Unit 13 Employability Skills P1
EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
RoundAbout Ltd
SCENARIO
RoundAbout Ltd is a young hi-tech company formed only few years ago, operating from trendy offices near Old Street, London, considered an important ‘technology hub’.
It specializes in new media techniques and research, often using or even writing its own software for this purpose, focusing on clients involved in recruitment, personnel and human resource management.
Having completed your HNC, you are offered a job with Roundabout as an Administrator. If the company continues to grow and you perform according to expectations, you believe that this role will give you good opportunities for personal development and promotion.
TASK 1
PERSONAL PLANNING FOR EMPLOYABILITY …show more content…
1.1 Destiny is yours
Every individual is responsible for his/her future. Each person possess a special ability and find a career that suits your ability.
1.2 Personal performance objective
My main objective will be recommending customers with reusable bags and cutting down on plastic and paper bags. Meanwhile I cut down my expenses and charge a reasonable amount for reusable bags.
1.3
1. Motivational Technique
SACHA GREY
69, KNOX ROAD
CLACKTON ON SEA
CE0 3BT
Dear Rylee,
How are you, I’m fine here. I sent u this letter in regarding of motivation. I think motivation is one of the most crucial skills you need throughout your life. A person can be motivated for the reward he gets after he accomplish his goal. This technique made me more efficient, punctual and concentrate.
TASK 2 – PREPARING FOR AN APPRAISAL INTERVIEW
2.1 Identifying Responsibility
Generally Administrators responsibility is to do lots of computer work - word processing, reports, copying, managing the schedule and plans of their manager.
Much depends on what the work of the manager is. You will be responsible to succeed them through their job done and through their day efficiently.
2.2 Work Performance Draft
My objective to improve performance is by checking supervisor’s schedule which accurately reflects all meetings and appointments, Schedule that allows enough time between meetings without conflicts and making Meeting space available as arranged, and the people who are present are timely notified. This will be evaluated within the next 12 months and boost my performance.
2.3 Evaluate Performance Objective
The supervisor should be directly involved in describing big responsibilities and setting appropriate steps for the upcoming future. Consult with the employee to make sure no mistakes made and everything is properly completed. Provide the employee with a complete copy of all document to maintain a copy for the supervisor’s records.
2.4 Improvements on Communication
Skills
Developing advanced communication skills begins with kinder interactions. Communication skills can be practiced every day in accordance to the range from the social to the professional. New skills take time to develop, but each time you use your communication skills, you open the doors and windows to opportunities and future partnerships.
2.5 Motivational Incentive
Positive incentives motivate me which provide a clear assurance for fulfilling the needs and wants. I would like them to notice my hard work enrich my requirments.Motivate me in work and hand me a responsibility which has high position to prove myself worthy of it.
TASK 3 - REPORTING ON WORKFORCE TRENDS
Global Workforce Megatrends
The first trend I’ve noticed is the average age of workforce will NOT get younger, but will remain about the same because the recent global crisis has postponed millions of retirements. Rather than facing a Baby Boomer major exodus, companies will now face something just as daunting: a more “bipolar” workforce. As markets recover, lot of companies will begin recruit again and there will be an in-flux of “Millennial” entering the workforce. This will create more of a bi-modal workforce with one “pole” being the twenty-something’s other being the sixty something’s in the workforce.
The challenge will be creating an environment conducive to the quick transfer of knowledge seamlessly and in context between these generations. There will be in high pressure on the learning architecture to develop and deliver training that will accept to both of these generations with very different learning styles. Emerging from the Global Recession
A second trend I believe will impact learning is changing heaps of markets and companies emerging from the global recession. As I see almost every day in newspapers’ business sections, the number of mergers and acquisitions is growing. The training challenge in this environment will evaluate multiple learning portfolios and systematically leverage and maximize what is there, remove waste and redundancy and come up with an optimized learning portfolio.
The portfolio must increase the efficiency, productivity and growth of this new workforce, yet navigate the political pressures from different stakeholders with self-interests and “legacy” motivations yet another style to keep in mind.
