Blog 15 - Communication and involvement

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 procedures.

Employee participation stems from a pluralist approach, it also provides for employees to have some say in decisions. It gives rights to employees to consultation on matters likely to affect the economic status of employer or any proposed change that might affect employment status. The pluralist view point is that different groups in an organisation have different interests and conflicts are therefore likely to arise which will need to be managed. Managers and owners will be interested in increasing their pay while employees may be interested in increasing their pay. Employee involvement is about a management desire to encourage individual employees to be committed to the organisational values. Different categories of involvement can include; sharing information, consultation, financial participation, quality improvements, individuals and community. The purpose of employee involvement is that is assumed that employee commitment will be increased if they are allowed to be involved in decision making. Organisations can involve employees in decision making by creating questionnaires that ask for their opinion on certain areas of the company and see if any ideas can benefit the business. Also one on one’s with management is good as they are able to air their opinions in person and certain employees can help the business more profitable or more efficient. Also a few examples of ways in which this can happen is by have discussion groups, also voting can be brought in by the company, or even a company intranet where employees can post ideas on their website which is seen by management. It is said that information is knowledge and knowledge is power, so the more information being pumped into a company by any source the better.

Organisations are now using social networking sites to communicate with staff. It is a very cost efficient and quick way of communicating to staff members as nearly everyone is part of one social networking site. The information being provided on the sites are things such as; staff holiday dates, company days off and even messages sent from managers to the staff to ask questions or the other way around. An example of a company that uses online networking sites would be marks and Spencer, they use it to communicate with all staff and also allow staff members to put for their ideas and grievances forward to management. Other ways in which they communicate to staff is through company newsletters and publications, company videos and team briefings which are all posted online. They also use it as a way of recruiting as individuals who are interested in working for them can submit a copy of their C.V, this saves the company from sorting through loads of paper work and allows them to have these on their system so when they are looking to hire they can sort through them quickly and easily.  Other organisations to use social networking sites to communicate with staff and the general public are nightclubs. Nearly all nightclubs use social networking sites to advertise specialist nights they are promoting and telling staff when they are working. An example being Yates nightclub, they are mainly on facebook which is the most popular networking site in the world and is used by millions of people worldwide. They use this site to advertise their club which reaches more people than any other form of advertisement and this is free and quick to set up. This is why organisations are choosing to use these sites due to the fact that they are quick and easy to set up with no running costs and can reach people all over the UK and even the world.

References

Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9^th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Blog 14 - Reward

Reward is a system consisting of financial rewards and employee benefits, which together comprise total remuneration. Increasingly organisations are looking at non-financial rewards as a key element of a reward strategy as money is not everything to some individuals.

Wembley stadium employs thousands of staff and it is very important to keep each and every person motivated to keep the stadium running efficiently and productively. Looking within the Wembley merchandise store, many motivational techniques are brought in to increase sales and attitude, the main motivational technique used is financial and non financial rewards. An example of a financial reward is an increase in salary after each year depending on appraisals and sick rate. This is one of the main motivators as money is such an essential item in modern society. Also fringe benefits are included after meeting certain goals, these are additional items added on at the end of each month such as free meals or tickets to events. A big motivator for staff at Wembley is the performance related pay which is where staff is given bonuses depending on how much of a certain item they sell or if they achieve specific goals.

Although financial rewards are important for employees, not everyone gets motivation from money related rewards, there are some non-financial rewards such as leaving early and special purchases which the management offer, this relates to Locke’s goal-setting theory where an employee will work harder as they have something to aim for. Also the staff is often given a sense of responsibility as the mangers are often called away to other parts of the stadium for, leaving the sales staff alone in the store for a period of time. This often entails refunds, going to the stock room and in some circumstances cashing up. This gives a sense of recognition and trust within the staff and managers.

There are different rewards for the part and full timers to make it fairer to all employees and allow everyone a chance at achieving a reward. Full timers are in the store more often so are able to achieve targets set by management quicker than the part time staff; therefore they have different rewards to allow part timers to have a chance of winning. The rewards are generally the same so it’s fair for everyone and allows everyone a chance at the same given rewards.

