Module Review

Interpersonal skills are essential not only in business but also outside of business. We use it to communicate with one another, to understand and listen to each other and also to solve problems and to made decisions.

Whilst completing this module I believe that I have developed my listening skills. When I was at school, I found it hard to learn things first time round and struggled in exams. I have developed my listening skills throughout this module to help me listen and understand what is happening around me.

By developing my listening and understanding skills during this module, I have been able to improve the quality of my work in both this module, and other modules within my University Course.


Challenging Blog

The blog that i found most challenging to complete was the Leadership blog. This blog consisted of a lot of research into the topic. As I work for the Co-operative, my immediate response to this blog was to do it based on the Co-operative, but I found it hard to complete the whole blog about the Co-operative because I work in a small Co-operative convenience store which means that the information I have about leaders in the Co-operative was limited.

I also found it difficult to complete the blog because the research I had done was not thorough enough and I misunderstood the information that I had researched. This meant that I had to go back and change the blog to make it correct.


Possible Changes to the Module

If I was the module leader, I would keep most aspects of this module the same as I believe it has led to a thorough understanding of the module.

I believe that a blog is an excellent way to asses students knowledge as it isn't in a stressful environment like an exam hall and students aren't under lots of pressure. This means they have time to research the topic and increase their knowledge about the module.

One thing I would change is the amount of activities completed during the lectures. I believe that people can learn better if they are taught visually as well as being taught in a normal lecture. If more physical activities were used within the lectures then I think it would give a better understanding of the topic; increasing the students knowledge.

Performance Management

Managing the performance of your staff is essential to make sure they are working efficiently and effectively. By effectively managing the performance of your staff you are ensuring that they are working to the best of their abilities; saving both time and money.

At the Co-operative we have regular meetings with our managers to discuss performance. These meetings are often one to one with the manager which allows two way communication between the members of staff and the manager. The meetings cover a few different topics to make sure everything is running efficiently.

The manager can asses each member of staffs performance individually to ensure that staff members are happy and are working to the best of their ability. They then use the meetings to give feedback to each member of staff. The manager can then have a discussion with each member of staff about their performance; allowing any issues to arise.

The manager can then set new targets and goals for each member of staff to make sure they're working to the best of their ability; increasing performance. These targets can be set individually so it relates directly to the member of staff.

My meeting with the manager allowed me to discuss my performance and allowed him to set me new goals or targets. As this was a one to one meeting, my manager could set goals and targets that were individual to me and not to the whole staffing team. This meant that I could work towards my own goals and increase my performance.

These meetings are effective at managing the performance of staff because they can deal with any issues staff might have that prevents them from working to the best of their ability. They can also encourage members of staff to work harder and achieve goals that are individual to them along with goals for the whole staffing team. The meetings also take place several times a year which makes them more effective because it gives both the manager and staff up to date information and new goals to work towards; increasing motivation and performance.


Mentor

To be an effective mentor I think that interpersonal skills are definitely required. Without interpersonal skills the mentor would find it very hard to communicate and interact effectively with their mentee. Having good interpersonal skills as a mentor would allow them to listen to their mentee and understand and offer ideas to how to solve any problems their mentee may have. Without interpersonal skills, the mentor would find it hard to communicate effectively with their mentee and would be useless at offering ideas and advice.

Also, to be an effective mentor, some experience is required. Without experience, the mentor would have to base all their decisions and advise on the information the mentee has given them. This means that if the mentor has interpreted the information incorrectly, they might give their mentee incorrect advice or information. With experience, the mentor can use what they have learnt over the years to help their mentee; making their judgements and advice a lot more useful.

I believe that an effective mentor doesn't need experience in the specific area that the mentee is working towards because skills learnt on the job can be transferred and used from lots of different areas. This means that although experience is required to be an effective mentor, the experience can be from a different area to the mentee as they can still give advise and guide their mentee. (Simpson, 2012)


My Mentor

When setting up my first business idea in 2009, I was helping out at a local youth club. The youth leader at the time was Ben Dale. He sat down with me and we discussed different aspects of the business which I could improve on such as running different events for different age groups and the financial side of the business. Ben Dale had been running events for youths of all different age groups so he had lots of experience in this area. This meant he could give me effective advice and guide me through setting up some events. We would then meet up periodically to discuss how the business was running and discussed how it could be improved.

Having Ben as a mentor helped me a lot because he had experience in the area of business I was trying to set up. He gave me advice and helped me to set up my business. He thought of different aspects of the business which I had previously over looked and gave a second opinion.

