RECRUITMENT

Recruitment is a process people usually go though in order to become potential staff of a business.

The aims of recruitment are

To obtain a pool of suitable candidates for vacant posts

To use and to be seen to use a fair process

To ensure that all recruitment activities contribute to company goals and a desirable company image
To conduct recruitment activities in an efficient and cost-effective manner

When people want to go though this process they tend to be looking for a job they could hand out cv's to local businesses, they could call up local businesses to see if they have vacancies, local news papers have adverts but according to CIPD, 2009 electronic methods are the most popular by 80% one popular website used is "Fish4jobs.com".









As you can see from the website shown above its very colourful and attractive it attracts people by catching their eye also it applies to everyone who lives in any area in the united kingdom this is a plus point because more people will visit the site and use its services.







As you can see by using one of the most popular search engine (google) you can see how easy it is to access this website by typing in the letters "FIS" the search engine as already brought the site up as the first website on the list.


By making this recruitment site easy to access and attractive people would be more likely to visit and use the site on more then one occasion.


A lot of recruitment campaign are going around now a days but the main one that caught my eye was the "start thinking solider, British arm campaign" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxxqHwPEwfU

Above i have copied and pasted the link to watch the campaign advert its very interesting and inspiring for many people, it draws you in and makes you think about life it self what sort of person do you want to be or what difference do you want to make, it shows that no matter how little or irrelevant you think you are every solider is needed and in all different departments so no matter who you are a match can be made.


Some set back could happen though online requirement for example :
when doing requirement online it technology may be unreliable an example of this is applying for a job that's ready been filled but not knowing because its still on the requirement site, not everyone may have access to the Internet also in someways but doing recruitment online its as if you have a target audience already " anyone who has access to a computer and use one" this will lead into not all applicants having a fair opportunity, computers always have their own specifications and guidelines making it hard to express the type of job your looking for also local businesses may not want to advertise on a recruitment site and if its local your looking for this would be a disadvantage.

But on the other hand recruitment online has advantages such as its easy to access from search engines or just using the website, you get a wide variety of jobs from all different areas, the layout would be clear and easy to understand, you are the master of your own job search so if you have a specific job role your looking for you can look for it and also you get extra help such as uploading your CV so employers can look for you as well as you looking for them if you subscribe to the site you can get emails of jobs that suite your needs and what you want.




The image above is taken from the recruitment website http://www.totaljobs.com/
This shows you can get jobs sent by email and upload your CV onto the site.

Conclusion
Their are different ways to find jobs and their are positive and negative aspects of doing so but this just shows everyone is different and each method will be well matched to some then others.
the recruitment process is one which most people have to go though when looking for jobs but difficulties may arise such as: 

Lack of required technical skills                           
Wanted more pay than could be offered
Insufficient experience                                          
No applicants                                                          
Image of sector/occupation                                   
Poor interpersonal skills                                        
Applicant unable to accept due to high
living cost in area                                                    

So when recruiting alot of things need to be taken into consideration as you can see.

Communication and involvment

Employee relations refers to ‘an assortment of employer initiatives for improving workplace communications, for engaging employees either directly or indirectly in decision making and for securing employee compliance with management rules through disciplinary action’ (Bratton & Gold, 2007)


Employee partisipation is when employees have some say in decisions that have effects on their present/future employment status of their employers status this is supported by legislation if you look at the department for business, Enterprise and regulatory reform the legislation will be more detailed this legislation also protects employees interest when it comes to resistance from managers.

Employee involvement is more of a relaxed approach this when the organisation takes it into their own hands to involve the employees most organisations use methods such as social networking sites to involve their employees social networking sites such as facebook are being used many organisations have their own pages and add the employees to the page giving the business more awareness to the public.

Organisation could always do with involving their employees in decision making 3 different ways could be :
Way one : The supervisor could make decisions and invite suggestions from the staff this could encourage the staff to speak up and give good suggestions and feed back.
Way Two :Improvement meetings this will give a change for not just involvement but a discussion with more then just one staff member encouraging the staff to s;[peak up and feel important as they are participating.
Way Three :Giving the employee a problem with a reward if the problem is solved this task could also be done in a group and a reward for the group if the task is completed giving the employees the skill of team effectiveness,problem solving and communication.

