CIPD

Answer

Human Resource Management 

Question One

Business organizations should conduct their HR function in a professional, ethical and just manner because of the following reasons; first, it enables the organization to avoid legal battles stemming from infringed rights of employees. According to Doorley and Garcia (2015), legal cases involving employees and the organization are not only costly but also damage the reputation of the organization in the market. Secondly, it motivates employees of the organization to work hard because they are all treated equally and fairly resulting in increased performance.  Increased performance grants the organization competitive advantage in the market enabling it to increase the amount of revenues it generates.

Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2015). Reputation management: The key to successful public relations and corporate communication. Routledge.

Question Two

The role of the human resource department (HR) has significantly evolved in contemporary. According to Ulrich (2016), today, human resource departments do more than just take care of employees' welfare. The market place has become increasingly competitive. Organizations are looking for new ways of attaining competitive advantage since all companies are implementing the 4P's of marketing. Managers are currently leveraging their human resource departments to get competitive advantage over their rivals. The department motivates employees boosting their morale to deliver increasing the chances of the company outperforming its rivals in the market.

Similarly, the HR department also currently plays a vital role in building and maintaining an excellent reputation for the organization.  Modern HR departments understand consumers need for conscious capitalism. Consumers are increasingly shopping from organizations they treat their employees well through better pays and working conditions as opposed to those who offer minimum wages in order to increase their profits margins. The HR department, therefore, leverages this change in consumer behavior by offering their employees above the market pay in order to attract such consumers in the market. This shows that the HR department has evolved and now performs mainstream functions in organizations to ensure companies achieve their objectives in the market.

Ulrich, D. (2016). HR at a crossroads. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 54(2), 148-164.

Question Three

HR is responsible for delivering the following functions; first, recruitment and selection of employees. This is achieved through planning the selection, hiring, orientation and ultimately the exit of employees of the organization. Secondly, the department handles the development of human capital. Through trainings, both internal and external, the HR department ensures the development of the organization's labor force. Thirdly, HR department also handles rewards and compensations function in the organization. This is achieved by creating an attractive compensation plan that ensures employees are not only motivated but also satisfied with the money they are getting to prevent high employee turnover. The department also engages in the formulation of policies that affects the operations of the employees in the organization. According to Lawler and Boudreau (2018), the policies formulated and implemented by the HR department determine the organization's workplace culture.  Such policies influence the dress code and employees' code of conduct.  The HR department also manages the risks of the organization; for example, the HR manager ensures all hazardous materials are removed from the work station. This reduces the risk of the company making compensation payments to employees who get hurt while working. Similarly, the department ensures the organization complies with all labor laws to avoid paying fines.

Lawler E., & Boudreau, J. W. (2018). Human Resource Excellence: An Assessment of Strategies and Trends. Stanford University Press.

Question Four

HR objective can be delivered through the following ways; first, through implementing Ulrich's Model. This is a model that defines the role the HR department plays in the organization. These roles enable the HR department to achieve its objectives. The roles are divided into four categories. These categories are; strategic partners, administration expert, employee champion and change agent. As a strategic partner, the HR department communicates with all internal and external stakeholders such as employees and creditors to enable the organization to achieve its objectives.  As an administrative expert, the HR department performs administrative duties such as maintaining the payroll of the organization.  As a change agent, the HR department implements internal organizational changes within the company.   The HR department serves as employees advocate through ensuring their welfare is taken care of.

The second method for delivering HR objectives is through outsourcing. This is the process of contracting an external human resource consultancy firm to handle the organization's human resource functions such as recruitment and payroll (Cooke, 2015). This method is preferred by some companies in the market because of the following reasons; first, it is cheap compared to maintaining a complete in-house HR department. Secondly, it frees the company time enabling it to concentrate on its core function. Thirdly, it increases efficiency. The company the function has been outsourced to is an expert in handling human resource functions. This, therefore, ensures the company will get nothing short of expert services from their consulting company contracted to provide HR function.

Cooke, F. L. (2015). Outsourcing HRM. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-3.

Question Five

Although the basic function of the human resource department which involves taking care of the welfare of employees remains the same regardless of the organization, the other functions of the HR department change significantly depending on the size and function of any organization (Kelly & Rapp, 2017). HR departments in large companies grapple with having to understand the business. Their organizations are so huge and have different needs. The HR must understand the needs of the organization to enable the department to create a relevant organizational culture. Additionally, the department is also concerned about the positive management of the employees.  The department ensures there are no scandals involving the pay given to employees or their working condition.

