Nobody enjoys being criticised, which is why few managers relish the prospect of criticising their staff - yet it has to be done. Everyone makes mistakes, but no-one can be allowed to go on making the same mistake - and people shouldn't have to wait until an appraisal to discover they have done something wrong.

The video is set in the offices of a district council, where an oversight in preparing for a meeting leads to the rejection of a sensitive planning application. The planning officer concerned shrinks from confronting an otherwise efficient assistant until a stern memo from the chief executive forces a rethink.

But rather than establishing what had happened and taking action to put it right, the officer makes a series of clumsy attempts to discipline the assistant - including a telling off in front of junior colleagues, failing to agree what had gone wrong and criticising them personally rather than what they had done.

Learning how to handle the situation correctly means understanding how the problem arose, and the assistant is able to suggest a means of avoiding such mistakes in the future.

The benefits

• Helps managers understand that criticism is an essential part of a manager's responsibilities
• Shows why people should only be criticised for what they've done, not what they are
• Emphasises how criticism done badly can make things worse
• Lays down seven rules for ensuring that criticism is conducted effectively and without acrimony