Moving Toward a Blended Learning Approach
In the quote I referenced a little entries back, Isaac Asimov had it right. He said, “The only constant is change, continue the change, inevitable change, that is, the dominant factor in society today. No reasonable decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.” I think it is important to move towards a blended learning touch in the workforce.
This is the third style I believe supports Asimov’s theory. Moving to more blended learning touch will optimize the learning experience for a more distributed, fragmented workforce. Telecommuting, home and satellite officing and global enterprises to server global markets will continue to move forward. Traditional instructor-led training or PowerPoint “page turners” will not suffice in meeting the cost constraints and studying objectives of global companies.
The only option will be to continue changing the learning design, development and delivery architectures to maximize the use of virtual training, managed meaning, simulations and serious gaming. This will increase the learning experience and convenience, while controlling costs and contributing more to the level of lines of our businesses. We need to adapt to the rapid rate at which technology and the way people receive their news is evolving.
Business leaders around the globe will need to ask themselves what the trends mean for their industry and what they will do to respond to them, according to Manpower research. Companies need to carefully consider their people practices, a critical element to navigating the changing circle of work.
"As the economy rebounds, companies will need to prepare for a latest normal, carefully adjusting their business plans and evaluating their workforce," said Joerres. "In the past, access to capital gave industries their edge; soon talent will become the competitive differentiator and industry will compete for talent as rigorously as individuals now compete for jobs.
"Given these trends, the temporary workforce will lead through the world recovers and companies are forced to do more and meet consumers ' even with expectations.To attract and retain these 'workforce accelerators ' who offer huge specialized skills, smart companies will strive to make a workplace culture that is healthy, flexible and satisfying."
TASK 4 RESOLVING A MARKETING PROBLEM
4.1 MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND METHODS
Benchmarking is an effective and efficient management tool. It is comparing something you do to the best possible outcome that can be attained for the same or similar problem using the same resources. It makes our solutions and makes us perform good as a level has been set to achieve. It makes us understand the processes that chase the problem. Companies can then improve and customizing their answer to best solve the problem not by imitating the benchmark is being inspired.
When it has been defined it’s high time to get the best solution for the problem and execute it after the plan has been accomplished it is now time to evaluate how effective the plan was.
Unless the plan was immaculate it is now time to make the real plan based on the evaluation Iterating the above steps until an effective decision is found for the problem.
4.2 STRATEGY FOR RESOLVING THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION
The product name ‘Spidernet’ it should be more important to the product. Product name also play a vital part in the business. The prices should be matched or beaten the market price. Advertisement is key for online business. Products or services on the website if so, I strongly recommend the test whether or not this is the best strategy. Finding that offering fewer products in one place with more copy describing those products always transforms into higher sales. It’s all about focus, Instead of trying to please everyone who visits your site by offering a large range of products with minimal detail about each one, if you offer just one product or one set of related products you can really focus on one key set of benefits and answer all the possible questions and doubts your visitors might have about your product. And you don 't have to stop selling your other products you can always offer them to your customers from other web pages or by using follow-up offers, the only way to find out for sure if this will work with the target Customers is to test it. Write a sales letter for your lead product, and put it on your home page. Then run the test for a week or two to see how it increases your sales.
4.3 IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY FOR POTENTIAL IMPACT ON BUSINESS
Strategic planning is crucial to an increasing business growth, but companies typically realise only about 63% of their business has a strategy for potential financial value because of defects and damages in strategic planning and implementation. The opportunity value of getting your strategic plan execution right is high
The problems are below
A survey of our client base found that before we start to working with them, only 15% of our clients made it a good practice to go back and compare their business results with the performance forecast for each of their Business units in its 3 to 5year strategic plan. Furthermore, when they did make the comparison, they found that performance rarely matched the previous year 's projections. Implementation is the toughest part of the strategic planning process. It involves achieving the objectives in the strategic plan in remaining alert and flexible to opportunities and new ideas as they unfold. To implement the strategic plan has to robust in the first place. In other words, it must be Realistic and solidly grounded in the forms of economics of the organisation 's markets. For guidance on drawing up a good quality strategic plan.
What is effective strategic plan implementation?