 On the other hand, the HR professionals of a small and medium enterprise (SME) are more concerned about the profitability and growth of the company. They, therefore, implement policies that aim to increase the company's profitability while limiting costs of the organization; for instance, dealing with a few permanent employees but several temporary employees to reduce the amount of benefits such as health benefits the company pays. These moves ensure the company had adequate labor to meet its production needs but also spends the lowest amount of money to acquire and maintain the labor.

Public sector HR professionals concentrate on mitigating risk to reduce government liability through compensations. They also concentrate on good governance to ensure the citizens get good services.  The HR professional for third sector organizations concentrate on the reality of the limited donations they operate on and therefore have to cut down costs though only hiring much-needed employees.

Kelly, C., & Rapp, K. (2017). The HR Function in 2021: Models & Competencies.

Question Six

To ascertain the contribution of the HR function in the organization, its performance needs to be evaluated based on various matrixes used to evaluate performance.  To achieve this, the origination can use the following methods

HR metrics used to evaluate HR function contribution

Though this method, analysis of the contribution of the HR function should be concerned with the efficiency of the HR function. This aspect analyses how well the HR function achieves its objectives in the organization. For instance, if the department had set to reduce its hiring cost, this aspect looks at affectivity of the method used to achieve the objective. Secondly, this analysis also looks at the impact of the HR function in relation to other functions of the organization. It considers whether or not the HR function has benefited the organization.

SLA's and KPI's

Service Level Agreements (SLA) are agreements the HR function has with the organization. These are binding obligations of the department to the organization. They are often future-oriented and therefore set the targets against which the performance of the department will be measured.  Key performance indicators (KPI's) are then used to evaluate the extent with which the HR function has met its SLA's.  The results of the KPI shows the overall performance of the HR function in the company in relation to what it was expected to achieve as enshrined in the SLA

Staff Surveys

According to Cappelli (2015), the HR function mainly exists to take care of the welfare of the employees in the organization. The department directly handles all matters relating to the wellbeing of the employees in the organization.  One of the best ways to evaluate the function of the HR function is through the employees' opinion about the HR department.  They are better placed to offer direct insights concerning the performance of the organization depending on how the department is handling their issues.

Benchmarking with other organizations

The contribution of the HR function in the organization can also be established through benchmarking with other organizations at the same level. This method of evaluation compares what the HR function has been able to achieve in the other organization in relation to what the HR function in another company is trying to achieve. The achievements of the other company act a yardstick against which the result of the second company is compared.

Return on Investment (ROI)

The HR department is a crucial aspect of any organization and therefore receives a significant portion of resources.  The money allocated to the department is used to hire and train employees of the organizations. The effectiveness of the HR function analyzed through ROI looks at the return the resources given to the HR department give the company. For instance, it looks at amount of money used to train employees and compares that with the increase in performance after the employees have returned from the training. ROI, therefore, looks at the benefits the company gets from its HR function relative to the amount of money invested.

Balanced scorecard

 Contribution of the HR function is also evaluated using Balanced Scorecard. This method involves listing all expected outcomes at the beginning of the trading period by the HR department and evaluating the level of success that has been achieved in relation to the goals set at the end of the trading period.

Cappelli, P. (2015). Why we love to hate HR… and what HR can do about it. Harvard Business Review, 93(7/8), 54-61.

Question 7

According to Vermeeren et al. 2015, HR practices have a direct relationship to employees'   motivation and organizational performance.   The HR practice adopted by an organization plays a vital role in motivating employees.  Organizations that adopt better HR practices that reward employees for their good work significantly motivate their employees making them work hard to enable the organization to realize its goals in the market. This, therefore, shows the vital role HR practices plays in the motivation of employees.

Additionally, the authors assert that HR practices also have a direct relationship to the performance registered by an organization. Companies with quality HR practices have reduced costs and increased efficiency. This significantly increases their level of performance in the market.  Similarly, better HR practices attract qualified employees in the market. The quality of these employees enables the organization to implement good policies created by their quality employees and gain competitive advantage of their rivals in the market resulting in increased performance.

