Responsibility-Each member within their group has their own roles and responsibilities. It is the responsibility of each individual to complete their own tasks and contribute towards the group and the team members.
Personal Attributes-Business Skills
Different business skills are required for specific jobs, however they are all as important as each other and usually these are regarded as general skills. These skills could be used in day to day jobs.
Verbal Communications- For an employee to have good verbal communication they must be able to convey messages usually through speech clearly and concisely. They must choose their words professionally and make sure that the listener knows what the speaker is trying to say. The speaker must use vivid language to insure that the listener doesn’t get confused. The speaker needs to minimalize their use of slang words.
Numerical Skills- This is having the ability to add figures to a speech or to normal work, an employee must have basic numeracy skills
Computing Skills- this is being able to demonstrate skills such as word-processing, using databases, spread sheets, the internet and email etc. Being able to adapt this skill within the work environment is very important, even if the task is difficult but an employee has the correct skills then it will be easy to complete task with correct skill set.
Body Language- This is having the ability to communicate with other employees and customers through without using verbal communication. Examples are using hand gestures to show and emphasis a point such as a thumps up to show that it is correct. Nodding the head to show that you understand the point being made.
Listening- showing an understanding of what the speaker is trying to portray also accurately hearing what the speaker is trying to say and paying attention to the task so that later on there is no need for explanation.
Motivating and supporting- giving and showing to support to other employees, to show that you care and giving encouragement to others who are unsure about a task or are unhappy for some reason. Praising and urging others to show commitment to the work.
Telephone Skills- being able to communicate with customers and others in a calm way, also keeping a conversation to a professional standard even if there are language barrier problems or if a customer is causing a fuss. Also if it is regular telephone work then thinking and collaborating about ways in advance about the telephone skills.
Gathering Information- asking questing and being broad if you don’t understand something and to make sure that you get what the task is about. To summarise the work and the task this is basically showing that you care and understand about the work.
Giving and Accepting Criticism- if you have done something wrong then saying “sorry” in a professional and in a genuine way. If someone has views against you then you should accept it and collaborate on the work instead of arguing with them back. Allowing matters in the public and open so that they can be dealt with instead of keeping the problem inside and letting it build up over time.
Persuading and negotiating- This is when you back up your work or point of view with evidence and facts this could also include logic: this is when you use your tactics when someone disagrees with you. Also you should include both sides of an argument make a reliable judgement.
Personal Attributes-Independent Workers
Most jobs value employees who are able to work on their own without any help, people able to work on their own do their own research and can clearly show to their employers that they are a worthy employee. Usually independent workers can work independently as well as work efficiently in a team and play key roles in order to do their job at the very best. Independent workers can usually work under pressure this means meeting short deadlines so that their work can benefit the company quickly. Also they take responsibly for tasks and their own work.
Independent- This is when you can work independently without relying on others. An independent worker can work under pressure, meet the time frame and also they take responsibly for their own work and actions.
Self-awareness- An independent worker knows his/hers weaknesses so that they can work on them, they know how to meet their aims and make their own deadlines and action plans. They know when to ask for help when they have not met their requirements or need help.
Self-Motivation- when an employee is strongly motivated this means that it will be easier for them to stay focused to not get distracted by other factors such as social media, keep to the task so that they don’t give up and to work long hours without complaint.
Enthusiastic- This is when the employee shows that he cares about his job and shows genuine interest in the job. An enthusiastic person is a person that is willing to share their knowledge with others and is willing to help.
Personal Attributes-Personal Skills (flexibility/determination/career Minded)
These are about how an employee can amend themselves and work under pressure sometimes do things that they may not expect such as tidy up or staying behind extra hours, employers want this from their employees as it is a vital skill.
Flexibility- This is when an employer expects something extra from their employees; the employees must be able to work without any problems. The employee must be able to adapt to the changing environments. All employers expect their employees to become flexible as they may ask them to stay back and work long hours or even come in the weekends, the employees must be able to accept this and work efficiently without any hesitation as this will show the employer that the employee is dedicated to the work. In some cases the employees may not get paid, they may have to be flexible and accept the fact. Overall a good and successful company/business has flexible staff with excellent skills.
Determination- Here the employee has to work hard and work efficiently to show to the employer that the employee cares for their job and takes into consideration. The ambition of the employee comes into practice. They want to work hard and get things done correctly. Determination comes into two points:
-
Hardworking- This sort of employees want to work hard and get the work done on time. They work in a group efficiently and don’t hesitate to ask about their work when in doubt.
-
Drive- This is having motivation whilst doing the work and pushing yourself to the limits and to be able to work under pressure. Having the willingness to work extremely well and finding better ways to do the work. An employee with drive inspires the company and others to do well.
