Vo
l 3
Issu
e 4
20
12
Swansea Business SchoolYsgol Fusnes Abertawe
Driving ForwardCustomer EngagementHow the DVLA is leading the
way on Data Insight
Stepping off theDancefloor… Why Public Service Leadersneed time away from the fray
Paying For Itself?The Pros and Cons ofPrivate Finance Initiatives
Fire-proofingyour Business10 Minute Guide fromthe Fire Service
Leadingby Example Public Services Chiefson their PersonalLeadership Philosophies
3 Editorial:THE HEART OF THE WELSH ECONOMY? Taking the Pulse of the Public Services
4 Think-piece: “GET OFF THE DANCE FLOOR AND ONTO THE BALCONY” Why Public Service Leaders in Wales need to take time away from the fray
6 Industry View:LEADING BY EXAMPLEPublic Services Chiefs on their Personal Leadership Philosophies
16 Industry Profile: BLENDED LEARNING IN THE POLICE FORCEHow blended learning is enabling South Wales Policeto develop future leaders ona budget
18 10 Minute Guide:FIRE-PROOFING YOUR BUSINESSYour essential guide to making sure your business is fireproof and legal
20 Emerging Theme: MATHEMATICS OFTHE HEART Can heart-based stress-reduction techniques ease the burden on the NHS?
21 News and events
23 Books
24 Next Issue: BRIGHT SPARKS – CAN WALES IGNITE ITS ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT?
inside
CONTACT US / CYSYLLTWCH Â NI
Web/ Gwefan: www.smu.ac.uk/swbr
Email/ E-bost: [email protected]
Twitter: @SWBusReview
Post: Lucy GriffithsSouth Wales Business ReviewSwansea Business SchoolMount PleasantSwansea SA1 6ED
summer/autumn 2012Volume 3 Issue 4
2 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
Alternative formatsIf you require this document in analternative format (e.g. Welsh, large printor text file for use with a text reader),please email [email protected]
Fformatau eraillOs hoffech y ddogfen hon mewn fformatarall (e.e. Cymraeg, print mawr neu ffeiltesun i’w ddefnyddio gyda darllenyddtesun), anfonwch e-bost [email protected]
ISSN 2049-5544
Disclaimer: The articles in this publication represent the viewsof the authors, not those of Swansea Metropolitan University.The University does not accept responsibility for the contentsof articles by individual authors. Please contact the editor ifyou have further queries.
Ymwadiad: Mae’r erthyglau yn y cyhoeddiad hwn yncynrychioli barn yr awduron, nid rhai Prifysgol FetropolitanAbertawe. Nid yw’r Brifysgol yn derbyn cyfrifoldeb amgynnwys erthyglau awduron unigol. Cysylltwch â’r golygyddos oes gennych gwestiynau pellach.
Registered Charity Number / Rhif Elusen Gofrestredig1139800 © Swansea Metropolitan University/PrifysgolFetropolitan Abertawe 2012. All rights reserved/ cedwir pobhawl.
Images: Front cover: ©iStockphoto.com/JuSun. This page:©iStockphoto.com/Freder
Amendment: The news item ‘More Placement Success for MetStudents’ in Volume 3 Issue 3 of the South Wales BusinessReview (published May 2012) contained a factual error inreference to refurbishments at Raithwaite Hall Hotel. Ourapologies to Horst Schulze
9 Opinion: WHY HAVE A PUBLIC SECTOR? The rationale for our public services
10 Business perspective: DRIVING FORWARD CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENTHow the DVLA is leading theway on Data Insight
12 Research in Focus:PAYING FOR ITSELF?The Pros and Cons of Private Finance Initiatives
14 Education:DOES PRACTICE MAKE PERFECT PUBLIC SERVICE PROFESSIONALS?How can Higher Education help deliver the next generation of public servants?
Welcome to the new issue of the South
Wales Business Review. This time our
theme for the issue is the public
services and their role in the Welsh
economy. It seems to me that there’s
a common perception amongst us
Welsh folk that Wales has become
heavily reliant on the public services
for job creation in recent years – and
that this may not always be a good
thing - but is this truly the case? In
this issue we’ll be taking a closer look
at the role of the public services in the
Welsh economy, asking what the
recent cuts in government spending
mean for our public services and
highlighting some fantastic examples
of how the public services are
operating at the cutting edge of
business and operational thinking.
We’re all dependent on the public
services to one extent or another,
whether in our working or personal lives,
so we all have a stake in their success –
and in this edition we’ve got Steve
Griffiths looking at whether public services
are still relevant in a modern economy,
and proposing a new rationale for their
existence in his opinion piece on page 9.
Dr Margaret Inman reports on a recent
public service leadership conference on
pages 4 and 5, where those in senior
positions in our public services were
encouraged to ‘step of the dancefloor’ for
a while and take a long hard look at how
public sector workers can be developed
and motivated.
The importance of developing public
service employees is exemplified by a
case study from South Wales Police on
page16 which explains how they are
using innovative blended learning
techniques to train the next generation of
police officers.
We’ve also got a fantastic example of a
public service using cutting edge
technology to help make itself financially
robust, right here in South Wales as
Alison Saunders of the DVLA explains
how customer insight is driving their
business forward on pages 10 and 11.
Owen Lewis presents the findings of a
recent piece of research conducted by
Swansea Business School into the
financial implications of Private Finance
Initiatives (PFIs) in Wales on pages 12 and
13, and in addition to all this, we have our
10 minute guide (this time it’s hints and
tips from the fire service on how to ‘fire-
proof your business’ p18) and the usual
news, events and reviews.
I very much hope you’ll enjoy reading this
edition and welcome your feedback by
email to [email protected].
Lucy
Don’t forget you can also subscribe to receive aregular copy by post or view the SWBR online atwww.smu.ac.uk/swbr.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Editor: Lucy Griffiths
Editorial Board:Kathryn FlynnSamantha MorganPam Murray
Design & Print: SMU Print Unit
SBS Contributors:
Owen LewisOwen Lewis is Programme Directorfor the Swansea Business SchoolMBA and is an expert in financialmanagement with a particularresearch interest in public servicefunding issues including PrivateFinance Initiative schemes.
Steve GriffithsWith a background in Economics anda strong interest in Business Ethics,Steve Griffiths has taught atSwansea Business School for manyyears, and is currently AssistantDean Faculty of Business andManagement and Head of the Centrefor International Development wherehe is responsible for internationalpartnerships and theinternationalisation agenda within theFaculty.
Dr Margaret InmanMargaret Inman is the Head of theCentre for Professional and PostGraduate Studies at SwanseaBusiness School and Principallecturer in Human ResourceManagement (HRM). Her researchinterests focus on leadershipassessment and development. Shehas co-authored a text book on HRMand has published in internationaljournals on leadership.
Bronwen WilliamsBronwen Williams is a legal expertwith a focus on the public servicesand recently joined the team on apermanent basis as part of the teamdelivering our newly redeveloped andrevalidated range of programmes inthe Public Services.
Vol 3 Issue 4 2012 │ 3
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU │
Editorial: The Heart ofthe Welsh Economy?