Implementation effectiveness can be calculated by how well the business meets the financial projections set out the strategic plan. To achieve an high implementation, a business must ensure that any changes initiated by the strategic plan are visible in areas such as budgeting, reward schemes and information systems. The overall aim is to integrate the results of strategic planning with daily, weekly and monthly routines. The aims are articulated in the strategic plan should run marketing and sales efforts, human resources practices and Research and development. These goals become a main part of the business by guiding daily operational activities.
4.4 CRITICAL PATH
Critical path is mostly used with all forms of projects, including construction, aerospace and defense, software development, research projects, product development, engineering, and plant maintenance etc. Any project with interdependent activities can do this andapply this method of mathematical analysis. Although the original critical path program and approach is no more, the term is generally referred to any approach used to analyze a project network logic
The critical path to the diagram that is provided.
A –C – F –H –I
TASK 5 WORKING IN TEAMS
5.1TEAM WORK
You must watch and analyze what roles people are taking and fit yourself to the scheme. Sometimes, for some tasks, you may be the one who will analyze. Other times someone else does the analysis and take another role. Sometimes you have to gathers the data. Perhaps this time someone else is being suited for that instead of you. You have played the cheerleader on the last assignment undertaken by the team, pointing to successes and encouraging team members to stay closer to the game. This time around you may take the role of the critic, raising questions about assumptions that are driving the enterprise.
What if something flops? It to know what works and what doesn’t work. Can name the events and the players from the previous round. Can be helpful in preventing repetitions of past failures. Can be a ladder to progress by dredging up old ghosts. Needs to understand the use of learning from the past, but also needs to understand that new solutions does benefit from the successful parts of past.
5.2 HOW A TEAM WORKS TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE A GOAL
As industries get bigger and bigger the ability to get the best from teams takes on even more significance. Problem is that much of our early success comes down to what we do individually. Think about school, college, exams or even looking for jobs and the message we get is that I won not you. Competition is seen as being more needed than collaborating.
Suddenly you find yourself in a management or leadership role then you will discover that no matter what you are, there is a definite answer on what you can achieve. The reason is no matter who you are the ultimate reward is for the time.
When we get a team of people working together in a line of collaboration much more is achieved
On a team you have more chance to contribute to achieving the goals or outcomes. You have access to a wider form of skills, qualities, attributes and experience. You can help people focusing on what they do best other than trying to fix a square peg into a round hole. On a team you can have many streams working on different levels of a project or programme which gets you to the desired result in a flash. On a team people throw ideas off each other and can often turn a good idea into a high exceptional solution. You gain the support and encouragement that helps staffs through the ups and downs. Camaraderie and togetherness and perhaps even the safety that encourages choices and actions. Access and engage people who really make a difference. So as a leader you have a choice to try to be the lone ranger or leverage the expertise of others to achieve best results in the future.
5.3 ASSESSING TEAM DYNAMICS
The dynamics of the team when working together on the SpiderNet project was a very promising. Although I have worked in a team before I didn’t actually understand the importance of team dynamics. By working on the SpiderNet project. I learnt that compromising with team members even if you don’t agree completely adds great value to the project.
I was fairly new to function in a group at this level I learnt a lot when I worked on this project but I also noticed the following aspects that bought the positive attitude to the team.
The team members listened and gave their honest feedback.
The feedback was constructive rather than being destructive.
The workspace had no walls or cubicles which was helpful as we discussed more often.
The team members accepted their faults when they were faulty.
5.4 ALTERNATIVE WAYS
When generally most tasks are taken into consideration most of them can be completed in many ways. The following points helps to function effectively and find alternative ways of completing a task.
Break down one process into a few smaller ones.
Do a task when you have the time. Avoid postponing it.
Start the task, when you start the task you would eventually finish it.
Complete your task as much as you can.
Research your task, it helps us understand the problem better.
Give honest feedback, even if you think your team members won’t like it.
Complete your tasks on time, this will ensure the team keeps functioning.
Check for errors, your colleagues don’t have the time to check your mistake.
References
1 http://www.businessballs.com/business-thesaurus.htm
2 http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_84.htm
3 http://www.morganstanley.com/about/press/articles/0b1244ae-2c0f-4844-a970- bbd505b2fd88.html
4 http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_84.htm
5 http://www.teamworkpm.net/
6 http://www.mindtools.com/critpath.html
RoundAbout Ltd
SCENARIO
RoundAbout Ltd is a young hi-tech company formed only few years ago, operating from trendy offices near Old Street, London, considered an important ‘technology hub’.
