Course Title: Plan and manage conferences

Part B: Course Detail

Teaching Period: Term1 2012

Course Code: BUSM6241C

Course Title: Plan and manage conferences

School: 650T TAFE Business

Campus: City Campus

Program: C5221 - Diploma of Business Administration

Course Contact : Sylvia Baroutis

Course Contact Phone: +61 3 9925 5469

Course Contact Email:sylvia.baroutis@rmit.edu.au

Name and Contact Details of All Other Relevant Staff

Nominal Hours: 30

Regardless of the mode of delivery, represent a guide to the relative teaching time and student effort required to successfully achieve a particular competency/module. This may include not only scheduled classes or workplace visits but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.

Pre-requisites and Co-requisites

None

Course Description

This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to plan, promote and coordinate conferences,ensuring follow up procedures are incorporated.

No licensing, legislative regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of endorsement.

National Codes, Titles, Elements and Performance Criteria

National Element Code & Title:	BSBADM503B Plan and manage conferences
Element:	Promote conference
Performance Criteria:	2.1 Establish a promotion strategy that reaches required number of target participants. 2.2 Prepare publicity material in accordance with the promotion strategy and budget allocation(s) and despatch within designated timelines.
Element:	Coordinate conference proceedings
Performance Criteria:	4.1 Check conference facilities to confirm they meet agreed requirements. 4.2 Register participants in accordance with planned registration procedures. 4.3 Communicate to participants any late changes to the published program. 4.4 Make contingency arrangements to ensure the smooth running of the conference. 4.5 Ensure speakers' schedules are managed and their conference requirements met throughout the conference. 4.6 Manage administration requirements during conference in accordance with conference plan/schedule.
Element:	Follow up conference proceedings
Performance Criteria:	5.1 Record, report and/or follow-up conference outcomes in accordance with organisational requirements. 5.2 Prepare conference papers for publication and distribution within designated timelines. 5.3 Post-conference correspondence is prepared and despatched within designated timelines. 5.4 Finalise receipts and payments, and acquit conference funds in accordance with organisational procedures and audit requirements.
Element:	Organise conference
Performance Criteria:	3.1 Make conference arrangements in accordance with booking lead times and budget allocation(s). 3.2 Record acceptances, receipt fees and confirm participants within designated timelines. 3.3 Identify and cater for participants' specific needs. 3.4 Confirm program details and prepare conference papers in accordance with speakers' requirements and conference timeline. 3.5 Despatch pre-conference information to participants within designated timelines.
Element:	Plan conference
Performance Criteria:	1.1 Confirm purpose, required outcomes and style of conference with conference convenor(s). 1.2 Confirm conference facilities requirements, budget and preparation timeline with conference convenor(s). 1.3 Identify speakers/presenters and/or prepare a call for papers in accordance with conference purpose and style. 1.4 Draft conference program in line with stated purposeand balance choice of program elements to allow outcomes to be achieved. 1.5 Select, invite and brief speakers in accordance with conference program. 1.6 Identify particpant target group and project numbers in consultation with conference organisers. 1.7 Plan conference administration requirements and tasks, processes and resources to ensure efficient management of conference data and resources.

Learning Outcomes

Details of Learning Activities

Learners will host a conference with a theme and with a link to a social action project.  The project is for the Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation.  Working from the Virtual Enterprise, a simulated business environment at RMIT, students will bring theory alive into practice and produce a real life conference that is planned and managed in small groups.  The learner is accountable for their own planning actions and weekly participation is required so that a successful conference transpires.  This course is co-delivered with BUSM6240C Manage meetings and EMPL5627C Ensure team effectiveness.

Some learning activities will include a self-directed learning approach.  Self-directed learning refers to organised teacher-directed learning activities that you will undertake independently, either as individuals or with other students.  Tell your teacher if you are unable to attend class as this will affect the successful outcome of this course. This may include workplace research, library assignments, field work and work placements.

