Final Blog

In my opinion, I believe the People and Organisation module has been one of the most interesting and insightful modules i have taken this semester. Considering the aims and objectives which the module set out to achieve, i believe these were all met as for example, almost every topic was done with an explanation of theories behind that particular topic which i think made it a but accommodating for me as a student to understand. I also enjoyed how in lessons (the ones which i attended) we were asked about personal experiences in the work place and it helped me relate it back to the topic.

Personal Skills

I feel that a major plus for this module is the constant effort it made in ensuring that students were always interacting with each other by working in groups to produce reports, carry out short in-class exercises such as brainstorming and most importantly promoting teamwork.

Personally, I believe one of the things i have learnt during this module is the different theories and subjects that we have learnt across the year. I have enjoyed all subjects and the different group activities we have done during lectures, furthermore, i have improved my team working skills during this.

Blog

The most challenging blog in my opinion would have to be the performance management blog. The Times article on mentoring in order to provide the skills required to be an effective mentor. Initial attempts to access the article proved hard making it difficult for me to complete the blog. However, i finally managed to get access to the article through the help of a colleague and eventually i completed it. Another blog i had difficulty with was the personality blog, as i left this blog late the link for the BBC personality test had expired and had been taking down from the website. I was then told to find an alternative one, which i did, but it was 43 questions long and didn't give a valid score. This concluded into me not completing the blog until the deadline day and was forced to improvise.

All this aside i saw the blogs to be a very useful way of improving my knowledge about this module and helped me build upon topics discussed in class.

The Module

On the whole, i think the module is well structured and all topics covered are very practical in today's working environment and for further modules. If i had to change anything i would change some of the lectures and maybe do more practical lectures, maybe in and around Wycombe or even London (feel like this for all modules). But overall i think that this is the module i enjoyed the most and would recommend keeping the blogs for next year students!

Thanks

Personality

Personality is an individual unique set of characteristics and tendencies, which shape a sense of self, and what that person does and the behavior they exhibit.
According to (Powell, 2010), it has been reported that, the term 'nature' and 'nurture' as a convenient catch-phrase for the roles of heredity and environment in human development can be traced back to the 13th century. In general, debates about nature verses nurture do not refer to physical traits. There is little doubt that a persons hair colour or skin colour is determined by his/her genes. Rather, the nature verses nurture debate seeks to understand how a person develops factors such as personality, behaviors and intelligence (Lending Tree, 2011).
To put in a simple way, nature is the belief and debate that personality is inherited through family, which means characteristics, and qualities. For example, an individuals mum or dad. An individual may have a quality the same as their parents such as being social-able that is believed to be inherited
Nurture on the other hand is the belief and debate that personality is developed in response to environmental factors and conditions. This means traits and characteristics are developed through environmental factors rather than nature of inheriting traits and personality through family.

In my opinion, it is difficult to draw a clear distinction between both nature and nurture approaches in relation to personality development. To some extent our personalities are determined by genetics factors. Our nature as children significantly predicts our behaviour in adulthood. For example some forms of psychopathology are heritable. Environmental factors (family, culture) influence our personality development. I believe genes may affect behaviour directly or may exert an indirect effect in a number of ways. However, in reality, it its most likely that an interaction of nature and nurture that affect the development of a person. Even in the womb, genes interact with hormones in the environment to signal the start of a new developmental phase (Schmid, 2009). The hormonal environment, likewise, does not act independently of the gineses and it cannot correct lethal errors in the genetic makep of a foetus (Ibid). The genes and the environment must be in sync for normal development (Stiles, 2011). Similarly, even if a person has inherited genes for taller than average height, the person may not grow to be as tall as is genetically possible if proper nutrition is not provided. Thus, it can be said, both heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) play a role in shaping our personalities and behaviours.

Nomothetic & Idiographic Approach:
There are two different views on whether all  traits and characteristics exist in all individuals. The first view is nomothetic, which is the study of an individual or a group of people. After the individual has studied, they put in a group to categorize them to their personality type. in a to represent a pop. The category's people are put in to represent the population and their corresponding personality traits and behaviours. The nomothetic view is fixed, based on statistical study of groups and objective questionnaires as well as personality types and predictions. Nomothetic has links to heredity, biology and genetics. Idiography on the other hand is a study of an individual person, as to what makes them unique and different from others. Self concept is an aspect of an individuals own understanding of their personality and interpretation of their identity. Unlike nomothetic a persons personality cannot be revealed in superficial paper and questionnaires.
(AlleyDog,2011) refer's to the nomothetic approach as traits and rules of personality that can be generalised to large amounts and types of people.
(Burger, 2004) said that the idiographic approach was a way of studying personality through in-depth analysis of one individual and the dimensions relevant to that persons personality.

Personality Test
As i completed this blog late the BBC link had expired so i couldn't do the personality test. I tried to to another one but they didn't send me the results and could not do it again as it was 43 questions long. As i couldn't do it decided to looks at the five different personalities below:

Openness
This trait is sometime known as 'Openness to experience'. People with low scores tend to have a fairly broad interests and are likely to find it easy to come up with original solutions to problems.

Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness describes how dependable, organised and hard-working a peson is likely to be. This ma be the reason why, of all the personality traits, it is the most consistent indicator of job success. People with high scores tend to be extremely dependable and organised.

Extroversion
Extroversion is characterised by positive emotions and the tendency to seek out pleasure-stimulating or risk-taking activities. People with scores like mine are often perceived as gregarious, expressive and energetic. Personality studues have shown that scoring highly on this often translates to a natural capacity for leadership. High extroversion may also indicate a tendency to earn more than those with lower scores, but the reasons for this are unclear.

Agreeableness
Agreeableness measures how sympathetic and considerate a person is likely to be. People with high scores often find it very easy to get along with people.

Neuroticism
In the context of the big five personality traits, this term relates to a persons response to threatening or stressful situations, People with high scores are often seen as being calm and even-tempered. They cope well with stressful situations and may seem tranquil despite adverse circumstances.

Conclusion


The nature versus nurture debate is not without its controversies. Some of the issues that have stirred conflict in the debate include homosexuality and obesity. While some scientists strongly believe that both sexuality and weight are inherited, many think that both are shaped, at least in part by our environment. It has been suggested that the key to understanding complex human personality is to study genes, the environment, and the interactions between the two equally (Stiles, 2011).




Bibliography:

AlleyDog (2011) Personality [Online] Available from: http://www.alleydog.com/topics/personality.php {Accessed on: 09/05/2012}

Burger, J. M (2004) Personality. 6th Edition. Wadsworth: Thompson Learning

Lending Tree (2011) Nature versus Nurture: Genetics and Environment [Online] Available from: http://www.nurture-or-nature.com/articles/nature-versus-nurture/index.php {Accessed on 09/05/2012}

Powell, K. (2010) Nature vs. Nurture Begins in the Womb [Online] Discovery Channel. Available from: http://genealogy.about.com/cs/geneticgenealogy/a/nature_nurture.htm {Accessed on: 09/05/2012}

Schmid, R. (2009) Nature vs. Nurture Begins in the Womb [Online] Discovery Channel. Available from: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/02/03/nature-nurture.html {Accessed on: 09/05/2012}

Stiles, J. (2011) Brain Development and the Nature vs Nurture Debate. Progress in Brain Research. Pg 189









 

Reward

For today's organisations, the problem of how to effectively motivate staff is becoming an increasingly important issue. As a result, businesses are now making frantic efforts to put in place effective rewards systems in order to motivate their employees to get the best out of them. Dictionary definitions of reward typically center on the idea of something given in return for good done, recompense, remuneration, or compensation for services. In line with this, performing certain behaviors becomes a means by which to obtain the reward, so the reward acts as an incentive. In this way, an employee does something in order to obtain the reward (Silverman, 2004).

