Employee participation is where organisations will offer the chance for employees to have an opinion in decisions.
This shares a connection with the democratic leadership style where you can have a say. The chief executive or the head of the business may still make the final decision. The employees get some authority to make decisions in the work place without having to run it past the manager which is what they call empowerment.
One of the main ways in which employees are now getting involved in helping with decision making and managers are allowing them to get involved is by the use of social networking site such as Facebook and MySpace. These have their advantages and disadvantages. Some advantages are that they can easily be read by managers because they are easily accessible and they can give the business a wide variety of suggestions of what decisions to make.
A disadvantage on the other hand is that people outside the organisation may be able to see these comments and decisions that are being made and therefore competition may be able to see what the business is planning. This can be avoided by privacy settings and such but there may still be other problems occurring if they make their planning so public.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Week 14 - Equal Opportunities
Equality stands for ‘Equal Opportunities’. The purpose of it is that it is based on the legal obligation to comply with anti-discrimination legislation. It protects people from being discriminated against on the grounds of race, age sex, disability etc. Diversity recognises the differences among individuals, and entails a variety of conditions and characteristics. Diversity entails respecting individual differences.
Week 13 - Selection
There are many methods that businesses use for selection of employees. Here are a few of them:
· Interviews are the most popular form of selection as they can get to know the candidate better in the sense that they can see what their body language is like and they can notice by their facial expressions what kind of person they are and how they react in different situations. They are usually conducted face-to-face and this can sometimes be a problem because some candidates may feel nervous and uncomfortable which may show in their interview and this may not get them the job even though they may be the perfect candidate for the job.
· Telephone Screening is when an interview is conducted over the phone. These are usually conducted when there are many people for them to go through as they are quick and easy to conduct and they can be the starting point for a second interview to be conducted face-to-face. However a disadvantage of this method is that it may not be completely reliable as some people may react different on the phone than they are in person and therefore some of their answers may not be completely accurate.
· References are also used to get an idea of what a candidate is like in a previous or existing job. These can be useful as they can give an organisation an insight into what the candidate is like before they give them an opportunity for an interview. However, these can be quite risky as it may not be a reliable person writing the reference or you may not get to talk to the right person and they may give you unreliable information.
The interview that I had for my job was very simple and I thought it was quite ineffective. I went into the interview and I had to fill out an application form. Once this was done, I was asked a few questions about myself and what I am currently doing. Then I was asked to read out a script as I work in a call centre and the way in which we talk is the most important aspect of the job. Once this was done, I was told I had got the job and was asked to come in for training. I felt that it was a rather unprofessional interview and that it could have been improved by asking more detailed questions.
· Interviews are the most popular form of selection as they can get to know the candidate better in the sense that they can see what their body language is like and they can notice by their facial expressions what kind of person they are and how they react in different situations. They are usually conducted face-to-face and this can sometimes be a problem because some candidates may feel nervous and uncomfortable which may show in their interview and this may not get them the job even though they may be the perfect candidate for the job.
· Telephone Screening is when an interview is conducted over the phone. These are usually conducted when there are many people for them to go through as they are quick and easy to conduct and they can be the starting point for a second interview to be conducted face-to-face. However a disadvantage of this method is that it may not be completely reliable as some people may react different on the phone than they are in person and therefore some of their answers may not be completely accurate.
· References are also used to get an idea of what a candidate is like in a previous or existing job. These can be useful as they can give an organisation an insight into what the candidate is like before they give them an opportunity for an interview. However, these can be quite risky as it may not be a reliable person writing the reference or you may not get to talk to the right person and they may give you unreliable information.
The interview that I had for my job was very simple and I thought it was quite ineffective. I went into the interview and I had to fill out an application form. Once this was done, I was asked a few questions about myself and what I am currently doing. Then I was asked to read out a script as I work in a call centre and the way in which we talk is the most important aspect of the job. Once this was done, I was told I had got the job and was asked to come in for training. I felt that it was a rather unprofessional interview and that it could have been improved by asking more detailed questions.
Week 12 - Recruitment
Recruitment is the process of identifying and hiring best-qualified candidates (from within or outside of an organisation) for a job vacancy, in a most timely and cost effective manner.
I looked at www.monster.co.uk. When you first enter the website, my first impressions were that it looks quite user friendly and quite attractive with a professional yet helpful look to it. The first thing I saw was the power search option where you can search for a certain job in a certain location. This is helpful as it narrows down any options that people have and can help choose a job that fits their requirements. There are also many other aspects to this website that are very helpful which are things like giving tips for job interviews, CV advice and how to fill in application forms.
Advantages of using online recruitment are:
· Layout of an online recruitment site is usually very easy and simple to use. It is usually jobseeker friendly and will guide to them on how to use the site.
· Easily accessible. These websites can also be used on the phone which is also very popular.
· Set’s out the job descriptions and clearly defines what the business are looking for e.g. qualifications and experiences.
· Includes a whole range of jobs to meet qualifications and experience and also gives recommendations.
· Details are already registered and you don’t have to keep applying because they can e-mail you job alerts.
Disadvantages of using online recruitment are:
· The internet might not be accessible at times because of network connections.
· There may be security issues as they can pass on your date to third parties and you may not even know about it.
· Discrimination because they got details but this is in extreme cases.
· There may be too many candidates applying for the same posts so there is less of a chance of getting the job you desire.
· The popular job seeking websites will always have the best recruiters because they are always the first to come into the search engine.
Constraint attraction- this can occur to the people of those unable to fully utilise technology for example certain disabled groups.
A psychological contract is the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other. These obligations ca often be informal and imprecise and they may be inferred from actions or from what has happened in the past, as well as from statements made by the employer. Some obligations may be seen as 'promises' and others as 'expectations'. The important thing is that they are believed by the employee to be part of the relationship with the employer.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/recruitment.html
http://www.monster.co.uk/
http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/psycntrct/psycontr.htm
I looked at www.monster.co.uk. When you first enter the website, my first impressions were that it looks quite user friendly and quite attractive with a professional yet helpful look to it. The first thing I saw was the power search option where you can search for a certain job in a certain location. This is helpful as it narrows down any options that people have and can help choose a job that fits their requirements. There are also many other aspects to this website that are very helpful which are things like giving tips for job interviews, CV advice and how to fill in application forms.
Advantages of using online recruitment are:
· Layout of an online recruitment site is usually very easy and simple to use. It is usually jobseeker friendly and will guide to them on how to use the site.
· Easily accessible. These websites can also be used on the phone which is also very popular.
· Set’s out the job descriptions and clearly defines what the business are looking for e.g. qualifications and experiences.
· Includes a whole range of jobs to meet qualifications and experience and also gives recommendations.
· Details are already registered and you don’t have to keep applying because they can e-mail you job alerts.
Disadvantages of using online recruitment are:
· The internet might not be accessible at times because of network connections.
· There may be security issues as they can pass on your date to third parties and you may not even know about it.
· Discrimination because they got details but this is in extreme cases.
· There may be too many candidates applying for the same posts so there is less of a chance of getting the job you desire.
· The popular job seeking websites will always have the best recruiters because they are always the first to come into the search engine.
Constraint attraction- this can occur to the people of those unable to fully utilise technology for example certain disabled groups.