Vermeeren, B., Steijn, B., Tummers, L., Lankhaar, M., Poerstamper, R., & van Beek, S. (2015). HRM and its effect on employee, organizational and financial outcomes in health care organizations. Human Resources For Health, 12(1). doi: 10.116/1478-4491-12-35

Question 8

The findings are convincing because of the following reasons; first, the study used a large sample of 162 organizations. The results received were consistent in all the organizations used. The consistency of the results obtained in the study, therefore, makes it convincing. Secondly, Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright (2017) assert that human capital plays a vital role in the success of any organization. The level of performance of an organization directly depends on the quality of its employees and their level of motivation.  Organizations with highly motivated employees register increased performance because the employee gives their best to enable the company to achieve its goals. Additionally, the quality of the employee of the organization also plays a crucial role in determining its performance. The employees are directly responsible for making and implanting policies. Quality employees make quality policies that guarantee the company competitive advantage and therefore success in the market. These factors therefore also make the result of the study convincing

Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2017). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Question 9

HR plays a crucial role in determining the performance of an organization. High performance enables an organization to achieve all its objectives in the market.  Employees are often given goals they are supposed to meet at the end of each trading period. For instance, those in the sales department are given targets they are supposed to meet.  High performing employees are likely to meet all their targets. The ability of individual employees of the organization to meet their targets improves the overall performance of the entire organization. Therefore high performing employees have a direct impact on the performance of organizations in the market (Shin & Konrad, 2017). Secondly increasing investment in employees also result in increased performance.  Increased investment in employees will facilitate increased pay and trainings for the employees. These factors have a direct correlation with an organizations performance. Increased income motivates employees to work hard to prove they deserve the raise they have received. As all employee increase their output, the performance of the entire organization improves.  Training employee also increases increase their level of skills.  Improved skills increase their efficiency in the organization resulting in increased output. Increasing investment in people, therefore, increases the performance of any organization due to the motivation and improved skills of the employees.

Shin, D., & Konrad, A. M. (2017). Causality between high-performance work systems and organizational performance. Journal of Management, 43(4), 973-997.

Question 10

The knowledge gained from this exercise will be transferred to my actual working practice in the following ways; first, I will look at the human resource department as a strategic docket in the organization. Apart from handling the duties dealing with employees' welfare, I will ensure the department also plays a strategic role such as helping the organization to reduce its costs and enabling the company to gain competitive advantage through implementing the best hiring policies. Secondly, I will ensure I constantly evaluate the contribution of the HR function in the organization. The results of the evaluation will inform the operations of the HR department in the organization.  That is, if the results are negative, new strategies will be developed aimed at increasing the impact of the HR function in the organization.  Thirdly, I will ensure the department plays a crucial role in increasing the performance of the organization. This will be achieved by offering employees with periodic trainings to increase their skills and their output.  Additionally, the employees will also be motivated through increased income and bonuses. The bonuses given will be pegged on performance. According to Namada (2017), performance pegged bonuses significantly increases the performance of employees. This will motivate employees to work hard and meet their targets in order to receive the bonuses awarded at the end of each year.

Namada, J. M. (2017). Organizational learning and firm performance: an empirical investigation in an emerging economy context.

Part Two

Question One

Human resource managers can evaluate the contribution of the HR function to business performance using both traditional and modern indicators of success. Traditional indicators of evaluating the contribution of the HR function to the performance of the organization are people- performance metrics. They focus on the people and the output they are able to give. These metrics include; HR statistics.  This evaluation method analyses the amount of money the company spends on recruitment and the returns the company generates from the output of the employees recruited (Cascio, 2015). It also critically analyses the level of money the department spends on training and development of the employees in comparison to the marginal increase in output from each employee after the training.  These statistics also look at employee turnover and the success of the policies being implemented by the HR department to reduce the rate of employee turnover.  

 Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is another traditional method for evaluating the performance of the HR department. To use this method, the HR department should set measurable goals that they intend to achieve.  These goals should cover strategic aspects of the HR functions that have the ability to influence the perforce of the organization. For instance, looking at the amount of money saved from stopping high employee turnover. The results of these identified objectives should then be measured and compared against the set targets. KPI's are crucial in evaluating the performance of the HR department as a unit and that of employees in the organization. Balanced scorecard also comes in handy when it comes to evaluating the HR function in an organization.  This metric enables the department to assess its success when it comes to handling customers, finances assigned to it, internal business processes and identifying training needs of the employees of the organization.