A reward is an outcome that organisations give to employees when they work for their company and meet objectives, goals and perform well. Rewards consist of financial rewards and non financial rewards along with extrinsic and intrinsic rewards.
(Armstrong & Stephens, 2005) states that ' reward systems contain the following components including the policies, practices, processes, procedures and structures'. These components are important to organisations and help them to enact on them to have effective rewards.
(CIPD,2012) states "The term 'reward' is generally understood to over all financial provisions made to employees including both cash pay and the wider benefit packages such as pensions or paid leave etc. It may also refer to wider provisions for employees, with the term 'total reward' encompassing elements such as training opportunities or a congenial working environment in addition to pay and benefits.
(Ivy Business Journal, 2012) states 'Some rewards are"extrinsic" because they are external to the work itself and other people control their size and whether or not they are granted. In contrast, intrinsic rewards are psychological rewards that employees get from doing meaningful work and performing well.

Tesco
Tesco has many ways of rewarding it employees and theses come in different forms such as:

Shares - Tesco give free shares to everyone who has worked in the organisation for at least one year. They 'share a proportion of our profit among our staff' based on salary. These shares are held in a trust for 5 years, and after that you can take them, tax-free. (Anon, 2009). On the basis of this, it can be seen that Tesco ensure fairness as all members receive a share.

Save as your earn scheme: Every October, members of staff who have been at Tesco a year get the option to save up to £50 every 4 weeks for either 3 or 5 years and receive a tax-free bonus at the end. Staff can use the savings and bonus to buy Tesco shares of up to 20% less than the market price, or simply take the cash.

Flexible Working - Tesco offers all its employees flexible working. They offer the opportunity to enable employees to work flexible such as changing the time /day of which they work and allow employees to take an unpaid career break of up to three years after you've been working for them for at least three years.

Staff Privilege Card - To reward employee's loyalty, after a year working at Tesco you will be given your privilege card. This loyalty card gives you 10% discount and clubcard points on most Tesco products. (Anon, 2009) eligible staff also have access to exclusive staff discounts with Tesco Personal Finance and Tesco Telecoms.

The reward for employees differs on the basis on whether you work full time and part time and the length of time in which which an employee has worked for the company. Those who are working full time and/or have worked there for a longer period of time time receive a more extensive reward package because they've contributed more to the organisations and this is the main way the fairness is ensure. Rewards such as privilege cards are given on a basis of how long a member has been working there for.

In a report by (Berry, 2007), Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy commented that, the staff are the main reason so many people choose to shop with Tesco. Therefore it comes as no set price as to the various packages that are available to reward employees for their hard work.

Chief Executives
The chief executive is the most important role in the management of an organisation (McNarmara, 2012). The definition of  'chief executive' depends on whether a business is a corporation or not, that is, whether it has a board of directors. In a form of business that is usually without a board of directors in a (sole proprietorship and partnership), the 'chief executive' is the singular organisational position (other than partnerships) that sets the direction and oversees the operations of an organisation.
 There is no standardised list of the major functions and responsibilities carried out by a position of a chief executive officer (McNarmara, 2012). The following list is on perspective and includes the major functions typically addressed by the job description of chief executive officers.
1) Board Administration and Support
2) Program, Product and Service Delivery
3) Financial, Tax, Risk and Facilities Management
4) Human Resource Management
5) Community and Public Relation
6) Fundraising (non-profit-specific)

Chief executives who receive large wages do not need to be paid large bonuses to show their commitments but if organisations have performed well, then receiving a bonus is a good thing to do as it helps keep the best people at the company. Another thing, is that the CEO should only be given limited bonus amounts as its not fair how other departments have to suffer.

Arguments For:
 - To motivate a chief executive a bonus is given as their job role is very pressuring and stressful as the job is a big responsibility and requires a lot of time and effort put into the work.
-  A chief executive contract and job description states they are entitled to a bonus on the basis that they achieve goals and objectives for the company.

Arguments Against:
- If the organisation is under performing that the chief executive is running and managing, its shows the chief executive cannot meet goals, run or manage the company properly so many people think that they should not obtain a bonus unless the company actually performs well and meets target.
- Some people believe the money going towards the bonus is being put to a bad place and person if the chief executive cannot run the company properly. The money for the bonus comes from tax payers and this annoys them when the money could be put to something else than to a person running and under performing a company.

Conclusion

In conclusion, i believe that Tesco offer a good reward system compared to some rewarding benefits packages to any other business in the retail industry. I think competitive, simple and sustainable staff reward help to build trust and loyalty amongst employees and assist with hiring and retention. There is the need therefore for employers to ensure that their reward systems are effective in order to get the best out of their staff at the workplace.




Bibliography:

Armstrong, M & Stephens, T. (2005) A Handbook of Employee Reward Management and Practice

Berry, M. (2007) 50,000 Tesco Staff in share-save Scheme Bonanza [Online] Available from: http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2007/02/09/39200/50000-tesco-staff-in-share-save-scheme-bonanza.html {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}

CIPD (2012) Reward and Pay An Overview [Online] Available from: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/reward-pay-overview.aspx {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}

IveyBusinessJournal (2012) Extrinsic and Intrinsic Rewards [Online] Available from: http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/the-workplace/the-four-intrinsic-rewards-that-drive-employee-engagement {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}

McNamara, C. (2012) Overview of Role of Chief Executive [Online] Available from: http://managementhelp.org/chiefexecutives/index.htm {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}

Silverman, M. (2004) Non-financial Recongnition - The most effective of rewards? Brighton, UK: International Employment Studies [Online] Available from: http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/pdflibrary/mp4.pdf {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}

Managing Performance

Performance management is the 'systematic process by which an organisation involves its employees, as individuals and members of a group, in improving organisational effectiveness in the accomplishment of the mission and goals of that organisation (Office of Personal Management, 2012). It includes activities that ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organisation a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product or service, as well as many other areas (CIPD,2011). Performance management simply put is a way to get all employees to reconcile personal goals with organisational goals and increases productivity and profitability of an organisation.
Typically, the performance management process as illustrated below includes:
>Planning work and settling expectations
>Continually monitoring performance
>Developing the capacity to perform
>Periodically rating performance in a summary fashion
>Rewarding good performance

It is also worth noting that the nature of the performance management process depends on the organisational context and can vary from organisation to organisation. The benefits associated with effective performance management can be in categorized under three folds namely: direct financial gain, motivated workforce and improved management control (Schliff, 2011; Cokins, 2009; Daniels, 2006). These are looked at below:

Direct Financial Gain
- Reduce costs in the organisation
- Growth in sales
- Aligns the organisation directly behind the employers goals
- Decreases the time it takes to create strategic or operational changes by communicating the changes through a set of goals

Motivated Workforce
- Optimizes incentive plans to specific goals for over achievement
- Improves employee engagement because everyone understands how they are directly contributing to the organisations high level goals
- High confidence in bonus payment process
-  Professional development programs are better aligned directly to achieving business level goals

Improved Management Control
- Flexible, responsive to management needs
- Displays data relationships
- Helps audit/comply with legislative requirement
- Simplifies communication of strategic goals scenario planning
- Provides well documented and communicated process documentation

Appraisal at Work
 I have never been involved in an organisation where appraisals have been used so instead i decided to look in to the Royal Bank of Scotland. At the Royal Bank of Scotland the mangers set employees targets when working over the phone. People who receive the most leads would receive prizes and bonuses which will motivate workers.
When an employee reaches its target the manager calls them in for a meeting. What they do during this meeting is go through how well they performed and set future target, they also give you your prize e.g. two tickets to go to the 02 Arena to watch any show of there choice. Workers say that the mangers help them achieve their individual goals as every other day the manger sends them an email in the morning marking there efforts out of 100% and give feedback which makes the worker want to work harder.

