Practices of resources management

Instructions:

You are required to prepare four short written statements and a brief reflection statement

demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of how to identify, plan, use and evaluate resources to meet objectives. You are encouraged to include examples from your work area or from an organisation with which you are familiar.

Your assignment should be between 2500 - 3000 words. You should make appropriate use of tables, graphs, diagrams, Gantt charts and flowcharts and you must reference any sources you have used to complete this assignment listing reference journals, books, web sites. Your assignment must include a bibliography.

Part 1: By completing this unit, you should now be able to identify and plan resources needed to meet objectives (Learning Outcome 1)

Identify the types of human, physical and financial resources that managers use to enable them to achieve organisational objectives. Provide at least one example of a human, physical and financial resource and show how these link to a managers departmental objectives.

Draw up an annual plan of the human and physical resources you require to meet your objectives over the course of a twelve month period, as a means of explaining the resource planning process. Specify the quantities of each resource required on a monthly basis and ensure you plan for any seasonal peaks and troughs. Include a column for the analysis and allocation of costs or budget. You will be expected to allow for issues like multiple pay rates or time off in lieu, and for consumable, materials or utilities price fluctuations. Use work based examples where possible. Otherwise provide an annual plan of resources to meet a set of objectives which you can provide from external research, as outlined in the scenario above.

Illustrate your answers with examples from your own workplace where possible.

Part 2: By completing this unit, you should now be able to select and use the resources supply chain to meet planned objectives (Learning Outcome 2)

Evaluate the sources of supply relating to the resources used by your organisation. Discuss the reliability of each of these sources and explain how the organisation assesses the value for money they represent (quality of the goods or service supplied compared with the cost).

Discuss the processes you have in place to select suppliers, order, receive and pay for goods and services and the quality checks that are made on receipt or usage. Examples should be provided for both human and physical resources.

Explain processes that could be managed to ensure you have sufficient resources at all times to meet demand so that you are able to meet objectives / plans.

Illustrate your answers with examples from your own workplace where possible.

Part 3: By completing this unit, you should now be able to select and use the resources supply chain to meet planned objectives (Learning Outcome 2 continued)

Analyse the contingency arrangements or strategies that you have in place, or could put in place, to ensure your part of the organisation continues to operate in the event of a resource supply failure. Identify the cost implications of this. Provide practical examples for both human and physical resources based.

Describe at least one forecasting model which can be used to predict potential disruptions in supply. Provide an outline of what is meant by disaster planning and analyse its effectiveness in managing disruptions in resource supply.

Illustrate your answers with examples from your own workplace where possible.

Part 4: By completing this unit, you should now be able to monitor and evaluate internal and external resource use to meet plans ( Learning Outcome 3)

Explain how the use of a range of resources is recorded. Provide examples of typical reporting arrangements deployed to review progress of actual use for each of these resources and their frequency. Discuss at least two different methods of comparing actual resource usage against forecast requirements and identifying variances.

Illustrate your answers with examples from your own workplace where possible.

Reflective Statement

Describe how you believe the knowledge and understanding you have gained from completing this unit will help you to develop yourself as a manager and leader in the future.