Unit 23 Develop Employability Skills Assignment

Unit 23 Develop Employability Skills Assignment

Introduction

The employees who are engaged in the working of a particular organization are expected to have certain skills which are beneficial for the growth of the company. In this particular assignment, a focus has been made on the communication skills, collaborative skills and leadership skills of managers and employees. It is the responsibility of the managers to motivate employees by providing them with rewards, incentives and trainings. McDonald’s, like several other firms, make use of different time management strategies and other methods for enhancing productivity.

Considered to be one of the largest fast food chains all across the globe, McDonald’s Maurice and Richard McDonald are the two brothers who are responsible for initiating the business in the year 1940 by opening a restaurant in one of the streets of California. However, they hardly had any plan to expand the business until and unless Ray Kroc stepped in and opened a restaurant as a franchisee in 1955. He later became a partner in the firm’s business and expanded the business worldwide. The company’s financial assets have been increasing in leaps and bounds. In the year 2015, the company experienced an increase of 11% in its financial assets which is equal to $3.7 billion. It provides a diverse compensation package for their employee that includes health and dental insurances, sharing of profits with the employees, life insurance programs, incentives and other reward programs. McDonald’s has around 3000 stores in the USA including that of its franchisees that look after the demands of the customers (McDonald’s, 2016). Other than USA, it is operational in over 100 countries at an international level. The company is known to keep in mind the culture of a particular place before setting up a place for the consumers. It not only provides full-time jobs but is also known for their part-time jobs and apprenticeship programs for university students. The flexible workplace structure helps the company to retain the most able employees for enhancement in productivity. However, recently the company has been in news for legal issues, pay issues and discrimination problems in the workplace. The managemen needs to takes measures for keeping the brand reputation intact.

Task 1

Develop a set of own responsibilities and performance objectives. (AC 1.1)

In this particular report, I have assumed my role to be that of a core worker. I have been assigned certain responsibilities and performance objectives to meet the targets of the company. Responsibility is the duty given to a particular person for successfully completing a particular task. Both the employers and their employees need to be aware of their responsibilities for the smooth running of the company (Kersley, Alpin, Forth, Bryson, Bewley, Dix and Oxenbridge, 2013). The types of responsibilities that are given to me as a core worker are as follows:

• Job Responsibility: This includes the timely completion of the daily duties that are given to an employee which enhances the productivity of the firm.
• Self-Responsibility: It means that I have to take the responsibility for the errors that are found in my work instead of putting the blame on someone else.
• Mutual Responsibility: All the employees must cooperate and work with each other. They need to see whether any rule is being violated or not.
• Responsibility regarding Workplace Safety: As a core worker, it is my responsibility to see whether all the safety regulations are being maintained in the firm or not (McCaughey, DelliFraine, McGhan and Bruning, 2013).

Evaluate own effectiveness against defined objectives. (AC 1.2)

Performance means the completion of any particular work as per the standards set by the company like speed, cost, accuracy, etc. Performance objectives mean the desired output of an employee that will help the company to meet its organizational goals. If I am able to meet all the responsibilities that have been assigned to me then it will help me to fulfill my performance objectives. This, in turn, is beneficial for the McDonald’s for meeting its organizational objectives.

 My effectiveness as a core worker against the desired objectives is given below:

• The foremost responsibility of a core employee is to provide customers with ultimate satisfaction. When customer services are great, it helps the company to retain a lot of consumers. Here, the performance objective of an employee to provide customers with great services is in line with the objective of the firm.
• It is my responsibility to supervise the new employees who have joined the stores because of my years of experience. Using my years of experience I will be able to guide the employees who have recently joined the firm.
• Crew members need to look after the needs of the customers and must see to it that the customers get whatever they want.
• The food that is served to the consumers must be up to the standards of McDonald’s. Quality control is a very important tool for enhancing the reputation of the brand (Cheng, Ioannou and Serafeim, 2014). I have to update myself with the latest technology in order to deliver good quality food and services at the stipulated time. In order to do this, I have to engage myself in trainings to learn the usage of advanced methods and equipments.
• Maintain the cleanliness of the store is also an important objective of the core worker. Any hygienic place is liked by the customers. Therefore, the performance objective of a core employee of maintaining the hygiene of the place is helpful for meeting the future goals of the company by retaining consumers. The cleanliness of the place needs to be maintained by me and my co-workers.

