ISLE OF Man companies have just over a week before the deadline for entries to the Manx Executive Challenge - the bi-annual competition which won the Isle of Man Newspapers 2010 Award for Excellence for People Management and Development.
Entries close on June 17 for the Challenge which is organised by the Chartered Management Institute's Isle of Man branch, in partnership with the private and public sectors.
The Challenge (MEC) offers individuals the opportunity to demonstrate their senior management potential by working in a team to address an issue which is topical, relevant and of strategic importance to the Isle of Man.
MEC is open to all and formal qualifications are not necessarily required. However, applicants should ideally have a minimum of two year’s management experience gained within the Isle of Man business community.
The winning team will be awarded the Manx Executive Challenge trophy and all participants will be presented with certificates recording their involvement. Individual awards will be given to those participants who have developed the most over the course of the Challenge.
The event will be formally launched to the Isle of Man business community on October 17 when each team will be asked to introduce their Challenge to the invited audience.
Participants are selected and formed into teams combining people from public and private sector backgrounds. A number of economic sectors and industries have been represented including manufacturing; international finance; public services; teaching and retail. Educational background is less important than experience, attitude and the commitment to succeed.
Each team is judged on a written report and a presentation made to the judges and audience including politicians, business and professional people. Media coverage on radio and in newspapers about the project and your team should be expected.
All successful applicants will be required to participate in a residential team induction workshop from 9am on Friday September 16 to lunchtime on Saturday September 17.
During the workshop participants will be placed in to their teams, each one featuring a wide cross section of the Island’s business community. Shortly afterwards, their Challenge project will be presented to them.
Each team will be allocated a mentor who will be available to guide the team through their particular Challenge. This will be a participant from a previous Challenge.
Over the eight months of the Challenge, each team will research and investigate the Challenge they have been given. They must submit a detailed report on April 20th 2012 and subsequently present and argue the case for their recommendations to a distinguished panel of business people who act as judges.
The presentation and justification of the findings on Finals Night on May 14 next year is a vital part of the adjudication process. Each team will be expected to propose realistic and practical solutions to real issues facing the Isle of Man today in front of an invited audience of Government Ministers and business leaders.
Four days of formal training will be provided at IBS through the course of the challenge on the CMI level 7 modules “7005 - Conducting a research project “ & “7009 - Managing a project.” Participants will be registered as CMI students which will give them access to the Institute’s facilities, and IBS students which gives them access to IBS Library Resources.
The challenge can also provide the opportunity for participants to achieve a level 7 Certificate in Strategic Project Management. For this each participant will be required to produce a reflective writing assignment immediately after the final. An optional session will be provided at IBS to give guidance on the approach to this assignment.
If they achieve a pass in the assignment the participants will be part of the IBS graduation ceremony in October. Also, if successful and they wish to complete the full CMI Level 7 Diploma, they can be given exemption from the 2 modules taught on the Challenge.
The application form for the MEC can be downloaded at www.mec.im and download the application form or e-mail info@mec.im
