Communication and Involvement

Employee relations are part of the Human Resources management, which also link in with the role, and purpose of HRM, the Recruitment and selection, Equal opportunities and managing diversity, training and development and employee rewards.

According to (Bratton & Gold, 2007) Employee relations refers to ‘an assortment of employer initiatives for improving workplace communications, for engaging employees either directly or indirectly in decision making and for securing employee compliance with management rules through disciplinary action’.

The differences between employee participation and employee involvement are the following:

Employee participation is part of a process of empowerment in the workplace it involves decentralising power within the organisation. Team working is a key part where team members are encouraged to make decisions for themselves with guidelines and support.

Employee participation is to help with quality movement and to make a move towards human resources development therefore employers are trusted to make decisions for the organisation and for them selves.

An examples of employee participation include project teams in which employees work on projects or tasks where responsibility being delegated to the team. Suggestion schemes - where employees can suggest new ideas to managers within the organisation.

Employee involvement is creating an environment in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs. It is a management and leadership philosophy about how people are most enabled to contribute to continuous improvement and the ongoing success of their work organisation.

Best way to describe Employee involvement is by using Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) and Sadler (1970) model that provides and shows the leadership roles and how it should be done and below is the model created by Tannenbaum and Schmidt this has been taken from the website below:

http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_team_leadership/html_leadership_styles/4_tannenbaum_schmidt.htm

Tell: the supervisor makes the decision and announces it to staff. The supervisor provides complete direction.

Sell: the supervisor makes the decision and then attempts to gain commitment from staff by "selling" the positive aspects of the decision

Consult: the supervisor invites input into a decision while retaining authority to make the final decision herself.

Join: the supervisor invites employees to make the decision with the supervisor. The supervisor considers her voice equal in the decision process.

To round out the model, I add the following.

Delegate: the supervisor turns the decision over to another party.

Ways in which organisation can involve employees in decision making is by offering them training course where they can they do off the job training and learn and experiences new ways, Team working exercises to help them, putting them in that situation and see how well they handle it.

As we know organisations have now started using social networking sites as a means of involving their staff, both for existing staff and potential recruits,

Such as networks like these:

Facebook, Network, Twitter, Social Networking MySpace, Flickr and Blogging.

I strongly feel that is true because Facebook is currently the most well used social networking organisation where business are expanding there business by making fan pages and then sending them around so people join them and this is an ongoing successful net work. The reason why I feel these networks are very successful is because it open to a wide range of audiences and is likely to get to the target market you want, it is cheap as there are no costs at in when advertising in these networks as you just have to sign up , they are all very common and used throughout all organisation for example on Facebook there is a group for Newlook which is a normal retail shop in the highstreet and as you can on Facebook there are over 9,841 People who are a fan and have Liked this and a link is provided which take you straight to the Newlook main home page, and as you can see this is very effective and this is how companys are expanding there ways and reaching new audiences.

Conclusion

I have come to a conclusion that communication and involvement has improved a lot since the new technology and social networking have been introduced, I also strongly feel that business have used this to their best advantage and are used at all age groups, social networking have been banned in some organisation as they have taken up too much time and are highly additive.

Reference:

Lecture Notes Week 25

http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_team_leadership/html_leadership_styles/4_tannenbaum_schmidt.htm

The CIPD has a useful Fact Sheet on employee communications

www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/comconslt/empcomm.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newlook/26498945714?v=info&ref=search#!/pages/Newlook/26498945714?v=info&ref=mf#info_edit_sections

Reward

Rewarding is not always linked to money as this is what we tend to think, a genuine thank you or public recognition can raise morale.

Rewards are desirable outcomes; intrinsic rewards derive from the individuals themselves and include a sense of achievement, a feeling of responsibility and recognition for example this relates to Herzbergs motivators. Extrinsic rewards derive from the organisation and the actions of others and include salary, working conditions and supervision for example these relate to Herzbergs hygiene factors.

If the job permits challenges and variety then people will feel able to reward themselves for good performances in order to meet them challenges and goal.

