Research Topics: Human Relations And Development

Human Relations and Development

n     Please answer the following questions in 200-250 words per each question . n     Please completed the 20 questions on or before 13 July 2006.   1.      What is emotional intelligence and why is it so important for success in business?   2.      What are the steps in the Communication Process and how can knowing these steps help a person become a more effective communicator?   3.      What are the implications of gender differences in communication for conducting meetings?   4.      Part of being a good team player is helping other members. How can members of a workplace team help each other? How can a person achieve individual recognition yet still be a team player?   5.      What are the group decision-making techniques described in this Unit? Which group decision-making techniques do you think members of management are most likely to use?   6.      How can a team leader apply groupware to help the group become more productive?   7.      A major purpose of diversity programs is to help people celebrate differences. Why should people celebrate a difference such as an attention deficit disorder?   8.      Studies have shown that women working in male-dominated positions, such as a female construction supervisor or bulldozer operator, are more likely to experience sexual harassment than women in other fields. What explanation can you offer for this finding?   9.      How might a student use cognitive restructuring to get over the anger of having received a low grade in a course?   10.  In what ways do the concepts of charismatic leadership and participative leadership differ substantially from each other?   11.  How might an instructor use negative reinforcement (avoidance motivation) to improve a student’s performance?     12.  If people really live by the WIIFM principle, how can a leader still achieve teamwork?   13.  In what ways does a coach in a workforce act like an athletic coach?   14.  Describe how email can be used to play positive office politics, as well as used for unethical purposes   15.  For what reason is a satisfied employee more likely to provide better customer service?   16.  How effective is the principle “the customer is always right” when dealing with dissatisfied customers   17.  The major business scandals in recent years have involved financial manipulations such as executives profiting from selling company stock while encouraging employees to buy stock. In what ways do these financial scandals affect people?   18.  Why might having your stress under control improve your interpersonal relationships?   19.  Identify four situations in a career in which conducting a job campaign would be necessary.   20.  In what way do political tactics assist career development?       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Human Relations and Development

n Please answer the following questions in 200-250 words per each question . n Please completed the 20 questions on or b...