The Times Article of Mentoring
Having read the times article on mentoring, i believe the skills needed to be an effective mentor are good communication skills involving listening and talking as the mentor and individual need to be able to effectively talk to one another and understand each other. I also believe to be an effective mentor you need to be good at guiding and helping people, as well as being an open person so people wont be scared to come to you for help and ask questions. Mentors should be people that like looking at challenges and finding ways to solve them, which means they should have good problem solving skills. In the article it states that mentoring is "a relationship in which a person of greater experience teaches, guides or develops a person with less experience, helping him or her to perform more effectively". I believe this to be true an think a mentor should be caring and experienced to help others with good observational skills.

Whatever the circumstances, mentoring is an exclusive one-to-one relationship, its completely confidential and can be a useful complement to other staff development tools. According to (Barry, 2008) a mentor's primary role is to provide guidance and support to a mentee based on his or her unique development needs. At different points in the relationship, the mentor may take on some or all of the following roles:

Coach/Advisor
- Give advice and guidance, share ideas, and provides feedback
- Share information on'unwritten rules for success' with the environment/organisation

Source of Encouragement/Support
- Act as sounding board for ideas/ concerns about school/career choices; provide insights into possible opportunities
- Provide support on personal issues if necessary

Resource Person
- Identify resources to help mentee enhance personal development and career growth
- Expand the mentee's network of contacts

Champion
- Serve as an advocate for mentee whenever opportunity presents itself
- Seek opportunities for increased visibility for mentee

Considering the various roles of a mentor, it is just appropriate that, a mentor develops certain skills to make mentoring effective, these are, listening skills, credibility, vulnerability, independence and being a positive role model. A successful mentor who does possess the above techniques will soon discover they are very useful, as they will quickly enable them to gain a true picture of the mentee's strengths and abilities.

Mentor In My Life
The most effective mentor i have had in my life was my detachment commander from when i was in the Army Cadet Force. From when i joined in 2006, at age of 14, she was the one who welcomed me in to the force, making me feel comfortable etc. 6 years later she was still my commander and i had built a huge relationship with. She helped me through my cadet career helping me in every way necessary and if i had a problem at home she would of been there for me. She helped me gain promotion and taught me many skills which not many people would have a chance to learn. She also made me feel confident and helped me on a social and professional level. She was like a friend and mentor as we used to be in the same social circles in the force, she even cried when i got awarded the highest cadet promotion possible. Now after both leaving the cadet force she still keeps in contact with me via email even though she lives all the way in Dubai now.

Conclusion
In conclusion performance management is important for organisations and businesses to keep track of how their staff are getting on in terms of their work life. they are able to mentor, compare and measure he performance to ensure a successful organisation with positive motivated employees. Mentoring is significant as well as it helps individuals to grow and develop themselves to becoming at better person.
Organisations, mangers and employees have been practicing good performance management all their lives, executing each key component process well. Goals are set and work is planned routinely. Progress towards those girls is measured and employees get feedback. High standards are set, but care is also taken to develop the skills needed to reach them. Formal and informal rewards are used to recognize the behavior and results that accomplish the mission. All five component processes working together and supporting each other achieve natural, effective performance management.


Bibliography:

Barry, S. (2008) Examples of Mentor Roles and Tasks [Online] Available from: http://www.teachermentors.com/MRoleTask.php {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}

CIPD (2011) Performance Management : An Overview [Online] Available from: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/performance-management-overview.aspx {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}

Cokins, G. (2009) Performance Management - Intergrating Strategy Execution, Methodologies, Risk, and Analytics. New Jersey: John wiley & Sons. Inc.

Office of Personnel Management (2012) Performance Management: Overview [Online] Available from: http://www.opm.gov/perform/overview.asp {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}

Schiff, C. (2011) What is Performance Management? [Online] Available from: http://www.b-eye-network.com/view/15359 {Accessed 08/05/2012}

Selection

Selection is a process undertaken in the recruiting the right people to work for an organisation following meeting the requirements when it comes to policies, procedures and training with support from the people who should be involved in the selection process. Usually the selection process is done by enlisting candidates and then matching their skills to the job requirements and then the employer would see how they can perform if offered the jobs. Finding out about about the candidate is the ideal objective, to forecast judgement; for example if an employer judges whether they are likely to accept the offer.
Personal selection and assessment activities are integral parts of organisational life. The contemporary economic climate has seen an ever increasing level of staff turnover and personal re-organisation, and the abolition of the traditional view of 'a job for life'.

Consequently, there is more pressure now on organisations to fill vacant positions quickly and with the most appropriate individuals (Lievens et al, 2002). When a company needs to recruit new staff or make a promotion/decisions about employees, there are various methods of assessment at its disposal.
Selection is the methodical placement of individuals into jobs whilst keeping to employment laws and regulations. Its impact on the organisation is realised when employees achieve years or decades of service to the employer. The process of selection follows a methodology to collect information about an individual in order to determine if that individual should be employed (Human Resource Gudie, 2001 & Fisher et al, 2006).

Selection Methods


Interviews
Interviews are used and are the stage where the potential candidate and the employers (interviewee) sit down together and talk, with questions asked to the candidate to obtain information which allows the employers to decide whether they would like to employ the candidate whether or not they are suitable for the job vacancy. Interviews are designed to predict future job performances on the basis of the applicants response to questions. It allows the employers to get an insight of the candidate face to face. There are however two types of interviews; structured and unstructured.

Unstructured Interviews - This form of interview follows no particular pattern or an unstructured format. The ubiquitous use of the unstructured selection interview in organisations attests to the faith that both employers and applicants have in the casual and unrestrained face-to-face conversation as a technique for selection. However, this form of interview is usually associated with a low level of validity. One explanation for the consistently low validity in the unstructured interview is that different interviewers may rate the same information differently, and features that are irrelevant to the personal attributes required for the job such as age, race, appearance, sex, experience of interview and the job market situation introduce bias into how an interviewers evaluate information (McNamara, 1992).

Structured Interviews - Structured interviews are the most effective type of interview. The interview process is formed through identification of the key requirements of the job and a list of questions is drawn up. A panel of interviewers work through each set of questions with each candidate and scores them on their answers. At the end of the interview process the overall scores are considered and the best candidate chosen. If additional selection methods are chosen this is fed into the overall process at the end and again the best-fit candidate is offered the appointment (Campion et al, 1994).

Advantages
- Useful for determining if the applicant has requisite communicative or social skills which may be necessary for the job.
- Interviewer can obtain supplementary information
- Used to appraise candidates verbal fluency
- Can assess the applicants job knowledge
- Can be used for selection among equally qualified applicants
- Allows the applicant to ask questions that may reveal additional information useful for making a selection decision.
- The interview may be modified as needed to gather important information

Disadvantages
- Decisions tend to be made within the first dew minutes of the interview with the remainder of the interview used to validate or just justify the original decision.
- Interviewers form stereotypes concerning the characteristics required for success on the job
- Research has shown disproportionate rates of selection between minority and non-minority members using interviews (Kvale, 1996).
- The drawback with highly structured interviews is that they often remove from the interview situation those interpersonal aspects which are often valued by interviewers and interviewees alike (Pawlas, 1995)

References
References are provided by the candidate of previous jobs, work experience and education. The references are people in which the candidate is not related to but has worked with in terms of terms of the workplace or has studied. They are provided to the employer in the selection process in order for the organisation to gain further insight on the candidates skills, abilities, and how they work. The references are usually contacted by telephone or email and they validate and confirm information about the candidate to ensure its true. This then allows the employer to come to a decision on whether they would like to hire and select the candidate. References work on the principle that the best way of finding out about someone is to ask someone who knows him or her well, such as a former employer or schoolteacher (McGrane, 2010).