The organisation that I work for is House of Fraser and ways in which they offer rewards are by providing a basic pay which increase after 6months, it provides a highly pleasant working conditions for both the employees and the customers, it also provides a café and a restaurant in which you can receive up to 10% discount as you can see these are the basic Physiological needs, Safety is also provided in many ways such as the safe working conditions and all the clear hazards and fire procedures for the employees, the company benefits such as commission if a store card is opened , pensions scheme, Voluntary benefits and discounted deals as well paying staff if they go on training and meetings away from the store your transport fare will be paid as well as 20% off on staff card, House of Fraser also provides job security by providing a written contract which is signed by the employee and the manager, this organisation also meets Social- belonging and love by cohesive work group, friendly supervision from floor managers as well as concession managers, social facilities and games are organized regularly for all staffs from different concessions to get together with managers in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere to enjoy them self and build better relations outside work.

Esteem needs are also met within the organisation such as you get treated equally on all levels, self respect is given as well as prestige and status, you gain a social recognition, job title to identify your job, High Status job and feedback from the job itself by completing regular appraisal with your main manager, you receive a bonus and a House of Fraser Gift card worth £15 if you meet your targets. Self actualisation is one of the major levels which everyone would desire to convene; ways in which this organisation makes the employee meet up to this level is by giving them a challenging job to see how they can cope such as extra responsibilities cashing up, advise customers, dealing with complaints directly. Opportunities for creativity are given, as well as achievement in work; you can be given a certificate and rewards with the organisation which also links in with Alderfers ERG theory overall you can see clearly all these motivators link to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

This also relates to Herzberg’s two-factor theory, Hygiene factors and Motivators are also important within the organisation such as Supervision from mangers and security guards, Company politics and job Security and motivators such as Opportunity for progression and development, which I have talked about above as these links in with Maslow Hierarchy of needs.

I don’t feel as it differs from groups this is because everyone is rewarded in the same way in this organisation in an equal and fair way you get rewarded for what you have worked for and that is the most important thing that keeps you going as it does not discriminate in any way.

I personally feel that they should and they shouldn’t this is because it takes a long time and a lot of amount of work and effort to become a chief executive and you have worked hard for this for many years and you do deserve to receive large bonus as you have given your best shot to make sure that the organisation does well but all organisation have problems and that is where you learn from and pick up but on the other hand I feel that they shouldn’t be given large bonuses because they have not met what their job description has asked them to do and one of the key features would be to make sure that the organisation is successful and does not under perform in anyway, because at the end of the day they only pass down orders down the line and it is up to the staff and managers hard work to fulfil them.

The 3 financial and 3 non-financial ways of rewarding a teacher at a primary school would be:

Financial methods are

Bonuses if the teachers met the expected target grades, which the school aims to get,

A pay rise for the length of service they have worked there

Discount offered by the government as teaching is one the most important sectors in the industry.

Non- financial methods

Expenses would be paid for if you get sent to do training free transport and Meals would be paid for.

Certificates given by the head teacher to recognise that the teacher has met their targets and have worked hard and deserved this,
Being felt loved by children when they give you presents and cards for example at the end of the year or Christmas & Easter presents and cards.

The one I feel would motivate me the most would be the love and attention given by the head teacher and the children, that would make me feel valued and more highly motivated and therefore my job would be even better as I would be given support from everyone and the lovingness but at the same time as it is a tough job the bonus and discount would be an extra well deserved treat.

I have come to a conclusion that rewards can motivate each individual differently and there are many in ways this could be done for example intangible benefits such as power, working conditions, career progression, status and recognition could be major factors that keep someone highly motivated but then on the other hand some people prefer tangible benefits such as cash, company products like a company car, goodies and treats. This shows that everyone is different and we all look at rewards in different ways and it can have a major affect in our life and working environment.

Reference:

Lecture Notes Week 24

Mullins, L. (2007) Management and Organizational Behaviour. 8th Ed.

Training and Development

Training is the systematically development of the attitude/ knowledge skills and behaviour pattern required by an individual in order to perform adequately when given job or task. Training means acquiring knowledge and skills which can be used in a particular job.

Definition of employee development is: A course of action will enable an employee to realise his or her potential for growth in an organisation.

A training system consists of the following;

Identification of training needs- product of job analysis and job specifications

Design of courses, selection methods/ Media used

Measurement of trained performances (termal behaviour) against pre determined preficeiency goals

Evaluation

Has the training bought a improvement in the job performances

Training is not an option, but a necessity for any business. All employees need to develop certain skills in order to be able to carry out the roles and responsibilities assigned to them. This may simply be learning how to use equipment or complete relevant paperwork for the job. A small business may carry out very informal training showing a new employee exactly what he or she will have to do in order to complete the task. A larger business plan a much more structured training programme for employees, where training is an on- going part of the job. Training can take place at work while the employee is actually doing the job this is known as on the job training, or away from work place which is known as off the job training. There are different ways of training staff and many reasons why staff should be trained, such as when an employee starts a new job and they need to find out about new equipments or new producers, so that the employee can improve their performances or increase skill or confidences.