Ben has had a positive impact on my life because he has taught me some valuable skills in setting up a business. His skills and knowledge helped me set up my own business and has taught me lessons for the future.


Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that the Co-operative, although they set up frequent meetings with the manager to assess performance, they do not do enough in the way of rewarding the staff for their hard work and keeping up their performance.

Mentors are a great way to increase your own knowledge and skills. They help you and give you advice about subjects you may know little about. But, for a mentor be effective, both the mentee and mentor must have good interpersonal skills. Without them mentors would not be able to communicate effectively. This means that advise and guidance they give may be ineffective.


References

Simpson, M. (2012) Performance Management. Bucks New University.

Perception and Communication

Initial Perception

The first perception someone has of someone else, otherwise known as their initial perception, is based on someones assumptions about the other person. These assumptions can be based on any aspect of the other person and are often incorrect. This leads to someones initial perception being incorrect. The aspects someone chooses to judge upon vary with the situation their in. For example, if someone walked into an office environment and saw someone standing by the coffee machine in jeans and a hoodie, their initial perception may be that they don't work hard. This may be proven incorrect as they interact with each other further.

When I first started to work at the Co-operative, I had to go and complete a training day up in Oxford. At this training day was one of my colleagues who was starting in the same branch as me. When I first saw him he was sitting at a table wearing a hoody and jeans. He wasn't smiling or talking and he looked bored.

My initial perception of him was that he was dull, boring to work with and my initial perception of him told me that he wouldn't do much work. What led me to this initial perception was that he was sitting at a table with no expressions on his face. The environment also had an impact on my initial impressions of him because it was a training day, which are known for not being the most exciting places to be.

The first time I worked with him after the training day, I realised immediately that my initial perception was incorrect. He was lively, talkative and he worked hard. The initial perception I got of him was completely wrong.

Next time, before making an initial perception of someone, I will take into account the environment. If my initial perception was made in a boring or stressful environment, then it may affect the initial perception I have on someone. By taking the environment into account, I will be able to avoid making incorrect perceptions of people in the future.

Improving Communication within the University
Article: http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/07/how-to-improve-staff-communication.htm

After reading an article on how to improve staff communication, I have devised 3 different ways in which the University can improve communication with its students. Communication is key in any organisation. Without it, the organisation would find it difficult to operate effectively; this includes the University and its students.

The first recommendation that the article makes is to have a shared purpose. It goes on to explain that creating a shared purpose and giving people something to work towards helps set up communication within the organisation. As both the students and staff at the University already have a common goal and shared purpose then this can be used to start communication at the University.

Idea 1:
One way in which the University could improve its communication with the students is to start up a blog which can be subject specific. This blog could be used for students to ask questions to tutors publicly; allowing anyone to answer and allowing anyone with the same question to find the answer easily.

According to point 4 in the article, more and more organisations are using different media to communicate between one another. Blogging allows the staff to give out information to all the pupils within a course; allowing the students to subscribe. If the students have any questions they would be able to post directly on the blog; allowing other students with the same questions to get an answer without having to re-ask the question. This would increase communication between students and lecturers about their topics. (Clake, 2010)

These blogs would also aid communication between students. The ability to communicate with other students would benefit students and allow them to find out answers to their questions immediately without having to go directly to the lecturer.

Idea 2:
Another way of increasing communication between the University and its students would be through text alerts. These text alerts would allow the University to send messages about events within the University, inform them of term dates, and allow feedback to be sent back to the University via text message.

Point 3 in the article states that there are three main drivers to make members of an organisation engage; the opportunity to feed your views upwards, feeling well informed about what is happening in the organisation, and believing your manager is commited to the organisation. All 3 of these points can be achieved through texting. (Clake, 2010)

Allowing feedback to be sent via text to people higher up in the university would aid communication between the University and its students because it allows the students to give their feedback in a way in which suits them; texting. Also, through texting, lecturers and other people within the University can keep the students well informed about any events that may be happening.

Using texting to communicate with the students of the University broadens the University's communication methods and allows it communicate more with its students.


Idea 3:
The third way of increasing communication between the University and students is via face-to-face meeting groups which students can address any issues they have with the University, or offer their input and give ideas as to how the University can improve the service it provides.

The article talks about the need to get your leaders involved with the communication process. By having frequent meetings with the leaders of the University such as lecturers and other key members of staff, it allows the leaders of the University to have direct communication with the students; allowing them to give their feedback about the University. (Clake, 2010)

Point 5 in the article also explains that employees value face-to-face communication very highly. In this case, the students at the University are the 'employees' of the organisation. This means that by having face-to-face meeting groups, students will be able to easily communicate with staff that are higher up the organisation to get their views heard.
 (Clake, 2010)

All 3 of these ideas will help to increase the amount of communication the University has with its students; and through several different media. This will help inform the students and also let them give their input into how the University is run in the future.