A psychological contract is the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other. These obligations ca often be informal and imprecise and they may be inferred from actions or from what has happened in the past, as well as from statements made by the employer. Some obligations may be seen as 'promises' and others as 'expectations'. The important thing is that they are believed by the employee to be part of the relationship with the employer.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/recruitment.html
http://www.monster.co.uk/
http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/psycntrct/psycontr.htm
Week 11 - HR Planning
HR Planning is vital for an organisation. It is the process which regards and maps out the consequences of business strategy on an organisation’s human resources.
The main areas in which HR deals with are:
· Training and re-training.
· Career progression
· Recruitment
· Selection
· Redeployment and transfers
· Earlier retirement
· Skills shortages expectancy
· Redundancies
· Retention difficulties
Person Specification for a university lecturer:
· Physical makeup
· Attainments
· Intelligence
· Special aptitudes
· Interests
· Disposition
· Circumstances
If Waitrose were to consider opening a new store in High Wycombe; five key labour questions would be:
1. How many employees and managers will this store need?To start off this process they will need to come up with the jobs and work out how many employees they will need in order to successfully open the new store. Planning is needed and only once it is found out how many will be needed that recruitment and selection can begin.
2. Where would Waitrose be able to advertise and publicise their jobs?Job centres would need to be informed about the new store and the jobs so that they can provide their contacts with the opportunity to take part in this new store. Online job websites are also a useful place to advertise and the internet is now more popular than a newspaper and more people are likely to see it online than in written form.
3. Does High Wycombe have good public transport near to where the new store will open?It is very important that this aspect is looked into because many people use public transport and some people may not live in High Wycombe yet still want the job so they need to consider how easy or difficult it is for people to easily access the new store.
4. What kinds of shifts will people be doing? Shift work is very popular these days as people like to be able to work flexibly and in hours that can suit them best so it would be a good idea to consider the idea of having different times of shifts so there is more opportunity to get more employees because of the flexibility of the hours.
The main areas in which HR deals with are:
· Training and re-training.
· Career progression
· Recruitment
· Selection
· Redeployment and transfers
· Earlier retirement
· Skills shortages expectancy
· Redundancies
· Retention difficulties
Person Specification for a university lecturer:
· Physical makeup
· Attainments
· Intelligence
· Special aptitudes
· Interests
· Disposition
· Circumstances
If Waitrose were to consider opening a new store in High Wycombe; five key labour questions would be:
1. How many employees and managers will this store need?To start off this process they will need to come up with the jobs and work out how many employees they will need in order to successfully open the new store. Planning is needed and only once it is found out how many will be needed that recruitment and selection can begin.
2. Where would Waitrose be able to advertise and publicise their jobs?Job centres would need to be informed about the new store and the jobs so that they can provide their contacts with the opportunity to take part in this new store. Online job websites are also a useful place to advertise and the internet is now more popular than a newspaper and more people are likely to see it online than in written form.
3. Does High Wycombe have good public transport near to where the new store will open?It is very important that this aspect is looked into because many people use public transport and some people may not live in High Wycombe yet still want the job so they need to consider how easy or difficult it is for people to easily access the new store.
4. What kinds of shifts will people be doing? Shift work is very popular these days as people like to be able to work flexibly and in hours that can suit them best so it would be a good idea to consider the idea of having different times of shifts so there is more opportunity to get more employees because of the flexibility of the hours.
Week 10 - Role of the Line Manager
Five benefits of line managers being more involved in HR activities are:
· Line managers are always available easily to all other employees therefore they are more suited to dealing with day-to-day matters and it is helpful to have line managers as it does not get the HR department involved so much.
· Line managers have a closer relationship with higher managers which means they can easily pass on messages and tasks to each other which is useful because it does not involve other departments and reduces the risk of messages not getting passed on or lost.
· As line managers are more accessible, the employees can easily talk to them about any issues at work but within the limits and this can be useful to employees as line managers can help them and give them the right advice without taking any further action.
· Line managers can learn from the skills they see around them with aspects such as recruitment and selection and this can help to broaden their experience and knowledge to move up the managerial line in a business and gain a promotion.
· Giving line managers more responsibility will help to motivate them as they will feel as if they belong to the organisation and have a key part to play to keep the organisation at its best.
Five drawbacks of line managers being more involved in HR activities are:
· Line managers may not be used to the workload of HR activities and therefore this may have an effect on their health such as their stress levels.
· As a line manager, they may not have that many employees to look after but if they start to take on HR work as well, they may not be able to deal with all the extra work and this work may be done to a poor level and not to their potential which will in turn have an effect on the business.
· Another problem is that because line managers are trying to deal with both their work and HR work, they may find it difficult to balance the two and therefore production levels may decrease.
· If they are not fully trained in HR, they may not be doing what is asked of them correctly and therefore they may cause problems for the organisation.
· HR has a lot of rules and if a line manager cannot live up to these rules and enforce things that cannot happen then this may cause problems for an organisation.
Line managers have a strong influence on how individuals do their job. Some managers encourage people to be responsible for their own jobs whereas others can suppress initiative through controlling or autocratic behaviour.
To encourage good performance from staff, managers need to:
· Build a good work relationship with their employees
· Treat all employees with respect so that they receive respect as well.
· Help to resolve their problems
· Ask for employee’s suggestions
· Appraise the employees so the employees strive to do better and are appreciated.
· Help and support employees to take more responsibility for how they do their jobs by coaching and guidance
· Build effective teams.
At my workplace, the line managers are always there in the same office as all the other call centre staff. This is useful because whenever there are any problems they are always at hand to talk to and help deal with the issue. The attitude of these line managers is one that comes across as friendly and caring yet they still have a desire to get all the work done. They are normally very easy to talk to and this is a motivational factor as it allows us employees to feel like we have somebody to talk to if ever there are any problems.
Here are some of the tasks and skills that Personnel and HR managers needs:
· Organise and co-ordinate the recruitment and selection of new staff.
· Design and implement staff appraisal systems and develop effective training policies.
· Advise general managers on disciplinary issues.
· Monitor employment legislation.
· Advise senior management on pay and conditions, retention rates and business policy affecting employee relations.
· Keep up to date with best practice in recruitment and selection.
· Maintain staff records.
I believe that my skills would be better suited to a line manager as I am a better listener. I would be able to help employees with their problems and listen to anything they want to talk about as well as resolving any issues they have. As well as this, I would be able to do all the other tasks that a line manager does. HR managers usually need to be able to motivate people and deal with the bigger problems but I think I would be better suited to being a line manager.
http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/maneco/general/rolefrntlinemngers.htm
· Line managers are always available easily to all other employees therefore they are more suited to dealing with day-to-day matters and it is helpful to have line managers as it does not get the HR department involved so much.
· Line managers have a closer relationship with higher managers which means they can easily pass on messages and tasks to each other which is useful because it does not involve other departments and reduces the risk of messages not getting passed on or lost.
· As line managers are more accessible, the employees can easily talk to them about any issues at work but within the limits and this can be useful to employees as line managers can help them and give them the right advice without taking any further action.
· Line managers can learn from the skills they see around them with aspects such as recruitment and selection and this can help to broaden their experience and knowledge to move up the managerial line in a business and gain a promotion.
