Tuesday 4 May 2010

Communication and Involvement

Employee participation

This is when employees have a large role in what decisions are made within the business, they have an active role in the business, and this allows employees to know what is happening in the business so if any important changes happen they can have their say.

Employee involvement

This is when employees are encouraged the think in the same way as one united body. By doing this the business is able to function as one body hopefully reducing conflict as all employees should share the same ideas.
How to improve decision making

1. Decision making can be improved by looking at what people within the business want

2. Taking into account different environmental facts and looking at the business and how they perform

3. Take decisions in plenty of time

Examples of social networking and work

Now days many businesses are using social networking sites to communicate and keep a good relationship with their employees. One business that uses Facebook to communicate with its employees is Superdrug, they put up information about changes in work, extra activities that are happening with in the business, employee of the month it also acts as an informal barrier for employees to contact their employer if they have any problems.

Reward

Reward

After looking at Marks and Spencer’s, it can be seen that they have many ways that they reward their employees. The main way their employees are rewarded is by bonuses in 2007 the majority of workers received a bonus of £1,000 up to £45,000 due to
Marks and Spencer’s high profits.

But when the company is not doing so well and bonuses are unavailable they offer their employees the chance to buy shares at a 20% reduced rate resulting in staff becoming more loyal and motivated to make the business succeed so they can receive a bigger return on their investment. As well as this Marks and Spenser’s organises trips to theatre shows, and hires out venues across England to hold dinners, dances and social activities. As well as this staff get a discount on products sold by Marks and Spenser’s.

Rewards for underperforming

Lately it has become apparent that chief executives have been receiving large bonuses even though their organisation has been underperforming. Throughout the organisation this is generally seen as being unfair as areas of the business are struggling to perform and could use a monetary boost to help.
By giving the chief executives a large bonus it will hopefully motivate them to try harder and manage their organisation in a better more efficient way as well as encouraging and keeping the chief executives motivated to do their job as the reason for the business failing may have been out of their control for example if a recession hit the chief executive would not be able to turn out profit like they may have done the previous year as people are reluctant to spend on things they don’t really need

But giving chief executives such high bonuses can lead to de-motivation and conflict lower down in the business as the business is under performing they will not have received a bonus and be angry that the chief executive has been rewarded. As well as this the money that has been paid out to the chief executive could have been put back into the business to improve underperforming areas and encourage growth. As well as this if the business is supported by the government some of the money will have come from UK tax payers who would not be happy seeing it go to someone who has not managed to do their job right and is being rewarded for underperforming.
Other ways to reward employees

Some ways that teacher can be financially rewarded are

1. If a percentage of the class gain a grade B or above the teacher will receive a 5% bonus
2. If the teacher uses their initiative and takes on extra training to further their skills and knowledge in their own time that will benefit the school there could be a cash incentive
3. Better technology in the class room can motivate the teacher

Employees can also be rewarded with non-financial benefits such as

1. Being rewarded with extra training
2. Tickets to teacher orientated performances
3. The knowledge that they have made a difference and improved children’s education

Training and development

What is training and development?

Training and development is used by every business to make sure that their staff can do their jobs at the best of their ability, by making sure staff are trained they will feel more confident with their work, and strive to achieve more. Training can take place within the work place, at home or at an offsite facility.

Induction week

New graduates entering a HR manager retail chain will need to have an induction into the company, to make their transaction in to the company better; there are 3 main areas where induction must focus Practical activates, group talks and integration and shadowing.

Practical activates to build confidence will be very important as the graduate will be coming into a new environment which could be a bit overwhelming, this will also help to build teams so the graduates will get to know other people who will be working with them making it easier latter on when group work needs to be efficient and effective. As well as this by holding practical activities it will build a loyalty and relationship between the new graduates and the business.

Group talks and integration will be very important as this will give the new
graduates a chance to meet and see what the current employees with in the business are like, giving them an idea of how they will have to behave and work. This will also reduce how nervous the graduates are feeling as they will have meet the employees that currently work for the business and have a chance to ask them questions and build up a relationship with them

Shadowing is also a good tool to use in inductions as the graduates will get to know exactly what is expected of them when they will be working for the business and what type of work load they will have so that when they start working they do not feel like they have a huge work load being placed on them

Where to train?

Most of the training will be done within the business as this will save money as a coach won’t need to be rented or a hall. As well as this by doing the training in the business they will be working in they will get to learn their way around so that when they come to work their properly, they will not need to waste time finding out where things are and getting lost and teaching them a routine.

Is induction affective?

Induction can be used as a very effective tool if the business gets it right as employees will feel a bond to the businesses quicker and be more motivated to work and perform better. It will also save money later on as the employees would have received important training in the begging of their career setting them up for their time at the business making it possible for them to achieve more.

Performance Management

Measuring performance.

