LEVEL 6. Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply. Senior Assessor s Report. Nov Leading and Influencing in Purchasing L6-01

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1 Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply Leading and Influencing in Purchasing L6-01 LEVEL 6 Senior Assessor s Report Nov 2008 L6-01/SA report/nov

2 INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES The senior assessor s report is written in order to provide candidates with feedback relating to the examination. It is designed as a tool for candidates for both those who have sat the examination and those who wish to use it as part of their revision for future examinations. Candidates are advised to refer to the Examination Techniques Guide (see the following link as well as this senior assessor s report. The senior assessor s report aims to provide the following information: An indication of how to approach the examination question An indication of the points the answer should include and how marks are allocated An indication of candidate performance for the examination question APPENDIX A unit content matrix for the examination is included as an appendix. It highlights the learning objectives of the unit content unit content that each question is testing. The unit content guides are available to download at the following link: ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION The Supply Management magazine is a useful source of information and candidates are advised to include it in their reading during their study. Please see the following link to the Supply Management website L6-01/SA Report/Nov

3 SECTION A Question 1 (25 Marks) Assess how the purchasing and supply chain function within Veuve Clicquot could be led to support Bonnefond s passion for her three elements of CSR This question requires candidates to assess how Veuve Clicquot s purchasing function could be led in order to support Cecile Bonnefond s passion for her three elements of Corporate Social Responsibility. Ultimately this question is about leadership. It is asking the candidate to assess how the purchasing function could be led, not what purchasing activities need to be undertaken. Therefore it is expected that candidates develop their assessment of how the head of purchasing and supply chain needs to lead the function. This assessment might include: leadership styles, vision, mission, strategy, strategic alignment, objectives, policies and procedures, stakeholder engagement, organisational structure, the deployment of resources etc. Similarly each of Bonnefond s CSR elements need to be considered and specific measures identified for each of the themes of environmental impact, financial responsibility and employee welfare. The question is very broad and covers a wide range of topics across the unit content, rather than being rooted to one particular learning objective. In this way, it seeks to assess candidates general understanding of the unit content and its application in the specific context of the case study. To answer the question fully, candidates should ideally consider each of the three CSR themes, although an alternative approach of dealing with all three in a general sense could equally be valid. Caring about the environment is likely to concern sustainable procurement practices and processes, including greater use of sustainable resources, environmental supplier appraisal / audit / vendor rating, targeting specific environmental measures through the supply chain and altogether ensuring that the products used to help produce the champagne are environmentally sustainable and acceptable in their support of Bonnefond s vision. This might also be extended to indirect materials (including marketing and promotional items), as well as greater use of sustainable purchasing processes (such as greater use of e-commerce rather than paper-base processes). Being financially responsible is likely to concentrate on the economic contribution of purchasing, by ensuring that purchasing has specific savings targets and an unequivocal return on investment. It will also include ethical standards, such as anti-money laundering. It should also include ensuring that suppliers are financially viable and the supply chain is adding value for all of Veuve Clicquot, its shareholders, the LMVH group and its customers. Looking after your workers is likely to include maintaining a culture of productivity and ensuring that appropriate employee welfare measures are being adhered to. It is likely to include aspects of organisational culture and also aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion. Team motivation and personal recognition should also be considered. L6-01/SA Report/Nov