· Giving line managers more responsibility will help to motivate them as they will feel as if they belong to the organisation and have a key part to play to keep the organisation at its best.
Five drawbacks of line managers being more involved in HR activities are:
· Line managers may not be used to the workload of HR activities and therefore this may have an effect on their health such as their stress levels.
· As a line manager, they may not have that many employees to look after but if they start to take on HR work as well, they may not be able to deal with all the extra work and this work may be done to a poor level and not to their potential which will in turn have an effect on the business.
· Another problem is that because line managers are trying to deal with both their work and HR work, they may find it difficult to balance the two and therefore production levels may decrease.
· If they are not fully trained in HR, they may not be doing what is asked of them correctly and therefore they may cause problems for the organisation.
· HR has a lot of rules and if a line manager cannot live up to these rules and enforce things that cannot happen then this may cause problems for an organisation.
Line managers have a strong influence on how individuals do their job. Some managers encourage people to be responsible for their own jobs whereas others can suppress initiative through controlling or autocratic behaviour.
To encourage good performance from staff, managers need to:
· Build a good work relationship with their employees
· Treat all employees with respect so that they receive respect as well.
· Help to resolve their problems
· Ask for employee’s suggestions
· Appraise the employees so the employees strive to do better and are appreciated.
· Help and support employees to take more responsibility for how they do their jobs by coaching and guidance
· Build effective teams.
At my workplace, the line managers are always there in the same office as all the other call centre staff. This is useful because whenever there are any problems they are always at hand to talk to and help deal with the issue. The attitude of these line managers is one that comes across as friendly and caring yet they still have a desire to get all the work done. They are normally very easy to talk to and this is a motivational factor as it allows us employees to feel like we have somebody to talk to if ever there are any problems.
Here are some of the tasks and skills that Personnel and HR managers needs:
· Organise and co-ordinate the recruitment and selection of new staff.
· Design and implement staff appraisal systems and develop effective training policies.
· Advise general managers on disciplinary issues.
· Monitor employment legislation.
· Advise senior management on pay and conditions, retention rates and business policy affecting employee relations.
· Keep up to date with best practice in recruitment and selection.
· Maintain staff records.
I believe that my skills would be better suited to a line manager as I am a better listener. I would be able to help employees with their problems and listen to anything they want to talk about as well as resolving any issues they have. As well as this, I would be able to do all the other tasks that a line manager does. HR managers usually need to be able to motivate people and deal with the bigger problems but I think I would be better suited to being a line manager.
http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/maneco/general/rolefrntlinemngers.htm
Week 9 - Team working
Team working is the process of working collaboratively with a group of people, in order to achieve a goal. It is often a very important part of a business as it is often necessary for colleagues to work well together in order to co-operate, use their individual skills and provide constructive feedback, despite having any personal conflict between individuals.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/teamwork.html
Bruce Tuckman developed a model in 1965 about team development. This influential theory proposes that when a team comes together to fulfil objectives, they go through a series of stages that eventually lead to a ‘mature’ stage that leads to the team being finally effective.
The main stages of Tuckman’s theory are:
Forming: This is the beginning stage of the team where the group is not actually working as a team and is undeveloped. The people in the team are working as individuals rather than a team. The attitude of the whole team is most likely to be friendly as they are starting to get to know each other and begin with the work rather than being argumentative and controlling.
Storming: Compared to the first stage where everyone is being friendly with each other, this stage is when the team passes through some conflict in order to achieve their objectives. The attitude of the people in the team becomes more aggressive. This relates to both the people inside the group and with competition to other teams and with any rules and requirements for the team. With the tension being caused, this can lead to some of the team feeling de-motivated and not wanting to take part in the tasks that they are meant to be doing or any other tasks that are allocated to them.
Norming: This stage could also be considered as consolidating. This stage is where the members of the team are beginning to realise the potential that they have and are starting to act upon it. By acting on the realisation they will have developed a process to overcome any conflict and focus on the work ahead of them. They will most likely do this by setting rules and meetings in which the team members have the confidence to tell each other what to do and not feel like they are raising an issue of conflict.
Performing: The team is now very much open and flexible. In this stage of the theory, all the team members are working together perfectly as they have spent enough time together and have gotten to know each other in a way that allows them to work together without creating any problems and without the tension that was present in previous stages. The team may challenge each other but they do this in a way that does not cause conflict but rather placing a priority on the development of the weaker team members.
Mourning: This is the final stage of the theory where the team comes to an end as the work is completed.
http://www.teambuilding.co.uk/belbin-team-role.html [accessed on 14/02/2010]
A time when I have worked in a team and felt successful is when I did my last marketing assignment. Compared to any other group work I have done at university, this group work felt much more comfortable as we all managed to work together nicely and all put the effort in. My previous experiences of working as a team have led me to become a bit wary of who I should be working with but this time, the team worked together better as we all got along with each other anyway so working on an assignment together was quite easy as we understood what we were all like.
The first assignment for People and Organisations was team work. This piece of team work was not as successful as the most recent team work I have done. Tuckman’s theory could be related to my team in which there was no set routine of stages that we went through. As the team began we thought we were confident and could get everything done efficiently however, this changed quite quickly when one of the team members took control and there was no other input from anyone else. This could be argued to be due to a lack of communication or because of a controlling personality in the group. We went from Forming to Norming and then Storming, and then after that there was not a clear stage. Once the work was done there was no clear closure as I was asked for my part and once that was handed in there was no discussion about the work whatsoever.
When looking at ‘The Times Top 100 Companies to work for’, I have found a company who has identified that teamwork is a major contribution to the success of their company.
The company is:
Office Angels – Teamwork is encouraged in this recruitment consultancy as groups are competing for rewards that can include holidays to Dubai, New York and Barbados. “Employees feel a strong sense of family within their teams, giving 86%, the top positive score nationally, for this statement. They believe colleagues care about each other (87%), say working together gives them a buzz (82%) and that team-mates are fun (89%).”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/best_100_tables/
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/teamwork.html
Bruce Tuckman developed a model in 1965 about team development. This influential theory proposes that when a team comes together to fulfil objectives, they go through a series of stages that eventually lead to a ‘mature’ stage that leads to the team being finally effective.
The main stages of Tuckman’s theory are:
Forming: This is the beginning stage of the team where the group is not actually working as a team and is undeveloped. The people in the team are working as individuals rather than a team. The attitude of the whole team is most likely to be friendly as they are starting to get to know each other and begin with the work rather than being argumentative and controlling.
Storming: Compared to the first stage where everyone is being friendly with each other, this stage is when the team passes through some conflict in order to achieve their objectives. The attitude of the people in the team becomes more aggressive. This relates to both the people inside the group and with competition to other teams and with any rules and requirements for the team. With the tension being caused, this can lead to some of the team feeling de-motivated and not wanting to take part in the tasks that they are meant to be doing or any other tasks that are allocated to them.
Norming: This stage could also be considered as consolidating. This stage is where the members of the team are beginning to realise the potential that they have and are starting to act upon it. By acting on the realisation they will have developed a process to overcome any conflict and focus on the work ahead of them. They will most likely do this by setting rules and meetings in which the team members have the confidence to tell each other what to do and not feel like they are raising an issue of conflict.
