Learning and Development Practice - Assignment Example

Certificate/Diploma in Human Resource and Learning and Development Practice Tasks: Core Modules - Gulf Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resource Practitioner Understanding Organisations and the Role of Human Resources Recording, Analysing and Using Human Resources Information Submitting your work You have been provided with an electronic copy of this workbook, in an abridged format. You should use this electronic version to record your answers to the questions and submit this to your tutor by the agreed deadline, via the Bradfield website. The self-study books are not assessed in the sense that your tutor marks them and assigns grades. However, it is a requirement of the programme that you complete all four workbooks throughout the course and submit them for your tutor to sign off. Your tutor will provide you with feedback on your work; if s/he is satisfied that you have answered all the questions and you demonstrate a sufficient level of knowledge relating to the content, the workbook will be signed off. If your tutor feels you have not fully answered a question, this will be made clear and you will be required to provide more detail. As you are being taught a large proportion of the material in the classroom, you are not required to upload all of the tasks in the self study book although you may find it helpful to complete them at home for your own self development. The numbers against the tasks that follow are not concurrent as they relate to those which are in yourself study book Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resource Practitioner Task 1.1: Aside from this, what other skills and qualities do you think are necessary for HR professionals today? Task 1.2: Access the HRPM: Professional Areas from the CIPD website at www.cipd.co.uk and review Professional Areas appropriate for level 3. Make notes on appropriate areas in the space provided on the next page. Task 1.3: Access the HRPM: Behaviours from the CIPD website at www.cipd.co.uk and review behavioural areas appropriate for Level 3. Make notes on appropriate areas on the next page. Task 1.4: Access the HRPM: Bands and Transitions from the CIPD website at www.cipd.co.uk and review Bands and Transitions appropriate for Level 3. Make notes on appropriate areas. Task 1.5: How can you, as an HR or L&D professional, ensure that you adhere to the CIPD Code of Practice? Understanding Organisations and the Role of Human Resources Task 2.1 In the box below, sketch the structure of your organisation. What type of structure is it? ADM Organisation Structure (Senior Management and HR) it is Territorial (Division) Structure. There are three levels in the organisation structure. The level 1 is composed of the General Manager and support functions, which include the advisor’s office, investment office, market and communications office, GM office, PMO office and internal audit. Level 2 is composed of heads of departments while service departments such as HR are found at level three. Task 2.2 Thinking about the information on the previous few pages analyse your organisation’s structure: What works well? What are the weaknesses (or potential weaknesses) of this structure? Are there any improvements that you could suggest? Task 2.3 What types of flexibility do you employ in your organisation? Task 2.4 What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of Atkinson’s Flexible Firm model? Make notes in the box below. Task 2.5 Think about your organisation. In the box below, write five words which you think sum up your organisation’s culture. Task 2.6: How do new employees learn about the culture of their new organisation? (e.g. through induction, various policies and rules etc.) Task 2.7: What advice would you give to a new colleague in order to help them adjust to the culture of your organisation? Task 2.8: What information can you gather about Marks and Spencer’s culture from this document? Task 2.9: Imagine that you run a hotel in a seaside resort; decide on a name for the hotel, where it is, how many bedrooms there are, the quality of the hotel etc. Then think about the following questions: e. How would all of this influence the culture? Different employees at different levels of the management have different personal characteristics. Therefore the structure will determine how things are done in the organization collectively; who is reporting to who and the procedures available to achieve what is intended. Task 2.10: use the table below to list the various stakeholder groups who might be affected by the work of the HR department, and what their interests and concerns are. Stakeholders Interests / concerns Communities Expect their needs to be identified and addressed especially in term of recruiting from the communities and improving the standard living of the people by paying them well