Job Descriptions and Qualifications for the New Positions - Coursework Example

Proposal on Career Development Introduction The current organization structure at Kudler (in all three branches) includes the following positions in the midlevel category: two assistants in the produce and foodstuffs department, one assistant in the spirits, cheeses and wines department, five assistants in the butchers and seafood specialists department, and six assistants in the bakery and pastries section. While currently efficient, this structure is lacking in some areas such as clerical work, administration, operation of stores, handling of computer operations, and retail. In order to support and enhance the operations at various levels, the following new positions need to be created and filled, Administrative Assistant—HR, Assistant Store Manager, Clerk, Computer Support Specialist and Retail Assistant (variety of departments). I. Job description and qualifications for the new positions 1. Administrative Assistant—HR The person is expected to provide administrative support to the HR manager. He/she will give information to callers and assist in the recruitment process. Principal duties Processing employment applications and assisting in other recruitment activities. Reading and routing incoming mail. Composing and typing routine correspondence Organizing and maintaining the file system. Greeting scheduled visitors and responding to their needs Conducting research, compiling and typing of statistical reports Helping in making and maintaining supplies and arranging for equipment maintenance Requisite qualifications and experience Should be a high school graduate with general office skills. Must be knowledgeable in using MS Word and Excel applications as well as other PC-based applications. Good interpersonal and organizational skills are also required. 2. Assistant Store Manager The person will supervise and coordinate activities of workers in the department of food store and assist the store manager in daily management of the store. Key duties Assigning duties to workers and scheduling break periods Facilitating workers in store policies, departmental procedures and job duties Ordering merchandise, supplies and equipment Keeping records of merchandise and inspecting delivery processes Inspecting merchandise to ensure that it is correctly priced and displayed Preparing sales and inventory reports. Requisite qualifications and experience Retail experience – knowledge of working in various departments of a store. Must be knowledgeable about products and their use and be able to respond to customers about the same. 3. Clerk The person will be in charge of inventorying and managing merchandise display in store. Key Duties Talking inventory and examining merchandise to identify the items to be reordered or restocked Receiving, opening, and unpacking crates or cartons of merchandise, and checking invoice against items received Requisite qualifications and experience Ability to accurately read invoice and packing slips 4. Computer Support Specialist The person will be in charge of installing, modifying and making minor repairs to PC hardware and software systems, and providing technical assistance and training to other staff. Key duties Installing or assisting in installation of PC hardware such as keyboards, cash register, monitors, and printers on users’ desks. Loading required software programs such as OS, word processors and spread sheets onto computers. Ensuring the functionality of the PC systems. Responding to client inquiries about operation and diagnoses of hardware and software. Replacing defective components such as keyboards. Reporting major PC or net work problems to service personnel for repair. Requisite qualifications and experience A bachelor’s degree in computer science or information systems is a prerequisite, or a computer-related associate. Graduates with a computer-related degree will be considered 5. Retail Assistant The person will be in charge of obtaining items requested by customers in the retail food store. Key duties Filling customer orders by obtaining items from tables, freezes, shelves, bins, coolers or containers Weighing items such as meat, groceries, and poultry to determine price and informing the customer about the same Wrapping purchases for customers Cleaning shelves, bins, coolers and tables Stamping, marking, putting price tags on merchandise Setting up displays and stock shelves, counter bins, tables, and coolers Responding to customer inquiries about products Requisite qualifications and experience Past experience in handling food in a retail store will be required II. Training program to introduce and enhance the skills and qualifications of new and current employees Identification of needs The new/current employees will be taken through an exploration exercise to identify present needs with respect to the new organization structure. Employees will note down the needs in their respective job positions. They will work in small groups to complete their training program worksheets Training for new employees New employees will be taken through one hour of orientation to make them familiarize with the new work challenges They will complete their training needs checklist on each day of training There will be a 30-day evaluation exercise to determine the new employees’ progress The same 30 days will be used for question and answer sessions to determine employees’ satisfaction/challenges in their respective tasks Training for current employees Current employees will complete their training needs checklist on each day of training End of year evaluations will be used to determine impact of training on performance On the job training for new and current employees During the 30-day evaluation for new employees, the new employees will work with current employees for some time each day as a form of side-by-side training. This will enable them to experience first hand what is expected of their respective job positions. III. Methods for evaluating employee and team performance, including a progressive discipline process At the individual level, appraisal will be used to assess how well each individual performs his or her task, cooperates with team members, communicates ideas to people overseeing them, and participates in team