Management Functions and Processes - Case Study Example

Manage people in work environment The first question that needs to be answered is what Management is. In an organization, to increase the productivity it is necessary to ensure that labor and capital are effectively used which is the responsibility of the Management. Management in other words is responsible to get things done efficiently with the best utilization of the available resources in the given amount of time. Management functions or processes include Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Controlling, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting. According to Fredrick Taylor, known as the father of scientific management, management should assume more responsibility for: 1.      Matching employees to the right job 2.      Providing the proper training 3.      Providing proper work methods and tools 4.      Establishing legitimate incentives for work to be accomplished.  Management in Tourism/Events Industry and Other Consumer Service Industries Leisure / tourism and event management are billion dollar industries which play a massive role in success of large economies. For example, it is expected that the wedding of Prince William will boost tourism in the UK. Tourism and event management may go side by side, for instance Olympic games are held once every 4 years and a huge number of people turn out to watch the games not only from inside the country but also from abroad. In such a scenario it becomes a matter of national pride that the events should be very well organized and that the tourists are attracted in order to generate huge cash flows, to give a boost to the economy. In order to do this, it is very necessary that an event is managed properly. Here it is significant to analyze the role of an event manager. Event manager is the person who actually plans and executes the whole event and usually is behind the scenes running the event. When we talk about Tourism Management, we mean national as well as multinational operations. A manager dealing with tourism has to have the skills to manage as well as handle cross-cultural processes and stakeholders in an effective and efficient manner. Services Management is actually integrated into Supply Chain Management, and is a joint between the customer and the actual sale. Services Management has the aim to optimize the service-intensive supply chains. What has been observed is that amongst the typical manufacturers, post sale services hardly generate 20% of the profit but when it comes to the innovative companies, they often generate over 50% of the profits. Background on changing pattern of HRM in the UK We now live in the world of specialization, gone are the days when a general physician was accepted to be good enough to carry out major surgeries. In today’s world it is expected that an individual must be conversant with most of techniques being used and applied in the modern society. A person specializing in event/tourism and services management is expected to know about the latest techniques being applied and being used the world over as most of the customers want the best out of their money, and for this individuals have done certifications or diplomas in order to be thoroughly conversant with the modern techniques so as to be efficient and well organized to increase an organizations output (Griffiths 2010 c.). Even though there are plenty of new tools and technologies flooding the assessment industry, but still the basics remain deceptively simple which is to identify the right person for the right job. An incident narrated by an employee said that the CEO of the company was asked by the government what they were doing to increase their capability. The CEO said that the key way was their graduate program. When it comes to Competency frameworks and assessment centers which have been around for some time now, but still they continue to deliver tangible results to the organizations which have been using them. The popularity can be elaborated by the fact that the CIPD’s Recruitment, Retention and Turnover 2008 survey shows that almost two-thirds of organizations, almost 65%, use competency based interviews, and more than a third, 34%, use assessment centers. It has been witnessed that most organizations now prefer retention of key employees to new hiring and at the same time organizations are investing more in improving their existing employees’ productivity and effectiveness. This has resulted in boost in sales of tests for development purposes (People management 2008). Role of CIPD, ACAS and Business Link CIPD, ACAS and BusinessLink are all working for the improvement and betterment of organizations and employment relations or in other words work life. It’s a known fact that employees need to have a cordial environment in order to improve their productivity which automatically improves the profile of the company as well as the productivity and output of the company. A happy employee is an asset to the company in the long run (Griffiths 2010 c.). CIPD CIPD stands for The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) which is regarded as Europes largest professional institute for people management and development and is located in Wimbledon, London, England. CIPD boasts over 135,000 members, and has a chartered status. The institute has been holding annual conferences for HR practitioners, events and training courses and they pride themselves on supporting and developing those who are responsible for the management and development of the people working within the organizations by guidance in HR, trainings and development and employment law issues. CIPD offers a range of full-time, part-time and flexible learning courses. Their basic aim is to sustain an organizations performance through HR, leading practice and to build capability within the profession and to share knowledge, increase learning and understanding, and to help their members in making informed decisions about improving practice in their organizations (CIPD 2010). CIPD explores leading-edge people management and development issues through their research and they have also produced many resources on people management and development issues which include guides, books, practical tools, surveys and research reports. CIPD has been imparting trainings in Management and development by giving an overview of succession planning, career and outplacement and career discussions (Survey report 2005). The CIPD has recently started a new guide focusing on potential legal risks faced by employers by ignoring health and safety responsibilities around workplace stress. This guide is basically developed with the support of health and safety executive, ACAS and the cross-government health. ACAS ACAS stands for Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service with an aim to improve organizations