Institute of Directors- The Director's Role in Leading the Organisation

Objectives

• Corporate strategy drives organisational structure and resource requirements, which the Board must monitor and review
• The Board must demonstrate the importance of organisational development by adopting the principles of the Learning Board
• Successful Strategic Change initiatives require Board level sponsorship, ongoing direction and tenacious leadership
• Organisational performance measures should be aligned to strategic objectives and to corporate culture

Summary

Module Syllabus

Section 1 - Role of the Board in setting objectives, culture & values

• Developing business plans, objectives & targets
• Understanding Corporate Culture & communicating and championing corporate values and behaviours. Creating a Learning Culture for the organisation
• Defining Corporate Culture
• Reviewing & refreshing corporate values
• Linking Employee Values, behaviours & organisational culture to mission, vision & values
• Creating a culture of engagement

Business Ethics

• The nature & importance of ethics, defining your ethical position & dealing with ethical dilemmas
• The link between organisational culture and ethical leadership models

Section 2 - The Techniques, Tools & Resources needed to deliver the Corporate Strategy

• Determining capacity and capability of the Organisation to deliver the strategic objectives
• Assessing implications of strategy implementation on Organisational design and resources
• Decisions required to implement strategy
• Implications of deciding to embark on a growth strategy through mergers or acquisitions or seeking to develop a strategic alliance or business partnership
• Implications of outsourcing or sub contracting activities
• Identifying high performers plus those with leadership potential
• Succession Planning to maintain organisational capability & ensure the future survival of the company
• Developing Reward Strategies to incentivise performance and behaviour
• Endorsing appropriate procedures for the organisation to maintain compliance with relevant national employment legislation. Promoting diversity and equality of opportunity throughout the organisation, (including around the Board Table)

Section 3 - The individual director’s role as a Board member and as a corporate leader, especially driving strategic change

• Board Structure and Composition
• Programme and Project Leadership
• Risk Assessment & Management
• Delegating to Senior Management
• Directing & Reviewing Senior Management Performance
• Communicating & Leading
• Managing tensions and conflicts including Board dysfunction
• Roles and responsibilities in leading strategic change and assessing inherent risks
• Recognising the range of potential change triggers, internally and externally and reacting to them in a timely way
• Assessing the impact of technology and using technology as an enabler of change
• Key change processes (Models and drivers)
• Recognition and management of reactions to change
• Measuring impact & evaluating success of change interventions

Section 4 - Information, communication and reporting – the feedback loop

• Corporate Performance Management – Tools and techniques
• In order to review progress towards the achievement of the selected strategies the Board must commission timely, accurate and appropriate information
• Setting & Reviewing Performance Criteria
• Aligning Performance targets both to organisational values as well as strategic objectives
• Overseeing and approving the business targets which are set and benchmarking against the competition
• Determining appropriate criteria against which to evaluate the performance of the Board
• As a result of monitoring progress and reviewing performance, driving continuous improvement and creating a climate for ideas generation, creativity and innovation
• Use of information systems to provide meaningful statistics and data
• Managing knowledge as a strategic asset which can be leveraged by the business
• Communication of business results, new project objectives, change initiatives etc

Examination Fees

End of course exams are optional- examination fees are not included in the course fees. They are payable direct to the 'Institute of Directors' when registering for the assessment examination. Please note that you must register for examinations by the first day of the month preceding the month in which the examination falls. Examination registration forms are available at www.iod.com

2013 Fees:

• Certificate- £325.00 plus VAT
• Diploma- £425.00 plus VAT