Reference no: EM132268647

Assessment Task 1: Project

TASK SUMMARY

For this task you are required to review the risk context of the organisation and conduct research; and then develop a briefing report for the CEO and shareholders of an organisation.

INSTRUCTIONS

You are the Operations Manager of a medium-sized Australian company, Nature Care Products, based in Brisbane. The company commenced business in 1996 and manufactures eco-friendly, high quality beauty skincare products. The business was established to cater for a growing demand for skin products that contain eco-friendly and natural ingredients. There is also an emphasis on eco-friendly packaging.

The company sells its products in health food shops across the country, as well as online through its own website. The company targets customers that want high quality, eco-friendly products. Market research has identified that around 70% of customers are professional women aged 25 - 55.

Strategic priorities focus on business diversification and growth, specifically to increase market share by 10% and to expand the existing product range to attract more customers.

At a recent board meeting, the two company shareholders and the CEO discussed options for expanding the business, including establishing a chain of retail outlets. The CEO has asked you to investigate this by undertaking a risk analysis on establishing a chain of retail outlets. The idea is to initially set up a retail outlet in central Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. The CEO and shareholders are keen to get the business expansion started as soon as possible so you need to get your risk management plan in place immediately.

Currently the company employs the following staff: Accounts Manager, Marketing Manager, Marketing Assistant, Sales Manager, four customer service representatives, Office Manager and Administration Assistant, Operations Manager, as well as the CEO and two shareholders as indicated above.

The company currently has a risk management policy and procedure in place that incorporates the AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk Management Principles and Guidelines.

1. Review the risk context and conduct research.

Review the case study information provided to you to determine the scope of the risk management process required, as well as the company's risk management policy and procedure and information on risk management standards. Make notes for use in your report that address:

- Legislative and regulatory context of the organisation in relation to risk management.
- Identification of internal and external stakeholders with whom you will need to consult to identify potential risks, as well as issues they are likely to raise as part of the risk management process.
- An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the company's existing retail approach namely, online and through health food shops.
- Analysis of critical success factors, goals or objectives for the business expansion project.
- Following, this you are required to conduct a PESTLE analysis for NatureCare Products in order to identify key factors that impact on the business environment in which the company operates and their relevance in identifying risks. Make notes for use in your report.
- When you have completed your PESTLE analysis, you will be ready to write an initial report for the CEO as outlined in the next activity.

2. Develop a risk briefing report.
This part of the assessment task requires you to develop an initial report for the CEO about the risk management project and processes and to seek approval to proceed.

Your report should address:
- Introduction, including scope of the risk management process and an outline of the risk management process as per the organisation's policy and procedure, as well as how the organisation's process aligns with the risk management standards as identified in the link provided to you. It must also include any legislative and regulatory context of the organisation in relation to risk management that you have identified in your research.
- PESTLE analysis identifying the key factors that impact on the environment in which NatureCare Products operates and their relevance to the risk management process.
- Identification of internal and external stakeholders with whom you will need to consult to identify potential risks, as well as issues they are likely to raise as part of the risk management process.
- An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the company's existing retail approach namely, online and through health food shops.
- Analysis of critical success factors, goals or objectives for the business expansion project.
When you have completed your report, send it to the CEO (your assessor) via email. In the email you should provide a brief overview of the risk management project and seek approval to proceed with the process.

Your assessor will send you an email in the role of the CEO providing you with feedback and approval to proceed. Consider any feedback provided to you by the CEO in the next part of the assessment.

Assessment Task 2: Role play

TASK SUMMARY

For this task you are required to participate in a meeting to consult on risk management, and then develop a risk management plan.

RESOURCES AND EQUIPMENT REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THIS TASK

• Access to a simulated workplace environment - classroom.
  Space for a meeting.
  Role-play participants.
  Notebook or laptop for taking notes.
  Risk management plan template.

INSTRUCTIONS

The CEO and shareholders are impressed with your report and are confident in your ability to handle the risk management plan. They have asked you to consult with the Marketing Manager and the Office Manager to identify the five greatest risks to the company and then develop a risk management plan for dealing with them. The Marketing Manager and the Office Manager will be able to provide you with input as to what their departments consider to be the greatest risks and provide some insight into treatment options.