LucyGriffithsEditor
Taking the Pulse of the Public Services
Ronald Heifetz founding Director of the
Centre for Public Leadership at
Harvard University coined the phrase
‘get off the dancefloor and onto the
balcony’, and often there is a need to
gain a broader perspective; are we too
busy on the ‘dance floor’ to be
effective? Immersed in day to day
challenges, keeping our head just
above the water, occasionally we need
to step outside and get ‘on to the
balcony’ to see the broader picture to
see what is really going on. This
involves deep thinking, collaboration,
meeting and learning with and from,
other people. The recent Public
Services Management Wales (PSMW)
Summer School was aimed at doing
just that. Leaders from over 100 public
service organisations in Wales were
spending time on ‘the balcony’, to
promote collaborative learning and to
develop innovative ways to meet the
needs of Welsh citizens in the most
efficient and effective way.
Ensuring public service employees
continue to feel valued in the face of
uncertainty and change was a key theme
that emerged from PSMW. As Public
Services is a ‘people business’ it is critical
to put in place mechanisms to get the
best from our people. It is imperative that
in such times of austerity employees are
being the best they can possibly be. In
order to do this they need to understand
the bigger picture and what part they play
in this.
So, just as the cleaner at NASA knew that
his job was “to put a man on the moon”,
employees know exactly how they add
value to the organisation and are
empowered to do so. It is widely claimed
that only 30% of individual’s potential is
used in work. Gary Hamel writing in the
Harvard Business Review (2011) believes
that a hierarchical structure disempowers
employees. His research has shown that
out of solutions for change initiatives, only
10% that work come from the ‘top’.
Despite this many decisions within our
organisations are progressed up the
chain and in doing so, employees wait to
be ‘told’ which in turn encourages
learned ‘helplessness’.
We need to encourage employees to
develop their own solutions and not go
straight to the ‘expert’. This will involve
the redistribution of power so people are
motivated to take personal responsibility.
From ‘the balcony’, organisations need to
consider how their structures need to
change in the future to encourage the
release of effort and energy. It is important
that we don’t overlook the talent that sits
in the shadows of organisations because
we don’t know how to identify strengths
only weaknesses. People grow on the
basis of their strengths. Trying to improve
weaknesses at best will encourage
mediocre performance, at worst will invite
failure. This calls for a growth mindset.
Fliaster (2011) believes we need to ‘hire
and wire’ people. If we see people as
‘grow able’ it is likely that interventions will
be put in place to help them grow.
Creating a coaching culture is one way of
doing this and in the Public Services in
particular, encouraging collaboration. This
has already happened between and
within public service organisations
through Local Area Agreements and
Shared Services. The realisation that
4 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
Think Piece: Get off the dancefloor and onto the balcony…Why Public Service Leaders in Wales need to take timeaway from the fray.
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
“As Public Servicesis a ‘peoplebusiness’ it is criticalto put in placemechanisms to getthe best from ourpeople”
Dr Margaret InmanDr Margaret Inman considers the need forPublic Service Leaders to take time out fromthe day-to-day to consider the bigger picturein terms of their people development strategy.
Vol 3 Issue 4 2012 │ 5
creativity is not down to
one person, but
collaboration can help
identify and solve problems
through division of labour. Burt
(2001) coined the phrase ‘structural
holes’ where social groups may be
separated by artificial barriers.
This can be for example, between
different departments in the same
building.
As a result departments work in ‘silos’
where ideas flow within each department,
not between departments. Burt suggests
there is a need to establish information
flow across the holes to take advantage
of knowledge and promote learning
throughout the organisation. Regular
meetings between departments, and
working across functional teams builds
bridges across these structural holes. It
may involve spending less time on
understanding what divides people but
take more time to understand what brings
them together.
To do this we need to get on to the
‘balcony’ and legitimise thinking. The
NHS growth of strategic consultants
increased by 500% in the last 5 years.
We are paying them to think for us.
Encouraging ‘slow’ thinking and
collaboration to explore ideas is one
suggested way of ensuring sustainability.
Of course we don’t want everybody to
leave the dance floor otherwise the party
will end but we do need to encourage
people to take time out, look out from the
‘balcony’, and take well thought out steps
to get the best from our people in order
to meet the unprecedented challenges
that face the public services in the future.
Each year PSMW holds a SummerSchool for leaders across the PublicServices in Wales. The theme for the2012 event was ‘Managing Beyondthe Frontier, A 21st CenturyApproach to Delivering Success’.
To find out more about the PSMWSummer School please go to theirwebsite:wales.gov.uk/psmwsubsite/psmw/
Image: ©iStockphoto.com/Freder
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
“People grow on thebasis of theirstrengths. Trying toimprove weaknessesat best willencourage mediocreperformance, atworst will invite failure.This calls for agrowth mindset.”
Industry View:Leading by ExampleFour of Wales’s highest profile Public Service Leaders givetheir views on how their colleagues can best preparethemselves to meet the future challenges faced by thesector…
Mohammed Mehmet: Chief Executive, Denbighshire County Council
Carmel Napier:Chief Constable,Gwent Police
Paul Roberts: Chief Executive,Abertawe Bro MorgannwgUniversity Health Board
Paul Roberts: Chief Executive,Newydd Housing Association
6 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
Q That do we need from Public
Service managers in the future
to deliver outstanding public
services?
Paul Roberts (ABM UHB)
'Well, overall what we're going to have to
do is to continue the route of improving
public services - but we all know we're
doing that at a time of absolutely
unprecedented challenge in terms of the
economic situation, and therefore,
finances in the Public Service. So, the
overall vision has to be to keep improving
but to do it within that context. It's a
pretty tough challenge.'
Paul Roberts (Newydd)
'I don't think you can really start to deliver
an effective service unless you
understand what customers really want
from that service - and, I think you really
need to be able to think beyond the limits
of your own responsibility. You need to
think about the interface with other public
services and also how you may be able to
interact with the private sector and the
voluntary sector.'
Mohammed Mehmet
'Being creative about making the best of
less resources, I think is going to be
important for the next generation of
managers. So, it's about having higher
aspirations, recognising the environment
in which we work and turning that to an
advantage.'
Carmel Napier
'We must work across agencies and work
towards a shared mission, have the same
values to deliver and, above all, when
we're considering how we're going to
deliver business always put the public, ie.
the customer, first.'
Q What are the key challenges
managers will face in delivering
that vision?
Paul Roberts (ABM UHB)
'I believe the biggest challenge for all of
us is how we take our workforce with us,
because in organisations such as the
Health Service in which I work, our staff
are out there in our local communities.
They're hugely influential in what our
communities think about our services and
some of the changes we're making.'
Paul Roberts (Newydd)
'I think what we need to do is work
around a value-for-money approach that
really focuses on outcomes rather than
outputs – making sure that every penny
we spend is actually achieving
something.'
Mohammed Mehmet
'The challenge of competing in the
international economy is massive for
Wales. We know, in terms of education
and skills we're some way behind. We
have a long way to go before we can be
satisfied. I do sometimes feel frustrated
that we think we're better than we are
and there is a feeling that what we do is
good enough. I think we need to tackle
that.'
Carmel Napier
'I think the key challenges will be about
the cultural shift, in that it will require a
move from hierarchical type
organisations, which organisations like
the police can be, so that we work on
joint initiatives and joint projects – where
we jointly fund a team.'
Q What do you think are the
strengths managers in the public
service already have that we can
build on, to perform even better in
the future?
Paul Roberts (ABM UHB)
'There is a very, very strong code of
Public Service ethics it seems to me in
Wales. People are very committed to
doing the best for their local communities
and, while I'm sure that's the case across
Public Services in the rest of the UK and
the rest of the world, I think there's a very,
very strong sense of that community
pride in Wales – and I think that comes
through in public services managers. I
have been deeply impressed with that.'