            Apart from the traditional, indicators, the performance of the business can also be evaluated using modern indicators. These indicators focus on the business and not the people. They include; contextual savviness.  This indicator evaluates the alertness of the organization to trends and factors in its external environment that directly affect its operation now and in the future (Parmenter, 2015).  The organization needs to be abreast with all the changes in the market to make it proactive rather than reactive in the market.  The second modern indicator is analyzing organizational savviness. This indicator evaluates the organizations level of understanding when it comes to its employees in terms of their capabilities and the culture of the company. Understanding these dynamics enables the company to implement policies that are in line with the organizational culture and the strengths of the employees resulting in increased performance.  The third modern indicator is business savviness.  This is an indicator that evaluates the organization's understanding of its business model and the areas that generate its money in the market. A critical understanding of their source of revenues is vital since it enables them to concentrate their resources in the most productive segments of the organization resulting in increased revenues for the company.

Cascio, W. F. (2015). Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill.

Parmenter, D. (2015). Key performance indicators: developing, implementing, and using winning KPIs. John Wiley & Sons.

Question Two

HR plays an essential in an organization's planning and change management.  In strategic planning, HR performs the following functions; first, selection and staffing. According to David and David (2016), organizations make plans to help them succeeded in the market by gaining competitive advantage in the market.  These strategies however good cannot give organizations the success they desire if they are not implemented. Employees are the ones who implement policies. HR, therefore, plans the company's human capital needs by ensuring it not only has the best employees, but it has the right employees in the right places.  For instance, if a company has a ten-year vision to increase its market share, the HR department will plan the human capital needs of the marketing department based on this vision.  It will populate the marketing department with an employee with a proven track record to achieve long term goals. This is, therefore, one the vital roles the HR play in planning. 

Secondly, training and development is also another HR role that is crucial in planning. Organizations are incorporated to make profits for shareholders.  Shareholders are therefore often concerned about the going concern of their businesses. They need the business to survive even into the future. According to David and David (2016), only 20% of employees have the right skills needed by the business environment in the next 10years. This, therefore, means employees need to be trained in order to meet future business needs. These futuristic training offered by the HR department helps in planning for organizations future needs.

Apart from planning, HR also plays a vital role in change management. The business world is dynamic and keeps changing. Business organizations should also be flexible and changes to enable them to survive in the market. The HR department is directly responsible for changes made in the organization since it handles employees. The department ensures it overcomes any resistance to planned changes in the company. To achieve this; it ensures the employees are involved in the change process. Most employees resist change because of the fear of the unknown. They suspect the changes can result in the loss of their jobs. To overcome this resistance, the HR department communicates with employees, informing them of the advantages of the proposed changes and dispels the fear of job loss. For instance, if the company intends to change its organizational culture to make it more competitive, the HR department will formulate the policies that will make the change possible and whose implementation will result in a culture of competition within the business.

Secondly, the department also conducts follow up to ensure the implemented changes become the status quo of the organization.   Change is a process that takes time. Its implementation happens in stages to ensure the transition is smooth. The HR department conducts regular checks to ensure the new policies are being implanted and that the employees have accepted the new methods of operations in the company. The HR department is, therefore, a crucial part of the change management process in the organization.  Without the department's understanding of the employees and the models for impending change; any change process proposed by an organization would face a lot of resistance.

David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2016). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases. Pearson.

Question Three

             Data is a gold mine for any competent human resource department. HR needs to leverage information from the data it collects and the data available to it from the other departments such as the finance department to improve the performance of the organization. According to Analoui (2017), gone are the days when HR was relegated to administrative roles, today, HR departments perform strategic functions within organizations.  Success in the delivery of this new mandate hinges on the use of accurate information got from analysis of data at its disposal. Therefore HR departments should take advantage of the information to enable the HR function to meet the needs of the organization.

 HR departments have access to two types of data; financial and non-financial data. Financial data comes from the organization's financial statements such as income statement and balance sheet. In a data-driven HR, information from these financial statements plays an integral role in the planning process.  The data enables the HR department to plan its costs. For-profit business organizations are incorporated to make profits. These businesses, therefore, strive to reduce their costs in order to increase their profit margins. All departments in such organizations strive to contribute to this cost reduction process. HR department consumes a lot of resources and is, therefore, one of the departments that can significantly assist an organization to cut its costs. The department can help the company reduce its hiring costs.  This can be achieved through ensuring the department reduces the company's employees' rate of turnover. Controlling the rate at which employees leave the organization will ensure the company significantly reduces its hiring budget.