4 Many candidates answered this question in general terms and applied a range of purchasing practices to the case scenario. Unfortunately most candidates could not separate out the operational day-to-day practices of a purchasing function from the way in which it needed to be led. Better answers tended to include leadership aspects of vision, stakeholder buy-in, change management and strategy. Some candidates struggled to achieve a balance in their responses, instead preferring to concentrate on the first of Bonnefond s CSR elements (environment) and only offer a passing reference to the other two. Although a precise three-way split is not required to answer the question, candidates would do well to consider the structure, balance and weighting in their responses when writing about more than one element, as this can otherwise have a detrimental impact on marks. There were several candidates who repeated large sections of the case study. It should be noted that this does not assist in answering the question and no marks can be awarded for this. Overall this was a relatively straight forward question and most candidates seemed to address the basic needs. Unfortunately there were very few truly outstanding responses and a significant number that struggled to achieve a pass-mark. Candidates would do well to consider the make-up of the question and ensure that the structure and content of their responses match with the structure of the question that has been set. Question 2 (25 Marks) Evaluate the effectiveness of Veuve Clicquot s Businesswoman of the Year Award in addressing equal opportunities for female leaders in business. This question addresses an important learning objective within the unit content. The question is about the effectiveness of the Award in addressing equal opportunities for female leaders in business and therefore candidates were expected to concentrate on the Award itself, rather than Cecile Bonnefond, Madame Cliquot or the internal governance of Veuve Clicquot. A demonstration of the issues is required to help candidates evaluation including: what equal opportunities mean, issues facing female business leaders, discrimination in the workplace (direct, indirect and/or institutionalised) and the benefits of inclusion within business. Although these points are clearly useful, they do not actually answer the question directly, they merely contextualise the response. To answer the question directly, candidates were required to discuss, analyse and assess the role and impact of the Award (i.e. to evaluate its effectiveness). Link to positive discrimination would be suitable, as would a discussion of the positive / negative issues involved. The question does not require candidates to provide a raft of alternative measures for addressing equal opportunities, although should candidates do this some, additional merit would be considered in the assessment. L6-01/SA Report/Nov

5 This question proved demanding for many candidates who seemed to struggle with its key requirement, despite its centrality to the unit content (learning objective 3.4). The term equal opportunities seemed to be well understood but most candidates did not proceed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Award. Several candidates tried to link the effectiveness of the Award with the EOC statistics for the UK but any causal link is difficult to justify. Responses which failed to gain marks tended to provide a generalised elaboration of issues surrounding equality, inclusion and discrimination. Some candidates answers were brief and did not contain sufficient level of detail. Candidates demonstrated understanding of positive discrimination and the rationale for this, while better responses were able to contrast the effectiveness of positive discrimination (as in this Award) vis-à-vis the effectiveness of positive action. Some excellent answers were able to exploit the potential hypocrisy and double-edged merits of the Award, citing the conflict with Veuve Clicquot s marketing plans and the potential demotivation of male employees working in this environment. Although there were some good responses there were also some superficial answers. Responses suggesting that women will only perform as well as men after they have been trained and educated demonstrate, only a limited understanding of the issues at stake. What was unfortunate in the responses to this question was the absence of a wider discussion of equality issues. Only a minority of candidates were able to extend their discussion to other gender issues (such as GLTS considerations) and very few candidates were able to link the establishment of the Award to the introduction of the Equal Pay Act (both being at similar dates in time). Overall this question evoked a range of responses. Some were good and showed a depth of understanding of the issues faced by women in leadership. However there was also a lack of understanding of this area of the unit content from several candidates and study centres. Question 3 (25 Marks) As an external consultant to an organisation of your choice, prepare an informal report to appraise how purchasing professionals in that organisation can develop their influencing skills. This question requires an informal report from candidates, which appraises how influencing skills for purchasers can be developed. Strictly speaking it does not require the candidate to mention what those influencing skills should be, it merely asks for how they can be developed within the organisation of choice. This, therefore, is a question about skills development, not a question about influencing. Similarly the question does not require candidates to explain how a training needs analysis should be conducted, however this might be considered to be additional supporting information if provided in the right context of overall skills development. L6-01/SA Report/Nov

