Analysis of Employability Skills - Research Paper Example

Analysis of Employability Skills Introduction The abbreviation SMART stands for the following: S- Specific, M- Measurable, A- Achievable, R- Realistic, T- Time-Constrained. It is very important for a person to be SMART. Today, people who are not smart are worth nothing and are treated like a wasted piece of paper. To avoid any sort of ill-treatment from the people, it is very important to make a Personal Development Plan and make sure that you follow it under any circumstances. Personal Development Plan Knowing the fact that building a personal development plan is very important as far as one’s profession is concerned, I have also made a plan which consists of a number of targets that I have to achieve to be successful in my professional career. The principal components of the plan are as follows: To increase the sales of my company by 50% in the next three years In forthcoming six months, to increase the margin of profit by five to ten percent To train my team if the managers think that they are lacking in some departments. To appraise the workers on their hard work and determination and assure their job security To nationalize my company within a year. To achieve the aforementioned goals, I have set up the following strategies. Time Management One of the main factors that make a man successful is the time management. It is, therefore, necessary that I manage my time appropriately. I will make sure that I complete the task in the given time without any delay and also do not neglect my simultaneous tasks. Personal Responsibilities While working in a professional environment and in a commanding position, it is very necessary that I fulfil my responsibilities first and lead from the front. To gain success, it is very important to be responsible and sincere to your work. Respect Positive Attitude and build Motivation Each and every team member working under my command will be given equal rights to contribute for the success of the company. I must welcome new ideas and innovations and make sure that my team remains motivated and that no one will be underestimated and written off if he or she failed to do any task; instead such a person should be provided with extra attention and training to perform the upcoming tasks well. Resource Management It is one of the best qualities to identify your resources and manage them appropriately. There are many people who have resources but do not use them properly. If I manage my resources in the right way, it will be advantageous for me any for my company. Above were some of the responsibilities that can help me to achieve my objectives and prove fruitful as far as my professional career is concerned. And I will also make sure that I follow my Personal Development Plan under any circumstances. Motivational Theories It is very important that the organization must appreciate the employee’s hard work and award them accordingly. As far as motivational theories are concerned, there are two ways by which the employees could be appreciated: Financial Rewards Non-Financial Rewards Financial Rewards Financial Rewards are something which you give to the employees in terms of money. This is also known as a Bonus or an Incentive. Providing the employees with the bonuses other than their base salary is one of the best ways of appraising an employee. This helps him to reduce his financial burden and enjoy the luxuries of life. After such appraisal, it is vastly noticed that the employees tends to work even harder not only for the money but also for the company, as he or she knows that his hard work is greatly respected and appreciated. Non-Financial Rewards Non-Financial Rewards are the type of rewards not represented by the hard cash; instead, facilities, which are paid for by the company, are provided to the employee. For example, a paid trip to any place in the world with the family has been provided to the employee. In this way, the employee can spend the best times with the family and is not required to pay any expenses, as the company is there to manage all the expenses. This theory is effective in making the employee a sincere worker of the company. All in all, it is very important for an organization to awards its employees for their hard work, either financially or non-financially, and make sure that they are comfortable working within the organization. Possible Scenarios Scenario 1 The last few meetings have been difficult. Team members have been unable to arrive at any decision, because they hold vastly different opinions and ideas. Moreover, as a team leader, you have been unable to negotiate and come to an agreement between the factions. This has resulted in a lack of productivity and high levels of postponement. Possible Solution It is a part of a democratic organization that employees or team members come up with different ideas and perspectives to end up with an appropriate decision. The above mentioned scenario is also quite common in an organization. As a team leader, I would first observe the people who are approaching in a positive manner to a particular situation and then the members who are against it. At the end, I would analyze both the positive and negative aspects and come up with my own decision, keeping the ideas of the members under consideration. In this manner, the team members would not think that I have been biased or disrespected the opinion of anyone. I would, therefore, present the solution in such a way that no one would be disrespected, and adequate diversity would be maintained within the staff. I would certainly lead from the front and come up with a decision that would be best at that particular point of situation. Scenario 2 You are running your own business and most of your employees are doing well. However, it has been noticed that there are some employees whose performance is not consistent; sometimes they perform extremely well but on number of occasion they underperformed. How would you address this issue? Possible Solution Under such