Building a Career in Human Resources

Over the years, the Human Resource profession has changed greatly. Traditionally, it is seen as an administrative. Today’s HR though plays a pivotal role in terms of helping the organization run better and the employees to become more satisfied.  The Human Resource Management being a career field has grown and matured. With its growth, human resource managers are elevated as business partners as well. Thousands of new workers every year find their employment in the human resources. Career can be stated up at the bottom of the career ladder and work up to the top level to achieve high salaried positions.  Suitable positions in the organization can be attained through education and the related experiences in the field (McKenzie & Traynor, 2002, p.2). Starting a career is a tough decision. One does not like to start in a job that she doesn’t like and then start over again with another. The identification of work expectations as well as the competencies and areas of expertise can be use as a basis for the job description. As someone who aims to start a career in HR, it is crucial to determine which side I would like to work on: the Human Resource Management (HRM) or the Human Resource Development (HRD). First it is necessary to understand the HRM side of Human Resources which is the area I chose to build a career in. The HRM primarily deals with the management of people and resources within the organization. The basic employee management tasks of an organization are assigned to the HRM staff. Traditionally, the HRM encompasses the basic areas of the HR which includes compensation and benefits, recruiting and staffing, employee and labor relations and occupational health and safety (‘HRM vs. HRD’, 2007). As a starter in the HRM profession, I can start out as a generalist and then choose an area of specialty such as benefits and then become a benefits manager. As such, I can have the choice of remaining in this area of specialty to run all the benefits program of the organization. The career in these areas can be further progressed into a HR leadership role in which I can act as an HR director or a VP that oversees that tasks for both HRM and HRD. The career in HRM includes systems, analytics and processes which I am greatly interested in. HRM professionals are typically given a specialty area or task. For example, as a recruiting manager in a consumer product firm, I may be tasked to recruit activities in one department. Thus, the responsibility of the entire process is put on the manager which includes the locating of potential candidates, conducting phone screenings, scheduling interviews, negotiating job offers and ultimately completing the hiring process and paperwork. Indeed, a great deal of interaction with different kind of people will be part of this job.  This choice of route in Human Resources will certainly provide a clear path for my career. However, the choice of specialty does not readily mean I have to remain in this area. Many of the HR professionals start out their career in HRM to gain an understanding of the field. As such, I can use this area to acquire basic knowledge and then improve my expertise by moving to HRD where I can develop my development and coaching skills. Furthermore, HR workers succeed in this profession by responding to the needs and the directives of the management. Hence, HR personnel must possess the qualities of cooperativeness and supportiveness to the management efforts of utilizing human resources to the fullest. In addition to this, they must ensure a fair treatment for all the employees of the organization. HR personnel must realize the responsibility of running the organization and keeping the business. Those who aim to be in the Human Resource work must support this effort of the management (McKenzie & Traynor, 2002, p.89) We know for a fact that people with graduate degrees land in a wide variety of jobs and careers. Graduate education prepares the students for their professional activity for careers which they can utilize their knowledge and skills. Many employers understand that graduate education does not necessarily produce completely formed professionals that can readily contribute on their first day of job (LaPidus, 1997). The acquired education is clearly the stepping stone in attaining my desired job. Fundamentally, it will help me land a job in the Human Resources and eventually in the performance of my work. However, such may not be sufficient especially in a fast changing and competitive environment. Further experiences in the field will contribute in the improvement of my HR skills and knowledge. While starting out at the bottom, the great deal of experiences will contribute in my expertise and in due course climb up to higher positions. Having this in mind, the way to my career progression will be easier if only my potentials are used to the fullest. Aside from my personal efforts to draw up a career plan, the organization can also help me towards achieving it. What is needed is a sense of motivation to grow and explore the limitless boundaries of my career. Organizations have come to realize that their success depends on well-trained and highly motivated human resources personnel. Sustainable development and success of the organization in the challenging business environment is attained through the commitment of the top management in implementing HRM practices that will develop high performing employees (Sims, 2002, p.2).With this, organizations have aided their employees towards career progression and the attainment of their interests. Many organizations today facilitate the employee progression by spending on the training and development of their employees. The training focuses on the present jobs whereas development prepares the employees for the possibilities of future jobs. Career development programs are also actively practiced by most organizations. Such programs are designed to increase the overall performance of the organization as well as the employees’ productivity in order to attract, develop and retain the most qualified employees (Sims, 2002, p. 6). Aside from their own interests, organizations are becoming concerned about the long term goals of their employees. Moreover, individuals are expected to increase efficiency by accepting more responsibilities and managing their own careers. This simply means that employees must do all they can to grow and realize their full potentiality to improve their value. Indeed, career are viewed to be ‘boundaryless’ as well as employers and other occupations (Sims, 2002, p. 6). Career Management Portfolio Understanding the Labor Market At the end of 2006, there were about 29.01 million people in paid employment across the UK. The population of the working age constitutes about 74.5 percent of this figure. At the same time, there were about 607,000 unfilled job vacancies and 1.68 million people that remain unemployed. When there is a high demand, the labor market is ‘tight’ which lowers the rate of unemployment. However, when the supply is relatively high, the market becomes ‘slack’ and thus few vacancies are available to a great number of job seekers (Understanding the economy and the labour market’, 2007) The UK labor market has been a tight over the recent years but developed to be slack in 2005 and 2006. This shows the rise in labor supply relative to the demand which is mainly attributed to the influx of migrant workers. While the level of job vacancies remain stable, the number of people who are unemployed increases (Understanding the economy and the labour market’, 2007).   Another factor contributing to the unemployment is the skills crisis facing UK. With continued globalization, the workforce needs to be highly skilled fro the economy to remain competitive. However, current education and vocational training fails to provide workers with the adequate skills that businesses require (‘UK facing skills Crisis, 2006). Thus, there is the need for skills development to suit the requirements of the competitive business environment. This will also help in improving one’s employability especially since the labor supply is relatively higher then the demand. Such condition implies a tremendous effort on the part of HR professionals and those seeking a career in this field to demonstrate their value on the organization. Since the expectations for HR functions changes, the labor pool can be expected to be more competitive. Organizations will most certainly prefer those candidates that could demonstrate added value to them along with their education and experiences. Indeed, the contribution of HR to the development of career has been altered following changes in the corporate environment. The individual’s employability flows from different sources ranging from experiences, skills, knowledge and continuous development. Clearly, the market for talent is a wide and rich. Also, learning flows from various resources such as vocational qualification, traditional training and development activities (Scott, 2006). With the development of the HR profession, the career paths attached to it also changes. Among these are administration, recruitment, business partner, management and other areas of specialization such as management development and leadership. Companies today make