decision making processes. Similarly, team appraisal will revolve around how well the various teams run meetings, coordinate tasks as a group, avoid groupthink and makes judgmental decisions. Both evaluations processes will make use of appropriate performance evaluation forms. Issues to be considered: Identifying the level of team aggregation Identifying dimensions of job performance that are common across levels of aggregation Specifying composition models Identifying dimensions of job performance that are unique to one level Assessing equivalence of rating techniques and methods across levels Assessing equivalence of rater cognitive processes and biases in individual and teams evaluations Differentiating between assessing individual performance of employees in teams from team performance Ensuring team discipline To avoid irresponsible behavior in team members will be empowered to report their colleagues with errant behavior. This will help deal with as may cases as possible (individually) rather than rely on the team leaders’ reports. Team and member discipline is very important and can be achieved if unwanted behavior is identified firsthand and actions are taken to stop it. Where necessary, removing ineffective members from the team can be beneficial IV. Challenges of the team performance evaluation Difficulties of evaluating team performance The process of evaluating team performance is difficult because it is not easy to determine individuals’ input into the team. Further, no teams are equal, and the differences that exist between various teams need to be understood during the evaluation process. This is essential for considerations such as prioritizing and planning Unique needs of a team appraisal system Team appraisal has the following unique needs: Identification of needs that are common to at least two of the team members Identification of needs that are distinct to each individual in the team Organizing to ensure that the skills gained are employed in the team in the case of workplace teams Team appraisal must have special considerations to release staff when appropriate Team motivations and expectations Setting goals in team settings is considerably more complex than when dealing with individuals Issues regarding multiple goals, internal conflicts and interdependencies among team members lead to intricacies in motivations, expectations and goals of each team. Issues such as size of the team, social pressure and team structure may affect motivational properties of achieving goals. Individual equity and how it impacts team performance In order to achieve fair equity, team evaluation should focus on areas such as how the team collaborates in sharing tasks, how it manages time, and how it organizes follow-up of tasks. This will also determine the rewards that should go to each individual based on their performance in the team. Strategies to discourage social loafing It is commonplace for some individuals working in teams to produce less than what they would while working on their own. This is referred to as the free-riding effect or social loafing. This is likely to occur when individual performance is not identifiable. To discourage social loafing, team appraisal forms should have sections to expose individual contribution in all categories of assessment. Individual visibility in tasks increases the pressure to perform and thus lowers chances of social loafing. Another strategy is to use employees who are team-oriented and providing the required team support. Individual employee responsibilities towards the team It is difficult to determine each individual’s contribution to the team if the appraisal form does not expressly specify the need to assess each individual’s role. Incentives and benefits packages All employees will be considered for a variety of incentives and packages including security and health, payments for time not worked and employee services. Strategies for managing employees’ career development, such as promotions, educational opportunities, accommodations for diversity, and so on. Employees will be given opportunities to spread out through further training, total quality management, and supportive programs and services. They will also be allowed to join part-time classes to increase their scope of knowledge and skill. Online programs will particularly be preferred for their preference as the employees will be able to juggle both their careers and academic pursuit without having to travel far way from the place of work. Fair and appropriate compensation plan Remuneration will be based on appraisal of the nature of the job to minimize company losses due to disproportionate compensation. The compensation plan will feature the elements of the total rewards package to enhance the performance of employees to their peak. All this will depend on the level of complexity of the job as well as how challenging and demanding the job is. Fair remuneration and other incentives such as security will guarantee interpersonal relationships between employees, which is important for raising their level of performance and promoting the productivity of the company. References Cascio, W. (2005). Managing Human Resources: Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits (7th edition). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies. Evers, A., Anderson, N. & Voskuijl, O. (2005). The Blackwell Handbook of Personnel Selection. New York: Wiley-Blackwell. Langan-Fox, J. & Cooper C. L. (2007). Research Companion to the Dysfunctional Workplace: Management Challenges and Symptoms. New York: Elgar Publishing. http://books.google.com/books?id=ChHHmryK7fgC&pg=PA311&dq=how+to+discourage+social+loafing&hl=en&ei=aZn2TJLPMOqT4AbB-rSOBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=how%20to%20discourage%20social%20loafing&f=false Tosi, H. L. & Mero, N. P. (2003). The Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior: What Managers Need to Know. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003. http://books.google.com/books?id=9-n7B2_yddcC&pg=PA110&dq=Strategies+to+discourage+social+loafing&hl=en&ei=XjLsTMCVN8ie4QbSieidAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false Yeatts, D.E. & Hyten, C. (1998). High-Performing Self-Managed Work Teams: A Comparison of Theory to Practice. London: Sage. Read More