Training includes all forms of planned learning experiences and activities designed to make positive changes to performances and to behaviour. Training can be broken down into a number of elements such as these:

Traditional training- this is training to promote learning of specific facts and content, which enables improvements in job performances, such as technical skills,

Vocational educational- this is an apprenticeship training

Management training- Activities designed to improve managerial competences

Organisational development- Activities designed to change the way in which individuals operate within an organisation.

Development approaches the individual and his or her motivation from a different angle from that of training. Personal development is concerned with enabling individuals to develop themselves in the way that best suits individual needs.

The first stage in preparing training and development plans to carry out an analysis that compares what is currently going on in the organisation with what the organisations and individuals needs are likely to be in the future. A TDLNA (Training development and learning needs analysis) is the systematic process which enables an organisation to identify ways in which training and development can help the organisation.

Training may be delivered through both on the job or off the job. On the job training takes places within the organisation and can be done while carrying out the job at the same time. Off the Job Training takes place away from organisation, staffs attend courses and learn new skills in training centre, collage or Specialist organisation. Some training centres are within the organisation. Below are a few methods of training that organisations are likely to use and here are the advantages and the disadvantages of each of these methods.

Training can be either internal which is run by the company or External which is run by outside the organisation.

The advantages and disadvantages of Off the Job Training are the following

Advantages-

There would be no disruptions

It can be better training method

Trainer will have a broad knowledge

Everything will be covered

More equipment and facilities are available and Higher quality training is given

Disadvantages-

It can be expensive method of training

Company can loose staff and money as staff’s gone to training

May not be specific to the company

Will not be use to, to the training environment

Could be hard for employees to bring those skills

You will not be working with colleagues

Equipment may be different and you may have to make arrangements for the job to be covered

The advantages and disadvantages of On the Job Training are the following:

This is also known as in the house training, the employee acquires their training or development in the work place it self. They will learn their job by watching or undertaking a training program with more experienced employees, this is sometimes called Sitting next to Nelly; on the job training can be achieved through job rotation

Advantages-

You can learn and experiences the job at the same time

You can get use to, to the working environment

Skills can be developed

You can deal with real life situations ‘ better transfer of skills’

Save times as you don’t have to leave building and is cheaper

Disadvantage-

You may not get on well with your trainer

Everything may not get covered, as there may be distributions in the work

Trainer may not communicate well with the trainee

Trainer may loose productive or money while spending time with the trainee

Below I will be designing a one week induction program for the new graduates who will become store managers at the end of their 2^nd year training program

My induction will consists of the following:

A welcome pack to say congratulations on joining the new team and that we are very much looking forward to working with you shortly. So that you as new managers would have all the information and skills you need for your new position. Below will be the planned program pack of induction training for everyone.

The details would be the following:

Venue: Swan House, White hart street, Suite c (off the job training for first 3 days then on the job training in store to use tills). To open up account card for the organisation, this training would be done in store on stimulator tills.

Times: all the session commences at 9.00am so please be prompt and arrive for registration at 8.45am and each day will conclude at 4.30pm.

Refreshments: Tea and coffees will be provided, there will be 45min for lunch each day but lunch will not be provided

Dress code would be to dress smartly no jeans or trainers, and to remember to bring any further documents that may be needed.

Introduction • You and your role

• Other participants or immediate personnel

• Itinerary for induction

• Housekeeping - amenities, parking, eating facilities

• Layout of the organisation - tour

Personnel Information

• Rates and terms of pay and conditions

• Superannuation, taxation, insurance

• Holiday, sick leave and other leave provisions

• Breaks and lunches

The Organisation

• Who’s who of the organisation - chart of the structure

• Where and how the new employee fits

• Organisational policies-anti-discrimination, sexual harassment,

performance standards, disciplinary

• Security and safety procedures

• Dress codes, smoking policy, personal space

Work Group • Introductions to colleagues

• Establishment of ‘buddy’

• Social codes and practices

The Position • Position description / responsibilities / outcomes

• Safety procedures

• Tasks and duties - specific procedures

• Training and development

This is from my own personal experiences from working in House of Fraser and I have come to a conclusion that this is was very effective and helped me to understand my clear objectives of how the organisation works and wants me to work using there guidance and facilities in the right way.