different offerings and hence individuals continue to seek experiences that will improve their employability. Recent UK press articles reveals that a number of young professionals in their 30’s are taking late gap years in which they walk away from their careers at the time when they should be focused on it (Scott, 2006). In the UK, business partnering is seen as a vehicle to reduce HR cost with the development of services shared to achieve savings. Another is the accelerating competition which drives the organization to use HR functions that will deliver skilled, creative and committed people. The concept of a world class HR has become a necessity for various organizations. Lastly, HR is expected much in terms of contributing to the strategy and the execution of the business plans. In the United Kingdom, the demand for business partners and the salaries offered to them have significantly increased (‘HR Business Partnering’, 2006). HR careers are likely to be impacted by these business partnering. While HR generalist jobs will be available, there will be fewer of them. Because of this, HR professionals are compelled to select specialist business partner role that is suited for them. They must be able to discover more about new roles and make choices on them. HR professionals who will add significant value to the organization are likely to be preferred by the HR directors. Even the qualifications, years of experience and leading edge projects may count very little unless their added value is proven (‘HR Business Partnering’, 2006).  Thus, there is the need for one to specialize in a specific area. This would mean exploring the various aspects of Human Resource Management in order to adapt to its changing environment. Participating in new roles will pave the way for the discovery of other potentials and therefore adding value to the organization. Moreover, the knowledge on a particular business will gain significant value on the part of the HR professional. However, they will not be able to easily switch from one organization to another. The experience to perform senior HR roles will entail more attention for individuals to acquire it (‘HR Business Partnering’, 2006). Taking into account the current labor market that shows a higher supply of labor force, it becomes crucial for job seekers especially for new entrants like me to review the skills that would qualify me for the job in Human Resources.  Given the probability of more candidates applying for the same position reduces the chances of getting the job. However, one’s employability will increase by demonstrating the competitive advantage against other applicants. The vocational training and traditional education are some of the basic elements that qualify one for the job.  Skills development is also necessary in this area especially since the business environment becomes increasingly demanding. The onset of career paths aside from administrative entails the specialization in a key area.  Indeed, HR functions would necessitate personnel that will contribute significantly in the business strategies and the increase in the overall performance of the organization. Additionally, the crisis in generating highly skilled employees’ results to organizations offering various benefits and increased salaries to qualified candidates. To some extent, this can be taken as an advantage. It goes to show that there is a promising career awaiting those who have the potential in Human Resource jobs. Moreover, HR personnel must continue to seek self and skills improvement if they want their careers to progress. Making the way up to the top is a possibility but only to those who excels in whatever they do. Ultimately, one’s performance will be determined with the valuable contributions made to achieve the organization’s effort of utilizing the human resources to the fullest.             Personal Career SWOT Analysis This analysis identifies my key strengths and weaknesses, and also examines the opportunities and threats that I might face in the future with regards to the attainment of my career plan. Strengths v     Earned a degree in Human Resource Management from a reputable university v     Excellent analytical and communication skills v     Ability to adapt in a fast paced environment v     Cooperative and innovative v     Highly motivated Weaknesses v     Lack of Work Experience v     Low level of leadership skills Opportunities v     High Salaried HR positions v     Diversity of HR work v     Development of new HR trends such as business partners Threats v     Competition from experienced applicants and new graduates v     High supply of workforce in the labor market v     Skills crisis in the country Employability As the business environment becomes increasingly complex, new ways of thinking, managing and working are demanded. Hence, individuals are employed based on the perceived skills and the future contributions they can make to the organization. The employability of an individual includes her academic skills, personal management skills and teamwork skills. Skills are the set of characteristics which makes an individual employable such as knowledge, know-how, attitudes and behaviors towards work. In addition to skills and talents, one must be able to have the creativity, initiative and knowledge of her industry to be able to land a job. Individuals are imposed with new skills demand with the changing nature of work. For this, people need to be continuously learning to prepare for the future of the present careers or even new careers. Also, one’s employment security which encompasses the extent in which their skills and talents are demanded in the labor market   must be carefully considered. By knowing the abilities and skills that are required in the future in the job, career failures can be easily overcome. This would mean assessing the environment where there are career opportunities and being able to match oneself to those perceived opportunities (London, 1998, p. 133). The key element for this is the ‘self’ since no one will do things for you. The responsibility for career development is dependent on oneself even if resources are provided by other people. This requires properly utilizing the strengths to achieve the career plan. Since the work demand in the Human Resource is changing, HR personnel need to become more open to innovation. In this sense, the capacity to accept changes and new practices is essential in the performance of the job. The high degree of motivation and openness to innovation are my key strengths to survive this demanding environment. This means embracing the idea of developing and acquiring new skills to increase efficiency. While the academic skills are important factors, the ability to cope with the demands of the environment and the willingness to adjust will be far more relevant. With this, one are which needs to be strengthened will be addressed. As an entrant to the labor pool, one serious concern is the lack of training/experience in the field. Of course, employers cannot expect new graduates to have full contribution to the organization on her first day of job. However, this weak area must be strengthened since the lack of experience may hamper career opportunities and decrease performance. Indeed, continuous learning is needed to cope with the advancements in technology, competition and changing organizational goals. People who fail to keep up in their field are unable to learn other disciplines and run the risk of losing career opportunities (London, 1998, p. 13). Professional development plays a pivotal role in managing a good career. To be able to excel in a chosen profession, one must initiate a self assessment. This would include goal setting, self assessment and planning for future challenges in the workplace. Perhaps the most exciting and tough challenge after earning a degree is the process of job hunting. It is because you are fully in charge of your own career and your future lies on the path you would choose. A wrong decision could lead to regrets that may affect you for the rest of your life. Competitors like fellow graduates and even professionals could become a threat. So it is greatly important that before deciding to get a job that you ascertain your career path. Self preparedness and a strong drive are needed to surpass the challenges that you would encounter along the way.   To gain the much needed career motivation one should know the three parts. That leads to it. These are resilience, insight, and identity. Career barriers are to be overcome through career resilience. The ability to face and withstand difficult situations in the work place would add to greater motivation. Another is career insight which pertains to the way you perceive and understand yourself as well as your working environment. By knowing yourself fully you will get a clearer picture of your strengths and weaknesses. You would be able to distinguish which skills are needed to be improved and take advantage of your best qualities. Identifying the factors that deter your work performance is also part of your personal insights. And lastly, career identity which serves as your direction in achieving the goals you set for your career (London 1998, p 58).  Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Building a Career in Human Resources