Advantages
- This method helps employers weed out employees who may have represented themselves dishonestly and gives them an opportunity to learn about the candidates reliability and job performances.

Disadvantages
- The practice of using references as a selection method is less perfect. Occasionally, unsatisfactory references may affect decisions to appoint individuals (Key, 2011). Hence, references can never be used as the sole grounds on which to base a recruitment decision on as they provide a limited perspective of an individuals abilities and performance.
- A prospective employee is unlikely to use a reference from a negative work experience. Just like the resume, references are tailored to put candidates in the best light possible and therefore, prospective employees can hide their unwanted attitude from employers.

Application Forms


The role of the application form is to act as the first filter, choosing a relatively small number of applications to process further. This procedure is know as sifting. Research suggests that sifting is not always done very effectively (Key, 2011).
The traditional approach to applying for jobs in the public sector is to completer a fairly lengthy application form. However, if certain jobs are hard to recruit to and competitors generally ask for CVs rather than application forms, organisations may consider accepting CVs. If this is the case, other safeguards can be used. For example, deleting indications of sex and race before the CVs are passed to short-listers and more careful evaluation of decisions made in the recruitment process (Graduate Recruitment Bureau, 2012).

Advantages
- Owing to the standardized format of application forms, it is easier for employers to scan the information and make comparisons. The employer can ask for exact information he or she needs to know (Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, 2012).
- Its is easy to compare the skills and experiences of different applicants
- The same application form can be used for future vacancies thereby making it cost effective
- Equal opportunities considerations as the consistency produced by the use of application forms is more likely to engender fairness in the recruitment process.

Disadvantages
- They are time-consuming and can be tricky to design
- The cost involved in producing and sending them out to applicants can be high
- lengthy applications forms can be very off-putting


My Interview


In 2010 i had an interview to get a promotion in the Army Cadet Force, They had knuckled it down to four candidates (including me) and the final stage of the selection was an interview. The role was to be promoted to a Regimental Sergeant Major and to be in charge of the discipline to over 700 cadets. As this was the highest prestigious role any cadet could get we got taken to London to be interview by to British Army serving officers.
On the day of the interview i got called in to the office and there were two army officers sitting in front of me, there office was very posh and was filled with gold and silver plaques. The interview was a structured interview as they asked all candidates the same question but sometimes peered of asking questions based on my answers. The officers were strict but friendly as they told me to relax. The questions they asked me were more to do with things i would do different in this role and what kind of person do u think would suit this role. At the very end of the interview the last question was 'if u could pick someone to fulfill this role other than you (out of the candidates) who would it be and why. The day after we got told who got selected and we were on a parade at Sandhurst camp surrounded by Serving Army Soldier, as we were formed up they read out my name and i received the position. I had to march out the the officers in front of hundreds of people and collect my badge as well as new pacing stick which i had to carry around.

Recommendation


As this interviewing process has been going on for many of years it is hard to recommend much as i think it is a good way to do it. As it is such a big role it is made out to feel it as you get taken to a massive posh house and waited on 24/7. You also get the nerves as you wait for the interview in a long hall way and it make you feel how big this role actually is. As its the only real interview i had i cant compare to others but for the role and the services it in i think you cant fault it. You cant really have an application form as you are picked out of hundreds of top cadets etc.


Conclusion


When determining which selection method is most appropriate, it is necessary to consider the requirements of the job, through analysis of the job or role description and person specification, and what skills, experience and aptitude are being sought. It is worth mentioning that more than one selection method may be appropriate for particular jobs.

Its is also important to evaluate the success of the selection method to ensure that it is effective. This can be done through seeking the views of candidates who have undertaken the selection process and/or analysing recruitment statistics and turnover rates. This offers the opportunity to find out if the methods are still relevant and useful to the current selection process, particularly if there have been changes to the job or a requirement  for new skills. 





Bibliography:

Campion, M. A. Campion, J, E. & Hudson, J, P (1994) Structured Interviewing: A Note on Incremental Validity and Alternative Question Types. Journal of Applied Psychology. PP 998-1002.

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (2012) The Application Process - Cvs and Application Forms [Online] Available from http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073793812&type=RESOURCES {Accessed on: 27/05/2012}

Graduate Recruitment Bureau (2012) Selection Methods [Online] Availabe from: http://www.grb.uk.com/selection-methods.0.html {Accessed on: 07/05/2012}

Key, M.S (2011) Pros & Cons of Employee Selection Techniques [Online] Available from: http://www.brighthub.com/office/human-resources/articles/103196.aspx {Accessed on:08/05/2012}

Kvale, S. (1996) Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications

Lievens, F & Van Dam, K & Anderson, N. (2002) Recent Trends and Challenges in Personal Selection. Personal Review. PP.580-601.


McGane, C. (2010) Reference Checking in the Selection Process [Online] Available from: http://www.focus.com/briefs/reference-checking-selection-process/ {Accessed on: 08/05/2012}


McNamara, C. (1999) General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews. Mimnesota: Authenticity Consulting.

Pawlas, G. E, (1995) The Structured Interview: Three Dozen Questions to Ask Prospective Teachers. NASSP Bulletin. PP 62-65

Recruitment

Acquiring and retaining high quality talent is critical to an organisations success. As the job market becomes increasingly competitive and the available skills grow more diverse, recruiters need to be more selective in their choices, since poor recruiting decisions can produce long-tern negative effects. Among this, high training and development costs to minimize the incidence of poor performance and high turnover which, in turn, impact staff moral, the production of high quality goods and services and the retention of organisational memory. At worst, the organisation can fail to achieve its objectives and thereby lose its competitive edge and its share of the market (Richardson, 2011).


Recruitment is described as the set of activities and processes used to legally obtain a sufficient number of qualified people at the right place and time so that people and the organisation can select each other in their own best short and long term interests (Schuler, 1987).
In other words, its is the process of identifying and attracting a group of potential candidates from within and outside the organisation to evaluate for employment (Bernthal, 2011).


The recruitment industry has five main types of agencies: employment agencies, website and search engines, 'headhunters' for executive and professional recruitment, niche agencies which specialize in a particular area of staffing and in-house recruitment (Daswani, 2011).
Successful recruitment begins with proper employment planning and forecasting. In this phase of the staffing process, an organisation formulates plans to fill or eliminate future job openings based on an analysis of future needs, the talent available within and outside of the organisation, and the current and anticipated resources that can be expended to attract and retain such talent.
Also related to the success of a recruitment process are the strategies an organisation is prepared to employ in order to identify and select the best candidates for its developing pool of human resources. (Bunting, 2007).


Of the many strategies used in the recruitment process, one that is on the rise is the used of online recruitment sites (Williams, 2009). Online recruitment is a formal method of external recruiting which entails searching the labour market more widely for candidates with no previous connection to the organisation (Bernthal & Wellins, 2001).