Reference:

Lecture notes week 22 & 23

Mullins, L. (2007) Management and Organizational Behaviour. 8th Ed

Performance Management

Performances management is vital because a business needs to manage the performances of its employees effectively if it is to remain competitive, the methods that businesses use to manage the performance of their employees are:

Performances reviews including appraisals

Self-evaluation

Peer –evaluation

Target setting for individuals and groups

Measuring individuals and group output/production

It has been said that training and development may enhance the performances of individual and groups of employees.

The reason why it is important to measure performances is because it will increase the involvement and motivation.

The benefits of measuring performances are the set clear expectations of what needs to be achieved, individual targets will be part of company targets so all employees working towards goals of company, increased communication and personal development.

Performances appraisal is a process of evaluating performances systematically and of providing feedback on which performances adjustments can be made. Performance appraisal works on the basis of the following equation:

Desired performance- Actual performances=Need for action.

The major purposes of performance appraisal are to define the specific job criteria against which performances will be measured, Measure past job performances accurately.

The most common stages of staff appraisal are that the line manager meets the jobholder and discuss what is expected and that the expectations are agreed from both parties. The outcome of the meeting is recorded and usually signed by both parties, the job holder performs the job for a period of six months or a year then at the end of the period the job holder and line manager review this again and draw up a new action plan.

As I work in House of Fraser I had my first appraisal after my 3 months probation period and now I have worked with them for over 2 years.

The main reasons for an appraisal to be carried out was to identify any training that might be needed, to make personal/business objectives clear, identify any potential promotion, to review salaries and to identify strengths or employees, also to increase motivation in the workplace and overall to develop the relations between the employee and staff or even to update job description.

The appraisal that I had at work consists of the following kind of information:

My understanding of the main duties and responsibilities I should be carrying out

Has the past year been good/bad/satisfactory or otherwise for you, and why?

What do you consider to be your most important achievements of the past year?

What elements of your job do you find most difficult?

What do you like and dislike about working for this organisation?

What elements of your job interest you the most, and least?

What action could be taken to improve your performance in your current position by you, and your boss?

At the end I had to write a paragraph about how I feel overall about the organisation and my manager and then it was read by both parties and signed away.

I felt that this was very effective mainly because it was nice to sit down and talk to my manager about what I feel could either do or might need help with, we had a better relationship where she understood me and I understood her, I was highly satisfied with everything discussed and felt motivate to achieve my new set goals and challenges.

From the Times Mentoring article link below the skills that I think should be required to be an effective mentor are the following:

Article from The Times on mentoring

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article3778514.ece

It is to give help and support in a non-threatening way, in a manner that staff will appreciate and value and that will empower will help them to move forward with confidence towards what they want to achieve.

Mentors should be highly concerned with creating an informal environment in which the staffs feel encouraged to discuss their needs and circumstances openly and in confidence with someone who is already positive.

Someone from my social life who has been a mentor to me is my 2 older brothers as they have guided me through life through good times and bad times they have provided me with support and confidences to stand up and make a change in my life this has had a major impact on my life as I rely highly on them, They gave me the motivation when I was feeling unmotivated they gave me the courage to take on new challenges that I felt I could never achieve therefore I am very grateful to have such amazing mentors in my life who have till this day guided me in everyway to succeed in every life time opportunity.

Conclusion

I have come to a conclusion that If you want to keep your business to succeed and to do well it is important that you carry out regular evaluations on the performance of your employees who are a key asset to any organisation.

Reference:

Mullins, L. (2007) Management and Organizational Behaviour. 8th Ed.

Lecture notes Week 21

http://www.bizhelp24.com/personal

The article from The Times on mentoring

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article3778514.ece

Equal Opportunities

An equal opportunity is a theory of motivations, which focuses on people’s feelings of how fairly they have been treated in comparisons with treatment received by others.

The main outcomes of Equal opportunities are used to analyse perceptions that can cause inequality/injustice in the workplace, To define Equal Opportunities legislation, To define diversity and analyse issues surrounding diversity in the UK, To analyse methods for improving Equal Opportunities/diversity in the workplace. (Taken from Lecture notes Week 20)

The differences between equality and diversity

Equality is very important and underpins many approaches to equal opportunities, equity is concerned with how people perceive their treatment as compared to others, to be treated equitably is to be treated in the same way as a similar group or individual. Employees will feel more motivated if they are treated equitably and if treated inequitably they will feel demotvated.