Over the years, the Human Resource profession has changed greatly. Traditionally, it is seen as an administrative. Today’s HR though plays...

Sample Essay 360 Degree Feedback on the Internet

360 Degree Feedback on the Internet             As developmental tools, 360-degree feedback interventions have received a lot of attention in human resource management during recent years. Developmental feedback provided by these interventions is maximally useful if feedback recipients not only react to the interventions with favorable attitudes, but also if they respond to the feedback by pursuing constructive developmental activities designed to enhance their skills. London and Smither (1995) have discussed how feedback can lead to subsequent skill development and how variables such as individual differences and situational conditions can moderate this relationship. However, relatively little research has examined the linkages between 360-degree feedback and subsequent developmental responses by participants, therefore little is known about which feedback recipients will respond most constructively to and about which types of work contexts are likely to foster constructive responses.             One purpose of 360-degree feedback is to heighten the manager’s serf-awareness of his/her skills. This is partially accomplished by allowing the manager to compare his/her own self-ratings to those of other raters. Thus, the discrepancy between self and others might be an important aspect of the 360-degree feedback intervention. Managers who rate themselves highly but who receive low ratings from others might become distressed by the negative discrepancy between their rating and the feedback (Taylor, 1991). As a result, individuals presented with negative feedback from others tend to rate the feedback less favorably (Albright & Levy, 1995). Furthermore, the distress motivates individuals to reduce the negative discrepancy (Johnson & Ferstl, 1999; Kluger & DeNisi, 1996).             In the traditional performance appraisal process, supervisors and subordinates develop a work plan at the beginning of performance cycle, the subordinates carries out the work plan, the supervisor provides a midcycle review, and, at the end of the cycle, the supervisor provides feedback indicating how well the subordinate has fulfilled his or her work plan. However, with this process it may not have all of the information needed to provide complete and accurate feedback to the subordinate. If the individual is a manager who supervises others, these subordinates may be the best source of information on delegation, communication, and leadership skills. Peers may be in the best position to provide feedback on skills such as working with others, decision-making and technical capability. Finally, customers may be the best source of input on quality of work and service orientation.             An Internet-based 360 degrees feedback system can also produce the information needed for coaching and individual developmental plans much faster than the typical paper-and-pencil evaluation. The speed gives added time for coaching and the fresh data adds the employee motivation. In addition, the data from 360-degree feedback can lead to improved leadership when combined with effective coaching that yields solid individual development plan.             However, once the internet-based 360 degrees feedback system is implemented, there are some problems realize by Otis Elevator. These involve intranet firewall, browser, old and new versions of software, the computer sophistication of appraisers and customers and the ability of employees to process feedback.             Like some other corporate computers, Otis was protected by an elaborate firewall and in order to get access this requires the work of Technical Computer services to eventually permit network access to all appropriate parties.             Another problem involved several appraisers who experienced problems with the internet/intranet browser compatibility. They needed to use common browser software. Rapid development of new software makes compatibility an ongoing issue.             In addition, some appraisers could not access and complete surveys. Another is that appraisers had overstated their skills. All appraisers who were not very familiar with computers had to buddy up with other knowledgeable employees to help them catch up. Another problem involved customers who were invited to do rating but were completely unfamiliar with accessing the internet using their computers.             Moreover, another key issue arose when employees received their feedback profiles. Many had trouble understanding their feedback and many lacked the skills needed to produce a solid individual development plan (IDP) using their feedback.             In conclusion, this case demonstrates that Internet-based 360-degree feedback provides clear advantages to assess the leadership skills of managers. Advantages include minimizing paperwork, saving employees’ time, preserving employee anonymity and providing timely, informative feedback that facilitates development. Implementing 360-degree feedback via the Internet breaks down the barriers imposed by traditional assessment systems. However, it presents its own obstacles, especially related to the interaction between people and technology, or in other words, the “human factor.”                 Internet-based implementation of 360-degree feedback is definitely worth pursuing if the organization is prepared to deal with the human factor and ready to follow up with coaching and development.                   How can the management of diversity affect a company’s performance? Explain.                 Managing diversity is a long-run investment, and an organization faces a level of adaptation and transformation equivalent to that encountered during deregulation or a major technological change (McEnrue, 1993). However, despite these trends, research related to diversity practice’s impact on organizational performance remains lacking. Workforce diversity has been depicted as a field absent a theoretical foundation (Ragins, 1995).Milliken and Martins (1996) point out that the word diversity means “variety” and the degree that things differ. Thus, diversity management implies the ability to manage heterogeneous groups.             Diversity becomes a significant organizational objective and diversity management becomes particularly salient because of the natural tendency toward homogeneity in organizations. Schneider’s (1987) Attraction-Selection-Attrition hypothesis (ASA) suggests that organizations tend to attract, hire, and retain similar types of people. The model then suggests that diversity affects firm effectiveness depending upon business and human resource strategy, as well as the environment. Diversity represents bringing different backgrounds, cultures, and generations into the same organization. This variety of perspectives can foster creativity. On the other hand, this variety of perspectives generates inefficiencies in that diverse groups lack a shared understanding, potentially making communication slow and laborious.             Milliken and Martins (1996) reviewed the diversity literature and drew several important conclusions. Racial and gender diversity can have negative effects on individual and group outcomes. For example, group members who differ from the majority tend to have lower levels of psychological commitment, higher levels of turnover intent and absenteeism than do majority members. Also, group coordination costs, such as increased communication time, appear to increase with diversity. However, evidence exists that these effects diminish with time (Watson et al., 1993).             There are number of studies that have found out that diversity negatively affects organizational processes and performance. Group heterogeneity, for example, has been associated with stereotyping, in-group/out-group effects, affective conflict, and turnover (Jehn et al., 2000; Pelled, 1996; Tsui et al., 1992). In addition, empirical research shows that in-group demographic preference exists in organizations (Allen and Wilder, 1975; Brewer, 1979; Tajfel, 1982). In-group preference involves favoring interaction with in-group over the out-group. Tsui et al.’s (1992) findings reveal that diversity leads to organizational detachment among white male employees. Thomas and Ely (1996) suggest that increasing demographic variation within firms did not in itself increase organizational performance. Williams and O’Reilly (1998) conclude that mismanaged diversity initiatives can negatively affect both process and outcomes             However, in contrary, more diverse groups appear to make higher quality decisions (Milliken and Martins, 1996). Creativity, consistent counter arguments, and the introduction of new perspectives enhance the decision-making process. Milliken and Martins (1996) also suggest that more diverse groups mirror environmental complexity and respond to its demands.               Cox and Blake (1991) noted that effective diversity management enhances organizational flexibility. More diverse groups consider a wider variety of perspectives. As diversity policies and practices become instituted, increased fluidity and flexibility result in an organizational culture that can react to environmental changes. Thus, a diversity orientation has more positive implications for performance under conditions of environmental uncertainty than under states of environmental certainty, which suggests an interaction effect between diversity and the environment.             In sum, diversity appears to create additional coordination and control costs. However, these negative effects may diminish with time and are offset by better quality and more creative decisions. Thus, to effectively model the diversity orientation-performance relationship, the role of contingent or moderating variables deserves consideration. A diversity orientation may yield positive performance effects through the genuine integration and acceptance of diverse employee perspectives which leads to a reduction in turnover and absenteeism. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Sample Essay 360 Degree Feedback on the Internet

360 Degree Feedback on the Internet As developmental tools, 360-degree feedback interventions have received a lot of attenti...

Sample Research Proposal Establish program changes in the HR Dept towards improvement of the motivation level of employees