Using the internet is faster and cheaper than many traditional methods of recruitment. Jobs can be posted on internet sites and can remain there for periods of thirty to sixty days if not more, and are available to be viewed twenty-four hours a day. Candidates can view detailed information about the job and organisation and then respond electronically to them.
Online recruiting also provides access to passive job seekers, that is, individuals who already have a job but would apply for what appears to be a better one that is being advertised on the internet. These job seekers maybe be of a better, quality since they are not desperate for a job change as are the active job seeker who may be frustrated, disgruntled workers looking for a new position (Byham, 1992).
Below is a good example of an recruitment campaign;

Review of Monster.co.uk Online Recruitment Site


Monster.co.uk is one of the largest employment websites in the world, owned and operated by Monster Worldwide Incorporated. It was created in 1992 by the merger of The Monster Board (TMB) and Online Career Center (OCC), which were two of the first and most popular career web sites on the internet. Monster is primarily used to help those seeking work to find job openings that match their skills and location. 


The website is set out well to allow novice users of the internet to access each area of the site easily. The main area of the website is very large with two simple searches for a specific job and the area in the UK the job is required. This makes it easy for users but then there is an area for a advanced search for more able user who no which department of work they are interested in. These advertisements show that the website is not only very accessible but also set out well.

In terms of layout, all features are attractive and least daunting. All major sections of the website are well structured with the main features indicated boldly. The text is laid out using style sheets which users can change in their browsers to make viewing easier for their individual requirements. The visual design also accommodates resizing text and relative units have been used.
Advertisements in the website make it easy for users to quickly link to different websites that offer more help with different areas of recruitment. These are set aside for the main content of the website so they do not over run the main use of the site.

The accessibility of information required from the site is quite commendable. Various features have got short notes explaining what they imply or can be used for. n example is the Batch Apply feature which is captioned with the information ' makes it easier than ever to apply to multiple jobs in one go. Try it today and save time on your job search'.


Overall apart from the advertisement of job positions, the site also provides useful information to aid people seeking employment in general as to how to prepare for interviews and write CVs. Another good point is that the easy to use options to post more than one CV confidently is very good.
A bad point is that Monster seems to have jobs from employers that have paid to post vacancies, and since the recession, most employers are defiantly tightening budgets.Monster have been blames in several instances of personal information theft. In less than two weeks, August 2007, monster had numerous leaks that resulted in the loss of millions of customers. Although Monster waited several days to announce this leak, they subsequently announced new security measures to prevent this from happening again.
However, in January 2009, there was another large scale leak at its UK based site Monster.co.uk, in which demographic information of up to 4.5 million people was obtained by hackers (Percival, 2009).


E-Recruitment Campaign (Tesco)


Tesco's online recruitment campaign caught my eye at first as it was advertised on many different sites. First of all i saw it on Google, and then also advertised on www.indeed.com which is also a job search engine which helps people find jobs.
I looked on the Tesco job section on their website and was linked the recruitment site. The website was well set out and was easy to navigate. There were many quotes from current employees that made me feel like Tesco would be a good place to work at. This is a good way of encouraging people to work at the company. One of the main reasons i like this campaign was that there was a section on the website that allowed you to see where you would fit in at the company. This is a good idea as it allowed people to see the perfect area in the company for them and has helped the online recruitment for Tesco stand out from the others like it.


Aptitude Test 


Online assessment systems allow companies to attract applications from all over the world and filter them in a time and cost effective way. More importantly, they offer a tangible way of assessing an individual's skills for a particular role and how they would fit within an organisation. For potential employees, meanwhile, online assessment can be done at a time and location that suits them and can give them a better idea of what the job is likely to involve before deciding whether to proceed with the application. 
Personally, i don't feel that aptitude tests are a very good recruitment tool for choosing who to give an interview to as an employer.There are however some benefits of using these tests. For example the employee may be better at completing tests rather than being under pressure in an interview. This will give a fairer chance for them to show their skills. However, this could be the opposite with some people who are strong during the interviewing process but weak on tests. The result of the test may cost the person a chance of getting a job. Another negative on the tests is that not everyone has the skills to be able to use the internet to its full potential, meaning that they could struggle to complete the tests. In relation to this not everyone has access to the internet which may mean that they cannot take the tests and may be looked over when it comes to selecting candidates to take forward to interview.


Conclusion


Recruiting the right employees can be a challenge, with no guarantee of success. But using the right information and procedures will improve an organisations chances of finding what it is looking for.
Whatever the strategies selected for recruiting the objective is to recruit the most qualified, committed individuals into the organisations and that the organisations achieve the objectives for which they have been established (Bratton & Gold, 2007).
Job websites offer unlimited space which can be used, by management, to sell the organisation. The site can then be used, not only to post vacancies, but also to publicize the organisation. That will allow candidates to become more familiar with the company, know what skills the company is looking for and get to know about its culture. Most importantly, the system will provide a proper path to securing quick responses to job openings. Online recruiting facilitate the decentralization of the hiring function by making it possible for other groups in the organisation to take responsibility for part of the function (Dale, 2010).






Bibliography:


Bernthal, P. R (2011) Recruitment and Selection {Online] Available from: http://www.ddiworld.com/DDIWorld/media/trend-research/recruitment-and-selection_ere_es_ddi.pdf?ext=.pdf {Accessed on: 07/05/2012}


Berthal. P. R & Wellins, R, S. (2001) Retaining Talent: A Bench-marking Study. Pittsburgh. PA: Development Dimensions International.


Bratton, J. & Gold, J. (2007) Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. 4th Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.


Bunting, M. (1992) Skills, Training and Human Resource Development: A Critical Text. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmilan.


Byham, W, C (1992) The Assessment Center method & Methodology: New Applications and Technologies. Pittsbuurgh, PA: Development Dimensions International.


Daswani, K. (2011) Recruitment [Onliine] Available from: http://karishmadaswani.com/karishmadaswani/index.php/category/hrm-2/recruitment/ {Accessed on 07/05/2012}


Monster (2012) Site and Accessibility Information [Online] Available from: http://www.access.monster.co.uk/Accessibility.aspx {Accessed on: 07/05/2012}


Richardson, M, A. (2011) Recruitment Strategies Managing/Effecting the Recruitment Process {Online} Available from: http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan021814.pdf
{Accessed on: 07/05/2012}

Schuler, R, S. (1987) Personnel and Human Resource Management. 3rd Edition. St. Educational Publishing.

Williams, H. (2009) E-recruitment: Rethinking Recruitment [Online] Available from: http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2009/06/09/50918/e-recruitment-rethinking-recruitment.html {Accessed on 07/05/2012}

Equal Opportunity & Diversity

According to (Purbeck, 2010) stated that equality and diversity is not about treating everyone the same but being aware that people are different, being able to recognize those differences and treat people with fairness and dignity.
Equality and diversity are often used in the same context and can be confused by some for having a similar meaning. Although both words are similar and usually relate to the same topics there is a subtle difference. Equality is simply the quality of being the same as the other and treated the same regardless of individual or cultural differences. Not only does equality exist in the dimensions of culture but others such as age, race, sex, physical attributes and religious beliefs all of which are equality in practice. Whilst equality looks at being the same and treated fairly, diversity almost goes beyond that because it is more to do with understanding the uniqueness of others through acceptance and respect. Diversity explores these differences and even goes as far as celebrating them. In simple terms equality is more about treating people equally where as diversity is about understanding the differences and adapting them in the best possible way.

The Age Legislation Act 2006


The age legislation act coming into force has many potential impacts on employers. An example of this is if an employer discriminates against age, it might diversify the workforce by employing older people and could have a negative influence on existing morale or team cohesion. In certain sectors a younger workforce may provide more profits so changing them may reduce the income of an organisation. In addition to this an organisation might have to fun different types of training for the older generation. Under new legislation, employers must provide access to help employees of all ages and this could include hearing aids etc.