Bibliography

Clake, R. (2010) How to Improve Staff Communication. 15th July.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility: Definition

Corporate Social Responsibility is both critical and controversial for today's society. (Werther and Chandler, 2010) Every corporate business has a responsibility to look after both the internal environment of their business, employees and shareholders and also the external society from which it operates from. Corporate businesses need to keep an eye on the effect that its having on the local community and make sure that its presence is benefiting not just the people and environments inside the business, but also the surrounding communities; by conducting itself in an ethical manner. (Mullins, 2008)

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer is a very large company that is well known for its attempts at corporate social responsibility and the work it puts back into the community from which it operates; not just for its staff and customers, but for whole communities.

One example of Corporate Social Responsibility used in Marks & Spencers is the launch of their new interactive learning website; www.school-of-fish.co.uk. This website can be used as an educational resource by both teachers and families and kids. The website has a vast amount of resources that help to educate children both inside and outside the classroom. (Marks & Spencer, n.d.)

The website is part of Marks & Spencers forever fish campaign. This campaign was started by M&S to protect beaches and sea life by:

• Encouraging people to eat lesser know, British species of fish to reduce the impact that it has on the environment.
• Bringing together volunteers to clean up our beaches
• Educating the public about fish

(Marks & Spencer, n.d.)

The forever fish campaign benefits the community that Marks & Spencer operates from because it offers a free resource for both parents and teachers to teach their children and increases awareness about the threat to Britain's beaches and sea life. (Marks & Spencer, n.d.)

This campaign also benefits Marks & Spencers because it persuades people to purchase their products instead of their competitors because of the sustainable sources of fish that M&S uses and the positive impact M&S is trying to have on Britain's beaches.

The learning resources also help market Marks & Spencers and encourages people to shop in their stores. The www.school-of-fish.co.uk is partnered with Marks & Spencers so it increases their brand awareness.

Another example of Marks & Spencer using corporate social responsibility is their 'Shwopping' scheme. Marks & Spencers have introduced a scheme aiming to increase the reusing, recycling or reselling of old, unwanted clothing. This new scheme fronted by Joanna Lumley aims to get people to bring their old unwanted clothes into an M&S store and drop it into the 'Shwop Drop'; with the aim of recycling as many clothes as M&S sell. Marks & Spencer will then hand all of the old clothes they've collected to Oxfam. (Marks & Spencer, 2012)
Shwopping, Marks & Spencers attempt to revolutionise clothes shopping and increase the sustainability of our lives, is running in all of their stores (except simply food) which means that customers can use any of 1200 shwop drops across the country. All of the 'dropped' clothing will be donated to Oxfam who will then either resell, re-use, or recycle the clothing. All of the money raised will go towards helping people who live in poverty and with Marks & Spencers help, not a single item of clothing will go to landfill. (Marks & Spencer, 2012)

One direct benefit to M&S for running the 'Shwopping' campaign along with Joanna Lumley, is increased publicity and getting more people into their stores. By offering a donation service that goes to charity along with the normal services offered by Marks & Spencers, M&S is getting a competitive edge over its competitors because it's getting potential customers to come into an M&S store to donate clothing along with purchasing new clothing from the store.

Another benefit to M&S running this campaign to donate unwanted clothes is that it increases their brand awareness and also increases their reputation for a ethical and charitable company. This would potentially benefit Marks & Spencers by encouraging more people to purchase from their stores instead of one of their competitors.

In July 2011 Marks & Spencer teamed up with UNICEF to raise money to help vulnerable children around the world by helping to fund health care, education and helping to provide essential services such as clean water and sanitation. Marks & Spencer will raise funds from retaining the hangers from cloths instead of throwing them away. M&S agreed that for every box of hangers recycled, they would donate 57p to the charity. (Marks & Spencer, 2011)

6 months on from the beginning of the scheme, M&S and its customers have donated 100 million hangers; a £370,000 donation to UNICEF. The donation from Marks & Spencers helps provide education for both children and mothers along with books and pencils. It will also help provide access to clean and safe water for people in less fortunate areas. (Marks & Spencer, 2012)

One benefit to Marks & Spencers for teaming up with UNICEF is that it helps to improve the reputation of M&S as a charitable retailer. This would help persuade potential customers to shop in Marks & Spencers instead of one of its competitors. This would help give M&S a competitive edge against its competitors.