It specializes in new media techniques and research, often using or even writing its own software for this purpose, focusing on clients involved in recruitment, personnel and human resource management.
Having completed your HNC, you are offered a job with Roundabout as an Administrator. If the company continues to grow and you perform according to expectations, you believe that this role will give you good opportunities for personal development and promotion.
TASK 1
PERSONAL PLANNING FOR EMPLOYABILITY …show more content…
1.1 Destiny is yours
Every individual is responsible for his/her future. Each person possess a special ability and find a career that suits your ability.
1.2 Personal performance objective
My main objective will be recommending customers with reusable bags and cutting down on plastic and paper bags. Meanwhile I cut down my expenses and charge a reasonable amount for reusable bags.
1.3
1. Motivational Technique
SACHA GREY
69, KNOX ROAD
CLACKTON ON SEA
CE0 3BT
Dear Rylee,
How are you, I’m fine here. I sent u this letter in regarding of motivation. I think motivation is one of the most crucial skills you need throughout your life. A person can be motivated for the reward he gets after he accomplish his goal. This technique made me more efficient, punctual and concentrate.
TASK 2 – PREPARING FOR AN APPRAISAL INTERVIEW
2.1 Identifying Responsibility
Generally Administrators responsibility is to do lots of computer work - word processing, reports, copying, managing the schedule and plans of their manager.
Much depends on what the work of the manager is. You will be responsible to succeed them through their job done and through their day efficiently.
2.2 Work Performance Draft
My objective to improve performance is by checking supervisor’s schedule which accurately reflects all meetings and appointments, Schedule that allows enough time between meetings without conflicts and making Meeting space available as arranged, and the people who are present are timely notified. This will be evaluated within the next 12 months and boost my performance.
2.3 Evaluate Performance Objective
The supervisor should be directly involved in describing big responsibilities and setting appropriate steps for the upcoming future. Consult with the employee to make sure no mistakes made and everything is properly completed. Provide the employee with a complete copy of all document to maintain a copy for the supervisor’s records.
2.4 Improvements on Communication
Skills
Developing advanced communication skills begins with kinder interactions. Communication skills can be practiced every day in accordance to the range from the social to the professional. New skills take time to develop, but each time you use your communication skills, you open the doors and windows to opportunities and future partnerships.
2.5 Motivational Incentive
Positive incentives motivate me which provide a clear assurance for fulfilling the needs and wants. I would like them to notice my hard work enrich my requirments.Motivate me in work and hand me a responsibility which has high position to prove myself worthy of it.
TASK 3 - REPORTING ON WORKFORCE TRENDS
Global Workforce Megatrends
The first trend I’ve noticed is the average age of workforce will NOT get younger, but will remain about the same because the recent global crisis has postponed millions of retirements. Rather than facing a Baby Boomer major exodus, companies will now face something just as daunting: a more “bipolar” workforce. As markets recover, lot of companies will begin recruit again and there will be an in-flux of “Millennial” entering the workforce. This will create more of a bi-modal workforce with one “pole” being the twenty-something’s other being the sixty something’s in the workforce.
The challenge will be creating an environment conducive to the quick transfer of knowledge seamlessly and in context between these generations. There will be in high pressure on the learning architecture to develop and deliver training that will accept to both of these generations with very different learning styles. Emerging from the Global Recession
A second trend I believe will impact learning is changing heaps of markets and companies emerging from the global recession. As I see almost every day in newspapers’ business sections, the number of mergers and acquisitions is growing. The training challenge in this environment will evaluate multiple learning portfolios and systematically leverage and maximize what is there, remove waste and redundancy and come up with an optimized learning portfolio.
The portfolio must increase the efficiency, productivity and growth of this new workforce, yet navigate the political pressures from different stakeholders with self-interests and “legacy” motivations yet another style to keep in mind.
Moving Toward a Blended Learning Approach
In the quote I referenced a little entries back, Isaac Asimov had it right. He said, “The only constant is change, continue the change, inevitable change, that is, the dominant factor in society today. No reasonable decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.” I think it is important to move towards a blended learning touch in the workforce.