One of the risks identified already by the CEO is that the company's disaster recovery plan needs to be investigated and updated. This responsibility will fall on you as the Operation's Manager but will require input from the CEO. Last month there was a power outage for 2 hours during an unexpected storm. According to the disaster recovery plan, a generator would kick in after an outage of longer than one hour; however, this never happened. If this happens again and the power outage was longer than three hours - this could mean that many of the products in the process of production would spoil and losses could be high, With new branches opening - product output will need to increase, therefore this is a risk that the CEO is very uncomfortable about.

3. Send an email to the Marketing Manager and the Office Manager inviting them to the meeting with a brief explanation of the purpose of the meeting and the input you would like them to provide; as well as the details of time, date and location (your assessor will provide you with the date and time for this assessment to take place).

4. Chair the risk consultation meeting.

5. From the risks identified in the consultative meeting, develop your risk management plan for the top five risks. Your risk management plan needs to include:

- An assessment of the likelihood of the risks occurring, as well as the severity of the risk should it occur.
- Identification of at least one suitable treatment measure for each of the five risks; and priority rating (high, medium or low) to show the order in which risks must be treated.
- An evaluation and prioritisation of risks for treatment.
- A risk action plan that sets out for each risk the risk description
- impact of risk recommended actions resource requirements
- timelines responsibilities
- monitoring processes.

6. Send your risk management plan to your assessor for approval as the CEO; and once it is approved send an email to the Marketing Manager and the Administrative Manager advising them of the outcome of the meeting; their roles in the plan and how they need to implement these actions and by when.

Assessment Task 3: Project

TASK SUMMARY

For this task you are required to implement a control measure and complete an evaluation.

Assume that one of the risks you identified in your risk management plan was the inability to attract sufficiently qualified and knowledgeable staff to manage the new retail stores.

The risk treatment identified was to invest in the training and development of existing staff to fulfil this role at least in the short term.

It was identified that at least two of the existing customer service representatives are interested in taking on this new role.

Neither of the two customer service representatives have managerial skills and knowledge but they both have excellent company and product knowledge, as well as customer service skills.

1. Research training options.
Review the case study information and research a range of potential training options for the customer service representatives. Identify three suitable options.

2. Develop a short report to the CEO (your assessor) outlining your recommended option/s for the training, including a rationale for your recommendation/s. Include the details of each recommended training option, including a summary of the training to be provided and outcomes, location, costs and duration as applicable. Include details of how you will monitor the training and ensure the outcomes will be met. If you have recommended on-the-job options you will need to outline a brief plan for undertaking this form of training.

3. Send your report to the CEO (your assessor) via email with a covering email explaining the purpose of the report and seeking agreement to proceed with your recommended options.

4. Imagine that your report has now been approved; send an email to each of the customer service representatives outlining the arrangements of the training agreed upon (send this to your assessor).

1. The next part of this assessment task requires you to review the effectiveness of the implemented treatment by reviewing the following information.

Assume that a staff survey has been sent to the two members of staff completing the training. You are required to review and analyse the completed surveys provided on the next page and send a further short report to the CEO via email. Based on your review and analysis, you should comment on the effectiveness of the training undertaken by the staff members to date and your recommendations for any further actions. Note that the measure of success of this initiative was identified to be that the staff will have successfully completed training and feel able to step into the new roles. You should therefore also comment on the effectiveness of the measure in this regard. Submit to your assessor.

5. Write an evaluation report about the entire risk management process and how you feel you managed it. Include an evaluation of:
- The research you undertook and sources used.
- The meeting with your colleagues to identify and agree on risks including treatments and actions.
- The development of your risk management plan, monitoring and evaluation processes.

Discuss what you believe you did well, how you may be able to improve next time you manage risk and what you learned from the process. Submit this evaluation to your assessor.

6. Send a screen shot to your assessor of all of the documentation for this project filed and stored in electronic folders neatly labelled and organised to demonstrate that you can manage and maintain project documentation.

Attachment:- Manage risk.rar