Wednesday 28 April 2010

Week 21 Performance Management

Describe an appraisal you have had at work. Was it effective? What were the outputs of the meeting?



Mullins (2007) stated that an appraisal is a method of providing feedback to staff from different groups such as colleagues, managers and maybe external customers. The reason why companies use a 360 degree appraisal is because it provide a more complete picture of an individual performance.

During the employment with John Lewis Plc, I received 360 degree style appraisal after 1 month of my employment. In the interview my supervisor and I discussed setting sales targets and training programmes that I received, for example, till training, product training and customer service training. Also I gave my opinions on the training programmes. Another point that we discussed is how I could improve my skills and knowledge for upcoming events. My appraisal was very effective because it outlined the areas where I could improve and my supervisor would have a better knowledge of me. 2 months afterward I received another appraisal interview this was due to that I am a new employee to the organisation. This time we discussed my sales targets which I achieved and my performance during that period of time. Also the manager outlining the areas that I have improves on, for example, product knowledge. The meeting was usually held at the back office where the stock room was or on the third floor behind the HR office.


• Read the article from The Times on mentoring. What skills do you think are required to be an effective mentor?

According to The Times (2008) the skills that is needed is to have wise knowledge of different sectors. Also mentors need to be patient because different apprentices may take longer or shorter time to pick up the ideas.
It was stated in The Times (2008) that mentors may need to use more than one example so it may make it easier for the apprentice to relate to or understand. So the advice can be effective when being used.
One of the most important skills of being a mentor is to identify and set targets because by achieving targets could improve their ability, for example, to solve problems, interact better with other people and to cope with challenges,
Another essential skill is communication as it stated in The Times (2008) that provides a better understanding for both parties and improves their relationship. This leads to improving the apprentice contacts. One of the most important points of having a mentor is to provide directions to look at the challenges and different way to solve them.
Mullins (2007) stated that mentors should be supportive throughout the activities and the Times (2008) stated in the articles good mentors should have some grey hairs.


• Identify someone from your college/uni, school, work, social life who has been a mentor to you. How have they affected your life?

Joanna Tang
Joanna has influenced me by giving advice and examples that I can relate too. Also she gave up her time to go over my course work throughout my education, for example, spelling and grammar checks.
Also she keeps me motivated by threats, for example, telling my parents that I am not doing my work and this will lead to my parent cutting my allowance.
Another area that I admire her for is that she can balance work and family because she has three children to look after and they are all under the age of 10. Also she works for HSBC as an Assistant Manager of a branch. In her spare time she does voluntary work at the Berkhamsted Hospice.
As a mentor she has taught me a number of skills and improved my knowledge. For example, she taught me when to buy and sell at the right time on the FTS 100. This has led to one of my success.

Conclusion
In this conclusion it is important to have mentors to learn from as they provide different an angle to solve the challenges. Also it indicates the importance of mentors as they can provides influence to the apprentices and motivates them.
All mentors should have wide range of experiences and skills.


Reference and bibliography

Joanna Tang, Mentor

Louise Gordon Section manager of haberdashery and travel of John Lewis (2006)


Mullins, L (2007) Management and organisational behaviour. 8th ed. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.


The Times (2008) Entrepreneurs: a mentor can tune your skills. [online] Available at: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article3778514.ece [Accessed 22 March 2010]

Wednesday 21 April 2010

week 17 & 18 Selection

 Find examples of three different selection methods used in an organisation with which you are familiar and identify when they are used and why, along with the pros and cons of each.

Short listing
Mullin (2007) stated that short listing information on CVs and application forms is one of the fastest way to process the information. The advantages of using short listing from CVs are that the HR department can identify the skills and knowledge they want straight away, outline the candidates qualifications and previous jobs. The disadvantages of short listing is that HR department will skim read the CVs and may miss out some important points of the candidates (Mullin, 2007).

