Performance Management - week 22

   One of the commonly used methods of performance management is the appraisal. BusinessDictionary.com explain the performance appraisal as ''process by which a manager or consultant examines and evaluates an employee's work behavior by comparing it with preset standards, documents the results of the comparison, and uses the results to provide feedback to the employee to show where improvements are needed and why''. It also says that ''performance appraisals are employed to determine who needs what training, and who will be promoted, demoted, retained, or fired''.
   When working as a junior mechanic at the garage , I have had an appraisal when working there for a month. It was carried out by the senior mechanic , who has been responsible for the department of the garage that I worked in. The senior mechanic started with questions about the work I have already finished. He wanted to know if I had any problems with that work and if yes , the way how I solved them. After my explanation regarding the small amount of problems I met , he was glad that I knew how to solve them in fast and efficient way. He told me that I was good at it. He shown me the timetables of the department and explained what to do to improve the working pace , even though he told me that it was good. He also presented the objectives that were to be done within the next months and clearly stated what was going to be expected from me. To give me additional information , I have been told about personal changes in the department.
   I found that appraisal effective. The senior mechanic wanted to make sure that by the right use of it , my work would improve without a negative impact on my motivation. By creating the objectives , he wanted to improve my performance , saying that it already was good. To show me that I am being treated as a proper employee without any signs of age discrimination , he was very serious. What is more , he was honest , had a proper knowledge to answer every question I asked him and used the clear language to make sure that I understood his points.

   Mentor is a person that supports and encourages people. He does it personally to others , by one to one consultation. It's a person trying to pass his experiences and teach other people how to use their skills properly to be more successful.
   To be an effective mentor , a high level of communication skills is required. No matter how big is the organisation that mentor works within , it's impossible for him to be effective when being shy and uncomfortable about working with people. To make proper use of his knowledge and skills , he has to create an interesting way to show other people how to develop their skills. Thus , they would be able to be a better employees , managers etc. Effective mentor should also be able to set up challenges between people that he works with. Challenges created by mentors could improve productivity as when working on issues with an experienced mentor , people would be able to see the way how to work on them , and gain the attitude from him. For example , in business organisation , people could learn how to solve problems easily on a simulations of rivalry between the teams , and in future be more effective with that experience.
   Mentoring requires also the ability to have a positive impact on people from different experience backgrounds. No matter if mentor is working with retail company employees , accountants or marketing managers , he should have the ability to improve their skills by the right presentation of his attitude to issues. Mentors having such ability can show the issues that are not industry-specific to people from different industries.

   My father has always been a mentor to me. Ever since I was a little kid , I wanted to be as good at everything as my dad or even better. He helped me in changing my lifestyle when I was sixteen years old. I used to have serious problem with sweets and normal food , and my parents were not able to control me at one point. My dad found a way to solve that problem. He explained that when carrying on with that lifestyle , I could have serious problems with health. The way he explained it to me was really serious and I remember that I realized how serious was that situation. My dad decided that he will hire a personal fitness coach , but not be one of that parents that don't care when have somebody to take care of their child. He also decided that he will join me , and we will excersise four times in a week together. Within three years , I lost twenty-seven kilograms of my body weight , I was able to bench press one hundred and twenty-five kilograms , and run for six kilometres on a forest track. My lifestyle changed completely.
   I started to train quadcross , which is a powersport discipline , when competitors race each other with quadbikes on a tracks full of jumps and hills. My fitness' level was increasing fastly. My dad provided me with everything I needed to do that sport , he went on trainings with me four times a week , and put much effort to make me as good as he was able to. Everytime I had a bad moment , he was there to motivate me. After three years of quadbike racing , I was known in Polish powersport environment as a good rider , and I started to compete at European Championship Rallys , and went for a international rally in Morroco.
   Nowadays , I am doing my university degree in England. My parents are in Poland , but my dad still supports me. When starting my degree I was anxious , because I didn't know if I was going to handle university work , and I had a bad moments with a lack of motivation. Again , my dad was there to motivate me and he even told me , that if it really is that bad , change your university. Although , he knew that I will not do that , because he was ensured about mine habit of no resigning , as he was the one that made that habit in me.
   My father was always a mentor to me. He was always there when I needed him. He explained every single issue that I wanted him to. Although being a chief executive of a international transport company , he put a lot of time and effort to save my life as my lifestyle was really harmful until I reached the age of sixteen. He had the proper knowlegde , skills and experience to explain everything with arguments , and basis from his experience. He also had a big impact on me , when it came to the national history of Poland. He spend hours to tell me the facts about the numeorus wars that Poland took part in , about other countries slaving or betraying Polish nation. My dad wanted me to be a patriot with proper values. He told me to fight for what's mine , never resign and to be a good person. I consider myself to be lucky to have such mentor as my father is.


