Employee Communication

What is difference between employee participation and employee involvement?

Employee involvement is where particular individuals are directly included in certain issues for example, management of objectives. Employee participation however is a collective which involves all the employees haring in something. Unlike employee involvement, employee participation is supported by some rule or legislation. It is important for employees to know that they are appreciated and that their opinions counts. This is why it is necessary for businesses to involve their employees in the decision making process some example of how businesses can do this are listed below:

Organisations can hold workshops or seminars where their employees are given a chance to share their views about the organisation and what they think needs to be improved.

Suggestion boxes are another way in which organisations can get their employees involved. This is a good idea because it allows the employees to voice their opinions while remaining anonymous.

Appraisals are a great way for organisation to get feedback from their employees. This should be done on annual bases as it is a time consuming and sometimes expensive process.

Conclusion

It is important for businesses to involve their employees in the decision making process as it increases ownership and commitment, retains your best employees, and makes an environment in which people choose to be motivated and contributing. Most importantly organisations should not only ask their employees to get involve but it is also necessary for them to listen to their employees suggestions.

Perception

Perception-“The process by which individuals organise and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment” (Robbins et al, 2010).

I am generally a good at judge of people’s character but I misjudged someone which ultimately was a big mistake. One of my cousin’s came to live with us for a period of time. As she was my cousin I thought she would be loyal and trustworthy it turned out to be the opposite because of her I almost put into care. My initial judgement of her was that she was a nice person because she gave the impression that she was. She would always say and do the right things. In 2010 Mullins talked about cultural differences, he says “the way in which people interact are subject to cultural difference, cultural difference often leads to stereotyping”. This was the opposite for me because we were from the same place and share the same back ground I thought it would be ok to trust her. I suppose I did stereotype because I thought we would share the same values because we were from the same place but that wasn’t the case.

“We already know what we are looking for and are therefore ‘set’ to receive only that information which confirms out initial thoughts” (Mullins 2010). This was true in my case because I was looking for her to have the same interests and values as me I was blind to the fact that she was a liar. My perception of her was so wrong.

If I had the opportunity to redo this situation I would handle it differently. I wouldn’t be as trusting as I was. I would make sure I found out as much about her before I started to make judgment. I definitely wouldn't have let her stay in our house.

Reference

1.     Mullins. L. J. Published 1985. Latest edition (9th) 2010.Management & Organisational Behaviour. Essex. Pearson Education Limited

Performance Management

Performance Management

This is what Armstrong and Baron (2005) had to say about performance management “process which contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organisational performance. As such, it establishes shared understanding about what is to be achieved and approach to leading and developing people which will ensure that it is achieved”.

Ways in which the university measure my performance

1.      One of the ways in which the university measure my performance is by my attendance. Looking at how high or low my attendance is gives the university an indication of how I am doing. It is up to my lecturers to monitor my attendance; this is done by taking the registration.

2.      Looking at my results is another way that my performance is measure by the university. If my tutors didn’t provide me with the necessary knowledge and didn’t mark my assignments the university wouldn’t be able to compare my grades hence they wouldn’t be able to measure my academic performance.

3.      Tutors and lecturers feedback is another way in which the university can measure my performance. By listening to my tutors and lecturers the university would get an indication of how I am performing.

Mentoring Skills

It is important for any mentor to have the correct skills in the field that they will be mentoring in. For a mentor to be successful they need to have a wide range of skills and below are a few examples;

·         Networking skills-are important as a mentor because it allows you to be better equipped to help your mentee. Sometimes it is not what you know but who you know that helps.

·         Problem solving skills-being able to solve problems is an important skill for any mentor as your mentee is looking to you for guidance. This might mean more often than none help with solving problems.

·         Listening skills-sometimes your mentee might just need to talk so as a mentor you need to be able to listen. Being a good listener will help your mentee to discuss their problems openly as a result you’ll be better able to help them.

·         Communication skills-this is a very important skills for any mentor to have as it means that they will be able to advice their mentee on issues or problems that they have. This enables the mentor to help solve problems and deal with issues more effectively.

·         Trust-ultimately the most important skill that a mentor needs to have is honesty. This will help the mentor and mentee to build a good relationship and as a result they’ll be able to work better together.