Performing: The team is now very much open and flexible. In this stage of the theory, all the team members are working together perfectly as they have spent enough time together and have gotten to know each other in a way that allows them to work together without creating any problems and without the tension that was present in previous stages. The team may challenge each other but they do this in a way that does not cause conflict but rather placing a priority on the development of the weaker team members.
Mourning: This is the final stage of the theory where the team comes to an end as the work is completed.
http://www.teambuilding.co.uk/belbin-team-role.html [accessed on 14/02/2010]
A time when I have worked in a team and felt successful is when I did my last marketing assignment. Compared to any other group work I have done at university, this group work felt much more comfortable as we all managed to work together nicely and all put the effort in. My previous experiences of working as a team have led me to become a bit wary of who I should be working with but this time, the team worked together better as we all got along with each other anyway so working on an assignment together was quite easy as we understood what we were all like.
The first assignment for People and Organisations was team work. This piece of team work was not as successful as the most recent team work I have done. Tuckman’s theory could be related to my team in which there was no set routine of stages that we went through. As the team began we thought we were confident and could get everything done efficiently however, this changed quite quickly when one of the team members took control and there was no other input from anyone else. This could be argued to be due to a lack of communication or because of a controlling personality in the group. We went from Forming to Norming and then Storming, and then after that there was not a clear stage. Once the work was done there was no clear closure as I was asked for my part and once that was handed in there was no discussion about the work whatsoever.
When looking at ‘The Times Top 100 Companies to work for’, I have found a company who has identified that teamwork is a major contribution to the success of their company.
The company is:
Office Angels – Teamwork is encouraged in this recruitment consultancy as groups are competing for rewards that can include holidays to Dubai, New York and Barbados. “Employees feel a strong sense of family within their teams, giving 86%, the top positive score nationally, for this statement. They believe colleagues care about each other (87%), say working together gives them a buzz (82%) and that team-mates are fun (89%).”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/best_100_tables/
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Week 8 - Organisation and Management Theory
Two of the key theories about organisation and management theory are:
1) Contingency Theory
2) Classical School Theory.
The contingency theory according to Mullins, L J (2007) is an extension of the systems approach to management that implies that the structure of an organisation and its success are dependent upon the nature of environmental influences. There is, therefore, no one best way to structure or manage organisations; rather it must be dependent upon the contingencies of the situation.
The classical school theory was developed by early management theorists to try to find the single best way or a ‘recipe’ to manage and organise. It is based on identification of single best approach to management and organisation, or ‘One Best Way’.
Scientific management was developed y F.W Taylor and is known as the classical approach to management as it advocated the breaking down of work processing into discrete tasks to find the ‘one-best-way’ of performing each task in terms of scientific procedures. Increased productivity is rewarded by financial rewards.
Some advantages of scientific management are:
- Scientific management helps to develop a relationship between managers and employees which encourages co-operation and understanding.
- When using scientific management, managers can clearly tell employees what it is that needs to be done and this is done in a way which avoids conflict in the workplace.
- Another advantage is that production standards are usually increased and because of this, more profit is generated. Employees can receive higher rewards and the business can also put extra retained profit into the organisation to help develop more and become stronger.
- Because of extended planning, work is clearly set out for employees and this also helps to get rid of any problems and change anything that may cause a problem.
- There are direct reward schemes for employees rather than end-of-year profit sharing schemes so this helps to keep employees motivation.
- There is an emphasis on measuring and this enables improvement for employees, managers and the entire organisation as a whole.
Some disadvantages of scientific management are:
- This theory can easily be abused in a way that makes scientific management to exploit employees and therefore there could be conflict with labour unions and other trade unions.
- Scientific management does not leave any room for an individual’s preference or own initiative as everything is done by the managers and the employees are just told what needs to be done rather than offering their own suggestions or dealing with a problem in their own way.
- Another disadvantage is that this approach does make employees out to be machines in the sense that they will do what they are told to do and if they don’t, they can leave. This can be a big de-motivational factor for employees if they do not feel welcome or feel like they are a part of the organisation.
- As there is normally a time limit on each piece of work, when there is a need to get the work done quickly, it could have an effect on the employees as well as the overall quality of the product may begin to lack.
- The whole process of scientific management is very time consuming and takes a lot of effort to think through therefore it can be quite difficult to make sure the right strategies are thought out and if these do not work then it can have an adverse effect on the business overall.
http://www.12manage.com/methods_taylor_scientific_management.html
1) Contingency Theory
2) Classical School Theory.
The contingency theory according to Mullins, L J (2007) is an extension of the systems approach to management that implies that the structure of an organisation and its success are dependent upon the nature of environmental influences. There is, therefore, no one best way to structure or manage organisations; rather it must be dependent upon the contingencies of the situation.
The classical school theory was developed by early management theorists to try to find the single best way or a ‘recipe’ to manage and organise. It is based on identification of single best approach to management and organisation, or ‘One Best Way’.
Scientific management was developed y F.W Taylor and is known as the classical approach to management as it advocated the breaking down of work processing into discrete tasks to find the ‘one-best-way’ of performing each task in terms of scientific procedures. Increased productivity is rewarded by financial rewards.
Some advantages of scientific management are:
- Scientific management helps to develop a relationship between managers and employees which encourages co-operation and understanding.
- When using scientific management, managers can clearly tell employees what it is that needs to be done and this is done in a way which avoids conflict in the workplace.
- Another advantage is that production standards are usually increased and because of this, more profit is generated. Employees can receive higher rewards and the business can also put extra retained profit into the organisation to help develop more and become stronger.
- Because of extended planning, work is clearly set out for employees and this also helps to get rid of any problems and change anything that may cause a problem.
- There are direct reward schemes for employees rather than end-of-year profit sharing schemes so this helps to keep employees motivation.
- There is an emphasis on measuring and this enables improvement for employees, managers and the entire organisation as a whole.
Some disadvantages of scientific management are:
- This theory can easily be abused in a way that makes scientific management to exploit employees and therefore there could be conflict with labour unions and other trade unions.
- Scientific management does not leave any room for an individual’s preference or own initiative as everything is done by the managers and the employees are just told what needs to be done rather than offering their own suggestions or dealing with a problem in their own way.
- Another disadvantage is that this approach does make employees out to be machines in the sense that they will do what they are told to do and if they don’t, they can leave. This can be a big de-motivational factor for employees if they do not feel welcome or feel like they are a part of the organisation.
- As there is normally a time limit on each piece of work, when there is a need to get the work done quickly, it could have an effect on the employees as well as the overall quality of the product may begin to lack.
- The whole process of scientific management is very time consuming and takes a lot of effort to think through therefore it can be quite difficult to make sure the right strategies are thought out and if these do not work then it can have an adverse effect on the business overall.
http://www.12manage.com/methods_taylor_scientific_management.html
Week 7 - Enterprise Week
During Enterprise week, I went to many events. One of the main events that I found inspiring was “5% idea, 95% effort”. This was a 1 hour session with a man who designed and developed the idea of a chocolate box that people would be able to post through the letter box.
