Recruitment - week 18

   Nowadays , there are many websites created to help people in their job research. With the development of the internet , online recruitment developed as well. All over the world , people have access to the internet. Knowing that , both small organisations and large companies put their job offers in the internet. One of the famous online recruitment websites in Great Britain is fish4jobs.

   The website has been made in a very creative way. First of all , the name , being easy to remember as fish4jobs makes people think about looking for interesting opportunities , very often not expected ones. It's attracting people as chosen colours and layout of the website make it look modern. It's very easy to operate , as every type of information to research is kept in order , for example , main searching tool is bigger and it's located at top of the website , whereas a list of industry types , advertised opportunities and other tagged jobs is located in the middle and bottom part of the website. Thus , people that were not in favour of using internet , can see that online recruitment may be easy. What makes that website attractive to variety of people is that on the main site , people can see the list of the different types of work , so they can choose if for example they are looking for a job for gratuate or charity and many other.
   The creators of that websites must have been aware of people's perception differences. Seeing anything for the first time , people notice different things and pay attention to the work of different factors. For example , when I had an opportunity to see that website for the first time , I started my research from looking at Great Britain's job map , whereas one of my friends typed sales into the main tool , and another friend just looked at the list of options. It shows , that the website is very easy to operate , modern and attractive.

 

   STENA Innovative Recycling , is a department of STENA Metall Group , which is a large international company localized in two hundred and fifty places and specialised in production and selling of metal materials and recycling.
   STENA is carrying out a recruitment campaing in Poland. It's an internship program for students , with opportunity of being employed after the program. I am interested in that campaign , mostly because I have never seen such clearly presented recruitment campaign that contains every information needed.
   The group put the elements of their campaign on Polish job researching website for students. First page of their offer asks its visitors if they want to know how to save forest area size of 21.000 sport fields. Under that question there is a explanation saying ''If yes , we want to know you.'' It shows , that the approach of young students is exactly the one STENA is looking for. On further pages of their offer , I have seen the skills needed to be the right person for that position. They require knowledge of English at advanced level , ability to translate fast , easility in travelling and studying the course at university that is connected to business , marketing and organisational habits. After reading that , that offer attracted me , because I have every single one of the skills they require.
   What is more , the recruitment campaign of STENA Innovative Recycling not only describes the job position , but also issues such as the place of stay , the accomodation and wage issue. They say , that main tasks during the work , would be gaining a customer base and helping in translation both paper and oral. Opportunity of that program is attractive for Polish students as it enables to do it in central part of Poland , and the company provides the interns with accomodation. They also claim that taking part in that program will develop managerial skills as interns would be involved in brand image development projects. The company wants their interns to be independent in solving problems , to have have very good organizational skills , to be open minded , creative , productive and have easiness in communication.

   ''You will be where all the action is and you will experience a business culture with fast decision where every challenge is seen as an opportunity.'' STENA Innovative Recycling (2011)

   As a student of a university localized in United Kingdom and having proper skills and experience required , that offer was created exactly the way I was looking for , when researching.



   The online recruitment is a great way to research job opportunities. However , it's not perfect. It has both advantages and drawbacks.

   The advantages of online recruitment:

•  There is a variety of job opportunities , divided into many types , such as charity , for graduates , full-time or part-time , HR , leisure , science and many more. Thus , when researching online , people can see an opportunity that they were not looking for , and very often that is better than the one that they have been looking for.
• Many people nowadays , even if not employed , have not much free time. Especially , they might have no time to go to job centre , consultancy or personal skill assessment centres. Online recruitment enables people to research millions of job opportunities all over the world by the right use of the internet. People can spend fivew minutes during their free time , no matter where they are , because all they need is a computer or phone with the connection to the internet.
• Internet is a resource available for majority of people looking for job. Even if not having a computer , people can use a mobile phone to research job online. It's easier for mothers to have a look at available job positions online , watching their children playing at home , than taking them on a trip to job centre.
•  Most of the online recruitment websites enable people to create an account , filling the proper forms with job preferences , skills , schools they finished , their hobby etc. After setting such account and filling the proper forms , the network does the research by itself. It sends the offers automatically in relation to the preferences , skills etc. Online recruitment makes research easier.
• There is no age discrimination when applying for a job through online recruitment websites. People of different age have an opportunity to find a job they want , because the network will not lock it's database. Everybody that wants to find a job does not have to hesitate and worry because nobody will comment on their research , the visitors of online recruitment websites are anonymous.

   The drawbacks of online recruitment:

•  When researching online , people can get bored of the big amount of offers. It might be complicated to specify what job is being research carried on , because the more words typed into the searching tool , the answer contains less sense.