Make recommendations for improvement. (AC 1.3)

The management needs to take measures to improve the performance of the employees which will in turn improve the sales of the company. Performance appraisal means that an engagement between the managers and the employees which will help them to identify areas where they can improve and how to make the necessary improvements.

• Communication- One of the primary steps that can be taken to improve the services of the employees is through the establishment of communication (Walker and Dyck, 2014). When the line managers communicate well with the employees, and then will be able to tell the employees about their desired output and the future goals of McDonald’s.
• Compensation- Payment hikes are important at regular intervals for motivating the employees to put in their best efforts.
• Trainings- Adequate means of trainings need to be provided to the employees so that they can improve themselves wherever required.
• Placements- Both the core workers and part-time workers must be assigned places where it is convenient for them to work. A long journey to the workplace is wastage of time and also reduces productivity on the part of the workers.

Review how motivational techniques can be used to improve quality of performance. (AC 1.4)

Motivation means to encourage an employee so that he or she can achieve the goals as prescribed by a company like McDonald’s. The techniques that can be used to improve the quality of performances can be based on a few theories.

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory: Maslow in his theory identified different types of needs of the employees which need to be taken care of by the managers for motivating them. These needs include physiological needs like food and shelter, security needs like protection from exploitation, social needs like acceptance, esteem needs like respect and self-fulfillment needs (Tamborini, Bowman, Eden, Grizzard and Organ, 2010).
• Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory: Internal and external factors like hygiene, pay, workplace conditions, etc needs to be taken care of for motivating the employees.
• Flexible work practices: The job sharing model helps the employees to move from one department to another, giving them a fair knowledge about the workings of the different sections. The timings of the company are flexible which allows the employees to work as per their will.
• Participation of the employees: All the employees in McDonald’s must be involved in the  decision making  process of the firms. They must have the liberty to share their opinions and these suggestions can be taken into consideration before decision making any decision (Bakker and Demerouti, 2014).
• Rewards and incentives: The employees deserve a certain amount of recognition for the services that they render to the organization. These are known as rewards which are given as per the performances of the employee. Other perks and benefits are a part of motivational techniques. This helps the company to retain the most able employees.This task helps to understand the responsibilities that are given to the core employees of McDonald’s. I have evaluated my own skills as an employee at McDonald’s and have found out ways that can improve my performance. The managers are expected to follow certain ways which help them to motivate the workers.

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Task 2

Being the Human Resources Manager of a company like McDonald’s, it will be my primary duty to recruit the skilled people for the company and to provide them with an adequate means of training (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). In this task, I have taken the role of a line manager at the management level and the role of a core worker at the staff level. This task deals with the problems that are present in the workplace along with the strategies employed by the management to sort these problems. The importance of team-work is also emphasized. A various other ways have also been mentioned which are important for achieving team goals.

Develop solutions to work based problems. (AC 2.1)

The various ways of dealing with the work based problems as a HR Manager are as follows:

• Negotiation is the most important way for solving a work related problem. In an organization like McDonald’s, the HR Manager needs to act as a mediator for solving problems between managers and employees. It consists of different methods (Wallace, Lings, Cameron and Sheldon, 2014).
• While negotiating, the focus should be on the source of the problem and not on the positions of people who are involved in it.
• The solution should be such that it is beneficial for both the parties who are involved in the conflict.
• Other than negotiation, I will be able to solve workplace problems by rewarding employees. Monetary incentives also work as a means of solving problems.
• A well developed communication system can help the company to avoid any type of probable problems.

Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels. (AC 2.2)

The skills which are needed for the purpose of communicating with one another are known as interpersonal skills. I have employed different styles of skills for the purpose of communicating with the staff and the managers. The three basic styles of communication are:

• Aggressive: This kind of communication is not very beneficial for the growth of the company. In this particular style there is a presence of a very poor listener who is unable to see past oneself (Dainton and Zelley, 2014). If I use aggressive communication then both the line manager and the core worker will not be able to express their opinions properly.
• Passive: Here, the way of communication is indirect. The staff members are scared to a certain extent for expressing their true feelings. This hesitant approach can avoid problems but is not a solution for a prevailing one.
• Assertive: It is considered to be the most ideal kind of communication. As the HR Manager of McDonald’s, I will listen to both the managers and the workers without being judgmental about their respective positions. This kind of communication helps in the development of a transparent relationship as the objectives and expectations are mentioned clearly.