Another benefit to Marks & Spencers to running this campaign with UNICEF is that it would increase spending in its clothing section of the store. Due to the charitable campaign being run by M&S by recycling hangers, customers would be less inclined to spend money on clothing in M&S stores. This increase in spend would increase Marks & Spencers revenue.


Conclusion

Corporate Social Responsibility is not compulsory for a business to do well, but if managed correctly, businesses such as Marks & Spencers can use it not only to other peoples benefit, but also to their own. The use of CSR can also have a positive impact on the business due to increased brand awareness and increased promotion which can increase sales and push the business forward.

The increase in brand awareness can improve how successful the business is and increase the number of customers purchasing your products/services. Similarly, the increase in promotion can also increase the amount of customers purchasing your products and services.


Bibliography

Marks & Spencer (n.d.) About Forever Fish [online]. Marks and Spencer. Available from: http://plana.marksandspencer.com/we-are-doing/sustainable-raw-materials/forever-fish/about [Accessed: 24th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (n.d.) [online]. School Of Fish. Available from: www.school-of-fish.co.uk [Accessed: 24th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (2012) 100 million hangers collected for UNICEF [online]. Marks & Spencer. Available from: http://social.marksandspencer.com/plan-a/100-million-hangers-collected-for-unicef/ [Accessed: 28th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (2011) Hangers Please! [online]. Marks & Spencer. Available from: http://social.marksandspencer.com/fashion-2/hangers-please/ [Accessed: 28th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (2012) Joanna Lumley and M&S Launch Shwopping [online]. M&S Stories. Available from: http://social.marksandspencer.com/latest/joanna-lumley-and-ms-launch-shwopping/ [Accessed: 28th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (2012) M&S Shwopping Advert [online]. YouTube. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLpao2f4eCk [Accessed: 28th April 2012].Mullins, L.J. (2008) Essentials of Organisational Behavior. 2nd ed.

Werther, W.B. and Chandler, D. (2010) Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment. 2nd ed.

Personality

Nature Vs. Nurture

The nature approach to shows that peoples personalities are inherited and passed down from their parents; it also says that the environment in which that person is surrounded by does not effect their personality. On the other hand, the nurture approach shows that someones personality depends on their surrounding environment. It says that the environment has a big impact on the persons personality; much more than is inherited from their parents. (Mullins, 2010)

The nature approach believes that peoples personalities are given to them by their parents. This ties in with the nomothetic approach which believes that personalities are fixed and can't be changed. The nomothetic approach is based on a persons characteristics that can be measured. The nomothetic approach believes that an individuals personality can be measured by measuring 'common characteristics' that relate to a persons personality. This approach believes that once peoples characteristics have been measured, the individual can then be put into a group of people with similar characteristics. (Martin, 2005)

In contrast to the nature and nomothetic approaches to personality, the nurture approach believes that a persons personality is identified mainly by the surrounding environment which has a massive effect on the persons personality. The nurture approach ties in with the idiographic approach to personalities. The idiographic approach opposes the nomothetic approach and believes that tests can't effectively measure someones personality and believes that each individuals personality is unique and can be adapted to the persons surroundings. This approach shows that peoples personalities are also open to change depending on social and cultural influences. This makes peoples personalities very difficult to measure as there are too many factors that could influence a persons personality. (Martin, 2005)

I believe that nature is a strong influence on someones personality, but nurture is the most dominant influence. I believe that the base of someones personality is handed down to them by their parents which forms the base of their personality. The rest of an individuals personality is then formed by the nurture aspects. The environment from which they live in then continually affects and alters their personality. Ive illustrated my view of nature and nurture in the form of a plant.

Personality Test

I completed an online personality test at www.shldirect.com. This online personality test asks you around 172 questions about yourself. These questions are specifically designed to work out your personality; the results from the questionnaire then go on to tell you a list of jobs that are suited to you and a list of jobs that are not suited for you.

After completing the questionnaire, the results were as follows;

SHL Great 8 Competency areas
	1	2	3	4	5
Leading and Deciding
Supporting and Cooperating
Interacting and Presenting
Analysing and Interpreting
Creating and Conceptualising
Organising and Executing
Adapting and Coping
Enterprising and Performing

The questionnaire results show that I'm competent in most of the 8 areas, but am lacking in 'Supporting and Cooperating' and 'Organising and Executing'. The Jobs that the questionnaire results suggest would be good for me are the following:

Example Roles where these behaviours are important:
- Managers/Supervisors - Judges - Company Directors	- Surgeons - Politicians - Military Officers

Personality Test Findings

The personality test has shown that I have quite a rounded set of strengths including enterprising and performing with only a couple of areas that aren't as strong; interacting, presenting, organising and executing. I believe that the personality test is accurate as the strengths and weaknesses that it has outlined match the strengths and weaknesses that I believe I have.


