unit 4: effecting communication and information

    The next step would be for them to produce a person specification, which outlines the type of person they are looking for (for example: qualifications, previous experience etc.).

   WHSmith would then plan on advertising the job in a number of different places so as to attract attention towards the job opening. Advertisement is very costly and it would be in the best interests of WHSmith to get the job details and specifications absolutely spot on.

   Once all of this information has been gathered, it is then advertised in a number of places (i.e. the internet, job centre etc.). WHSmith have recently started to recruit online with an Internet based job recruiting process.

   The next step involves people applying for that specific job by providing their relevant documents, which will then be analysed by WHSmith’s Human Resources department. Applicants are then short-listed and a number of the applicants are selected. I have provided a WHSmith job application form with my assignment.

   The selected applicants will then be asked to provide references from two or more reliable sources. These would be from people like previous employers and former educational teachers.

   Those who are selected as people who seem like suitable candidates for the job will then be invited for a formal interview at a WHSmith. A senior member of staff would usually carry out this interview.

   The data that is derived from the interview is then analysed and compared to the prepared person specification.

   After a long, time-consuming process, and a lot of money being spent, the successful candidate is then offered the job. In the case of WHSmith and the job specification I have given, this candidate would have to have previous experience in a retail management position, and would basically be the person that they see as the best man/woman for the job.

P2

Employability, Personal and Communication Skills

Assistant Manager

Role

“The Assistant Manager is responsible for achieving store sales targets by leading, motivating and developing the store team to achieve sales targets and customer service standards and to support the Store Manager.”

The job role is related to the Person Specification.

Person Specification

The person specification asks for someone with the following traits:

“We are looking for a good team player, with proven retail management experience, good communication, a target driven approach plus the ambition and potential to succeed.”

These skills are all placed on the person specification for a reason.

The Personal Skills outlined here are:

• Someone who is a team player – An assistant manager will be required to work with the manager as part of a team. They also have to be a team leader, as outlined in the job role.
• Someone with a target driven approach – In a high position like this, it is necessary that an assistant manager knows how to tackle set targets and that they approach these targets whole-heartedly.
• Someone with the ambition and potential to succeed – If an assistant manager does not wish to progress, then they will not give the job their full attention. It is better that they want to, and are able to succeed so that they can have a positive impact on the business. It is also their job to motivate the store team and it would be hard to do so if he/she wasn’t motivated him/herself.

The Employability skills outlined here are:

• Someone with proven retail management experience – It is absolutely vital that someone who wants to work as an assistant manager, has some previous experience managing a store or people, and was good at doing so.

The Communication skills outlined here are:

• Someone with good communication - It is essential that, as an assistant manager, you are able to communicate well. This is due to the fact that an assistant manager is required to ‘communicate’ messages to both the manager, and the store team.

P3

Electronic and Non-Electronic methods for communicating business information

There are many different methods of communication. These can be divided into two different categories: Electronic (non-written), and Non-Electronic (written).

Methods of communication that would come under Written Communication would be things like:

• Letters
• Memos
• Reports
• Fax
• Invoices
• Flow charts
• Publicity materials
• SMS (Text Message)

Methods of communications that would come under Electronic Communication would be things along the lines of:

• Telephone
• Video conferencing
• Meetings

Both Written Communication and Electronic Communication have their advantages. These advantages differ depending on the audience which is being addressed. The recipient is very important when it comes to the type of communication that is being used.

Within The Organisation

Within the organisation the methods of communication that I would use would be things like:

• Memos – To help the staff members who are higher up on the food chain remember certain tasks that have set upon them.
• Reports – To view any progress or falls being happening within the organisation. Reports are a good way to do this as they are detailed.
• Meetings – In an organisation, it is inevitable that there will be meetings held. These are usually used to discuss improvement, the current status of the organisation, and to get staff to contribute their ideas.

Customers

These are the methods of communication that I would use to communicate with the customers:

• Publicity Materials – To tell the truth, this is an obvious one really. The way to get customers is through publicity. If your organisation is a well known one, it is more likely to prosper.
• Advertisements – In my opinion, advertisements should be used by all major and even small organisations. These should outline things like services provided and special offers to attract more customers.

Suppliers

Here are some of the methods of communications I would use to communicate with suppliers of goods etc.:

• Letters – These are a great way of communicating and people have been using them for centuries. I would use letters to communicate with suppliers because it is not a long time consuming method of communicating. You just write what you need to say, put it in an envelope, post it, and the recipient gets it the next day! Easy Peasy!
• Telephone – This is one of the simplest, most direct ways of communicating with people today. Talking with suppliers on the telephone would mean that all of the business involving matters like deliveries, times, amounts, and other things can all be sorted out in a matter of minutes.

P4

Sources of Information

External Source

This information is external (outside of the business) information that I have taken from the BBC website. Here is the link, as evidence of information:

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/fds/hi/business/market_data/shares/3/23473/twelve_month.stm

 

I have provided information on WHSmith’s share prices.

From this graph we can see the rise and fall in WHSmith’s share price value in the year 2007.

The current (exact) value of their shares on the 13th of December 2007 at 14:22 is £324.75. We can see that the peak of their share value this year was in March. The lowest point was in late November.

Internal Source

This information is internal (within the business) information that I have taken from WHSmith’s Annual report. Here is the link, as evidence of information:

http://www.whsmithplc.com/grp/WHSPLC-IR-AR07.pdf

I have provided information on WHSmith’s Profits for the years 2006 and 2007.

From this information we can see the increase in profits and the percentage increase.

We can see that their profit for the year 2006 was £51million, the profit for the year 2007 was £66million, the increase in profit was £15million, and the percentage increase is 29.41%.

Here is a column graph showing the information.

Secondary Source

Secondary information is information that I will be using. This information is already in existence, but has been gathered by other people, and not myself. I will be using information from WHSmith’s annual report. This information was gathered by WHSmith, within the corporation. Here is the link as evidence of information:

http://www.whsmithplc.com/grp/WHSPLC-IR-AR07.pdf

I have provided information on WHSmith’s Carbon Emissions for the last five years. From this we can see the increases and decreases in Carbon Emissions.

We can see that, in the period 2002/3, their Emissions were very high. In the period 2003/4, these Emissions are reduced significantly. In the period 2004/5, these Emissions are increased, and in 2005/6 they are again decreased. In the period 2006/7, these Emissions are decreased furthermore. We can see that WHSmith have successfully reduced their Carbon Emissions.

P5

Presentation of information

I have been asked to present the data aquired in three different methods.

Here is the Share Price information presented in a line graph:

Profit £million (before tax)

I will be using a column graph and a line graph to present this information.

Column Graph

Line Graph

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

I will be using a column graph and a line graph to present this information.

Column Graph

        

Line Graph

I will now be using a power point presentation to present all of this information.