Many stereotypes come with age and there are different stereotypes about younger and older people with regards to work. Younger individuals seem to hold an immature/lazy stereotype and in many peoples mind are seen to be naive and outspoken. In addition to this, younger people are sometimes viewed as being aimless in the media with a spotlight on gang violence. On the other hand the older generation are looked at in a different way; they are seen to hold experience (which is likely true) although they are viewed not to be as useful as to younger individuals in relation to manual labour.An example of this is their knowledge about technology. It is usually put into question as we tend to think they have little or no grip on the new advances in the technological world. At times older people are even seen as useless with some people, they go as far as saying that they should retire regardless of what they have to offer. (Gregory, 2001) agreed and said that 'although negative age stereotypes abound and employers continue to view age, not in terms of experience and stability but as mental and physical deterioration as well as inflexibility and lack of enthusiasm. Data supporting these stereotypes are nonexistent'.

Organisations have a key role in changing these attitudes, and they can start by giving younger people more responsibility at work. An example of this is giving younger people promotions, putting them in charge of projects where suitable or simply recognizing their efforts. Personally, i like to have responsibility as it motivates me to achieve. In my experience, out of the jobs i have had two of these have promoted me and treat me the same even though i was one of the youngest. With regards to older individuals, organisations should let them continue working as long as they have the skills required and as long both parties agree. This should be the case no matter what age the older person reaches. Flexible hours should be given and the time of work is another possibility, this should be done in an attempt to make an older employee feel comfortable and confident to carry on working as it may effect there work. Through some of these ideas stereotypes on younger and the older generation should be changed even if they are change in a small way.
Below is a link on what young people think about being placed in to these stereotypes and how i has a negative effect on all younger people.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/15/stereotypes-young-people

B&Q, Asda, Tesco and their Equal Opportunities

I have visited the websites for B&Q, Asda and Tesco to look at how they give opportunities to their employees and how they are treat fair. B&Q states that is expects from its employees an open mind about changes, good customer services, a passion to deliver and a flexible approach to the company; if done so they will deliver flexible approaches, a far employer who promotes equal opportunities, friendly atmosphere and the support in their staffs career development. It is shown through a speech bubble claiming that over a quarter of their staff are over 50. In addition to this they offer to help employees develop through apprenticeships and NVQ's, done whilst at the company. (B&Q, 2012) proudly stated the following "B&Q believe in investing in our people, and we're proud that many of our employees develop their skills and careers within the company".

Asda calls its employees its colleagues, looking at the website their is a great mixture of people varying from age to race and therefore do not believe that any discrimination is talking place. Companies these days however have to not discriminate as customers will deem upon them and they will loose customers. However, when Asda talk about its workers it only has the name of its senior employees and this may make workers who arnt at that level yet uncomfortable as they are the mains for the company's recruitment process. Adsa is known to me to be an extremely diverse store, their equality is shown on the website as they pay under 18s the same rate as they pay everyone else. They put this down to treating everyone the same (Asda, 2012).

Tesco has the same principle as Asda. However, Tesco are looking for committed people who are willing to complete given tasks. Also employees has to be passionate about the jobs and most of all very motivated as the organisation is one of the worlds leading retailers. In return Tesco gives employees a safeguard for their future by helping them to get more from their money as well as looking after their health. Even on their application form they state that they recruit regardless of an applicants background, sex, age etc.


Conclusion


Overall i believe that B&Q is more successful at keeping its equal opportunities true as it has the most simplest way to recruit without to many questions and from the website it looks like it has a mixture of people from all ages and backgrounds. 'An equal society protects and promotes equal, real freedom and substantive opportunity to live in the ways people value and would choose, so that everyone can flourish' (Bagilhole, 2009).
 Equal opportunities are very important to organisations in these current times especially as it is being scrutinized more than ever. Organisations must embrace the fact that treating all employees and potential employees are good for the company image and more importantly it is good for a company to treat everyone equal due to the effect it can have on individuals. Going everyone the same chance is something which may not be money minded but it is something which is extremely good and ethical.




Bibliography:

Bagilhole, B. (2009) Understanding Equal Opportunities and Diversity: The Social Differentiation's and Intersections of Inequality. Pg 35

Gregory, R, F. (2001) Age Discrimination in the American Workplace: Old at a Young Age. Pg 29.


The Guardian (2009) 'It seems that we can only be interesting if we are smoking, snorting or stabbing'. {Online Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/15/stereotypes-young-people} Accessed on 04/05/2012.

Flexible Working

Flexible working could be defined as a work practice that allows the employees the freedom to decide how the work will be done, e.g. working part time less than 35 hours a week to deciding how they would co-ordinate with their work rota with the other employees within the organisation. The employer sets the hour of work and times the employee needs to be able to work. Flexible working is now becoming more popular than in the past as staff are demanding to have have flexible hours to work so that they can have a work-life balance. Many companies however are offering this in order to retain its employees as it gives staff a chance to fit other commitments  and activities around there work life. (Pilbeam and Corbridge, 2010) suggested that 'flexible working was the ability of an organisation to adapt the size, composition, responsiveness and cost of the people inputs required to achieve organisational objectives'.

Three companies that offer flexible working

1) BT Call Centre: They offer its employees flexible working as they believe that employees should enjoy the physical and mental benefit of work-life balance and therefore offer flexible working. BT believe by working in a partnership with each other they can establish alternative working arrangements by ensuring that they are making their business more productive, cost effect effective and energized. British Telecom states the it understands that people have other interests outside work, and offer employees with flexible working in order for their employees to be motivated and therefore work harder.
2) B&Q: B&Q offers all its permanent employees with flexible working hours to suit their needs, they give them opportunities to achieve more balance between work and other commitments. Another thing they do is provide its employees with an enhancing 6.6 weeks annual leave per year.. B&Q also offers job shares where two people split there shift and offer part time working to suit there employees needs.      
3) Asda: Asda offers it employees with flexi-time where employees could improve their work-life balance. 'Asda flex' programme is aimed at encouraging its staff whether hourly paid or salaried, working within any part of the business to work flexible hours to suit their needs. Asda also offers it employees to take up to three years unpaid leave (career break) and also offer female workers a five day paid leave for IVF treatment and time off to donate blood, not to mention a 12 week paid leave for organ donation. Asda believe that by creating a flexible working approach they can support colleagues with their individual needs and emphasize on their core values.

Different types of flexibility

Part time - Working part time can be a good way of balancing your work and your personal commitments. If you work part time, you have the right to be treated fairly in comparison to your full time colleagues. There are no specific number of hours that makes someone full or part time, but a full time worker will usually work 35 hours or more a week. The reasons people work part time vary for each individual. It may be that you simply want a different work-life balance, or you may have caring responsibilities. One disadvantage of part time working is that the employee may not be up to date with the potential changes in the organisation. For example if there is a new computer system and the full time employees have been trained on it the part time worker will struggle to use the new system and extra training may have to be provided. (Drew et al, 1998) said that ' part time workers are more extensively used in establishments which introduces part-time employment for reasons which might be described as being part of a corporate strategy'.

Working from home - Homeworkers have their jobs (usually practical work) based in their home. Teleworkers also do their normal (usually office based) work from home. Both kinds of homeworking have potential drawbacks and advantages. Employment rights will depend on whether you are a worker, an your self-employed. A homeworker is anyone who only works from home. Many homeworkers in the UK are employed in manufacturing, making a wide range of items from footwear to car components. The main difference between 'homeworking' and 'teleworking' is that teleworkers, who may work full time from home, are usually doing office work rather than practical work and frequently make use of computers and other electronic devices to do their work and communicate directly with their office base. A benefit for working at home/teleworking is that it can be more flexible about the hours you work, allowing you to meet commitments at home e.g. childcare. A drawback could be that your employer is likely to insist that they must inspect your workstation to make sure its suitable, meaning you'll have to let them into your home. Management control is more difficult in multiple home locations than in a centralized office. Except at senior managerial and professional levels, working at home runs counter to established control mechanisms and policies of most corporations and government agencies (Guile, 2011).