Conclusion

I believe that the arguement with nature vs. nurture will never be resolved. Everyones personality gets effected by different things and I believe that everyones personality is different. Personality is a balance between aspects from the nature; passed down from their parents, and nurture; the way they were brought up and the environment they were brought up in. The argument nature vs. nurture will never be resolved becuase peoples perceptions are always different based on their own personality.


Bibliography

Martin, J. (2005) Organisational behaviour and management. 3rd ed.

Mullins, L.J. (2010) Management & Organisational Behaviour. 9th ed.

Reward

How does John Lewis reward its employees?
The John Lewis Partnership is well known for its extensive employee benefits package ranging from their annual bonus, to ticket subsidies, pensions to paid holidays; their large range of rewards appeal to everyone. The John Lewis Partnership offer all of these benefits to all of their employees. This guarantees that they are treating all of their employees equally; whether they work full or part time.

Pay
John Lewis base their basic pay on the current market rate for the selected job. On top of their basic rate, John Lewis offer all staff members performance related pay. Employees get their performance reviewed once or twice a year and their pay is adjusted according to their performance. This means that employees of John Lewis get pay that relates to their performance within the business. (John Lewis, n.d.)

For example, if an employee at John Lewis works really hard and contributes to the business regularly then at their annual pay review they will be able to get paid a higher wage due to their high contribution. This review also gives employees the chance to fully discuss the pay decision.

This annual pay review ensures that all employees are treated fairly compared to their contribution to the business. The annual pay review also ensures quality because you are paid according to the effort and work you put into the business. If you work hard and contribute a lot to the business, your pay increases.

Bonus
The John Lewis partnership give all their employees; both part and full time, a bonus once a year. This annual bonus is a portion of the profits that gets given to employees as a percentage of their annual pay and is based on the success of the partnership businesses. (John Lewis, n.d.)

John Lewis offer this bonus to all of their employees; whether they work full or part time. This ensures that they are treating all of their employees the same and fairly. The bonus is offered as a percentage of the employees pay to ensure that the bonus is paid out fairly; if you work more, the higher your bonus. This promotes both fairness and equality.

Pension
John Lewis offer a final salary pension scheme for employees who have at least 3 years service. The contribution section of the partnerships pension scheme is available for employees that have less than 3 years service. This means that all employees have the chance to receive a pension once they retire. (John Lewis, n.d.)

John Lewis offers all its partners with more than 3 years service a final salary pension scheme without requiring a contribution from the employee. By offering it to every partner with more than 3 years service, John Lewis is promoting fairness because all partners get the opportunity to have a final salary pension scheme. If John Lewis only gave the opportunity to some groups of employees then this could be seen as unfair.

Discount
Every employee of the John Lewis partnership is entitled to a discount from both John Lewis and Waitrose after 3 months service. This promotes fairness in the workplace as all employees are entitled to the discount scheme; if only some employees were eligible for the discount scheme then it could seem unfair to the employees who dont receive the discount. (John Lewis, n.d.)

Ticket Subsidies
John Lewis offers their employees 50 per cent off their tickets for various shows and events. This subsidy on tickets is available to both full and part time employees of the John Lewis partnership. This also promotes fairness as all employees are eligible for the ticket subsidies supplied by John Lewis. (John Lewis, n.d.)

John Lewis offers ALL of its employees the same rewards. Both part and full time staff receive the same benefits package. This promotes equality within the business and ensures that it is used throughout the business. If John Lewis was to split its employees into groups and then offer different rewards to different groups, then employees may see this as unfair.

Chief Executives
Chief executives tend to receive large bonuses irrespectively of how well their business has performed. Below I have written out the arguments for and against Chief executives receiving large bonuses.

For

Against

A chief executive of a business could perform really well, but this could be cancelled out by external factors affecting the performance of a business such as the financial climate. This means that the business could still under perform even though the chief executive has worked really hard to try and maintain the performance of the business. The chief executive may have put in a lot of extra time into the business to make sure its performance isn't affected as much.

If a business under performs; their finance will be tight and they should not spend large amounts of money giving bonuses to their chief executives.

