TASK 2
The career paths at Conquest Vacations can vary depending on an employee’s skills and desires. Conquest Vacations is divided into several divisions for maximum efficiency including: Products, Operations, Finance, Special Projects and Sales. This is done to ensure task completion and a focus on certain goals for the company. This also guarantees that all matters are never overlooked. A new employee can start in any department but if a job opening opens at a higher level Conquest Vacations looks within the department to fill in the position. To full fill staffing needs Conquest Vacations monitors workload. If they are overloaded the business realizes this and counters this problem with additional staff. Recruits come from outside and inside the corporation to help fill the needs that exist. Conquest Vacations is known to be stable and profitable proving the company is succeeding which in turn attracts qualified pool of applicants.
Apart from internal and external recruitment Conquest Vacations uses traditional recruitment, which includes advertising through friends, competitors, newspapers, staff, and trade papers. Realistic job previews tell the job applicant about the company and Conquest Vacations gives the applicant a sales pitch. Selection of applicants consists of interviews. The process of selection incorporated by the company for a level of management for example, is that via a structured interview with three interviewers on the panel. This process proves to be more cost effective than assessment centres, particularly when considering this level of entry. The use of three interviewers will encourage discussion and alternative perspectives in regards to the suitability of the candidate to the job as well as the organisation.
Nevertheless, Qualifications are discussed and if he/she can get along with other staff. A set of questions determines if the person is suitable for the job. The steps follow in a certain order starting with a resume entry. Then an interview is arranged with reference verification. With certain departments through the company, a physical exam is needed. Conquest Vacations Vice Presidents then analyses the applicant and makes their decision to hire.
In developing a quality workforce in the company socializing is a big expectation of the behaviour of a new employee. Human resource management is to achieve the best possible fit between the individual, the job and the organization. Most evident means of influencing an employee to succeed is giving them a percentage of a sale that they have sold. Conquest Vacations does not have a personal orientation for all of the different departments, but they do have an employee handbook, which outlines specific policies such as dress policy, health coverage, behavioural policies, performance expectation, privileges, and standard concepts.
Training is a set of activities that provides opportunities to new employees to acquire and improve job-related skills. Initial training begins an employee and upgrading and improving skills as required further strengthens him or her. The company has on job training as well as off job training. Quality control is present throughout all departments of the company. Also it is evident in the company that there are no limits to an employee’s success. If you are the best qualified and best suited you will be given that shot.
In maintaining a quality workforce the company does have turnovers. Replacement of staff without turnover being the cause is usual due to promotions, transfers, terminations, layoffs, and retirements. With both retention and turnover, performance appraisals are on a yearly basis. There is then a review of the problems that exist and an analysis of them. The problems are attempted to be corrected to prevent them from repeating.
Base compensation depends on job description, level of job and also responsibility of the individual. Fringe benefits include medical and dental plans, and of course discounted travel vacations. Other awards that attract and maintain this quality workforce includes an established business of thirty years. There are long-term employees and the same owner throughout the company’s first establishment. An excellent reputation has been established. When the business has been bad, staff have never been cut.
So in conclusion, Conquest is a strong company with a great future, as long as they keep the same job habits and continue to run the company Robbie runs it now.
TASK3
A and B
Robert should work for Acme Engineering Co because he should ask himself why there is such a high turnover of staff at Exploding chemical co. This should indicate that there is some sort of problems within the company.
The absence of the job specification and job analysis elements, indicate a lack of human resource planning. They seem disorganised and noone had any idea about the interview that morning. Although he will be getting paid more at this company, there are other factors he needs to consider such as the training and an opportunity to study for an accounting qualification with Acme Engineering. This would motivate him to work hard.
He should also consider the work place atmosphere as well as how friendly the people were, and if he would be comfortable working at either one. Mr Frazier of Exploding chemical Co did not seem interested at all in Robert, and he did not conduct his interview very well as he was in a hurry to go to a meeting. Robert did not get the chance to ask any questions about the position in the company because he had only heard about it and had not seen a job description and specification for it.