By involving employees with decision the commitment level will rise employees like to feel well valued within the business and safe, giving them the "AT HOME " feeling will increase the trust within the business.


Social networking to involve staff.
One major social networking site is Facebook, many businesses are using facebook to be in more contact with their employees by adding them on facebook they can keep in contact with their staff they can include themselves as a business within the staff personal life and while doing so they can also gain the opportunity to attract others.








As you can see from the picture above that is someones facebook home page as you can see it has a friends list at the side this would be easy for others to see if a business adds the employee as a friend as their is an advert for this particular persons work place as you can see he works in a university. comments could also be made, email can be received and sent and comments can be written all theses features can help communication with the employees much more easy.
Hyman and Mason, 1995 say employee involvement is people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs.


ConclusionSome may say employee involvement is important to the business because it keeps staff motivated and involved with the business giving them reason to stay and other may argue that employee involvement is not that important that decisions are made by the people who know best i mean that's what they have been highierd for either way from writing the blogg i think it is clear that employee involvement can always benefit a organisation  in many ways so if an employee has a suggestion it should always at least be taken into account.

Rwards

A reward system consists of financial rewards and employee benefits, which together comprise total remuneration.’ (Martin et al , 2010)



As You can see Tesco offers a large list of rewards and benefits on this topic Tesco's slogan is " More then just good pay", from the website you can clearly see different roles of the people within the organisation, Fairness is insured in Tesco by offering all employee the same Intangible rewards when it comes to tangible rewards ( pay ) this will differ due to the fact of different positions within the organisation.

The purpose of Tesco as a business doing this is :
 

         Support the corporate strategy this will help keep up a good company image

         Recruit qualified employees this will help the company internally by having the best people for the job.

         Retain capable employees

         Maintain equality this will help the company maintain and keep existing customers

         Be sustainable within financial resource

Motivate employees to perform to their maximum

Comply with legal obligations such as the Equal pay act 1963

Strengthen the psychological contract

All information was taken from tesco website at : (http://www.tesco-careers.com/home/working/rewards-and-benefits/we-all-share-in-our-success

Share our Success

At Tesco, we like to ensure our staff are cared for financially. So whether you have been with us 3 months or 3 years we run three successful share schemes, all helping you end up with more cash in your pocket.

Shares in Success

So, to thank our people for the success they've brought the business, we give free shares to everyone who's worked here for one year at the end of the financial year (February). We share a proportion of our profit amongst our staff, based on salaries. These Tesco shares are held in trust for 5 years, and after that you can take them, tax-free.

Save As You Earn

Every October those people who've been here a year get the option to save up to £50 every 4 weeks for either 3 or 5 years and receive a tax-free bonus at the end. You can use your savings and bonus to buy Tesco shares at up to 20% less than the market price, or take the cash.

Buy As You Earn

After three months working with us you'll have the chance to join the BAYE scheme. You buy shares at the market price every 4 weeks, saving tax and National Insurance on the salary you use to do this. You can start, stop or change the amount you invest at any time. And if you keep the shares in trust for 5 years you'll get even more tax advantages.

Staff Privilegecard

To reward you for your loyalty, after a year working at Tesco you will be given your Privilegecard - the staff loyalty card that gives you 10% discount and Clubcard points on most Tesco products.

And eligible staff also have access to exclusive staff discounts with Tesco Personal Finance and Tesco Telecoms.

Pension

We look after your future too

None of us know what the future holds, but you can be sure that peace of mind and financial security for our staff is very important to us. Planning ahead to your retirement is easy with our award winning, Tesco pension scheme.

With a Tesco pension you are able to understand how financially secure you will be when you decide to retire. As well as pension provision you have access to a life assurance scheme that will provide financial protection for your family.

Your leisure time

Our staff work hard, so we believe they should be able to make the most of their leisure time. To help with this we have negotiated discounts and special offers that are available exclusively to Tesco staff.

There are discounts on theme parks, holidays and gym membership that are available all year round. There are also special offers throughout the year, to make sure there's always something for everyone.