circumstances, as the owner of an organization, I will issue a warning letter against that employee for an inconsistent performance record. He or she will be given a number of chances, and the reasons for his inconsistencies will be asked. If the given reasons are valid, they will be tolerated for a certain period of time, after which no further chances will be given. The reason behind this is that the reduction in the productivity of the company because of that employee’s inconsistency is unaffordable. My foremost priority will be to generate maximum profit and to maintain diversity within the staff, due to which the employees will remain associated with the company for a longer period of time. Even after such a diverse environment is provided, if the employees are not working up to the mark, they will simply be written off. You have recently been hired as a department manager in an organization. Write a report to senior management on your preferred communication styles. In it, identify the methods you will use to communicate with senior managers and with your subordinates. As a department manager, I should be well aware of the fact that the way of communicating with the employees is not only critical for directing an employee’s behaviour but also for the company. Keeping this is mind, I have adapted three ways of communication with my senior managers and the sub-ordinates. They are as follows: Verbal Communication One of the best ways to create a friendly environment within an organization is to communicate verbally. I, therefore, personally visit every single employee, asking about their issues regarding the work and dropping down to their level to bring them to a comfort zone. Similarly, I even visit my senior managers, matching up their levels and discussing the performance of their subordinates. In this way, I am able to interact with both my senior managers and the subordinates, which helps me to discuss problems and come up with appropriate solutions. Written Communication If there is any task that has to be done urgently and which is to be discussed by the team members, I write two messages: one to the subordinates, and the other for the senior managers. This is because there are certain issues which cannot be disclosed in front of the subordinates. Therefore, my messages are short and quick, and they contain all the necessary information. In this way I am able to spend less time in discussing the issues and concentrate more on solving them. Anyhow, if the employees have any ambiguity, they can come to me and resolve their confusions. Stress and Communication A person’s mood reflects greatly on his or her communication. Therefore, I use this way of communication when I am stressed – it can be very helpful to write out their thoughts and ideas for improving the situation. I make sure their reflections are not sent to anyone until they let some time pass and reread their thoughts. In numerous cases, I find that the message is good, but the way it is conveyed might change to a great extent once the emotions that were originally present have dissipated. You have been given an assignment with a very tight deadline. What time management strategies will you employ to summit the assignment within the stipulated deadline? Explain your strategies. There will be 6 strategies that I will implement in order to submit the assignment within the stipulated deadline. They are as follows: Know my personal clock I will first figure out at what times of the day I will be best available to perform the task (Dodd & Sundheim, 2005). For example, I am usually more creative in the early morning hours rather than later half of the day. Therefore, I will concentrate on my work in the early hours to perform the task appropriately. Make Lists I will set the time table of the day and assign the goals that have to be done in a day, week, or a month. This is a bit boring activity to implement but it is quite essential, as every time one achieves a target in the desired time, one’s confidence is boosted. Promise low, deliver high It is a common practice that people exaggerate a lot to convince the client to associate with them (Morgenstern, 2004). But I will make sure that I do not do the same thing. I will promise what I can deliver and nothing more than that. This will keep me on a safer side, as I know my capabilities and the amount of work I can perform in a given time. Cut down the projects One thing due to which one avoids being overwhelmed is breaking the things down into smaller pieces. This means that while doing the upper half of the project, I should wholeheartedly concentrate on it rather than think about the whole project. Once you have a good start, it is very easy to make it to completion. Based on Belbins theory of team roles, demonstrate how you will ensure that each team member has been assigned the right role according to his/her skill set? Support your answer with examples. According to Belbins theory of team roles, I will ensure that each team member has been assigned the right role according to his/her skill by classifying them into three categories (Belbin, 1981). Action-Oriented Roles Shaper Shapers are the persons who have an aggressive nature. They challenge the team to improve. They are quite eager to find the best approaches for solving problems. A shaper is someone who shakes up the environment from top to bottom and makes sure that each and every possibility has been considered to solve the problem. These are the people who take critical situations as a challenge for themselves and solve them no matter what. Implementer An implementer is a conservative person. He or she actually puts the ideas into action. Implementers are the people to whom you can rely, once they are given a particular task. They are often accustomed to work in a systematic way but the only thing that lacks in them is that they are not fond of changes in the environment. It is very difficult for them to adapt to changes in a short period of time. Completer Completers are actually