My personal mentor

My mentor is someone that I work with. What I admire about her is her strength because it reminded me so much of my mum. I have a lot of respect for her as a person and a business woman. One of the reason why is because she runs her own company. She is very honest, straightforward and trustworthy person these are qualities that I admire in people. She always gives me the best advice and she has a lot of connections. Having a mentor that I can trust and rely on is important for me because I know there’s always someone I can talk to. It also means that I have someone that I can get help from which is important.

Conclusion

It is important for businesses to continually manage their employees’ performance as it allows them to see how well they’re doing. It also means that they have an idea of which employees will benefit from more training. It is also more common now for businesses to have mentoring scheme. I think this is important especially for new employees as it helps them to feel more welcome.

Reference

1.     Armstrong. M and A. Baron (2005) Managing Performance: Performance management in action, CIPD.

Reward

EasyJet is one of the most recognised organisations in the Travel and Tourism industry. That operates in more than 20 U.K airports. With their employees having to working antisocial hours it is important for EasyJet to provide rewards for their employees. Apart from offering equal opportunities and competitive salaries for its employee EasyJet has operated a number of share schemes over the years. The most recent one being “Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme”. Another reward that EasyJet provides to its staff is “Staff Offer” this means that all EasyJet employees regardless of their job role are entitle to discounts on a range of products and services. The most commonly known reward that EasyJet offer their employees is “Travel discounts” this means that EasyJet employees and their dependent are permitted discounts when they travel with EasyJet. Rewards such as the ones listed above help to motivate and encourage employees to worker. This makes it easier for EasyJet to meet their aims and objective whether it be to provide great customer service or to increase their profits while satisfying their employees needs.  All the rewards that EasyJet offers its employees are fair as it allows the employees to benefit from the company’s success for example; share schemes. Martin et al, 2010 states “a reward system consists of financial rewards and employee benefits, which together comprise total remuneration”. EasyJet has a balance reward system which provides both financial rewards and employee benefits to its employees.

Should chief executives receive large bonuses even if their organisation is underperforming?

For

v  Payment has always been linked to the individual excellence so the top executives may have the knowledge that is required to run a large organisation. The organisations might think it would be better to cut their losses and pay the executives their bonuses. The reason for this is because it would be easier more beneficial and less expensive for the organisation to retain these executives to help rebuild the businesses finances.

v  Providing bonuses to the top executives is one incentive used by organisations to help ensure that they go that extra mile to help the business to recover from and improve its bad performance.

v  The top executives are the ones shouldering most of the burden of making tough decisions so therefore they are entitled to their bonuses. Also if an organisation is doing badly it could be because of factors outside the control of the top executives such as; a recession which means it isn’t the executives fault.

Against

v  Bonuses are a form of reward for doing well so why should chief executives be paid bonuses even though their organisation has underperformed? They should be the last persons to receive bonuses the reason for this is because they are the ones in charge they are responsible for the success of the business. Giving them bonuses even though the business performed badly is the same as rewarding them for doing a bad job which is just unacceptable.

v  Paying bonuses to top executives while their employees are losing their jobs as a result of the business underperforming will create conflict within an organisation. This is because it will caused jealousy among the employees.

v  The organisation just underperform why would you want to pay such large amount to one individual when that money can put to better use like paying the organisation’s deaths. Isn’t this the most logical thing to do?

Conclusion

Let us not forget that rewards are there to help motivate and inspire employees to work hard at the best of their ability. These rewards also need to be fair and ethical.

Selection

In 2007 Jones describe selection as “creating the set of job- and company- specific criteria that determine which job applicants are the best match for a particular job and company”. After the recruitment process is over the applicants will then be compare to the personal specification which helps to start the selection process this is known as short-listing. Jobs within the aviation sector are really competitive therefore it is important that the right people are selected for the job. Airport Agencies uses a few selection methods; below are three examples of selection technique that they frequently use:

·         Application forms and CVs

·         Telephone interview

·         References

When and why these methods are used

Application forms and CV-This is the first step in the selection process that Airport Agencies use. This method is use to gather information about the candidates.

Telephone interview- Airport Agencies uses telephone interviews as the second step in the selection process. These interviews can happen anytime but some employers prefer to pre-schedule as it helps the candidates to be more prepare. Telephone interviews are fairly straightforward and are used to screen for bad candidates.

References-This is a very important part of the selection process as and is the final step used by Airport Agencies when selecting potential employees.