Bibliography:

• Definition of the performance appraisal. (2011)  Business Dictionary.[Online] Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/performance-appraisal.html [Accessed: 7th April 2011]

• Entrepreneurs. (2008) Times Online. [Online] April 2008. Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/performance-appraisal.html [Accessed: 7th April 2011]

Communication and Involvement - week 26

   ''The main purpose of EIP is to make workers feel like active participants in what happens in the workplace.''  Foot , M. and Hook , C. (2008)

   Foot , M. and Hook , C. (2008) explains , that there is a range of methods to achieve this. They are divided into representative and direct methods. Representative methods , often reffer to employee participation , whereas direct methods often reffer to employee involvement.
   Employee involvement , which policies are often carried out through the direct methods , includes communications targeted straight at employees , and a variety of other techniques involving individuals or groups of employees. The practices of employee involvement try to get employees to understand how important the goals are for the organisation they work for. What is more , employees are clearly presented the plan set by the management , which attempts to make employees committed to their work.
   On the other hand , employee participation , focuses on groups within the organisation and their different points of view. It allows employees to take part in the decision-making process at higher levels. The policies of employee participation are often carried out through the represantative methods.
   What makes the difference between employee participation and employee involvement is that employee participation doesn't allow employees to be involved into decision-making process and communications directly and individually , but through the representatives , that have been elected to put the workers' view forward. As explained before , employee involvement is not cascaded by represantatives , it's focused on more individual approach on explaining the importance of organisation's goals and agenda to the employees.

   Nando's is a chain of restaurants serving peri peri chicken dishes. It's ranked as the best company to work for in UK by The Times. The human resources director of Nando's , Julia Claydon explained , that about 75% of her budget is invested in learning and development. That works out at about 45 hours of training annually per employee, at an average cost of £425. The times shows an example of how Nando's involves it's employees in decision-making process. The magazine described the example of and ordinary employee , whose first job in UK was a job in Nando's , and his way from being a regular cleaner to working in firm's central support team thans to the firm's internal and external courses. What is more , Nando's support for that person was even further as the company had given him a paid time off and help with tuituon fees to complete a full-time business degree at university. Thus . Nando's involved one of the regular employees into it's decision-making process. He explains , that "decisions are not always made from the top, they will listen to everyone in the company and to have someone who will listen to what you have to say even when you are the cleaner, shows how it can motivate a person within a company.''

   Michael Watson , the account manager of Softcat , IT solutions company , explains the atmosphere inside the company. He claims , that it's all about the team , and that there is a massive sense of pulling together. Services partner specialist , David Francis says , that ''everyone wants to do well for the company.''
   Peter Kelly , the founder of the company , got his workforce organisation idea , when running the 17th mile of a marathon. He lets his employees to choose the team that they want to join , and claims that it works positively. Ever since , staff have had a vote on company-wide decisions. There was an anxious attitude of one of the managers , but after seeing that staff voice is heard , managers are doing more listening than telling.
It shows , how a different approach to communication between a regular workers and the managers can improve the team's attitude in the company.