Paul Roberts (Newydd)
'Generally, we've got an ethos of strong
governance and probity. I think we know
that we're accountable for what we do
and for every penny we spend, and that's
a very positive starting point for public
services. Secondly, I think we've all got an
ethos of improvement and challenge; it's
not good enough to be satisfied with
what you’re doing, you should always be
trying to think about how can we actually
improve what we're trying to do as an
organisation. And, I think in Wales it's
fairly unique really – there is a very strong
and quite close network that we can draw
on. Wales is a relatively small country and
it's not difficult to make those
connections with people across the
Public Service, both within your own area
of work but also outside as well - and
right across the country. I think that can
be very supportive.'
Mohammed Mehmet
'I think there are significant strengths in
Wales, the one that I'm always struck by
is that there is very good knowledge of
each other which you get in a small
country, that you wouldn't in a bigger
one. I think there is a lot of knowledge
and experience in all of our organisations.
We have people who have been around
for a while, which is good. So, in terms of
continuity and of knowledge of place and
challenges, that's impressively there. And,
we know about each other so the
potential for sharing that, networking,
building on good practice is there more
than it is in other places. I think that is
probably the biggest single advantage we
have.'
Carmel Napier
'There is already that common bonding,
in relation to that 'Welshness' brand
about how we move and take things
forward together. I think within Wales,
we're really, really lucky in that we're small
enough to know most of each other. I
think also there's a key will to do it. We've
got a Programme for Government which
is joined up on its approach – it's actually
focussing very much on the benefits and
the outcomes to the public. I think
through that common purpose that we
can pull together. I think the advantage
that we've got is that we can build on the
strength in the professional working
relationships that we already have in
place and the outcomes and successes
that we're already achieving.
We know at time of critical incidents and
disasters, that all the agencies do
mobilise and work really successfully
together – both supporting and engaging
the community, explaining what they're
doing and providing excellence and
service. I think it's about having that
critical joint agency response being part
of our day-to-day business, which we can
build on for the future.'
Q What are the top three key
leadership qualities our future
leaders will need?
Paul Roberts (ABM UHB)
'In all the hard work we do about
delivering change and services, we must
always appreciate the need for
developing ourselves. Keep looking
around at where good practice is, make
sure we keep up-to-date, make sure that
we keep educated. The challenges we
face at the moment are going to draw on
our own individual and personal
resources like they've never done before.
So, I think being reflective about practice
is one.
Vol 3 Issue 4 2012 │ 7
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
8 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
We need to be resilient. The next few
years are going to be very, very tough –
we will have to find lots of innovative
solutions, they're going to be tough.
Some people are not going to like them.
We'll have to make sure we're resilient
and determined to see some of that
change through.'
Mohammed Mehmet
'I think we need people who are not
phased by change or challenge, that they
actually look forward to it and thrive on it
and think it's a good thing. We want and
need leaders who can see opportunities
in difficult times. The characteristics of
leaders are also very important. I think,
being authentic and communicating a
passion for improvement and change –
people can read through you if you are
not authentic. That's really important for
me.'
Carmel Napier
'People that can help build a clear
strategy and mission which is rooted in
values. For me, it's that clarity of vision.
‘What is our purpose? What are we
seeking to achieve?’ - and to get others
working to it. That's number one.
I think secondly, it's about that ability to
work across other organisations and to
work together to overcome those hurdles
of organisational cultures. To move away
from the way we traditionally delivered our
business within our silos, to work
compactly and effectively together to
achieve one goal.’
Q What are the things managers
need to do more of?
Paul Roberts (ABM UHB)
'I feel one of the things we need to do
more of is draw on the existing strengths
of our workforce. We need to draw more
on people who are in the front line to help
us develop solutions to some of the
problems we face.'
Paul Roberts (Newydd)
'They need to listen to customers, they
need to listen to staff, they need to listen
to stakeholders – because without
listening you don't really know what those
groups of people expect and what
challenges they're facing.
We need to do more around supporting
and coaching staff. At the end of the day,
leaders in the public services are in a very
small minority; how we achieve things is
through our staff and through our
relationships with external organisations.
And, then finally, again it's about
reinforcing those key messages. Making
sure that people are very clear about the
organisation’s mission, about what it's
trying to achieve and that those
messages keep getting repeated.'
Mohammed Mehmet
'I think we need to invest in our workforce
more. There is enormous capacity in
every organisation, and the Public Sector
is no different. I think we need to be
better at recognising that potential,
developing it and deploying it. We have
initiatives here in Denbighshire where
we're creating what we're calling a 'Hub'.
For example, where a number of staff will
spend a certain amount of their time on
their day job and a certain amount of their
time on corporate and other priorities for
the Authority. Now, that is an alternative
to bringing in people from outside, it will
save us money and it will also develop
our own staff. I think good managers
need to be able to communicate the
vision that is about different ways of
working, rather than losing your job. And,
I think that's completely possible.'
Carmel Napier
'We've got to radically change the way
that we do business. We cannot do
business the same way that we've been
operating over the last 30 to 50 years. We
can't. There have been some significant
strengths in it and it's taken us to the
good point that we are at now. But, we
have to really focus about what it is we're
seeking to achieve, what is the
investment we are putting in it to achieve
and actually know what the outcomes are
which must be sustainable for the future.
The days of armchair executives at my
rank, or any other level within the
organisation, for me are gone. You need
to know the detail of the business, you
need to know what your personal
contribution is and what your team's
contributions are to it. From that, actually
challenge each other to move and push
the service on so it delivers the best for
the public. Until we reached this time of
austerity, I think some of our managers
we aren't aware of all those core
ingredients.'
Q What are the things managers
could do less of?
Paul Roberts (ABM UHB)
'I think, in a time of real challenge
financially, what we've got to do less of is
accept low standards. I think we as
leaders have to constantly demand high
standards of our services, of our staff
and, most of all, of ourselves.'
Paul Roberts (Newydd)
'It sort of drives me mad really when
people get into a management position
and think that gives them the right to
assume that they know everything about
the area of work they're working in. They
don't – they're there to do a specific job
and they need to listen to people and
establish why there might be barriers to
change, why there might be barriers to
improvement and try to work with people
to remove those barriers and achieve
better results for customers.'
Mohammed Mehmet
'Cutting out meetings and travelling, by
something like a half - or more! - because
I think there is a lot of redundant activity
that managers do. Some of the things
they should not do is attend meetings for
the sake of attending meetings, getting
involved in things for the sake of getting
involved in things – because they might
miss out if they're not there, that kind of
stuff. Doing much less travelling,
focussing a lot more on research and
analysis and understanding of situations.
I'd like to see that shift from day-to-day,
kind of operational management stuff, to
more thinking and shaping the future,
through investing in their workforce.'
Carmel Napier
'Meetings for the sake of a meeting. I
think costing time against the outcomes
we are seeking to achieve and to
maximise the technology that we've got
available, both from video conferencing to
social media to telephone conferencing.
And, to do things today and not put off
until tomorrow, because if the public in
areas that we identify are high risk need
our help then we cannot wait for a
management meeting to happen
tomorrow. I would like to see public
services moving towards providing
against the demands that the public need
and make – against that 'threat, harm and
need'. I think in a society which is 24-7
they need to be working more on that
seven days a week, against the times of
demand and need and making access to
our services easier.'
