Business Studies – Investigating three shops

The following assignment investigates people and work at three different stores. The first is Sainsbury’s Savacentre, a hypermarket located in Beckton. Very wide ranges of items are sold here, not just groceries but clothes and technology too. I have also chosen two specialist shops, each selling a product available in the hypermarket. I have selected ‘The Card Shop’ as one of my specialist shops. This is a store, local to my area, specialising in the sale of greetings cards, one of the products made available by the hypermarket. In addition to this, I have chosen Kashmir Store as a specialist shop. This small family run business specialises in the selling of halal meat and certain Asian foods. The Savacentre hypermarket has recently begun to sell some of these products in-store.

The aim of this report is to address certain key ideas related to work and industry. This assignment hopes to demonstrate the key ideas in a work environment. The principal key ideas tackled in this project are listed below.

1) There is an important relationship between the level of technology and the nature of work.

2) Workers in different industries are interdependent and modern industry is characterised by specialisation.

3) The way in which industry is organised has an important effect on job satisfaction.

Key idea number one suggests that certain types of work require higher levels of technology than other types of work. For example, I would expect office workers to use more technology in the way of photocopiers and computers than builders who use less technology such as cement mixers.

Key idea number two suggests that workers from different industries are interdependent. That is to say, the computer manufacturing industry is dependent on the retail industry to sell its product. One cannot survive without

the other. Furthermore, the key idea states that modern industry is characterised by specialisation. This means that industry today is specialised and specific or fills a niche. Overall, this key idea implies that because industries are very specific, they may be limited and therefore need to be interdependent. This is analogous to a newspaper and a newsagent. The production of a newspaper is a specialised industry as is the newsagent. Both however are interdependent as the paper cannot be sold without the newsagent and the newsagent will suffer financially without the newspaper.

Finally, the third key idea suggests that job satisfaction is influenced by the way in which industry is organised. Job satisfaction is a term to describe how much a person enjoys their job and finds it fulfilling. Industry organisation can lead to poor or very good job satisfaction. This can affect workers quite drastically. For example, poor job satisfaction may lead to inefficient work and high employee turnover, which is not good for the company or industry.

In order to find out if these hypotheses are true for the retail industry and more importantly, for the shops that I have chosen, I will carry out two methods of investigation, a questionnaire and general observation.

By collecting data using a questionnaire, a large sample can be targeted and answers compared amongst respondents. Due to time restrictions and work place limitations, a structured interview will not be employed. Instead, a questionnaire will be used so that staff can respond in their own time.

However, questionnaires are rather limited in the types of data they generate. Boredom in filling out the forms can also lead to falsified results. To combat this, I will directly observe workers. This technique allows for study of behaviour in the ‘natural setting’. The interaction between workers can be studied, as can the behaviour and attitude of individuals. In an ideal situation, I would use participant observation instead but as it is unrealistic to take up employment in order to join the workers, I will just observe as a customer.

I will carry out direct observation by visiting the stores and making notes on employee behaviour. I will then obtain questionnaire information by ringing the stores in question for permission to carry out my research. Once this has been established, I will visit the shops and then distribute questionnaires amongst the staff. The research will be carried out in this order to prevent staff from changing their behaviour after filling in their questionnaires.

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Referral Article

In addition, when asked, current employees would eve nonchalant answers such as “l will have to think about it, I don’t know. ” The general structure of such a program is that there is an associated monetary bonus for the employees who refer candidates for open positions. The monetary bonus would be received after the referred employee passed a 90 day probationary window. A number of companies will actually limit the monetary bonuses received for referrals for employs too particular number per year.

For the companies that do to offer a monetary bonus for employee referrals, there is an offering of products or services to be redeemed, specifically products or services that are commonly used. In regards to employee-based referrals, it seems that the process should be more streamlined and has a more concrete structure. Offering monetary bonuses doesn’t seem like the best idea as it could motivate the current employees to suggest any random individual, rather that a solid qualified one.

Instead of monetary bonuses, he companies should offer training to employees. For example a rare opportunity for a class that isn’t normally offered, it would encourage the employee to better themselves and the company they work for. The employee referral program is also a significant way for companies to diminish large cost ways of finding employees, such as newspaper advertisement. The word of mouth idea is at it’s finest by using the current employees to recruit new ones. That is a great way to cut cost and yet get the Job done in a timely manner.