Advantages and Disadvantages of using these selection methods

·         Application forms and CV-Is a standardized format for employers to compare applicants to each other. This provides a more accurate base and makes it easier for employers to compare candidates. Another benefit to application forms is that it allows employers to analyse the way in which the candidates answer question. This helps to give them an idea of what kind of employee you would be. One disadvantage to this method is that it gives a one dimensional view of the candidates as they are only judge on what they’ve written. Another drawback to this method is that it isn’t fair to people with learning difficulties such as dyslexia as they might be very capable person but find it difficult to fill in application forms.

·         Telephone interviews-One of the advantages of telephone interviews is it is very cost-effective. This is very important to businesses as the recruitment and selection process is very expensive this allows businesses to cut-cost. Another benefit to using this method is it allows the interviewer to see how well the applicants’ verbal communication skills are. Telephone interviews are a good way to screen for unsuitable candidates in the early stage of the selection process. The problem with telephone interviews is that there is no way for the candidates to measure the interviewer’s response. Another disadvantage to this method is it doesn’t give the candidates a lot of time to think about their answers. As the interview is held over the telephone it doesn’t give the applicant enough time to prepare.

·         References-One of the advantages of using references as a selection method is it helps to fill in blanks. References are another way in which employers can check to see if the information that the applicants provide were correct. This method is important as it helps to provide employers with their potential employee history. This is important as the employers are able to get an idea of what type of person the applicant is and whether they’ll be suitable for the job. One of the biggest problem with references is it can be time-consuming.

My interview experience

While in year ten (10) I applied to be a prefect, I was told that I had to be interviewed for the position. I was really nervous as that was my first interview and I was interviewed by the principal, my tutor and head of year. During the interview I started to relax more and was able to speak properly because the interviewers made me feel at ease. This was one of the reasons why the interview was effective because the interviewers made you feel comfortable enough so you were able to answer the questions confidently. I was asked questions like; why did I apply to be a prefect? What qualities I thought a prefect required? At first I over think the questions because I wanted to make sure that the answers I gave were correct but after I was asked about my background I started to show my personality. I felt that this was the turning point in the interview as I was able to be myself and show who I really was. I felt like the interview was a success because I got the job. 

Recommendations for Airport Agencies

To improve Airport Agencies selection process I recommend that they use other methods such as communication test. This method will make it easier for them to evaluate the candidate’s level of communication skills. Another way in which they can improve their selection process is by getting feedback from candidates about their experience.

Conclusion

It is very important to remember that different candidates require different selection techniques. As the information above show all the selection methods have advantages and disadvantages this is why it is important and necessary for business to use a combination of selection methods. 

Reference

Jones, G R (2007), Introduction To Business, The McGraw-Hill Companies: New York

Equal opportunity and Diversity

Equality and Diversity- In 2010 Mullins describe diversity as “the recognition of individual differences and that people are not homogenous. Focuses on the multiplicity of visible and non-visible differences among people”. For me equality represents having the same worth and rights regardless of your gender, age, race, ethnicity or any other social factors. Diversity refers to different people from a wide variety of backgrounds (age, ethnicity, education etc) while equality looks at how people are treated regardless of their background. The major difference between equality and diversity is that diversity focuses on people’s backgrounds (age, ethnicity, education etc) while equality aims to do the opposite.

Impacts of 2006 Age Legislation on employers

The age legislation 2006 protect people against discrimination both younger and older people. This helps to prevent employers making stereotypical decision on people’s capabilities because of their age.

1.      One of the biggest impacts this legislation has had on employers is the fact that they now have to redesign their application forms to comply with this new legislation.

2.      According to research shown online the training journal “employers are starting to move beyond good intentions towards delivering strategies that contribute to achieving an age diverse workforce” (Training journal, 2004).

3.      With this new legislation organisation costs have increase due to the fact that they need to; retraining their HR staff and redesigning their application to comply with this new legislation

4.      However one of the benefits to hiring older people is it helps to reduce staff turnover.

Stereotypes about younger and older people

1.      That younger people are inexperience and irresponsible therefore they won’t be the best people to for the job.

2.      That older people are harder to train because they are so suck in their ways.

3.      That older people are less active than younger people which mean they work at a slower pace.

One way in which employers can change their employees’ attitude towards these stereotypes is by finding common ground. What this means is that employers should try and find things that both younger and older people have in common therefore it makes it easier for them to relate to each other. For example; setting both younger and older employees the same goals. Another suggestion would be to make it a conscious decision to have a diverse range of employees working together. This will help the employees to get a better understanding of each other regardless of their age.