Even in the state of the economy, chief executives still receive large bonuses regardless whether or not the organisation has underperformed, here are some points to argue for and against; Chief executives are at the top of the organisation, they obviously have worked hard to get to that position due to the relevant skills and qualifications held. Although the business has underperformed they still carry huge pressure with the decision making of the business and have a lot more responsibilities compared to other employees. It may not be the chief executive fault that the organisation has underperformed.
It can be seen as a positive paying the chief executive the bonus as then it may give them the drive to make the business succeed.

Decisions made by the chief executive may have been wrong or even if they did not fulfil their responsibilities properly, which means it is their fault. Bonuses is a type of reward that only should be paid if the person deserves it so why should the chief executive get a reward for something they did not do well in, they must earn their rewards and should be deducted money if they continue to underperform.

To conclude, rewards include both financial and non-financial ways that an organisation can repay their employees for the hard work given. This greatly motivates employees and increases their commitment to the company meaning higher levels of performance.

References

Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9^th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Blog 13 - Performance management

Performance management is a process which contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organisational performance. So this therefore establishes shared understanding about what is to be achieved, and approach to leading and developing people which will ensure that it is achieved.

I have received an appraisal when I was working at Wembley Stadium; they happen twice a year to review goals set from the previous appraisal and to discuss any issue with management. This records a six-monthly report of how the employee is doing any if any disciplinary action needs to be taken or any development needs have to be met. When I had my first appraisal at Wembley I had been working there for just over six months, I had previously set goals when I first started working there which were as follows; Have no sick days, do not get in trouble with management and become part-time of the employee once. During my first six months as I was only part time, I was expected to not have any sick days and I achieved this goal. When it comes to employment I take my job very seriously as I believe in the old saying, ‘don’t fight with the hand that feeds you’. Taking this into account I always make myself presentable at work and never talk back to management. The only thing I failed to achieve was the employee of the month but this did not bother me so much, I set it again as a goal for the following appraisal but overall it was very positive and the management were pleased. I thought this was very effective as it made me feel very secure and good about my job, and it also gave me the motivation and goals for the following six months.

People often look to a mentor for help and advice in everyday life or for certain aspects of it. A mentor is an individual, usually older, always more experienced, who helps and guides another individual’s development. This guidance is not done for personal gain. It is said that one of the most valuable assets in a career is to have a good mentor and role model. The times website states that a good mentor should be; open and honest with you, be prepared to have assumptions that challenge you, be experienced and caring towards you, understanding and patient. These are some of the vital traits that a mentor should have.

When I attended secondary school in year seven it all seemed very new and scary for me, my head of year was Steve Higson who was only twenty five years old and very down to earth. Whenever I had an issue he would always make the time for me and help me out in any way he could. I always looked up to him as someone I wanted to be at that age and felt like he was a mentor to me. He also stayed with our year all the way up until the end of GCSE’s in year eleven where by this point he was more of a friend than a teacher. I found that having his support during school helped me progress into the confident person I am today and I hope everyone could have a mentor like him.

To conclude, an appraisal is something that all organisations should do as it helps boost performance and gives you the motivation and goal direction to stay focused and achieve at the job at hand. A mentor should be someone who you look up to and want to aspire to be like, they are someone who is there to guide and help you through difficult things and point you in the right direction. Having a mentor greatly benefits your learning as you can get advice on how things should be carried out.

References

Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9^th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

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

Blog 12 - Selection

Selection is about selecting the right person for a job. The objectives of selection are to gather as much information about the candidate as possible in order to determine whether they are suitable, and to judge whether they would accept an offer.