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Hr Aspect of a Company

This could be training the knowledge and clarity of thought that a retain kind of person is required to do a certain kind of task with a certain form of talent. Then starts the deal of profiling the said candidates and the best are chosen and taken aboard. The resumes of these candidates strictly related to the work the employee is meant to do or various other forms of training methods to improve the overall efficiency of the individual (Asks and Bellower 640). Training and development are closely related.

All kinds of development that is seen in an employee stems from training In his/her work field or otherwise however, all forms of training need not serially lead to assured development. This Is when the human resources wing of the company comes Into the picture and Is expected to do a good Job. Calabash, Van Dam and Hutchins (2010) stated that “I didn’t list listening as one of my skills, probably because I TLD hear what the Interviewer asked” (p. 1 94). This Is a typical problem with inefficient human resources and it should be countered appropriately.

The entire process of recruitment begins with are then studied to understand where their career is headed. This is done to keep in mind in case later on there is a chancy in a different position, the same people can be employed instead of hiring fresh from outside. In this article, the training programs available at the Marriott International Group of Hotels will be discussed at length. To start off, it is important to understand and accept that the labor force employed In the hotel and hospitality industry is the most refined and expensive.

As a result, It Is essential that through various motivational, skill oriented and product related training, this workforce Is retained by a substantial period of time. Else the cost of recruiting fresh people will e unnecessary. This brand Is one of the top In the world, so as part of their corporate training responsibility, they ensure that proper training is meted out to each and every member of the work force, right from the entry level to the head honchos (Fischer and Friedman 21).

Marriott takes on board the smartest young faces from the universities and most hard working people from other sources to Join the team. Marriott management-training positions offer these candidates opportunities to enhance their careers and the future of the Marriott business (Fischer and Friedman 22). On a societal level, a complete and collective approach to the hospitality workforce has a direct impact on the money that communities make. Hotels create Jobs and salary is generated through both direct employment and a large network of suppliers.

Woodlouse (2012) noted that “Some people today are wandering generalities Instead of meaningful specifics because they have failed to discover and mine the wealth of potentials In them” (p. 1141 Amorist’s Management Development Program (MID) is a convenient program that is paced to suit individual training to entry-level Marriott managers with the knowledge and skills that are accessory to perform their work and provide top class customer service. This program will also assist in developing discipline oriented and on-the-Job technical acumen needed to be excellent in the Job.

The management skills needed to ensure a path breaking career with this top notch hotel will improve as an assistant food and beverages manager will be different from the responsibilities of a floor manager. Career opportunities too are a plenty in Marriott. The example of Steven Craig is very popular in the circles of Marriott. He comes from the city of Chicago and loves the boy band Battles and plays guitar, bass and piano. Steven has also found a firm place in his career at Marriott.

In Just a little over four years with Marriott, he has performed so well that his efforts have been recognized and show cased. He has maintained quite a good track record. Steven has already gained a lot of experience at several unique large sized companies. Also, in his present role as Assistant General Manager, has even assisted in opening a hotel from the ground floor upwards (Chubbier, Van Dam and Hutchins 191). Steven Joined Marriott straight completing his graduation examination as a fresher, through the Management

Development Program of Marriott and has been very happy with the career development and enhancement possibilities that has been provided to him. He says that every day is an all new experience for him. There are plenty of challenges and hard tasks he has to complete but he feels grateful that invariably he gets the support he needs to deliver good customer service and his performance to the next level of excellence. Marriott understands its employees better than most in the market at their level. They understood that Steven has a great passion for music.

Steven understands the importance of working harmoniously in the workplace too. He says that as an Assistant General Manager he has to get into several roles and his work is not limited to any one area only. He has to oversee and supervise various functions of the hotel such as front office, food and beverages desk, room service, security and housekeeping. He has to ensure that his team is in sync and working together collectively as a unit and performing under all possible situations, favorable or otherwise.

There has to be one person who has to keep people together, keep them motivated and pleased. It is a big challenge for him but that is part of his daily work and he enjoys it fully. He has to be available at all times for his staff in case they find themselves in a spot of bother. Stevens love for music makes him tuned in to his responsibilities so well (Woodlouse 1135-1137). The teamwork training opportunities are also healthy in the Marriott. Famous lecturers come to their training rooms to speak to the staff and motivate them to work together to reach their goals.