September 14, 2006   Denise Holcroft President Med Supplies Express Corporation   Dear Ms. Holcroft:   Over the past quarter, there has been a noticeable increase in the loss of accounts. It has come to my attention that this loss of accounts may have been triggered by a significant decrease in morale and even augmented the incidence of absenteeism among the employees. This is disconcerting considering this has been unprecedented since I have been the VP of Human Resources for five years now. It is my intention to submit a proposal seeking to amend this situation of the company before it totally compromise the firm’s reputation for giving efficient, accurate, personal, and courteous service.      Background   Based on the observations of the HR department, there is a major increase in the absenteeism among the employees. The claim is supported by the following data:   The table above presents a summary of the number of absences of incurred in the months of the third quarter of this year. It shows that the incidence of absenteeism has been increasing progressively over the months covering the third quarter. Absenteeism is triggered by two things: the ability of the employee to come to work, and the employees’ motivation to attend. Seeing the two reasons, it appears that we could generally control the latter reason for the occurrence of absenteeism. This also means that there is a letdown in the morale of the employees in the company. The problem in this context may possibly affect the overall performance of the organization. To illustrate, the past quarter revealed that there were several accounts that stopped availing our product and services.   Being the VP of the HR affairs, it concerns me that the possible decrease in the morale may be the root cause of the loss incurred by the company. As seen in the chart above, there were 16 accounts lost in the past quarter alone. This loss of account also bothers the supervisors in the firm. They claim that the loss of clients may indicate an unstable company, making them worry about their jobs. Thus, to deal with this predicament, the HR department intends to establish a clear and unambiguous evidence of the negative shift of the organizational morale. This proposal intends to define the needs of the employees to create a baseline regarding the motivational requirements needed. Specifically, I propose a HRM program intended to accomplish the following goals:   ·        Determine and monitor the motivation level of the employees to establish the motivational requirements of the company. ·        Establish a set of program changes in the HR Department particularly geared towards the improvement in the motivation level of the employees. ·        Review the policies regarding the rewards and incentives of the organization. ·        Create a communication system that would allow the company to receive feedback from the employees.     Proposal   In order to regain the confidence of the clients and salvage what’s left of the morale of the organization, I propose the following plan:   Survey A survey will be conducted in order to establish the necessary information needed to take into consideration the HR needs of the employees. The questionnaire will be formulated by the management level employees of the HR department. The questionnaires will be distributed to all of the employees in Med Supplies Express Corporation to acquire the general disposition of the entire workforce. The outcomes and findings of this survey will help in indicating the areas that needed change.       Analysis The analysis of the data coming from the survey will be the key to improving the motivation of the employees. With the analysis of the data, the HR department will be able to (a) pinpoint the specific aspects of the operations that require changes; (b) possible changes needed in the policies regarding rewards and incentives of the company; (c) formulate the necessary programs to address the situation in Med Supplies Express Corporation.   Report The findings of this endeavor will be forwarded to your office. A summary on the analysis and the data recovered will be presented in a concise manner using graphs and other visuals acquired from the survey. Moreover, the intended courses of action will also be provided in the said report.        Schedule   Pending the approval of this project, this is the expected timeline to which the activities will be carried out: 		Activity 		Week number 		  		1 		2 		3 		4 		5 		6 		7 		8 		Drafting of the Questionnaire 		  		  		  		  		  		  		  		  		Completion of the Survey 		  		  		  		  		  		  		  		  		Analysis and Interpretation of the Data 		  		  		  		  		  		  		  		  		Submission of the Report 		  		  		  		  		  		  		  		    Staffing   The project will be taking a staff from the Human Resource Department. The project team will be composed of a group of five individuals from the HR Department that has been trained to analyze and examine organizations using psychological theories and other methods that would indicate the level of motivation of the organization. Using psychometrics, acquiring a group of individuals from a singular department, specifically the HR Department, will maintain the confidentiality of the findings of the case as well as the possible courses of action. Moreover, the team, being versed with psychological tuition, will significantly be helpful in pointing out the valid and reliable psychological measure that should be used in the project. In the same way, they could objectively provide the data acquired from the tests. In addition, the data from the survey will be treated statistically using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software.      Budget The project is anticipated to incur the following costs: 		 		Activity                                                                       		 		Estimated Hours 		Cost Per Hour 		Total 		Drafting of the 		Questionnaire                                                           		 		40 		0 		00 		Conduct of the 		Survey                                                          		            		120 		40 		4800 		Analysis and Interpretation of the 		Data                                           		120 		120 		14400 		Drafting of the 		Report                                                           		 		40 		120 		4800 		Total Costs 		  		  		800             Request for Authorization   As seen in the effects on the last quarter, the motivation of the employees is imperative and essential in our line of work. Keeping our employees motivated and maintaining their high morale will continue to make our customers well treated. The way I see it, the company has marketed itself with our own brand of service. It is my belief that addressing the problem of motivation will be able to solve our problem not only with the absenteeism in the ranks; it will also solve the company’s loss of accounts and clients. The HR Department hopes you would approve of conducting the project with the projected budget above costing 800. We also believe that the problem should be dealt with swiftly. With your approval, the entire project will see results within eight weeks. It is our intention to assist the company to achieve its organizational goals. I implore you to consider the proposal above.     Sincerely,   Ernest Soukup Vice-President of Human Resources Med Supplies Express Corporation Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Sample Research Proposal Establish program changes in the HR Dept towards improvement of the motivation level of employees

September 14, 2006 Denise Holcroft President Med Supplies Express Corporation Dear Ms. Holcroft: Over the past quarter, there...