Identify effective time-management strategies. (AC 2.3)

The appropriate allotment of time for the different types of activities is known as time management. Several time management strategies have been proposed in a number of theories.

• Pareto Principle or 80-20 Theory: Vilfredo Pareto said in his theory that a few activities results in huge outcomes. McDonald’s needs to lay stress on 20% activities which constitute the most important part and generates maximum productivity (Goetsch and Davis, 2014).
• Maslow’s Theory:Maslow in his theory focuses on the need to differentiate between activities as per their requirements. This helps to allot the right amount of time to the right activity.

Task 3

Explain the roles people play in a team and how they can work together to achieve shared goals. (AC 3.1)

The roles that are played by the different staffs at McDonald’s for achieving the shared goals can be explained with the help of the Belbin Team Theory. The Belbin Team theory ascertains that for the team at McDonald’s to be successful there is a requirement for it to access all of the nine Belbin Team Roles. The nine Team Roles are explained as under,

• Resource Investigator – The resource investigators are using their probing nature for finding ideas that are required to be brought back to the team. They are of outgoing and enthusiastic nature, exploring scopes as well as developing contacts.
• Team-worker – They support the team in gelling, utilizing their resourcefulness for the identification of the work that is needs to be done as well as completing it on the team’s behalf. They are considered to provide cooperation, perception as well as diplomacy and therefore, listening as well as averting friction. (Jenkins, 2011)
• Coordinator – They are required for focusing towards the goals that are associated with the team, drawing out members of the team as well as delegating work in an appropriate manner. The strong points that are associated with them are to be mature, have confidence as well as identifying talents and also clarifying the objectives.
• Plant– These staffs are required having high creativity as well as efficiency to overcome crisis scenarios in exceptional manners. These staffs are considered possessing creativity, are imaginative, free-thinkers, generating ideas as well as solving challenging problems. (Lind, 2014)
• Monitor Evaluator – These staffs are providing a rational outlook, providing unbiased verdicts where there is the need as well as weighing up the options of the team in a composed manner. These staffs possess a sober attitude that is considered planned as well as perceptive and take into consideration every alternative as well as provides accurate judgments.
• Specialist – These staffs are providing exhaustive information regarding an essential area for the team. They are considered single-minded, self-initiating as well as committed, providing professional knowledge as well as abilities.
• Shaper– These staffs are providing the required enthusiasm for ensuring that the team keeps going ahead and not losing concentration or impetus. (Lancaster, 2010)
• Implementer – These staffs are required planning a strategy that can successfully function as well as carrying it out in a very effective manner. These staffs are considered to be practical, trustworthy as well as effective and have the ability for turning opinions into actions as well as organizing work that should get completed.
• Completer Finisher– These are utilized in the most efficient way when a task concludes for polishing as well as scrutinizing the work in respect of mistakes, having optimum standard regarding the control of quality in relation to the work. These staffs are very meticulous and try searching out various discrepancies for polishing and then perfecting it.

Analyze team dynamics (AC 3.2)

For analyzing the team dynamics in respect of McDonald’s there is a need to explain Tuckman’s Theory of Team Dynamics. The Tuckman’s theory of Team Dynamics consists of four stages such as forming, norming, storming and performing. This model analyses the fact that as there occurs the development of maturity as well as ability within the team, there occurs the establishment of relationships and the style of leadership gets altered by the leader. Now, the four stages are mentioned s under,