• There are many offers that are incomplete. Personally , I have read many job offers on online recruitment websites , and I have also been send them automatically on my account. However.
• A big amount of offers is being put in the wrong categories all the time. Many companies try to attract people for the lower payed job positions by making the name of the job sound better , and placing the offer in the category that is being researched by qualified people. For example , companies likes Oriflame or Avon , specialized in selling a variety of cosmetics are in constant demand for canvassers. They offer their job even to people with a low level of interpersonal skills and difficulties with working with people. Companies looking for canvassers very often call that kind of job offer as the sales manager and place them in a variety of categories , because they know from their experience that it attracts people.
• There are many people that are not likely to use electronic devices in their lifes a lot. For example , older people , that prefer reading newspapers , or when going for a walk , looking for job offers in the variety of boards in shops or job centres. Onlince recruitment is often making a impression of difficult research tool for older people , especially when there is nobody to help and explain that people that it can be much easier to use it , than looking in newspapers.
• A major disadvantage of online recruitment is that a lot of companies that placed their offers in the internet , are getting lost in all the e-mails they are being send by people having queries about their offers. Very often , people responsible for answering that e-mails , are getting fed up with that work , and stop doing it. When it comes to the problem solving part of recruitment , the classic phone call is much better than online recruitment , as answer are being given much faster and if there is a need to , they are being also explained.

   In conlusion , online recruitment is a modern way of researching the job opportunities. It's fast , easy and contains a variety of opportunities all over the world in different categories. Everybody is able to find something. To attract people with required skills and attitude , companies create a recruitment campaigns that are being placed online. They are a very efficient way of looking for proper personnel , as by the right description of the offered jobs , they attract the right people. Online recruitment has many advantages as it's easy to operate with , doesn't require much effort to be put and is available for majority of people. However , with that many offers online , the communication between the interested people and companies is often a disadvantage of online recruitment , as it might be much easier to find answers by the right use of classic job research tools  , such as phones.

Bibliography:

Primary research:

• A interview with anonymous canvassers and consultants of two different cosmetic companies. 

• Showing the fish4jobs website to two different people , and comparing their first experience with that website to mine.

Secondary research:

• Absolvent. (2011) STENA Innovative Recycling. [Online] March 2011. Available on: http://www.absolvent.pl/program-stena-recycling-internship/opis-stanowisk/staz-w-dziale-prmarketing-communication-3873 [Accessed: 31st March 2011]

• fish4jobs. UK jobs and London jobs. [Online] Available on: http://www.fish4.co.uk/ [Accessed: 31st March 2011]

Equal Opportunities - week 16

   There is a variety of people all over the world. There are also two factors that have a major impact on life of every single person. They are known as equality and diversity.

   ''Equality (or ‘equal’) signifies correspondence between a group of different objects, persons, processes or circumstances that have the same qualities in at least one respect, but not all respects.'' Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2007)

   ''The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences.  These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.  It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.'' Queensborough Community College (2007)

   Mentioned definitions explain the concepts of both equality and diversity. However , there is a big difference between them. That differences are often seen in places like a company employing many people or a school.
Equality shows and values the different experiences of people , identifies discrimination , helps in treating people in the same way and often operates within the law. On the other hand , diversity shows and values the differences between individuals , treats every single person in a individual way , helps in challenging the opportunities coming from diverse people , and often is beyond the law.

   The age legislation came into force in 2006. It contains the regulations about the discrimination opportunities when looking at people's age. That legislation might have several impacts on employers. For example:

• Employers have to be very careful when assessing their employees. They have to ensure their staff that the assessment has nothing to do with the age of assessing person and also employers must make sure that they have proper arguments in case of arguments on that topic.
• When sorting the job opportunities , promotions and rewards , employers can have problems with giving them to their workers as if not given equally to certain age groups , employees can make it look like they have been discriminated , whereas they might be lazy and jealous.
• Grievance policies in companies can be a problem for employers. They can be in serious trouble , when members of their personnel would like to use it against each other during an argument against the background of the different age groups. Employers might have to undertake some expensive actions to solve that kind of problems.

    People tend to hold a variety of stereotypes about younger and older people. The stereotypes about younger people present them as lazy , looking only to benefit from other people's failures and heartless , caring only about money and their own life. In case of older people , the stereotypes about them present them as afraid of a modern technique , electronic devices and show them as people with limited knowledge and skills. To change this attitudes , organisations should make people of different age groups see , that in the real life , such stereotypical personalities occur very rarely. Organisations could do that through either:

•  Creation of working teams , made of people from different age groups , so that older people would  have to cooperate with younger people. Thus , older people would see that younger people don't always have to be heartless and younger people could learn a lot from the experience of older people and respect them , not see them as a usless part of personnel.
• Or making sure that the workplace is not divided into the parts. For example , older people working on the first floor and younger on second. There should be a similar amount of people from different age groups working in every place , so that they could get to know each other and change their attitudes about the stereotypes.

