One last important note is that you are expected to undertake at least two cycles of inquiry during your B716 EBI. These may be related to the same topic or area of your management practice, but they should differ enough so that you have explored more than one theory or idea. For example, you may find that one particular theory you use in a cycle of inquiry is insufficient and leads to another cycle of inquiry using a different but related theory. Your reflections can then help you to critically analyse the theories and plan for a new approach in your practice.
Scouting
This is the stage where you look around your organisation/work context and ask where you could undertake an initiative that will make a positive difference to your work and that is realistically within the remit of your own position. The scouting stage is where you begin to ‘frame’ your EBI inquiry. One way to think about this scouting stage is to picture yourself taking a broad view of your organisational environment and work context. You might focus on one particular issue, but the aim here is to develop a broad sense of the issue you wish to address. You will learn more about this stage of the EBI process in this activity, and look through a template that will help you start your planning for the EBI. Activity 1.3 also provides you with some creative problem-solving approaches to help you get started.
Scoping
The scoping stage is an agenda-setting stage. Starting from the broad ideas and options that emerged from the scouting stage, the aim of the scoping stage is to turn those ideas into one (or possibly two) definite proposals and plans for the initiative you will undertake later in the module. During the scoping stage, you will move from speculating and exploring to doing more focused work on a plan for your inquiry. Your plan will include:
your proposed focus for your EBI
ways to make important stakeholders aware of your EBI
the areas of management theory (models, frameworks, concepts, etc.) you plan to use and why you have chosen these
the evidence you intend to use to support your cycles of inquiry and a critique of the theories you use
how you intend to collect this evidence
how you intend to keep track of your reflections
the resources you plan to use and need for your EBI
a timeline for undertaking your EBI.
During the scoping stage, you are narrowing your focus and setting the agenda for the third stage of your EBI – the progressing stage.
Scoping Proposal
What problems / opportunities will be the focus of the cycles of inquiry
Why these areas
Brief (200 word) description of work context
What theories am I going to employ
Who are the stakeholders
What evidence am I going to capture (Qualitative evidence)
What is Tim doing differently to Robert?
What is Tim doing differently to Tom?
What did Tim learn on the booking form?
Theories
Limitation
Who is affected (stakeholders)
Cycles of Inquiry
One last important note is that you are expected to undertake at least two cycles of inquiry during your B716 EBI. These may be related to the same topic or area of your management practice, but they should differ enough so that you have explored more than one theory or idea. For example, you may find that one particular theory you use in a cycle of inquiry is insufficient and leads to another cycle of inquiry using a different but related theory. Your reflections can then help you to critically analyse the theories and plan for a new approach in your practice.
Scouting
This is the stage where you look around your organisation/work context and ask where you could undertake an initiative that will make a positive difference to your work and that is realistically within the remit of your own position. The scouting stage is where you begin to ‘frame’ your EBI inquiry. One way to think about this scouting stage is to picture yourself taking a broad view of your organisational environment and work context. You might focus on one particular issue, but the aim here is to develop a broad sense of the issue you wish to address. You will learn more about this stage of the EBI process in this activity, and look through a template that will help you start your planning for the EBI. Activity 1.3 also provides you with some creative problem-solving approaches to help you get started.
Scoping
The scoping stage is an agenda-setting stage. Starting from the broad ideas and options that emerged from the scouting stage, the aim of the scoping stage is to turn those ideas into one (or possibly two) definite proposals and plans for the initiative you will undertake later in the module. During the scoping stage, you will move from speculating and exploring to doing more focused work on a plan for your inquiry. Your plan will include: your proposed focus for your EBI ways to make important stakeholders aware of your EBI the areas of management theory (models, frameworks, concepts, etc.) you plan to use and why you have chosen these the evidence you intend to use to support your cycles of inquiry and a critique of the theories you use how you intend to collect this evidence how you intend to keep track of your reflections the resources you plan to use and need for your EBI a timeline for undertaking your EBI. During the scoping stage, you are narrowing your focus and setting the agenda for the third stage of your EBI – the progressing stage.