There are lots of different selection methods that are used in organisations, one of the main methods used are interviews. Organisations use interviews in most circumstances to have a one on one talk with the applicant to judge whether or not they are suitable for the job. The advantages of using interviews are that you can build up a rapport with the individual and get to know them rather well; this is the most formal way of interviewing someone for a job. An interview allows the employer to answer open ended questions to get more detailed answers out of applicant and gets them more relaxed. Also it is a two way interview so the applicant can decide if the job is right for them. There are some limitations for interviews, such as it can be very subjective. Also aspects of the individual application cannot be assessed by the interview. Also if the interviewer is asking closed questions the applicant may be nervous and lie about the questions asked. Another selection method that can be used is referencing. When someone has finished a previous job they will receive a reference that will be used for their next job. This means their new employer is able to see what their strengths are from their previous job. Although the drawback of this is that an employer cannot say negative this in a reference so there may be things about the applicant that are bad but the new employer does not know. Another selection method used is testing. Employers may give a psychometric or personality test to the applicant to get some more information about them. This is good as it gives you a deeper insight into the person they are but sometimes people can lie to make themselves seem different and put what they think the employer wants to hear in order to get the job.

I have experienced several interviews in my life but I believe the job interviews i have experienced have been the most intense. When I was applying for Wembley stadium I was very nervous as it is a very big corporation and they take hiring their staff very seriously. I turned up for the interview in a suit to show I was professional and the manager and deputy manager of the shop were both sitting down in the office waiting for me. They used a technique which I was not expecting where the deputy manager was asking me all the questions while the manager just sat their writing notes. This made me feel very intimidated as I felt very nervous. I felt this technique was effective as it made me open up as I felt they were examining every move I made so I did not want to try and lie about anything. They also made me take a multiple choice test about myself and they way I carry out jobs. I did try to put the answer that I felt they wanted me to hear as I was nervous that I did not do to well in the interview part. I was made to wait a week before I heard anything but I was successful, unfortunately you can never really find out what the management thought of you in the interview process, but I thought it went well and I did try to change certain traits about myself so they were more suited to the job at hand.

At Wembley Stadium I believe that the selection process should be changed as they make you feel very uncomfortable and nervous. It would be better to try and build up a rapport with the applicant, this way they will be more inclined to open up and be more honest about themselves. Also the test they supplied was not very relevant to the job at hand and i think that role playing would be a lot more successful so the management can see how someone handles a practical situation.

To conclude the selection processes used by organisations are very different but all have their advantages and drawbacks. Companies need to be more diverse and apply the methods to the job at hand so they are more relevant. I think that interviews and role playing are essential as this way the employer can get to know the applicant and judge their personality for the job, and also role playing puts them in an active situation to see how they handle it, meaning they can judge if the person is applicable for the job or not.

References

Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9^th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Blog 11 - Recruitment

Recruitment is the process of attracting, screening and selecting qualified people for a specific job. It is the attraction of applicants from suitable candidates to locate potential employees.

There are recruitment websites such as ‘monster.com’ which helps individuals obtain a job. Their website is laid out in a way that is very easy to interpret and use, it is designed so that everyone is able to use it and offers careers in all areas. The layout offers a search engine for specific jobs in a specified area of the United Kingdom to help narrow down job opportunities, it also offers advice on different industries and careers. I tested the website by looking for a job within High Wycombe and I specified my search to within the town centre and it gave me every available job going, I thought that it was laid out very well as i could tell where and what job it was. I would definitely use one in the future.

A recruitment campaign that interested me was when Wembley stadium opened and they were offering hundreds of different positions. They were using billboards, television adverts, radio adverts and magazine ads. I first noticed it in a magazine I was reading and it was an A4 page with the new Wembley stadium picture on it offering careers at Wembley in all different areas, for full and part time staff. Another reason I was very interested was they were showing the benefits of working there, such as chances to win free tickets and priority seating. As I was a huge football and music enthusiast this was very appealing to me and I applied straight away not worrying about what position would be recommended for.