   Iceland Frozen Foods , is a retailing company , specialised in fronzen food. The Times presents the article about the Iceland's staff , in which they measure levels of different factors of the staff's opinions. All of the factors from the article show that majority of the employees trust their senior management and feel motivated.
To involve it's employees into decision-making process , Iceland's directors and senior managers visit stores regularly and interact with employees. Representatives of the retail staff meet with regional and area managers to discuss ideas or issues at regular Talking Shop meetings. What is more , Iceland's chief executive , Malcolm Walker hosts an annual nationwide version , where employees can ask questions or make recommendations to him directly. Thus , Iceland can gain inspiration from it's employees , and its staff knows that the senior management of the company knows about the importance of their opinion and wants to use it on a positive basis for the development of the company.

   Many organisations are now using social networking sites as a means of involving both already employed staff and potentional recruits. Most of the social networking sites require registration before being able to research on them. The most popular social networking sites , use by the organisations to involve their employees and potentional recrutis are the ones from online recruitment. When researching at the most popular websites such as Facebook or MySpace , which are not a par of online recruitment , the things that I was able to see , were the following:

•  on Facebook: the branch of researched organisations nearest me and the amount of users that like that organisation.

• on MySpace: a small amount of pictures connected to the researched organisation and users being friends with the page of the researched organisation. Hardly any information available.

   However , when researching on less famous social networking websites being a part of online recruitment networking  , I found more information. Researching a job opportunities for accountant in London at fish4jobs network , I found two different job position for the same company , but in different branches. Already employed people , are able to see other opportunities and apply for them. Information about required qualifications is provided most of the time. What is more , potential recruits can gain important information when looking at the job description.
   Another social networking website that I have researched , was Absolvent.pl. Being registered user of that website , made the research much easier , as I knew that famous international companies were using it , as I have been send e-mails with adverts of job offers from that kind of companies. Like on fish4jobs , there are many different job posistions available in the same companies in variety of locations. And similarly to fish4jobs both employed staff and potential recrutis are able to gain information about a variety of new job opportunities. It might be very helpful for already employed people if they want to move to a different place as they are able to see a locations of branches with availability of job positions.

   In conclusion , both employee involvement and employee participation was developed to made employees feel like active participants in their organisations. However , there is a difference between the approaches of employee involvement and employee participation and the difference exists also between the methodology of practice in each factor. Organisations use a range of means to involve their staff in the decision-making process. They can develop their managers from regular workers , organise meetings to get to know the points of their employees , let their employees elect a representatives or develop more ways to involve their staff in the decision-making process. Many organisations use social networking sites to involve their already employed staff or potentional recruits. However , the most known social networking sites contain unimportant informations , whereas websites from online recruitment enable already employed people to explore numbers of new opportunities in the organisations they work for , and give important informations about the organisations and job positions to potentional recruits.

Bibliography:

•  Absolvent. (2011) Praca dla Studentów i Absolwentów , Praktyki i Staże. [Online] Available at: http://www.absolvent.pl/ [Accessed: 5th April 2011]

• fish4jobs. (2011) UK jobs and London jobs. [Online] Available at: http://www.fish4.co.uk/ [Accessed: 6th April 2011]

• Foot , M. , Hook , C. (2008) Introducing Human Resource Management. Fifth Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited , pp.70-71. 

• Iceland Frozen Foods. (2010) Best 100 Companies. [Online] March 2010. Available at: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article7029115.ece [Accessed: 6th April 2011]

• Nando's. (2010) Best 100 Companies. [Online] March 2010. Available at: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article7029090.ece [Accessed: 6th April 2011]

• Softcat. (2010) Best 100 Companies. [Online] February 2010. Available at: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article7027857.ece [Accessed: 6th April 2011]

Selection - week 20

   ''Organisations recognise the crucial part their peopleplay in achieving and sustaining a competetive edge , and they are therefore aware of the need to attract the people of the right calibre.'' Foot , M. and Hook , C. (2008)

    The organisation that I am familiar with is Polish international transport company , AMRO Logistics. Having iterviewed the chief executive and one of the senior managers of the company , I gained informations about the three methods of the selection use in the company.