HRM

Human Relations and Development   1.      What is emotional intelligence and why is it so important for success in business? Answer Emotional Intelligence is defined as the personal, social and emotional skills that influence your ability to succeed with increased demands and pressure at work & home. Increasingly, Emotional Intelligence is being recognized as the critical success factor in career and life effectiveness. EI is important especially in having successful business. Accordingly, EI skills provide a set of core abilities which affects many business issues essential to individual and organizational success.  For example, through EI, employees and staffs will get along better and won’t let frustrations and anxieties get in the way of having effective solutions for problems. In this manner, the organization is being benefited of people who can work under pressure. EI is of significant importance in business as it helps managers in the decision-process of hiring potential employees, promoting present employees or transferring them. Therefore, in today’s environment, corporations and non-profit organizations are finding that to recruit and retain successful managers, IQ is not sufficient; a successful manager needs to develop EI to work effectively with others ( 2000). According to (2000), superior managers that tend to manage relationships well are those that are self-aware, self-regulators, and are empathetic to others (). EI is very important especially at the senior management level because as one goes up the corporate ladder, technical skills diminish in importance, and EI becomes vital to the effectiveness and efficiency of a good manager. Hence, with good leaders, business is being directed to having competitive performance within and outside the business environment.             2.      What are the steps in the Communication Process and how can knowing these steps help a person become a more effective communicator? Answer:             Communication is an important aspect of work organizations. Through effective interaction, colleagues are able to share insights and learn from each other’s strengths and expertise. Indeed, as other authors have stated, effective communication must always be practiced as it is significant to individual health as well as for the creation of positive relationships. Specifically, the ability to communicate directly affects an individual’s stress levels, self-esteem and relationship quality ( 1998).             Featuring what is called a transmission paradigm, it is said that communication is “the process or act of transmitting a message from a sender to a receiver,  through a channel and with the interference of noise; the actual message or messages sent and received; the study of the processes involved in the sending and receiving of messages. In an organization, the communication process leads the company toward realizing effective communication. The communication process has four major components which include encoding, medium of transmission, decoding and feedback.             Knowing the steps of communication process is important to become an effective communicator. When this process is being followed properly, the process can usually ensure that the sender’s message will be understood by the receiver. Effective and successful communication utilized within an organization can be attributed from the implementation of the communication process. All individuals within an organization can be an effective communicator if they will enhance their communication skills by merely following/applying communication process. It has been proven that people who understand the process will blossom into more effective communicator.     3.      What are the implications of gender differences in communication for conducting meetings? Answer: Gender differences have been one of the hotly debated topics throughout the years. Research shows that gender differences affect different aspects of life, such as communication. In an organization, it is said that gender differences may have negative and positive implications to communication especially when the staffs or conducting a meeting. One of the positive effects is having different perspectives or ideologies from men and women. Since, men and women have different thoughts regarding different matters; the issue may be seen in different levels which may lead to a more concise and effective decisions. Further, the different ideologies of men and women may compliment each other to meet the agenda of the meeting. Another positive implication of gender differences is in terms of establishing team members which have different capabilities and skills needed to have a more effective team to meet the demands of the meeting. On the other hand, gender differences may also have negative implications to communication in a meeting. One of which is it may be the cause of conflict between two different perspectives and ideologies. The conflict may affect the purpose of the meeting. In addition, this conflict may be the cause of other arguments which is not relevant to the objective of the meeting. In addition, other deeper issue may occur because of such argument. All in all, it can be said that gender differences should be given enough attention in understanding how an organization may have effective communication especially during the times of discussing important matters.   4.      Part of being a good team player is helping other members. How can members of a workplace team help each other? How can a person achieve individual recognition yet still be a team player? Answer Members of team may help each other may having a common goal and doing things to together to achieve such goal. This can be done by having effective communication throughout the process. Each member should be opening minded in everything that might occur in the project.   The team may also help each other by knowing the different skills of each member and doing things to improve such skills so as to be more effective in achieving the purpose of the project. They can also share with each other all the skills and knowledge that they have learned from their previous trainings which is related to the tasks that they will handle. One of the problems of many members in a team is in terms of being recognized by a superior. Since the recognition is given mostly to a team or team leader, team members are being left behind most of the times. In this manner, there are things in which a team member may do in order to be recognized. One of which is by doing his or her best in the specific task given. For example, in a project each member are given specific tasks to be accomplished, if the member of the team has done their work properly and accurately there is a greater possibility that the member will be recognized immediately.  Giving your best and ensuring efficient work is a stepping stone for being remarkable member of a team. 5.      What is the group decision-making technique described in this Unit? Which group decision-making techniques do you think members of management are most likely to use? Making-decision can be difficult for a number of reasons such as the organizational structure, human behavioral, organizational culture, uncertainties, incomplete information, multiple objectives, complexity of the problem and anxiety, which directly influence the decision making process. Regardless of the constraints, managers have to make decisions. Under any circumstances, decisions made cannot and must not be wrong because decisions are the mechanisms by which decision-makers try to accomplish the goals of the organization; they are the means to an end. In this particular unit, the decision making approach that can be used is the decision making model which is concerned with the development and application of standard decision rules based on formal logic derived from data, which is called the programmed decision. The utmost concern of the manager the decision making process is to ensure that the decision yields optimal results and the same is expected for all the decisions made. In addition, the rational approach can also be used.  The rational approach tends to underline a normative view of decision making. According to  (2002), rational decision making model involves (a) defining the problem; (b) identifying the decision criteria; (c) weigh the criteria; (d) generate alternatives; (e) rate each alternative on each criterion; and (f) compute the optimal decision. Based on the steps, the decision-maker identifies the problems or organizational goals and then defines alternatives in terms of the potential outcomes for each of the alternatives.   6.      How can a team leader apply groupware to help the group become more productive? Answer The term groupware is known as software products that support groups of people engage in a common task or goal. It can also be regarded as: Software which is exclusively designed to enable teams or groups of people work together.  It is an evolving concept that is more than multi-user software, which permits access to the same data. This software provides a mechanism that helps users coordinate and keep track of on-going projects. The team leader may apply or use groupware by integrating information technology with the business process. Since groupware is designed to help team members coordinate and track joint projects and access the same data, it would make the work become easier for all the team members.  Groupware is application software that integrates work on a single project by several simultaneous users at separated workstations. Or in other words, groupware is any one of plentiful software packages that helps facilitate groups to work better as a group and become more productive. Groupware supplies this type of capability by offering features such as: email, fax, voicemail, data conferencing, electronic calendars and social software, just to name a few. By implementing the software it is the hope of the groupware industry that employees will be able to communicate better with one another whether it is on a cooperative project or just simply scheduling initiatives. Through the capabilities given by groupware with the team, the team can work harmoniously and productively.   