The event was held at Bucks New University in the Gateway lecture theatre. This event consisted of him talking about how he set up his business right from the starting point of when he had the idea of mailing chocolates, all throughout the process and up to the point of the present day with all the projects going on and how he is going to expand his business even more. Once he had spoken about his business, there was a question and answers session.
I found this particular event inspiring because of the way in which he had gone from such a small, simple idea and has turned it into a successful business. He has no done this because of his product, or with the help of any other aspect of the business, but by putting in a lot of his own effort and working out what would be best for this particular idea and how he could make it as successful as possible. These kinds of people are very inspirational and should be looked up to because of their attitude towards these types of things.
Monday, 3 May 2010
Week 6 - Personality
Personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that make a person unique. In addition to this, personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life.
The sequence of your eight mindframes is quite special. You may never encounter another individual who has this identical mindframe pattern.
For businesses to use these kinds of the tests as a selection tool has its advantages and disadvantages. They can be good because if answered honestly, they can provide an accurate representation of a person’s personality and what kind of traits they can bring to the organisation. However, a disadvantage is that if people know that these kind of tests are being used as selection tools then they are very likely to give answers which they feel are the most suitable to portray themselves as someone who would be suitable for that organisation.
There are two different types of approaches to personality. These are:
1) Nomothetic: This approach believes that people’s unique personalities can be understood as them having more or less or particular traits that are usually common in most people. This emphasises comparability among individuals but sees people as unique with their own personal combinations of personality traits. This view sees that the traits have the same psychological meaning for every individual but the only difference is the amount of each trait that a person has. This is what makes each individual personality unique. The way in which this approach is usually analysed is by self-report personality questions and factor analysis.
2) Idiographic: This view believes that people have completely unique personality structures, and therefore some traits are more important in understanding the structure of people. This approach believes that only one person possesses certain traits and this means that there are times when it is impossible to compare one person with another. It is also emphasises that some traits may be more important in some people rather than others. Case studies, biographical information and diaries are usually used to gather information about these types of personalities.
http://wilderdom.com/personality/traits/PersonalityTraitsIdiographicNomothetic.html
I have taken the Mindframes personality test. Here are my results for this personality test:
http://wilderdom.com/personality/traits/PersonalityTraitsIdiographicNomothetic.html
I have taken the Mindframes personality test. Here are my results for this personality test:
The sequence of your eight mindframes is quite special. You may never encounter another individual who has this identical mindframe pattern.Here are three strategies that will help you take advantage of your unique strengths to achieve greater success. They require an awareness of your tendencies, an understanding of the eight mindframes and a willingness to make conscious choices about what you'll do next.
1. Make the most of your comfort zone.
Anisa, your tendency is to favour: SOCIABILITY, ORDER, SENSITIVITY and CHARISMA. Because you employ it more often, a mindframe in your comfort zone will strongly influence your behaviour. You'll find using it comfortable and enjoyable, so anything you handle in your comfort zone will be done with more enthusiasm and persistence. Whatever you get involved in, you'll do it well and accomplish a lot.
To build on your success:
Learn to be aware when you're operating in your comfort zone. When working in one of your comfortable mindframes, push yourself to higher levels of performance. Seek other projects, roles or jobs that require you to use your comfort zone
Learn to be aware when you're operating in your comfort zone. When working in one of your comfortable mindframes, push yourself to higher levels of performance. Seek other projects, roles or jobs that require you to use your comfort zone
2. Stretch beyond your comfort zone.
You're less likely to use: INSIGHT, LOGIC, PROACTIVITY and CONTROL.
Regardless of the job or task at hand, you won't be able to operate in your comfort zone all the time. So when the situation requires it, use one of the mindframes outside your comfort zone—even if you have to "stretch" to do so.
Regardless of the job or task at hand, you won't be able to operate in your comfort zone all the time. So when the situation requires it, use one of the mindframes outside your comfort zone—even if you have to "stretch" to do so.
"Stretching" means making an extra effort to do what needs to be done, even if you consider it unfamiliar, uncomfortable or unpleasant. You don't have to change who you are. Just make a special exception to your usual pattern. Rather than neglect a requirement, make a deliberate decision to get the task done, whether you're inclined to do it or not. Once you've taken care of business, you can return to doing what's comfortable. In addition, consider these methods for accomplishing tasks that are beyond your comfort zone:
Teaming—Make an effort to get along or work more smoothly with people who favor mindframes that you don't
Skills—Gain experience with techniques
Procedures—Follow job aids, menus and other guides
Devices—Employ technology to support your efforts
Skills—Gain experience with techniques
Procedures—Follow job aids, menus and other guides
Devices—Employ technology to support your efforts
€3. Increase your understanding of yourself and others.
Gain powerful insights into your own personality with the Revelations Report. And get a match-up report for help in learning how to connect effectively with another individual the first time, every time.
Gain powerful insights into your own personality with the Revelations Report. And get a match-up report for help in learning how to connect effectively with another individual the first time, every time.
www.initforlife.com/home/tm.asp
By looking at the findings of this test, I would say I would agree with it partially. It gave me the right information about the kind of personality traits that I have and the traits that I do not have but would be helpful for me to achieve.
By looking at the findings of this test, I would say I would agree with it partially. It gave me the right information about the kind of personality traits that I have and the traits that I do not have but would be helpful for me to achieve.
For businesses to use these kinds of the tests as a selection tool has its advantages and disadvantages. They can be good because if answered honestly, they can provide an accurate representation of a person’s personality and what kind of traits they can bring to the organisation. However, a disadvantage is that if people know that these kind of tests are being used as selection tools then they are very likely to give answers which they feel are the most suitable to portray themselves as someone who would be suitable for that organisation.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Week 5 - Power and Conflict at work
Conflict is present where there is an incompatibility of goals arising from opposing behaviours at the individual, group or organisational level. Particularly, conflict is behaviour intended to obstruct the achievement of some other person’s goals.
One of the mains conflicts that I have been involved in is at my workplace. As I work in a call centre, it is very important that all employees meet their daily strike rates and if this is not done, then the marketing department lack work and this can cause tension between the call centre employees and the office employees. One of the main conflicts that have happened at work is that there was a time when a group of people who were set onto a specific survey did not get any completed at all. Once the supervisors started to notice that none of these surveys were getting completed, they immediately tried to find out what the problem was and automatically the blame came to the employees for not working hard enough. So once the employees started to try harder and try to get some of the surveys completed, there was still not much being done and the supervisors had noticed that it wasn’t the employees, that it was the survey itself. The survey’s introduction was rather long and because of this people did not want to hear all of it and wouldn’t take part because of the long introduction which took up so much of the time that the respondents would decide not to take part and waste any more time. Therefore, to overcome this kind of conflict in the future, they changed the script of the survey, tested it to make sure that it was the right thing to do and ensured that there would no longer be any reason for there not to be as much surveys completed because of the changed script.
Sources of power are usually the potential sources of organisational conflict. Some are:
· Differences in perception: This result in different people attaching different meaning to the same stimuli. With perceptions being a person’s reality, these different value judgements can be potentially major sources of conflict.
· Limited resources: Many organisations have limited resources and therefore most of the time individuals have to fight for their share in a certain aspect of the business. The greater the limitation of resources, normally there is greater potential for conflict, especially when the limitation is to do with things such as profit and revenue.