There are certain advantages and disadvantages to online recruitment. Some advantages of online recruitment would be that it is a very easy process; they are able to take people CV’s and apply to the right job. Also it is very quick; it takes moments for the applicant to upload their CV. This process is also very cost efficient as there are no admin costs and everything is stored online, so it’s beneficial in more than one way. It widens the parameters as it is available to thousands of people meaning there is a lot more choice for employers to choose from. Finally there is a much better chance of success as they can narrow down and hire the right employee for the job. There are some disadvantages to online recruitment as well. One being that it is not very personal, as the employer does not meet the applicant, they only see their CV. Also as the employer does not meet the applicant they are not able to judge their character as that is also a very important thing to consider when hiring someone for a job. Sometimes too many candidates can apply so there is too much choice; this can be time consuming sorting through and deciding which ones are relevant to the job at hand. Also it does not always work; certain skilled jobs cannot be filled using online recruitment.

To conclude recruitment websites are becoming increasingly popular and have made obtaining a job a lot easier. There are advantages and disadvantages to using recruitment websites but overall it makes looking and finding jobs in your area a lot easier, I would definitely recommend it to others.

References

Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9^th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Monster (2011) Home Page [online]. Available from: http://www.monster.co.uk/ [accessed 12^th April 2011]

Blog 10 - Equal opportunities

Equality means treating everyone the same regardless of gender, age or race.  Diversity is the recognition of individual differences and that people are not homogeneous. These two terms are similar but do have differences. Equality means everyone getting treated the same, while diversity is more like creating an environment that thrives on our differences and no matter how glaring these differences are no one is being a victim of discrimination. Equality is being able to work or live in a community that gives the same human rights to all individuals, diversity is recognizing that everyone is different and being able to peacefully co-exist with each other despite these differences. Both terms do promote positive society and benefit everyone.

The age legislation act came into force in October 2006, this means that businesses have to treat all individuals the same regardless of age. For employers this will affect who they hire and the hiring process as they now have to see all applicants and screen everyone fairly. This means that businesses need to hire employees at both scales of the age gap to show that there is no discrimination and there is equal opportunity for all. Although this may have a negative impact on the company as young people, if they have not had a job before, can be very unreliable and not know what they are doing. Meaning they will have days off when they shouldn’t and could cost the company money by not being able to carry out even the simplest of tasks. Also older people can be very slow and frail, meaning there workload per day could be half of that of a normal worker due to the speed that they work at, and that they get tired a lot a lot faster than younger people. There are some positives to having no age barriers as now companies are not ‘fishing in a small pond’ and have a lot more choice for hiring. Society does hold certain stereotypes against the young and old. Young people are seen as lazy and unreliable within the workplace as they do not appreciate having a job and the satisfaction gained from this. Old people are seen as slow and incompetent as they cannot perform all tasks other employees can. Organisations may be able to change this stereotyping by hiring more younger and older individuals to show the public that they can work and break the general stereotype. Also another way could be to use the younger and older generation to front products for their company, for example B&Q used some of the older generation for their television adverts.

An example of an organisation that fronts both generations is B&Q; they have really embraced the age legislation act by offering jobs to both younger and older individuals. They take pride in the flexibility that is applied to job roles and working arrangements. Like any business B&Q has to consider the business case for any changes to the way it works. Phasing out retirement and actively recruiting a workforce of different ages has produced a number of benefits. This allows higher productivity, reduced absences, reduced staff turnover and an increased business turnover. B&Q have a workforce of around 35000 people, and of these over a quarter are over the age of 50, the eldest being 94.

To conclude equality and diversity are both essential to modern day society and are both serious issues that need to be upheld. The age legislation act has helped increase the numbers of older and younger individuals get a job in the uncertain society we live in at the moment. It has created many benefits to organisations and certain ones are using this to their advantage. It is all about giving everyone an equal opportunity to gain employment and show their worth.