They develop various training modules and workshops to help deliver them messages better. Big speakers here include Gregg Gregory who spoke to the team and beseeches them to come together during his personal loss and how Alex Shame and he rest of the team members allowed him to get over the emotional stress (Chubbier, Van Dam and Hutchins 197-199). Marriott is also well known for the communication training it provides to its employees. Their spoken language has to be impeccable to keep up their standards and their competitive place in the market.

There are professional trainers available who hone the skills of the staff and also Woodlouse (2012) stated, “Library Instruction is beneficial to all students. Learning together as a group reduces some of the stress and anxiety students may have when trying to learn about the libraries’ various resources. The instruction sessions are customized presentations, with hands-on training when possible, specifically tailored to class’s assigned research” (up. 1137-1138). The think tank of Marriott is now slowly and steadily delving into the details and benefits of creative thinking on the part of its employees.

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Human Resource – Escape to the Wild

Table of contents

Findings

HR Activities – Employee Relations

When good employee relations are in place they can help to maintain a happy and motivated workforce. This function will be responsible for putting company policies and procedures in place regarding grievance/discipline, recruitment and selection, employee welfare, training and development, absence management/reporting and negotiating terms and conditions. Doing this will minimise conflict, ensure staff are treated fairly and creates rules that everyone is aware of.

At Escape to the Wild there are no policies and procedures in place, there are inconsistencies in terms and conditions, inconsistencies in matters relating to recruitment and selection practises and staff are also overworked. Putting good employee relations in place will minimise/avoid all of these problems within the company. Recruitment and Selection Having a proficient recruitment and selection function within a company can help to select the right people for the job.

To implement this the company should look to analyse what jobs need to be filled, what the job description should be, what qualifications the candidates should posses and an idea of the characteristics of the individual. Once this has been decided then the search for staff can begin, this can be done by looking to fill the position internally, use a recruitment agency or by advertising the position. Once all successful applicants have been chosen then appointments should be scheduled for interview and possible aptitude testing. A candidate will then be selected and any references or qualifications should be checked.

Letters should be sent out to unsuccessful candidates an offer of employment letter to the successful candidate. Any qualifications and references should also be checked. At Escape to the Wild there are no recruitment and selection processes in place and this has caused problems as there is not enough staff, managers are currently responsible for recruitment so taking up time that could be spent on doing their job and by putting a proper recruitment and selection function in place it will alleviate this problem.

Training and Development

By making sure employees are properly trained and developed means a company will continue to thrive and make profits. Properly trained staff will improve their attitude and knowledge and help staff meet and perform given tasks properly, by doing this it will help motivate them to undertake higher-grade tasks. When putting this into place the company should be looking at what skills an employee already has, what skills they will require in the future and how to implement the training i. e. if it can be carried out by someone already proficient in the task within the company or if the training will have to be outsourced.

An evaluation of the training will have to be done to see if it has been cost effective and whether the training possibly needs modifying. At Escape to the Wild they are having problems with the training being mostly ad hoc which means staff are leaving the company. If a proper training and development system was in place then this would minimise this. Pay and Reward To help motivate and retain good staff an appropriate pay and reward structure should be in place. Rewards should be meaningful and vary with the performance.

To implement this a pay structure should be set up against job roles, administration of salaries be done, employee benefits should be implemented i. e. company canteen, creche facilities, free health care. Short-term and long-term incentives should be in place i. e. performance related pay rises each year, extra holidays after so many years service, option to join company pension scheme after so many years. At Escape to the Wild salary administration is outsourced, the Finance Director is having to deal with implementing salary increases. Implementing this function will stop these problems.

Roles of HR Department/HR Director

The role of the Human Resource Director guides and manages the overall provision of HR services. The HR department and staff members are advocates for both the company and the people who work in the company and the HR Director will make sure this is being achieved. They will implement policies and programs for the whole company, be responsible for performance management and improvement systems, organisational planning and development, policy development and documentation, employee relations, compensation and benefits administration, employee safety, welfare and health. The HR Director will report to the Board of Directors.

Recruitment & Selection Officer

The Recruitment and Selection Officer is responsible for delivering all operations of recruiting throughout the company. The need to keep up-to-date with recruitment practises and are responsible for making sure the company employ the best possible candidates. Their objectives should be to develop and execute recruitment plans, implement new recruiting ideas, create job descriptions, construct and implement good recruiting and interviewing techniques, fill positions efficiently, keep up-to-date with managers regarding recruitment effectiveness.