· Departmentalisation and Specialisation: Within an organisation there are usually many different departments. When employees become familiar with their particular departments they tend to focus only on the achievement of their particular goals and therefore when the time comes to co-operate with other departments, there is usually a frequent source of conflict.
There are 5 steps that can be used to overcome conflict at work. These are:
1. Analysing the conflict - This is done so that you can understand the nature and the type of conflict. This is usually done by asking questions and familiarising oneself with the actual conflict and what has happened.
2. Determine management strategy – Once there is a general understanding of the conflict, the groups involved can select the most appropriate strategy to overcome the current conflict. In some cases it helps to have someone who is neutral who helps the group move towards the consensus.
3. Pre-negotiation – This is done to set the stage for effective negotiation as the basic groundwork must be laid to assess the situation and make clear any ground rules and the agenda.
4. Negotiation – This should be done in a way that openly discusses interests, rather than stated positions and things such as the reasons, needs, concerns, and motivations which are underlying the positions. The satisfaction of interests should be a common goal.
5. Post-negotiation – Once negotiation is complete, the group will need to implement any decisions made. This includes things such as communication and collaboration and ensuring the progress is monitored to ensure that the best strategy has been chosen and implemented.
http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/kyw/brochures/manageconflict.html
One of the mains conflicts that I have been involved in is at my workplace. As I work in a call centre, it is very important that all employees meet their daily strike rates and if this is not done, then the marketing department lack work and this can cause tension between the call centre employees and the office employees. One of the main conflicts that have happened at work is that there was a time when a group of people who were set onto a specific survey did not get any completed at all. Once the supervisors started to notice that none of these surveys were getting completed, they immediately tried to find out what the problem was and automatically the blame came to the employees for not working hard enough. So once the employees started to try harder and try to get some of the surveys completed, there was still not much being done and the supervisors had noticed that it wasn’t the employees, that it was the survey itself. The survey’s introduction was rather long and because of this people did not want to hear all of it and wouldn’t take part because of the long introduction which took up so much of the time that the respondents would decide not to take part and waste any more time. Therefore, to overcome this kind of conflict in the future, they changed the script of the survey, tested it to make sure that it was the right thing to do and ensured that there would no longer be any reason for there not to be as much surveys completed because of the changed script.
Sources of power are usually the potential sources of organisational conflict. Some are:
· Differences in perception: This result in different people attaching different meaning to the same stimuli. With perceptions being a person’s reality, these different value judgements can be potentially major sources of conflict.
· Limited resources: Many organisations have limited resources and therefore most of the time individuals have to fight for their share in a certain aspect of the business. The greater the limitation of resources, normally there is greater potential for conflict, especially when the limitation is to do with things such as profit and revenue.
· Departmentalisation and Specialisation: Within an organisation there are usually many different departments. When employees become familiar with their particular departments they tend to focus only on the achievement of their particular goals and therefore when the time comes to co-operate with other departments, there is usually a frequent source of conflict.
There are 5 steps that can be used to overcome conflict at work. These are:
1. Analysing the conflict - This is done so that you can understand the nature and the type of conflict. This is usually done by asking questions and familiarising oneself with the actual conflict and what has happened.
2. Determine management strategy – Once there is a general understanding of the conflict, the groups involved can select the most appropriate strategy to overcome the current conflict. In some cases it helps to have someone who is neutral who helps the group move towards the consensus.
3. Pre-negotiation – This is done to set the stage for effective negotiation as the basic groundwork must be laid to assess the situation and make clear any ground rules and the agenda.
4. Negotiation – This should be done in a way that openly discusses interests, rather than stated positions and things such as the reasons, needs, concerns, and motivations which are underlying the positions. The satisfaction of interests should be a common goal.
5. Post-negotiation – Once negotiation is complete, the group will need to implement any decisions made. This includes things such as communication and collaboration and ensuring the progress is monitored to ensure that the best strategy has been chosen and implemented.
http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/kyw/brochures/manageconflict.html
Week 4 - Leadership
Leadership is a relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of other people. According to Useem (2001),” leadership is a matter of making a difference. In entails changing an organisation and making active choices among plausible alternatives, and depends on the development of others and mobilising them to get the job done.”
Although the words leadership and management and used interchangeably, there are many differences in what they actually mean and what they do in a business. The differences between leadership and management are:
· Leaders adopt a more personal and active attitude towards goals whereas managers tend to adopt a more impersonal or passive attitude towards goals.
· Leaders create excitement in work and excite people by creating images with choices and substance. Managers need to continually co-ordinate and balance in order to compromise values which will get people to accept solutions.
· Leaders have empathy with others and give attention to other aspects of the business and to their relationships with other people. Managers usually maintain a low level of personal and emotional involvement with others.
· Leaders tend to work in, but do not belong to the organisation so their sense of identity does not depend upon membership or work roles as they usually search for opportunities to change these roles. Managers usually see themselves as conservators and regulators of existing orders and affairs.
Robert Blake and Jane Mouton developed a framework for thinking about a leader’s ‘task versus person’ orientation in the early 1960’s. The Managerial grid plots the degree of task-centeredness versus person-centeredness and this identifies five combinations as different leadership styles.
The Managerial grid is based on 2 different behavioural dimensions which are:
The Managerial grid is based on 2 different behavioural dimensions which are:
1) Concern for people – This is the degree to which a leader considers the team members, their interests, and areas of personal development when deciding how to accomplish a task in the most appropriate way.
2) Concern for Production – This is the degree to which a leader emphasises particular objectives, organisational efficiency and high productivity when deciding how to complete a task.
By using the grid to plot these two concerns, Blake and Mouton developed the five leadership styles. These are:
1) Country Club Leadership – This is High People/Low Production. This type of leader is mostly concerned about the needs and the feelings of the team members. When operating, they believe that as long as the team members are happy and secure they will be working hard. As a result of this kind of attitude, the working environment is very relaxed but production on the other hand suffers because there is not much control or direction.
2) Produce or Perish Leadership – This is High Production/Low People. This can be also known as Authoritarian or Compliance Leaders. The leaders in this category usually see employees as a means to the end. The needs of the employees are always second to the needs for an efficient and productive workplace. The leadership style is very autocratic with strict rules, policies and procedures. They also see punishment as the best and most effective means to motivate employees.
3) Impoverished Leadership – This is Low Production/Low People. This is the type of leader that is mostly ineffective. They do not have a high regard in getting any work done, nor do they create a working environment which satisfies and motivates employees. This therefore leads to a disorganised, dissatisfying and disharmonic working environment.
4) Middle-of-the-Road Leadership – This is Medium Production/Medium People. This style of leadership is a balance between the two concerns. It may seem as if it is the ideal compromise, however when compromising, parts of each of the concerns are given away so that neither production nor people needs are fully met. This is usually used by leaders who don’t mind to settle for average performance as they usually believe that this is the most anyone can expect.
5) Team Leadership – This is High Production/High People. Based on the Managerial Grid by Blake Mouton, this is the top of all the managerial styles. These are the leaders who concentrate on production levels and the needs of the people with equal weighting. The main idea with these leaders is that the people are involved in understanding the organisational purposes and help to determine production needs. Once the employees are committed, their needs and the production needs begin to coincide and this helps to create a team environment which is based on trust and respect as well as high satisfaction and motivation levels that in turn help to lead to high production levels.