Adam equality theory suggested that there are two types of equity such as Distributive equity, which is concerned with the fairness with which people feel they are being rewarded in comparisons with others.

The other theory was Procedural equity this is concerned with the employee’s views of the fairness of the company’s procedures in relation to recruitment, selection and job progression.

Diversity is an Understanding there are differences among employees and that these differences, if properly managed, are an asset to work being done more efficiently and effectively. Examples of diversity factors are race, culture, ethnicity, gender, age, a disability, and work experience

(Bartz, Hillman, Lehrer and Mayhugh (1990:321)

Diversity has a major impact on a wide range of conditions and characters as you can see above and in terms of business and their workforces it is about valuing and repaying the benefits of a varied workplace that makes the best of people talents no mater what there background is like.

The importance’s of addressing equal opportunities/diversity within an organisation is so people comply with legislation, avoid employment tribunals, avoid conflict and loss of reputation as well as creating a harmonious workplace.

The main purpose of Purpose of Equal Opportunities Legislation

Is to reduce unjustified discrimination by making it unlawful,

To enable employers to develop equal opportunities by taking positive action, to provide a mechanism for individuals who have suffered discrimination to seek redress.

Margaret Mountford, who used to be Sir Alan Sugar’s advisor on “The Apprentice” stated that women should only be appointed to senior positions on merit. There should be no positive discrimination.

The arguments for and against her views from the following article in this website that I have chosen are:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/article6830916.ece

I agree that ‘women should stick at it, hang on in there as women can get to the top’ if they are given that support and help, I feel that today’s culture undermines the potential some women have in the world today, as they are to on the same level as men and should be treated equally and be given the same opportunity and support. We are living in a society where people are free to make choices and mistakes because you learn from your own mistakes and pick up where you go wrong so women should be given that extra opportunity in the workplace where they can prove this.

It has been said by Marget Thatcher that ‘ in politics if you want anything said ask a man, and if you can anything done ask a woman. I strongly agree on this quote as all men do it talk and on the other hand women actually take action for what they say this is a big note to remember, a women can do anything if she has been given that chances. In today’s culture women are slowly taking over and are showing that they are too on the same level as men and not to underestimate them.

The argument that I feel against is that the only reason why women don’t get to the top is because organisation are stereo type and they think that women is not flexible as she may get pregnant and may need extra time out for her children. I strongly disagree with this as I feel women can manage and get to the top even though they have family commitments.

I also strongly agree on this quote taken from Marget Thatcher that any women who understand the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country and from this quote I feel that if women can manage a home they can manage practically everything and anything.

As the Age legislation came into force in 2006, as an employer the impacts that this might bring would be that it is unlawful for employers and others to discriminate against a person on the basis of his or her age. The stereotypes that we usually hold about Younger people will need more training and attention and my not have the appropriate skills needed and that they may not be reliable enough and may not take the job seriously enough.

Older people are they may not be capable to carry out the task, may need more care and benefits to help them, which can be costly for the organisation they may need more accessible facilities and services to help them.

The two ideas which can attempt to change these attitudes is to design a training program for the younger people and to put them on a 3 month probation where they are being monitored and checked up regularly to see how they are doing, I feel this will be effective because this will give them a chances to prove to themselves and others that they can do this.

For the older people smaller jobs should be invented which is on their level and that they will be able to do effectively.

Benchmarking is a method many organisation use to help them to discover the best methods of carrying out processes available and then using them in their own organisations, an organisation can benchmark internally to find out best practise within the organisation, or externally by looking at other organisations, many organisations will set themselves the objective of becoming the benchmark for the industry. Two organisations that I have used to look at their bench marking are:

John Lewis http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?MasterId=74681741-bda8-4258-840b-f4eb1ad2e05c&NavigationId=633

The reason why I have picked John lewis is because ‘

The John Lewis Partnership aims to create and nurture a culture that values the differences of all those who engage with us, whether as Partners, customers or suppliers, or as part of the wider community. Embracing diversity helps us to attract, retain and develop Partners while developing a creative and innovative culture that appeals to a wide range of customers.