This is the third style I believe supports Asimov’s theory. Moving to more blended learning touch will optimize the learning experience for a more distributed, fragmented workforce. Telecommuting, home and satellite officing and global enterprises to server global markets will continue to move forward. Traditional instructor-led training or PowerPoint “page turners” will not suffice in meeting the cost constraints and studying objectives of global companies.
The only option will be to continue changing the learning design, development and delivery architectures to maximize the use of virtual training, managed meaning, simulations and serious gaming. This will increase the learning experience and convenience, while controlling costs and contributing more to the level of lines of our businesses. We need to adapt to the rapid rate at which technology and the way people receive their news is evolving.
Business leaders around the globe will need to ask themselves what the trends mean for their industry and what they will do to respond to them, according to Manpower research. Companies need to carefully consider their people practices, a critical element to navigating the changing circle of work.
"As the economy rebounds, companies will need to prepare for a latest normal, carefully adjusting their business plans and evaluating their workforce," said Joerres. "In the past, access to capital gave industries their edge; soon talent will become the competitive differentiator and industry will compete for talent as rigorously as individuals now compete for jobs.
"Given these trends, the temporary workforce will lead through the world recovers and companies are forced to do more and meet consumers ' even with expectations.To attract and retain these 'workforce accelerators ' who offer huge specialized skills, smart companies will strive to make a workplace culture that is healthy, flexible and satisfying."
TASK 4 RESOLVING A MARKETING PROBLEM
4.1 MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND METHODS
Benchmarking is an effective and efficient management tool. It is comparing something you do to the best possible outcome that can be attained for the same or similar problem using the same resources. It makes our solutions and makes us perform good as a level has been set to achieve. It makes us understand the processes that chase the problem. Companies can then improve and customizing their answer to best solve the problem not by imitating the benchmark is being inspired.
When it has been defined it’s high time to get the best solution for the problem and execute it after the plan has been accomplished it is now time to evaluate how effective the plan was.
Unless the plan was immaculate it is now time to make the real plan based on the evaluation Iterating the above steps until an effective decision is found for the problem.
4.2 STRATEGY FOR RESOLVING THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION
The product name ‘Spidernet’ it should be more important to the product. Product name also play a vital part in the business. The prices should be matched or beaten the market price. Advertisement is key for online business. Products or services on the website if so, I strongly recommend the test whether or not this is the best strategy. Finding that offering fewer products in one place with more copy describing those products always transforms into higher sales. It’s all about focus, Instead of trying to please everyone who visits your site by offering a large range of products with minimal detail about each one, if you offer just one product or one set of related products you can really focus on one key set of benefits and answer all the possible questions and doubts your visitors might have about your product. And you don 't have to stop selling your other products you can always offer them to your customers from other web pages or by using follow-up offers, the only way to find out for sure if this will work with the target Customers is to test it. Write a sales letter for your lead product, and put it on your home page. Then run the test for a week or two to see how it increases your sales.
4.3 IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY FOR POTENTIAL IMPACT ON BUSINESS
Strategic planning is crucial to an increasing business growth, but companies typically realise only about 63% of their business has a strategy for potential financial value because of defects and damages in strategic planning and implementation. The opportunity value of getting your strategic plan execution right is high
The problems are below
A survey of our client base found that before we start to working with them, only 15% of our clients made it a good practice to go back and compare their business results with the performance forecast for each of their Business units in its 3 to 5year strategic plan. Furthermore, when they did make the comparison, they found that performance rarely matched the previous year 's projections. Implementation is the toughest part of the strategic planning process. It involves achieving the objectives in the strategic plan in remaining alert and flexible to opportunities and new ideas as they unfold. To implement the strategic plan has to robust in the first place. In other words, it must be Realistic and solidly grounded in the forms of economics of the organisation 's markets. For guidance on drawing up a good quality strategic plan.
What is effective strategic plan implementation?