Published with kind permission of PublicService Management Wales (PSMW).PSMW supports and helps develop theskills required by managers and leadersacross the Welsh public service to workcollaboratively, across traditionalboundaries.
More information can be found at theirwebsite: wales.gov.uk/psmwsubsite/psmw/
Opinion: Why have a public sector?
Vol 3 Issue 4 2012 │ 9
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
The rationale for having the
government make, deliver or regulate
goods and services has changed over
time as our thinking has changed and
in response to social and economic
forces. However the key driver of
whether we have more or less
controlled by government has, in
modern times, remained political. The
underlying economic justifications
derived from the fact that the market
fails to deliver the efficiency that it
promises are still valid, but critics of
the public sector will simultaneously
point to failure of government, in terms
of inefficient bureaucracy, lack of
concern for what people really want
and its lack of flexibility to change to
meet new needs.
These competing economic perspectives,
both with their strengths and weaknesses
mean that most of us will opt for a mix of
public and private. Few are so confident
that either sector should be abolished,
and even free market economists such as
Milton Friedman saw some role for
government - not a very big role, but
certainly defence, policing and protection
of children.
In fact, most things could be run privately
or use private philanthropy. Few apart
from unreconstructed Marxists would
deny some role for market forces;
remember the thriving ‘black markets’ of
past Soviet regimes? The debate is really
about the nature of the mix in the mixed
economy. The great leaps forward or
backward for the government sector have
been politically motivated.
The post 1945 nationalisations and
creation of the big public services
followed a wave of welfare state liberalism
and municipal socialism fostered by the
nationalisation and planning for the war
effort. The privatisations of the 80s and
90s were driven by conservative
readoption of neoclassical economics of
Hayek and Friedman and belief in
individual freedom and the idea that there
was “no such thing as society”.
The fact is that thefree market is not alevel playing field.However you look at it, the economic
arguments still demand answers to key
questions. Should the state sector be
seen as the first choice provider (is the
NHS safe in the hands of the
Conservative Party) or as a fall back,
‘safety net’ for those who are the
casualties of the free market? Should
council houses be seen as ‘homes for
workers’ (a 1940s concept) or as welfare
housing for those unable to pay for
private rents or mortgages? If you had the
money, would you go private?
The fact is that the free market is not a
level playing field. Inequality, the under
production of merit and public goods,
lack of information to make rational
choices and Professor Pigou’s “defective
telescopic faculty” whereby many people
fail to make provision for future needs like
old age, sickness or having children (far
from the free market ‘rational consumer’
assumption) mean that there are many
ways in which we all agree that the state
must intervene.
Should we have let the banks go bust in
2008? If not are we prepared for the
negative aspects of the market as much
as we like the benefits? Those who
believe in the free market are just as
“political” as those who defend it, and
perhaps recognising the philosophical
and political context as well as the
economics might just make the debate
more realistic and humane.
Steve Griffiths Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Business andManagement at Swansea Met, Steve Griffiths,on why politics still drives the balancebetween the public and private sectors in our economy.
For many years, the private sector in
Britain has recognised the value of
sharing customer insight in developing
customer-focus and in increasing the
potential for efficiency, productivity
and market share. Building effective
customer insight capability enables
the organisation to focus on and meet
customer needs, thereby building
value and enhancing the brand.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
(DVLA) perceives this knowledge sharing
as a way to improve the quality of
information underpinning its core
business, providing greater synergy
between customer service and efficiency.
DVLA has committed significant resource
to sharing customer insight between its
core business functions as a means of
enabling the organisation not only to meet
the ever-increasing demands of its
customers, but also in achieving:
• More effective monitoring of the
external environmental factors
impacting on the organisation to
enable the organisation to anticipate
the needs of its customers;
• Greater understanding of customers
which can lead to reduced operating
and delivery costs;
• More cost-effective and transparent
processes increasing engagement
with the public.
This requires customer insight in the
holistic sense, with all key organisational
activities aligned towards serving the
needs and aspirations of the customer in
a viable and sustainable way.
Channelling Knowledge
A developing customer-focus will require
staff to be equipped and empowered to
respond appropriately to changing
customer needs. An integrated and
systematic approach to customer insight
across the Agency enables the
organisation to focus on broader market-
based questions such as:
• What are our core products and
services?
• Who are our customers?
• How do they differ in terms of needs
and expectations?
• How do they access our service and
how would we like them to access
our services?
• Who else could offer the same
services as DVLA, but more
efficiently?
• How should we respond to this?
Barriers to Customer Insight
The integration of customer insight with
customer service has also been
described by some major organisations
as a messy and uncomfortable business.
This may be due to the perceived internal
conflict that it causes, as well as the
competitive threat or other significant
challenges faced by the organisation from
increasingly discerning customers and
their demands for value for money. In
order to focus on what matters most to
the customer, the organisation needs to
align and monitor its processes to provide
consistency between the quality it
promises and that which is actually
experienced by the customer.
Whilst this requires various organisational
functions to communicate and share
customer insight routinely, more
significantly, it requires them to share a
common, fundamental goal: to delight the
customer. Integration of customer insight
into the core business can often be
hampered by the organisation's culture.
Reduced Customer Focus
Without a centralised approach to
customer insight the Agency is unable to
assess accurately the effectiveness of its
customer service and inform Ministers on
the formation of practical, knowledge-
driven policies. For example, reducing car
tax evasion depends on fully targeted,
intelligence-led enforcement policy which
in turn depends on an appreciation and
dissemination of customer behaviour and
social trends throughout the organisation.
10 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
Business Perspective: Puttingcustomers in the driving seatHow the DVLA Swansea are using the latest data insighttechniques to improve customer engagement
Alison Saunders Alison Saunders is Customer Insight TeamManager at the Driver and Vehicle LicensingAgency (DVLA), an executive agency for theDepartment for Transport.
Thus, a customer insight strategy
engenders greater customer focus and
identifies more accurately and objectively
how stakeholders and customers
perceive DVLA’s processes and the
accessibility of its service.
The dissemination of customer insight
across DVLA supports those whose role
is to deliver customer service to an
increasingly high standard. As
communications channels increase and
diversify, so too will the opportunities for
dialogue with the customer. It is precisely
this dialogue which can offer the
organisation a rich and varied source of
customer intelligence on which to base its
product or service offering – provided of
course that it has a robust mechanism for
disseminating its intelligence throughout
the appropriate parts of its business. This
should identify for the organisation where
policies and transactions meet customer
needs and where they do not, driving up
efficiency through enhanced intelligence-
based, customer-centric processes. This
can mean increased product take-up,
improved accuracy of the customer
database and of course an increased
return on marketing communications
investment through greater efficiency in
the use of customer intelligence.
For DVLA this offers an opportunity to
undertake Customer Journey Mapping
(CJM) in order to examine critically the
key DVLA transactions from our
customers’ perspective. Through this
increased understanding of customers’
real needs and expectations, the
business will be better placed to improve
and develop its services and improve the
overall customer experience whilst
maximising cost efficiencies through
reduced failure demand. The wider
objectives of CJM are to:
1. To explore at what point customers
become aware of their obligations and
requirements when interacting with
DVLA.
2. To determine where customers seek
and obtain information prior to
interacting with DVLA
3. To identify what methods customers
use to interact with DVLA and why.
4. To determine customer satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with each key stage of
the customer journey along with
qualitative information on the
experience.