Role play – demonstration

The advantages of using this type of method is that it can see how the candidate reacts in the working environment and show their skills and knowledge of the role they have applied for. Another advantage is that the interviewer can assess more than one interviewee at a time(Cox and Dufault, 1992).
The disadvantages of using this type of method are that it’s too expensive to carry out and time consuming. For example, the personnel that are involve.
Another disadvantage that was stated by (Cox and Dufault, 1992) is that if the company demonstrates through live customers on the shop floor it can affect the company image due to inappropriate manner or customer services.
For example, during an interview with John Lewis, the interviewee was told to go on the shop floor and assess how the organisation is run. During that activity I was lucky enough to serve some customers but we had to pass the sales to a member of staff because at that moment my status was an interviewees also all of the interviewee was giving a badge so customer can identify interviewee straight away.

Assessment centres
Armstrong (2006) stated point out the advantages of assessment centre is that the company can carry out more than one interview at the same time, for example, everyone will be doing the same activity and the candidates can show their abilities and skills.
But the down side of this method is that it is time consuming. One of the major drawbacks of the method is that the candidate may have done that version before and this will affect the result.

Another disadvantage that was explained in the lecture was the number of staff that is needed to carry out the tasks, for example, an assessment centres needs a panel of judges(Week 17 lecture notes).

 Describe an interview that you have taken part in. It may have been for a job, but could also have been within your school or university. Was the interview effective? If so, why.

According to the Business dictionary, that an interview is a formal meeting where two parties exchange information. For example, the interviewer will interview the potential candidates and this will improve their understanding of each other background, skills and experiences.

One of the most effective interviews that I was involved in was hosted by Tie Rack for a sales assistant post. The interview was a one to one situation. Firstly the interviewer gave me a brief history of the company, for example, how it started and this improved my knowledge of the company. Then she briefly explained how they operate. Also during the interview she asked me series of questions and one of them was why do you want this job? I answered was that it links to the course that I am studying at Milton Keynes College which was BTEC national diploma in business. Also it can improve my knowledge and skills of this type of industry. Another question was what is your understanding of the job role and the sector. I answered; apart from serving customers and providing advice to them. For example, giving customers fashion advice and teaching customers on how to do a tie up. I also mentioned that just by adding on little accessories, such as; tie, scarf and cufflinks it can change the entire look of the person. One of the main reasons why this interview was effective was that I got the job at the end.

 Interview a member of your family, or a friend not at university, to ask them whether they feel personality tests used within a selection procedure are advantageous. Describe and explain their views.

I interview my sister and she said it will be appropriate to use a personality test because it provides more information about the candidate, and they can see do they fit in with other employees personality. In a working environment people usually get along with people that have similar interest or character and it is one of the main reasons why employees stay with their organisations. Also she mentioned it covers some of the information that is needed which is not in the CVs (Tsim, A, 2010).

 In your own organisation or one with which you are familiar what recommendations would you make to improve selection processes?

The organisation I have chosen is my parents’ Chinese takeaway called China Garden. The recommendation that I would suggest is improve on recruitment structure because in one month they have two staff leaving and they were only there for 2 weeks each.
To solve this matter I would recommend them to ask more questions about the candidates during the interview, for example, ask for pervious job reference and their backgrounds(Tsim, C and Tsim, L).

Remember to write a brief conclusion about this topic
It is very important for organisations to plan everything to the smallest detail, for example, job description, contract of employment and during their recruitment process because different selection method can affect the result of candidates that they hire. Also each type of method has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Bibliography and References

Armstrong, M (2006) A handbook of human resource management practice. 10th ed. [online] available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=D78K7QIdR3UC&pg=PA430&dq=assessment+centre+in+human+section&ei=0JqXS-P_OpCwMpiR2bIH&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false [Accessed 18 March 2010]

Business Dictionary [n.d] Interview definition. [online] available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/interview.html [Accessed 17 March 2010]

Cox, G and Dufault, C (1992) Twenty five role plays for interview training. [online] available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JTZ_H1hAaucC&printsec=frontcover&dq=role+play+interview&cd=1#v=onepage&q=role%20play%20interview&f=false [Accessed 18 March 2010]

Lecture notes (week 17) Jane Godson

Mullins, L (2007) Management and organisational behaviour. 8th ed. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.