Teaching Schedule

Week	Content	Elements BUSM6241CConferences Elements Conferences	Elements EMPL5627C Teams	Elements BUSM6240C Meetings	Assessment
1	Overview of courses Assessment outline Learning activities Mode of delivery for units Learning hub and Toolbox
2	Planning: Form into conference sub-committees Conference theme and communication strategy for target audience Set goals, objectives and define tasks Schedule subcommittees and planning meetings	1.1, 1.4, 1.6	1.1 - 1.3 4.1 - 4.2	1.1 - 1.5 2.1 - 2.4
3	Planning: Determine conference purpose.  What is a social action project/triple bottom line? Team goals, individual roles. Chapter 13: Building effective work teams	1.2, 1.6, 1.7, 4.1	1.1 - 1.3 2.1, 2.2 4.1 - 4.3	3.1 - 3.3
4	Planning: Event promotion, prepare mail outsplanning Chapter 15: Providing formal and informal performance reviews and feedback	1.3, 1.5, 1.7, 2.2	2.1 - 2.4	1.1 - 1.5
5	Planning: Create awareness for your conference by promoting it on 8 March for International Women’s Day www.internationalwomensday.com IWD 2012 theme: Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures.  Keeping records Staffing and volunteer management. Prepare mail outsplanning to guests. Create budget. Chapter 18: Solving problems and making decisions	1.3, 1.5	2.1 - 2.4 3.1 - 3.3	2.1 - 2.4
6	Planning, organising, coordinating: Prepare mail outs and marketing collateral Filing documents: checklists and file notes Worldskills class competition: An "unofficial class assessment with class winner to be announced at conference by stakeholder from Worldskills Australia.	4.2	2.1 - 2.4	3.1 - 3.3	Mock competitiosustainabilitylearning Selfn scenario: class assessment - "trophy is prize".
7	Practical Placement Planning,organising, coordinating Chapter 22: Identifying and managing risks	Self-directed learning 4.2	2.1 - 2.4	3.1 - 3.3	TASK 1: Teacher observation
8	Practical Placement Promoting: Spectator management Importance of RSVP’s and registration processes	Self-directed learning 1.4, 2.1, 2.2	3.1 - 3.3	1.1 - 1.5	Teacher observation
9	Promote conference Organise conference Chapter 23: Managing for sustainability	2.2 3.1 4.1, 5.2	Self-directed learning	Self-directed learning
10	Promote conference Organise conference	2.2 3.2, 5.2	Self-directed learning	Self-directed learning
11	Promoting and organising Coordinate subcommittees OHS risk assessments	3.4 3.5	3.1 - 3.3	3.1 - 3.3
12	Conference rehearsal/OHS risk assessment Promoting: Confirmations and coordinating	3.2	4.1 - 4.4	1.1 - 1.5
13	Host conference Promoting: Confirmations using checklists Contingency planning Worldskills 2012 mock class competition: class winner announced - "Trophy prize announced".	1.7 3.5 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5 5.2	4.1 - 4.4	2.1 - 2.4	Teacher observation
14	Coordinate conference proceedings Follow up conference Event impact and evaluation	3.3, 3.4     4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6 5.1	All elements	2.1 - 2.4	TASK 4Teacher observation
15	Follow up conference Event impact and evaluation	5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4	All elements	3.1 - 3.3	Teacher observation TASK 3: Team member peer evaluation form TASK 1 Sub-committee report
16	Event impact and evaluation Follow up conference and review	1.7, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4	All elements	3.1 - 3.3	TASK 2 Individual report

Learning Resources

Prescribed Texts

Refer to Learning Hub for text, handouts and Toolbox
Management Theory and Practice, 4th Edition, Kris Cole, Pearson.	9781442503120

References

Other Resources

Refer to myRMIT for assessments.

 

Critical Aspects:

Evidence of the following is essential:

1. Undertaking appropriate preparations and investigations to identify conference requirements.

2. Preparing required communications.

3. Addressing contingency situations as they arise.

Overview of Assessment

Students must demonstrate an understanding of all elements of a particular unit of competency to be deemed competent.  Students are advised that they will be asked to personally demonstrate their assessment work to their teacher to ensure that the relevant competency standards are being met.

Assessment methods have been designed to measure achievements of each competency.  Assessments may incorporate a variety of methods: direct questioning combined with a review of portfolios of evidence, review of authenticated documents from the training environment and demonstration of techniques.

In addition to the assessments, formative feedback is provided to the students throughout the duration of the course.

Assessment Tasks

There are four tasks you must successfully complete to be deemed competent in this unit. 

Refer to the four marking criteria guides on myRMIT.

Brief:
You will run a real conference in Week 13. As a class you will decide on a theme and apply the Community Fundraising Proposal and Guidelines to your conference - for the Australian Lieteracy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) www.alnf.org.  Only one in five children in remote Indigeneous communities can read.  Promote your conference on 8 March by connecting with 2012 International Women’s Day and its theme - see www.internationalwomensday.com . This is your social action aspect of the conference.

Your conference will be made carbon neutral as your business sustainability approach and is assessed with "Ensure Team Effectiveness". You will be responsible for planning, promoting, organising, coordinating and following up the conference. The stakeholders of the Conference is Worldskills Australia.  WorldSkills Australia aims to develop and nurture the skills of Australia’s youth. Our purpose is to promote and build a skills culture by inspiring young people, celebrating skills excellence and providing them with an opportunity to showcase their trade and skill talent. We achieve this goal through competitions held on a regional, national and international level.