and care about their welfare. Executive Council Expect HR to work according to the Government policy agenda, implement common performance contract & outcome definition sheets, cooperate with government entities, meet deadlines for submitting strategic plans and performance reports. Media Expect to receive from HR timely, accurate and reliable information to assist in reporting and receive access to appropriate management and staff for information and comment Contractors and major development companies, business representative groups (e.g. Chamber of Commerce) Adopt consistent and transparent contract documentation and procedures, provide access to business opportunities from ADM, and ensure work ethics and integrity Employees Expect to be treated with courtesy, respect and equally. Provided with clear, honest and accurate information. Their health and safety be taken care of off and provided with support training to widen their future opportunities within the organisation. Shareholders/owners Expect HR to recruit the right people for the various jobs in the company and ensure that accurate records of employees Task 2.11: Conduct a SWOT analysis on the HR or L&D function in your organisation, using the grid below. Task 2.12: Read the following news headlines and think about what impact these current events might have on your organisation. Some events may have more or less impact than others, depending on the type of organisation you work for and what industry your organisation is in (sources www.bbc.co.uk/news and www.guardian.co.uk). Record your answers on the next page. Task 2.13: Consider the organisation you work for. Use a PESTLE analysis to identify the issues and challenges that it faces from the external environment. Task 2.14: Answer the questions based on what you have read in the previous article. Task 2.15: There are many different names for the HR Department in different organisations and for several years, there has been much debate about the differences and similarities between HR and Personnel. In the boxes below, list any differences you can think of between HR management and personnel management. Task 2.16: Answer the questions based on what you have read in the previous boxes. Task 2.17: Look through a back issue of People Management or Personnel Today and make a list of all the different job titles you can find in the Appointments sections. Note these in the box below. Task 2.18: Think about the HR department in your organisation. Task 2.19: Make some notes in the box on the next page about the different areas that the HR department is responsible for in your organisation. You mind find “mind mapping” to be a useful technique; this has been started for you in the box. Task 2.20: For four of the functions you identified in the exercise above, consider how the effectiveness with which each activity is handled affects the success of the organisation as a whole. One has been done as an example to get you started. Function Contribution to the organisation 1.Internal Communications Creates a framework for communication to happen in a structured manner, enhances 2. Organizational Development Reviews and ensure that our organizational structure enables us to achieve our objectives. Reviews the corporate plan, mandates and job descriptions. Conducts employee satisfaction surveys and prepares appropriate action plans to increase job satisfaction. 3. Training & Development: Supervises the development of career planning, training, and career consultations, as well as the development and implementation of training plans. Manages and implements the annual employee performance management system. 4. Recruitment: Manages the process of recruitment to meet demands of all Sectors. Conducts yearly manpower needs analysis, reviews qualifications of nominated candidates, coordinates with and supports Sectors during the job interview process. Task 2.21: How do you think HR is perceived in your organisation? Write your thoughts in the box below. Task 2.22: Think about the HR function in your organisation. Which of Ulrich’s four categories most closely fits your HR function? Why? Make notes in the box below. Task 2.23: Using your company as a case study reflect on how your HR departments works with line managers in order to achieve the organisation’s goals Recording, Analysing and Using Human Resources Information Task 3.1 What kind of information do you hold about staff members in your organisation? Task 3.2 Why is it important to keep and have access to this sort of information? Give at least four reasons. Task 3.3: Think about the information you collect about the employees in your organisation. What information do you hold on them? How do you collect it? And what do you use the information for? Make notes in the box below. Task 3.4: What HR related decisions do you think could be assisted with the use of data held about