7.      A major purpose of diversity programs is to help people celebrate differences. Why should people celebrate a difference such as an attention deficit disorder? Answer             It is said that individual differs in so many ways, however, there are some individual who are different without them knowing the reasons. In this manner, to be able to solve this issue, different diversity programs are being established. Attention deficit disorder is known as a mental disorder in which an individual tends to behave differently and hyperactively than other people. This kind of condition should not be discriminated, but should be celebrated. We must celebrate ADD by seeing the gift in each person as God delights in that person. People with ADD often are highly creative and personable. In addition, they are frequently risk takers and take on tasks which daunt ordinary people. In this manner, we must see their potentials and let this potentialities become a tool for making other people believe in their capabilities.             The church can be a powerful instrument in speaking up for those who cannot advocate for themselves. ADD should be celebrated in order to let other people become more aware of their potentialities in becoming a more productive individual. Let us make them feel that they belong in the society and that they can do things that other people cant. Further, we must be able to discover the unique needs of each individual with ADD.   8.      Studies have shown that women working in male-dominated positions, such as a female construction supervisor or bulldozer operator, are more likely to experience sexual harassment than women in other fields. What explanation can you offer for this finding? Answer: It can be concluded that when women is working a male-dominated position she is more exposed to sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is referred to as any unwanted attention of a sexual nature, such as remarks about physical appearance or personal life, offensive written or visual acts such as graffiti or degrading pictures, physical contact of any kind or sexual demands. For me, one of the reasons why women are being sexually harassed by men in this kind of working environment, because she is the different from them that they capture all the attention of a male coworker. Furthermore, men see women with weaker personality that they thought of doing things that pleases them. In addition, there are men who get easily attracted with women who looks stronger and who can do the work of a man with them. Male workers tend to see the indifference in terms of genders that is why they are caught with situations of liking their female coworker.  Furthermore, it is said that in this kind of working environment there is a greater probability of having consistent talk about sex, display of pornographic materials. The crude conversations and jokes and sexual innuendos which may trigger or start sexual urges among men.   9.      How might a student use cognitive restructuring to get over the anger of having received a low grade in a course? Accordingly, cognitive restructuring is a useful tool for understanding and turning around negative or stressful thinking. This process can help people set aside unhappy, negative thoughts and approach situations in a positive mode. This tool is obviously important since it does not help us manage negative mood but also reduce the quality of out performance and undermine the social relationships with other people. Hence, if a student is being angry because he got low grades, then he can use this tool to lessen up his anger and put positive things in his mind.  A student may use cognitive restructuring by controlling his anger by things positive things out of the negative situation. Through cognitive restructuring, the student may think of studying harder to achieve the grades that he wants. In addition, he can also think of other important matters which will make him happier and forget his anger because of the low grades that he received. He may also think of approaching his teacher and know his shortcomings and the things that he would improve to help him enhance his grades. Cognitive restructuring may also helps the student in changing his moods by thinking of other topics like the sports that he wants or the things that he wanted to have. Using cognitive restructuring changes the way people handle emotions which may affect our positive perspectives in life. 10.  In what ways do the concepts of charismatic leadership and participative leadership differ substantially from each other? Answer Leadership is a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of other individuals in the achievement of a common task (1997). The major points of this definition are that leadership is a group activity, is based on social influence, and revolves around a common task. There are many leadership styles that can be used by leaders; these may include charismatic and participative leadership. These two styles differ in many ways; the two may differ in terms of the leader’s behavior or personality or by the relationship with the subordinates. For example, charismatic and participative style may differ in terms of relationship among follower. A charismatic leader is one whose power is legitimized with the basis of a leader’s exceptional personal qualities which inspire loyalty and obedience from followers. On the other hand, the participative style refers to the kind of leadership wherein the followers are permitted to be involved in the decision making process.  The leader implements minimal control or manipulation on their followers.  However, the leader is still accountable for the final decision to be made.  Herein, the opinion and ideas of the followers are being valued by the leader and each follower encompasses different tasks set by the leader.   11. How might an instructor use negative reinforcement (avoidance motivation) to improve a student’s performance? Answer Negative reinforcement refers to the manner of ignoring or discouraging undesirable behavior. Negative reinforcement plays a major role in the regulation of everyday human behavior. In this manner, an instructor may use negative reinforcement by having a negative or aversive stimulus. The principle of negative reinforcement may be summed up as follows: If a mild aversive situation is terminated by a given behavior then that behavior will tend to be continued or repeated. In a teaching and learning process, the aversive condition may be having low grades among students. The teacher may use this to let the student know the consequence of having low grades and having high grades. Timing is important; the relief from the aversive condition must occur immediately following the desired behavior. In some respects, this procedure may seem to be punitive, but there are several significant differences. Although negative reinforcement is a viable alternative and may be useful under selected circumstances, it is risky if the teacher is the source of the aversive condition. Escape and avoidance behaviors may not always be desirable, but may be learned because they reduce the discomfort. Examples of escape behaviors include daydreaming, cheating, dropping out of school, or passively sitting in class as a non-participant. Furthermore, the aversive feeling can easily be generalized to schooling, authority, or subject matter. Aversive conditions turn people off.   12. If people really live by the WAIF principle, how can a leader still achieve teamwork? Answer What’s in it for me? (WAIF) principle is a method of knowing what is install for an individual. In this manner, by knowing what is in a leader that should be done, teamwork can still be achievable. Being a leader, a person must know his or her responsibility of upbringing the sense of unity in a team. In addition, through this principle, the leader should influence his followers and let them accept your idea of being integrated to meet your common goal.  What’s in it for me is a way of saying to a leader his obligation of keeping his team work as a team and succeed by helping each other and learning from their mistakes.               In addition, through this principle, the leader must know what to expect from the team and how this expectation can be met by having a unified working relationships among the members.  With the use of this principle the leader may be able to identify his responsibility not only for the project but also for his followers or team members. Knowing one’s responsibility is a helpful tool to know how well you will manage and control your team to work in achieving a common goal.   13. In what ways does a coach in a workforce act like an athletic coach? Answer Coaching can be referred to as giving technical information in an organized manner to enhance and develop a practical performance by individuals or groups. A coach in a workforce is a person who holds the responsibility of letting his player does their best to meet the organizational goal and to be more productive. In this manner, a coach in a workforce may act like an athletic coach in a way that he or she can instruct the players on what to do in order to win. This is a fairly an obvious role for a coach in a workforce, but it is essential it is done correctly in order for the players being instructed to learn. When a coach is instructing they should be clear and concise, in order for the players to understand the task set for them like in a real working environment. A coach needs to be concise, as if a coach gives out too much information, it may become too much for the players to take in, and the task maybe done incorrectly. In addition, a coach in a workforce may also be a coach in athletics by being a role model. This is because players, particularly youngsters, will look up to the coach with great respect; therefore coaches should set a good example.   