EasyJet

One of the most successful companies that understand the importance of equality and diversity within the workplace is EasyJet. This is why EasyJet has taken the time to create one of the best working environments for their employees that promotes equality and diversity while providing equal opportunities. Due to this fact EasyJet has created aims and objectives that help to ensure all employees are treated fair. Below are their list of aims and objectives:

1.      All employees and potential employees are treated fairly, with respect at all stages (www.easyjetcareers.com).

2.      “All employees have the right to be free from harassment of any description or any other form of unwanted behaviour” (www.easyjetcareers.com).

3.      All employees have an equal chance to contribute and to achieve their potential (www.easyjetcareers.com).

Conclusion

The problem that most employers face with stereotyping is that they hope if they ignore it then it will go away. This is not true instead of ignoring it they should challenge stereotyping. 

Reference

1.     Mullins. L. J. Published 1985. Latest edition (9th) 2010.Management & Organisational Behaviour. Essex. Pearson Education Limited

2.     Wolff, C. (2007) Arriva: dramatic results on diversity, Equal Opportunities Review, Issue 160

3.     http://www.easyjetcareers.com/equal-opportunities.aspx (Accessed on 10 April 2010)

4.     http://www.trainingjournal.com/news/880.html  (Accessed on 10 April 2010)



Recruitment

Dooley et al 2007 simply describes recruitment as “taking on employees” while Jones 2007 describes it as “the process of identifying and attracting a pool qualified job applicant”. There are two forms of recruitments; external and internal. External is looking for applicants outside the organisation while internal recruitment is simply promoting employees who already works for the company.

Aims and Objectives of Recruitment

1.      To find the best candidates.

2.      To make sure the selection process is as fair as possible.

3.      To ensure that the recruitment process help to meet the aims and objectives of the organisation.

One of the easiest recruitment website is www.fish4jobs.co.uk. The site is very eye catching; the reason for this is because of the bright colours that are used on the website.  Also the brands advertisements are really creative and animated which helps to get your attention. It is really easy to navigate, for example it gives you options of what type of jobs you’re looking for (customer services etc). This helps to eliminate time wasting as you wouldn’t have to go through the entire list of jobs which makes it easier for viewers.  Another good thing about this site is that it allows you search by county which is really beneficial as you would only be looking at the jobs in your area. The only problem that I have with this site is it has a lot of writing which is really small. This makes it overwhelming and sometimes hard to read.

Menzies aviation

Recently Menzies aviation has run a recruitment campaign for Check-in Staff. One of the reasons why this caught my attention was the fact that it was only advertised internally within Luton Airport and on the internet.  What I found interested was how in-depth the personal specification was. This is important as it helps to ensure that the organisation has the best people for the job.

Advantages of online Recruitment

Quick-Online recruitment is quick for example; a job can be advertised on a website and overnight there’s lots of interest and applications. This helps to excel the recruitment process and help the organisation to find suitable applicants quickly.

Easy-Using online recruitment is easy for both the applicants and the organisation. For example; you don’t need to have in-depth IT knowledge to post a job advert on the internet.

Wider Audience-Online recruitment makes it easier for organisations to reach a wider audience. The reason for this is because technology has improve and online recruitment is a now a normal method for people to look for jobs.

Cost Effective-Unlike using a newspaper advertising a job vacancy on the company website doesn’t cost the business anything while using a newspaper could cost thousands. Using a recruitment consultant is also very costly as well.

Improve chances of success-Using traditional media like newspapers  faces limitations as only certain people will see the add. Also advertising a job online is there constantly until the organisation decides to remove it. This allows potential candidates to see the information as and when they decide. 

Disadvantages of online Recruitment

Candidates Content-Despite how popular the internet is there are still people who prefer traditional methods of recruitment for example; employment agencies. Therefore organisations shouldn’t reply only on online recruitment.

Overwhelming amount of applicants-Having too many applications might not be seen as a disadvantage but the problem is that the HR department have to go through and sort out the unsuitable and unrelated candidates.

Time consuming-Having to check and screening hundreds of application for problems is time consuming for any organisation.

