DIPLOMA

QUALIFICATION
June 2014

Management Case Studies

Advance Information for Candidates
Advance information case study 1
Based in a council which experiences a local disaster, you will be asked to prepare
for enacting the Councils Emergency Plan for delivery of service and from various
offices.

Advance information case study 2

This question not set in a local authority will ask you to consider employment terms
and conditions and the process for altering these.

Advance information case study 3

Consultation of residents is an important part of corporate activity. The question will
centre on the available methods and how to structure these for use within a council to
improve the councils reputation.

Management Case Studies, Diploma Qualification, June 2014

DIPLOMA
QUALIFICATION
June 2014

Management Case Studies

Wednesday 4th June 2014
9.25am-12.40pm (INCL. 15 MINS. FOR READING)

Time allowed: 3 hours

Answer any TWO out of the three cases.

Candidates may make such assumptions as are reasonable to complete
the questions but these should NOT conflict with the Case Material
provided. In all cases, assumptions should be clearly stated and justified.
Answers should show a range of current knowledge and understanding
and apply it appropriately to the selected cases. The information /
material provided should be used relevantly and comprehensively whilst
the outcome(s) should be reasonable and suitable to the circumstances
described.
Candidates should ensure that their answers are clear and logically
structured and that both the structure and the language conform to the
requirements of the required format(s) (leaflet, internal report,
presentation notes etc.).
An essay style is not required.
Maximum marks: 300

Management Case Studies, Diploma Qualification, June 2014

Page 1 of 4

Case Study 1

Westermouth Council is a Unitary Council based in the rural county of Westerset.

The poor weather this winter has seen the water levels rising until one day, you are
called in to work for 7.00 am as the main council building has flooded at the ground
floor ruining your customer services centre.
The Chief Executive has called an Emergency Planning Meeting for 8.30am;
however, the emergency planning officer is currently on Maternity leave and you
have responsibility for covering the role. You therefore will attend the meeting and be
part of the restoration project.
You are able to ascertain the following before the meeting:

Switchboard is not working due to water damage.

There are several inches of water in the ground floor making the building
inaccessible.

One of the two Drop in Day Centres (which provide lunches for approximately
80 people) that you also own (and run within a quarter of a mile), is also
flooded and will not be able to open to the public.

The weather forecasts are not yet suggesting the end of the bad weather.

The council is being called upon to remove debris and damage to roads
where trees have fallen, cordon off flood areas and support vulnerable people
who may be affected by the weather.

You are to attend the meeting and explain to the group your plan to still provide
council services to the public, Prepare your notes for this meeting to explain how you
intend to ensure that the council can carry out its duties to the residents who have
been affected by the weather and what help may be available immediately (and in
the future) for any costs.
It is necessary for you to explain how you would enact the detail of the emergency
plan. At the very least, you must advise staff, provide a telephone link to the council
this morning and ensure that the public are aware and up to date with what is
happening and the efforts being made by the council during this period.

Management Case Studies, Diploma Qualification, June 2014

Page 2 of 4

Case Study 2

You are the Personnel Officer in a small private business. It has become apparent
that the staff terms of work (hours of work / notice for leave / reporting for sick /
recording and taking TOIL) are not strictly adhered to and while there may not be any
out-and-out abuse occurring, there is a lack of clarity around the entitlements for
staff. In addition, staff feel at ease taking and making personal phone calls at work,
using the photocopier and internet facilities for personal use.
You raise this with the Director who tells you that it has gradually arisen due to a very
informal environment being created with staff to the point that providing the work is
done, he is not too concerned about following the strict rules. He does accept that
there are some office practices that cause disruption (such as leave or TOIL taken
without notice and then leaving the service short) and staff tensions (where staff are
observed to be observing their own rules) do occur from time to time.
The Director agrees that it is probably time that a halt was called to this and all staff
should be reminded about correct processes. He is happy that some use of office
facilities can be regarded as a perk but limits need to be set to ensure they are not
abused. He agrees that this will help the staff to understand their roles in the office
again. You look at the terms and conditions and decide they could do with being
reissued and for office practices to be included. The Director asks you to do this and
to ensure that staff are appropriately consulted and advised of any changes.
You should prepare a paper for the Director including the redraft the document
adding any matters that you wish and drawing up an implementation plan including
communication with the staff for its release. You should explain why the changes will
benefit the organisation and the staff themselves.
The current Terms and Conditions of Employment are as follows:

The normal working week is 37.5 hours worked 8.30am - 5.00pm Monday to
Friday with an hour taken for lunch each day.

Leave is 22 days per annum (plus statutory bank and public holidays) to be
approved by the Director at least 3 working days prior to relevant dates.
Where staff are part time, the leave will be pro rata. Leave can be brought
forward and carried forward as agreed.

