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    Sample Gorilla in The Midst Guide

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    Akhtar Quddus

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    Sample Gorilla in The Midst Guide

    Uploaded by

    Akhtar Quddus
    40 views11 pages

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    Sample Gorilla in the Midst Guide

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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    40 views11 pages

    Sample Gorilla in The Midst Guide

    Uploaded by

    Akhtar Quddus

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Gorilla in the Midst

    Gorilla in the Midst


    Auditing to Add Value

    SAMPLE PAGES
    The Guide
    to the video for facilitators and self study

    Produced by
    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd ABN 19 002 762 307


    PO Box 2006 Rose Bay North NSW 2030, Australia
    Phone (61 2) 9664 6755 Fax (61 2) 9664 8455
    email [email protected]
    www.nicholasandsmith.com

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 1


    Gorilla in the Midst

    Contents
    Part 1 - Introduction 3

    • Reproduction and transmission rights 3


    • Background to video resource 3
    • Who this video resource is for 4
    • Objectives of video resource 4
    • What the package contains 4
    • The symbols in this guide 5

    Part 2 - The Big Picture 6

    • Why Gorilla in the Midst? 6


    • Systems thinking 7
    • Adding value 9

    Part 3 - Characteristics of Effective Auditors 11

    Part 4 - Audit Process 12

    Part 5 - Personal Traits 13

    • Desirable traits 13
    • Dark side traits 18

    Part 6 - Power 21
    • Knowledge power versus authority power 21
    • How to Build Knowledge 23

    Part 7 - Influence 24

    • Building Relationships 26
    1. Understanding them and their environment 26
    2. Communication 28
    3. Give to receive 36
    4. Get commitment 38
    5. Maintain trust 39
    • Rational Persuasion 41

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 2


    Gorilla in the Midst

    Part 1 - Introduction
    Reproduction, transmission and licence rights

    Permission is granted to all purchasers of this video package


    (subject to the correct licence being purchased) for unlimited
    reproduction of any material in this guide for use in their
    organisation’s training. Duplication of any part of the video or its
    transmission over internet or intranet is strictly prohibited without
    the written consent of the copyright owner.

    Background to video resource


    The auditing role has changed significantly and much is expected of
    auditors. The trend is towards auditing outcomes rather than only
    compliance. The focus is on adding value to management system
    audits and to the business overall. This is exemplified in new and
    revised international standards and in industry standards being
    adopted worldwide by business.

    To be able to investigate and collect the quality of evidence which


    ensures an effective audit, auditors must have a broad range of
    business knowledge and skills. They may also require specialist or
    technical knowledge in a particular field such as aerospace, health
    management and so on.

    How well auditors perform in their role is dependent on the auditor’s


    behavioural traits and their influencing skills. This requires auditors
    to have an insight into their own behaviours and an appreciation of
    any dark side traits or derailment behaviours that may cause them to
    fail in their auditing role.

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 3


    Gorilla in the Midst

    Who this video resource is for


    • Auditors
    • Organisations which use standards such as ISO 9001:2000,
    ISO 14001, and management systems within Health and Safety,
    HACCP, Aged and Health Care, GMP and other international and
    industry standards and codes of practice.
    • Consultants and trainers.

    This video and guide is designed for use by a facilitator during a


    group training session or by an individual manager, supervisor or
    auditor for self-paced learning. The guide summarises the key
    points from the video. It contains questions and exercises to build
    upon these points and reinforce the main concepts.

    Objectives of video resource


    This program is a resource to help auditors and business managers to:

    • Understand the purpose of auditing and its contribution to the


    business performance of organisations.
    • Appreciate the wide range of business skills needed to undertake an
    effective audit.
    • Gain an insight into their personal attributes and their audit
    behaviours, with reference to specific desirable behaviours and dark
    side traits which can cause an auditor to succeed or fail in their role.
    • Understand the terms ‘power and influence’ and how an auditor
    uses influence to add value to the business, through the audit
    process.

    What the package contains


    The package consists of a video and guide to help facilitators run a
    successful training session. It can also be used by managers and
    supervisors in self-paced learning. It includes:
    • Video
    • CDROM containing:
    ⇒ Guide for facilitator or for self paced learning
    ⇒ Slide Presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 4


    Gorilla in the Midst

    This guide and slide presentation are designed to be used with the
    video program. They allow the facilitator to build on the material
    delivered in the video and to tailor the program for staff by editing the
    guide and slides and adding specific examples from their organisation.