You will form into subcommittees to manage the affairs of the conference.  All subcommittees have a fundraising goal to achieve:
1. Venue and OH&S
2. Speakers and protocol
3. Promotions/Publicity/Sponsorship
4. Budget/Coordination
5. Catering/Special needs

Conference Manager/Document Controller
This person is responsible for the Sub-committee report/portfolio of documents.  It is a co-ordinator role.  This person is elected at a full general meeting to take on the role of Conference Manager/Document controller to keep the conference proceedings on track. This person will have the qualities of efficiency, a can-do attitude and be organised with excellent interpersonal, leadership, liaison skills (particularly between each sub-committee) and document production skills. This person will have an eye for details and will ensure that weekly documents created by the committees, such as minutes, checklists and meeting documents are stored securely with back-up for hard and soft copies. This person will not be a member of a sub-committee.

The specific responsibilities of each sub-committee will be discussed in class. The scheduled group meetings will act as a communication channel between the coordinating activities of the subcommittees. This is an integral part of achieving a successful outcome for the conference.

Masters of Ceremony
Two students will be elected at a full general meeting to take on the role of Master of Ceremony.

Sub-committee Meetings
Each week within class time, sub committee meetings will run to keep the conference proceedings moving. Nominations for Chair and Minute Taker will be schedule for the semester. It is the Chair and Minute Taker’s joint responsibility to prepare the minutes of each meeting and the meeting documents. In order to make decisions about actions tabled at the weekly class meetings, sub-committee meetings will be held. A copy of the sub-committee reports and relevant documents such as checklists and to-do-lists are to be attached to the minutes of the weekly class meetings and submitted to the teacher.

Each sub-committee will invite a number of visitors to the Conference and the promotions subcommittee send the invitations.  It is proposed to target Careers Advisors from Secondary Colleges in Victoria and students, teachers and administrators in the Business Administration program and within the RMIT Business TAFE School. 

Each sub-committee will have a specific role to play in the Conference proceedings and will need to liaise closely with other sub-committees to ensure that efficient coordination and organisation of the conference takes place.

Note that in all group work it is expected that student participation is equal and evident.

TASK 1 Subcommittee Report – Due Week 15 
This report is streamlined and professional in appearance. It is a quality business folio with production to the highest standards. It will be consistent in font, design, use of templates, feature colour and style. All portfolio documents must be word processed and presented in a formal and professional manner with appropriate sections. Refer to RMIT Business Report/Writing Style guides on myRMIT. The evidence to be produced for the conference activity is a portfolio of documents is created weekly in class and stored securely by the sub-committee in hard and soft copies. This portfolio must identify all aspects of the conference preparation and organisation for each subcommittee and cover all allocated topics.

Each subcommittee is responsible to collate their own portfolio of documents including: Job Description, Gantt Charts produced in MS Project, To Do Lists, Check Lists and all other relevant documents related to their subcommittee. For templates refer to the admin section of the Toolbox located on myRMIT.

The Conference Manager/Document Controller is responsible for collating documents relating to the overall conference: Job Description, Gantt Chart, To Do List etc and collecting completed portfolio of documents from each subcommittee.

A full copy of the portfolio is to be presented bound and must include:
• Title page
• Table of contents with page numbering
• All agenda’s and minutes of subcommittee meetings
• All weekly reports from subcommittees
• All documents created during semester including subcommittee Gantt charts.
• All letters of enquiry and confirmation according to sub-committee area and other supporting evidence eg. invitations, flyers, registration forms, nametags, emails, quotes, enquiry and confirmation letters, record of telephone conversations, etc.

TASK 2 Individual Report – Due Week 16

This is where you get to showcase your work as an individual.  You will produce an evaluation report in which you will describe in detail how the conference was planned, promoted, organised and coordinated and what you would do differently next time. Include:

1. Introduction – approx. 300 words
1.1. What the report is about
2. Topics – approx. 300 words per topic
2.1. Conference Planning
2.2. Conference Promotion
2.3. Conference Organising
2.4. Conference Proceedings
2.5. Post Conference
3. Evaluation – approx. 250 words
3.1. Observation of conference - include a qualitative and quantitative description
4. Appendices
4.1. Include all those documents that you produced during the semester. Sign them individually and collate note documents must include checklists.
5. Conclusion
5.1. Personal reflection of learning – approx. 500 words (what went well, not so well, what would you do differently next time ... )

The report should be presented in a formal format according to RMIT guidelines for the Presentation of Written Work.
Refer to the Learning Hub for the marking criteria sheet and details of the project requirements.

TASK 3 Peer assessment - Week 15 

This peer assessment will be undertaken by all students. This is where you get to have a say, anonymously, and rank your sub-committee colleagues according to how much effort they have spent on the conference planning/preparation etc.  Each member will assess their sub-committee peers in relation to: their attendance at weekly and sub-committee meetings, constructive participation and effort in weekly and sub-committee meetings and the members’ ability and willingness to work in a team. Refer to the document on the Learning Hub.