Term time working - This is similar to part time working as it enables the employee to take more time off around school holidays. The main advantage if an employee is that if they have children, they can look after them during holidays and not worry about babysitters etc. An advantage to the employer, is that they can book in a replacement employee to cover the shift. However, a big issue with term time working is that a lot of companies get very busy during holidays and therefore may not have the staff to cover. For example, during the Christmas period when schools are closed. (McLaughin, 1992) said that 'working from home (8 per cent) and school term-time working 9 (6 per cent) were uncommon, whilst other practices such as school-hours shifts and regular seasonal or temporary work were very rare'.

Compressed hours - This is working your agreed hours over fewer days. An example would be if an an employer allows and employer to work less than 5 days a week, each day they missed must be made up by working overtime on the days that they do work. An advantage of this is that it enables the employee to take time off when they need but also get paid for the full working week as long they make up all the time. A disadvantage to working compressed hours is that the manager may want an employee to work on a certain day, however if they have already made up the time they wont have to come into work. According to the International Labour Office (Clerc, 1985) the most common example is a 40-hour week compressed into four days instead of the conventional five, with a longer working day of ten hours instead of eight.

Zero hours - This zero hours is a contract designed to create an 'on call' arrangement between employers and employee. The contract is used to cope with varying staff requirements where the employer is under no obligation to offer and employee work but when it does, the employee is required to accept the offer. An advantage to the employee is that it is a lot more flexible than being on a set contract allowing for a better work life balance. An advantage to the employer on the other hand is that they only need to give work and pay the employee when they are needed. An issue with this type of working is that employees could become very tired if shift are to frequent and could lead to mistakes and conflict in the workplace. In the UK according to (French et al, 2011) many employers (around 22%) use zero hour contracts in order to deal with work fluctuations, particularly seasonal variations. In main land Europe however, there is little evidence for this pattern of work.

Flextime - According to (Tatara, 2005) flextime is all the time designated as that part of the schedule of work hours within which the employee may choose his time of arrival and departure from the office. An advantage to the employee is that if they are busy in the mornings they can start late and the opposite if they are busy at night. An advantage to the manager is that employees will be working at their full potential if they are happy to start when they want. however a disadvantage comes if too many people want to start at a certain time and some cant, this could cause conflict in the workplace or staff may loose moral.

(Mooney et al, 2012) Studies have shown that flexible work arrangements reduce work-life conflict and increase job satisfaction e.g. Best Buy Co. Inc developed a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE), which allows employees and managers to control when and where they work as long as they get the job done. A controlled study found that employees participating in ROWE benefited from the reduced work-family conflict (Kelly et al, 2011). This blog has shown that flexible working is very important for employees and employers for satisfaction of both parties. Employees need time for personal things they need to do out of work and employers, as they want the best of of their workforce. Overall flexible working has many advantages with a few difficulties that can arise from it but can help and increase production and morale in the workplace.



Bibliography:

Asda Launches Flexible Working {Online} Available from http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/05/19/45907/asda-launches-flexible-working-scheme.html {Accessed on 24/04/2012}

BT Work Life Blance {Online} Available from http://www.btplc.com/Careercentre/WhyjoinBT/Worklifebalance/Worklifebalance.htm {Accessed on 18/04/2012}

B&Q Benefits and Rewards {Online} Available from http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/corporate/content/careers/our_roles/benefits.jsp {Accessed on 24/04/2012}

Clerc, J, M. International Labour Office (1985) Introduction to Working Conditions and Environment. International Labour Office: Geneva. Pg 154

Drew, E.P. Emerek, R. Mahon, E. (1998) Women, work, and the family in Europe. Routledge Pg 103


French, R. Rayner, C. Rees, G. (2011) Organsizational Behaviour. 2nd Edition. Pg 270


Guile, B, R. (2011) Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. Nation Academy of Engineering. Pg 343


McLaughlin, E. (1992) Understanding Unemployment: New Perspectives on Active Labour Market Policies. Routledge. Pg 176


Mooney, L.A. Knox, D. Schacht, C. (2012) Understanding Social Problems. 8th Edition.


Tatara, I, E. CCh Incorporated (2005) HR how-to: Work-life Benefits. CCH KnowledgePoint: Essential Hr Solutions. Pg. 107






                                                                                                     

Social Corporate Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is a 'commitment to improve community well-being through business practices and contributions of corporate resources' (Kotler et al, 2005). These commitments to improve community well-being should be a voluntary commitment that a business chooses to implement. Corporate social responsibility is about understanding 'your business impact on a wider world and considering how you can use this impact in a positive way' (Anon, 2011).
(Mullins, 2007) described corporate social responsibility as a concept which gives rise to how a company should conduct itself within a society, and different views on what a business is for and how it should act. Social responsibilities arise from the interdependence of organisations, society and the environment.

Good examples of social responsibility at the corporate level can be found in varied ways. It is possible for companies to practice good social responsibility without compromising investor demands for profitability. In other words, having a good moral compass is not impossible in today's demanding global economy.
An example is the Fair Trade Policies:
- The area of enforcing fair trade practices is an area that demonstrates a good corporate moral compass. Some corporations resist the temptation to gouge the general public with unnecessarily high process for items that are essential to life itself. Ethical pricing practices represents a great opportunity for any corporation to demonstrate their concern for the social welfare of their trade areas.
Another example is the Green Policies:
- This example is far from universal, but great social responsibility is demonstrated by those corporations that are employing environmentally friendly technology in attempts to help preserve our environment. Third world manufacturers who continue their polluting ways demonstrate their total lack of concern for social responsibility. Refusing to deal with pollution manufacturers is a great example of exhibiting good social responsibility.

The Hidden Face of Primark Scandal (McDougall, 2008) 
The Huge fashion store Primark sacked three of its suppliers after investigation for the BBC's Panorama and The Observer uncovered children labouring in Indian refugee camps to produce some its cheapest garments. In the article (referenced below) they reveal the brutal reality of a supply chain that sees children as young as 11 sewing R-shirts which cost shoppers just a few pounds to buy in high streets across Britian.

Example of Corporate Social Responsibility in Apple 

An organisation that is from the FTSE4GOOD list that is an excellent example demonstration of the CSR in practice is Apple. There are three examples of corporate social responsibility in this globally branded company:
1) Apple have a re-use and recycling programme where they are committed to the environment as they are finding the best ways to re-use and recycle their electronic equipment at the end of its use. The products include Iphone, IPad and the Macintosh computers which they find ways to recycle and re-use, whether its replacing parts etc. Apple even offer people money for their old equipment as they can use parts from old products for new products which would decrease the cost of stock needed and beneficially increase profits. All Apple asks is for is users to tell them about their old equipment and Apple will let them know if it qualifies for re-use, if not customers can just recycle of re-sell if possible.

2) Another example of CRS in this company is that Apple are committed to their supply chain and that all their suppliers provide safe working conditions, as well as treating staff with respect and using a environmentally responsible manufacturing process. Apple (2012) state there is 'prevention of hiring underage workers and prohitbiting discriminatory policies at our suppliers'. They also ensure the workers are safe at work and have a good working environment by providing safety eqiupment and protective gear for workers to wear so they do not put themselves at risk. The staff are also given safety training so they know how to stay safe at all times whilst they are working and producing goods.