responsible for the quality assurance of the project. They make sure that the projects assigned to them are done in a proper manner and that there are no errors or confusions in it. Moreover, they are concerned with the deadline provided to them to perform a task. People-Oriented Roles Coordinator Coordinator could also be referred to as a team leader. He has excellent listening skills and the natural talent to recognize the people’s ability and give the tasks accordingly. They are calm and delegate the work in an outstanding manner. Team Worker A team worker is the one who maintains diversity within team members. He makes sure that everyone works together in a friendly manner and makes sure that no one is disturbing the diversity of the workplace. Resource Investigator They are innovators and creative minded people and are always looking to bring something new with the possible resources available. They are the team members who identify and work with the stakeholders which would help them to complete a particular task. Thought-Oriented Roles Plant The plant is the person who comes up with new ideas and innovation. Plants are often found at a distance with other team members, as they find it hard to deal against their criticism. They are not good communicators, but their sharp mind makes them almost unmatchable. Monitor-Evaluator These are the people who analyze and evaluate the ideas that are presented to them by the plants. They have got a strategic approach to any ideas or innovations. Because of their unemotional nature, they are often less loved members of the team. Specialist Specialists are the people who have extraordinary skills required to complete the job. They are assigned to a particular area in which they have expertise, and they fulfil the task in a convincing manner. But they are not great contributors throughout the project and only stick to their comfort zone. Team Dynamics Team dynamics is referred to as unseen forces that exist within a workplace and which have a great effect on the performance of the team. Team dynamics can greatly influence the way the people behave, react, and work and could sometimes create complex situations. The performance could be positive or negative. For example, if there is a team of 5 members working on a particular task, and 2 of them are best friends, there will be natural force which will help them work quickly in a friendly manner. The other members might have some problem with their relationship, which could change the whole scenario from top to bottom and, eventually, produce a negative outcome. Problem Solving Tools Critical Path Analysis It is the series of events necessary for successful research project in such a way that the most convenient route may be calculated. In other words, it is the proper evaluation of the time management, the on-going progress of the project, and all the relevant information required to complete the project successfully. Critical Path Analysis is one of the best problem solving techniques and is advantageous as far as a research project is concerned. Firstly, the analysis gives a thorough identification of all the major activities to be implemented along with their given time duration. Secondly, it helps to schedule the project planning according to the estimated time, which results in an efficient output. Lastly, it provides the continuous progress of the project, which helps to maintain the predetermined schedule in decision-making. Force Field Analysis It is the management technique used to diagnose the critical situations that are encountered in a research project. According to force field analysis every situation has both driving and restraining forces which influence to any possible change to a great extent. Driving forces are the type of forces that affect the situations which are progressing in a single direction. They usually tend to initiate a change and keeps it progressing which helps to improve the productivity in a workplace, earnings of incentives and the competition. Restraining forces are the forces that oppose the driving forces. It can also be said that restraining forces can lower the productivity of a workplace in terms of poor maintenance of equipment and hostility. In my opinion, Critical Path Analysis is a more effective method, as it provides the identification of the problems along with their appropriate solutions. Moreover, it also provides the assistance of time management, and this helps to complete the project in a given span of time. I, therefore, recommend that the Critical Path Analysis should be implemented for the successful research project. You are the owner of a business which is running successfully. When you started the business six months ago, there was no competition. Recently, a new competitor has entered the marketplace and is attracting your customers. This has affected your sales. You cannot reduce your prices any further, as your profit margin is very low. Firstly, I will do a thorough observation of the competitor-analysis report. This would inform me of the aspects which the competitor is offering to the customers and we do not offer. It is quite certain that there will be something which the competitor offers in a better way, and this has to be identified. As we are more experienced in the market and, in customers’ opinion, more reliable, they will definitely return to us if we are able to identify that aspect. Secondly, not changing the price, I will add value to my products. In this way, there will be no need to reduce the prices of the products and the level of productivity will also be increased. Bibliography Belbin, R.M., 1981. Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail. London. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. Dodd, P. & Sundheim, D., 2005. The 25 Best Time Management Tools and Techniques: How to Get More Done Without Driving Yourself Crazy. Michigan: Peak Performance Press, Inc. Morgenstern, J., 2004. Time Management from the Inside Out. New York: Henry Holt and Company Read More