Also because the Group has led the development of the Partnership's Diversity Policy, which is being put into practice through a number of initiatives, including:

Our first Diversity Audit, trialled at six shops

Diversity training for the Board Directors during 2007

Reviewing and revising all personnel policies (Partner Handbook, advertising and recruitment guidelines) to ensure they are aligned with our Diversity Policy

Communicating the Diversity Policy to Partners through lead articles in our publications

Developing an online e-learning programme on diversity awareness for line managers

Rewarding behaviour that encourages diversity and by utilising such schemes as 'One Step Beyond' (our reward and recognition scheme for employees)

Developing key ethnicity measures and monitoring progress in our shops

Benchmarking our performance through initiatives such as 'Opportunity Now' and 'Race for Opportunity', membership organisations representing employers who want to transform the workplace by ensuring inclusiveness for women and minority ethnic groups

Membership of Stonewall, The Employers Forum for Disability, the Employers Forum for Age and the Employers forum for Belief,

Taken from the John Lewis website listed in my references below.

The second organisation that I feel has a high benchmarking is sainsbury this is because sainsbury has been awarded for the following:

Caring for customers – Sainsbury’s is tops!

Sainsbury’s customer careline and customer management team has retained 1st place in its annual MCM benchmarking exercise, ranked first for both speed of response and quality of reply, beating Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Waitrose and Asda. May 2004.

---

MCM benchmarking exercise

Sainsbury’s customer careline and customer management team has retained 1st place in its annual MCM benchmarking exercise, ranked first for both speed of response and quality of reply, beating Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Waitrose and Asda. May 2004

Taken from the Sainsubry website listed below.

I have come to a conclusion that Equality and Diversity is a large subject to look into and it is very important that they are used effectively within any organisation to help all people feel equal no matter what their background may be, the

Benefits of Diversity

Is Greater creativity and Increased capacity among managers to establish and maintain inter-organisational relationships,

Reference:

Clegg, S, Kornberger,M. and Pitsis, T. (2008) Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice, London: Sage

Knights, D. and Willmott, H. (Eds.) (2006) Introducing Organisational Behaviour and Management. London, Thompson.

Mullins, L. (2007) Management and Organizational Behaviour. 8th Ed.

Lecture notes Week 20

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/article6830916.ece (Accessed 29th April 2010)

http://www.sfbn-equality-diversity.org.uk/meaning.html

(Accessed 29th April 2010)

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/quotes/a/m_thatcher.htm

(Accessed 29th April 2010)

http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?MasterId=74681741-bda8-4258-840b-f4eb1ad2e05c&NavigationId=633

(Accessed 29th April 2010)

http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/cr/index.asp?pageid=20&year=archive&section=all

(Accessed 29th April 2010)

Selection

Selection is the Ultimate goal to choose the best person for the job, it is important to select people accurately for interview, business need to be very clear about the requirements of the job and about the kind of person they are looking for, ways in which this is done is through the following stages:

Preparing job descriptions and person specifications then carefully planning how and when to advertise, then identifying the strengths and weakness of job applications Via curricula vitae and letters of application and finally then short listing candidates.

The main objectives of selection are:

To gather as much information about the candidates as possible

To organise and evaluate and evaluate that information

To assess each candidate and To give information to applicants

To forecast (as far as possible) performance on the job

To judge whether the applicant wishes to accept an offer

Test can be done before or at the time of the interview, these test could be unlawful if they discriminate against candidates of a particular race, sex or age or even who may have a disability. These tests should be only used if they are relevant to the job and are well designed, these can be very time consuming and costly for both employee and the organisation.

The three different selection methods that could be used in an organisation are:

Interviews- is a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information about the interviewe.

During an interview the candidate is assed against a set criteria for a job.

The advantages and disadvantages of an interview are:

Advantages-

The Interviewer can look into deeper into a response given by an interviewee.
Interviews produce a higher response rate.

It is direct communication, which allows you to adapt the questions and clarify any doubt and have a better face to face discussion

Disadvantages-
It is very time consuming.
It is not used for a large number of people.
The Interviewer may be biased and ask closed questions

Assessment centres- These used by large organisations where the individual and group exercise take place it can sometimes be over a few days, often including an interview, psychometric tests, group discussions and tasks, written exercises and presentations. They can be expensive and time-consuming.

The advantages and disadvantages of Assessment centre

Advantages-

They are measurably cost-effective in the long run

Candidates are assessed by a group of trained assessors

Candidates often enjoy themselves and show more commitment

Disadvantages-

It can be expensive and can take up a lot of space and a lot of employee’s time to organise and run.