5. To capture customer views and
opinions on the overall customer
experience
6. To establish customer opinion on
improvements to the service/process.
7. To identify where interacting with
DVLA sits within customers’ priorities
Data on the customer journey is captured
and analysed using a structured,
‘Customer Experience Map’. In order
that the outcomes of our CJM activity be
actionable, rather than just an academic
exercise, key stakeholders across the
business should identify priorities for
action and drive service improvements.
References:
Turnbull, A. Letter to all Civil Servants, 19th July
2004. (Reference AO2004/942)
Disclaimer
Reference made in this article to DVLA and work in
knowledge management does not form part of the
official viewpoint of the DVLA. Responsibility for the
content remains with the author.
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
Vol 3 Issue 4 2012 │11
CU5T0M3R 1
“Whilst this requires various organisationalfunctions to communicate and share
customer insight routinely, more significantly,it requires them to share a common,
fundamental goal:
to delight the customer.”
12 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
Paying For Itself?The Pros and Consof Private Finance Initiatives
Owen LewisProgramme Director for the Swansea BusinessSchool MBA, Owen Lewis, considers whetherWales should jump on the Private FinanceInitiative bandwagon or find another way offunding public service developments.
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ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
Private enterprises often use assets to
generate revenue and profits, even
though they do not own them. In the
early 1990s, the then Conservative
government championed the same
principle for the financing and use of
major new public assets. The adoption
of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
relieved pressure on already tight
government spending plans and the
national debt, as at that time (i.e.
before 2009-10) such ventures were
not included in National Debt
statistics.
There has been considerable debate over
the last twenty years as to whether
entering PFI contracts provides greater
benefits and value for money for public
organisations over the traditional or other
forms of procurement. The UK in total has
adopted the PFI procurement route to a
far greater extent than Wales (760
schemes in the UK, valued at £76.2bn, of
which only 42 schemes relate to Wales,
valued at £1.02bn). A recent study
undertaken at Swansea Metropolitan
University evaluated PPP/PFI
procurement processes and value for
money issues in Welsh public
organisations.
The results illustrate that the PFI model
does have faults and heavy financial
consequences in terms of future revenue
payments. This may explain the Welsh
Government’s previous reluctance to
actively promote and pursue this method
of procurement. However, this investment
in public infrastructure may also provide
economic benefits for employment,
quality of public service delivery and
promote private sector investment and
economic activity during recessionary
times.
Practitioners’ opinions of PFI /PPP in Wales
Our research examined both the economic issues affecting the PFI procurement
process, and the constituent elements of economic evaluation, gathering opinions from
Welsh Public organisations, and they suggested the following positive and negative
aspects of PFI schemes:
Pros There may be a role for private
organisations in the maintenance of
public assets, since public
organisations are reluctant to support
due to pressures on the public purse.
The PFI procurement route has no
initial capital funding requirement.
Private sector companies can
compensate for the enhanced costs
of borrowing by introducing
innovation, qualitative and cost
effective solutions.
PFI contracts can provide value for
money over the ‘whole-life’ of the
contract.
Opinion regarding PFI schemes that
have been undertaken in Wales have
concluded that they have been
“pretty efficient”.
Cons Financial benefits accrue to the
private sector not the public.
PFI projects may not provide savings
in procurement transaction costs.
The PFI process is impacted by
inexperience and low levels of
contract negotiation expertise
available in the public sector.
Private contractors may cut costs on
the materials used in PFI projects.
High bidding costs can reduce
competition in the PFI procurement
process.
The PFI procurement process is
heavily bureaucratic and time
consuming.
The economic climate has restricted
the supply of private finance for PFI
projects.
Insufficient information is available in
the public domain to judge whether
a PFI contract is more beneficial than
other routes.
A considerable degree of subjectivity
is involved in risk evaluation.
PFI schemes could cost public
organisations up to 5 to 8 times the
actual cost of the project.
Future of PFI in WalesThe study concluded that the Welsh Government were now considering changing the
approach to public asset procurement from the classic PFI model, to one which is
more of a true partnership with the private sector. A procurement programme with a
‘whole of Wales’ approach was being considered, in the belief that larger schemes
jointly sponsored with the private sector would provide better value for money to
public organisations in Wales.
Overall, there are concerns regarding the total cost to the public purse, and the whole
system of assessing whether a PFI contract represents better value for money than
any other procurement route. This strategy is currently under consideration by the
Welsh Government, and its attributes will be examined in the same way as the PFI has
in the past two decades.
Image: Mark Hobbs
PFI Schemes by thenumbers
UK:760 schemes Value £76.2bn
Wales:42 schemes
Value £1.02bn
14 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
Does Practice make Perfect PublicService Professionals?How can Higher Education Institutions help deliver the nextgeneration of professional public servants?
According to Susan Anderson (2011
p1), CBI Director for Education & Skills
"Employability skills are the most
important attributes that businesses
look for in new recruits, but graduates
are currently falling short of employers'
expectations.” The employability of
prospective new employees is also an
issue that has gained a great deal of
prominence for many employers in the
last few years and the public sector
has been no different in this respect. In
the uniformed public services although
they may not require any specific
qualifications to join the service,
experience and practical skills seem to
be a priority when selecting successful
recruits. South Wales Police, for
example, are recruiting PCs from the
existing pool of voluntary Specials
rather than through advertising due to
the knowledge and skills that the
Specials already possess. So, if
practical experience is the key to
successful recruitment then how are
universities responding to this?
Since the Dearing Report (1997), which
played heavily on the need for key skills,
work-based learning opportunities and
more collaboration between higher
education and employers, universities
have seen a fundamental change in
society’s expectations of higher education
(Harvey and Knight 2003). Indeed with
students now expected to cover the cost
of increased tuition fees their
expectations of the quality of delivery and
content of degree courses has increased,
students want to see a good return on
their investment, notably is there
employment at the end of it?
New proposals from the Government for
legal education and training were
encapsulated in the White Paper for
Higher Education (2011) “Students at the
Heart of the System”, which called for “A
Better Student Experience and Better
Qualified Graduates.” The report
recognised that HE was a good thing in
itself and students may study a subject
because they love it regardless of what it
means for their earnings but, even so,
one of the purposes of higher education
is to prepare students for a rewarding
career. Indeed Atkins (1999) identified that
the ‘current preoccupation’ of HE
institutions to increase the employability
of graduates has resulted in the
development of key skills, or similar
named skill enhancements within
curricula. Hills et al (2003) agree that there
should be “a match between the learning
outcomes of the students and the
employment market into which they
proceed after graduation”. However they
then argue that a majority of graduates go
into jobs in which their degree knowledge
base would appear to be of little benefit.
Therefore they suggest that a more
functional framework for employability
would have to be an overarching concept
that supports preparation for a wide
range of careers, from an academic
research career, to the voluntary sector, to
the commercial sector. Consequently this
view re-enforces the point made by the
Council for Industry and Higher Education
(2008) that:
Bronwen WilliamsMA LLB(hons) PGCE FHEALegal expert Bronwen Williams considers therole of Higher Education in developing highquality public service professionals.
Vol 3 Issue 4 2012 │15
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
“Graduates are more likely tobe equipped with the skillsthat employers want if thereis genuine collaborationbetween institutions andemployers in the design anddelivery of courses.Although around 80 per centof universities say they areengaged in collaborativearrangements withemployers, this can still beimproved.”