Staff are paid 1/12 of their annual salary less statutory deductions on the 15 th
of the month by BACS transfer.

Notice is a minimum of 4 weeks in writing by either party.

Overtime will be paid as appropriate or the accrual of TOIL.

The Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures are set out separately.

Management Case Studies, Diploma Qualification, June 2014

Page 3 of 4

Case Study 3

You have been asked to sit on a Customer Service Review Group, who have been
put together by your Chief Executive because there is some concern that the
authority, while offering an excellent internal communication and staff policy,
decisions are not always well communicated with the public and as a consequence,
the councils reputation is falling. There has been some criticism of schemes where
money has been invested in new ideas, but the public dont necessarily see the
advantage. A recent example of this was the building of a new library and conference
complex, which is well used in part but many residents do not use it. There are
regular letters in the local paper decrying this project and calling for investment in to
the old towns retail area which is run down but offers small specialist shops.
Additionally, the satisfaction of the public for use of the existing services is not
formally measured. Response to letters, telephone calls and waiting times are all
measured by electronic systems. The results indicate that 75% of customers have
their query dealt with within the publicised targets.
The group has been asked to devise a Consultation Policy which will relate to
integrating the public in to the conceptual decision making of the council yet also
ensuring the services supplied remain to the standard that is expected. At the same
time, there is a need to meet the need of the customer when they contact the council.
There have been many terms discussed by the group including the use of focus
groups, satisfaction surveys, citizens panels, mystery shoppers and citizens juries.
It has fallen to you to prepare a presentation for chief officers, on behalf of the
Customer Service Review Group, to explain the type of consultation methods that are
available and to suggest the method (or methods) that would be most suitable to
ensuring that objectives concerning interaction with the customer are met.
You should prepare both the slides that would be used for a power point presentation
and include the notes that you would use to assist you with the presentation to the
group. Clear explanation of the current situation of council consultation, what you
know, explanation of the different approaches available and a preferred option should
all be included, considering likely costs of each.

Management Case Studies, Diploma Qualification, June 2014

Page 4 of 4

Diploma Management Case Studies

Examiners Comments
June 2014

Case Study 1
This question was emergency plan deployment following severe weather damaging
council property. The Candidate was given a scenario to explain what customer
facing services were available and those most vitally that were not. There were lots
of hints and suggestions included to be used which some students grasped and
others did not. Students were simply expected to find a solution and could use their
own imaginations, which many did.
Students were asked to prepare notes for a meeting to explain how they intended to
ensure that the Council can carry out its duties to the residents who have also been
affected by the weather and what help may be available immediately and also in the
future for the costs to be incurred. Public communication was also asked for.
Marks were awarded in the following manner
Style
Meeting notes - so not a report but a logical progression of the
points that the candidate will raise staring with setting the scene,
the background to the emergency plan through to how it will be
implemented and what to do if further contingency is needed
including environment agency interaction,
contact with
emergency service and finishing with reprovision of the offices
when planning can be taken and any funds that may be available
to help with the costs
Most candidates were able to produce a logical set of notes that
showed that the main issues were to be covered.
Stating the current situation
What can happen the building / what cant / the state of the
electrics etc - is any of the building usable immediately or in time
and how do we establish this?
What will risk to further disruption be?
Press and communications
Patchy in that students tend to forget the requirement for press
releases and the more immediate use of social media and other
options. Some students plunge in the to solution and forget to
set the scene. Setting the scene can allow for statement of
assumptions which will get marks for completeness of the
solution
Analysis moving forward, emergency plan provisions
Improvisation where the day centres are to be used
Immediate support on floods / road closures/ debris and help for
vulnerable
Highways and support services
Identifying the most important services and keeping the service to
the community going in light of Councils own difficulty
Reprovision of switchboard for incoming coms
Staff communication
Temporary offices or service provision
Alternative customer service provision
Candidates can be as imaginative as the wish there is no right or
wrong - this question is testing process, ability to think on feet
and being aware of emergency plans and how they can also be
challenged through multi failure.
Mostly handled well, a bit more corporate thinking about updating
and liaising with highways on road closures, for example would