In my job, the manager that I have would probably be considered as a Produce or Perish Leader. I work in a call centre where we conduct tele-marketing, therefore production is the most important aspect of my job. If the surveys are not completed and not done to the best of their ability then there are many other problems which can be created. Therefore, for my manager to be strict in the sense that she is just focused on getting the daily strike rate of surveys done, is quite beneficial to the company. On the other hand, it can be quite de-motivating at time because of the way that the production needs are put before the needs of the employees and this makes many employees feel like they are not being treated as well as they could be.
Steve Jobs is the co-founder and chief-executive or Apple. He is a very influential leader in the business world because he has been well known for his aggressive and demanding personality. Jobs has always aspired to take Apple and its products to a position right at the forefront of the industry and he does this by foreseeing trends with a lot of innovation and style. This article shows how Steve Jobs has developed his leadership styles and skills throughout his career: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_06/b3970001.htm
Week 3 - Organisation Culture
Organisational culture is the collection of traditional values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think about in an organisation (Mullins L J, 2007). Deal & Kennedy said organisational culture is ‘the way we do things around here’ (1982).
There are three layers of culture. These are:
1) Basic assumptions – This is the fundamental basis of a business.
2) Values and beliefs – These are the values that are serving as guidelines for action.
3) Visible aspects of culture – These include things such as the physical layout of the office, uniforms, language, status symbols, rites and rituals, stories and taboo. Other examples of visible aspects of culture are stories about the past, unwritten rules and expectations, role models, management style, communications and the general pace of work.
Nando’s is a business that clearly shows that is has visible aspects of culture. There are many ways in which they show their organisational culture. One of the ways it does this is looking after its employees in a way that will make customers have a good time and come back for more which in turn will lead to higher profitability. Another way in which they show visible aspects of culture is their job titles. Some examples are:
· Mother Hen – HR Director
· Poultry in Motion – Transport Manager
· The Full Monty – Nando’s top team.
The Nando’s team also manages itself by a ‘book of stories’. This is used as a guide for managers as it illustrates lessons which have been learnt and how to deal with situations. They are very determined to manage Nando’s in such a way that both employees and customers are happy and this clearly shows in the way they are treated and the visible aspects of their organisational culture.
Nando’s is a business that clearly shows and demonstrates a good organisational culture because of the way in which they set out their restaurants and the way in which the employees are all bought together in way that shows a united front with good quality service. Here is the link to the Nando’s website: http://www.nandos.co.uk/
There are a few ways in which different types of organisational cultures are classified. Charles Handy (1985) looked at the work Roger Harrison and developed his idea of 4 types of organisational culture. He suggests that organisations can be classified into broad categories of four main cultures. The four types of culture that he talks about are:
1) Power Culture: Handy describes this as a ‘web’. By this he means that there is a concentration of power at the centre of the business and this central figure provides rays of influence to the rest of the organisation. This type of culture is normally found in small entrepreneurial organisations that are based on trust, empathy and personal communications to achieve effectiveness. Most of the control is given to the central individuals in the organisation who then transfer roles and tasks out to others in the business.
There are three layers of culture. These are:
1) Basic assumptions – This is the fundamental basis of a business.
2) Values and beliefs – These are the values that are serving as guidelines for action.
3) Visible aspects of culture – These include things such as the physical layout of the office, uniforms, language, status symbols, rites and rituals, stories and taboo. Other examples of visible aspects of culture are stories about the past, unwritten rules and expectations, role models, management style, communications and the general pace of work.
Nando’s is a business that clearly shows that is has visible aspects of culture. There are many ways in which they show their organisational culture. One of the ways it does this is looking after its employees in a way that will make customers have a good time and come back for more which in turn will lead to higher profitability. Another way in which they show visible aspects of culture is their job titles. Some examples are:
· Mother Hen – HR Director
· Poultry in Motion – Transport Manager
· The Full Monty – Nando’s top team.
The Nando’s team also manages itself by a ‘book of stories’. This is used as a guide for managers as it illustrates lessons which have been learnt and how to deal with situations. They are very determined to manage Nando’s in such a way that both employees and customers are happy and this clearly shows in the way they are treated and the visible aspects of their organisational culture.
Nando’s is a business that clearly shows and demonstrates a good organisational culture because of the way in which they set out their restaurants and the way in which the employees are all bought together in way that shows a united front with good quality service. Here is the link to the Nando’s website: http://www.nandos.co.uk/
There are a few ways in which different types of organisational cultures are classified. Charles Handy (1985) looked at the work Roger Harrison and developed his idea of 4 types of organisational culture. He suggests that organisations can be classified into broad categories of four main cultures. The four types of culture that he talks about are:
1) Power Culture: Handy describes this as a ‘web’. By this he means that there is a concentration of power at the centre of the business and this central figure provides rays of influence to the rest of the organisation. This type of culture is normally found in small entrepreneurial organisations that are based on trust, empathy and personal communications to achieve effectiveness. Most of the control is given to the central individuals in the organisation who then transfer roles and tasks out to others in the business.
2) Role Culture: This type of culture is most often stereotyped as a bureaucracy and works on the basic of logic and rationality. It has also been described as a ‘Greek temple’ in the sense that top of the temple is where all the decisions are made and the pillars of the temple show the functional units of the organisation and shows where all the decisions are implemented. This type of culture is very much focused on job descriptions in a way that authority is not based on personal initiative but mostly an organisation which is run by paper.
3) Task Culture: This type of culture is usually adopted in organisations that carry out extensive research and developmental activities as they are more dynamic. This is because the teams of researchers and developers are always changing as they are trying to meet future needs therefore the most valuable assets in this type of organisational culture are expertise and skills. The main idea of task culture is to bring together the best people and the right resources and to utilise this power to achieve future needs.
4) Person Culture: This is where the individuals themselves form a group and decide that it is in their own interest to band together skills and expertise and share office space, equipment and clerical assistance to determine collectively the path of the organisation. This type of culture tends to reject the idea of formal hierarchies and exists solely to meet the needs of its members. A person culture is usually suitable for a self-help group or a commune rather than a business organisation.
http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/html_overview/05_culture_handy.htm
One of the problems of trying to classify culture into one of the four types is that organisations are always changing. There could be a time when an organisation falls into one type of culture; however there could be times when it falls in 2 types of organisational culture and therefore it is difficult to chose one type of culture. This change in culture could be for many reasons such as:
· Mergers or acquisitions,
· New technology, products, markets,
· New managers,
· New location,
· Decline in profitability,
· Outsourcing.
Overall, there are many ways in which an organisation can chose their type of culture and use the best techniques to fulfil their needs for the future. They can utilise the needs of just the managers or they can give power to every individual and take advantage of all the employee’s needs and expertise. The culture is also one of the most important ways in which a business is recognised in the wider market so it is important to have one that provides the best image for the business.
Week 2 - Improving Staff Performance
http://ezinearticles.com/?Motivation-Theory&id=410700
The content theories of motivation are the ones that focus mainly on factors that have a direct effect on human behaviour. Content theories include those of Maslow and his hierarchy of needs, Alderfer’s ERG theory and Herzeberg’s motivator-hygiene theory.
