Career Development in Business - Case Study Example

Career Development Paper This paper talks about management re-structuring and how new jobs are fit into the business to cater to its need through appropriate training and payment/motivation systems. It takes into account management practice and appraisal of performance by mid-level management when managing teams. It portrays itself as a proposal to the upper-level manager about how the above can be achieved for the betterment and efficiency of Kudler Fine Foods. Job Descriptions and Qualifications for five new jobs: The team already consisting of members, in specific will also include the following new five positions within it. These are: Research Analyst Description: will undertake the analysis and finding of new people; also called head hunter Qualification: Bachelors in Human Resources An Organizational Psychologist Description: will undertake analyzing and assessing employee behavior with respect to motivation etc. Qualification: A practicing psychologist, with masters in a specific organizational psychology field Financial Analyst Description: will advise pay systems and compensation plans for the employees and help reach an optimum plan Qualification: Bachelors in Accounting and Finance; Management Counselor Description: Allow open communication and an open culture to make sure there is feedback given to the management by the employees. Will help serve as a middle-man Qualification: preferred to be a degree holder in psychology and human relations Observer Head / Appraiser Description: will have the tasks for analyzing and observing employee performance and goal achievement Qualification: Masters in Human Resource Management or Organizational Psychology. Training: Training is a part of any job in the workplace so that customization of labor or workforce can take place. Especially in the new workplace, it is considered as related to core business. (B.R. Jewel, 2001). The first part of any training is induction for those employees that have been hired as new ones. It is very important to have a proper induction program for these new employees to make sure that these employees are quickly integrated into the organization and they know what their responsibilities and work roles are. The main purpose for Kudler Fine Foods should be to make them settle down quickly, so that there is no labor turnover as such and safety and other training arrangements are made efficiently. (B. R. Jewel, 2001). As far as overall workers are considered, their training also is a complete program in itself. It covers on-the-job as well as off-the-job training. On-the-job training would cover training aspects like tutoring, leading, job rotation, and technology based training. Off-the-job training aspects would include things like lectures, action learning, role playing, group programs, projects, outdoor training, business games etc. (B.R. Jewel, 2001). Kudler Fine Foods should aim at identifying the gap between knowledge of its workers regarding new tastes and skills of the people; and actual performance and history in terms of foods processed etc. and target aims. Training at Kudler needs to cover these important questions: What will Kudler achieve from the training program What are its objectives regarding new plus old employees What are the already existing standards of performance What will be the evaluation criteria; example: number of products handled Who should do this evaluation Cost benefit analysis of the training program Are there still areas/employees which need further help in terms of training example: a new product to be launched needs special training for install it in the market Employee and Team Appraisal: Appraisal is also an important part after training takes place to assess what more is needed and what has been achieved with respect to the goals set in terms of employee performance and efficiency. This evaluation is usually non-pay based, however it does link to pay after all, but a direct connection does not exactly exist. At Kudler also, evaluation is very important however keeping in mind that both new and old employees are evaluated fairly, without any biases owing to subjective judgments. This consists of a series of steps that are: 1. Ranking (each team Kudler, will be analyzed with fairness; the ranking of jobs being done through importance level for each) 2. Classifying the job (grades and pay will be set first and then performance and responsibilities will be defined under these categories) 3. Rating through the point system (employee skills, training programs attended, marginal improvements, and persistence and hard work will be judged and give points individually) 4. Comparing ‘factors’ (all aspects of a particular job of an employee will be given a monetary value and then evaluated on those terms) In conclusion, continuous improvements should be taken into consideration, and employees are to be given feedback whenever the need is felt. Counseling will also be provisioned whenever the need arises or if an employee directly asks for it, this also calls for an open door policy. Resolution of disagreements and de-motivating factors also is another key area where evaluations come into play. (Employee Performance Evaluation Procedures Guide, 2008) Challenges of Team Performance Evaluation: Appraisal systems: It will be made sure that the types of appraisal systems employed are in line with each other. For instance when employees at Kruder are appraised through the piece rate system, this means each employee will be rewarded keeping in mind whatever contribution through one unit of food product he makes. This is particularly in reference to lower level workers who work in the factory. However, for middle management, or even those lower level workers that don’t form part of the factory labour force, piece ate is of no use. They will be rewarded through performance appraisal systems. (B.R. Skelton, and Bruce Yandle, 1982). When appraisal systems are poorly designed not keeping in mind that Kudler is not a mechanical firm industry rather a food company it could pose problems a most probably unit per worker produced won’t be f much help here. Secondly, relationships within the team or with the leader being poor can also pose quite a few problems. (Peter Wildblood, 2008) Evaluating Team Performance: Whenever team on a whole is to be evaluated there are many difficulties that are faced. There is always high entropy involved. This could be due to many reasons like individual goals of each member being different; problems in analyzing the kind of performance of each worker, for instance when trying to evaluate qualitative work undertaken by two team members, it is difficult to pin the exact criteria; and difference in team skills. (Will Allen, 2008) Unique needs of a team appraisal system: This team mentioned at Kruder consists of middle management level workers who are given the responsibility of apprising and hiring of new and old workers. The specific team needs when appraising them on a whole is concerned include: individual performance with respect to group performance, focusing on the relationships and impact of good communication is important, individual development should not be ignored, specific member skills and also the final appraisal interview. The appraisal system should also be flexible