6 Candidates may state what constitutes influencing skills but, as noted above, this is not a requirement of the question. To do this, a succinct mention of either Yukl s or Cialdini s work would suffice. In general terms, most candidates were able to provide some basic level of theory. However, some to listed a simple description of Yukl s theories and provided no other substance in their answers. Unfortunately, since this descriptive listing of influencing theory was not what was required by the question, candidates who did this failed to score sufficient marks to pass. Similarly, lengthy descriptions of Peter Kraljic s matrix also failed to address the question s needs. The learning from this has to be one of examination technique and encouraging candidates to read and analyse the question to be sure what it is required of them. Assessors recognise that exam conditions prevail and that there is an element of pressure, however a basic answer that reflects the question is still required. The heart of this question concerns how purchasing professionals can develop their influencing skills. This might include training, being coached, shadowing, being mentored, observation of others and/or any other form of experiential learning. Teaching and/or e-learning are more likely to provide theoretical and/or academic education, rather than specific skills development and this should be borne in mind by candidates when answering this question. To effect skills development positively, some form of prior skills audit or gap analysis ( training needs analysis, TNA) is required, as well as an understanding of personal learning styles (such as Honey & Mumford, etc) so that a specific training and development programme can be formulated, together with an identification of specific measures to demonstrate when the required skill levels have been reached. Many candidates referred to the script provided in the CIPS course book for this aspect; however it should be noted that this is, only ancillary to the question s requirements. This was a popular question that was answered with a modicum of success. Many candidates appeared to misunderstand the basic requirements of the question and study centres are encouraged to refresh candidates examination technique. Question 4 (25 Marks) Assess the role of effective leadership in helping purchasing teams to reach their full development potential. The question is relatively straight forward and relates directly to another core element of the unit content, that of team development. The question focuses on the role of leadership in helping and supporting team development and therefore a good understanding of what leaders can do to help their teams develop, is required. Candidates should note that the question is not about leadership per se; nor is the question about how individuals develop to their potential. The question clearly refers to team development and the role of leadership in effecting this. This question seemed to expose a gap in the knowledge and/or preparation of many candidates. There are several notable theorists on team development, but perhaps the L6-01/SA Report/Nov

7 most renowned is Bruce Tuckman and the forming-storming-norming-performing sequence. Although some candidates did correctly mention this theory, most did not. Instead many candidates used other leadership models such as Tannebaum & Schmidt, Hersey & Blanchard, Scholtes and Blake & Mouton. One of the issues with citing these theorists is that of contextualisation to the answer. Most of these models deal with leadership and management styles and not with the role of leadership in team development. Arguably development is a role of leadership, but many candidates who tried to exploit this argument became confused between the personal development of an individual and the development of teams. On the more positive side, some candidates were able to cite Tuckman s theory and further develop the leadership actions required at each of the four stages. These responses gained high marks and showed a thorough understanding of the question and its requirements. This was another popular question but one that evoked a wide range of responses. Candidates must recognise that to pass a Level 6 exam, they are expected to understand the basic theories of the unit content and apply them appropriately as the question demands; they will not pass by citing partially-related theory. There was evidence that some candidates understood the unit content well and produced well-argued and knowledgeable responses. Question 5 (a) (10 Marks) Evaluate the need to maintain continuity of performance while implementing major change in a purchasing department. The question is straight forward: why does performance need to be maintained during times of change? A number of candidates misinterpreted this question and provided answers that explained how performance can be maintained. This did not answer the question that was asked but could possibly have helped in their response to question 5(b), thus demonstrating a lack of competence in basic examination technique. The issue within the question surrounds the disruption that major change causes. The need to maintain performance during any transition period is essential particularly given the service element of a function such as purchasing. Arguably if candidates believe purchasing is transactional and unimportant in its contribution to the organisation s mission, then major change is not going to be particularly disruptive. However the modern-day purchasing function is now integrated across most functional disciplines of the organisation and to disrupt purchasing activity and/or performance would be in effect to cut off the life-blood of supplies to an organisation. L6-01/SA Report/Nov