Protecting your health

To ensure that staying fit and healthy doesn't cost our people an arm and a leg, we have some great discounts with top healthcare companies. We offer exclusive discounted rates for staff on health cash plans, dental cover and private medical insurance, to help take the burn out of healthcare costs.

Supporting your lifestyle

We recognise that Tesco staff have busy lives outside of the workplace, so we've introduced a range of policies that will help you find a better balance between your work life and home life.

From saving money with childcare vouchers to taking time off work for a career break or extended holiday, at Tesco there are a variety of options available to support your lifestyle.

I think Chief Executives should be paid more then regular employees such as customer service assistants and cashiers BUT if the regular employees face targets too meet and lack of pay if not reached and other punishments the Chief Executive should be faced with the same if the company is under performing he needs to find away wear by he can motivate the staff of the company to do better in order to make it not under perform so i believe the large bonus is out of the question, On the other hand others may argue that the job of the Chief Executive is worth a bonus due to the importance and relevance of this job role, the chief executive is reasonable for the day to day running of the business and this is a big task to handle.



A theory that can be used is  Maslow – physiological, these are biological needs. They consist of needs for oxygen, clean environment, water and normal pay. They are the strongest needs because if a person working from Tesco is deprived of all needs they will not want the job or perform well leading to the organisation suffering as they don't have good workers, the physiological ones would come first in the person's search for satisfaction when searching for a job and also self esteem, when the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs for esteem can become dominant. These involve needs for both self-esteem and for the esteem a person gets from others for example managers. The workers will have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world. When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless leading them not to perform their up most best at work.


ConclusionWhen companies are thinking of rewarding people they need to consider the employees rights, if they feel fairly treated and recognition because not considering all this may lead to conflic within the organisation and this will have a negitive impact on the organisation and staff.

Managing performance

According to ACAS (2006) Appraisals regularly record an assessment of an employee’s performance, potential and development needs. The appraisal is an opportunity to take an overall view of work content, loads and volume, to look back on what has been achieved during the reporting period and agree objectives for the next.

At work appraisals are normal done every 6months they are usually conducted by the manager or a member of higher authority that members of staff don't know.

When an employee is thinks about the appraisals they tend to get nevus because their targets will be discussed  even though in appraisals employees have the opportunity to talk and express their opinions.

Fletcher and williams (1985) says that assessment of people is not the only thing we asses when a persons is at work.

When the employer organizes an appraisal they tend to see if the employees are meeting targets and they also get to see a whole image of the organisation and how its doing internally.

When taking part in an appraisal it is very effective due to the fact both employees and employer can both express their feelings about the organisation the way they both feel and if targets are being meet.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article3778514.eceLooking at this article this skills that are required to be a effective mentor are someone who is willing to work with you to help with challenges and dilemmas that are being faced a quote from the article is "  Members of Wright’s local group meet once a month to help each other work on the challenges and dilemmas they are facing in their professional lives."
A effective mentor helps with issues and goals a quote to support this in the article is " Her work with these mentors has helped her with a range of issues including achieving specific goals, such as improving her network of contacts."
Using a mentor can offer many benefits to entrepreneurs, according to Bob Garvey, professor of mentoring and coaching at Sheffield Hallam University.
A good mentor can also help by transferring new skills and knowledge, creating better networking opportunities a quote to support this from the article is " A recent programme Garvey set up to see if mentors could help with a specific goal, ended up demonstrating much wider benefits for the entrepreneurs involved. These benefits included transferring new skills and knowledge, creating better networking opportunities as well as helping them improve their product and in some cases even going into business with their mentor. "
Mentor to me ?
I have always had a strong connection with my mother after reading the article above she covers most of the quality's of what the article describe a mentor should be like.
She helps me reach my goals and supports me in ways i would never imagen.
Clutterbuck (2004) says everyone needs a mentor, this is true to an extent as a mentor is meant for guidance to people and some people may argue that they done need any guidance from anyone.

As a mentor she has influenced and she has affected my life in a positive way internally and externally and example is giving me speeches making me feel good on the inside and helping me with my work when i was in secondary school and helping me look for a job making me feel good externally creating a positive effect on me.