At the start of the assessment centre, candidates can be understandably nervous and intense as there is competition between them

A great deal of planning before the event is necessary, for example booking facilities, coordinating the diaries of a number of senior managers, preparing the tests and test materials.

Psychometric tests are tests to find out whether individuals have the right sorts of personalities or dispositions to carry out particular types of work, it asses an individuals personality, drivers and motivations, often by means of a paper and pencil questionnaire, this is commonly used within a work place as they believe they are reliable indicators of the sociability/personality of individuals. They predict whether individuals will fit into the organisation and its existing culture.

The advantages and disadvantages of this are:

Advantages

They are professionally developed and checked for reliability and validity

Administered and scored in a standardised format

Scores can be compared to norms for relevant groups

Disadvantages

They are not always a good indicator of future performance

They should not be used unless there is a proven need and a suitably qualified person to administer them

Often require a fee when you use them

One of the Interviews I have been for was for a Sales assistant job in House Fraser and I felt that the interview was very effective and I was offered the job after, as they asked me questionnaires about relevant skills and experiences I have and any new skills I could offer and bring into this organisation, so they could match me with the right job and provide me with something on my level and what I am looking for. I felt that the interviewer was relaxed and understanding and did listened to me as well making me feel comfortable and important. I also felt that a wide range of opportunities was offered and I could ask about anything that I felt I was not sure about. The face to face process of the interview was very effective overall which made me clear about what the job was asking and how I would fit into that culture.

I interviewed my brother and asked him whether he feels personality tests used within a selection procedure are advantageous?

And his feed was ‘ If personality test are done properly it can be very useful to an employer and they will find the right person that will fit in their organisation. The tests will also help reduce the chances that an employer will hire a poor performer, it will also helps to reduced any bias in the hiring process so therefore I think that is a good process to use as you can find out a lot about the employer’.

Conclusion

Overall I have come to a conclusion that the recommendations that I would make to improve selection processes is to offer more something else to candidates who are unsuccessful or to give them another opportunity. But overall I am happy with the selection process as it is a vital stage for any organisation and therefore this is done equally and fairly to help select the right people.

References:

Lecture Notes Week 17 & 18

Knights, D. and Willmott, H. (Eds.) (2006) Introducing Organisational Behaviour and Management. London, Thompson.

Mullins, L. (2007) Management and Organizational Behaviour. 8th Ed.

http://www.teamfocus.co.uk/advantages_of_psychometric_testing.htm (Accessed 29^th April 2010)

Recruitment

Recruitment and selection hire people who fit the company’s culture even if this may involve overlooking some technical skills for a better cultural fit.

Business recruit staff for a variety of reasons, this includes, For the growth of the business, Changing job roles within the business, Filling vacancies created by resignation, retirement or dismissal, internal promotions.

The main Aims of Recruitment are to obtain suitable candidates for vacant posts, to use and to be seen to use a fair process, to ensure that all recruitment activities contribute to company goals and a desirable company image, to conduct recruitment activities in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

As you can see I have visited an online recruitment site, which is www.fish4jobs.co.uk,

From this website I can examine that the layout is easy to access to read and view and the links work right which take you to the information you want to see, the colours and graphics are eye catching and simple and the design does attract the viewers.

It provides good links to show who are currently recasting at the moment and gives a clear lists of the places., which I think is a very good idea as its clear to see and you can visit it straight away. It provides clear information such as:

fish4.co.uk About fish4 Contact us Help Work at fish4 Affiliates Privacy policy Terms of use Press office

Layout is simple but still very effective as the pictures make it lively to visit, explore and view them.

The sections are clear and visible for all views and it allows you to insert your detail in and the search will help you find what you are looking for.

Accessibility and the browser are effective and fast to use and the links do actually work which is good because sometimes the server don’t connect or work which can be very frustrating and annoying, I feel the accessibility is superior as it ensures the headings, links work and where it says click here it works.

The website is very descriptive and provides all the major information you will need and the presentation is well presented and I feel anyone from any age group can use this easily. It allows you to have a control on the website and to view it however you want to you can interactive within it easily and is highly accessible, colourful and clear. Overall it meets the requirement of what a user would expect which is the main point and also because this is a large online organisation which is commonly used throughout the UK from all different users. The font style is different and easy to use as well and is different from many other websites.