   ''It is amazing how many managers still claim to be good judges of character and ability based on very short acquaintance. These managers will tell you that within a few minutes the can tell whether they are going to get on with someone , and whether that person will do well in the job.'' Foot , M. and  Hook , C. (2008)

   The rec
   First method is interview. The company uses it , when they want to meet the applicants that applied for their job positions through the internet or phone calls , and have no refferences or their refferences are not from reliable sources. What makes the interview a good method for the company is that it enables the interviewers meet the applicants personally and gain the informations regarding their refferences and not only.
   The interviewers claimed to start their interviews with a small talk and some easy questions , and also said that when doing it , they always try to look and sound interested in what they say and remain eye contact. Thus , they create the proper atmosphere for the interview making the interviewed applicant show his true emotions. Carrying such interview , they are able to fairly assess their applicants as people without refferences have chance to show their communication and interpersonal skills , and also their body language and behavioural habits , whereas people with refferences looking like faked ones or being given from non reliable sources are being assessed in case of their sincerity and fairness in both life and workplace.
   However , the interview has also cons of its efficiency. Interviewers are likely to gain positive or negative information to support their first impressions as the applicants may be trying to do everything they can to be hired , for example creating a false experience memories , or act the way they don't act naturally. Interview is not recorded , so there is a lack of comparison of fairness between carried interviews. It makes the interviewers able to hire in their own image. Thus , the interview is subjective as the aspects of an individual are not always fully assessed. What is more , the interview is likely to be interrupted if carried in the office.

    Another selection method used by the AMRO Logistics is the psychological test. It is used , when the company is in need of a small number of new employees , but highly-qualified and there is a large amount of applicants for that positions. After interviewing them , the senior management of AMRO wants to gain more information about a range of individual abilities and traits.
   What makes the pros of that method , is that the psychological tests are professionally developed and checked by proper organisation that AMRO has the experience of working with. They are administered and scored in a standardised manner. Through the right use of that tests , the senior management of AMRO Logistics is able to test both maximum performance and habitual performance , and the results (scores) can be compared to norms. There is a high level of fairness in psychological testing. All applicants answer the same questions in the same conditions and the scores of tests are not open to individual interpretation , whereas interviews are. Psychological testing covers a range of human characteristics and carrying such tests enables to assess personality , intelligence , ability , interest and motivation of applicants. Thus , the selection in AMRO Logistics , enables its managers to choose the right people on more fair basis than only after carrying the interview.
   However , psychological testing has also it's cons. It is not a resonable source when used as the only selection method. It's impossible to assess interpersonal skills of applicants through that tests as it's easy for people to write that they can be very good in teamworking or customer service , when they have to answer questions on paper sheet , whereas for real , they might be shy and stressful most of the time.
   ''There is a vast amount of research that underpins the development of commercially produced tests , including proofs of their reliability and validity. If this is properly documented , the user of the tests can rest assured that the tests will improve the validity of the selection process.'' Foot , M. and Hook , C. (2008)

   The third selection method used by AMRO Logistics is the criminal record check. Every single employee has to be checked in case of criminal records. Senior management of the company claims that they have to trust their personnel , and they never would , if they had a criminal record as they had a bad experience with giving people a second chance. There used to be an examples of stealing money , customers and database , that members of staff wanted to use against the company.
   ''Employers are entitled to ask potential employees the question: 'Do you have a criminal record?''' Foot , M. and Hook , C. (2008)
   Learning from that experience , AMRO's managers treat the criminal record checks very seriously. The company cooperates with the Criminal Records Bureau , and the applicants are aware that they will be checked on the issue of criminal records. Such checks enable employers to see if their potential workers commited any crimes in their past and knowing about the contents of that records , or lack of contents provides employers with a knowledge , if the applicant has a trustworthy personality or not.
What is more , criminal record checks are the best selection method to use , if employers (like in AMRO) want to make sure that the applicants never had nothing to do with criminal organisations as such information is significant if company doesn't want to be stolen from , or have a member of a 'mafia' in their personnel.
   On the other hand , criminal record checks have also disadvantages. If the company uses it to assess their applicants past cirminal records , it must be aware of a 'generality' of law. Some people can have serious crimes on their criminal records , as they had to take responsibility for their teenage children that have commited a crime. Using criminal record checks , companies must make sure that the applicant can explain some of the contents of the criminal records as some contents don't have to be as serious as written.