Career Minded- Employees who are career minded care about the work that they do and give their full ability to learn about the work and improve their current skills. They present a strong image about their company. Career Minded fall under this:
-
Personal Impact/Confidence- This is about an employee and how they represent their work, they must portray a professional and a positive image towards the workplace. From this they can inspire others to do well and make others confident so that they can do what is expected from them.
-
Lifelong Learning- these are skills that used and learned throughout life, this also shows to the employer that the employee is willing to learn and develop their skills to become better at their work. This is then applied to the work and this helps the business do better, employers like this because then others can learn and pickup from these skills, the employee can help others to develop their skills as well for example in team work.
Personal Attributes-Personal Abilities
These are personal skills and show the employer what an employee is capable of and if an employee can meet the work ethos and requirements. These include many skills which all rely on the dependently of the employee and how they can amend to the ethos of the workplace and help others to achieve it too.
Punctuality- This means coming to the workplace on time and keeping that consistent, employers like employees who come to work on time. This also means meeting deadlines on time and bringing work in when it is due. Not coming on time will get the employer annoyed and also affect the business this will make an employee unreliable and make the work harder for others.
Respectful- Sometimes an employee may not agree with the employer or even an employee, then the employee cannot be disrespectful to them but just be reasonable and do the work which will be better for all of them. Although employees may have a joke with each it is the acceptance of the joke that matters.
Integrity- Here the employee must obey and follow the laws and procedures of the workplace, such as fire procedures. This also includes a sense of trust between the employee and the employers, they must know that the employee will not be inappropriate and get influenced badly by others.
Fairness- This when the employee treats others fairly and sticks to the rules without having a negative effect on others.
Dependability- This is when an employer has trust in an employee and knows that the employee will do the work well, the employer puts in their trust in them, the employer intrusts an employee in many ways such as giving them extra tasks which could get them promoted or putting in their trust so that they will complete the work on time.
Reliable- Here the employer will put in their trust when they expect you to do the work and they know that the employee will complete it. The employer knows the capability of the employee and aims to the standard which means that they know the level of effort of them.
Professionalism- The employee does the work to the best of their ability in a professional standard, does the work to the best of work. This includes not having out of work talks with others and doesn’t have visitors in the work place which affects their quality of work.
Stress tolerance- Here the employee must be able to work under pressure but still be able to have the quality of work. The employee maintains the work quality and doesn’t let out of work factors affect their work quality.
Legislation
The Equality Act
This act protects people from protected characteristics. These characteristics can protect many people such as disability, age, race etc. This act helps them achieve equal opportunities at work and in the outside world. This act shows different ways in which is unlawful to treat someone, such as discrimination. Examples could be a company doesn’t employ a foreign national or paying someone less compared to someone doing the same job.
Health and safety at work act (1974)
the equipment, conditions- environment, compensation and general welfare. This act was made to provide a safe working enviroment for employees, employers and the general public.
This act protects the public, employees and employers. This is when the business has to provide a safe working environment for them. The safe working environment must have good conditions such as clean places and other necessities such as Air Conditioning for its employees if it is too hot. The equipment that they provide for the workplace must be in good condition and safe for employees to use. They must provide them with equipment which must be checked by professionals such as electrical safety. Also if the employees in the workplace are doing work such as construction work, then the must provide them with the correct safety equipment to keep them safe. The act was made to protect people from hazards and help them stay safe.
Data protection Act (1998)
This act allows and gives people the right to know what information their employers hold on them such as criminal record, medical records .etc. This act also gives them the right to correct any information on them that is wrong. For example they had a wrong conviction on an employee then the employee has the right to tell the business that it is wrong provided with evidence. Also businesses have to protect and safeguard information and files held on people.
Human rights Act (1998)
The human rights act gives rights and freedom to people and employees under European Convention on Human Rights. This act has been put in place to protect the public as a whole (nation), for example everyone has the right to work.
Copyright legislation
Gives creators of media rights to control how they are used and distributed (music, books, video and software). This means that no one has the right to distribute or sell the works of another person without paying for it and getting permission from the owner.
Computer Misuse Act 1990
Protect data about customers, employees and stop hacking. This law has been put up to stop hackers from hacking and retrieving personal and other data. This law also states that viruses must not be put up on other computers to cause damage or theft of data.
Contracts of Employment
This act states that employers must provide employees with contacts of their job and the roles involved within the business. The contact must contain the terms of the job and must be valid for the employee to hold.