• Forming – This stage comprises of those team members that are mostly having a positive nature as well as politeness. Some of them are concerned since they have not completely acknowledged what work needs to be done by the team whereas others are having lot of excitement in respect of the upcoming task. A leader plays a significant role in this stage since the roles and responsibilities of the members of the team are unclear. This stage will be lasting for a certain amount of time as individuals will start working collectively and making an endeavor towards knowing their new co-workers. (Hohpe, 2012)
• Storming – In the stage, there occurs a conflicting situation amongst the natural style of work regarding the members of the team. The staffs at McDonald’s might be working in various manners but when varied styles of working results in creating unanticipated problems, the staffs will start having frustration. Storming might occur in circumstances in which members of the team might be challenging the authority of the senior or jockeying for position as there occurs clarity in their roles. (Hohpe, 2012)
• Norming – In this stage, the staffs at McDonald’s begin resolving their differences, appreciating the strengths of the co-workers as well as respecting the authority of the senior manager. Since, the team members are having a better knowledge of each other, they might be socializing together and asking for assistance from each other as well as offering feedback that is considered productive. Staffs will be developing a stronger dedication in respect of the goal of the team and there will start occurring effective advancement towards the goal. (Iqbal, 2011)
• Performing– In this stage, hard work will be leading from the front without any hindrance for actualizing the objectives of the team. The structures as well as methods that have been created by the leader of the team will be efficiently supporting this. The leader of the team can do the delegation of a significant amount of their work and then will be concentrating towards the development of the members of the team.

Suggest alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goals (AC 3.3)

The goal associated with team formation is towards actualizing the team objectives. Alternative work processes are regarded as specialization. Regarding specialization, every member of the team will be performing in a continuous manner the work function that the team has designated and a specific role is designated considering the proficiency area for a particular team member. There are lots of dissimilarities within people. Therefore, it is necessary for McDonald’s management in identifying the requirements of various staffs as well as trying to do the fulfillment of demand. The staffs that feel instigated are having more dedication in respect of work and try their utmost towards actualizing the goals regarding the organization. (Cox, 2014)

There is also the existence of an increasing amount of precision in respect of the alternative processes and they are based on philosophical viewpoints. It is required to be taken into consideration that the team goals can get actualized only when there occurs productive communication within the members of the team. Due to any flaw regarding the communication process, it is considered quite tough to deal with the situations of conflict and because of that sharing of information might get ineffective. Therefore, having a proper process of communication is considered as the alternative processes towards the completion of the work as well as achieving the objectives of the team. In addition to that, the members of the team should be having respect for one another that supports towards the formation of a friendly bond with the members of the team in McDonald’s.

This task is associated with the development interpersonal as well as transferable skills that are associated with developing work based solutions in respect of crisis situations, then there is a need to communicate in different styles as well as proper ways at different levels as well as identifying efficient strategies towards the management of time. (Griffith, 2015) Then the roles people are playing in the team are explained and in what ways they are collectively functioning for achieving common objectives, team dynamics are analyzed and alternative ways are suggested regarding the completion of tasks as well as actualizing team objectives.

Task 4

Evaluate tools and methods for developing solutions to problems. (AC 4.1)

The tools as well as methods towards the development of solutions regarding problems are mentioned as under,

• Heuristics – It is considered as the emotional pattern that might not function in every circumstance. Crisis situations that take place in respect of a staff in the present situation die to various components can be determined by using this method. The heuristics method is also having a disadvantage that is associated with its inability to find solutions regarding every challenging situation that challenges directly.
• Mathematics– It is regarded as a very systematic model related with the process of development and finding answers in respect of the problems. By using algorithm, it can be stated that the solutions that are achieved are exact but it fails to clearly explain that algorithm is the most appropriate aspect for finding answers in respect of the problems. (Bonoma, 2011) It is considered a very general phenomenon towards finding answers to the problems since it offers a general scenario and challenging situations occurring in respect of McDonald’s business regarding the process of selection for new staffs and it might get solved through the utilization of designated targets. In spite of this, in certain situations, algorithm cannot function properly as because it takes a great deal of time and does not get appropriately linked in specific times as well.
• Test and mistake – It is considered as the method that is required for finding solutions in respect of crisis situations where there is the presence of various numbers but is not considered as operational. This is regarded as an alternative circumstance and customers are using this when all the other options have stopped functioning. (Cox, 2014) When there occurs the availability of alternatives very easily, then there is no need to use the test and mistake method to find solutions to the crisis scenarios that arises.