Process theories on the other hand, focus on the thought processes that influence behaviour and give the opportunity to understand how this has an effect on the individual’s behaviour. The most popular process theories are Vroom’s expectancy theory, goal-setting theory and reinforcement theory as well as Adams’ equity theory.
John Lewis has always been well known in providing its employees with many rewards and opportunities. This is the main reason that the employees are motivated and continue to provide John Lewis with the best possible customer service. John Lewis has developed The Partnership. This is what they call the relationship between themselves and the employees. One of the ways that they use this relationship to their advantage and use it to motivate their employees is that they put the happiness of the employees at the centre of everything they do. They use many techniques to bring out the best in an individual such as fulfilling the employee’s needs and by rewarding them. John Lewis do this differently because the ‘Partners’ are actually active co-workers in the business which means that they do therefore receive their share of the profit that is made. The relationship between the employers and employees at John Lewis one of respect and honesty and this is reflected in the outstanding level of customer service that they provide. The profit-sharing scheme that John Lewis has adopted is one of the main reasons why employees are so motivated. The extra money is motivating them to improve their performance and help to make the business more successful so they achieve a better reward when the profit is turned in.
http://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/item/2029/23/320/3
Chris Charman who is a senior consultant in executive compensation and rewards says: "You can see it when you walk in the door, with [workers'] level of product knowledge and service. Even in terms of its procurement and wastage, [staff] will [realise the] impact on the bottom line." He believes that the John Lewis Partnership is an ideal type of organisation to be using profit-sharing because it allows front-line retail staff to see the impact that they have on the business and its profitability.
Many of the way in which John Lewis motivates their employees fit into Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The employees are satisfied with their basic needs and are also provided with safety and protection at their workplace because John Lewis ensures its working conditions are suitable for all employees. The social needs such as a sense of belonging and love are also fulfilled by those at John Lewis because they firmly believe that by building honest and reliable relationships with each other, motivation is increased and therefore performance is higher. Due to the profit-sharing scheme, John Lewis employees should feel that their self-esteem needs are being met as well because they can see that their effort is resulting in a profitable business and this profit is being distributed between the employees so they can feel that they have a status in the business and feel recognised. The point of self-actualisation may not be clearly displayed for all John Lewis employees as many may feel that they have a lot more to provide the business and this would most probably be used by John Lewis to their advantage to carry on motivating their employees so that they continue to perform to the best of their ability.
Another business that gives its employees many benefits to keep them motivated and working to the best of their ability is British Airways. BAA believes that it benefits from an unusually low turnover of staff because they believe they are a good employer. Some of the benefits that the employees receive are:
1) Competitive salaries.
2) Profit share target of £700. This is similar to what John Lewis does and therefore it has the same benefits to the employees in the sense that it keeps them motivated to work harder so that they receive a better rewards if they keep the business profitable.
3) High value share save scheme. This is beneficial to employees because it makes them feel that they are an important part of the business and they own a share in the business so they are more likely to keep their performance levels high.
4) Generous final salary pension scheme. This is a good technique of keeping employees motivated because everyone is always concerned about what their financial situation will be when they retire so if they are offered a generous pension, they are more likely to stay in that job for their personal security in the future.
5) Free car parking at all airports.
6) Preferential insurance rates.
7) Flexible working.
8) Competitive sick pay.
http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/baa/baa20.htm
Motivation is one of the main ways in which the performance of the employees is maintained. There are many techniques that can be used to motivate employees in real work places and this can be seen with both John Lewis and BAA.
The content theories of motivation are the ones that focus mainly on factors that have a direct effect on human behaviour. Content theories include those of Maslow and his hierarchy of needs, Alderfer’s ERG theory and Herzeberg’s motivator-hygiene theory.
Process theories on the other hand, focus on the thought processes that influence behaviour and give the opportunity to understand how this has an effect on the individual’s behaviour. The most popular process theories are Vroom’s expectancy theory, goal-setting theory and reinforcement theory as well as Adams’ equity theory.
John Lewis has always been well known in providing its employees with many rewards and opportunities. This is the main reason that the employees are motivated and continue to provide John Lewis with the best possible customer service. John Lewis has developed The Partnership. This is what they call the relationship between themselves and the employees. One of the ways that they use this relationship to their advantage and use it to motivate their employees is that they put the happiness of the employees at the centre of everything they do. They use many techniques to bring out the best in an individual such as fulfilling the employee’s needs and by rewarding them. John Lewis do this differently because the ‘Partners’ are actually active co-workers in the business which means that they do therefore receive their share of the profit that is made. The relationship between the employers and employees at John Lewis one of respect and honesty and this is reflected in the outstanding level of customer service that they provide. The profit-sharing scheme that John Lewis has adopted is one of the main reasons why employees are so motivated. The extra money is motivating them to improve their performance and help to make the business more successful so they achieve a better reward when the profit is turned in.
http://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/item/2029/23/320/3
Chris Charman who is a senior consultant in executive compensation and rewards says: "You can see it when you walk in the door, with [workers'] level of product knowledge and service. Even in terms of its procurement and wastage, [staff] will [realise the] impact on the bottom line." He believes that the John Lewis Partnership is an ideal type of organisation to be using profit-sharing because it allows front-line retail staff to see the impact that they have on the business and its profitability.
Many of the way in which John Lewis motivates their employees fit into Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The employees are satisfied with their basic needs and are also provided with safety and protection at their workplace because John Lewis ensures its working conditions are suitable for all employees. The social needs such as a sense of belonging and love are also fulfilled by those at John Lewis because they firmly believe that by building honest and reliable relationships with each other, motivation is increased and therefore performance is higher. Due to the profit-sharing scheme, John Lewis employees should feel that their self-esteem needs are being met as well because they can see that their effort is resulting in a profitable business and this profit is being distributed between the employees so they can feel that they have a status in the business and feel recognised. The point of self-actualisation may not be clearly displayed for all John Lewis employees as many may feel that they have a lot more to provide the business and this would most probably be used by John Lewis to their advantage to carry on motivating their employees so that they continue to perform to the best of their ability.
Another business that gives its employees many benefits to keep them motivated and working to the best of their ability is British Airways. BAA believes that it benefits from an unusually low turnover of staff because they believe they are a good employer. Some of the benefits that the employees receive are:
1) Competitive salaries.
2) Profit share target of £700. This is similar to what John Lewis does and therefore it has the same benefits to the employees in the sense that it keeps them motivated to work harder so that they receive a better rewards if they keep the business profitable.
3) High value share save scheme. This is beneficial to employees because it makes them feel that they are an important part of the business and they own a share in the business so they are more likely to keep their performance levels high.
4) Generous final salary pension scheme. This is a good technique of keeping employees motivated because everyone is always concerned about what their financial situation will be when they retire so if they are offered a generous pension, they are more likely to stay in that job for their personal security in the future.
5) Free car parking at all airports.
6) Preferential insurance rates.
7) Flexible working.
8) Competitive sick pay.
http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/baa/baa20.htm
Motivation is one of the main ways in which the performance of the employees is maintained. There are many techniques that can be used to motivate employees in real work places and this can be seen with both John Lewis and BAA.
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