Shes level headed, gives me praise and recognition and she very understanding these are quality's that I believe are very important if she is to be a good mentor all theses quality's she me everyday why having her as a mentor brings a positive affect on me, i need someone who is a good listener for times when i don't understand something, i need a level headed person at all time so i feel comfortable expressing my true feelings and i also need someone who gives me positive praise and recognition to keep me going and gives me that extra push to do what i want to do.


Conclusion
Learning about Performance,appraisals and mentors was very interesting especially learning about the characteristics of a mentor, reflecting on my past studies a mentors characteristics are smiler to those of a leader and line manager showing that theses role require a lot of people skills and sometimes requires more then a professional relationship.

Selection

Selection is used in different types of situation but one of the common selection process is selection whilst looking for the best candidate for a job.

In this situation the ultimate goal for selection is to find the best person for the job.
Their are different types of selection process example of some are :

Short listing from information on CV’s and application forms

Interviews

Tests

Assessment centres

References

Work Simulations – realistic job preview
Telephone Screening

      Graphology

      Role play - demonstration

The first common selection process i have been though is being part of a short list from information from a CV, at this time this selection process was used just to short list the people, from the people who suite the role and the people who don't this process also gives a small insight on the candidates qualifications.
The advantage of this is you remove all the people that you don't believe is right for the job this is resulting in major time saving. on the other hand a disadvantage is you as the interviewee don't really know the people and they may not be good on paper but they may be good in the customer service section and this type of selection is resulting in the interviewee not giving them an opportunity.

The next selection process i have been though is another common selection process and this is an Interview selection process.
This type of selection gives the person being interviewed a better opportunity to express their self and show the person interviewing their qualities and how they would be an asset to the organisation, questions will be asked to see asses the mind, ability and personality of the person being interviewed.
First impressions are everything, on that note one of the disadvantages is that the interviewee may be bias leading to the interview being very uneasy, short and a waste of time another disadvantage would be the interviewee may give a artificial situation this does not allow the person to express their work potential.
On the other hand a advantage of this process is the person being interviewed can put across their personality and work mind giving them a advantage to get the vacancy.


Another selection process i have taken part in is a test, this process is very nerve recking it requires allot preparation, not all organisations take part in this type of selection process it is not that common for many reasons, one of its disadvantages would be that some people may not be able top express everything they know uno paper and applying for a job is hard enough without having a test this process makes it all that much harder, a plus side to a test is you get an opportunity to write down as much as you can think of rather then saying it and your mind goes blank.


I have been to many different types of interviews some i have been successful and some i haven't been and example of one that i was successful and i found it effective was an interview for an office assistant.
I went to this interview nervous as ever once i got into the swing of things i started letting my fantastic personality shine i realised that the reason that i started relaxing was because the interviewer was very positive, simple questions about your well being can make you more relaxed and in this situation it did.
As the interview went on i felt right at home in the office and i also wasn't afraid to ask questions from the interviewer.
I believe this interview was effective just because of the fact it didn't have a obvious structure to me it felt more like a chat and gave me a chance to express myself , the main reason i felt like it was really affective is because 2 days later i received a phone call saying i got the job whilst on the interview the interviewer made it clear everyone would get a call regardless of if they got the job or not so i think that's very good and makes the interviewee more relaxed because they know they will be getting feedback and this also helps future days when the person attends another interview.

Recently i have just been to an interview whew i believe the whole selection process was terrible, someone was late so every candidate after was early leaving congestion on the shop floor they had no good waiting area this was very embarrassing for us the candidates as we all look so smart but managed to make the shop look untidy.
eventually when i entered the interview room i was relived but i felt a sense of discrimination this i cant prove because i only had a feeling.
As the interview proceeds i started feeling uneasy i had 2 people interviewing me with two different personalities so i ended up very confused they were also asking questions at the same time when the interview finally ended i was very happy that the process was over they told me they would get back to me even if i didn't get the job since the day of this interview i haven't herd anything back this makes me feel like my interview wasn't really been taken into account or they just lied to me about contacting me, all in all i just think it was a big waste of time  it was unorganised and uncomfortable for the person being interviewed.
They have alot of improvements that need to made but the main one would be that they find a good structure and they care about the person being interviewed as they were a employee already, its important for the interviewer to give good impression because they are reflecting on the business.