Conclusion

The above information shows how much of an important role recruitment plays in an organisation.

Reference

1.     Dooley, D; Dransfield, R; Goymer, J; Guy, P; Richards, C (2007), ‘BTEC National Business Book 1: 2^nd Edition’, Heinemann: Oxford.

2.     Jones, G R (2007), Introduction To Business, The McGraw-Hill Companies: New York

Personality

 Personality-“Is an individual’s unique set of characteristics and tendencies which shape a sense of self, and what that person does and the behaviour they exhibit” (Mullins 2010).

There has been a big debate centred around personality, it is questioning whether personality is inherited or developed in conjunction to ones environment. This is known as the nature verses nurture debate.

Idiographic Approach

“Is a holistic and dynamic perspective which insists that managers take into account a ‘whole’ understanding of the individuals at work” (Mullins 2010).

This approach emphasizes the notion that everyone have a unique psychological make-up which means that some traits are unique only to one person. This is why it is sometimes hard to compare individuals. 

Nomothetic Approach

This is a measurable and exact viewpoint that looks at traits and personality as a collection of characteristics. These characteristics can now be identified and measured which enable them to be observed. This is important to businesses as it helps them to select the right people when recruiting.

This theory was first looked at by Gordon Allport in 1936; “he found that one English-language dictionary alone contained more than 4,000 words describing different personality as traits. He categorized these traits into three levels” (www.psychology.about.com). Han Eysenck then went on to develop a personality based model that in-cooperate Allport earlier work. However both Allport and Eysenck have been criticised; Allport for focusing on to many traits and Eysenck for not looking at enough. Therefore the Big Five was created.

“Philosophers such as Plato and Descartes suggested that certain things are inborn, or that they simply occur naturally regardless of environmental influences. Other well-known thinkers such as John Locke believed in what is known as tabula rasa, which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate” (www.psychology.about.com). Personally I don’t think either nature or nurture are more dominant, I think a combination of both make up an individual’s personality. The reason for this is because we obviously inherited some of our parent’s traits but we ultimately choose what type of person we want to be. I agree with Rogers, Maslow, Allport and Kelly that personality is unique to each individual.

I did the personality test on the BBC website and below are the results based on the Big Five;

The Big Five	Scores/Results	Explanation
Openness	High	People with scores like yours tend to be imaginative and curious about a wide range of things, from appreciating different art forms to exploring new places, cultures and foods. Generating lots of imaginative ideas probably comes very easily to you. However, it's likely that you are prone to daydreaming too. Innovators, investigators and creators often score highly on this trait. It has also been suggested that Openness is related to a person's likelihood to hold unusual beliefs. Do you enjoy the odd conspiracy theory?
Conscientiousness	Medium	People with scores like yours are less likely to be workaholics, instead achieving a good work-life balance. Conscientiousness often gives clues to the amount that a person plans. You probably enjoy planning aspects of your life and may indulge in occasional list-making, but you are unlikely to be averse to behaving spontaneously.
Extraversion	Medium	People with scores like yours are likely to be comfortable meeting new people and will usually enjoy social occasions. You are likely to have a generally positive outlook on life and may display a greater gift for leadership compared to those with low scores on this trait.
Agreeableness	Low	People with scores like yours are less likely to be interested in what others are feeling and tend to put their own interests first. It's likely that you appear tough-minded and direct to other people. You probably have little aversion to stating your thoughts and feelings.
Neuroticism	Low	People with scores like yours are often seen as being calm and even-tempered. They cope well with stressful situations and may seem tranquil despite adverse circumstances.

Conclusion

I feel as though this test has summaries me in a nutshell. There were some instance where I though this is so me for example; “You probably enjoy planning aspects of your life and may indulge in occasional list-making, but you are unlikely to be averse to behaving spontaneously”. This is me I like planning things and am not a spontaneous person, I think about thinks before I do anything. Another example; “imaginative and curious about a wide range of things, from appreciating different art forms to exploring new places, cultures and foods”. This so spot-on because I really like to travel and I enjoy learning about different countries and cultures.

Reference

1.     Mullins. L. J. Published 1985. Latest edition (9th) 2010.Management & Organisational Behaviour. Essex. Pearson Education Limited

2.     http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/trait-theory.htm

3.     http://psychology.about.com/od/nindex/g/nature-nurture.htm