Develop an appropriate strategy for resolving a particular problem. (AC 4.2)

An appropriate strategy to resolve a specific problem can be developed as under,

• Problem evaluation – Regarding the problem regarding the process of selection of new staffs at McDonald’s, there is requirement towards considering the crisis scenario at the fundamental level. In relation to this, there is the need towards evaluating methods to understand the type and strength of the crisis scenario.         
• Plan setting – After evaluating the problem, appropriate plans need to be set to find solutions for the crisis situations. There is the need to organize to find out what requires to be done. In the previous stage of organizing, the selection is made to associate in respect of clearing the particular crisis scenario. Growth of particular processes needs to take place to find solutions regarding the crisis scenarios. (Baines, 2012) There is the need to take into consideration the substitute options for finding solutions in respect of the crisis situations.
• Implementation – In the stage of implementation, the plan starts getting utilized that had the requirement for getting clarified in the previous stage. As because, there is the availability of various substitute options, there is the requirement to choose the most appropriate option for getting the optimum result regarding the circumstance. (Bonoma, 2011)
• Evaluation– This is associated with evaluating the various stages that are related with the aspect of resolving a crisis situation. After the solutions have been found out, there is a need to have the clarity that no discrepancy should be there. And, in the case of the existence of any discrepancy, appropriate assessment is required to be made and the cause regarding the discrepancy needs to get assessed.

Evaluate the potential impact on the business of implementing the strategy. (AC 4.3)

Regarding the problem regarding the process of selection of new staffs at McDonald’s, there is requirement towards considering the crisis scenario at the fundamental level. In relation to this, there is the need towards evaluating methods to understand the type and strength of the crisis scenario. After evaluating the problem, appropriate plans need to be set to find solutions for the crisis situations. There is the need to organize to find out what requires to be done. In the previous stage of organizing, the selection is made to associate in respect of clearing the particular crisis scenario. Growth of particular processes needs to take place to find solutions regarding the crisis scenarios. There is the need to take into consideration the substitute options for finding solutions in respect of the crisis situations. In the stage of implementation, the plan starts getting utilized that had the requirement for getting clarified in the previous stage. (Baines, 2012) As because, there is the availability of various substitute options, there is the requirement to choose the most appropriate option for getting the optimum result regarding the circumstance. This is associated with evaluating the various stages that are related with the aspect of resolving a crisis situation. After the solutions have been found out, there is a need to have the clarity that no discrepancy should be there. (Bonoma, 2011) And, in the case of the existence of any discrepancy, appropriate assessment is required to be made and the cause regarding the discrepancy needs to get assessed.

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Conclusion

This assignment delves with the aspect of employability skills regarding McDonald’s in which there is the need to develop a set of individual responsibilities as well as performance objectives, then evaluating personal efficiency in relation to defined goals, making recommendations that requires improvement as well as reviewing in what ways techniques of motivation can be used for improving the performance quality. Also, it is associated with the aspect of developing work based solutions in respect of crisis situations, then there is a need to communicate in different styles as well as proper ways at different levels as well as identifying efficient strategies towards the management of time. Then there roles people are playing in the team are explained and in what ways they are collectively functioning for achieving common objectives, team dynamics are analyzed and alternative ways are suggested regarding the completion of tasks as well as actualizing team objectives. Also, tools and methods to develop solutions regarding problems are evaluated as well as the potential impact on the business strategy implementation has been evaluated.

References

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., (2014). Armstrong's handbook of  human resource management  practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Baines, P (2012) ‘Essentials of Marketing’. Oxford University Press
Bakker, A.B. and Demerouti, E., (2014). Job demands–resources theory. Wellbeing.
Bonoma, T (2011) Organizational Buying Behavior. Marketing Classics Press
Cheng, B., Ioannou, I. and Serafeim, G., (2014). Corporate social responsibility and access to finance. Strategic Management Journal, 35(1), pp.1-23.
Cox, S. (2014). Managing Information in Organizations. Palgrave Macmillan.
Dainton, M. and Zelley, E.D., (2014). Applying communication theory for professional life: A practical introduction. Sage Publications.
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence..
Kersley, B., Alpin, C., Forth, J., Bryson, A., Bewley, H., Dix, G. and Oxenbridge, S., (2013). Inside the workplace: findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. Routledge.