Conclusion

In this blogg i have reflected more on myself and personal experience with the selection process, reflecting on past experiences and presents.
I have learned that businesses need to find the best was to do a selection process so they can find the best candidates for the job they also need to make sure they give all types of people a chance and not to discriminate the one thing organisations need to remember is that they are reflecting their organisations and the interviewee could be a customer one day and past experiences have impacts on people.
So when it come to the selection process as well as watching the candidates behaviour they also need to watch their own.

Equal opportunities and diversity

Definitions & Difference

Equal Opportunities
        Removing discrimination
      seen as an issue for disadvantaged groups
      seen as an HR issue
   relies on positive action

                                                           ( Kandola and Fullerton, 1998)

Diversity

Differences can be strengths for the organisation as a whole.

Focus on maximising individual employee potential

Seen as relevant to all employees

An issue that involves all managers

Does not rely on positive action

                                                ( Kandola and Fullerton, 1998)

In a employeers perspective when the age legislation came into force in 2006 some impacts this may have had would be things such as :

Not aloud to not employee someone because of that persons age unless under the age the law says its OK to work.

Employee benefits such as life cover, income protection and private medical insurance less sustainable in the future.

Employers cannot enforce mandatory retirement ages.



Stereotypical views on the older generation ?



Within the work force their would be many different types of stereotypical views , people believe as you do get older the more unable you are to work but due to the age legislation in 2006 it controdics this because emplpyeers have no right to make this asumption or act on it.

Because times keep moving people offten ask the question " because he/she is old would they be able to move with the times of technology and change "

Also in the media they tend to pertray old people in a certain way for example all the adverts on TV promoting life cover for over 50 is that showing us at 50 we should be getting ready for death ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN8h-1KCOe0
The link i have posted above is on life cover but the person who made the life cover for his family is dead so does that show us that old people are no use to us working or soon to die ?
The media shows alot of different things about old people influencing peoples minds and employeers perseptions.




Stereotypical views of young people ?


Within an organisation their could be many views employers could make on highiering young people such as :

Because of their age, immaturity, and inexperience, young people could be at greater risk in the workplace.

Employers must ensure that they assess the risks to young persons and make sure they put in place controls to reduce the risks.

many employers and people have stereotypical views on young people in the work place such as will they be able to do the job right and also because of age how much training will be needed, but just because of their age does not mean they will be more incompitent do train and do as much work as an older person , does it ?
in my opinion i think not.

On the other hand sad adverts on the TV the media showing us 4 or 5 year olds doing hard labour in the countries this shows age does not come into it young people can sure do what people older may do even though the advert is showing child abuse for the benifit of this blogg it could show the hard work theses children do.

Maybe it all depends on who the person is qualities and trates they may have rather then age.




Can organisations help to change this view ?


Highering different aged people could help the views socioty has created for theses age groups not just aged but different types of people would also help the situation once people start entering different work forceses and see different types of people working, peoples minds will become more relaxed and used to the fact that organisations have changed, change happeneds slowly especially in organisation and socioty so its best to start early so the change can  have a high impact.

An example of an organisation that helps this is TESCO they have a record high level of over 50 years old employees working for them in all different departments.
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/10/01/47690/tesco-reaps-benefit-as-number-of-over-50s-staff-reaches-record-level.html

The link above shows and explains what TESCO is doing for people over the age of 50.




Equal opportunities regarding B&Q


B&Q are the leading home improvement and garden centre retailer in Europe and the third largest in the world, with more than 60 stores opened internationally.

B&Q focus on many aspects of equal opportunities within the organisation but they are most proud of is
In 2006, B&Q was one of only two retailers to make the Top 50 Places Where Women Want To Work, and has continued this achievement for the fourth consecutive year.

They have also earned a reputation for employing older workers, because they want to let their customers tap into their lifetime of knowledge and experience.

 Recognised by work-life balance charity Working Families as one of the top 20 organisations whose initiative and example has made positive change happen for working families.

