessor’s additional feedback and comments

Overall Assessment Verdict

*Pass/Further work to be done (please specify)

*delete as appropriate

Assessor Declaration

I confirm that the work submitted for this assignment was checked against the Turnitin software and the receipt for this check is attached.

Assessor’s signature

Date

Learner Declaration

To protect the integrity and reputation of its qualifications, ABP requires that the work produced by each learner undertaking an ABP qualification, is the learner’s own work. A vital way of giving this assurance is for you to sign the authenticity statement below to confirm ownership of the work that may be presented to ABPs external quality assurer (EQA) prior to certification. In so doing you are confirming that there has been no cheating or copying in producing the work and that where other sources of information have been used, they have been properly referenced.

You have the right to appeal against assessment decisions made regarding your submitted assignment.

Learner Statement

To ensure certification of your achievement, before submitting your assignment for marking and scrutiny by the internal quality assurer (IQA) and the external quality assurer (EQA), please read and tick either box A or B then sign the box below.

A) My submitted assignment is my own work without any help except acceptable support from my Assessor(s)

B) My submitted assignment is my own work but I have had some help as explained on the reverse of this sheet

By signing this document I confirm I have read and understood the above learner declaration and verify my above learner statement regarding my submitted assignment to be true.

Learner’s signature

Date

Optional

I give my permission for my work to be used by the centre for training or exemplar purposes

Learner’s signature

Date

Learner statement: Explanation of help/assistance received in the preparation/completion of my submitted assignment.

Learner’s signature

Date

Internal Quality Assurer (IQA) feedback and comments for Assessor

IQA’s Name

IQA’s signature

Date

4.2 Assessment Management Document: Assignment Development

Assessor Name

Unit

Social Enterprise Management

Assignment

Assessor’s signature

Date

Task

1

Case Study: Jay Right

Which Assessment tool/msdfethod is being used to evidence this assessment

Briefing document

Which Learning Outcomes are covered

LO 1

Which Assessment Criteria are covered

AC 1.1, 1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,1.6

Comments and feedback from the IQA to the Assessor regarding the appropriateness of the Assessment tool and tasks set

Suitable and all AC’s are covered with adequate detail

Any Action or amendment to the assessment

Confirmation of Assessment

By Assessor

Date

By Internal QA/Moderator

Date

Task

2

Case Study: Jay Right

Which Assessment tool/method is being used to evidence this assessment

Draft Strategic Plan

Which Learning Outcomes are covered

LO 2

Which Assessment Criteria are covered

AC 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4

Comments and feedback from the IQA to the Assessor regarding the appropriateness of the Assessment tool and tasks set

Suitable and all AC’s are covered with adequate detail

Any Action or amendment to the assessment

Confirmation of Assessment

By Assessor

Date

By Internal QA/Moderator

Date

Task

3

Case study: Jay Right

Which Assessment tool/method is being used to evidence this assessment

Guidance Notes

Which Learning Outcomes are covered

LO 3

Which Assessment Criteria are covered

AC 3.1, 3.2, 3.3

Comments and feedback from the IQA to the Assessor regarding the appropriateness of the Assessment tool and tasks set

Suitable and all AC’s are covered with adequate detail

Any Action or amendment to the assessment

Confirmation of Assessment

By Assessor

Date

By Internal QA/Moderator

Date

Task

4

Case study: Jay Right

Which Assessment tool/method is being used to evidence this assessment

Written assignment

Which Learning Outcomes are covered

LO 4

Which Assessment Criteria are covered

AC 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

Comments and feedback from the IQA to the Assessor regarding the appropriateness of the Assessment tool and tasks set

Suitable and all AC’s are covered with adequate detail

Any Action or amendment to the assessment

Confirmation of Assessment

By Assessor

Date

By Internal QA/Moderator

Date

Confirmation that the assignment can be released

By Assessor

Date

By Internal QA/Moderator

Date

5 Glossary of useful terms

Analyse:

to examine something in detail in order to understand its structure and function

Critically analyse:

this extended criterion for Level 7 qualifications requires learners to justify their analysis and show how they have reached their judgement; for further guidance

Systematically analyse:

this extended criterion for Level 7 qualifications requires learners to plan how they will analyse a situation and to structure their findings in a systematic way; they are not required to explain their system, but it should be seen clearly within the learner’s evidence justify their analysis and show how they have reached their judgement; for further guidance,

Appraise:

to make a judgement about something based upon an assessment of relevant factors and information

Critically appraise:

this extended criterion for Level 7 qualifications requires learners to justify their appraisal and show how they have reached their judgement; for further guidance,

Systematically appraise:

this extended criterion for Level 7 qualifications requires learners to plan how they will reach a judgement about a situation or set of circumstances and to structure their findings in a systematic way; they are not required to explain their system, but it should be seen clearly within the learner’s evidence

Assess:

to estimate and judge qualities and/or quantities;

Critically assess:

this extended criterion for Level 7 qualifications requires learners to justify their assessment and show how they have reached their judgement; for further guidance,

Assessment:

the process of identifying whether learners have meet the requirements of the learning outcomes and assessment criteria in a unit / qualification

Assessment criterion:

a statement against which learners’ performance can be measured and judged

Assignment:

the piece of work given to learners to complete which allows learners to show what they understand, know and can do and the resultant work is used to make a judgement about their performance

Case study:

a problem for learners to consider and to which they can apply their subject specific knowledge and skills in order to understand the problem

Evaluate:

to make a judgement about something usually by considering a range of factors

Examine:

consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning

Systematically examine:

this extended criterion for Level 7 qualifications requires learners to plan how they will examine a situation and to structure their findings in a systematic way; they are not required to explain their system, but it should be seen clearly within the learner’s evidence

Investigate:

to research a subject

Learning outcome:

a statement of what learners will have achieved on completion of a part of their course once the learners have passed the associated assessment

Presentation:

an activity in which information is provided to others. It can take various forms including written, visual and spoken forms as well as carrying out practical activities

Prospectus:

a document to describe a proposed business enterprise

Review:

a survey of a subject that adopts a critical perspective

Task:

The question that the learners have to answer.

6 Model Answer

The model answers that follow are indicative of the work required of learners. They are intended to illustrate the nature of evidence that a Level 7 learner should produce. In some cases, answers would need further work and extension by learners in order to fully address each assessment criteria.

LO 1: Understand the strategic management of a social enterprise

Task 1

Objectives are detailed and specific statements that de