and the working life through betterment of employment relations. ACAS is a nationwide public service body guided by the ACAS cousin comprising of 12 members from the business and trade unions which take care of the interests of both the employers as well as the employees. ACAS provide up to date information, quality trainings, useful advice in regards to working with employees and employers to solve problems between them, which results in improvement in performance and improves the quality and quantity of work. ACAS is also providing telephonic help and free advice through their websites. The employers could also be interested in their specialized services, including training, workplace projects, conciliation and mediation. ACAS has a staff of 800, based in their London head office and 11 main regional centers (ACAS 2010). ACAS has played a role in preventing and in resolving disputes between the employers and their workforce and in settling down the employees’ rights. They have also played a role in encouraging people to work together and to work more effectively. In order to do all this, ACAS has been conducting workshops and been setting up groups to advise the range and approaches for the resolution of workplace dispute that may include mediation schemes. They also provide trained mediators for facilitation of resolution of workplace disputes e.g. between manager and an individual/individuals or even between two staff members at a workplace. ACAS also provides training to managers and employee representatives in conflict management’s skill and also assist with the development of workplace mediation scheme (Griffiths 2010 a.). ACAS held training at Swale NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) to manage absence, bullying and harassment, equality and diversity. It leads to reductions in absence levels and bullying incidents and greater confidence in management for dealing issues. The Work of ACAS The employee/employer relationship (Griffiths 2010 a.) BusinessLink BusinessLink is a government funded business advice and guidance service based in England having an online portal managed by HMRC, and also has a national helpline in order to help out individuals with employment problems. BusinessLink was established in 1992 and within a year the government spent some £3m on the program, resulting in three branches of the service, the first of which opened in Leicester followed by one in Birmingham and one in Congleton. BusinessLink offered services which included business support and education and in some areas the possibility of government funding. After five years of the BusinessLink concept, a network of 89 BusinessLinks had been established and almost each week some 10,000 businesses in England were using the service. Despite the fact that it was the advisers who contributed to the impact of BusinessLink, the coalition government, elected in 2010, declared their intention to abolish the regional business adviser programs run by BusinessLink. Now it has been decided that the website would be retained, but new local enterprise policies would be taking their place. Businesslink.gov.uk is the official government website for businesses of all sizes to access information, guidance and support for one’s business needs and online dealings with the government which helps save both money and time. The content available is developed in collaboration with the subject experts within the government and the relevant business support organizations. BusinessLink claims that whether one is starting up a business or already running a business or seeking guidance in growing and development of a business, they can help. The website helps in finding the information one requires from the government to comply with the rules and regulation and to submit key transactions. The material is well organized and regularly reviewed in order to ensure that the contents available remain up to date. The facilities available include The ability to file VAT and PAYE returns To be able to create a personalized list of tasks this helps when you want to set up your business with their Business Start-up Organizer. Search our Business support finder for grants, loans, expertise and advice for which your business may be eligible (BusinessLink, 2010). Similarities and contrast CIPD, ACAS and BusinessLink are all working for the improvement and betterment of organizations and employment relations as employees need to have a cordial environment in order to improve their productivity. CIPD as an institute has been holding conferences, events, training courses and employment law issues. CIPD offers a range of full-time, part-time and flexible learning courses while ACAS has been playing a role in preventing and resolving disputes between the employers and their workforce and in settling down the employees’ rights and also in encouraging people to work together and to work more effectively. In order to do all this, ACAS has been conducting workshops and been setting up groups to advise approaches for the resolution of workplace dispute that may include mediation schemes. BusinessLink now is an official government website for businesses of all sizes to access information, guidance and support for ones business needs and online dealings with the government which helps save both money and time. All of these organizations CIPD, ACAS and BusinessLink are basically helping both employers and employees and acting as a bridge between them. They are assisting employers by guiding them how to develop friendly work environment and how to solve different workplace problems. They are increasing the productivity of employees by giving them training and thorough mediation. References ACAS, 2010. About us [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 November 2010] BusinessLink, 2010. About us [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 November 2010] CIPD, 2010. About CIPD [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 November 2010] Griffiths, H., 2010 a. Managing People in the Working Environment. Liverpool JMU, Lecture 4. Griffiths, H., 2010 b. The Impact of your Personality and Management Style on the Employment Relationship. Liverpool JMU, ECLCS2028. Griffiths, H., 2010 c. The employment selection process and the impact of technology. Liverpool JMU. People management, 2009. Cult of personality [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 November 2010] People management, 2007. How to set up an assessment centre [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 November 2010] People management, 2008. Tests of strength [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 November 2010] Survey report, 2005. Survey report September 2005, London: CIPD Williamson, P., 2010. Equality Act guidance for employers [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 November 2010] Read More