    The symbols in this guide

    V Points raised in the video

     Complete the activity

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 5


    Gorilla in the Midst

    Part 2 - The Big Picture


    Why Gorilla in the Midst?
    Recent studies at Harvard University found that people can miss
    significant visual events when their attention is narrowly focused. In
    one experiment, subjects were asked to view basketball on screen and
    to count the number of passes made by each basketball team. The
    researchers then sent a person dressed in a gorilla suit through the
    court, for about 8 seconds. Nearly all observers got the pass count
    right but 50% missed seeing the gorilla. They term this phenomena
    inattentional blindness.

    This concept is used in the video to introduce the key point that
    auditors too can miss significant events in terms of a business and its
    outcomes when their attention is too narrowly focused, for example on
    documentation detail rather than the intent of the document. Auditors
    need to have a broad view of the business and its objectives in order to
    perform their role.

    Refer PowerPoint Slide 1

    V Video Interviews

    When people are concentrating on factual information it’s certainly


    common for the majority of people to focus closely on the detail they
    are working with and it’s a relatively tall order to ask someone to see
    the bigger picture.

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 6


    Gorilla in the Midst

     Comment on whether you think people tend to focus on detail or is it


    more natural for people to look at the big picture?

    At your workplace, can you give a ‘real’ example (not necessarily


    from an auditing situation) which shows the downside of not being
    able to connect detail to the bigger picture?

    Systems Thinking
    A business is not managed as a collection of independent parts or
    processes. It is managed as a system. So for auditors, a broader view is
    necessary. It’s not the trees, it’s the forest.

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 7


    Gorilla in the Midst

    The type of questions you might ask yourself to help you think in
    terms of systems include:
    • What are the organisation’s goals and objectives?
    • How is the system helping to achieve these goals?
    • What are the critical success factors of a particular process?
    • What about the future? Will this process continue to support the
    customer, considering the changing customer needs?

    V Video Interviews

    When I am auditing I find it’s very important to understand the bigger


    picture and that gives me an understanding of the system that’s
    actually being audited. When I audit I am sampling small parts of a
    bigger system and (so) there’s a risk that I’ll miss opportunities or
    improvements that could actually exist within the organisation.

    A good example of that is if you are auditing an accounts department


    they may have a really good procedure for issuing credits within the
    department to customers however from the customers point of view
    that procedure may be absolutely terrible.

    I know I am thinking of systems and auditing systems when I’m


    considering the organisation’s goals, considering its objectives and
    when I’m considering how the customer links into how the
    organisation operates.

     What does systems thinking mean to you?

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 8


    Gorilla in the Midst

    Adding value
    Much has changed in the role and function of the auditor. Auditing is
    no longer a matter of merely checking and ticking. Effective auditors
    are about more than compliance. They are about evaluating outcomes
    to improve business performance. The auditor’s goal is to find which
    parts of the business are working for the organisation and its
    stakeholders, and which parts are not. It’s about taking a wider view.
    It’s about auditing to add value.

    V Video Interviews

    Our standards now such as ISO 9001:2000 are a lot less prescriptive
    than they were and they tend to focus a lot more on outcomes rather
    than simply compliance with a whole series of procedures. The
    requirement is there to see whether processes are working in an
    effective manner. For example it does require a business to have an
    effective internal communication process. It doesn’t require a
    procedure but you need to talk to people, look at information flows,
    look at notice boards, look at the culture of the organisation to be able
    to assess whether the internal communication system is effective.

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 9


    Gorilla in the Midst

     In what ways do you expect your role as an auditor to add value to


    your organisation or the organisation you are auditing?

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 10


    Gorilla in the Midst

    Part 3 - Characteristics of effective


    auditors
    1. Audit Process
    Effective auditors know how to plan and structure an audit, and how to
    report findings.

    2. Personal Traits
    Effective auditors have an insight into their own personality – their
    desirable traits as well as their dark side traits.

    3. Power
    Effective auditors demonstrate a particular type of power, which is a
    product of their business knowledge and experience.

    4. Influence
    Effective auditors have the ability to build relationships and persuade
    people to share information and act on findings.

    Refer PowerPoint Slide 2

    Nicholas & Smith Pty Ltd 11

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