 Secondly, the department can also reduce its training costs. According to Cohen (2017), training is a vital process for employees' development and the performance of any organization. However, training is a costly affair that significantly increases a company's overhead costs. The HR department can help the company reduce this cost by conducting effective training needs assessment to enable them only finance training programs that are necessary and have the ability to directly improve the performance of the organization.   These factors will significantly reduce the expense section of the income statement resulting in increased profit margins for the organization.

 Financial data can also enable the HR department to evaluate employee level of performance.  The income statement contains the profits generated by a company within a given trading period. Analysis of a series of profits figures will show the HR department a trend in the performance of the company.  If the company's income is in a constant downward trajectory, the HR department can implement strategies to help return the company to profitability. From the data, the HR manager can assess the quality of the employees hired to work for the organization.  The success of a company to a large extent depends on the quality of employees hired. If the employees lack the relevant skills to make quality products or engage with customers, the company is likely to experience a reduction in sales and ultimately profits. Therefore, the profits data from the income statement helps HR managers to evaluate the quality of employees they have hired and their level of motivation. 

Data from financial records also helps the HR managers plan for their organization's employee training needs. Income statements show the level of revenue generated by each segment of the organization's business. If the company has three lines of products, the income statement will state the level of sales made by each product. This enables the HR manager to critique human capital issues that might be responsible for a reduction in the volume of sales made a particular product.  Such analysis often yields gaps between what the customers expected and the actual services or products delivered by the employees of the company.  After identifying the gap, the HR manager, therefore, recommends training methods that help to address the problem to increase the product's sales in the market.

HR also has access to non-financial data. These are data it collects from employees and those it receives from the other departments such as the marketing department.   HR managers have data on changing consumer's tastes and preferences in the market. This type of data is provided to the HR department by the marketing department. For the business to survive and retain its profitability in the market, the HR manager should plan the organization's hiring strategy in relation to the changes. For instance, if consumers are more responsive to young sales attendants, the department should change its hiring criteria when it comes to hiring sales attendants to meet the needs of the consumers. Additionally, the data about changing consumer trends also informs the HR manager the type of training the employees should receive to enable their skills to match consumers changing expectations.

The HR department also has absenteeism records of all the employees in the organization. Absenteeism is a costly practice for any organization since it results in lost productivity. When employees fail to report for work; the few employees who turn up have to do more work to cover for the absent ones. This compromises the quality of output given the employees. Employees fail to report to work for various reasons. For instance, some employees fail to show up for work because they are poorly motivated to do so.  Analysis of absenteeism data will enable the HR department to know the reasons behind their high rate of absenteeism. This helps the company in creating policies that control the rate of absenteeism thus increasing the performance of the company.

HR managers also have access to staff satisfaction data.   This data plays a crucial role in the planning process. The company cannot easily plan for new activities to be implemented by employees who are not satisfied with the work they are doing or the pay they are getting for the work they are doing. According to Huang, Meschke and Guthrie (2015), low staff satisfaction significantly affects the performance of an organization. The HR department must, therefore, look for ways of motivating employees to boost their level of satisfaction before the organization implements any plan.

Analoui, F. (2017). The changing patterns of human resource management. Routledge.

Cohen, E. (2017). Employee training and development. In CSR for HR (pp. 153-162). Routledge.

Huang, M., Meschke, F., & Guthrie, J. P. (2015). Family firms, employee satisfaction, and corporate performance. Journal of Corporate Finance, 34, 108-127.

Question Four

As a human resource professional, the knowledge gained from this section will significantly improve my productivity. The knowledge gained will be implemented in my actual practice in the following ways; first, I will ensure our HR department engages in strategic planning for the organization. The department's basic functions such as hiring and selection will be done in accordance with the organization's strategic plans. Additionally, I will also only recommend training activities that are in line with the vision of the company.  I will also ensure all my decisions are guided by extensive data analysis.  The department has access to both financial and non-financial data.  These data will be analyzed on a regular basis to inform the decisions I will make as the HR manager of the organization. Furthermore, I will directly ensure the HR department plays a direct role in improving the performance of the organization. This role will be achieved by formulating and implanting policies geared towards granting the company competitive advantage in the market.   The performance of the department in its attempt to achieve its objective will also be measured periodically. This evaluation will be done through analyzing both traditional and modern performance indices. The results of such evaluations will inform future plans of the department.

