First Line Management

Business Networking Conference, Paris. A photo by alexdecarvalho

Are you in work and managing staff? If so you are in first line management. You can work to improve your management abilities by studying the units listed below.

Learning support and accreditation

The following formal learning institutions offer learning support for first line management, and may offer assessment and certification based on the units.

• Otago Polytechic, New Zealand offers assessment of prior learning, as well as face to face and online learning support for study of the (New Zealand) National Certificate in First Line Management.

Content

Below is a list of units that have been brought together to cover the skills and knowledge needed for the role of a first line manager. We suggest you go through each unit that is linked from this list, and complete a project from each.

The units listed here are based on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework for First Line Management. We expect that these units have much in common with other national qualifications frameworks. If you wish to obtain a New Zealand Certificate in First Line Management you need to complete all of the units up to and including Problem Solving. Then you will need to complete at least two of the remaining units listed after Problem Solving.

Otherwise, please use this as an informative guide to improving management in your organisation, and please feel welcome to make edits and improvements or discuss any content presented here.

• Time management - In Time Management you’ll consider the concept of time, its use, and mis-use in a typical workplace. You’re invited to examine your current time management practices and try a range of effective tips and techniques.

• Business writing skills - In Business Writing Skills you will examine the principles of English grammar, punctuation and their everyday usage. This module will also uncover all the elements a writer needs to develop and maintain a good writing style.

• Health & safety plan - Here the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and its 2003 amendment is examined to determine the responsibility for their implementation. You will also explore some ways of implementing health and safety requirements, as well as options to manage workplace emergencies.

• Positive workplace relationships - In this module you’ll look at strategies to develop productive working relationships with staff and colleagues, and to minimise conflict situations. You’ll also examine employment contracts, social and community responsibilities and ethical behaviours.

• Team building - In Team Building you’ll explore the principles and processes of team-building and the ways to consolidate and strengthen a team, as well as identifying team membership and leadership roles.

• Managing conflict - Here you'll explore sources of interpersonal conflict and identify strategies to successfully resolve conflict situations. You'll also look at a model of negotiation as the management tool to get results.

• Problem solving - In this unit you will look at the way to define, analyse and evaluate problems. You'll also explore the ways to successfully implement solutions, using a problem solving model as the management tool.

• Performance monitoring & planning - You’ll examine performance management to determine the processes involved, the documentation required and what is needed from managers. You’ll also identify ways of giving feedback and consider some theories of motivation.

• Analyse work content and identify work group needs - In this unit you’ll look at what factors contribute to the development of ‘work content’. You’ll be introduced to the complexities of competencies, the joys of job analysis and the place of position descriptions. You’ll consider how to use job analysis information to define workplace requirements, and also look at selection criteria - how they are best used and the benefits they bring.

• Organisational principles - In this module you’ll identify the relationship between organisational principles and design and the achievement of organisational goals, along with different structures and the impact of internal and external factors. You’ll also consider the roles of managers in organisational design.

• Managing workplace operations - Here you’ll identify the ways to supervise the production of goods, along with the factors that underlie the effective use of physical resources. Then you’ll consider the ways to monitor, measure and report on workplace operations.

• Recruit and select staff - In this unit, you’ll look at what’s involved in planning for the recruitment and selection of staff. Then, you’ll consider how to recruit staff and the decisions that must be made about organisational requirements and the choice of media. The potential barriers to fair and equitable processes are also considered and you’ll be introduced to the steps involved in selecting staff.

• Prepare and conduct staff selection interviews - In this unit, you’ll look at what documentation is required for staff selection procedures and you’ll identify the skills needed to advertise for and shortlist candidates for selection interviews. You’ll also consider what’s involved in conducting a selection interview as a first line manager.

• Lead a team to complete routine and complex tasks - In this unit, you’ll look at what it takes to lead a team to complete routine and complex tasks. You’ll also consider what a manager needs to know and do, before beginning to lead a team’s activities. You’ll investigate teams, team building, team training and team tools. You’ll also look at management and leadership functions and management styles. All in all, you’ll discover what’s needed to successfully lead a team to complete its tasks on time.

• Training & development - Here you’ll identify the components of training and development, including levels of need and competency. You’ll also examine some ways to establish and organise training and development requirements for individuals and teams, along with assessment options.

• Prepare and implement a team project - Here you’ll look at what’s involved in scoping and planning a team project. You’ll also consider the ways to implement a project as a member of a project team. Of course, no action is complete without a review of progress, so finally you’ll look at how individual performance can be reviewed.

• Demonstrate knowledge of change management - In this unit, you’ll identify the causes of change in a business operation and evaluate some models for managing change. You’ll also consider human resistance to change, see its personal impact on people and how it often manifests itself, as stress. You’ll also look at stress management techniques and discover how stress can be managed.