While being at university there have been a number of ways personal progress can be tracked, the first way performance is tracked it through meeting with your personal tutor, who goes thorough what you have been doing, if you have any problems, looks at your grades and helps you identify areas that may need improving while supplying resources that can help you do so.

Another way you can track your progress at university is by using the online resource Blackboard, as you are able to look in to each different area of your degree and find out how well you have done in past assignments and work out what you need to get to pass. This is effective as it can be accessed at any computer as long as you have internet access.

Effective mentor

In the Sunday Times an article states what is needed to become a good mentor, they need to be

1. Experienced in what they are doing as there is no point having a mentor who does not know what they are doing themselves as it will act as a de-motivator

2. A mentor must be confident and not shy to tell the mentee when they are doing something completely wrong, but must also be able to tell the mentee in a certain way so they don’t get de-motivated or feel shy

3. They must show that they are trusting as otherwise the mentee will not fully open up to the mentor and wont unlock their full potential

Experience

For the last few years my friend has been a very good mentor to me, as she has previously gone through university and gained a 1.1 in her degree, so she already knows the different stresses and problems that can arise from university such as to much partying and not enough working. She has helped me improve my time keeping skill and been there to help motivate me in the last push when an assignment deadline is looming.

Mentors are very useful in business as it improves a person skills and confidence, and give people the motivation to do things that they may have previously been less inclined to do. Mentors also allow people to grow as they help them get to the answer without doing it for them.

References

Sunday Times (2008) Entrepreneurs: a mentor can tune your skills. [online]. Available from: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article3778514.ece [Accessed 30 April 2010]

Equal Opportunities

Diversity and Equality

In businesses equal opportunities are set in place to make sure that discrimination is kept to a minimum, allowing employees to feel safe and comfortable. Organisations now days have such a diverse group of people working for them they need to make sure that people are aware of others culture and beliefs and by integrating diversity with equality businesses can make sure that employees are happy at work

Article

In an article from the Times newspaper Margret Mountford was interviewed on how she felt about sexism in the workplace. Throughout the article it can be seen that she feels very passionate about women working their way up the career ladder are reaching the top of the business. She believes that women should be given the same opportunities as men as they are working just as hard for them.

She highlighted the face that in many industries women are give certain roles mainly because the business has to have a equal work balance so having a board full of men would be seen to be sexist, but the fact that this is not fair on women who have been working hard or men who are just as able and willing to do the job.
In the article the problem between a woman’s work and family life can be seen as some women may find it hard to climb the career ladder while looking after children and may just settle down with a job that is easier to cope with
Age legislation impact

This legislation has affected businesses in many different ways, it has lead to businesses no longer being able to discriminate against people of a certain age group such as students and lady and older workers are slow and un-efficient. A few positives for businesses that have came out of this legislation is that now they are more open to different age groups they will be able to get employees who will bring more and new skills to the business as well as a fresh pair of eyes. Another positive of the age discrimination act is that employees feel safer within their jobs as older employees may have felt that they could have been made redundant and replace with a younger worker.

To reduce the amount of discrimination when employing new people the businesses should not look at the age of the person and take a wild guess at what they are like because of stereotypes, but look at what the person has achieved and done previously.

Equal opportunities within businesses

Marks and Spencer’s place a lot of emphasis on their equal opportunities policy and set out a number of rules that they abide by such as promoting a working environment free from discrimination, harassment and victimisation on a number of different basis.

Another company that takes equal opportunities and diversity very importantly is Sainsbury’s who have created a programme for all its employees which states what is need for the job allowing the job to be open to all employees

Conclusion

Equal opportunities are extremely important within businesses as without them employees would be de-motivated, in a an environment which does not feel safe and ultimately result in high staff turnover, good equal opportunities also make the business look better and improvers their brand image with customers, employees and competitors.

References

Marks and Spencer’s Ltd (2010) Equality of opportunity for everyone. [online]. Available from http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/mscareers/careers_about/our_diversity [Accessed on 30th April 2010]

Sainsbury plc (2010) Corporate responsibility. [online]. Available from: http://www.jsainsburys.co.uk/cr/index.asp?pageid=25 [Accessed 30 April 2010]

Selection

Selection methods

The Royal Marsden hospital uses 3 different types of selection tools, the majority of the people applying and working for the Royal Marsden have specific skills that are necessary for them to do their job. One tool they use is interviews which would consist of the head of department who needs the new employee an administrator and manager would be present, in the interview the potential employee would be asked about experience, areas that they think they have excelled in previously, a hard situation and how they have provided a solution to the problem. This is good as it allows the interviewers to get a first impression on the person and an idea if they will fit in to the current working team

Another tool they use is asking the employee to provide references from previous work. This is good as it allows the business to get an idea of how other employers valued and how they thought the potential employee behaved and if they took their previous job seriously. This may not always be beneficial as some employers may not like the employee and want to get rid of them by giving them a good reference so they can get a job quickly and leave the company.