45 for
emergency plan
deploy for initial
ongoing service
25 for
reprovision
getting things
more regulated
for what may be
a period of time

have been required to give a holistic approach to the answer

Reprovision of services in longer term
Buildings - order to carry out repairs and refit phased move
back?
Review of emergency plans and success of operation thereafter.
Some of the students seemed to think that a few buckets and
mops would do, thinking about the effect on IT and the time to dry
out an office and allow it to be used (Environmental health
involvement) would have been helpful.
Finances : Belwin / government aid / insurances
As always the weakest part of the answer. A Big authority is not
looking to pay these costs themselves but to get them recouped
from insurance / grants etc and this as always was a little thin.
Total
General: mostly well answered with all but three students who
attempted the question receiving a comfortable pass
Case study 2
An old staple set outside of a local authority and simply asking to produce a new set
of Terms and Conditions of employment. This should be bread and butter for the
students with core personnel matters showing here. The question included the
current draft and allowed the student to add to this as they wished.
Students were asked to draft a new T and C along with a report to the Director
explaining how it would be implemented, including communication with the staff (to
include staff side and unions)for its release. Students were asked to explain why the
changes will benefit the organisation and the staff themselves.
Marks were awarded as follows:
Format
A new T and C document explanatory brief for Director and an
implementation plan for communication with staff and getting agreement for
the introduction of the changes
It never fails to surprise when a student forgets the implementation plan or
even the detail of the T and C - this did happen on this occasion which
meant marks were unable to be awarded.
Statement of position
Why is it necessary that the staff understand what is expected of them.
Harmony in the workplace etc reference to management theory and studies
could be made here (Mayo / Herzberg etc) - but briefly as this is background
Improvements to productivity if staff are not concerned about matters that
should be clear. The benefits of a content workforce. Time saved in dealing
with office fallings out.
Some reference to management theory in the draft to the director could have
been made and this is disappointing when it is not.
Students should
remember this is not just testing ability to deal with the problem presented but
also the application of the background learning, a little reference to
management theory is expected and will be rewarded.
New T and C
The candidate can add in whatever they wish provided legal! I would expect
to see examples such as:
Consideration of flexi time rather than fixed hours (but this is not essential)
Explanation of variance if part time.
A cap on the number of days taken to and from different years
A process for recording leave and toil referred to (possible reference to leave
being approved provided it meets the teams requirements/ minimum staff
numbers etc)

Toil and Overtime being approved in advance of being worked

Who will deal in the absence of the director should it be delegated anyway
Explanation of pro rata
What the leave year is and when it starts / ends
what the lunch period is (12.00 1.00 or between 11.30 and 3.00??) needs
of the service if any.
Clarifying use of computer / internet and company tools such as phones/
photocopier and also time (personal phones).
The T and C needs to be well set out, logical legal and clear
There was little alteration from the details as included In the papers which is
a shame. To a large degree the public sector are good examples of flexible
terms and conditions and the reproduction of changes to match the students
own T and C would have been very suitable.
Communications and implementation
Staff side / union discussion on anything new or perceived as being taken
away. Negotiation if necessary
Implementation time including - Period of grace, written communications and
clear statement as to the purpose of the reissued policies (to avoid
misunderstandings and clarify the working arrangements)
Staff briefings to know it is coming and perhaps get them involved in the
changes.
Students who forget about the unions(or staff side negotiations) simply miss
picking up marks
Max score
Overall comment: only 4 students attempted this, all bar one passed
comfortably with what should have been a very easy question at this level
Case Study 3
Students were given the current result of some customer feedback and image of the
council in the public domain and were asked to prepare a presentation for chief
officers, on behalf of the customer service review group to explain the type of
consultation methods that are available and to suggest the method or methods that
would be most suitable to ensure that both objectives concerning interaction with the
customer are met.
Both the slides that would be used for a power point presentation and notes that
would be used with the presentation to the group were requested. To include the
current position and the cost of implementing new options.
Marks were awarded as follows
Structure of Answer
The answer should be presented as the content for slides plus the
speaker notes for the presentation.
Background :
Strengths of the council and good intention projects
Understanding the needs and wants of residents
What statutory surveys/ voluntary surveys are already carried out
Responses measured and overall 70% satisfaction service.
Some students were not aware of any surveys that may be carried
out, many former best value indicators such as communication are
still kept by local authorities as they did provide insight and
information and this would have been a good place to start.
Strategy:

What do we want to achieve?

What is acceptable / higher level satisfaction
Educating the residents and keeping them on-board
Where do we aim ourselves
Not so well done, students like to answer the question rather than
consider the holistic issue which includes thinking why are we doing
this!
What is available (should include with brief explanation of each and
how it works but may not be exclusive):
Focus Groups
Citizens Panels
Residents satisfaction surveys
Mystery shopping
Citizens juries
What experience / expertise have we got?
What can we do ourselves what should be put out to third parties
Which of the options will best suit us?
Fairly well attempted by everyone, the question did give some
examples but those students who introduced other canvassing
options gained additional points.
Political / financial / assessment implications
As always the weakest area, most students pick up finance, dont say
how it will be funded and often ignore reputation and political fall out.
Total marks available
Some good solid passes with only a couple of students marginally
failing the question. Read the question, pluck elements from it but also
add your own knowledge and answer the question as asked,
including each requirement and a pass should follow.