In the first week you will begin to build a personal development agenda. This agenda forms the starting point for project work over the middle weekend. A different location during this period provides the learning context for this project, which is a realistic simulation of your managerial challenges.

Developing Managers Potential: Understanding managerial roles, distinguishing between managerial and operational contributions, assessing and developing individual management style and impact.

Organisational Culture and Change: Exploring how different ways of thinking affect managerial contribution, determining the role of individual managers in organisational change, creating change through pockets of good practice.

Managing Politics: Recognising the relevance of political processes in change, identifying types of political behaviour, developing managers` political awareness and competence.

Leadership and teamwork: Understanding the roles of leadership and management, applying the concept of leadership at all levels. Comprehending how to develop as a leader from within the organisation, appraising the use of teams in organisations, and exploring the role of the individual in teams.

Competitive strategy: Analysing external factors and core competencies to determine the basis on which your own organisation competes, understanding the managerial and organisational implications of chosen competitive strategies. Recognising the characteristics of the strategy-making process and knowing how to contribute to that process.

Managerial economics: Understanding the key economic indicators and trends affecting business on a global and local scale.

Finance and management accounting: Understanding and using financial information ratio analysis, managing the budgetary process, investment appraisal, interpreting corporate finance issues.

The tasks closely parallel managerial activity in real organisations. During and after the project, a series of facilitated reviews, led by the tutorial team, will help you recognise clearly what is required to gain managerial visibility and credibility. The process will bring into sharp relief your key development areas, usually resulting in renewed confidence, clarity and sense of purpose.