employees? Task 3.5: The information presented in the table below is taken from the HR database of a fictitious organisation – ABC Limited. Look at the data provided and start to analyse and draw conclusions about the organisation and its staff. Use the table on the next page to write your preliminary thoughts. Name Gender Age Department Annual salary Length of service PT / FT         Paul Adams M 58 Executive £82,000 4 yrs 6 mths FT Joe Barry M 32 Sales & Marketing £33,000 3 yrs 11 mths FT Malcolm Berridge M 54 Facilities £15,000 7 yrs 5 mths FT Claire Caldwell F 27 Administration £5,600 1 yr 1 mth PT (job share) Peter Collins M 29 Production £18,000 4 yrs 2 mths FT Sally Dawson F 24 HR / Finance £11,200 0 yrs 3 mths PT Marisa Elcombe F 22 Production £15,000 3 yrs 1 mth FT Bob Fothergill M 62 Executive £75,000 14 yrs 6 mths FT Molly Gooding F 24 Sales & Marketing £32,400 2 yrs 3 mths FT Pauline Harris F 33 Administration £6,100 4 yrs 0 mths PT (job share) David Jones M 31 Production £18,200 6 yrs 0 mths FT Simon Kelly M 29 HR /Finance £28,000 5 yrs 8 mths FT Mike Margolies M 56 Facilities £8,200 6 yrs 11 mths PT Katie Martin F 40 Sales & Marketing £45,000 7 yrs 9 mths FT Cynthia Nelson F 45 Production £14,300 3 yrs 5 mths FT Wayne Peterson M 46 Production £17,600 8 yrs 5 mths FT Joanne Quigley F 33 Sales & Marketing £35,600 2 yrs 8 mths FT Dave Robertson M 61 Executive £76,000 19 yrs 0 mths FT Jamie Sanders M 37 Production £18,300 12 yrs 2 mths FT Manjit Singh F 41 HR / Finance £29,600 7 yrs 2 mths FT Alan Thompson M 48 Executive £68,000 5 yrs 3 mths FT Jenny Turner F 25 Production £14,200 2 yrs 11 mths FT Sarah Walker F 18 Administration £12,500 0 yrs 5 mths FT Adrian Young M 26 Production £17,900 2 yrs 7 mths FT Task 3.6: Personnel information may be stored manually – for example in hard copy files, held in a filing cabinet; or electronically, in a computerised database. There are pros and cons to both of these; in the table below, list some of the advantages and disadvantages that you can think of. Advantages Disadvantages Manual personnel information systems It can be done by anyone as it needs less knowledge as compared to electronic Are not vulnerable to virus and hackers. High degree of confidentiality Data can’t be lost due to a data system crash The language used can be ambiguous and the handwriting unreadable Are difficult to be transmitted and insecure in faxing They are bulky making them vulnerable to damage by water, fire or from wear. Difficulty to sort and can only be sorted in one way; alphabetically, It is time consuming to look for information Data cannot be easily shared across groups of people. Ambiguity. Language can be ambiguous, and handwriting can be illegible. Computerised personnel information systems Are clear, precise and readable Can be transmitted easily and have protection methods that are inbuilt Storage is well protected and backed up in case of damage from water, fire and so on. Data can be sorted in many ways Searching for information is easily facilitated by use of query languages and structured coding schema Data sharing can be facilitated across teams or groups. Technology used can be very complex and thus become a barrier in itself. Sometimes the records can be inflexible because of degree of uncertainty that is inbuilt. Many users still don’t backup or put protective measures, thus records become vulnerable. Threat to confidentiality and attack of hackers and computer virus due to the ease of transmission. Task 3.7: Imagine that your organisation wants to upgrade its current personnel information system (either from a manual system or from an old computerised system). What factors would you need to take into consideration when purchasing the new system? Task 3.8: The following article is from People Management Magazine, and discusses how IT can be used to assist HR departments with their administrative workloads. Read the article and summarise it in 100 words or fewer Task 3.9: Why is it important to keep HR records confidential? Task 3.10: What does your organisation do to ensure that records are kept confidentially? Are these adequate? If not, what improvements could be made? Task 3.11: One of the principles of data protection is that information about employees is not kept longer than necessary. Find out how long HR records are kept in your organisation. Do you think this is an appropriate length of time? Why / why not? Task 3.12: As we have already seen, technology can help with administration in HR departments. Technology can also be used to help with other HR functions. Make a list in the box below of how you think IT can be used to benefit the work of HR. Task 3.13: Before reading the information on the next page, make a list in the box below of all the different HR policies that exist in your organisation. Congratulations You have completed the Core Modules Workbook! Read More