Unit Outline

In this unit, higher level workplace managers/supervisors will develop higher order decision making skills and capabilities required of critical incident response operational leadership in increasingly complex social, cultural, and economic environments. This is because critical incidents are often dynamic and require operational commanders to adapt responses as incidents unfold over time, simultaneously focusing on response and recovery, and to do this within the multifarious, diverse constraints of relevant legislation, policies, and best practice. Students will practice strategic decision making around managing response to, and ongoing recovery of, critical incidents because they are responsible for commanding these responses for their organisations. Importantly, they will also develop intrapersonal skills by critically analysing and reflecting upon their own, and others’, critical incident response practices to ensure they role model ethical leadership in their own critical incident response and recovery. They will employ interpersonal skills in their collaborations with other government and community stakeholders to build resilient communities and respond appropriately when required through command, control, and coordination principles. Students will develop these interpersonal and intrapersonal skills in collaborative, ethical ways to synthesise their performance and the issues facing critical incident response leaders today.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Analyse responses to critical incidents drawing on research evidence
2	Apply theories of leadership in making independent judgments and developing a planned response within dynamic critical incident response environments
3	Collaborate with diverse stakeholders in supervising and taking command and control of critical incidents
4	Evaluate and analyse different approaches to ethical decision-making in the context of critical incident leadership
5	Communicate across diverse settings and audiences at a level commensurate with an ethical critical incident response leader

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	HSP402, HSP405

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Ethical decision-making scenario response	Refer to Assessment Description	20 %	LO1, LO4, LO5
Assessment Task 2:	Critical analysis of critical incident response	Refer to Assessment Description	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO5
Assessment Task 3:	Assessment of critical incident management	Refer to Assessment Description	50 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO5

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Ethical decision-making scenario response

Task Description:

In this assignment, you'll detail how you would respond – as an ethical critical incident leader – to one of the supplied critical incident scenarios and write a brief justification for why it is the most ethical course of action. Your response should acknowledge any trade-offs associated with your decision, making a case for why they're justified in the broader context.

However, the world of ethical decision-making isn't black and white. With that in mind, you are also to consider and describe an alternative response to the same scenario, evaluate this response and reflecting on the main reasons why someone else in your position may undertake a different course of action.

Throughout your response, you’ll need to ground your perspectives and arguments in established theories of ethical decision-making and ethical leadership as well as your own experience. A minimum of 3 academic sources should be used and a reference is required.

Task Length:

1000 words (excluding references and bibliography)

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply and analyse ethical decision-making faced by a leader managing the response to a critical incident	LO1
2	Evaluate different approaches to ethical decision-making in the context of critical incident leadership by considering alternative justifications, perspectives, and experiences.	LO4
3	Communicate in essay format at the level commensurate with an ethical critical incident response leader	LO5

Assessment Task 2: Critical analysis of critical incident response

Task Description:

You will critically analyse the things that went right and wrong with a critical incident response and provide key future-focused recommendations learnings related to your chosen critical incident. You can choose any critical incident to analyse, provided that it is contemporary and comparable (to your jurisdictional context). You will focus on this in terms of how responders and supervisors involved were exercising ethical strategic decision making around management of risks and resources (human and material). You may choose from three formats: an essay of 2000 words maximum; a video of 15 minutes maximum; or an audio-recorded PowerPoint presentation of 10 slides maximum. Academic referencing is required for this assignment. You will need to cite research literature (using in-text citations) in your written response (or in your slides), and you will need to provide a reference list of sources you have cited (as a list at the end of your written response or as a list on your last slide).

Task Length:

Essay format: 2000 words (excluding references) Video format: 15 minutes Audio-recorded PowerPoint presentation: 10 slides (excluding references on the last slide)

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply practical knowledge about leading ethical incident response and recovery	LO2
2	Integrate research evidence about ethical critical incident response leadership	LO1
3	Analyse core critical incident response leader decision making related to a critical incident	LO1
4	Communicate using your chosen format at the level commensurate with an ethical leader	LO5

Assessment Task 3: Assessment of critical incident management

Task Description:

You will engage in a set of tasks to assess threshold professional standards. You will be assessed at your face-to-face course for your capacity to undertake critical incident management, and particularly your capability with supervising, and where needed taking command, in the context of critical incident response. You will also be assessed on how you communicate your mission and direct staff behaviour within dynamic critical incident response environments. A focus will be on how you exercise sound, ethical strategic decision making and effectively manage material and human resources in high pressure environments. Flexibility to select tasks that fit with the organisational learning context is essential. Selection of the tasks will be shaped by: the facilities available within which to undertake assessment during the course; and the capabilities and availability of assessors. There are a range of possible tasks that course directors may possibly select for students to undertake:
- Operational briefing up to command
- Operational order
- Command and control of critical incident
- Critical incident hypothetical
- Incident action plan
- Developing a planned response to a critical incident
- Identification/assessment/management of risks

Task Length:

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analyse legislative requirements and policies and procedures related to critical incident response	LO1
2	Critically analyse and/or justify decisions made as critical incident response leader	LO2
3	Communicate effectively and provide clear instructions at the level commensurate with a critical incident response leader	LO2, LO3
4	Communicate mission about critical incident response and recovery	LO5

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.