Below I have listed a few Advantages and Disadvantages about on-line recruitment and they are as follow:

The Advantages are that online recruitment gives you better audiences to choose from all over.

Online recruitment is quicker to fill out and much more easier to access

Online recruitment gives a better chances of success as it is available on the website 24/7, 7 days a week for however long you want it.

Cost effective as you are putting a job vacancy on your own website and there are no additional costs. This will also save time and is easier when you are looking through them.

The Disadvantages would consist of the following:

Not everyone has access to the internet even though it is needed in our everyday life to communicate others may not have this facilities, which could mean a person with the right ability may be missed as they are unable to apply online.

It won't always work because not every job vacancy post can be filled out online and sometimes you may miss out the vital information or it can be misleading.

The costs for setting this up can be high and needs 24-hour maintenances to make sure it is working effectively throughout and that there are no major problems.

There can be too many candidates applying for the same job and it can be hard to choose from.

One of the most disadvantages would be that managers make decision reading through the application instead of face to face interviews, it is vital to see the person personality and physical appearances can be very important.

Online recruitment could mean HR jobs will be cut down which can be a problem for many HR workers as they will be replaced with online recruitment technology, this could cause many jobs to be lost.

One of the recruitment campaign what I have looked at is from the department of Heath, below is the link.

http://www.socialworkcareers.co.uk/

From the website the feature that really interested me mostly were the following this is mainly because I am currently a full time student. These are the main features that attracted me Bursary Scheme for Undergraduate Courses, Bursary Scheme for Postgraduate Courses, Applying for the Social Work Degree, The Personal Statement and helping to Prepare for Your Social Work Interview, these are one of the main reasons why this campaign caught my attention as it offers so much more then just job it provides other opportunities as well that could suit my needs.

From the CIPD website I will below describe my understanding of the psychological contract.

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/psycntrct/psycontr.htm

From my understanding a psychological contract is the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other'. It can be distinguished from the legal contract of employment. It also looks at the

the reality of the situation as perceived by the parties, and may be more influential than the formal contract in affecting how employees behave from day to day.

This contract shows the relationship between an employee and an employer it addresses factors that are not defined in a written contract of employment such as

levels of employee commitment, productivity, quality of working life, job satisfaction, attitudes to flexible working, and the provision and take-up of suitable training. Expectations of both employer and employee can change, so the psychological contract must be checked regularly to avoid any misunderstandings.

If the contract is broken then this will have a negative effect on the job satisfaction and commitment.

When recruiting it is important to take into account the ethnic minority and equal opportunities a classic example would be the Mersey Fire service, which looks into ethnic minority and female fighters ways in which they overcome this was when they held awareness days to give people an idea of the entry standards needed which not many people are aware of, they advertised through agency who specialise in attracting women and ethic minorities to make female feel more welcomed. They appointed fire fighters to build contracts in local communities and this was very successful.

Some reasons why some organisation struggle to recruit is simply because of competition, skills shortage, may be demanding, transport problems and money problems. Some people may have insufficient skills, no applications or even lack or formal qualifications.

The measures taken to increase retention are to go through training and development, promoting image as a good employer. Increasing pay, being more flexible with hours, providing opportunities for sideway jobs move and more improved benefits.

Ways in which I feel recruitment can be advertised is online, internal opportunities, agency, paper, radio and poster to make sure it reaches a wide range of audiences in everyway. Its also important to make the advert catchy with bold written/visuals, providing company information, opportunities and challenges offer as well as a good information pack.

Conclusion

I have come to a conclusion that recruitment is very important to any organisation and is important to recruit the right staff who will fit in well with the organisation, as this will have an affect on the whole organisation. Therefore it is very important to look carefully into recruitment and to advertise in the right ways providing all the right information that is needed and to make sure it is aimed at the right people and so the right candidates are selected. Recruitment for organisation is also a major cost which they have to consider so its important they don’t get this stage wrong otherwise it can be very costly and time consuming.

Reference:

http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/recruitment/introduction_to_online_recruitment.htm (Accessed 23 April 2010)

http://www.onrec.com/news/online_job_recruitment_trends_benefits_o

(Accessed 23 April 2010)

http://www.onrec.com/news/benefits_of_online_recruitment_during_an

(Accessed 23 April 2010)

http://www.socialworkcareers.co.uk/

(Accessed 23 April 2010)

Lecture Notes Week 16

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/psycntrct/psycontr.htm

(Accessed 24 April 2010)