TASK 4 Teacher observation – Week 15

The student will be observed by the facilitator whilst undertaking the pre and post conference planning, promoting, organising, evaluating activities. Refer to the Learning Hub for the marking criteria guide.

Submission Requirements

Assessment tasks need to be submitted via the student dropbox on level 3, building 108.

You should:

• Ensure that you submit assessments on or before the due date. If your performance in the assessment is affected by unexpected circumstances, you should consider applying for Special Consideration. Information on the process and application forms is available on myRMIT and links described in your Student Diary.
• Always retain a copy of your assessment tasks. (hard copy and soft copy)
• When you submit work for assessment at RMIT University you need to use a cover sheet that includes a declaration and statement of authorship. You must complete, sign and submit a cover sheet with all work you submit for assessment, whether individual or group work. On the cover sheet you declare that the work you are presenting for assessment is your own work. An assignment cover sheet for submission of work for assessment is available on myRMIT.
• Each page of your assessment should include footer with your name, student number, the title of the assessment, unit code and title and page numbers.

Marking Guide (competency): 

Vocational Education and Training (VET) is based on current industry needs and the focus on preparing you for the workplace. Because VET courses are informed by practical application of knowledge and skills, they are based on a system known as ‘competency based training’ (CBT). So when you are assessed in VET it is about whether you are competent to do the job, as well as having a firm grasp on the knowledge and skills required to do that job, as opposed to traditional curriculum based education settings that are often based on knowledge retention.

You need to demonstrate you are competent in each element of the unit of competency you are studying.

You will receive feedback on each assessment task that will inform you whether you are competent or not and how well you are performing. Once competent in all elements of the unit you receive a competency grading. 

Please refer to the FINAL GRADES table below.

Marking Guide (Grading) 

After achieving competency we then grade your performance in the unit; this gives you the opportunity to have the level of your performance formally recognised against industry standards and employability skills.


The grading is according to the following criteria:


1. Level of independence, initiative, enterprise and performance of the work task – you must demonstrate initiative in the identification of a conference theme, meet the administration requirements and tasks, processes and resources planned to ensure efficient management of conference date and resources. You will be aware of legislative requirements and apply them where appropriate. You will be creative and provide innovative solutions to complex issues, choose appropriate systems to meet organisational needs and design and develop documentation and related processes. You will respond to new and changing circumstances to ensure accurate and timely outcomes.

2. Demonstrated breadth of underpinning knowledge and a willingness to continue learning – you will self-reflect on the conference, of how stakeholders and audience special needs were catered for. You will apply a carbon neutral approach to the conference. You will plan and identify your learning needs and monitor and evaluate your training requirements. You will meet deadlines.

3. Techniques and processes, technology skills and problemsolving – you will use complex functions of various computer software to design and develop templates, charts, standard documents and user manuals. You will use electronic communication and produce written correspondence and reports using technology to manage organisational information. You will use problemsolving techniques learned in the semester as it relates to team management.

4. Work organisation, planning and self management – You will compose specific written plans, set goals, prioritise goals and schedule strategies and delegate tasks in order to get the task done in a timely manner. You will allocate resources to ensure organisational requirements are met, collect, collate and analyse information using workplace business systems, develop contingency plans and strategise to meet stakeholder needs, manage all meetings and the conference effectively through excellent time management and organisational skills. You will follow legislative and regulatory requirements to ensure the safety and security of the conference and for delegate information.

5. Communication, people networking, language and interpersonal skills and teamwork – You will communicate in a business manner, when managing organisational systems and processes ensure usability and compliance by the team. You will relate well to a wide range of audiences in interpersonal exchanges requiring excellent negotiation and writing skills. Your documents will be complete, formatted, free of spelling and grammar errors, topics will be suitably addressed and content will be professionally presented. You will use teamwork principles to run your subcommittee. You will understand the expectations of each teamworker: competence, loyalty, trustworthiness, honesty, responsibility, industriousness.

GRADE TABLE:

CHD Competent with High Distinction
CDI   Competent with Distinction
CC    Competent with Credit
CAG  Competency Achieved – Graded
NYC  Not Yet Competent
DNS  Did Not Submit for assessment


Further information regarding the application of the grading criteria will be provided by your teacher.

Assessment Matrix

	Covering all critical aspects from competency	Peer evaluation	Subcommittee and Individual Reports	Teacher Observation
	Plan conference	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Promote conference	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Organise Conference	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Coordinate conference proceedings	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Follow up conference proceedings	Yes	Yes	Yes

Course Overview: Access Course Overview