They will also look to make sure proper induction procedures are in place for when new recruits join the company. They will report to the HR Director. Administrator to the Recruitment & Selection Officer They will maintain records of all applicant and interviewing information. Will assist in reference checking, writing letters of rejection, prepare and send offers of employment, deal with enquiries, keep up-to-date with media advertising costs and perform other duties as required. They will report to the Recruitment & Selection Officer.

The Training & Development Officer will be responsible for conducting and supervising training and development programs for employees. They will look to seek measures in which to improve employee skills and look to prepare them for jobs within the company requiring greater skill, possibly for people that may be retiring. They will liaise with Line Managers to see what levels of skills employees already have and agree what they are looking to achieve from them. If technological changes are taking place then they will need to make sure employees get the proper training for any new programs/systems.

They will need to evaluate training effectiveness and implement any changes if the outcome has not been affective. They are reportable to the HR Director Generalist Officer The Human Resource Generalist Officer manages the day-to-day operations of the HR Team. They will deal with the administration of policies, procedures and programs. They assist in advising managers about any Human Resource issues. They will be concerned with the Health & Safety of the workforce and the development of the workforce. This role will be responsible for staff records and any discipline and grievance issues.

They will prepare and analyse reports that are necessary to carry out the functions of the department and company, prepare reports for management and they will assist in the implementation of the performance management system (PDP’s). They will report to the HR Director. Administrator for Generalist Officer and Training & Development Officer They will assist the Generalist Officer in all administration duties involved in their position. If any policies require changing, then once implemented they will have new documents printed for distribution. Keeping up-to-date administration of employee records will be essential.

They will report to the Generalist Officer. The Administrator will be responsible for organisation of training, contacting outsourced companies for times, dates, costing information and then book as required. They will need to inform employees of any training taking place and deal with follow-up paperwork getting employees to evaluate what they learnt from the course to give to the Training & Development Officer. If internal training is being carried out then they will look to find out availability of space where training can be carried out and again book relevant dates, times.

They will be responsible for making sure paperwork for any employee training is kept up-to-date in employee files. They are reportable to the Training & Development Officer.

Line Managers responsibilities

The Human Resource responsibilities that will be carried out by the Line Managers will be to conduct Performance Development Plan/Appraisal interviews with the staff in their team. The managers have direct contact with their team so will know them better and it also lets the employee feel more at ease.

They will evaluate the team in terms of what training needs they require and discuss with the Training & Development Officer, again as they work with their team on a day-to-day basis they have a better knowledge of what their team requires. They will approve holidays and submit paperwork to the Generalist Administrator to keep staff records up-to-date, along with any absenteeism, this means they can control when staff will be off so that there is no loss of productivity due to too many people being off at the same time.

They will hold regular meetings with their team regarding any issues/concerns they may have and have regular meetings with all HR Advisors to report any issues/concerns. This helps to maintain good communication between employees and the company.

The Psychological Contract

In any company there is a Psychological Contract, this is the mutual beliefs, perceptions and informal obligations between the employer and the employee. It is different from the formal written contract which only identifies mutual duties and responsibilities in a generalized form.

Implementing a good psychological contract by introducing a HR Team within Escape to the Wild will be of benefit to the employees as at the moment there is lack of trust within the company as jobs like training and development are not being carried out correctly, there is not enough staff so employees are overworked and not being appropriately compensated. There are no clear policies and procedures so staff don’t know what they are supposed to be doing and are feeling let down. Implementing good practises and communication will help motivate them.

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Zagu Co. Background Critical Analysis

CONTENT : Topic Page Analyze Russia at the time of the case, 1992, 1-2 (Using the PEST and Geography framework) Analyze Pepsi as a company using only the information in the case 3-4 Recommendations for Pepsi to become successful in Russia4-5 Answer the specific questions asked by Bill Shaddy in the last paragraph of the case 5-6

Pepsi challenge – Russia 1992 Pepsi is a soft drink produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold in many retail stores, places, restaurants, schools, cinemas and from vending machines. However, the article of “The Pepsi Challenge-Russia 1992” discusses on the challenge of hiring people as well as develop staffing compensation and training for the new Russia organization after finding the ineffective business. It is very important that an organization as Pepsi considers Russia environment before beginning re-organization. In fact, environmental analysis should be continuous and treat all aspects of planning.

