This guide has been written to address the practicalities of leadership. If you find yourself in a leadership role for the first time, this guide contains some helpful ideas that will get you started. If you are an experienced leader, you will benefit from some fresh perspectives. The ideas in this guide reflect a pragmatic view of leadership and the development of leaders, focusing on the real problems and opportunities that they face. Produced in partnership with Cranfield School of Management. Leadership, power and politics 'Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality. Leadership is the wise use of power.' So said the American leadership writer and thinker Warren Bennis. In most organisations leaders will find themselves operating by bargaining between agendas held by different individuals and groups. Assess your own and others’ power bases It is important that you are aware of your own power bases since this will affect your ability to influence effectively and results will suffer accordingly. Do you know where your power comes

This guide has been written to address the practicalities of leadership. If you find yourself in a leadership role for the first time, this guide contains some helpful ideas that will get you started. If you are an experienced leader, you will benefit from some fresh perspectives. The ideas in this guide reflect a pragmatic view of leadership and the development of leaders, focusing on the real problems and opportunities that they face. Produced in partnership with Cranfield School of Management. Learning to be a leader Key questions: • what are the leadership skills and qualities I bring to the business? • how able am I to read business priorities and contribute effectively to the business? • do I understand and act on these business needs? • what are my personal values and do they gel or clash with business needs? The answers to these questions will help you to think about what you need to develop. From what you have read in this guide, where

This Practice Note aims to provide practical guidance to those working within a local authority in England or Wales to deal with licensing fees and levies. Local authorities can, of course, be required to administer a range of licences or approvals, from licences for the sale of alcohol and the provision of regulated entertainment, to taxi licences, or licences for street trading. This Practice Note is not intended to provide detailed advice on the setting and/or recovery of fees under every licence regime, but will give broad guidance on the key issues for consideration. Licensing fees and levies Licensing fees essentially fall within three different categories: • fees which are set by statute and cannot be amended by individual local authorities • fees which are set locally to cover the cost of administering/managing those regimes • fees which are set locally but are subject to a cap/ maximum limit imposed by statute Statutory fees There are a number of licensing regimes where the local authority has no discretion as to

Introduction Operations management is about getting things done to serve the customer: transforming inputs, whether materials or information from customers, and using facilities and staff to provide a service or product to the customer. It is therefore a key part of any business. The creation and provision of customer value is the core rationale for operations management. The customer, therefore, is and must be the central focus of any organisation and smooth delivery is vital. Why operations management is increasingly important The business environment is putting increasing pressure on companies’ operations. For example, cost competition is becoming increasingly severe, while at the same time customers are demanding better value for money. Technologies are changing and the combination of all of these things means product and service mix and ranges are increasingly changing. The effect on operations is to deal with increasing complexity: globalisation has become more common, technology is providing more and more information, and supply

Perspectives on operations management: process management There are many ways to improve the service you provide. One important way is to take the perspective that the service you provide is a process—or series of processes—that crosses functions and departments. The key objective of operations management is to provide best value to the customer by managing all of the links in the delivery process through process management. What are processes? Processes are fundamental ways through which value is created and may be defined as 'any activity or group of activities that takes an input, adds value to it, and provides an output to an internal or external customer'. Processes are, in effect, capabilities and it is through capabilities that the organisation competes. Controlling processes A key operational performance objective is to achieve consistency of outcome for customers (most organisations report that reliability is one of the most significant factors in influencing customer satisfaction), in other words saying what you do and doing what you say. Many operations utilise the

Performance management and measurement Earlier, we said that operations managers are constantly having to juggle a variety of objectives, based on cost, dependability, quality speed and flexibility. But how do you know if you are getting better or worse? Measures are often put in place to guide operational decision making to achieve objectives. Measures and standards can play a vital role in the management of operations and serve to pinpoint and motivate action to maintain and improve performance, both in the short and long term. Such measures need to reflect what matters in the organisation and their links to its strategy. Setting and measuring customer-focused standards The benefit of setting measures of performance that relate to the customer is the development of a customer-oriented organisation. Clear customer-related standards help improve understanding and provide an indicator of what needs to improve. They also help to provide a goal for motivation and an opportunity for a sense of achievement through feedback on performance success and improvement. The starting place for setting standards of performance