The interview he had with Mr Parker of Acme Engineering went better than the first one. The people there seemed friendly and he got an orientation of the company s as to familiarise himself with the place. The interviewer showed great interest in Robert and the company would also offer training and study, which would be a great motivator. They spoke at great length and this ensured that Robert understood the job responsibilities when he was offered and ultimately accepted the position. Even though he is going to be paid more money at Exploding Chemical co and he is unhappy, he would end up leaving the company just like the other employees.
C)
Effective employee retention begins with interviewing, screening and hiring. It appears evident that retaining high performing staff is problem that Mr Frazer must remedy. Whilst a personnel manager, not all factors affecting turnover are under his control, his status does have considerable bearing on those that work under him. When companies retain more of their staff and when leaders aggressively work on employee development and internal promotions, then less time and money is spent on employee recruitment.
Employee turnover is inevitable. But many companies do not conduct effective exit interviews, if they do exit interviews at all, with employees who resign. It is extremely important that the reasons for employee resignations and terminations be tracked. If management doesn't know why employees are leaving, especially if they leave within the first 90 days, then they can't resolve the employee turnover challenges facing them.
The first 90 days are critical for the company and the new employee. Here are the main reasons employees resign within their first 90 days:
- The new employee did not understand the job responsibilities when he was offered and he accepted the position because of lack of communication during the interview especially if he was not given a chance to ask any questions.
- The new employee feels as if he has been "thrown to the wolves" and not properly trained.
- The new employee never had that all-important sense of belonging. He felt like an outsider and ultimately did not feel he was a member of the team.
- The new employee did not like, respect or receive any guidance from his manager.
Only after these four reasons for employee resignations do new employees even mention wage and benefit dissatisfaction.
Management must, if they want to lower employee defections, place the right employee in the right job and understand that bad bodies are worse than no bodies at all. They must understand that employee turnover and recruitment costs far more than proper hiring and training aimed at increasing employee retention.
Management must also understand that just because an employee has experience in a field, it doesn't mean they are best suited for that field.
When companies place the right employee in the right job, they have a happier, more caring and motivated employee. This employee will be more likely to develop the necessary skills to do his job well and will be more receptive to learning. He will also be less likely to seek employment elsewhere.
The lack of a job specification presents a problem for Mr Frazer when it comes to recruitment and selection of a candidate to fill the vacancy as the job specification will assist in keeping Mr Frazer’s attention on the necessary requirements and further aid the determination of whether the candidate is sufficiently qualified. Furthermore, the job specification is important for the candidates, as they need to understand what is expected from them.
The absence of a job specification would tend to suggest that no job analysis had taken place. The job analysis defines the job within the organisation and the behaviours required to successfully perform it. The information needed for the job analysis can be gathered through a variety of methods. Another alternative open to Mr Frazer would be to have the staff record a daily diary of the activities performed for review. Performing the job analysis will essentially lay the foundation for the preparation of an up-to-date job description and job specification.
For recruitment purposes, internal and external advertising of the vacancy is strongly advised. With regard to external recruitment, advertisements in agencies, and newspapers are recommended for the widest coverage in seeking desirable candidates. The advertisements within the press need to be carefully and skilfully prepared, incorporating concise detail based upon the job specification and job description. The internal method of recruitment can be advertised via email or bulletin to staff, once again incorporating the same detailed information. Recruiting internally has many benefits as it sends positive signals that can affect productivity and morale, highly efficient key employees become less likely to seek promotions elsewhere, it is more cost effective, and employees are already familiar with the organisation. External recruiting is the other option, it tends to bring in fresh ideas and perspectives and can lower training costs through hiring people whom are already sufficiently trained.
Once the recruiting method has been chosen and applications have been submitted, a selection process that ensures the most appropriate person is hired must be used, baring in mind that hiring errors can be very costly and also time consuming.