Part A

Question One

Being an HR professional in the modern business world means the following; first, the ability to build yourself, the team and the organization. Human resource professionals should possess the ability to improve their own skills. This is vital since they are expected to use the skills in the development of teams of the organization they are working for.  Secondly, it means being an expert in the changing roles of HRM.  Traditionally, HRM was mainly tasked with solely taking care of the welfare of the employees. The department therefore only performed administrative duties. However, today much is expected from the department. It is required to be strategic in its functions. 

   Modern HR professionals should, therefore, be experts of these new requirements to enable them to have the ability to deliver as required in the contemporary business world.  Without these skills, the HR managers will find it extremely difficult to work since they are no longer expected to only focus on employees but also other facets of the organization such as performance.  Thirdly,   modern human resource professionals need to be experts in change management.  The modern business world is competitive and keeps changing. These changes, therefore, require organizations to also make frequent internal changes. An HR professional should, therefore, posse the ability to successfully implement a change.

Question Two

HR professionals should possess the following skills, behaviors, and knowledge.  They are required to have advanced knowledge of resource and talent planning.  Organizations have limited resources that need to subdivide amongst several departments. HR department receives a portion of these resources to enable the department to run its activities. HR professionals should, therefore, have the knowledge that enables them to spend the resources prudently and in areas, they yield maximum returns. Additionally, they are expected to be able to have the ability to manage the organization's talent. This involves ensuring the best employees do not leave the organization and are given jobs they can excel at. HR professionals are also expected to possess knowledge of employee relations. According to Brewster (2017), the management of employees' affairs is one of the oldest roles of the HR department.  HR professionals must, therefore, be knowledgeable in employee relations to enable then deliver this mandate.

Apart from the knowledge, HR professionals are expected to have the following behaviors; first, be role models.  According to Hsiao, Auld and Ma (2015), employees often emulate the actions of their leaders. HR professionals are employees' direct leaders. They take care of all their grievances and payments. Employees' often look up to them for guidance and direction. They should, therefore, carry themselves in a manner that inspires good behavior among their subordinates.  Secondly, they are also expected to be decisive thinkers. Zahra et al. (2018) opine that HR professionals make decisions that affect employees and the organization on a daily basis. This needs them to be decisive thinkers. They should be able to stand and defend their decisions however good or bad they are. For instance, HR managers can make a decision to retrench some employees in order to reduce the organization's payroll liability. However bad such a decision is for employees, HR professionals should not have a problem making such tough decisions.

HR professionals should be excellent communicators.  Communication is a vital skill for HR professionals because of the following reasons; first, it enables them to mediate and solve conflicts that arise amongst the employees of the organization. Secondly, it enables them to interact with employees as they communicate policy changes.

Brewster, C. (2017). Human resource practices in multinational companies. The Blackwell Handbook of Cross‐Cultural Management, 126-141.

Hsiao, A., Auld, C., & Ma, E. (2015). Perceived organizational diversity and employee behavior. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 48, 102-112.

Zahra, S. S., Khan, M. I., Imran, M., Aman, Q., & Ali, R. (2018). The relationship between job stress and turnover intentions in the pesticide sector of Pakistan: An employee behavior perspective. Management Issues in Healthcare System, 4, 1-12.         

Question Three

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) map has got professional areas that determine what HR professionals need to do and the knowledge they need to possess in order to do the roles identified. For instance, the map specifies organizational design as a role that HR professionals need to accomplish. This role involves accessing the operating model of the organization and designing a hierarchy for the flow of information and ultimately deciding the chain of command.

 Furthermore, it highlights the evaluation method required to ascertain the successful implementation of the role.  Additionally, the CIPD map highlights the behavior and skills the HR professional needs to possess to effectively accomplish the role identified.  For instance, for organizational design, the HR professionals need to be decisive thinkers. According to McPeck (2016), decisive thinkers critically think about their decisions, make and adopt them without going back and forth.  The map, therefore, offers vital insights into the roles expected of each HR professional and the accompanying behavior and skills they should inculcate to enable them to execute the roles identified.  The CIPD map is, therefore, a crucial resource that is important for all human resource professionals due to its ability to analyze their job description in a simple pie chart exhaustively.

McPeck, J. E. (2016). Critical thinking and education. Routledge.