One of marketing tools that often uses to analyze environmental economic is PEST including political factors, economic factors, social factors, and technological factors. Political factor; According to beginning of year 1992 in Russia, the politics at that time is concerned to be communist before changing to democracy in May 1992. The regulation of business is based on government. Government policy influence laws that regulate all businesses and every international business agreement involve government to participate in every activity.

The one of examples is that Pepsi hires employees through one of the government employment bureaus unless Pepsi forms a joint stock company, which is the window that allows foreigners to hire Russians directly. The politics in Russia seems to be unstable such as the sensitive between Russia and Ukraine resulting to Pepsi cannot hire people from Ukraine to be the part of PepsiCo in Russia. The country also lacks a legal framework for property rights. The movement of privatization is slow and controversy between different republic.

The business contract has to renegotiate under turmoil situation. It can be conclude that the government influence in economics and social aspect. Economic factor; This is the one of significant factors which influences on PepsiCo. Business needs to consider the state of economy in short and long terms, and economic factors are the important tool for international marketing. In Russia, the economics seems to be capitalism, and a free market, but in fact people still stick to the communist system, so that the free looks unreal.

There is less competition on market due to government regulation and control system. The economic environment has the unappreciated sign. The workers are inefficient, the organization presents overstaffing and nepotism, and the system also identifies as nepotism. The people are employed as presenting high employment rate, but they work with low efficiency and effectiveness. All of these result to low productivity and high inflation rate that is also mention on first paragraph; economic output declines around 20 percent on an annual basic, and the monthly inflation rate is double digits.

The country lacks of a financial system and knowledgeable business. The writer compares the economic system of Russia with another country; In Russia does not have a well developed business system like India. If comparing GNP with Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Russia is quite lower than others. The number of GNP presents only US$ 5,400 per 149 million people. A globally traded currency should serve as a reliable and stable, but it does not act in Russia. “Some companies have paid in hard currency which fuels expectations of locals.

Other companies have paid only rubles”(Honorio, P. 10) In the same business Coke dominates Russia market more than Pepsi; Pepsi has around six percent of the market in total soft drink sales. Therefore, this is the one talent issue for Pepsi to make more market share. Social factor; The social style and culture affect on international business. One problem why Pepsi cannot rapidly grow in Russia is language and cultural barriers. The culture is traditional. There are not many people who have English knowledge. Moreover, confidential issue should be careful because everyone alks and share information to each other in their society. The other interesting point is that Russians are not get use to western style resulting to difficulty of working in western company. Russian system is flexible and no specific rule in some topics; for example businesses cannot get reference checks for their employments. Because of social factors, Russians are less interest in foreign business even though there are many western companies in Russia, so that it creates the difficult work for HR department when they want to hire efficient labor. Technology factor;

Technology is competitive advantage for international business. In Russia, there are fewer technologies to allow customers to easily access to products. All technologies base on the local resources. However, Pepsi use the technology to be the media of their advertising, such as television, and newspaper. Pepsi also adds the technology such as vending machine in their selling instead of using middle man or personal selling. Even though Pepsi want to use the high effective technology, it is useless because the distribution is state-owned and controlled.

Analyze Pepsi as a company. In term of marketing process, there are many interesting key points which contribute its performance. 1. Research: Pepsi tries to build the Russian organization. Bill Shaddy is the company representative to do the research and analyze situation including culture, politics, resource and technology, social environment, demography, business, and human behavior. Even though there is another competition as coke that dominates the soft drink market in Russia, Pepsi wants to expand its market, and it is talent for Pepsi. 2.

