Case study Caledonia High School is a secondary school with a pupil roll of 1,316 and currently employs 95 teachers. It also employs 34 non-teaching staff including administration assistants, cafeteria workers and student support staff. The school serves an area of 25 square miles, welcoming pupils from a range of socio-economic backgrounds. The school was opened in 1959 and moved to a new building in February 2009. The new school contains a gymnasium, swimming pool and drama studio. As part of the move, employment of janitorial and maintenance staff was contracted out to an external company called Facilities Management Scotland (FMS), meaning that these workers do not directly report to school principal Felicity Marshall. Felicity leads the senior management team in which she is joined by Deputy Principal Frank Riddell, Associate Principal Jill Myles and six Heads of Curriculum who lead the teaching departments. Felicity has been Principal for 8 months. Her promotion to this post has been rather rapid she was first employed by the school as a teacher 11 years ago and was briefly Head of Curriculum for the Sport and Recreation department before successfully interviewing for the position of principal. This has led to some resentment, particularly from Deputy Principal Frank and Associate Principal Jill, both of whom have been in their respective posts for more than 20 years. They remember Felicity as a young teacher, starting out in her career, and have been heard to comment about how she has 'leap-frogged' them to obtain her promotion. Felicity is aware of these remarks and has often felt belittled by both Frank and Jill in management meetings, where they frequently dismiss her ideas and refuse to engage with new initiatives Felicity would like to introduce to the school. Felicity sees some of the current operating methods used by the school as 'behind the times and would like to introduce what she sees as more modern approaches to teaching and learning. These ideas are being firmly resisted by Frank and Jill who think things are fine as they are. Felicity is however able to see how the changing external environment is affecting education budgets are being slashed, teachers are being asked to undertake more and more as part of their existing roles and the job market is becoming increasingly competitive. Felicity believes that to lead the school through these changes and ensure that pupils are offered the best possible education to prepare them for their future, she needs to encourage new and creative practices to the school. Felicity is also faced with a number of other challenges that she must deal with. Feeling overwhelmed with everything that she must do, she has written herself some notes on situations which she must tackle imminently. Facilities Management Scotland (FMS) FMS supply the school with sub-contracted janitorial and maintenance staff (collectively known as the Facilities Team). This means that although Felicity is dependent upon these staff for the cleanliness and upkeep of the school, she does not have direct authority over them. This is the remit of Dexter Keenan, Head of Facilities Management at the site. Dexter rules his workers with an iron fist, micromanaging their work and issuing ad hoc punishment and rewards where he sees fit. This alarms Felicity as it is very much the opposite of her own approach to leading her team. She is concerned that Dexter's approach is leading to low morale and demotivation in the facilities team and worries that this will affect the level of service these staff will offer the school. Allocation of additional funding The school was recently allocated 15,000 in additional government funding which is to be used to promote student engagement with extra-curricular activities. Leona Perry, Head of Curriculum for Sports and Recreation has put in a bid for the money to fund resources for additional training and participation in competitions for the school football team. The team have had lots of success in local competitions and have brought good publicity to the school. The team have however already benefited from the existing budget and are widely considered to be favoured over other sports team as well as other extra-curricular activities from throughout the school. Aled Pawar, Head of Curriculum for Science has also bid for the additional funds - he would like the money to resource an afterschool science club. Aled is aware that STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) qualifications and experience are increasing sought after by employers and would like to increase the offering that the school already has. As there is not enough money available to fully fund both of these ventures, Felicity is trying to reach a decision over which one should be the beneficiary. There have already been heated exchanges between Leona and Aled, with each unable to see the other's perspective, concentrating solely on their own desire to receive the funding. Felicity knows that she is going to have to facilitate a solution to this sooner rather than later. Teacher's workload Teachers have always faced an extremely heavy workload but in recent times, are experiencing more and more demands on their limited time. They are being asked to attend additional meetings, mentor struggling pupils out with class time, lead extracurricular activities and are faced with increasingly difficult pupil behaviour. Several teachers have now formally approached Felicity to complain of feeling stressed, and there are currently three teachers on sick leave with stress related illnesses. Felicity realises that she has a duty of care to her teaching staff to help them manage their stress and needs to think about the best way to manage this. Felicity's own workload Felicity feels increasingly unable to cope with the pressures and demand of her new role. She is constantly interrupted by e-mails, telephone calls and staff, pupils and parents visiting her office. She feels totally unsupported by Frank and Jill, and as they refuse to undertake tasks set to them, Felicity ends up having to do this work herself. Felicity is aware that her own performance and health will start to suffer if she doesn't do something soon, but she is unsure what the best approach would be. Assessment instructions Assume the role of mentor to Felicity. Having been presented with the information above, prepare a report in which you detail the following. 1 Using a recognised theory, explain the role of the manager. As part of your explanation, discuss the differences between management and leadership. explaining how effective management contributes to Caledonia High School successfully meeting its objectives. 2 Given the dynamic environment the school is operating in, identify and explain two leadership styles that could be adopted by Felicity to effectively lead the school through this challenging time. 3 Using an appropriate problem solving model/technique, outline how a decision regarding the allocation of the additional funding could be made. Justify your choice of model/technique. 4 (a) Identify potential causes of conflict within Caledonia High School. What might the effects of this conflict be? (b) How can Felicity ensure that Frank and Jill respect her authority and undertake the tasks she sets them? Explain how this can be done using one strategy from each of the following categories: O assertiveness strategies influencing strategies o negotiating strategies 5 Explain the importance of effective time management. Using examples from the case study, justify the choice of two time management techniques that could be adopted by Felicity to ensure that best use is made of her time. 6 Some teachers have complained of feeling stressed. As managers have a duty of care to protect the health and well-being of their staff members, analyse three actions that Felicity could take to promote the well-being of her employees. As part of your response, ensure that you explain the difference between pressure and stress, identifying possible causes and effects of this. 7 Effective communication between management and staff is essential. Identify and discuss at least two communication methods Felicity could use to deal with any differences and challenges that may arise and which will help to build and maintain positive relationships between management and staff. Throughout your report you should make reference to theory and offer practical solutions and ideas appropriate to Felicity's situation. To ensure that you cover all tasks, your report is likely to be between 1,500-2,000 words in total. Ensure your work is presented in a report format, including introduction, conclusion and reference list/bibliography. The use of Harvard referencing is strongly encouraged