Disability act
This act also comes under the equality act. The act states that if a person is disabled but still able to complete and do the job without hassle. The employee has the right to work for that business only if he is able to. Employers must monitor their employee’s behaviour and general health to make sure that the job doesn’t affect them in a bad way. The must not treat them differently and make them fit into the business as if they were a normal person.
Computer Misuse Act 1990- In Detail
Computer misuses are criminal offences which are committed using a computer. The computer misuse act 1990 was designed to protect the integrity of computer systems by stopping hackers. They could use, steal and damage information. Offences under the act include hacking, unauthorised access to computer systems and purposefully spreading malicious and damaging software (malware), such as viruses.
This was then broken down into 3 parts:
- Unauthorised access to computer programs or data (level 1)
- Unauthorised access with a criminal intent (level 2)
- Unauthorised modification of computer material (level 3)
The first part is when someone gains access to data or a computer: this can sometimes be without the proper intent to steal the data. Even access the data without permission is an offence which is still an offence. This offence is known as a summary offence and penalties are limited to 6 months imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of £5000. An example could be a student decided to hack into SIMs to show off to his friends without the intent to do anything else such as change grades.
The second part is when someone gains access to a computer or data with the intent to change or alter data then this is a level 2 offence. This is a more serious offence and a person doing this can be jailed for at least 5 years and unlimited fines. Carrying on from the previous example now the student hacks into the school register SIMs to change his grade but fails to find the correct file or gets stopped by the schools anti-hacking system. This is now a level 2 offence because now the student had the intention to alter or change data.
The final part of the Act is the unauthorised modification of information and computer material. This could be infecting the computer with a virus, stealing information or altering information. This is the highest level offence; this offence can carry fines up to £5000 and imprisonment of at a maximum of 10 years. An example could now be that the student later gains access to the computer and data and figures out a way to get past the school firewall and starts to alter his grades and steal student’s data.
In summary the Computer Misuse Act prevents hackers and people from accessing data and gaining access to computer without permission, this could also include stealing, changing or causing damage to data and computers. The Act protects companies because it stops hackers from gaining unauthorised access to computers. This stops hackers from stealing information from companies and stops them from spreading malicious software such as viruses which can damage their computers. Before companies used to get hacked but they could not do anything about it because there was no law in place so the police could not act against them but now there is a law in place and it protects the companies and their information from being breached or stolen.
To reduce the chance of these happening businesses should use anti-viruses to remove any viruses from computers such as Trojans which allows hackers to perform various tasks on ones computers without them knowing. Big businesses should also have an IT department which may be responsible for looking after the businesses systems so that the professionals can prevent any unauthorised access to their computer systems.
Copyright Act- Detail
This act gives the creators of media rights to control how their work is used and distributed. This includes books, CDs, videos or computer programs. A person who buys any of these does not give them the right to make copies, to play or to show them in public especially for financial purposes and personal gains. The right to do this only belongs to the copyright owner. However if a person really wants to do anything with this work permission will be needed from the owner (sometimes you will have to pay).
In detail the copyright act protects original work such as literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, published editions of works, sound recordings (including CDs), films (including videos and DVDs) and broadcasts. The creator will have the right to control the way it is used this includes copying, adapting, distributing, Communicating through Electronic means to the Public, performing in public or renting and lending copies to the public. For example if a person stores the work on their computer then this comes under ‘copying’. However work that is used for educational purposes may not come under copyright although permission from the author may still be needed.
Businesses should also encrypt their work in order to make sure that work isn’t stolen. This act can also work the other way for the business as well for example if the business creates work that it wants to protect then it will have to either go to an office or apply online to protect the work. The business will have to provide clear evidence and also there is a charge for copyrighting the work. If work is created by a business then it should be copyrighted as soon as possible to prevent other competitors from creating the same work and then the business may not be able to use it.
Data Protection Act- In Detail
Different workplaces will have to take different measures to make sure that data is secure.
For example a workplace may use strict measures to keep data secure. They may force their employees to change their password every 6 weeks. This makes sure that if someone does get to know the password of an employee or they have hacked it then the employee can keep data secure by changing the password. There are many legal issues related to the use of data. One of those could be the Data Protection Act 1998.
This data must be protected and must be legal information about individuals and organisations. The data must be secure this is because this prevents unauthorised access such as hackers hacking into personal data about the employees and a business’s customers. For example if an employee was carrying data on an USB then the USB must be encrypted which is password protecting data.
For example if a teacher has to take students work home to assess and mark then they must consider the risks that this could have, if the teacher decided to take the work home on a USB then they would have to take correct measures and think about the possibilities. If the work got lost then the teacher would be held responsible if it got in the wrong hands, so the teacher would have to password protect the USB so that no one can gain access to it, even if it was the teacher’s family members.