Target customer: all genders and ages are the target customers. The middle class is the main target of company that we can see example in India. There are several criteria to analyze its performance which are: * Defendable: it is competitive in its market because it preserves a great quality because Pepsi technicians trained the partners on quality control, and good service in store and out store. Moreover, it has loyal customers in America that can prove by marketing share. There is only one big company as Coca cola that produces the same product. Accessible: Pepsi is dispensed out of sidewalk fountain machines, and distribution to many retailers. * Expandable: there is an opportunity for selling its products, since there is high demand. Pepsi has a lot of franchises, and also creates the new taste for their products; for example, a lemon-flavored soft drink in the Soviet market. * Serviceable: generally, Pepsi relies on shelf space and positioning, as well as convenience packaging and provides the good service for all customers, but in Russian stores do not compete on service. Profitable: it is profitable because Pepsi has a lot of customers and the cost cut in building like the situation in Russia that Shaddy tries to find the cheapest office. Moreover, Pepsi hires many locals, so it can cut excessive payment. 3. Position: the Pepsi captures the code of worldwide business and value. Pepsi reserves the leader in soft drink market in U. S. and try to achieve in other regions. 4. Marketing Mix * Price: price is reasonable; the same price as local soft drink brands. In Russia, suppliers in the same product do not compete on price. Product: Good quality soft drink, and convenient package. * Promotion: Pepsi uses various channels to promote its product, such as news paper, television commercial, outdoor, kiosk displays, sponsored promotion, and events. * Place: Providing in everywhere, especially in American market. 5. Execute: to penetrate the existing market by using many promotion, keeping quality, and developing products. From the above points that make Pepsi achieves its success goal, we can conclude that the Pepsi marketing strategies meet the need of its customers. This situation can be called as touch point.

Moreover, Pepsi also uses push and pull of marketing strategy. It advertises in public. This can be called as creating a demand strategy. When people hear or receive information about it, they go to get the product. Moreover, word of mouth is another channel of advertising which is useful for Pepsi. Recommendation; As we can see that Pepsi gains market share leadership in U. S. food store sales, but in most European and Asian markets where Coke has higher market share than Pepsi. Therefore, researching in all factors, and developing in those markets should be considered in order to be leadership in soft drink market.

In Russia, 1992, there are many problems issued, such as politics, economic system, social factors, technology; all we know as PEST. There are some suitable ways to solve those problems as below, Political factor : The politics still bases on communist even it changed to democracy system. The polictics influences in business. Pepsi should slow down in its investment due to adjusting period of Russian government. Economic factor: Considering in international financial institution due to unstable economics in Russia during this period.

Social factor: Education is the key factor to develop the system. Creating the organize culture to all Pepsi’s employees to make them to be proud in organization. Training is required to improve productivity. Using reward or bonus motivates employees to increase efficiency. Technology factor: Using more technologies offer consumer and business more innovative products and services. The company should hire the specialists to develop programs which support marketing plan, and Human Resource Management. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) should apply. The specific questions asked by Bill Shaddy;

According to the last paragraph, the writer mentions on the Bill Shaddy question that “How to go about finding Russians that could become successful “Pepsi” people. How would he select them? And how should they be compensated, trained and managed? In my point of view, those questions are related to human resource management on recruitment and selection process. Shaddy has to consider all factors about Russia, especially social issue such as culture, education, demographics, and then all components should be included into the recruitment process and selection process in order to get the right person to the right job effectively.

The first job is to identify the job opening as a Sales Manager and a Technical Engineering Manager through HR planning based on organizational values and code of conduct. Next step is to delicately determine the job description and job specification. This process should be clear and easy to understand. If lacking of candidate-qualification’s detail, it is difficult to find the right person due to under qualified applicants. Both a Sales Manager and a Technical Engineering Manager position are in management level; thus the minimum experience should be significant important qualify to handle the jobs.

The other important part of recruitment is that recruiting sources and methods are chosen. There is no single, best recruiting technique, and the most appropriate for any given position depends on a number of factors. In this case, Russia is considered to be the communism, old fashion, and technology is not widely used, so that Shaddy should invest online recruitment in low proportion of recruitment cost. The method should be considered such as government employment agencies, searching through direct networking from foreign company, and print advertising.

The reasons why government employment agencies should be used because Russia government plays high role in every activity of Russians. Another reason is talking with local people might make Russians more comfortable, confidence, and feel more reliable. They will not want to work for western companies because of development aspect; therefore, using government representative to find the effective people should be concerned. The benefit from using foreign company network is that company can be confident the knowledge and language ability of people who are hired.

However, some situation might happen when Shaddy find the right people, but they are working for other companies. In this case, Pepsi should consider investing more money to motivate them to come to be the part of organization. There is another way is printing advertising. This way is the lowest investment, but getting high result. Pepsi has many retailer, outdoor events, and kiosks in Russia. Shaddy should use these channels to post a job advertisement. Many Russian might interest in job advertisement, and directly come to Shaddy.