The Confederation of British Industry
(CBI), and the Government have been
calling for all universities to incorporate
more clinical education and work
experience and to include good
communication skills, practical
commercial awareness, professionalism
and how to be a team player and well
organised into their undergraduate
courses in order to increase employability.
However Newman (1966) described the
role of universities as providing students
with the intellectual means to make better
choices about their lives, allowing them to
select and pursue the occupation that
best suits their talent and aspirations.
Arblaster (1974) affirmed this sentiment
stating that “Education is not
synonymous with training, least of all
training for specific jobs,” that the primary
function of universities is to educate
students not workers. While this
sentiment is true and that the protection
of education is important it has to be
borne in mind that students are now
consumers and value for money is key.
Here at Swansea Metropolitan University,
the Public Service department have
recognised the need for effective
engagement and collaboration with public
service providers. Communication with a
number of these providers has led to
creation of links and training to enhance
the student experience. The course
includes modules that have been written
and delivered by current public sector
employees increasing the
appropriateness and context of the
course, such and Emergency Disaster
Management, Management of Terrorism
and Public Sector Governance. This gives
students up-to-date, relevant and
necessary skills to enter public sector
employment, which could also be applied
to the private and voluntary sectors.
Students will be given the opportunity to
train in a professional fire service
environment and experience first-hand a
fire simulation using breathing apparatus.
The department is creating links with the
local police forces to provide training
opportunities and have included a work
experience module into the course to
allow the students to become Specials or
undertake other voluntary work during
their degree course. The aim is to create
graduates who gain relevant subject
knowledge balanced with the necessary
skills for employment.
Image: Chris Thomas
16 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
To Blend, or not to Blend?How blended learning is enabling South Wales Police todevelop future leaders on a budget.
Businesses of all kinds today are beset
with financial imperatives and
competitive influences that constantly
influence the culture of learning within
the organisation. The danger is that
business allows compliance to
become the driver for learning, rather
than the need to enhance skills and
improve attitudes and behaviours.
For example, if an organisation
dramatically reduces or eliminates
leadership development for their
supervisors and managers at all levels;
past evidence has shown that it will see a
reduction in the general productivity and
effectiveness of those leaders. Leadership
has been found to be more important
during an economic downturn than ever
before. It is the ability to lead and inspire
that will produce ‘more with less’, and it is
quality leadership and creativity that
nurtures innovation and action. Managers
look to leaders to restructure the business
to meet demand, to improve the
productivity or effectiveness of the
business, and to find new ways to keep
the impetus towards the good. They look
to leadership to increase standards, drive
value, and work even harder to rebuild or
redirect the business. Does it make sense
to take away that small amount of the
budget spent on developing skills,
capabilities, and networks? Or, do we
allow the bottom line to be the driver?
Within a Public Service such as Policing,
there is an understanding for the need to
maintain leadership qualities, at the same
time as reducing financial deficits. Over
time within South Wales Police there was
a dawning realisation that it does not
need a trainer to regurgitate knowledge
based content to learners. Therefore
there was a concerted effort to create an
upturn in the use of distance learning…
and this change has been dramatic. This
increase however comes with a health
warning… ‘To swap traditional learning
with distance learning is not the answer’.
Therefore we at South Wales Police
embarked on an ambitious programme to
transform the delivery strategy to meet
the needs of the Force, whilst attempting
to balance the books, and meet the
needs of the community. During our study
we consistently put the needs of the
citizen at the heart of all our efforts, at
times to the contrary of the prevailing
culture. We continue to put the citizen at
the heart of our service delivery and the
‘just in time’ approach to training, via the
Distance Learning strategy has enabled
us to do this in terms of reduced
abstraction for learning, and maintaining
frontline availability and visibility.
Part of the rationale at the beginning of
the study, was that the current leadership
in the world of learning is of a generation
that has inherited methods of learning
that have been sanctioned and practiced
for centuries. There is evidence to
suggest that this leadership can at times
be guilty of not embracing change and
ignoring the wholesale growth in the
technological influences over the past
twenty to thirty years. In his research
Marc Prensky (2001) stated:
“It is amazing to mehow in all the hooplaand debate thesedays about thedecline of educationin the US we ignorethe mostfundamental of itscauses. Ourstudents havechanged radically.Today’s students areno longer the peopleour educationalsystem wasdesigned to teach.”
Steve CommanderSenior Design & Development Officer for SouthWales Police, Steve Commander explains howthrough taking a blended approach to learningthe force is able to develop its peopleefficiently and effectively.
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ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
“…a type ofeducation or trainingprogram in whichlearners define whatthey want to learnand learning isconsideredsuccessful whenlearners feel that theyare able to mastertheir intendedobjectives (whetheror not the coursedesigners believethat the learners haveor have notdemonstratedmastery).”
Technological changes have spawned a
generation of young people who operate
at a technical pace that is unimagined by
those who would deliver their learning…
with that in mind, further education and
higher education has moved to meet this
challenge, in line with some of the
methods being used in the compulsory
learning sector. However, the South
Wales Police prospectus for 2010/11
indicated that the Force continued to
spend in excess of 80% of its learning
budget on traditional classroom methods
of learning.
Some of the work that has taken place
within the Distance Learning research
helped to highlight the areas that assisted
South Wales Police to make more
intelligent learner centred choices when it
came to delivery methodology. It was our
intention to help inform the leadership
with detail around the preferences that
exist in the business, and produce both
qualitative and quantitative data to help
inform understanding.
This investigation came at a time when
the public sector had to embrace ‘lean’
methods of operation, and when the
private sector was attempting to recover
and create a more competitive workplace
environment. The findings from our
investigation helped inform leaders as to
the impact of the digital era, and give
detail around the differences that exist in
the workforce of today. Our research
helped inform leadership as to the fact
that as ‘a profession’ the Police Service is
going through a state of change; from
traditional methods of ‘one-to-many’
types of learning, to a more blended
technological approach.
“Blending the learningwithin South WalesPolice has seen asaving in excess of£1M”The data from the study helped to show
that blended learning could work given
the right environment and circumstances.
Driscoll and Carliner (2005) stated of
blended learning:
One of the main revelations from the
study was the culture and sub cultures
that existed within South Wales Police.
The evidence from this study gave a clear
indication that there was a divide in
attitudes towards learning, and that this
divide had the potential to hinder the
progression of any change in learning
methods. However it was acknowledged
that the Force was faced with conflicting
priorities on a daily basis which may or
may not have given a distorted result
during the study.
Blending the learning within South Wales
Police has seen a saving in excess of
£1M, and although the initiative continues
to be a working progress, a 5480%
increase in e-Learning completions alone,
is an indicator that a blend in the learning
is having a positive outcome. Who
knows; it may even allow the doubters to
start looking at learning as an investment
in individual development and ultimately
organisational performance improvement.
Image: South Wales Police
18 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
10 Minute Guide:Fireproofing your BusinessAdvice from the Fire and Rescue Service on your legalresponsibilities and how to protect your business from firedamage.
The Fire & Rescue Service (FRS) are
now involved to a greater extent with
commercial premises than ever before,
and not just in an enforcement
capability. Whilst business fire safety
enforcement is still the domain of
inspecting officers, Mid and West
Wales FRS are also capable of provide
advice regarding reducing unwanted
fire alarm signals, arson reduction and
business continuity management.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order
2005 (the ‘Order’) came into force on 1st
October 2006 and replaced over 70
pieces of dated fire safety legislation
including the Fire Precautions Act 1971
and consequently the requirement for a
number of businesses to hold a Fire
Certificate.