Sam Cotter (2007) Store manager of Tie Rack

Tsim, A The interviewee

Tsim, C and Tsim, L owner of China Garden

Thursday 15 April 2010

week 14 Role of the Line Manager

• List five benefits and five drawbacks of line managers being more involved in HR activities

The benefits of having a line manager are that the line manager is closer to their staff and the HR manager. Also the line manager has a better knowledge of certain areas because line manager usually deals with day to day basis.
Mullins (2007) stated that line managers provides better feedback than the HR manager because line managers used the hands on approach and observed their staff directly.
According to Mullins (2007), line managers can identify the needs and wants of staff without certain barriers, for example, staff may be scared of asking the HR manager because the question may seen to be unreasonable.
Another benefit of having a line manager is they can share the work load from the manager.

The disadvantages of having a line manager are that there are two managers in one department and this might cause conflict between the line manager and head of the department due to different beliefs.
Another disadvantage is that a line manager is closer to their staff and this may affect their decision making, for example, disciplinary.
Needham (1999) stated that line managers are not specialist in certain areas of the department.



What skills do you think that line managers need to develop
in order to effectively manage people and why? How are
your line managers developed at work?

According to CIPD (2009), line managers have wide areas of responsibilities, for example, organising work allocation and rotas, checking quality and monitoring work processes. Also line managers are on the lower levels of management so therefore they have a wide range of areas that they need to improve on, for example, good relationship with colleagues so communications is one of the key roles of improving line managers development.
Another area that line managers have to take on is carrying out activities which traditionally belonged to the HR department such as providing coaching, guidance and dealing with discipline and grievances. However line managers will be provided training to deal with these issues and line managers can also improve their skills during work, for example, improving their confidence when dealing with conflicts (CIPD, 2009).
During my employment with John Lewis the line managers were very professional when they were carrying their tasks and our team relationship was very good because at every day before and after the store opened or closed, there would be a team meeting so that we are up to date with sales targets and improve our relationship between colleagues.

• Go on to Prospects website and research the job roles for an HR manager. Do you feel your skills are more suited to the role of a line manager or an HR Manager? Explain your reasons.



After looking at numbers of career web sites and news papers, for example, The Times, The Guardian and reed.co.uk, I feel that I am not quite suitable for the role of line manager or HR manager. There are numbers of reasons, for example, experience that I do not have and this is one of the main reasons why I think I am not suitable. Also if I am going to apply for the role of line manager or HR manager, I will be competing with other candidates that have more experience than me.
When applying for this kind of level of employment usually employers will look for what types of training that the candidate have received, for example, CIPD qualification, skills and knowledge of the sector. Although I have been studying HR throughout my career in education I still think it is not enough because I have not been putting the theories and models in use. If I am going in to a HR sector I will prefer an assistant role or clerk role because these roles will provide me the skills, knowledge and experience.
Nowadays having a degree in HR is quite essential but also experience will be needed because this can prove to the employer that I have put my knowledge into good practice.


Reference and Bibliography

Charted institute of personnel and development (2009) [online] Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/maneco/general/rolefrntlinemngers.htm [Accessed 20 March 2010]

Mullins, L (2007) Management and organisational behaviour. 8th ed. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.

Needham, D (1999) Business for higher awards [online] Available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8w3hXLIBfywC&pg=PA223&dq=disadvantages+of+having+line+managers&cd=5#v=onepage&q=disadvantages%20of%20having%20line%20managers&f=false [Accessed 20 March 2010]

Reed (2010) Job search results [online] Available from
http://www.reed.co.uk/job-details/London/HR-
Manager/?JobID=18830429&k=hr+manager&ns=True&lit=3 [Accessed 20 March 2010]

The Guardian (2010) HR manager [online] Available from http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/job/978057/hr-manager/ [Accessed 20 March 2010]

The Times (2010) HR manager / human resources manager [online] Available from http://jobs.timesonline.co.uk/job/390323/hr-manager-human-resources-manager [Accessed 20 March 2010]