Employability Skills

Unit Code: A/601/0992
Programme Name: HND in Business

Submitted To
Ludmila Musalova

Submitted By

Date of Submission:

Table of Contents Introduction 3 1.1 Own Responsibilities and Performance Objectives 3 1.2 Effectiveness in Meeting the Performance Objectives 4 1.3 Recommendation for Improvement of Performance Objectives 4 1.4 Motivational Techniques to Improve Quality of Staff Performance 5 2.1 MEMO Writing to All Colleagues Outlining the Solutions to Work Problems 6 2.2 Types and Levels of Communication 7 2.3 Effective Time Management Strategies 8 3.1 Different Roles People Play in Team and Their Effectiveness 8 3.2 Analysis of Team Dynamics 10 3.3 Forwarding Alternatives Ways of Achieving the Assigned Task Set by Line Manager 11 4.1 Methods to Solve Work Based Problems 11 4.2 Appropriate Strategy for Solving Problems 12 4.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Compromise and Collaboration 12 Conclusion 13 References 14

Introduction
Before entering the job market it is required to sharpen employability skill. To develop employability skills, identifying and improving the understanding of the responsibilities and performance in the workplace. Interpersonal and transferable skills are inevitable in working with dynamic team. The manager shall also hone leadership and communication skills. Identification, analysis of problem, formulating appropriate strategy, executing the plan perfectly and evaluating the result with desired result through reflective practices are also inevitable element of employability skills.
1.1 Own Responsibilities and Performance Objectives
As a duty manager the personnel should have specific responsibilities and performance objectives to run the function of the department of the organization smoothly.
The duty manager shall be responsible for maintaining a friendly relationship with employees and adaptable and favorable work environment within the workplace. This will ensure better commitment and trust to the organization and manager from employees.
The duty manager shall let other employees take part in decision making process and provide enough space and opportunity to develop their skill and expertise through on the job and off the job training. As a result the customers are sure to get the best services from McDonald. So the customer satisfaction would be ensured.
The foremost responsibility of duty manager is to develop strong communication rout throughout the workplace and this will fulfill the objective of adaptability of employees to probable changes. Strong communication within the workplace helps the manager to coordinate and monitor work and employees effectively and efficiently.
The duty manager’s responsibility to work within employment legislation ensures the security of employees’ rights and hand over the responsibilities.
The duty manager is responsible to maintain ethical code of conduct throughout the workplace. This will ensure that employees will work as per rules and regulation to satisfy customer by ensuring better services.
So the duty manager is responsible for maintaining favorable work environment, protecting end ensuring employees’ right, ethical conduct, developing strong communication rout, maintaining time management, participatory decision making process and so on. The performance objectives are provision of customer satisfaction, favorable work environment and maintenance of ethics.
1.2 Effectiveness in Meeting the Performance Objectives
The responsibilities and performance objectives should be done and achieves reasonably and effectively or more efficiently. The duty manager maintains friendly environment, employees’ commitment and trust to the organization successfully through the open mind and participatory leadership. There exists reasonably effective coordination and monitoring among employees and manager and work through up to date communication system. The managers make the highly advance technology available in the workplace for better communication. Standard training workshops, on the job training and off the training for employee have been undertaken at regular interval to make the employee skilled. The duty manager has a legal adviser to deal with employee legislation, security of employee’s right. The initiative is being reasonable and effective as the aggrieved employees can get legal services at minimum costs and the managers is capable in solving any legal problem with internal or external party. The ethical code of conduct adopted from international and local standard and organizational set up is effectively and strictly maintained. The most crucial performance objective is to maintain customer satisfaction through quality and healthy product along with convenient services. This objective has been achieved reasonably and effectively as above mention linked objectives with customer satisfaction are met in reasonably effective manner.
1.3 Recommendation for Improvement of Performance Objectives
Though the performance objectives are attained with reasonableness and effectiveness, there is still enough scope of improvement in every aspect.
The duty manager should adopt more advance stress management to cope with stress and changes and make sure better work environment. There should be respect for the employees’ work and opinion. The manager should implement more advance training techniques and sales strategies for increase in sales and more customer satisfaction. High quality and caliber applicants should be selected and recruited for delivering good customer satisfaction. The manager should formulate a course of alternative strategies for communication system. The communication system in action should be evaluated and changed as per need in a regular interval. If possible it would be great to assign particular employee to collect, record and distribute information for better and effective symmetric communication. Employee legislation and rights should be reserved and followed strictly so that no one dares to disobey the rules and regulation of the workplace. The same recommendation should be applied for practice in ethics in the workplace. The employee should be appraised with reasonable salary level, bonus payment, and promotion and so on. The manager should identify and evaluate the strength and weakness of the promotion given to specific employee.
1.4 Motivational Techniques to Improve Quality of Staff Performance
Motivation is the set of forces that make employee to work in convinced way. Motivation is used to influence the behavior of the workforce by others by their power, leadership and management skill.
The most popular search engine Google has a diversified workforce from all over the world, background, culture, society and country. Google gives emphasis to every interest and opinion of each employee the company has no matter what culture or society the employee from.
Google never follow hierarchical system in management. The company gives equal value and respect to every employee. All employees are considered as same. The company emphasizes on team work.
The company policy is to promote employee to work more with joy and interest and to think outside the box. This policy offers the employees opportunity to be more creative and add variation in the assigned work. Google offers employees flexibility in performing the specified jobs.
Google invest money and time for employee to show them that they are valuable to the organization and part of the business as much as family member. The company provides many facilities for enjoyable lunch time such as snack room, cafes, gym and so on.
For interpersonal skill development the company offers intensive and exclusive training program at a regular interval.
2.1 MEMO Writing to All Colleagues Outlining the Solutions to Work Problems
KFC
22/A, Baker Street, London
Date: 02/06/14