Other protection businesses need to take is the proper disposal of paperwork. If the business doesn’t get rid of important data properly then other people can get that data and could misuse that data this could be really bad for the business. To prevent the business should shred all paperwork.
In CBC the teachers in the school can have access to all student data but however there are restrictions and limitations to the teachers. Teacher with the highest rank such as the Head Teacher and the Head of Human Resources can even have access to the teacher’s data as well, whilst ordinary teachers cannot. This means that the business/school has taken strong measurements to prevent misuse of data. Other strict measures include not giving student’s access to the software at all this means that there will be a less chance of a student hacking in and stealing data. The school has only given the teachers access to the software.
Other measures that the employers need to take is when they are upgrading computers so they need to make sure that they completely remove the data so that it cannot be recovered by people such as experts, so if the school has to remove the data then they need to make sure that the data has been properly deleted as this could become a potential risk for the school because personal data can get exposed to other people. The IT technicians need to make sure that data has been properly formatted to prevent others from accessing their data.
This also comes under the data protection act because this is all about the personal data held about individuals.
RSI
RSI stands for repetitive strain injury: this happens when you do the same thing continuously for a long time for example using a keyboard whilst at work. This may cause injury to the wrist, hands and fingers causing them to ache or feel tired. To reduce or prevent this from happening employees should be given a rest of at least 5 minutes when working for about an hour when using the PCs or laptops in order to let their hands rest. Another way to reduce this from happening is to provide employees with wrist wrest in order to help their hands rest.
Eyestrain
This can happen when using computers, laptops or tablets: this happens when you look at a screen or monitor for too long or you sit to a screen too close. This may cause pain in the eyes and the employee may feel tired after doing so. One way to reduce this is to take a 10 minute rest in between working with technology like this. Also employers should provide screen filters to remove harmful rays emitted by a screen. Also employees should be provided with the latest equipment so that they don’t cause problems such as screen flickering and the employees should be provided with an environment where they can work safely such as providing blinds so that the screen doesn’t glare with sunlight.
Strain
This may happen when computers don’t respond or something doesn’t go as planned. For example if a computer keeps on freezing and doesn’t respond then an employee may get angry or stressed due to this. This can be reduce by the employee calling for IT support or the employer providing the correct equipment for the employee so that they don’t get into trouble with the equipment. The employer should provide ergonomic chairs that can adjust to the employee’s desire so that they can work efficiently.
Job Description
A Job description is a formal account of an employee’s responsibilities. This sets out the purpose of the job that the employee will be responsible for. Where the job fits into the business for this job it is being a receptionist, the main accountabilities and responsibilities of the job which includes the key tasks to be performed. The job description is part of a legal document which builds up to the contract of employment; it provides an overview of the job. For example this position has 3 key Duties: For the Guest, For the Company, For the Team, these than expand onto the responsibilities that need to be performed. This tells the employee about what sort of job position that they will be performing. For example in the job description it tells the potential employee that they have to treat customers (guests) in a “friendly and efficient manner”. So this tells the employee that they will have to be friendly and treat their guests nicely. The purpose of the job description is to give employees information about the job. This helps the employers find the correct employee with the correct skills to take on the job and become successful with their role and help the business succeed and meet their aims. For the potential employee they will have to meet certain aims (targets) such as maximising room revenue which is basically telling the employee that they will have to give good customer service and try to get as much customers as possible. This form also informs the potential employee about the task needed to be undertaken such as provide a professional and prompt switchboard service this requires skills such organisational skills. This skill will be vital because they will need to arrive on work on time and sort out guests into the correct rooms also need to keep their own office desk tidy to make the business look nice and professional.
A job description is a written statement that describes the:
- Overall information about the jobs position- this tells the applicant about the tasks that they may be undertaking whilst doing the job. For example the hotel receptionist would need to maximise guests (customers) and their revenue.
- Responsibilities and duties- this would include a detailed description of the responsibilities that the employee may have to take, for example that all guests are handled properly. This is a responsibility of the hotel receptionist.
- Requires qualifications of the employees- this would inform the employee about the qualifications needed in order to have the job and do the work successfully.
- Position title- this tells the employee about what they may be regarded as and tells them the position that they are applying for.
Contract of employment
This will be a written statement which may be agreed upon by the employer and the employee about the roles and responsibilities of the employee, the rights of the employee and employer and the duties (tasks) that may be carried out whilst working for the business. This will clearly state and advice the employee about the aspect about the job and will also show to the government that the employee is employed by the business and that it has been fair.
Attributes
Job (1) - School I.T Teacher
Job (2) - IT Manager
Job (3) – IT Support Technician
by
kamranbadboyhotmailcom (student)