The lack of human resource planning, particularly in the areas of job analysis and job specification, can be overcome through a variety of ways. Mr Frazer could opt to approach the more senior managers within Exploding Chemical co to make the necessary changes to the human resource policy by including more human resource planning in the future.
D
There are a number of selection devices from which Mr Frazer may choose, these include application forms, written tests, assessment centres, interviews and background investigations. For this accounts position Mr Frazer needs to consider which technique will be most beneficial when trying to establish the most appropriate candidates for the job.
Assessment centres as an alternative method of selection are receiving much attention due to their perceived effectiveness. The assessment centre is a selection tool which assesses candidates on the basis of their performance in a series of job related tasks and problems. Whilst assessment centres appear to be effective they can also be quite time consuming and expensive, and for employment in the lower managerial ranks they may not be considered a viable option for many organisations. Mr Frazer will need to assess whether the expense of using an assessment centre is warranted for this level of position.
Thorough screening of applications to reduce the number of applicants, a shortlist is suggested. The process of selection recommended for the accounts position is that via a structured interview with three interviewers on the panel. This process will work hand in hand with that of an assessment centre, to test him how well he knows his accounting, particularly when considering the type of job. The use of three interviewers will encourage discussion and alternative perspectives in regards to the suitability of the candidate to the job as well as the organisation.
TASK4
Equal Opportunities is to treat someone with fairness irrespective of sex, marital status, disability, race, religion, trade union membership, and social or employment status.
The key differences between equal opportunities and diversity:
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
- Concentrates on removing discrimination
- Seen as an issue for disadvantaged groups
- Seen as an issue to do with personnel and development practitioners
- Relies on positive action
MANAGING DIVERSITY
- Focus on maximising employee potential
- Seen as relevant to all employees
- An issue which involves all managers
- Unlike Equal opportunities, it does not rely on positive action.
Equality is about letting people in, but managing diversity is about what you do with them, once you have let them in.
Employers must comply with equal opportunities legislation. The law applies to firms in all aspects of its employment practices and the services it provides to the public.
The laws relating to equality are:
- The Race Relations Act 1976
- Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Forms of discrimination are as follows:
This consists of treating a person, on the grounds of sex or race less favourably than others are or would be treated in the same circumstances.
Such treatment involves a conscious motive or decision to discriminate
e.g. a job applicant of ethnic minority origin was not born in this country and is rejected for a post on these grounds.
This consists of applying a requirement or condition which, whether intentionally or not, adversely affects one group (i.e. ethnic origin or sex) considerably more than another and cannot be justified on other grounds.
E.g. a job advertisement requires a graduate for a general administrative post, although the tasks of the post could be carried out effectively by a school leaver. This is indirect discrimination as less young people from some ethnic minorities go on to higher education than from other groups.
This consists of treating a person less favourably than others are or would be treated in the same circumstances because that person has made a complaint or allegation of discrimination, or has acted as a witness or informant in connection with proceedings under the Acts, or has been involved in any other way in their enforcement, or intends to do any of these things.
The above discrimination under the Acts relates to all aspects of employment and to the provision of goods, facilities, or services to the public.
Day to Day Operation of an Equal Opportunities Policy
In the organisation I used to work for, it encourages individual members of staff who feel that they have in any way:
- Suffered from,
- Been disadvantaged by,
- Been discriminated against unlawfully, or
- Suffered harassment
To report these incidents to their appropriate line manager, in the first instance, or alternatively directly to the Head of Human Resources or Human Resource Manager, if they prefer. In the same way, members of staff who witness an act of discrimination or harassment against a fellow employee and/or visitor should report this.
Any employee found to have acted in a discriminatory way in relation to colleagues or visitors would be dealt with in accordance with the organisations disciplinary procedure. Employees who consider they have been discriminated against and who believe they have failed to secure adequate redress under the organisations own procedures, have a legal right to take their case to an Employment Tribunal.
Monitoring
To enable the Nursing Home to assess whether its policy of equality of opportunity in employment is being fully and fairly implemented, all applicants for vacancies will be asked to complete a standard monitoring form which is detached from the application form immediately it is received and prior to the form's being considered by those short listing.