3) Lastly Apple are working on and putting into practices ways of minimizing their carbon footprint in a number of ways. Firstly, by producing smaller package. Efficient packaging designs not only reduces materials and waste but also helps reduce the emissions produced during transportation. Apple has experts who develop product packaging so that it is slim, light and protective. They are also reducung their transportation distribution miles to be more environmentally friendly, so they cut down on the pollution.


In Conclusion examples of corporate social responsibility can be found in abundance. That being said, examples of a lack of social responsibilty can also be found. Every individual can become a force for good by suppporting those corporations and demonstrate their intent to act responsibly at all levels. Consumer pressure can be a strong force contributing to improved social responsibilty by all corportations who deal with the consuming public. Being a large interantional business knowing that corporate responsibility is increasingly a 'driving factor in brand prefence and purchase behaviour' (Grinton, 2010) that they are dedicated to making such a significant change.






Bibliography:

Apple (2012) Supllier Responsibility at Apple {Online}Available from www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility {Accessed on 17/04/2012}

Anon (2011) Corporate Social Responsibility {Online} Available from Business Link: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1075408468 {Accessed On 13/04/2012}

Ftse4good (2012) FTSE Research and Publications {Online} Available from: www.ftse.com  {Accessed on 17/04/2012}

Kotler, P. Lee, N. (2005) Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing the most good for your company and your cause. 1st Edition: Canada.


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Mullins, L.J. (2007) Management and Organisation behaviour. 9th Edition. Harlow: Prentice Hall FT


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Perception & Communication

Perception often occurs when people gather a stereotype of what they perceive a person to be like, (Mullins, 2010) suggested that we all have our own 'world', our own way of looking at and understanding our environment and the people within it. This could be due to the many things which differentiate people such as age, gender, race, attitudes, values, beliefs, past experiences, stereotypes and background. Things seen or heard in the media is often the underlying cause of these perceptions and interpretations. (Robbins et al, 2010) suggested that perception is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give a meaning to their environment.

Perceptions are often made with being in the presence of someone within thirty seconds, very quickly. These first impressions are often what influences the way a person is perceived. Within a business environment this often occurs in selection or in an interview situation, however the interviewer needs to be fair and treat candidates equally. For instance, if the candidate is a graduate, on one hand they have good qualifications and are intelligent where as on the other hand was previously as student, who are notoriously stereotyped as lazy. This kind of stereotypes are difficult to hide however they may exist because they're true, therefore need to be taken into consideration however they are often a representation of the minority.

Communication is a key skill involved within the workplace as its involved within nearly 70% of employees time at work. Communication is important to keep control and inform employees of whats happening within the organisation, this in turn helps to motivate employees. People management created an article about 'how to improve staff communication', using these recommendations it is possible to relate these ideas to improving communication between Buckinghamshire New University and its students. The CIPD employee outlook survey provided some interesting results regarding how well employees felt they understood what was going on in their firms. According to the survey less than half the respondents felt well informed within their organisation. People Management magazine have therefore put together a plan to create an effective communication strategy.
Within this strategy one of the key points was to 'ensure that leaders realize the importance of communication and take time to share their vision'. Within any business or organisation it is important that a shared sense of purpose is established as it enables employees to understand the goal the are working towards. A common problem in many organisations is that senior management often delegate communication to junior managers. Employees like to able to put a face to management and feel like they can approach them if there is a problem. This can also be applied to Buckinghamshire New University and it students. Students tend to only be aware of their lecturers and personal tutors, in order for the student to feel more involved within the university it would be better if the senior management were made more well known by attending  certain university events for example. If senior management were to arrange a meeting once a term held in on of the lecture halls wheres students are able to attend then they would feel more involved and would understand more about what is going on within the university.
The second key point made in the article by people management was to 'create communication that is two- way, not only top-town'. This would be an effective form of communication to implement within the University so that students could easily talk to the correct member of staff. Top down communication refers to Handy's role culture which suggests a chain network where the person at the top directs the flow of information to the bottom of the chain. (Mullins 2010) suggests that Handy developed the ideas of Harrison to create four types of organisational culture , one of which being role culture position is power. A greek temple has been used as imagery to support Handy's theory of role culture with the apex of the temple being where the decisions are made, this can be seen in the diagram below. The pillars then reflect the functional aspect of the organisation which takes orders from the apex. According to Handy's role culture it is most appropriate within organisations which that not constantly change in, for example; local authorities, government departments, public utilities and the public sector in general. This sort of culture finds it extremely difficult to change rapidly. The role culture is typified by rationality and size.

Two way communications however is where there is no set way in which employees communicate. This means that everyone is active within the communication process. If this system were to be implemented within Buckinghamshire New University then i feel that students would be more confident and able to approach management and have their say. This will help students feel more involved within the university and would therefore improve communication between students and the university. A diagram of a chain network can be seen below.

Using the article from People Management it can be identified that the third way in which Buckinghamshire New University can improve communication with its students would be to measure the success of the universities action. The article suggested that it is important for organisations to conduct surveys to understand the effectiveness of the organisations internal communications. Relating this back to our university and its students it would be useful for it to conduct regular surveys so that they can measure its success. Currently the university asks students to complete surveys on the modules in their course but not about the university on the whole. For the university to improve its communications with its students it would be advisable to create a survey about how students think communication could be improved. The university could then use these results to make the necessary improvements.

Personal Experience 
Personally i don't think i judge people on looks, but definitely on first impression. When i am introduced to a new group of people anywhere i am very quiet and generally just observe peoples expressions, gestures, confidence, what they say and how they say it etc. I know i am good at reading people and enjoying working people out, once i feel comfortable to excel myself i do with confidence. I have not really had that many situations where i have perceived someone (apart from Susan Boyle on her Britains Got Talent Audition) and then thought different of them, i always give people a chance.
A time i do remember where my initial perception of someone was incorrect was at an induction night back in 2003 for the Army Cadet Force. Me and a friend turned up 10 minutes late and found that the induction parade had already started, when we walked in and the commanding officer sent us both out of the parade hall and had a go at us for being late on our first day. He was very tall and very big and had a drill cain in his right hand (a pace stick to measure distance of feet whilst marching, not used for hitting), this gave me the impression that he was very strict as his serious face was going redder and redder whilst he was telling us off. The first impression of him was very different to what he is really like as we caught him at a bad time. After committing to the unit i got to know him very well on a personal and disciplined level and he played a big part in my 6 year career which he helped me with, gaining the second best cadet in the United Kingdom and the highest ranked in the North East.

Conclusion
Perception and communication are both essential tool within the business environment as it has a significant impact on how the organisation is run. With regards to improving communication between the university and its students it can be concluded that firstly a two way communication system should be implemented so that students can have their say. The university management needs to make itself more well know so that students can feel part of the bigger picture and understand the common goal. Finally the university needs to measure its success by conducting surveys to receive students opinions, these results would help them a lot in attracting new students to the university.







Bibliography:

Mullins, L,J. (2009) Management & Organisational Behaviour. 9th Edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited

Robbins, S.P. & Judge, T. (2010) Essentials of Organisational Behavior. 1st Edition. Prentice Hall

Lancs. Perception Images-chapter four (online) Available from: Lancs.ac.uk (Assecced 7th April 2012)


 Rebecca Clarke (2010) People Management: How to improve staff communication [online source] Available from: http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/07/how-to-improve-staff-communication.htm Published on 15th July 2010 [Accessed: 08/04/2012]

Managing Change Toolkit (2009) Culture - Charles Handy [Online Source] Available from: http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/html_overview/05_culture_handy.htm Copyright Linsey Sherwin [Accessed; 08/04/2012]