Operations management qualities and behaviours for success A list of core competencies for a service operations approach includes the following: • reliability and consistency, even under pressure • responsiveness—being alert and responding to customers in a friendly manner • overall competence—having professional knowledge and know-how to give the right advice • access—displaying an open and approachable manner • courtesy—recognising how customers expect to be treated and dealing with them in a polite manner • communication—having the fluency and skills to read signs (verbal and non-verbal) and respond orally or in writing in a clear manner • credibility—establishing a sense of confidence in the customer’s mind that you are representing the organisation • understanding the customer—generally recognising their needs Leadership implications There is plenty that can go wrong with operational improvement. Here are some common issues: • risk-aversion or complacency • inflexible or parochial organisational structures and ‘silo’ mentalities • ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches that ignore locally specific issues • unclear roles and responsibilities for improvement • lack of leadership from the top • initiative

Additional reading Hill, T, Operations Management (2nd edn, 2005), Palgrave Macmillan Johnston, R, Clark, G, and Shulver, M, Service Operations Management (4th edn, 2012), FT Prentice Hall Juran, JM, Juran’s Quality Handbook

This introductory guide was originally produced in partnership with Cranfield School of Management and subsequently enhanced by Beth Pipe, OnLive Learning. Project management is no longer a narrow, specialist activity only run by trained project managers. Many organisations are reaping the benefits of using programme and project management techniques to implement all kinds of change. This Practice Note provides an introduction to project management, the key parameters of a project, and the key players in projects. For guidance on the key phases of defining, planning, implementing, and closing a project, along with suggestions of alternative techniques that can be used by project managers to deal with or manage complexities that are likely to arise that will impinge on almost all project plan, see Practice Note: Project management: Project lifecycle and set-up and Project management: key documents—checklist. For guidance on the difference between project management and programme management, see Practice Note: Programme management

This Practice Note deals with the principles behind rent review provisions. For further guidance in relation to drafting and negotiating rent review clauses, see Practice Notes: Negotiation guide—rent review clauses—commercial leases and Drafting index—linked rent review clauses. Onerous provisions Before getting to the rent review clause itself, it must be borne in mind that the other provisions in a lease can have an impact on the reviewed rent. Points that were hard-fought for when negotiating a lease can have unwelcome consequences when the rent comes up for review. In a weak market, the presence of onerous provisions in a lease can entirely wipe out the uplift in rent that would be achieved by a lease that was more reasonably balanced. In a rising market, any well-advised tenant seeking to limit rent increases at review will argue for a discount to reflect unfair or burdensome terms. While some terms are always regarded as onerous, others shift their status and effect depending on prevailing market conditions. The following are those terms most likely to be used by

This Practice Note provides an overview of the agreement for the sale and purchase of shares in a private limited company (target), namely the share purchase agreement (SPA). The SPA records the terms by which the buyer agrees to purchase from the seller(s) shares in the capital of the target (sale shares): either the entire share capital of the target or a partial share sale. The buyer agrees to pay to the seller the purchase price for the acquisition of the sale shares (consideration) in return for which the seller transfers title in the sale shares to the buyer (by executing a stock transfer form). This takes effect at completion of the transaction (completion), which will occur either at the same time that the SPA is executed or upon an agreed later date (where there are conditions to completion, see further below). Since the buyer acquires title to the sale shares upon completion, it also thereby acquires all liabilities attaching to the target. The buyer will be concerned to ensure that it obtains ‘full title

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This practical guidance relates to the pre-Procurement Act 2023 regime This Practice Note contains guidance relevant to public procurement exercises commenced before the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) came into force on 24 February 2025. In-scope procurements begun on or after this date are governed by PA 2023. Under the transitional and savings provisions for PA 2023, the previous public procurement regimes continue to apply to the extent necessary to allow contracting authorities to complete and manage procurements commenced before PA 2023 came into force (ie ongoing procurements). This Practice Note should be read in that context. For background reading, see Practice Note: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023—PA 2023. Further practical guidance on PA 2023 is set out in a separate subtopic, see: Procurement Act 2023—overview. Promoting sustainable development via public procurement Historical EU context The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102 implemented Directive 2014/24/EU, the EU Public Contracts Directive in England, Wales and Northern Ireland