References

Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9^th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

http://www.is4profit.com/business-advice/employment/age-discrimination-legislation/case-study-b-and-q.html  

Blog 9 - Teamworking

From my previous experiences in team working, I have found out that different attributes in each person is key to a successful group. I carried out a group assignment with two other members if my class to complete work based on motivation. Looking at the relevant models I have related ours back to Gersick’s (1988) model for contemporary groups, this is the one I believe to most reflect our experiences. At first we were very open minded about our time frame and did not decide on our roles for the first few weeks, we decided that we had the time to think about how we would go about the job at hand and wait till closer to the deadline. After three weeks we decided we had left to much work to do, to close to the deadline. Therefore we agreed to delegate roles to each member of the team; we shared out the work equally and set a time to have it completed by. At this point we were working rather independently as we were each doing so research by ourselves. Once we had completed our task we came together to discuss and reflect on the work we had done, giving opinions and helping to improve each others work. This meant that we had all agreed on the content of the work and put it all together to create our assignment, making it seem like one piece if work instead of three. My role within the group was to look at different motivational theories and describe them. Also I felt like I became the team leader because no-one wanted to take that role but it is an essential one to a group. I felt like we all had an important role to play in our group and each had a large amount of research to carry out. Belbin developed a self-participation questionnaire that allows the participant to find out what role they are within a team. Looking at Belbin’s model of team roles I class myself as a co-ordinator. They are the ones who are mature, confident, clarify goals, promotes decision making and delegates well. Before this task I would not have seen myself as this but the group I was working with I decided to take control as I thought nothing would be done if I hadn’t. The other members in my groups were a team worker and a specialist.

Tuckman (1973) talks about the stages of team development and the impact they have upon it. They are made up of five stages; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. Stage one is forming, which is the initial formation of the group. At this stage consideration is given to appointing individual roles and responsibilities. Tuckman believes there might be anxiety among the group as members might test each other to establish themselves within the group according to Mullins (2010). Stage two is storming, where members of the group will start to interact with each other and put forward their ideas and views on the chosen activity at hand. Often at this stage there are disagreements about the way the will carry out the nature of the task, leading to confrontation and hostility. Stage three is norming, where the arguments and hostility are controlled and members of the group decide what areas they are covering. This is a very important stage as it establishes the need for members to cooperate in order to plan and agree standards of performance. The fourth stage is performing, where structure and cohesiveness are created. They can now concentrate on the task at hand and be more effective as a group. The final stage in adjourning, where the task at hand is completed and the team is disbanded. Another team working theory is Gersick’s (1988) model for temporary groups with deadlines, or punctuated equilibrium model. The idea of this model is that at about the midway point in any project, they will realise that the deadline is a lot closer than they first thought and naturally elevate their productivity. There are six stages within this model; group direction, inertia, half way, major change, second phase of inertia and last meeting.

One of the main theory’s used in team working would be Belbin’s (1993) team roles theory. He believes that groups composed of entirely clever people of people with similar personalities displayed a number of negative results, and also a lack of creativity. The most successful groups consist of a variety of people and personalities with a number of different roles undertaken within the group. Belbin initially identified eight useful types of team roles, which eventually turned into nine, these are as follows; plant, resource investigator, co-ordinator, shaper, monitor, team worker, implementer, completer and specialist . A team role is described as a pattern of behaviour, as in the way that one team member interacts with another.

Many companies use team work to their advantage and help their business succeed. It is essential that people work together within an organisation so they can advise each other and support each other in the work place. An example of this would be Hereford Sixth Form College which came fourth in the times newspaper top 100 companies of 2010. An Ofsted report revealed that the staff has a low staff average of only 2.4 sick days a year and this is a testimony to the loyalty of the workforce. Also the principal has been praised for ‘excellent leadership’ which staff agree, 73% said that they inspire him and he is always available to talk. Another example of team work in an organisation would be careers south west ltd which specialises in careers advice. They came sixth in the list of the 100 top companies for 2010. The staff say their bosses talk openly and honestly with them, and an essential part of team working is communication, also they care about them as individuals. Also the chief executive was awarded an OBE for her services to careers education; this shows her dedication and emphasis for the job at hand. She runs the organisation on sound moral principles and all employees have a great deal of faith in her.

References

Mullins, L. (2010) Management and organisational behaviour.9^th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Wolinski, J. and Coates, G. (2009) AQA A2 Business Studies: Textbook, Philip Allan Updates

Manfacturing network (2011) Belbin’s team roles[online], Available from: http://www.manufacturingnetwork.org/SITE/UPLOAD/IMAGE/Belbin_team_roles1.gif [accessed 13 April 2011]