Bibliography
John Lewis (n.d.) Benefits [online]. WaitroseJobs. Available from: http://www.waitrosejobs.com/your-career/benefits.htm [Accessed: 10th April 2012].

Selection

Selection Methods

Online Assessment
One selection method used by John Lewis is an online assessment. John Lewis use this online assessment as their first stage of the selection process. The online assessment has two sections; one section asks applicants detailed questions about them selves, and the second section sets up situations which are related to the job role and ask applicants what they would do in the situation and why.

The first section of the assessment gives John Lewis more information about the applicant. The second section of the assessment shows John Lewis if the applicants are suitable for the job role. This helps John Lewis to narrow down the number of applicants they receive and makes sure that all the applications that go through to the next stage are suitable for the job role. This means that John Lewis can accurately narrow down the number of applicants and ensures that all applications that go through to the next stage of the selection process are suitable for the job and have the correct characteristics.

John Lewis uses this online assessment as the first stage of their application process. Online assessment is used as their first stage of their recruitment process because it only allows a small number of applicants through; who are suitable for the job role. This makes John Lewis' selection process a lot more successful because only applicants that are specifically suited to the job role get to go through to the next level of the selection process.

Pros	Cons
It can narrow down the amount of applications accurately by using a detailed set of questions. Online assessment is cheap as it is done over the internet and does not need constant attention from staff and can be used when needed. It can increase the number of applicants applying at the beginning of the selection process as it can be reached by a wide variety of people.	It could be seen as discriminatory as it is conducted online and not everyone has access to the internet. If John Lewis don't ask the applicants the correct questions then they might not get the right feedback from the assessment.

Assessment Centres
Another selection method used by John Lewis is an assessment Centre. John Lewis uses an assessment centre as the second stage of their selection process. At the assessment centre, recruitment staff ask the applicants to undertake several tasks relating to the job and asses their ability.

One of the tasks that the recruitment staff at John Lewis gets the applicants to do is to 'Sell a Product'. They give you a product and ask you to sell it to the group; pretending to sell it to a customer. This gives the recruitment staff more information about the candidate and shows them how the candidate will act in a situation that is likely to arise in the job.

Another activity that the recruitment staff at John Lewis ask candidates to do is to work in teams to think of ideas that can be used within the business to make it more successful. This shows the recruitment staff at John Lewis how the candidates act when working within a team. This relates to the job because they will be working within a team if they get the job.

John Lewis uses these assessment centres as the second stage to their selection process to further narrow down the number of applicants for the job. The assessment centre gives John Lewis the chance to see how well the applicants work with each other to complete tasks such as team building or going through an exercise that will show John Lewis how the applicant will react in a situation that is likely to arise from the job. This gives John Lewis a more detailed idea of how suitable each of the applicants are and ensures that only suitable applicants go through to the next round; narrowing the amount of applicants even further.

Pros	Cons
Gives a clear indication of how the candidate will act in a similar situation whilst working with a customer. Shows the recruitment staff how well the candidate can work within a team.	Assessment centres are expensive as they require several members of staff at all times.

Interview
The third selection method used by John Lewis is an interview. This stage of the selection process allows John Lewis to ask specific questions to each candidate and helps the recruitment staff at John Lewis to make a justified decision on who to employ.

This final stage of the selection process allows John Lewis to decide which applicant(s) they are going to employ with justified reasons. John Lewis uses interviews as the final stage of their recruitment process because it allows them to see in detail which candidates are best suited for the job. If interviews were used at the start of their selection process, it would become very time consuming and would also cost a lot of money.

Pros	Cons
Gives a very clear view of how suitable an applicant is for the job. Indicates further how the applicant will act whilst on the job.	Interviews cost a lot of money as they require several members of staff and they also take up a lot of time.

Interview
I was invited to an interview by an employer after I applied for a job online. The employer didn't give any indication about the interview or how it was going to be ran. The interview consisted of several stages; the first stage was a group interview. To save both time and money, the employer ask a group of the applicants into a room at a time to be interviewed by several interviewers.

The interviewers asked a series of questions to the group. They then assessed each individual in their contribution to the discussion and their answers. This was not an effective way to interview applicants because all it showed was who was more dominant within the group; It bared no relevance to the job role. This meant that the interview was not effective because it wasn't relevant to the job vacancy that they were trying to fill. This meant they might of employed the wrong applicant that wasn't the best applicant for the job.


The Co-operative
The Co-operative allow people to apply for jobs online, but dont ask thorough questions to the applicants. They only ask 9 questions; 5 of which are questions directly related to you, and the remaining 4 about your previous experience and why you would like to work for the Co-operative. (The Co-operative, n.d.)