Question Four

The concepts from this section that will influence my practice as an HR professional include: first, the skills HR professionals are expected to have. These skills will significantly influence my practice since I will work hard to develop those I do not possess. Secondly, I am knowledgeable in all areas of knowledge identified in the CIPD map. This will ensure I have all the skills and knowledge needed to excel as a HR professional. Additionally, the segment focused on the behaviors HR professionals   need to develop in order to excel in the career. For instance the CIPD map highlighted the importance of being a decisive thinker. Human resource professionals often make difficult decisions; for instance those involving firing employees.  Learning about these behaviors will play a crucial role improving my ability to make such decisions when the time comes. Apart from behaviors, the segment also focused on functional areas HR professionals should focus on. As young HR professionals, I will focus on areas such as employee relations. This will ensure I solve all the conflicts among the employees and between the employees and the organization. Also, I will devote time to perfectly understand employee performance by looking at ways of motivating employees and evaluating their performance.

Part B

Part C

Question one

The continuous development self-assessment focuses on evaluating my abilities as an HR professional to evaluate employee performance and how to reward employees. Employee performance significantly depends on how they are rewarded. Therefore, as a HR professional, I have to master the art of adequately rewarding employees in order to motivate them to increase their performance. A keen analysis of my favorite methods for reward employees shows too much use of financial incentives.  This method has proven effective in motivating the older employees but registers a little impact on the performance of the younger employees. This, therefore, shows a weakness in my ability to effectively reward employees. Secondly, I have realized I prefer traditional methods of performance evaluation to modern methods of evaluating the performance of employees. These people focused approach on performance evaluation methods such as using key performance indicators and staff surveys play a vital role in highlighting the performance of the employees. However, they fail to take into account the effects the organization and the business environment has on the performance of the organization and that of the employees. This one-sided assessment of the organization's performance has often resulted in biased data concerning the performance of the employees and the reasons behind the reduction in performance of the employees. The surprising factors realized in the assessment is the duration it has taken before realizing the reward methods used by the organization has a negligible impact on the performance of the employee of the organization.  The assignment has therefore enlightened me on areas I need to improve on as a HR professional.

Question Two

CPD plan

CPD record

Part D

Question One

According to Tuckman's group theory, a group dynamic has the following elements; first. Forming this is the first state in the group formation. This stage is characterized by confusion and chaos. The confusion witnessed in the stage stems from a lack of leadership in the group (Forsyth, 2018).

Additionally the purpose of the group is not yet defined and members do not know what to do. Also, group members take this time to know each other. This stage should not be rushed to enable the members to know each other and build trust. The second stage is the storming stage. This stage is characterized by conflicts. The conflicts witnessed stems from member tendency to question group rules and objectives. Additionally, members also fight for leadership positions within the group.  This is often a critical stage in group dynamics since failure to resolve the conflicts and split the group.  

The third stage is the norming stage. This stage is characterized by reduced levels of conflicts. Members know each other and recognize their individual weaknesses. Hiss makes them accommodative and peaceful. Additionally, the group has well-developed leadership structure that prevents most conflicts. The fourth stage is the performance stage.  In this stage, the group has matured and focuses on delivering its mandate. Members completely understand each other and there are significantly low levels of conflicts. There is cohesiveness among the group member. The entire members know their roles and are focused on attaining the objectives set for them. Decision-making process is rational making members focused on relevant issues rather than emotional goals.

The fifth step is the adjournment of the group. This is the last step in the group formation process.  This stage is characterized by zero conflicts. Members do not want the group to be adjourned because of the bond they have formed working together. Groups in this stage are adjourned mostly because they have attained their objective. However, not all groups go through this process.  Group dynamic knowledge is vital for human resource professionals because of the following reasons; first, it enables them to manage the groups they create in the organization to handle specific tasks.  Secondly, the information enables human resource professionals to understand the behavior of employees since the organization has the same dynamics as those experienced in a group since the workplace unites employees from different backgrounds just like a group.  Therefore HR professionals need to a proper understanding of Tuckman's theory of group formation to increase their efficiency in handling employees.

Forsyth, D. R. (2018). Group dynamics. Cengage Learning.

Question Two

Conflicts within a group setting might arise because of the following reasons; first, conflicts over opinions. During discussions, a group member can create two or more strong opinions. Discussing these points can easily result in conflicts as each team will vehemently support an opinion creating a chaotic scene. To resolve this type of conflict, the group leader should allow each team to present its idea without interruption and the find common facts from all the ideas and rally the team members behind the new idea.  