8 Many candidates were able to pick up on these points and provide a range of arguments to support their evaluation of the importance of maintaining high performance. Some excellent responses supported their answers with examples, thus helping to demonstrate full insight to the issues at stake; these candidates tended to achieve very high marks. This question seemed to divide candidates. Those who understood basic examination technique read and understood the question, and then proceeded to offer good responses. Those who appeared to misread the question answered it poorly and were marked accordingly. Question 5 (b) (15 Marks) Discuss the methods available to leaders to maintain high performance during periods of major change. The question requires the candidate to discuss how a leader maintains high performance during periods of major change. A theoretical response is not required; the question clearly states that a discussion of the methods available to leaders is all that is required. As with the commentary to question 5 (a), it should be noted that some candidates were confused by the different requirements to parts (a) and (b) of this question. This resulted in the same responses being submitted for both parts, some candidates even wrote see answer to part (a) as their response, which unfortunately made it difficult to gain marks. Any one a range of methods could have been discussed. This includes issues of performance management, motivation, recognition and reward structures, envisioning, influencing and so on. The assessment team was looking for the application of relevant leadership theory to the specific context of performance management in times of major change. Some candidates seemed to understand this requirement and gained high marks as a result. Those candidates who were well prepared for this exam and knew both the unit content and the application of its key theories, thrived on this question. However, those who did not failed to grasp the specific requirements and, as a result, also struggled to achieve sufficient marks to pass the question. As with the commentary on other questions, candidates are encouraged to understand basic examination technique as well as the application of the core theories for this unit content. Question 6 (25 Marks) Evaluate the principal differences between leadership of a purchasing function and management of a purchasing function. Candidates are required to make an evaluation of the principal differences between management and leadership of a purchasing function. This question requires more than L6-01/SA Report/Nov

9 a simple demonstration of the understanding of leadership and management, the principal differences between the two is the focus of the question and, as such, requires an examination of the contrasting features (if any) between the two disciplines. Furthermore, candidates are required to contextualise their responses in the purchasing profession. The question is based on learning objective 1.1 of the unit content and, importantly, it also builds on similar learning objectives within the L5-01 Management in the Purchasing Function examination at Level 5. Question 6 was extremely popular with candidates but poorly answered. The question is straight forward and core to the unit content. With candidates also being required to study this at Level 5, the answers to this question were expected to be more proficient. One of the central themes is whether management and leadership are mutually exclusive, inter-dependent or simply two sides of the same coin. It should be noted that many theorists have examined and argued these points, with differing outcomes. Therefore, candidates were not expected to respond with a single correct answer, rather, they were expected to undertake an assessment and make their own deductions accordingly. Some candidates were able to assess the differences, make reference to relevant theory, contextualise their responses in the purchasing profession and form a conclusion to their assessment; these candidates achieved high marks. However, many were not able to achieve these requirements, with their responses being relatively simplistic descriptions of management and/or leadership; these answers fell short of the requirements for this Level 6 examination. Many responses were brief and descriptive. Over-simplistic metaphors were mentioned without the corresponding explanation to support and evaluate these statements. Similarly there was an over-reliance on the McKinsey 7S Framework as theoretical construct to support responses. With regard to the McKinsey 7S Framework, it should be noted that this model was developed by the consulting company McKinsey & Co and published by Peters & Waterman (1982). The original model was designed to be used as a strategic auditing tool to support change management and the development of customer-focused corporate strategies. It was not intended to identify so-called hard and soft skills of management / leadership, nor is there a widely recognised construct called the icy triangle within this particular model. In summary, this was a popular question from the core of the unit content. Some candidates were able to answer this extremely well, whereas many others provided relatively descriptive and shallow responses that struggled to achieve a pass mark for this question. L6-01/SA Report/Nov

10 APPENDIX: Unit content matrix indicating the learning objectives of the unit content that each question is testing SECTION A SECTION B Question No Learning Objective a b a b a b a b a b a b Leading and managing in purchasing X X Leading and influencing in the supply chain X Develop a culture of productivity through people 3.1 X X 3.4 X Lead change in the supply chain 4.1 X X X L6-01/SA Report/Nov