By only having 5 questions that ask the applicants about their views, experience and knowledge, The Co-operative is not using its online application process effectively. Online application proccesses tend to be cheap to run and can vastly narrow down the number of applicants that go through to the next stage of the selection process.

If The Co-operative was to use its online application process more effectively, it would be able to narrow down the number of applicants effectively; ensuring that all applicants that get through have the right skills and suitable for the job role. This would also save the Co-operative a lot of money as online assessments are generally cheap to run as they automatically sort through the applications and only allow applicants through who are suitable for the job role.


Conclusion
In this ecenomic climate, employers are trying to get the best people suited to the job, whilst trying to save money in their reruitment process. This means that employers are now resorting to online applications which vastly narrow down applicants before they even meet them. This makes their recruitment process a lot more effective and also saves them a lot of money. If employers dont addapt their recruitment process to the climate they're in then they could potentially waste a lot of time and money on a recruitment process that doesn't effectively narrow down the amount of applicants.


Bibliography

The Co-operative (n.d.) Apply Online [online]. The Co-operative. Available from: https://careers.co-operative.jobs/careers/advanced.aspx [Accessed: 10th April 2012].

Recruitment

Monster.co.uk
As soon as you go to monster website, you immediately notice how easy it is to use and navigate through the site.

On the homepage of the website there are two input boxes; 'I'm looking for...' and 'location'. This makes the website incredibly easy to use and shows you exactly what to do to search for the jobs you want to apply for. Once you've entered your information into the homepage, your immediately taken to your search results. You can then use the checkboxs next to each of the job listings to apply. Overall the Monster website is very easy to use to apply for jobs.

The layout of the Monster website is incredibly easy to understand. At the top of the homepage is the input boxs to take you to your search results. At the very top of the homepage is the navigation bar; which includes 'Home', 'CV', 'Jobs', 'Career Tools' and 'Advice' as well as the links tot he sign in page and help pages. This means that as soon as a user goes to Monster.co.uk, they know exactly where to go to get the information they need. This makes the website very effective, accessible and easy to use.

e-Recruitment Campaigns
John Lewis run an e-recruitment campaign which helps them to employ their employees and narrow down the number of applicants.

This campaign interested me because they have several stages to the online application. The first section asks you to enter all your details and askes whether you would need assistance getting to an interview if you get through to the next stage of their recruitment process. The second section goes on to ask you a series of questions. These questions are related to the job and often describe a situation that could occur whilst working for John Lewis. They give you several answers and ask you to choose one.

By the end of the second section, they know whether your suitable for the job or not. This is where the applicants get split. Those who are deemed not to be suitable for the job are rejected from the recruitment process. Those who pass and are deemed suitable for the job and taken to another web page to book an interview at John Lewis.

This recruitment campaign caught my interest as I went through the process and found it very effective. The questions they used to narrow down their applicants don't seem specific at first, but when you think through the question and have a look at the answers they get you to choose from, you can see that this is a very direct question and relates heavily to what they would expect from an employee at John Lewis.


Aptitude Testing
I completed an aptitude test on www.shldirect.com, and I would not be keen if similar tests were used as a recruitment tool before gaining an interview for several reasons;

• Although it would give your potential employer a good idea of your different abilities, they may not be relevant or accurate. This is because your in different surroundings when you take the test to when you may be required to undertake similar tasks whilst at work. This difference in surrounding may alter how well you work.
• Although this is a timed assessment of your ability to undertake different tasks and problem solving exercises, it is still possible to cheat. You would be able to ask someone else to take the assessment for you so that you get to go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. This is why I don't feel like an aptitude test should be the only recruitment tool employers should use to narrow down applicants before an interview.
• The test would not provide the employers with enough information about the applicant to dismiss them from the recruitment process as the applicant may have other experience, skills, or qualities that might make them more suitable for the job; so it would be unfair to remove them from the recruitment process based solely on the aptitude test results.

The aptitude test would give the employer a good idea of the skills that the applicant has, but doesn't give them any more information about the applicant such as experience, or other skills or qualities that the aptitude test did not concentrate on. This is why I would not be keen if similar tests were used as a recruitment tool before gaining an interview; instead they should be used along with an interview to asses whether or not an applicant is suitable for the job.




Bibliography

Monster (n.d.) Home [online]. Monster. Available from: www.monster.co.uk [Accessed: 01 March 2012].