The Order applies to all commercial and
multiple-occupancy housing properties in
England and Wales and states that the
nominated Responsible Person must
carry out a fire safety risk assessment
and, if there are 5 or more people
employed record the findings.
The law applies to a person who is:
• responsible for the business premises
(the Responsible Person);
• an employer or self-employed with
business premises;
• responsible for a part of a residence
where that part is solely used for
business purposes;
• a charity or voluntary organisation;
• a contractor with a degree of control
over any premises.
The Order requires any person who
exercises some level of control in
premises to take reasonable steps to
reduce the risk from fire and ensure
occupants can safely escape if a fire does
occur.
One of the key differences between the
Order and previous fire safety legislation is
that the Order is non-prescriptive and the
focus is on the Responsible Person (RP)
to identify the risks and take suitable and
sufficient measures to reduce the risks
from fire to ‘So Far As Is Reasonably
Practicable’ and ‘As Low As Reasonably
Practicable (ALARP)’.
The ALARP principle incorporates cost
benefit analysis and in most cases the
required measures should be undertaken
unless the costs in time, money or effort
are grossly disproportionate to the benefit
that would be gained from their
implementation.
Whilst the Order is non-prescriptive and
self-regulatory, the Order clearly identifies
the enforcing authority as the fire and
rescue authority for the area in which the
premises are, or are to be, situated.
To enforce the Order Mid & West Wales
FRS have a number of fire safety
inspecting officers that will undertake
inspections of premises as part of a
planned audit programme and in
response to complaints. The Order
provides a range of powers to officers to
enforce the Order including serving a
Prohibition Notice for a premises that:
“involve or will involve a risk to relevant
persons so serious that use of the
premises ought to be prohibited or
restricted”.
A suite of Guidance manuals are
available from the Home Office to assist
the RP in determining risk relative to the
premises type and a Risk Assessment
template is available from Mid & West
Wales FRS . Local Business Fire Safety
departments are available for consultation
regarding complex issues.
Peter GreensladePeter Greenslade, Fire Officer at Mid & West Wales Fire andRescue Service and part time lecturer in Public ServicesLeadership at Swansea Met provides guidance for all businesseson how to minimise their risk of fire damage and stay withinthe law…
Vol 3 Issue 4 2012 │19
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
Unwanted Fire Signals
Fire alarm and detection systems are
primarily a means to warn persons at risk
however, unwanted fire signals across the
UK have totalled 285,000 a year and
reduce fire service delivery, increase the
financial burden on FRS’s and result in a
decrease in productivity in the workplace.
The Order encompasses unwanted fire
signals and RP’s are encouraged to
discuss steps to reduce unwanted fire
signals with their alarm maintenance
company and local fire safety inspecting
officers.
Avoiding the Arsonists
Arson is an increasingly significant factor
in fire losses and industrial and
commercial buildings are major targets for
arsonists. Although the public perception
is that arson is a crime against property
rather than the person and that the
insurer will pay, the losses due to arson
fires are not simply financial, they can also
involve:
• Deaths and injuries to staff and fire
fighters.
• Business interruption or even closure
of the company.
• Loss of jobs.
• Loss of facilities or amenities for the
community.
• Pollution of the air by smoke and
possibly water pollution as a result of
the run off of water used in the fire
fighting operations.
• Loss of our industrial heritage.
3 Step Arson Prevention Plan
• Undertake an arson risk assessment –
be aware, be prepared.
• Check security measures - things to
consider are:
• Perimeter protection.
• The strength of the building envelope.
• Access control.
• The detection of intruders.
• Security lighting.
• CCTV systems.
• Staff relations.
• Awareness of activities of pressure
groups who could target the
premises.
• Remove your rubbish regularly and
place it outside in a secure closed
metal container positioned at least 10
metres from buildings and plant.
Planning Ahead
A Business Continuity Management Plan
could save your business in times of
trouble…
The experiences of Swansea businesses
affected by the major fire in Fforestfach in
2011 have highlighted the benefit of
business premises undertaking a
Business Continuity Management plan.
Business Continuity relates to
identification of the critical services that
would be required to maintain operations
through a major disruption such as fire or
civil unrest.
Key Questions when developing your
plan:
• What are your organisation’s key
products and services?
• What are the critical activities and
resources required to deliver these?
• What are the risks to these critical
activities?
• How will you maintain these critical
activities in the event of an incident
(loss of access to premises, loss of
utilities, etc)
For more info:How prepared are you? BusinessContinuity Management Toolkit, HMGovernment. Available fromwww.direct.gov.uk
The range of advice and guidance to yourbusiness from Mid and West Wales Fireand Rescue Service is extensivehowever it is important the ResponsiblePersons take on board their legalresponsibilities under the RegulatoryReform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 toensure the safety of employees and allrelevant persons.
20 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
Emerging Theme:Mathematics of the Heart Can heart-based stress-reduction techniques ease theburden on the NHS?
In 2010 the prime minister set up the
National Wellbeing Project, to go
beyond economic measures to find out
what matters most to people in order
to inform policies that can encourage
and foster well-being. This followed
on from earlier work by researchers
and practitioners such as Daniel
Goleman (writer of the hugely
influential and popular ‘Emotional
Intelligence’) who reported on
compelling breakthroughs from the
fields of neuroscience and business.
He suggested that those who excel in
emotional intelligence achieve not only
superior academic and business
results, but also have higher levels of
personal fulfilment and increased well-
being.
In recent years others have taken these
concepts forward and one interesting
development in this field is the concept of
‘HeartMath’ (developed by the US-based
Institute of HeartMath) which is
considering the important role of the heart
in balancing and managing our mental
and emotional energy. The Institute
promote the idea that Intuitive Intelligence
(IntQ) is the ability to tune into the
inspiration and guiding force within us.
According to HEC Paris International
Business school Intuitive intelligence is
the ability to combine our analytical mind
with our intuitive aptitude to solve
problems in an innovative way and
succeed in the new economy.
Can Heartmath Reduce the Cost of
Workplace Stress?
The Institute also suggest that developing
this form of intelligence through training
programmes that work on our ability to
work with our heart’s natural regulatory
rhythms can result in a reduction of
workplace stress.
The Institute’s studies in this area
continue - and both those in charge of
managing the nation’s health services and
large corporations will, no doubt, be
watching with interest to see how this
emerging field of study could improve
health and wellbeing levels within our
society, and hence have an impact on the
cost of workplace stress…
“Studies investigatingthe impact ofHeartMath programs inthe workplace havedocumented a widerange of organizationallyrelevant outcomes,including increases inproductivity, jobsatisfaction,communicationeffectiveness,improvement inemployee health andreductions in turnover.”
(Institute of Heartmath , 2012)
Image: ©iStockphoto.com/JuSun.
James Williams Lecturer at SwanseaMetropolitan considers thewave of interest in thepotential for HeartMath toimpact organisations.
Vol 3 Issue 4 2012 │21
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
1pm - 4pm, 3 October 2012
1.30 - 4.30pm, 31 October 2012
12 - 18 November 2012
Undergraduate open day for SwanseaBusiness School programmes. Seewww.smu.ac.uk for details.
Half day conference in collaboration withthe CIM. Email [email protected] tobook. Price: £45.
