Grievance, Discipline & Dismissal Course In this course, we are concerned with dissatisfaction. Grievance is a solemn word that we rarely use in general conversation, but has a specific meaning when applied in the workplace. It describes a feeling of dissatisfaction by an individual employee which is sufficiently strong for that person to decide to "take on" the employer, by formally expressing that dissatisfaction & seeking redress. In this action, the employee has the support of law. There has been a long-standing requirement for employers to inform employees about the arrangements for resolving a grievance, but a judgement in 1995 (W A Goold (Pearmak) Ltd v. Mc Connell & anon, 1995, IRLR 516) declared that employers had a duty to provide such a procedure. Discipline is a word closely related to punishment, but it again has a specific meaning in the workplace, as being the opposite of grievance. If managers, representing the employer, are not satisfied with the work performance of an employee, they have recourse to disciplinary processes & procedures. These are not specifically directed at punishment & should be based on mutual trust & confidence that they are a means of resolving a problem rather than legitimising punishment. Dismissal is a more straightforward word, meaning the point at which the employer terminates the contract of employment. There is considerable law surrounding this act, but in this unit we deal only with the broad principles. The employee is not necessarily passive in dismissal. There is provision, as was shown in the Holness case, for the employee to resign & then claim constructive dismissal (and compensation) because of unreasonable behaviour by the employer. ...

Groups & Group Effectiveness Course Taylor suggested that workers were fundamentally economic animals. He also suggested that systematic soldiering, where workers came together to hold down production, would be cured when managers began to do their jobs properly, that is, to relate directly to each worker & satisfy his or her personal self-interest. For, as Watson (1987) put it, Taylorism suggests that each worker is "... a self-seeking, non-social individual who prefers the management to do their job-related thinking for them." There has been a volte face in management thought on both counts. Indeed, it has been observed that the writings of Mayo created a cult of the group. We are now able, however, to put the importance of groups into their proper perspective while still recognising that they are an essential feature of organisational work patterns. One of our purposes in this session is to make this clear. Work is a social activity. There are many organisational goals that cannot be achieved by members acting independently. Given this, most individuals spend a great deal of their organisational time working with others in groups. By the end of the course, you should be able to: define a group. distinguish between formal & informal groups.  list the types of formal groups. explain the main purposes for which individuals use groups. list the major organisational purposes of groups & teams. evaluate the notion that groups develop in stages. explain the major determinants of group effectiveness. understand Belbin's notion of team roles. identify the symptoms of groupthink. show an awareness of the importance of group task & maintenance functions. ...

Guest House Management Course The very first thing you need to know about opening a successful Guest House business is that there are very few fixed rules. Opening a small tearoom restaurant is a very different matter from opening a large cordon bleu restaurant. The requirements for a fast food outlet differ vastly from those of full service establishments.  While opening a Guest House is risky, the return can be high, as they often are when you take a chance. Fortunately there are ways to increase your chances of success. The purpose of this course is to teach you the things that reduce the chances of failure, & if you learn the fundamentals, the chances of success are that much brighter. ...

Garden Design Course Explore the art of garden design in this comprehensive course. You will learn the fundamental elements of style, basic techniques & professional tricks necessary to design the gardens of your dreams. Professional garden design is something that is inspirational & is essentially solving the various logistical problems associated with what you have to work with, where to position such items as pathways, swimming pools, tennis courts, water features, flower beds & which plants would be most suited. Good garden design adds these ingredients to create a style in keeping with the site, the house & your client's requirements. About Garden Design The whole process of design begins long before you put pen to paper. Your initial job is to find out just what you have & then what you want to achieve based on this initial fact finding. Once this basic analysis is completed, you can then move on to the fun job of preparing the design. ...

Garden Maintenance Course This subject aims to provide you with a firm basis for maintaining a garden in a healthy & presentable state. Garden maintenance is a diverse area of study, sometimes thought of as being the mundane side of horticulture, though in fact it is today quite technical & a very critical area of concern. ...

General Principles of Teaching Course Not all teaching takes place in schools, although this is the norm, & the typical teaching situation consists of a teacher confronting a class of pupils who are to learn from the teacher. The teacher is seen as a professional worker whose authority & place in society depends on a special role & competence. The teacher is a craftsman & a professional, & usually wants to be treated as such. It is essential is that the teacher should have sufficient knowledge & skill to be able to help others who want to learn, & have the necessary competence in teaching. ...

General Production Course The purpose of production is to fulfil the needs of people. Therefore it is a process used to produce goods or services for people. The production process consists of different inputs such as labour, raw materials, machinery, capital, energy, etc., transformed by the production department. This transformation should occur so that the supply will meet the dem&, in the most economical manner possible.  This course looks at the concepts that could be considered important in the introduction to production management. ...

Genetics Course This course aims to show you that the discipline of genetics can offer valuable insights to nurses, midwives & health visitors. These insights will assist in planning & delivering high-quality care. Each of the four sessions in this course deals with one of the fundamental concepts of genetics. These concepts are the most relevant ones to the caring professions, & can be used to inform & improve practice. ...

Gestalt Therapy Course Fritz Perls initiated the development of Gestalt psychotherapy which lays great emphasis on the client's achievement of a sense of the present, an ability to accept the value of 'here & now' feelings & experience life without castrating it by immediate historical reference & justification. It aims to enable people to use the capacity of the human imagination to explore both experience & the possibilities of a particular person's world. As students of this course will discover, like most therapies it has been as prolific in devising techniques as it has in proposing a general approach. ...

Governing Business Development Course The issues & concerns raised throughout this course are becoming increasingly pertinent to all organisations who must be more aware of the far-reaching effects of their business activities. It is no longer possible for an organisation to pursue a course of action where the social & environmental effects go unnoticed. A firm must have a social conscience & satisfy the needs of all its stakeholders if it is to survive in the ‘greener’ business environment which exists at the start of this century. In this course we look at the issues & challenges affecting small businesses & the different growth strategies adopted by this type of organisation. We also look at the benefits & disadvantages of the small business & how the sector has flourished in the UK since the mid 1980s. At the other extreme, the multinational corporation is discussed, again in terms of its growth strategies & rationale but also in terms of its impact on the countries in which it operates. We place particular emphasis on the impact of MNCs on less developed countries & on how such communities can be both positively & negatively affected. Moving on from our discussion of MNCs we look in more detail at the issue of sustainable development & the need for organisations to reconcile economic, social & environmental aspects of their activities & to foster greater awareness of the ‘triple bottom line’. Much of the literature suggests that it is no longer viable for firms to pursue a strategy of aggressive economic growth without taking into account the effects on human communities & the environment. Analysis of the different stakeholders highlight the fact that organisations are accountable to many different parties, many of whom have specific & often conflicting interests. We concluded this course by considering the reasons why governments intervene in the free market mechanism & the different forms that interventions might take. There are, however, several arguments in favour of laissez-faire & these must be balanced against the benefits & disadvantages of intervention. On completion of this course you will be able to: Demonstrate the transferable skills of group working, problem solving & autonomy as they show that they comprehend the nature of small firms, can appreciate the basic growth strategies of firms & are aware of the importance & behaviour of trans-national corporations (TNCs). Demonstrate the transferable skills of autonomy & communication as they show that they are aware of the effects of business development on the ecological system & on human communities. Demonstrate transferable skills: autonomy, communication & the responsibilities a firm may have to others. Demonstrate an awareness alternative ways in which business ‘success’ might be assessed & how governments may seek to influence business development. ...