and take into account team characteristics separately as each different team turn by turn is analyzed and appraised. (Peter Wildblood, 2008) Team motivations and expectations: The team wants to make sure always that they are rewarded fairly for whatever they out into the organization. This calls for increases in self esteem also. More participation, increased decisions making skills and opportunities, empowerment, creativity boosts, fair judgments all include amongst some f the other team motivations and what they would like to be appraised against. Individual equity and how it impacts team performance It is often said that organizational goals and individual goals are always present when an employee works for an organization. Hence, for performance levels to be fairly good, it is often necessary that these two are in-line with each other so as to have an optimum balance between the two and so that objectives are clearly defined with respect to each other’s motivations too. For instance if Kruder wants profit increases, the payment system should be such as when profits increase the employees benefit too hence creating a link between the two and keeping both goals in line with each other. (Matthew O’Connor, 2006) Strategies to discourage social loafing: There are often free riders who feed onto the fruits of a team’s success, even though they never worked much towards it individually. This basically is quite negative as tem efficiency is decreased to great big amounts. Clarification of member roles and responsibilities can stop social loafing. Also, if roles are properly communicated after being clearly defined then also it can be stopped. Observing closely individual efforts can also prove fruitful when wanting to stop this kind of loafing. (Dean McFarlin, 2001). Individual Employee responsibilities towards the team: These include: Working collectively Working towards the same goal Working fairly No cutting corners Providing feedback to the leader Fostering a culture of open communication and information sharing with other team members Clear disagreements Work freely Be creative Do one’s best Work efficiently Let not selfish goals come in the path of the success of the team’s work Mutual respect for all members and the task/s at hand Incentives and Benefits Packages: Mixing individual benefits with team rewards is the best method. Setting benefits and rewards to specific goals for example setting a bonus with the achievement f a specific goal by Kruder could help it gain efficiency in its teams. The salespeople at Kruder for instance should not be paid for the bare minimums only. The timing f all rewards etc should also be made clear. There should be a direct link between what the employees are working towards and what they will get out of it. Employees could also be given rewards on a whole as in keeping their families in mind also. For instance, a fixed limited supply of the products of Kruder Fine Foods, or a sponsored annual trip for the family etc. (Kurt Mortensen, 2006). Strategies for managing employees’ career development promotion and educational opportunities, accommodations for diversity, etc. This is also a very important aspect when dealing with human resource management. Career development refers to making sure that the employees get the required set of skills needed for keeping themselves functional at the workplace. It is an ongoing process and a much needed one hence mostly all organizations aim at providing their employees with incentives and skills that are needed to make sure they stay “developed”. Kruder can do this by making sure all employees know what the company is up to and there is an open information sharing environment. Learning opportunities and opportunities for promotion are provided through job enlargement and even job enrichments opportunities. Development is done in terms of organizational and individual goals. The entire process should also be made to motivate the employees to their advantage. Such a process can also help in retaining workers and contribute towards adequate career motivated staff when they feel satisfied with the organization they are working for as they feel cared for. Kruder can do the above by playing various roles: Coach: to help employees discover their strengths and weaknesses and help in developing the positive skills that are needed for the job Advisor: in development of realistic goals, and understanding the opportunities that are given to all employees also in terms of career development again Appraiser: evaluating performance and communicating positive criticism in an open environment. Agent: helping to devise new plans for all employees by keeping track of their goals with respect to the various contacts the company can provide. (Guide to Managing Human Resources, 2008) A Fair and Appropriate Compensation Plan: This should be made again by keeping not the unit increments that each worker makes, rather more in terms of performance and the productivity level that the worker has for the benefit of Kruder. Stock based compensation can be used along with measured day work (when per day goals are set and performance measured against these). The correct and most appropriate plan for Kruger Fine Foods would be a mixture of piece rate system with performance related pay as it would suit its needs best and cater to both types of workers within it. Works Cited 1. Guide to Managing Human Resources. (2008) Employee Development and Training. Retrieved September 21, 2008, from Berkeley’s Web site: http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/GUIDE/development.htm#Career11 2. Kurt Mortensen. (2006). Effective rewards and incentives for your team. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from Ezine Articles Web site: http://ezinearticles.com/?Effective-Rewards-and-Incentives-for-Your-Team&id=170891 3. Dean McFarlin. (2001). Social loafing often disrupts work teams. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from Dayton Business Journal Web site: http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2001/07/09/smallb3.html 4. Matthew O’Connor. (2006). A Review of factors affecting individual performance in team environments. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from Library Management Journal’s Web site: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0150270302.html 5. Peter Wildblood. (2008). Performance appraisal systems for business and organizations. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from Consultgroup’s Web site: http://www.consultgroup.net.au/consultants-resources/white-paper-articles/performance-appraisal.php 6. Will Allen. (2008). Team-building Evaluation Guide. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from Landcare Research Web site: http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/services/service_details.asp?Service_Tool_ID=20 7. B.R.Skelton, and Bruce Yandle. (1982). Piece Rate Pay. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from SpringerLink Journal’s Web site: http://www.springerlink.com/content/w2422368qq5x7557/ 8. Employee Performance Evaluation Procedures Guide. (2008). Procedures Guide 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2008, from ETSU’s Web site: http://www.etsu.edu/humanres/guide.htm 9. B. R. Jewel. (2001). Business Studies for As and A Level. London. Read More