Groups also experience conflicts that stem from personality clashes (Levi, 2015). In this case, some members find they have different personalities making it difficult for them to work together. To resolve this type of conflict; the group leader should make the members aware of their personality differences and also remind them about the objectives of the group. This will make them objective and not emotional reducing the tension between them. Thirdly, conflicts arise in groups as members scramble for leadership positions. To solve this type of conflict, the process of electing leaders should be open to all and fair. Those who think they can lead area asked to outline their agenda for the group and then the members asked to vote. The voting should be done through a secret ballot. The group members will be satisfied with the winner because the process was fair and open 

Levi, D. (2015). Group dynamics for teams. Sage Publications.

Question three

The success of a project depends on the project manager's skills.  As a project manager, I have often relied on the following skills; first, risk management.  According to Bessis (2015), risk management refers to the process or reducing the possibility of a risk occurring of the level of damage caused should the risk occur. Suppliers have often posed the biggest risk to any project am I handling.  Most suppliers can fail or deliver vital raw materials required to complete a project. To mitigate this risk, I often work with two or more suppliers.  In case one fails to deliver, the other one is contracted, reducing the amount of time wasted.  Secondly, as a project manager, I also take my time to identify relevant resources vital for the successful completion of the project. For instance, I take my time before selecting the team of employees I work within any project. Human capital is a vital resource and should, therefore, be identified and selected with utmost care to ensure the team consists of qualified and competent people who are able to deliver the projects set goals and objectives.  Risk management and resource identification are two skills that have always ensured success in projects I have managed. 

Bessis, J. (2015). Risk management in banking. John Wiley & Sons.

Question Four

As a project manager, I often identify problems through analysis of the facts and events in the project. For instance, a keen analysis of the behavior of team members can help one pick up relationship problems among the team members. This method has often helped me identify problems before they derail the project. The problems identified are often solved through negotiation.  According to Rojot (2016), negotiation is a conflict resolution method that enables conflicting parties to find a common ground that enables them to work together. Unity is a vital aspect for the successful completion and delivery of a project.  To achieve this, I often negotiate with the conflicting parties helping them to reach a middle ground that can enable them to work together peacefully.

Rojot, J. (2016). Negotiation: from theory to practice. Springer.

Question five

As a project manager, negotiation has always robed to be an invaluable tool in the course of my duties.  When heading a project that had was supposed to discuss and come up with a new code of conduct for the organization; two members of the teams working in the project started confronting each other. Their confrontation was caused by a difference in opinion. It first started as a light disagreement but later developed to a full-scale disagreement that reduced the productivity of the team. As the project manager, I stepped in to resolve the conflict. 

Negotiation was the best method that could quickly solve the issue and get the team back on track to enable them to make up for the lost time.  According to Brett and Thompson (2016), finding a middle ground increases the chances of conflicting parties working together. I, therefore, resolved to establish a middle ground to solve the problem before it blew out of proportion. The goal of the negotiation was to restore peace and a good working relationship between the two members. To achieve this, I made the two parties aware of the tradeoff they had to make to restore peace within the group. They were to shelve their differences in opinion and work together or face severe punishments that included being expelled from the project.  When faced with this option, the two members removed emotions from their arguments and objectively aired their points. The three of us found a middle ground which was satisfactory to all the members resulting in a peaceful working environment. Negotiation is often successful a method of resolving conflicts because it offers the ability to trade off a position in order to create peace. The conflict between the members was also easy to resolve because they had the same level of authority.

Brett, J., & Thompson, L. (2016). Negotiation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136, 68-79.

Question Seven

The exercise has provided invaluable lessons that will play an integral role in my human resource practice.  First, the skills gained from learning group dynamics will be applied in the creation of functional groups within the organization.  Tuckman's theory will help me assess the progress of the group in terms of its development as it attempts to achieve its objectives. Secondly, the segment also focused on project management. HR professionals are always in charge of several projects within the HR department.  For instance, coming up with a new and inclusive code of conduct are some of the projects handled by HR professionals. The knowledge gained from the exercise will, therefore, come in handy in helping to manage risks that occur during such projects.

Additionally, the lessons will help direct how I create objectives and measure deliverables expected from the project. Thirdly, the exercise also focused on conflict resolution and management; HR professionals spend most of their time handling employees' related issues.  This involves solving conflicts that arise among the employees in the organization. The art of negotiation will be an invaluable tool in solving conflicts among the employees of the organization.  It will help restore peace and cooperation among the employees of the organization.