After finishing recruitment, a pool of qualified recruits is generated. Then, Shaddy should go to the step of selection. First, the people not meeting the essential selection criteria are eliminated first. The remaining are examined and those of them who most closely match the job specifications are identified and consideration. The job positions however require the experience to handle the job. The situation is that there are few Russians with relevant business experience, thus the intensive training program such as oversea training should be provided to them.

Second, the test should be used for finding the appropriate Russians by testing ability, emotional intelligence, and specific thinking skill. The world-wide values of organization should be included in the test. For example, challenging assumptions to generate new ideas and approaches by situation testing. Next, the most important part of selection before hiring decision is the selection interview. Given people, who are selected, higher valid in prediction job performance, the focus should be on situational and behavioral questions.

Shaddy should consider both their aspects and actions when they respond the questions. If Shaddy pays attention to all steps of recruitment and selection, Pepsi will get the efficient people to do the jobs. However, when getting the right people, how they should be compensated, trained and managed. The simple idea is that providing effective training programs in term of practice and theory, and these programs have to be analyzed and evaluated. The foreign assignment in the countries, in which PepsiCo succeeded, is helpful for new managers.

There is the need to manage with a workforce and management colleagues whose cultural factors may be dramatically different from their own, and the considerable stress in foreign land can bring to bear on manager position, but they can learn other things from effective organizations in foreign countries so as to apply to use in Russia. The experience is also helping new managers to solve the problems which might be occurred during working. If Shaddy carefully consider in all above issues, he will hire the proficient Russians to become successful “Pepsi” people, and significantly contributes to be successful.

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The Role of Project Leader

A project leader plays a vital role in the success or failure of new initiatives or plans. Nowadays, every organization is going green to contribute in the sustainable development of the environment. Go green initiative is aimed to improve the sustainability of the environment. Riordan Manufacturing is planning to develop a green project. Staffing decisions form a great part for any project. Project leader is responsible for managing the staffing related practices. Project leader decides the number of team members required to accomplish the goals of the project. A project is a set of various activities that are interrelated to each other.

Staffing decisions play an important role in the success or failure of any project. A project leader is vested with various responsibilities and roles that are critical for the attainment of project goals. Project leader decides the hiring of suitable personnel. In the staffing decisions, it is the responsibility of project leader to first analyze the required level of skills, competency, knowledge and proficiency of individuals. As in the go green project that is developed for Riordan Manufacturing, it is the responsibility of project leader to manage the staffing related practices.

Project leader of go green initiatives should analyze the personnel needs of the project. After analyzing the personnel needs, project leader is required to make decisions regarding whom to hire. Staffing needs are determined by the project leader. A proper staff is essential for any project, as without adequate staff, it is not possible to perform difference project related activities in time. Project leader is responsible for the selection of particular individual as a team member (Heerkens, 2001). It is also vested with a project leader to determine the personnel allocation to particular project activity.

Go green project is also an important project for the company. It is the responsibility of project leader to decide the particular number of personnel needed to carry out the project related activities. A project leader is responsible to determine staffing activities like recruitment, selection, promotion and lay off. Project leader decide the methods that can be used to recruit the new personnel (Bratton & Gold, 2001). Project leader performs a profound role in determining the tactics and tools that are used to hire new personnel for the project.

A project is consists of various activities like communication plan, budget formulation, risk management plan, scheduling, work breakdown structure etc. All these project activities play an important role in attaining the stated project objectives. It is the duty of a project leader to recruit and select suitable and skilled personnel in order to attain the project activities in an effective manner. Project leader is responsible for filling the gap existed between the present number of personnel and required number of personnel. Project leader of new green team developed for go green initiative should hire appropriate personnel to get the work done.

Lack of required number of personnel may challenge the timely completion of the project. A project leader decides assess the personnel recruited for the project. Assessment is performed on the basis of required skills needed for the successful completion of difference project activities (Bratton & Gold, 2001). Preliminary tests and assessments are conducted by the project leader to make selection related decisions. Project leaders play a vital role in aligning the staffing activities for a project. Project is based on the project members who perform diverse activities to attain the short term and long term objectives of a project.