To: Colleagues
From: Duty Manager
Subject: Concentrate on Time Schedule of Duty and Self Consciousness on Tasks

Dear Colleagues,
With due respect, I appreciate all of your contribution in the organization in achieving our goals. Here I want to convey you all that I have identified some problems. Firstly, there is no time schedule. Secondly, some staff don’t report if they become absent or unable to start the shift on time. Thirdly, few employees use store’s telephone. Fourthly, the information is not communicated to relevant person in charge on time. And finally huge number of refunds is accepted without valid invoice. These problems are diverting us from our goals and deteriorating our performance. So, I strongly recommend maintaining strict and solid time schedule that will determine who is to start at what time. Every staff is ordered to keep it mind to report duly in case of being unable to come or start on time. The personal use of telephone is strongly prohibited. Messages must be communicated to relevant person in charge on time. And without valid invoice refunds of goods shall not be accepted. I hope these initiatives would help us to remove the identified problems and boost up our performance.

So, I request with honor that you all would be well concerned about above consideration and help me to develop a better work environment where you can effectively explore yourself.

Yours faithfully
Mr Zoo Lee
Duty Manager, KFC.
2.2 Types and Levels of Communication
KFC is one of the successful and largest fast food chains in the world. It has strong and effective communication process.
Types of Communication
The types of communication followed by KFC are very common that are verbal and non verbal communication, written communication, body language and eye contact, facial expression, posture and so on. Written and verbal communications are formal way communication. The company uses perfect types of communication to secure the classified information of business.
Levels of Communication
There are mainly three levels of communication in KFC that are team communication, interpersonal communication and organizational communication.
In team communication, information flows through higher level to lower level. The team members follow the order to contribute to attain goal of the organization and if they have any creative and new ideas or suggestion, they have the access to give that in the meeting convened by the team leaders.
Interpersonal communication has two level of communication. The food chain giant maintains communication between staff and customers and communication between managers and staff members in a very effective and efficient manner.
Organization communication ensures the achievement of organizational goals by clearing and communicating about goals to each and every staff. This level of communication get contribution from every employee by allowing them to give their opinion and ideas before generating and implementing new rule and environment in the organization.
To implement the communication levels the managers and staff should have personal effectiveness in working with others, negotiating skills, social skills, creativity, and assertiveness skill and what not.
2.3 Effective Time Management Strategies
The term time management is a misnomer as one can’t manage time rather he or she must focus on management of time in relation to time given. Good time management refers to protecting and using valuable and limited time through budget. Effective time management depends on personal skills, planning evaluation and self control. There are numerous strategies for effective time management. The most common strategies are to know how to spend time, setting priorities, and using a planning tool. It is helpful to use time log to ascertain the way of spending the limited given time. Then it is required to identify most time consuming tasks, one’s most productive time and devoted and specific tasks that require most time. And at last one can invest required time to most important tasks and having good sense of amount of time help in realistic planning and estimating available time for other activities.