B&Q’s success is down to the many employees and customers that work and shop with them.
The company strongly believes that a diverse workforce creates a mix of talents that makes the company such a success. More than 1,200 B&Q staff speak over 60 different languages, with many being multilingual.
From products and working practices to store layouts and training, B&Q continue to promote equality of opportunity in everything they do, so there are no barriers for anybody who wants to be part of the B&Q team.





Conclution



In conclution my finding show me a very clear outline of how organisations work and what they think of legisation they may nopt always agree but they do have to obide by them and find away to make it work within their company.
Durring this blogg i have done alot of research that involves me watching videos and going onto different websites finding out about company policys on dicrimination and equal opportunities and i realized one thing its all well putting something down in writing but how do we know or the government know its being obided by ? it would be very difficault to tell.

Teamwork

Working in teams is not always easy, disputes, misunderstandings and segregation can happen which can have a negative affect on the work at hand but when team work is successful it could be a amazing achievement.

Working in a team can be defined as; 

A working group is a set of individuals who are aware of each other, interact with one another and have a sense that they are a group (Schein, 1988)

Am not really a team work person myself but i have had good team working experiences an example of this is when in college and i was put in a team to do a presentation the team was mixed consisting of male and females whom i didn't know well, starting of doing the work was very difficult due to the reason we all didn't know each other well so the "getting to know you stage" was cut out because we had a very tight deadline and demanding work.

I then noticed that we all had one main factor in common this was determination, we all wanted to do well and be successful so we put our all into the work we was doing, we divided the work into section and completed each section to our best and came together and showed each other our section of the work, people commented and had input this was very productive and because of this we worked well as a team, received go recognition from our teachers and completed the work successfully and made new friends because after the work we got a chance to speak and get to know each other.


Everyone has different experiences with team work and definitions another definition is ;

shared communication network

shared sense of purpose

shared goals

group consciousness

interdependence

interaction

groups structure and roles

ability to act as one

(Huczynski and Buchanan 2004)

This year coming to university i never realized their would be a lot of teamwork, this was very  difficult for me as i came to this university alone and others came hear knowing someone on their course already.
During my course of people and organisations i eventually wiggled my was into a group this was very uncomfortable due to the fact the group was full enough and everyone were friends and i basically had to fit in, i was very focused so i tried my best to be involved and mingle with people.


 
<><><><>

Forming: Testing Polite Impersonal Guarded Watchful	Storming: Infighting Confronting people Managing conflicts Opting out  Difficulties Losing team members Demotivation  Feeling stuck
Norming: Doing Getting organised Developing skills Establishing systems and procedures High task orientation Confronting issues Competence assessment	Performing: IdentityCloseness Group Maturity Resourceful Flexible  Open Effective  Supportive Sharing  Tolerance

Tuckman 1973
using Tuckman theory i believe my group didn't go though all the developing stages this could be the reason for our grade, everyone was certainly polite but a few including my self were guarded due to the new environment we were put in and the new people we were working with, this was our a first group assignment so everyone was still new to the university environment, totally understandable. That was the forming process going on to the Norming, getting organised was very simple but at this early stage people had alot of work on their plates so meeting up at a good time for everyone was very difficult, eventually a system was created and we got on our feet and started doing the work, no issues were confronted, no one would like to create confrontations at this stage of the assignment, so we kind of just got along with it all.
Moving on to the Storming stage, i felt stuck alot of the time during the assignments alot of things were happening in my personal life,even though i didn't want to i informed my team mates so they would understand but their was no difference, i believe my team mates did not understand what the word team meant, i was stuck and they didn't help i had to unstick my self and get my head focused which was difficult with everything i was passing though BUT no excuses i suppose.
This now leads to the performing stage at this stage i was pretty much tolerating people now vice verser am sure, everything started getting rushed opinions didn't matter any more and communicating was braking down due to this the report we presented was not marked to the standered of our level.


So in conclusion team work can go two ways especially when working with people you don't know and also when your in an environment your not used to.
The key is to establish a good work organisation and understand the work so everyone is clear on what to do and making sure everyone has a role and is not left out.