Questions WA7-10

PROJECT TITLE Name: Course Title: Course Code: Course Instructor: Institution: Date: 1. What is the sequence of steps that should occur before you are hired for a full-time position? Answer: Selecting a full timer is a big step for any business organization as the employee will represent the company and his performance will directly affect the well being of the company. Once a full time employee is hired, he is entrusted with the company secrets. Therefore it is very important to make sure that the new employee is capable of handling the tasks he is being hired for. Because of these reasons, it is very important to go through a very careful screening process before a company hires someone as a full time employee. There are some steps that a company can use to make sure that the selection was a right decision and the most important ones among these steps are: Step 1: Before hiring a permanent employee, the employer should make sure that he really needs a full time employee. If a temporary employee can do the job well, there is no need to hire someone permanently. Step 2: Before starting the selection process, the employer should complete a detail job analysis, covering every specification regarding the job description. This is very crucial for the selection as the applicant must fulfill all the requirements of the job description and be capable of completing his tasks under given conditions. Step 3: Depending on the job type, the employer should determine a strategic recruitment system to find out the most appropriate applicant. It should be structured in such way that it can reflect the true potential and quality of the candidate. Step 4: The interviewer should use different tools for the interview process. For example, a written test on related topics can give good result. Sometimes, determining the decision making ability of the interviewee is appropriate. A simple verbal interview can do just fine in many occasions. 2. Describe the types of methods companies use to train their employees.Answer: For most business organizations, training is not just a part of teaching the employees about the company. Instead it helps the employees to learn efficiency and be more effective in doing their works. A proper training helps the trainees to improve their performance and be motivated. In the process of doing so, many business organizations use different methods. However, the most successful ones among them, which are frequently used by top business organizations around the world, are: Lecture and presentation Discussion Demonstration Exercise Lecture and presentation are the most basic learning methods where the trainer uses slides to present the topic. The slides contain only the most important facts and the trainer explains each fact verbally. Starting from the basics, the presentation is a step by step logical development towards a definitive conclusion on the topic. The aim here is to make the trainees knowledgeable and up-to-date on the subject. At the end of the lecture, the trainees should ask questions on different aspects of the topic for better understanding. The lecture is the most effective, but not limited to introducing new products or regulations of the company as well as presenting data. Discussion is mostly used in an employee training program for introducing the new employees to the company through questioning and answering method. Unlike lecture, the trainees can ask questions as well as expressing their opinion to the instructor during a discussion session. Discussion is very popular for determining strategy and thus finding new talents. Demonstration is more of a direct method which is mostly used in product based training. This works better for marketing and client service departments of a company where the instructor demonstrate possible events and problems that might occur on different situation and how to handle them. Demonstration has direct impact on the trainee as it helps to understand them to learn first. Exercise is another effective way of training in a business organization where the instructor discusses a topic with the trainees and gives them necessary materials to study and later, the trainees have to exhibit how much they have learnt. This is useful for both new and old employees. 3. Are Herzberg's motivational and hygiene factors valid today?Answer: The Herzberg’s motivational and hygiene theory states that in a workplace, there are few factors to cause job satisfaction. On contrary, some factors can cause dissatisfaction. This theory was introduced by Frederick Herzberg who conjectured that issues to do with job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not related and act independently (Herzberg, Mausner and Snyderman, 1959). The theory has a direct impact on the employee’s position toward the authority (Herzberg, 1966). From current happenings in the business world, the theory of Herzberg is still valid as the basics have not been changed at all. According to this theory, the most important attributes that lead to satisfaction are; recognition, achievement, responsibility, work itself, advancement and growth. On the other hand, the attributes that lead to dissatisfaction are; company policy, relationship with the boss, supervision, salary, work conditions, relationship with the peers and security. The satisfactory factors are known as motivators (Hackman and Oldham, 1976) and the opposite factors are known as hygiene factors (Herzberg, 1968). For instant, we can consider salary, one of the most important elements in any job to make the employee happy and no matter how great the job is, if the salary is not satisfying, the employee will eventually feel dissatisfaction, leading to poor performance if he does not quit the job. The more the salary is, the more happy the employee is and there is no alternative way. So the motivational and hygiene theory by Herzberg is still valid. Although at current complex economic conditions, the job market is not as open as before and that makes it difficult to find a new job easily. However, that does not stop the employees from job dissatisfaction. 4. Are unions beneficial in today's difficult economic situation? Yes or no?Answer: For the last few decades, the importance of unions has reduced a lot as the laws for ensuring worker’s rights have been expanded and given them more security in the workplace. Nowadays, both state and federal laws are very strict on the company policies for their employees. In addition, most of the national and international level business organizations have extended their regulations, offering a lot more facilities to the employees to ensure best performance from them. Because of the firm laws and company regulations, most of the business holders are not interested in gaining more profit by dominati...