Management_Theory_2_Parts_Recritment_and_Appraisils

Part A: 1 Managers of Human resources (HR) have a number of key processes that they guide staff through on a regular basis; four of these key processes are recruitment, appraisal, training and development. Part A: 1 of this essay details the links and some of the major tasks within these processes and analyses them using theory to back up the arguments made. Part A: 2 of this essay goes on to state how the processes are affected by employee‟s individual differences and how an understanding of this can benefit the managers of these processes. Each of these separate HR processes contain a vast array of underlining tasks that need to be carried out therefore, to go into detail about each of these processes is not possible within the constraints of this essay. Recruitment is used so organisations can find people that are capable of doing a job, but recruitment isn‟t only about finding a capable person, it‟s about finding the best person to do the job therefore “tests measuring personality traits such as openness and conscientiousness are used to help predict performance in many jobs.” (Franenheim, 2010, pp1) These tests assist organisations to determine people‟s personality traits in a simple manner. As there is no such thing as a wrong answer in these tests, the person being tested doesn‟t feel the pressure of getting the wrong answer and can answer the questions truthfully on how and what they believe. (An example of the type of questions that can be asked in these tests can be seen in Appendix 1) These tests have become more popular over the past few years showing how the HR processes are ongoing. Appraisals are used in industry to show how an employee is performing within an organisation and how they can improve further. Over the past few years appraisals have increased in popularity and are now a key feature of organisations as companies realise that these types of systems can increase competitive advantage and productivity. This is because appraisals have the benefit of “improving motivation and moral, clarifying expectations and reducing ambiguity about performance, determining rewards, identifying training and development opportunities, improving communication, discipline and setting goals and targets.” (Bratton and Gold, 2007, pp284) Even with all these benefits appraisal systems are a controversial issue between members of staff as every employee will have their own view and reaction to the feedback they receive from an appraisal. The reasons for this is explained in Part B. Training is carried out to help improve employees up to and above the minimum standards for a company Gallaghan and Thompson (2002) carried out a study into call centres and presented their findings in a journal and they said that “out of every 10,000 calls the target is that only three should produce complaints... under performing CSRs (Customer Service Representatives) can be sent back to the training area to improve their skills.” (pp246) This study shows how companies use training as a method to improve their employees up to the company standard rather than just laying them off. Training based on enhancement or teaching of a new skill can be very effective but training to improve skills such as interpersonal or management skills can be far more difficult, the reasons for this are explained in Part B. The four on-going processes are very closely linked. There is a great deal of overlap between them and the processes that lay behind them, for example Recruitment and Training. Recruitment is quoted as being about “generating a pool of capable people to apply for employment to an organisation.” (Bratton and Gold, 2007, pp245) Yet in essence so is training, as it has “two predominant connotations: the acquisition of skills for specific tasks from lower level to higher level and remedial responses to defects in performance that is, bringing staff up to a level of competence rather than taking them beyond it.” (Partington and Stainton, 2003 pp2) Training has therefore been used to bring the skills of existing employees up to standard to create “a pool” of capable people to do a specific task just like the reasons for why organisations go through the recruitment process; however this is just one example of the HR processes over lapping. Training and development are very similar and difficult to separate from one another, my research into these processes found the only way I was able to differentiate them, is that I was led to believe that training was part of development, as in training you have to be taught how to do something, while development is personal and can happen through natural progression as skills developed due to experience or through being taught something in the process of training. However employees also experience natural progression through appraisals and recruitment as they have gained new experiences in their life. For example: the phrase “to support staff in evaluation of their professional development...through the recognition of need-gaps in their work.” (Partington and Stainton, 2003, pp67) could explain both appraisal and development showing the link between the processes and how it is difficult to divide these processes and how they are more like a web and are all interlinked. Part A: 2 Having discussed the processes in the previous paragraphs, this essay now goes on to link each section with how understanding aspects of how employees individual differences can allow the managers of the HR processes to be more effective. An understanding of individual differences will allow these aspects to be carried out more efficiently and have a greater effect on the employees and the organisation. In the modern world people have their own likes, dislikes, hobbies, opinions and beliefs all affecting people‟s personalities creating each person‟s own individual differences. The study carried out by Gallaghan and Thompson (2002) as previously quoted in Part A:1 also states that in the case of this company they have found that “customer service. That‟s not a skill. That‟s in you. It‟s the attitude towards customers...A positive attitude towards working...A positive attitude, and enjoy what you do.” (Gallaghan and Them, 2002, pp240 does not exist) Therefore, when recruiting new people into the organisation this company is looking for people who are “very, very enthusiastic.” (Gallaghan and Thompson, 2002, pp240) This is one way managing individual differences can help them make the right decision when it comes to recruitment. Each organisation has its own way of operating and a lot of research has been carried out by famous academics such as Fredric Taylor who believed workers should be “paid to work and not to think.” (Knights, 2007, pp385) This is now being challenged by new theorists such as Sally Dench that believe