SHLdirect (n.d.) Home [online]. SHLdirect. Available from: www.shldirect.com [Accessed: 01 March 2012]

JohnLewis (n.d.) John Lewis Jobs [online]. JohnLewis. Available from: http://www.jlpjobs.com/jobs/john-lewis-jobs.htm [Accessed: 01 March 2012]

Equal Opportunities and Diversity

Equality
Equality is giving everyone within an organisation the same opportunities as each other. This means that every employee should have the same opportunities as one another. This means that every employee should have the same chance to benefit from any opportunities that arise in the workforce, such as a promotion. (Mullins, 2010)

Diversity
When you have a diversity within an organisation, you have a range of differences that differentiate people within your organisation from one another. This could be through their gender, age, religious beleifs or ethnic origin. Diversity can be both good and bad for organisations. Diversity can be split into three different types: social, informational and value. (Mullins, 2010)

Social diversity relates to differences in demographics such as an individuals age and race. This type of diversity is known as a surface level diversity. This means that this type of diversity describes the make-up of the particular group. (Mullins, 2010)

Informational diversity relates to the differences in background between the group which relates to education and knowledge. This type of diversity is also know as a surface level of diversty along with social diversity. (Mullins, 2010)

Value diversity relates to the differences in the individuals attitudes, personality and values within the group. This type of diversity is known as the deep level of diversity. (Mullins, 2010)

When dealing with diversity within a group or organisation, you need to understand the differences within the group, respect an individuals differences and identify individual needs for each individual within the group. (Mullins, 2010)


The difference between Equality and Diversity

There are several differences between equality and diversity.

The main difference is that equality is trying to get the employer to offer the same opportunities to all members of staff. Diversity on the other hand is trying to get employers to identify an individuals differences from the rest of the group and is trying to get employers to identify the different needs for each individual. (Mullins, 2010)

Diversity tries to persuade the employer to treat each employee differently relating to their individual needs and differences from the rest of the group, where as equality is trying to get employers to treat all employees the same and offer them the same opportunities as eachother. (Mullins, 2010)


Age Legislation - Impacts on Employers

• With the new age legislation, employers will have to deal with a more diverse workforce. The age range within the group will increase and employers will have to arrange their team to fit in a wide range of ages.
• Employers may have to adapt their working environment to make it suitable for a wider range of people with different ages.
• Potentially employers will have to keep staff working for longer because people aren't forced to retire at 65. This means that employers will have a lower staff turnover, saving the employer money on recruitment costs.

Stereotypes

Younger People

Older People

Young people aren't good at working: A stereotype about young people is that they dont like working so will do anything to get out of working. Young people aren't as experienced as old people: Another stereotype about younger people is that they dont have any experience about working. Young people less relble: A third stereotype of young people is that they're not reliable enough to keep a job. People beleive that young employees are less reliable than older people because of their social lives and the way they act.

Old people are slow and weak: A stereotype about old people is that they're slow and weak and are uncappable of working. Old people are less reliable: Another sterotype for old people is that they're not as reliable because they may forget information or might lose their hearing, strength or other things that may prevent them from functioning properly.

One idea as to how organisations can attempt to change these attitudes is by treating all of its staff as the same, no matter what age they are. This will help to promote equality and help to chnage the attitudes towards younger and older workers.

Another idea is to actively promote their recruitment process to all age groups. This will attract different ages and will show people that anyone can, no mater what age they are, are capable of working effectively.


Marks & Spencer - Equal Opportunities
Marks & Spencer are feel very strongly about equality within the workplace from the start, right through to the end of their employees career. Marks & Spencer contantly promote equal opportunities within their workforce and provide all of their staff with information about their equal opportunities policy along with information as to what you can do if you feel that these policies aren't being carried out properly. (M&S, n.d.)

Marks & Spencer always promote their equal opportunities and ensure that ebveryone who works at M&S receives the same treatment from the moment they join Marks & Spencers, till the moment they leave; regardless of age, colour, disability, gender, race, sexual orientation, hours of work, marital status, national origin, political opinions and religious beliefs. (M&S, n.d.)

Conclusion
Businesses need to consider both diversity and equal opportunities when dealing with their employees. Businesses need to get the balance right to make sure their employees feel like they're being treated fairly. If businesses get the balance between diversity and equality wrong, then employees may feel like they're not being treated fairly; which could lead to a decrease in performance and productivity.


Bibliography

M&S (n.d.) Equal Opportunities & you [PDF]. MarksandSpencer. Available from: http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/how_we_do_business/equal_opps_policy.pdf [Accessed: 27th February 2012].

Mullins, L.J. (2010) Management & Organisational Behavior. 9th ed.