   On its website , British Airways claims to constantly work towards creation of an inclusive culture that understands and respects the individual differences of its employees. British Airways , being a company operating globally , needs to attract and retaind a diversity of talented individuals as their customer base is also a diversity. Knowing that employing a mix of people from diverse background leads to potential new ideas and innovation , BA wants to stay competetive through the right level of equal opportunities within its personnel. They organise regular events , on which employees discuss issues on religion , disability , flexible working , sexual orientation and ethnicity. British airways make sure that the diversity issues are communicated to employees via their corporate internet site , forums and networks. They also use newspapers and monthly newsletters called ''Diverse Times'' and ''Religious Festivals''.

   In conclusion , the diversity and equality are the two major factors related to every single human being. They can help in looking for new opportunities and treating people in a fair , equal way. Since the age legislation came into force in 2006 , employers have to be careful in undertaking the actions they are used to , and make sure that their assessments have no age assessing background. There are plenty of stereotypes about people from the different age groups and organisations can solve their negative impact within their personnel through the right actions. British Airways , a company operating globally , employs a diveristy of people from the different backgrounds all over the world , on a variety of job positions , and takes care about the equal opportunities through the organisation of events and use of their internet network and materials like newspapers and newsletters containing the articles about different issues.
   

Bibliography:

•  British Airways' view for equality. [Online] Available from: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/crdivhome/public/en_gb [Accessed: 30th March 2011]

• Definition for Diversity. Queensborough Community College. [Online] Available from: http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/diversity/definition.asp [Accessed: 30th March 2011]

• Equality. (2007) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. [Online] June 2007. Available on: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/equality/#DefCon [Accessed: 30th March 2011]

Teamworking - week 13

   When working on the charity assignment for the Role of Marketing in Business , I have cooperated in a team with four more members. The aim of the team was to raise money for the Oxford Transplant Foundation. After brainstorming , we decided to organise a themed party in the Wycombe's Yates's.

   ''A team role is described as a pattern of behaviour , characteristic of the way in which one team member interacts with another whose performance serves to faciliate the progress of the team as a whole''. Mullins , L.J. (2010)

   Mullins , L.J. (2010) explains the way how one team member works with another , how they do it , and how they differ , which makes them have different roles that are approaches to the task.

   Meredith Belbin divided the team roles into nine different approaches , and explained every single one , giving the details about it's contribution to the team , and it's allowable weaknesses.

   The team I have been a member of , contained two female , and three male members , giving the sum of five members. However , some of the members had more than one team role.
   There have been a resource investigator and co-ordinator in one person responsible for clarifying goals , promoting decision-making , exploration of the opportunities and for the development of contracts. However , often being manipulative when talking about the ideas.
   There was a member seen as a plant from Belbin's theory , that solved difficult problems with his creative and imaginative working system , however , ingoring some details.
   I have been seen as a shaper , monitor-evaluator and completer in the team as I had the drive to overcome obstacles , seen most of the options and searched for our mistakes. However , I caught myself on provoking others and worrying unduly.
   Teamworker in our team was very co-operative , perceptive and listened very carefully to everything. However , Belbin's theory considers the teamworker as indecisive in crunch situations , the teamworker from our team has been very decisive all the time.
   Implementer's and specialist's team role has been carried by one person responsible for turning ideas to action and providing the knowledge and support. He was disciplined and reliable , very efficient and dedicated but slow to respond to new possibilities.

   The plan has been developed by the team's co-ordinator , containing every single action to undertake by certain team members. Thus , the objectives were sorted and responsibilities shared. Every single member knew what to do. There was a good communication in the team as the members used to e-mail each other every two days , or text each other's mobile phones to set up the meetings or solve any problems if occured.

   Thus , the group had a good contact with the Yates's manager , who was happy to help in raising money for the charity by giving us all the profit from cloakroom and entry charges. He also allowed the team to sell their own shots and party accessories. With the right management of finance within the group , we spent 43.46 pounds and raised 230 pounds , raising the profit of 186.54 pounds for the charity.

   Having all of the Belbin's nine team roles present in our team , we succeeded to reach every single goal from the plan as there was a proper cooperation , communication and effort within the team.



   The first assignment for People and Oranisations was to make a presentation about motivation , and after a consultation with the tutor , produce a report on motivation. It was a group based assignment. I have been working in a group of three members.

   Tuckmann's theory on group development contains an explanation of  building , developing , and analyzing the behaviour of the members in the team. Tuckmann explained the process of developing the team by the right use of five key stages of forming , storming , norming , performing and adjourning. The group I have been working in , progressed through all of the stages.