They also have a database for monitoring details of current staff.
Personal information required for equal opportunities monitoring is intended for the specific purpose of ensuring the effectiveness of the policy and is not used for other purposes.
Implementation of Policy
All vacant posts within the Home are openly publicised. In some cases where it is considered appropriate, this publicity may be through an internal notice only.
For all vacancies, job descriptions and details of the knowledge, skills and experience required to fulfil the post will be drawn up. Forms indicating reasons why an applicant is or is not to be short-listed for interview will be used on all occasions. Interview assessment forms are used for each interview, during which candidates are considered against the criteria specified for the post.
In implementing its training and development policy and procedures, the Home ensures that opportunities offered to all staff adhere to the principles and standards set by its equal opportunities policy.
The public workplace has been one of the main avenues for racism and discrimination throughout history. People have been turned down for jobs, harassed, unfairly paid and many others such acts of discrimination because of the person’s race, gender or religion. This exists for many different reasons some employers may be unconsciously discriminatory they might just hire people they like or that they are comfortable working with while not realizing that they are discriminating against others. But on the other hand some may just have complete and utter hatred for certain groups of people weather it be because of their ethnicity, gender or even their religion.
Although this affects mainly minority groups some times people you would think would not be discriminated against are treated unfairly in the workplace. For one thing it may all depend on the owner of the store, say for example the owner of a small shop is Asian he may be very hesitant or may even refuse to hire white people because he may himself be racist. Or if an Arab owns an antique shop he may not hire a woman who applies for his job because where he comes from woman are inferior to men and are not supposed to be on the same level as men.
One way to fix these problems is to somehow promote diversity in the workplace weather that is through modified hiring practices or maybe more intensive training on what is good etiquette n the workplace. But in my opinion some programs that have been instituted may do more harm than good in the workplace in America. One of these programs is Affirmative Action. While some parts of this program are good, such as promoting modified hiring practices through the use of hiring committees instead of the traditional one-on-one interview process, where it is much more likely that a persons personal views may come into play while interviewing and applicant. But other parts of this program are not so good such as quota systems this is detrimental to the entire workforce because sometimes people who are more qualified are passed over for jobs or promotions because the company where the work or be applying too, may not have as many minorities in their workforce or in a certain position, so the company has to hire or promote less qualified individuals to positions of importance. This could be detrimental to the company because certain people maybe not be fully qualified to hold certain positions, and it would hurt employee morale if more qualified individuals were not given the position because of quota concerns on the part of the company.
So in closing I think that discrimination in the workplace is something that will most definitely have to be solved, and some of the programs that are out there are working which is good, but it also seems that there are some programs that exist which have rules and regulations that are meant to alleviate discrimination when in actuality they may not work or just may be discriminatory to other groups.
The Equal Opportunities Commission is the leading agency working to eliminate sex discrimination in 21st Century Britain. If women and men had equal chances in life, things would be different.
Mission statement
The Commission for Racial Equality works in partnership with individuals and organisations for a fair and just society which values diversity and gives everyone an equal chance to work, learn and live free from discrimination, prejudice, and racism
The CRE has three main duties:
- To work towards the elimination of racial discrimination and promote equality of opportunity
- To encourage good relations between people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds
- To monitor the way the Race Relations Act is working and recommend ways in which it can be improved
Legal powers
The CRE has statutory powers under the amended Race Relations Act. These include powers to:
- Advise or assist people with complaints about racial discrimination, harassment or abuse
- Conduct formal investigations of companies and organisations where there is evidence of possible discrimination; if the investigation does find discrimination, the CRE can oblige the organisation to change the way it operates
- Take legal action against racially discriminatory advertisements, and against organisations that attempt to pressurise or instruct others to discriminate — such as employers instructing employment agencies not to send them applicants from ethnic minorities, or companies instructing their workers to discriminate in the way they provide goods or services
- Assist individuals to take judicial review action to challenge the decisions of public bodies, including their compliance to the general duty