Setting priorities in effective time management is efficient strategy. The manager should differentiate between important tasks and urgent tasks. There are four quadrants in time management matrix: urgent, not urgent, important and not important. So both urgent and important jobs must be done on a priority basis.
It is recommended to use personal planning tools to improve productivity and time management. There are many planning tools such as electronic planners, pocket diaries, calendars, computer programs, wall charts, index cards and note books. Planning tools help to focus on prioritized jobs.
3.1 Different Roles People Play in Team and Their Effectiveness
The term team refers to the small group of employees who have common objectives of contributing to the common goal. The team member works in accordance with the goals and they have mutual feeling of responsibility and complementary skills.
At first Belbin categories the team roles as; chairman, shaper, plant, resource investigator, monitor evaluator, team worker, company worker and completed finisher. After that she defined chairman as coordinator, company worker as implementer and developed a new role as specialist. The team roles were classified into three groups such as action roles ( shaper, implementer and completer finisher), social roles ( coordinator, team worker, and resource investigator) and thinking roles ( plant, monitor evaluator and specialist).
Company Worker
He executes received plans successfully and thoroughly. He is a arranger and worker on behalf of the organization.
Chairman
As a team director he is in charge for supporting ideas and thoughts. He allocates resources to make balance between powerful and feeble sides of the team members. He directs and controls the member of the team.
Shaper
The fundamental activity of shaper is to shape the team accomplishments and purposes. He establishes the discussion platform and encourages the team into action with swift decision. He makes a combination of ideas, aims and empirical thoughts in connection to realized projects.
Plant
The source of original ideas and thoughts is plant. He is the creative and innovative member of the team. He formulates radical and dynamic solution to the problems.
Resource Investigator
He is another innovative and extrovert member of the team. He focuses his concentration on developing unique ideas that is similar to that of plant.
Team Worker
The team worker helps the others of the team with his vigor. He supports the other members to overcome their inefficiencies, nourish the team essence and build up communication.

Monitor Evaluator
He analyses problems, identifies and develops ideas and offers advices for decision making. Though he merely produces creative ideas, he offers security to the team from deadly mistakes.
Completer-Finisher
He evaluates the performance of the team by assuring that the team is not making mistakes. He works as security guard who corrects the little but significant mistakes. He finishes all activities within schedule by effective time management.
3.2 Analysis of Team Dynamics
Team dynamics means unconscious and psychological forces which manipulate the course and direction of a team’s conduct and performance. Team dynamics depends on the nature of the work of team, the personalities in the team, working relationship and environment in the workplace in the team. Team dynamics affect the profitability of an organization, level of employee satisfaction in work, staff retention rates, team and individual performance, company reputation and so on. Team dynamics can be good as they get better team performance bring the best out of each team members. There are also possibility of negative impact like unproductive conflict, demotivation, loss of skilled staff, employee dissatisfaction, loss of revenue, mistrust and creating problems in getting the goals. At first, diagnosis should be done to improve team dynamics then the level of intervention must be determined. The dynamic team shall have common and compelling purpose, organizational clarity, able and accepted leadership, clear and agreed upon strategy, authentic and solid relationship among team members and honest and excellent communication.