Lastly the Royal Marsden allows potential employees that have passed their selection tools to go into the hospital and see how the department they may be working for works day to day and how stressful, how the work load is set out and what problems they may face during the day. This beneficial as the employee gets to see the team they will be working with and how that team works together, it’s also good for the hospital as they can judge the potential employees reactions.

Interview I have had

A few years ago I had a formal interview at my school as part of ‘Into work training’. People came down from the local rotary club and performed a serious formal interview to judge our skills. During the interview I was asked about my skills, grades, areas where I may not be confident, and areas that I felt I was particularly confident in, as well as these we were asked if we were keeping track of any economic or new stories. The results that I got from this interview were very good and I scored highly in all the categories even though I was quite nervous I managed to come across and confident, inviting and well spoken.

Personality testing

After interviewing my Friend on personality testing and showing her and example I was able to gage her opinions on it, she felt that it was good as it allows the employer and person taking the test learn something that they may have not previously known about themselves. But she did think that it is not good if it is used solely by its self as people may answer the questions in a certain way that it gets a result the employer is looking for so it would not give a proper representation.

How to improve the selections process

Once the selection process is over employees can become bored and complacent with their job resulting in de-motivation and them not trying as hard, to improve this the selection tool could include a appraisal of the employees work every 5-7 months to allow the employer and employee and insight into how they are working and if any improvements need to be made

Conclusion

As there are many different types of selection tools a business needs to make sure that they pick the right combination of selection tools so that they employ the right person first time round.

Recruitment

Recruitment

Now days there are many ways that businesses can recruit people one way is online. Recently there has been a large increase in the use of online tools and website to aid recruitment, one website that allows online recruitment is Monster (Monster Ltd 2010). When accessing their website your vision is first directed to a large purple box where you have the ability to type in a job title, skills, keywords and location to make the jobs more refined to your needs. You are then given the choice to narrow the search even more by ticking boxes such as career level, job type, education level, industry and category. Another benefit of Monster is that there is very little advertising on the site and no annoying pop-ups so it is easier to search as you are not being distracted by flashing adverts.

On the website you can search for simple roles such as shop assistants all the way through to aeronautical engineers. By uploading your CV which is very easy and quick you can apply for as many jobs as you like.

But online recruitment has many benefits for businesses some benefits are

1. The job can be accessed by anyone who has a computer resulting in them being able to reach a huge number of potential employees, this will be cheaper that advertising in paper form as they would need to advertise in lots of places.

2. Due to the online nature the business will save money as they will not need to print lots of posters, specifications and job descriptions as well as making their company more environmentally friendly

3. As each job can be accessed quickly the business may receive more applications as people simply have to hit the ‘apply for position’ button and their CV and details are sent rather that the person having to print out a CV and post it off.

4. As everything is done electronically it is quicker for the business to sort through applications as they do not need to sit and sort through paper and then mail out letters inviting people back for interviews as they will have a option on Monster to inform people if they are successful

5. Online recruitment also allows a businesses to spend more time improving areas of the business that may not be performing so well

Drawbacks of online recruitment

1. Employers may not get to meet the person until they actually start work, resulting in them not being able to get a first impressing or judge if they are a suitable character for the role

2. Business will get more applications for jobs by people that are clearly unsuitable because it is so easy for people to just hit the ‘apply for position’ button

3. Business may need to employee extra staff to maintain and monitor the website, they will also need to train existing staff so they know how to use the website and what to look for and monitor

4. As online recruitment lacks human contact it can be hard for feedback to be given and received

5. As monster is such a huge website if the business only wanted to target a certain type of person for example a middle aged male they would not be able to do this as anyone can apply

A campaign that interests me

A few years ago in Sutton a new B&Q was opening, weeks before hand there were posters all over the high street advertising the grand opening, job vacancy’s and new shop. To gain peoples interest in the shop they had a lock in where food was put on, entertainment, local schools and activity centres were invited to perform to boost public awareness and build up a loyalty. By doing this B&Q were able to access a huge number of potential employees and customers without spending a huge amount of capital, and when the shop opened it was full all day long as everyone wanted to see the new huge B&Q.

Psychological contract

The physical contract can be seen as an agreement between the employee and employer, this is a psychological agreement and nothing is written down “the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other” (CIPD 2010). The agreement states that the employee and employer have agreed on the rules and regulations of the business. By not following this agreement conflict could arise.

References

CIPD (2010) The psychological contract. [online]. Available from: http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/psycntrct/psycontr.htm [Accessed 30 April 2010]

Monster Ltd (2010) Job search.[online]. Available from http://jobsearch.monster.co.uk/PowerSearch.aspx?WT.mc_n=HBW00006&q=&tjt=shop%20assistant&where=#tjt=aviation&rad=20&rad_units=mi&tm=60 [Accessed 30 April 2010]