   At the stage of forming , we were testing each other by conversation and questions to find out about the interpersonal and task behavioural skills of each member.  Such testing enabled us to see that we communicate easily with each other , and we contrast different points of view without agruements. The atmosphere at that stage suggested that there might be no need for a leader as the cooperation level was likely to be high.

   Storming was the stage , when there was a variety of members's ideas competing. However, Tuckmann's theory explains that this competition is very often fierce , in our case it was not. The objective was clear for all of us as we knew that we have to show our tutor the presentation on what we want to do , and after that , produce the report. We agreed on some of the ideas , and then we knew each other more as when deciding about that ideas , each member shown his personality to confront each other's perspectives. At this stage , the need of a leader was higher , so from that moment , I used to coordinate the work with the tolerance of each member and their ideas.

   When the team progressed to the stage of norming , the rules , and the working system has been developed. There was a noticeable working progress as the team was working with a good cooperation and effectiveness among it's members and no major conflicts or arguments. With that effectiveness , the team developed it's identity as there was a habit of the right use of methods , such as asking other members for help or opinion. Methods helped in adjusting members' personalities to each other , as when consulting our work , we had to agree or disagree on issues.When the working system was developed , the motivation increased and the objectives seemed to be much easier in achieving.

   At the stage of performing, the team roles and the interpersonal structure of the team became a tool of our task activities. With the bigger increase of motivation in the team , we were working as a unit because we clearly understood what we had to do and what we have done. We were now able to handle the stress and the decision-making process easier.


   Adjourning was the stage , when we completed all of our tasks , and got the job done. After submitting the report the team was disassembled. Our work have been marked with a positive grade , so we succeeded in every goal we wanted to succeed. However , the team did not meet every issue from Tuckmann's theory on this stage as there were no sense of loss felt by the group members and no introduction of new tasks as the assignment was completed.

   Going through all of the stages from Tuckmann's theory and meeting most of the issues detailed in that theory enabled us to see how the development of the team was working in our team. It also enabled us to see what issues happen at which stage , and how team members interact with each other , which was helpful in working on our project.



   The teamwork has been identified as a major contributory factor to the success for the companies such as P3 , charity organisation , or Lindum Group , working in construction and development industry.

   P3 is a charity organisation , helping young people in such issues as finding home , education or job. The online article from The Times archieves shows how the staff of P3 and their effort has been considered as a major factor to the success of P3. As an example , The Times used the story of P3's employee , to show how does P3 differ from other that kind of organisations. He claimed to be disenchanted with the support of the public services for the young people. When he went to one of P3 centres , he made a contact with P3 and two years later , after P3 helped him in improving his living circumstances it also offered him a job , to enable him to help others.

   P3 employs 262 people. They all claim that P3 is the best company to work for. P3's staff is confident about the leadership of their managers , full of pride , and cooperate among each other well. The staff has faith in what they are doing , and they believe that the organisation makes a positive difference to the world. They are well motivated as they feel that that they can make a valuable contribution to the success of their organisation. P3 achieves top results in six of the eight factors in which employees give their views. It shows that the teamworking in the P3 is a major factor of it's success.

   Contstruction Group Lindum considers building up a strong relation with it's staff as a important issue. Lindum's employees claim to be proud to work for the company and also that most days they don't feel exhausted when coming back from work. Over half of the company's employees are with Lindum for ten years or more.

   The communication system in the company enables the members of senior management to be on first-name terms with staff. The high level of motivation within the company is likely to to exist as a result of the way how Lindum's staff considers it's managers as they feel inspired by their chairman and think that he runs the company on sound moral principles. What is more , the employees think that the senior managers are a good listeners and inspire confidence in the workforce.

   Staff has a choice of flexible working options and ability to benefit from the occupational health programme , gym membership or holidays through the firm package.

  All of the issues mentioned above explain that the teamworking of the Construction Group Lindum's staff is a major factor on the company's success as the cooperation between the managers and the ordinary workers results in a high level of motivation , faith and understanding in the company.


Bibliography:


- Lindum Group. (2010) Best 100 Companies. [Online] March 2010. Available from: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article7030232.ece [Accessed: 25th March 2011]

- Mullins , Laurie J. (2010) Management & Organisational Behaviour. Ninth edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited , pp.342-343.

- P3 Charity. (2010) Best 100 Companies. [Online] March 2010. Available from: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article7030217.ece [Accessed: 25th March 2011]

- Stages of Team Development (Tuckman). [Online] Available from: http://www.12manage.com/methods_tuckman_stages_team_development.html [Accessed: 27th March 2011]