14. Describe how email can be used to play positive office politics, as well as used for unethical purposes Answer E-mail has become indispensable in the modern-day workplace, with more and more employers realizing that E-mail communication systems can increase the efficiency of communications internally. Along with this increase in the use of E-mail come legal and ethical involving employee privacy and monitoring. Email can be used to play positive politics in a workplace because it can be viewed privately. However, because of different issues concerning email, different organization is trying to provide a policy to make email more useful in office politics. They use email to send information to respective employees and make this information confidential. In terms of unethical purposes, email can be used to spread rumors secretly about their colleagues or their employers. Work environment must seek to raise awareness of the ethical issue of E-mail privacy by explaining both the vulnerabilities to which E-mail is subject to and by defining the privacy expectations to both employers and employees. We also must take into account the primary concerns in E-mail privacy invasion, which includes; ethical behavior, the employer’s perspective on E-mail privacy and a strategy for ethic management, which integrates ethical behavior and legal compliance on the E-mail privacy policy.   15. For what reason is a satisfied employee more likely to provide better customer service? Answer The proper management of Human Resources is significant in determining the success of a certain organization. It can be said that if an employee is satisfied, there is a tendency of being more efficient in their work especially in dealing with customers.  Employees are one of the driving-forces that generally contributes for the success or failure of any organization. Therefore the human Resource Management should be able to create an overall policy that will make the employees feel that they are being valued so that they will be encouraged and motivated to provide quality services. It can also be concluded that in order to have a high-performing and competitive organization the company must have high performing employees which may only achieved if they are satisfied with what the company is giving to them. Employees can make or break a business. Good employees can produce extraordinary results while marginal employees can drag and keep business down. However, if they are satisfied enough, employees can be considered as an asset which may provide quality service to customers, thus helping the company become more competitive in the marketplace. Owners and managers are committed to developed employees, to enable them to achieve business objectives, as well as, generating people commitment advantage through their performance and abilities.   16.  How effective is the principle “the customer is always right” when dealing with dissatisfied customers Good customer service makes customers satisfied by fulfilling their needs first. Good customer service requires all staff to place themselves in the position of their customers. All staff should be aware of how they would like to be treated if, they were a customer, and deal their customers, for that reason. When a customer is dissatisfied with the products or services, the principle of customer is always right is still effective in line with the work and obligations of the employees. The employees must see to it that they always adhere to this principle even if this conflict occurs. In addition, this motto is effective so as to handle the situation more calmly and solving the problem efficiently. The staff may ask the dissatisfy customer what is the reason for such dissatisfaction which in return can be a basis for the employee to solve the problem by providing a more quality service to the intended customers. Quality service is essential and this is the foundation of the motto “the customer is always right.” If the employee wants to achieve the level of customer satisfaction they must always think that every action they made should satisfy their customers and that customer will always be your customer if you treated them nicely. <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; margin-right: -43.7pt">  The major business scandals in recent years have involved financial manipulations such as executives profiting from selling company stock while encouraging employees to buy stock. In what ways do these financial scandals affect people?</li> Answer Financial scandals are one of the major problems of different industries. Being involved in a situation like this really affects different people especially those who have been in this kind of situation. Financial scandals may affect people in many ways. For example, those who have played a major role in a scandal may live a depressing life since there is a tendency that other people would not trust him to handle tasks related to finances. He or she should work harder to get the trust of other people on his or her side. In addition, other people will be affected in a way that they can be terminated in their position which may lower their morale. Those people who are not really involved but have been punished will also be affected by the scandal. Furthermore, accountants can be considered as the mostly affected individual in a financial scandals and issues. There is a possibility that all blames will be pointed out to the accountants. In this manner, the confidence of an accountant will be affected and his or her work attitude will also be affected negatively. Employees and consumers can also be affected by these scandals and if the company will not do something about it, they might have a problem in gaining potential clients.   <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; margin-right: -43.7pt"> Why might having your stress under control improve your interpersonal relationships?</li> Answer Stress can be defined in many ways but in general terms, it refers to the feeling of pressure, anxiety and tension. Occupational stress refers to those organizational task/role performances, which induce stress on employees in the workplace. It can be characterized by as the harmful physical and emotional responses occurring when the job requirements, work environment or work organization does not match the worker’s capabilities, resources or needs. There is an increasing awareness of the effects of stress on employees0 in the workplace. One of the affected areas is in line with having interpersonal relationships among colleagues or peer.  Relationship with others is a critical part of organizational life and a potential source of stress. Good interpersonal relationships facilitate the achievement of many personal and organizational goals, and poor interpersonal relationships cause by considerable stress may affect this.  Good relationship between members of a work group is a central factor in individual and organizational health. When people are being pressured by different stressors, there is a tendency that their relation with their coworkers will be affected. Hence, controlling stress is an important factor so as to maintain your composure under these tensions, the individual can also managed to still have good interpersonal relation with the people around him or her. <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%; margin-right: -43.7pt"> Identify four situations in a career in which conducting a job campaign would be necessary.</li> Answer             Human Resource Management is accountable for the growth and development of the organization and the employees as well.  Employees must be given a chance to develop their career in the organization, not only for the advantages that they can get for themselves but also for the organization.  There are situations in a career in which job campaign is necessary one is changing career direction, preparing opportunities for new industries, relocating to new places and getting employers to create a special job for you. These situations needs a job campaign and this may help an individual to find the most suitable job for them. These career moves are essential to an ongoing career, and a job campaign is necessary to meet the needs of this decision. In order to execute career development in the organization or in the working place, the Human Resource Management must be responsible for the organization and management of the program as well as the identification and development of the career development activities deemed appropriate.  The employee must find a job campaign that suits his o needs to develop his career and to achieved personal growth and objective. 20.        In what way do political tactics assist career development? Answer Employees must be given a chance to develop their career in the organization, not only for the advantages that they can get for themselves but also for the organization.  One of the obligations of the Human Resource Management (HRM) is to be able understand that the primary of career development is to help employees analyze their abilities, skills, and interests to better match personnel needs for growth and development to the needs of the organization. In order to do this effectively, the consideration of using political skills and tactics is important. Political skills may include managing relationships, identifying stakeholders and communicating effectively. By having managing relationships, an employee may be enhancing their potentialities of becoming good leaders. In addition, being an effective communicator as part of political tactics may also assist an individual to develop their abilities to provide information and use this information to meet different objectives. It is noted that this political skills is needed to ensure the success of an employee in terms of dealing with office politics which they will encounter when their handling their own personnels and staffs. Political skills also assist career development by letting an individual become more confident to manage the tasks given and accomplished it successfully.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

HRM

Human Relations and Development 1. What is emotional intelligence and why is it so important for success in business? Answer E...