Project leaders select only those people who are quite competent and promising in terms of completing project activities effectively. It is also observed that projects are exposed to risk, so personnel recruited for the projects must be well equipped with the project related risks and challenges (Heerkens, 2001). It is the duty of a project leader to decide which areas are to be covered in the selection process. Selection process is crucially followed by the project leader. Project leader decide technical, operational and management skills of individuals to select them through the assessment practices.

Project leader hires different personnel to accomplish the project related activities in time. It is also identified that project leader assess the requirements of the project. After analyzing the project needs, project leader decides about the particular number of personnel. It is true that a project is break down into different activities that are covered in the work breakdown structure (Bratton & Gold, 2001). Work breakdown structure of a project follows different stages like project charter, planning, project plan, project team, milestones, deliverables, execution etc that need suitable personnel to accomplish the activities.

Project leader allocate the personnel to the determined activity of the work breakdown structure. Project leader follow a systematic procedure to select personnel for the project activities. It reflects the importance of a project leader in attaining the stated project goals. A project leader assesses different departments like technical, human resource, financial, operational, accounting and production. All these departments have their own importance in the overall success or failure of a project. Likewise, go green project of Riordan that is aimed to enhance environmental sustainability also needs a perfect match of personnel.

Only the project leader of this green initiative can perform a variety of tasks in an effective manner by developing credible staffing decisions. It is analyzed that project leaders also formulate decisions regarding the addition or deletion of staff in between the project activities (Heerkens, 2001). Sometimes, it is often seen that a project needs additional staff due to contingent situations. So, to handle such kinds of situations effectively without disturbing the flow of the project, project leaders immediately hire new personnel.

New personnel are recruited from internal sources like employee referrals, transfer, promotions etc. All these sources are effectively used by the project leaders to address the challenges. In the same manner, it is also observed that a project sometimes overwhelmed with personnel. So, to address these problems, project leaders remove some personnel according to the requirement of deletion. Project leader communicates and discusses about the conditions in meetings with the personnel before deleting them from the project.

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Out of Control Interview

Table of contents

Application Case – The Out-of-Control

Interview 1

  • How would you explain the nature of the panel interview Maria had to endure?
  • Specifically do you think it reflected a well-thought-out interviewing strategy on the part of the firm or carelessness on the part of the firm’s management?
  • If it was carelessness, what would you do to improve the interview process at Apex Environmental?

It is possible that the panel interview of Maria Fernandez at Apex International was a stress interview designed to determine how she reacts under pressure and with a barrage of irrelevant and sexist questions.

However, stress interviews are viewed as unethical and of poor taste. Apparently, Apex International management was careless in its interview strategy. First, it constituted a panel of five men who maybe well acquainted with the company’s operations but could be possibly lacking in experience in HR functions, particularly in recruitment and selection. It is assumed that the HR manager or any HR specialist who could have provided structure, direction and control to the interview was not part of the panel.

To address this concern, it is highly recommended that Apex International conduct trainings for interviewers in order to maximize utility of interviews as a tool at arriving at a selection decision as well as to avoid straying off course and asking questions that have potential job discrimination implications.

Would you take the job if you were Maria?

If you’re not sure, is there any additional information that would help you make your decision, and if so, what is it?

I am unsure in taking the job offer.I would take into careful consideration the company’s Code of Conduct and Ethics. Based on what happened, it appears that there are concerns on the culture of the company, particularly on sexual harassment and equality in the workplace. Questions asked during the panel interview indicate loose policies on sexual harassment. While interviews are primarily designed to find out if the job applicant has the experience and skills needed for the position, it could also be a tool for the company to emphasize its culture, leadership, among others. . The job of applications engineer for which Maria was applying requires:

  • excellent technical skills with respect to mechanical engineering;
  • commitment to working in the area of pollution control;
  • the ability to deal well and confidently with customers who have engineering problems;
  • willingness to travel worldwide; and,
  • a very intelligent and well-balanced personality.

What questions would you ask when interviewing applicants for the job.

Sample questions:

  1. How do you think your mechanical engineering degree can help you in your job in pollution control?
  2. If I were to ask your reporting staff to comment on your leadership style, your leadership strengths, and your leadership weaknesses, how would they respond? What would this discussion tell me about you as a leader?
  3. Suppose a client approached and asked you a difficult technical question that you could not answer. What would you do?

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