Various events throughout the week. Seewww.smu.ac.uk for details.
Open Day
Sports Marketing: Insights for OtherSectors
Global Enterprise Week
Events @ Swansea Business School
News and ReviewsFor further details of these events and to
register to attend please email [email protected] call our Faculty Office on 01792 481132.
NewRecruitto thePublicServicesTeamThe School of Public Services
Leadership is delighted to
welcome lecturer Bronwen
Williams as a member of the
teaching team at Swansea Met.
Bronwen, who has been teachingBusiness and Organisational Lawas a part time lecturer for sometime, has recently joined the teamon a permanent basis as part ofthe team delivering our newlyredeveloped and revalidated rangeof programmes in the PublicServices.
Welcome aboard Bronwen!
New Home for SwanseaBusiness SchoolFrom January 2013, Swansea Business School and the School of
Public Service Leadership will have a new home – the newly
refurbished building right at the heart of the city centre, and ideally
placed next to Swansea’s train station will provide improved student
facilities and a dedicated library and study space for our growing
Faculty.
We can’t wait to welcome students new and existing to our new home,and are looking forward to settling in to what should be a fantastic basefor the Faculty of Business and Management at the centre of Swansea’sbusiness district.
For more on the move see: www.smu.ac.uk/businessmove
22 │ Vol 3 Issue 4 2012
│SOUTH WALES BUSINESS REVIEW
Award-winningTeachingQuality
Pictured (left to right) Samantha Morgan, John Williams (Students’ Union President) Lucy Griffiths, Steven Osborne.
Five members of the lecturing team at the Faculty of Business and
Management at Swansea Met were recently honoured with awards for
their teaching as nominated by the most important people at the
University…the students.
Swansea Metropolitan University’s Students’ Union is extremely active underthe leadership of President John Williams (now in his second term of office),and just one of the fantastic initiatives introduced this year has been a seriesof awards for teaching quality. The Faculty was delighted to have a significantnumber of nominees from its teaching staff and to win five of the awards. Thewinners were Andrew Campbell, Pam Murray, Steve Osborne, SamanthaMorgan and Lucy Griffiths, and they received their awards at a glitzy awardsceremony organised by John and the team from the students’ union. Dean ofFaculty, Leigh Jenkins said ‘I’m delighted that there were so many nomineesfrom the faculty and proud of those members of staff who have been awardedprizes – it shows just how much emphasis we place on high quality teachinghere at Swansea Met’.
You’ve been SMUDGEd!Students who took part in the final workshop of the SMUDGE Enterprise
programme (developed collaboratively by Swansea Business School and
the Faculty of Applied Design and Engineering and supported by the
Welsh Government’s Dynamo project) were treated to a fantastic visual
representation of their journey created by visual minute-taker and
Swansea Met Illustration student, Karl Mountford (see above). The
workshop aimed to help those graduating this year to find their passion
and develop a career based on their own unique skills and talents,
something we believe strongly in supporting here at Swansea Met.
The event was highlighted by Tim Clark, (author of the best-selling BusinessModel You, the book on which the workshop was based and which presentsa framework which individuals can use to create their own ‘personal businessmodel’) and featured on his web site and in his international newsletter.
Feedback from the students wasexcellent, and we look forward tohearing how the participants puttheir personal business plans intopractice as they progress in theircareers after graduating fromSwansea Met…
Visual minutes by Karl Mountford
MasteringFinancialManagementSwansea Business School is
proud to be launching two new
Master’s programmes in
Financial Management and
Financial Management (Learning
and Development). These
programmes are designed to
help both experienced financial
managers and those developing
their career in the field to
respond to rapid changes in this
challenging area of business.
The 21st Century accountant
and financial manager should be
at home in the boardroom in a
managerial role, on the
international stage or in an
entrepreneurial environment.
Today's business managers
need to be able to interpret
financial information and use it
to guide business strategy.
The MSc in Financial Managementrecognises the need to broadentraditional accountancy educationand to include a much broaderbusiness footprint. Theprogramme is designed to fitcomfortably within the newaccounting educational frameworkincorporating academic rigour withpractical experience. It would alsoprovide a route for qualifiedaccountants and financeprofessionals to obtain a Master’sdegree. Qualified charteredaccountants are likely to only haveto complete the part 2 dissertationstage, as their professionalqualification such as ACCA orCIMA should exempt them fromthe part 1 modules.
For more information pleasecontact the admissions tutor forthe programme,Richard Dunstan:[email protected] orapply online at www.smu.ac.uk
BooksInequality may kill the systemReview by Steve Griffiths
Since the economic crisis of 2008 a number of economists have been returning
to the philosophical roots of their discipline to challenge what the meaning and
motivation of the capitalist system are. Since the death of the Soviet Union when
Francis Fukuyama declared we had reached the “End of History” with
capitalism’s final triumph, many have questioned the efficacy of the system.
Richard Layard has investigated the source of happiness, which may not be
tightly linked to material wealth, Robin Hahnel (2010) urges us to adopt green
economics to avoid ecological disaster and Michael Sandal (2012) questions
what we should be striving at within the capitalist system. All have alerted us to
the under performance of the system in creating wealth and especially, the lack
of equity in the distribution of benefits.
Nobel prize winner Stiglitz and James Galbraith, son of the great John Kenneth, focus
on the causes and impact of the inherent inequality in our system. Both challenge the
claims of neoclassical economics which has dominated government policy since the
80’s and give damning verdicts on current recession inducing austerity measures. All
these writers come from the liberal wing of economics and politics, but are not
preaching socialism.
Stiglitz identifies the top 1% of the US population who dominate economics and
politics, and who have gained a 150% wage rise in the last 30 years, compared with
the bottom 90%, who are excluded, disenfranchised and have seen only a 15% wage
rise in the same time period. Galbraith with his powerful analysis of his upgraded data
base, agrees with most of the diagnosis and predictions of Stiglitz, but adds an
international dimension in his analysis of the inequality in the wealth of nations, as well
as that within. Both challenge the conservative idea that inequality is necessary to
create incentives and growth. Indeed they believe more equality would generate more
jobs and real welfare gains. Both inject a moral dimension to the discussion of means
and ends in the economic system. The ideal of social benefits and the positive role for
state intervention are advocated.
As liberals, not revolutionaries, they also point to the possible explosive consequences,
even threatening the top 1%, if the immiseration of the poor and wasteful use of
resources by the powerful are ignored. These books are not an easy read, but can be
read selectively by readers who want to learn a critical alternative to the current
“monetarist inspired” consensus.
References:
Fukuyama, Francis (1992) The End of History and the Last Man, London, Penguin
Hahnel, Robin (2010) Green Economics: Confronting the Ecological Crisis, NY, ME Sharpe
Layard, Richard (2006) Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, London, Penguin
Sandal, Michael (2012) What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of the Market, London, Penguin
Vol 3 Issue 4 2012 │23
ADOLYGIAD BUSNES DE CYMRU│
Stiglitz, Joseph, E. (2012) The Price of Inequality: The Avoidable Causes and Hidden Costs of Inequality, London, Allen Lane
Galbraith, James, K. (2012) Inequality and Instability, Oxford, OUP
Next Issue…
Bright SparksHow Wales is Igniting itsEntrepreneurial Spirit…Out November 2012
To reserve a copy please visitwww.smu.ac.uk/swbr or email yourname and address to: [email protected]
Image: ©iStockphoto.com/YaryGin