the most highly trained and educated worker isn‟t always the best person for the job this is because employers are now interested in people with the skills to be “a „team player‟, the ability to relate to customers and clients, taking initiative, taking responsibility and making decisions.” (Dench, 1997, pp190) as well as having the skills to do the job, indicating how HR processes has developed over the years. The way in which employee‟s best learn is a crucial to help managers of HR make the right choice when it comes to making decisions on training, whether it‟s to train new or existing staff, it doesn‟t matter. Managers of HR need to know the best way to train the employees so they can get the most out of the training they are given. There are many different types of training this is mainly because there are many different ways in which people learn as stated in the work by Riding & Rayner, (1998). “One problem with training is that it is completely ineffective unless the individual concerned really want to be involved.” (Makin and Cox, 2004, pp25) and if a employee knows that the training method they have been given to learn by isn‟t as effective as if they had been taught a different way they wont want to be involved and the training will be ineffective. Again without managers understanding individual differences they will be unable to make available training effective as possible double papers. Managers of HR may decide to give more training to unmotivated employees to improve their performance and less to highly motivated employees as they believe they do not need the training. This however can have a negative effect on the highly motivated employees if they see an employee receiving training courses that they believe should be given to them, given to a member of staff that doesn‟t work as hard as them. From my research I believe one of the reasons for this could be due to levels of „jealousy‟ that can accrue in the work place based on people‟s individual differences as seen in the book published by B, Adams (1997). Showing another type of difference between people that managers of HR need to be aware of as the employees within organisations are constantly changing therefore so are the processes. Appraisals are highly controversial because even though they are becoming a more common. The variety of effects that appraisals can have on members of staff is so great, not all companies can justify their benefits. From my own experience of giving appraisals to members of staff, I found that people giving appraisals need to give employees targets to improve, often though employees become cynical because they feel they are unhappy with what‟s been said creating a negative relationship between the employees and the manager. Whereas some people see the appraisal for what its meant to be and push themselves to improve further whether the feedback is positive or not. The way people respond to an appraisal depends on their character and understanding therefore managers of HR will need to “know‟ their people as individuals.” (Bratton and Gold, 2007, pp286) In conclusion Part A of this essay has shown a general analysis of how an understanding of employee‟s individual differences can help managers of HR with these overlapping processes. Showing how these ongoing processes are constantly changing along with employee‟s attitudes and without a clear understanding of the individual differences, Managers of HR will find it difficult to if you are reading this the person who has submiteed this has copy and pasted carry out these processes successfully. Therefore I believe from the research I have gathered that an understanding of these differences is essential for managers to carryout these ongoing processes of recruitment, appraisal, training and development. Part B This part of the essay, details how the understanding of individual differences as discussed in Part A can benefit the managers of Junction Hotel and aid them with carrying out the four HR processes outlined. From the management workouts I have completed around Junction Hotel it is clear to see that the individual differences and processes I have looked into have been a part of the Junction Hotel development over time. This was highlighted by the way different members of staff embraced the changes introduced as the hotel joined the chain of Hilvomada Hotels. This is because to make Junction Hotel fit the “Hilvomada „culture‟ which is summarised by the phrase „luxurious, courteous, dependable.‟” (MW, 7) members of staff had to under go training into the way Hilvomada ran their hotels. “James Twist the head chef at the Nottingham M1 branch would be seconded to Junction... to work with the kitchen and waiting staff to bring about the transition.” (MW, 7) As well as fill in the gap left by Graham Effingham, who “flatly refused to have anything to do this paper is copy and pasted with the standardised menu and walked out.” (MW,7) The use of James Twist shows how Hilvomada use a leadership method of training to train kitchen and waitering staff. Jill Harvey who was quoted as having a “laissez-fair” (MW, 8) attitude in one management workout embraced the new structure and received a promotion due to her ability to adapt to the changes introduced assisted by the changes in management structure. Showing how the individual differences between Jill and Graham caused different reactions; Jill showing the ability to embrace and Effingham showing none. From a recruitment point of don‟t copy me in management workout 8, we were asked to look at 3 potential candidates to takeover some of the roles of Adam Chance. All three candidates had a very different way of believing how an organisation should be led showing each of the three types of leadership, autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. This shows how even for the same job role individual differences can shape how people believe a role should be done. (MW, 8) Therefore it is important for employers to get an idea of how employees will carryout their jobs so they can decide which candidate is not only qualified for the job but will do the job in a manner approved by the organisation. In conclusion this essay has shown how individual differences play a great role in the success of an organisation and to successfully carry out the four human resources processes an understanding of individual differences is crucial. A company with well managed HR processes can have massive competitive benefits over another due to the higher levels of productivity and efficiency of its work force. Throughout any individual‟s time in an organisation it is crucial for managers of human resources to be aware of the traits and differences of their employees. To do this as stated in Part A “they will need to „know‟ their people as individuals.” (Bratton and Gold, 2007, pp286)