Implementation effectiveness can be calculated by how well the business meets the financial projections set out the strategic plan. To achieve an high implementation, a business must ensure that any changes initiated by the strategic plan are visible in areas such as budgeting, reward schemes and information systems. The overall aim is to integrate the results of strategic planning with daily, weekly and monthly routines. The aims are articulated in the strategic plan should run marketing and sales efforts, human resources practices and Research and development. These goals become a main part of the business by guiding daily operational activities.
4.4 CRITICAL PATH
Critical path is mostly used with all forms of projects, including construction, aerospace and defense, software development, research projects, product development, engineering, and plant maintenance etc. Any project with interdependent activities can do this andapply this method of mathematical analysis. Although the original critical path program and approach is no more, the term is generally referred to any approach used to analyze a project network logic
The critical path to the diagram that is provided.
A –C – F –H –I
TASK 5 WORKING IN TEAMS
5.1TEAM WORK
You must watch and analyze what roles people are taking and fit yourself to the scheme. Sometimes, for some tasks, you may be the one who will analyze. Other times someone else does the analysis and take another role. Sometimes you have to gathers the data. Perhaps this time someone else is being suited for that instead of you. You have played the cheerleader on the last assignment undertaken by the team, pointing to successes and encouraging team members to stay closer to the game. This time around you may take the role of the critic, raising questions about assumptions that are driving the enterprise.
What if something flops? It to know what works and what doesn’t work. Can name the events and the players from the previous round. Can be helpful in preventing repetitions of past failures. Can be a ladder to progress by dredging up old ghosts. Needs to understand the use of learning from the past, but also needs to understand that new solutions does benefit from the successful parts of past.
5.2 HOW A TEAM WORKS TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE A GOAL
As industries get bigger and bigger the ability to get the best from teams takes on even more significance. Problem is that much of our early success comes down to what we do individually. Think about school, college, exams or even looking for jobs and the message we get is that I won not you. Competition is seen as being more needed than collaborating.
Suddenly you find yourself in a management or leadership role then you will discover that no matter what you are, there is a definite answer on what you can achieve. The reason is no matter who you are the ultimate reward is for the time.
When we get a team of people working together in a line of collaboration much more is achieved
On a team you have more chance to contribute to achieving the goals or outcomes. You have access to a wider form of skills, qualities, attributes and experience. You can help people focusing on what they do best other than trying to fix a square peg into a round hole. On a team you can have many streams working on different levels of a project or programme which gets you to the desired result in a flash. On a team people throw ideas off each other and can often turn a good idea into a high exceptional solution. You gain the support and encouragement that helps staffs through the ups and downs. Camaraderie and togetherness and perhaps even the safety that encourages choices and actions. Access and engage people who really make a difference. So as a leader you have a choice to try to be the lone ranger or leverage the expertise of others to achieve best results in the future.
5.3 ASSESSING TEAM DYNAMICS
The dynamics of the team when working together on the SpiderNet project was a very promising. Although I have worked in a team before I didn’t actually understand the importance of team dynamics. By working on the SpiderNet project. I learnt that compromising with team members even if you don’t agree completely adds great value to the project.
I was fairly new to function in a group at this level I learnt a lot when I worked on this project but I also noticed the following aspects that bought the positive attitude to the team.
The team members listened and gave their honest feedback.
The feedback was constructive rather than being destructive.
The workspace had no walls or cubicles which was helpful as we discussed more often.
The team members accepted their faults when they were faulty.
5.4 ALTERNATIVE WAYS
When generally most tasks are taken into consideration most of them can be completed in many ways. The following points helps to function effectively and find alternative ways of completing a task.
Break down one process into a few smaller ones.
Do a task when you have the time. Avoid postponing it.
Start the task, when you start the task you would eventually finish it.
Complete your task as much as you can.
Research your task, it helps us understand the problem better.
Give honest feedback, even if you think your team members won’t like it.
Complete your tasks on time, this will ensure the team keeps functioning.
Check for errors, your colleagues don’t have the time to check your mistake.
References
1 http://www.businessballs.com/business-thesaurus.htm
2 http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_84.htm
3 http://www.morganstanley.com/about/press/articles/0b1244ae-2c0f-4844-a970- bbd505b2fd88.html
4 http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_84.htm
5 http://www.teamworkpm.net/
6 http://www.mindtools.com/critpath.html