3.3 Forwarding Alternatives Ways of Achieving the Assigned Task Set by Line Manager For every business organization, customer satisfaction is the most concerned target and success of company like McDonald depends on customer satisfaction. So it is imperative to increase customer satisfaction through superior products and services. The duty manager shall be responsible in achieving the targeted customer services. In the way of achieving the targeted task by line manager, the duty manager should forward and implement the following. * Selecting team members with specialist roles, skill and style mix. * Identifying and developing team roles. * Building employees’ identity, loyalty and commitment to shared beliefs and goals. * Evaluating team health. * Planning action effectively, monitoring and getting feedback. * Maintaining strict ethics in workplace among team member. * Providing appropriate training to improve sales and customer management skills. * Setting work direction and behavioral standard of staff toward customer. * Developing strong communication among team members. * Motivating employees through various incentives to make them innovative, responsive to customer.
Above all or combination of some of way forwards can be used to ensure increase in customer satisfaction.
4.1 Methods to Solve Work Based Problems
In the regular course of business the manager would face a lot work based problems. To solve various work based problem the manger can use many methods like PDSA cycle, Ishikawa diagram, Simplified Failure Methods and Effects Analysis (SFMEA) and general problem solving methods. The PDSA cycle stands for Plan-Do-Study-Act. This method was developed by Shewhart and Deming effectively modified the method. Ishikawa diagram uses graphical presentation of problems and causes. SFMEA is top down method to analyze a problem and solve it. General problem solving methods identify and analyze problem, develop a set of solution, choose the best and execute the plan.
Advantages and Disadvantages of PDSA Cycle
The PDSA cycle develops a loop that ensures the frequent evaluation of process. It makes advance plan for the future. It provides a unique analysis of problem that leads to desired solution. It has better monitoring system that ensures effective execution of plan.
It does not focus on business development and qualitative activities. It pays no heed to people of the organization. It has innate repetitive nature. Sometimes Do and Study infer same meaning.
Advantages and Disadvantages of General Method
There is no simple work based problem methods like general method. It is a generally accepted method for any general method. It doesn’t require expert in executing the method. This method is time saving and cost effective.
Critical and complex problem can’t be solved using this traditional method. It is not up to date. It generates low quality solution to work based problem. It does help to improve performance and develop better strategies.
4.2 Appropriate Strategy for Solving Problems
To solve any identified problem say, poor communication, there many strategies like confrontation, avoidance, accommodation, compromise and collaboration. The most appropriate strategy for solving any problem is compromise and collaboration. In this strategy the team member and manager are willing to work together to sort out agreeable solution to the problem. Here both sacrifice of what wanted to solve the problem. There is win-win situation for each element. So the problem of poor communication can be rout out by compromise and collaboration with reasonable effectiveness.
4.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Compromise and Collaboration
This strategy improves personal relationship. It saves time and energy and brings about revolutionary speed in performing work. It develops the environment of work place. It establishes a culture of broadmindedness and tolerance. It reduces criticism from employee. New ideas, thoughts are inevitable in this strategy.
It is not possible to implement this strategy without common understanding among team member. If the is any conflict then the strategy become time consuming, expensive. Then the environment can be unfavorable to work with productivity. Conclusion
A manager whether duty manager or customer services manager focuses on customer satisfaction through better work environment, strong communication, employee motivation and implementing better problem solving strategy through establishing dynamics team in the workplace.

References * David W.G. Hind and Moss S. (2011). Employability Skill, 2nd Edition, Business Education Publishers Ltd. * Davis, E. & Lansbury, R. (Eds) Managing together: Consultation and participation in the workplace. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire, 1996. * Diamond, M.A. Stresses of group membership: Balancing the need for independence and belonging. In M.F.R. Kets de Vries (Ed.), Organizations on the couch. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1991. * Lakein, A. (1973). How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life. New York: New America Library. * Morgenstern, J. (2004). Time Management from the Inside Out. New York: Henry Holt and Company. * Williams, J., 2002. Team development for high tech project managers, London: Arctech house * Belbin, M., 1993. Team roles at work. Oxford: Reed * www.bized.co.uk