   The interview I have taken part in and has a special place in my memory  has been carried out when I was thirteen years old. That time I was already learning English for about seven years and I wanted to develop my skills in that school. It has been almost seven years since it happened , but I still remember that interview very clearly because I have been rejected. However , the principal of the school told my parents that they had to reject me because they had no such advanced classes in that age groups and they were not allowed to put me with much older students. Although , I still think that the interview for that class was very efficient.
   Before the interview was carried out , I have been informed about the place and I could choose the date and time. There was more interviews that day and the school personnel , provided me with a suitable waiting area. Thus , there was a good first impression about that school taking care about it's potential students. The office , where the interview has been carried out , was big and there was a table with the same size of chairs , so there were no status barriers.
   The interviewer , was a native English speaker , so it was clearly stated , that my English skills were going to be checked by a quaified person. He started a small talk and then asked some easy questions about my school and my skills at the begining and later he asked some more specified questions to test my reactions. After every question , the interviewer made sure that I understood what he meant and given me enough time to express myself. Creating a good atmosphere by remaining proper eye contact and asking a variety of questions  , that interview was very efficient as interviewer gained needed information , and had given me the answer after a couple of minutes after finishing it.
   The principal of that school was able to explain how the situation looked like when they had to reject me , as he had shown me and my parents the files and the results from my interview. The interview must have been efficient as the principal presented every point with the argument based on the interview results.

   To improve selection process in AMRO Logistics , I would put more methods into their selection system. Despite already having interviews , psychological testing and criminal record checks , I would add work sample testing and further refference checks.
   After the interview , employers get to know the applicants personally and develop their own impressions and opinions. Then , they choose a group of people that will take part in their psychological test. Having the scores of that test , AMRO's senior management decides who is the best for the job , and choose also a couple optional people to check their criminal record. After carrying out that checks , the managers take their final decision and offer a job to the chosen applicant.
   In my opinion , it would be better if the senior management of the company would put a little more effort in getting to know its potential employees. After checking the criminal records , they should choose a group of applicants and put them into the work sampe testing. Getting the candidates to perform the full tasks or elements of tasks of the job , managers would have an opportunity to see how the applicants understand their job and what is the level of their real skills. Then , managers should arrange a meeting or call the previous employers of the applicants that attracted them the most to gain the last bit of information.
   Carrying this two more selection methods would give much more information to AMRO's senior management and would surely improve it's selection process.

   To sum up , organisations are using a range of selection methods to choose the proper people for their job positions. AMRO Logistics uses interviews , psychological testing and criminal record checks putting all of that method into a system enabling its senior management to choose the best applicants. However , all of that methods have both pros and cons of it's fairness. Interview , that I have taken part in , have been efficient thanks to the professionalism of the interviewer and the proper interviewing system preparation in that organisation. To improve the selection process in the organisations like AMRO , methods , such as work sample tests and further refference tests should be added. It would give even more information to the people responsible for selection and make their decision-making process easier.


Bibliography:

• Foot , M. , Hook , C. (2008) Introducing Human Resource Management. Fifth Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited , pp.142-219.

• Rostowski , K.B. , Bartkowiak , W. Selection Process in AMRO Logistics. [Interview] Buckinghamshire New University with K.Rostowski. 3rd April 2011.