Resourcing Talent Assignment

Activity A (1000 words) 4 factors that affect an organization’s approach to attracting talent| * The type of talent they look to attract: I mean which competencies will be more suitable to the job they want. * The sector which the organization is operating in. As some sectors are much easier to find the talents than others. As sometimes so sectors got many employees working in than others for instance, in Egypt, It is much easier to find talents in Tourism and hospitality sector than to find in Nuclear energy sector! Corporate culture and how they accept the new employees: As this a major factor that would affect their approach; I mean to do it publicly so the employees know that the company is hiring a new CEO or that should be done secretly. * The size of the company is a crucial factor: Big businesses impress job candidates by offering a bevy of benefits, brand-name recognition and maybe even a big coffee brand name in the lobby of the company. The power of their brand: is definitely would affect their way. As big brands are easily to attract talents compared to a nameless brand.The resources available to them (financial and otherwise) that is why they would chose an easy to way to attract the talent (the recruitment method they would use) and their selection methods would be very tough to select the best from the big pool of candidates they get (attracting company). | 3 organization benefits of attracting and retaining a diverse workforce| Recruitment reflections benefit:Recruiting and maintaining a diverse workforce has its effect on the talents pool that any organization has in its blood stream.Widening the view for recruitment for all ethnic groups, different sexes, and different religions will definitely help to have all types of talents in the same place that will be reflected on the business outcomes. Reputation:Enhancing the organization’s reputation and image with external stakeholders. Many observational studies and surveys have tried to explore this area and its impact on any organization and its business.One of them had a reflective results, as its findings revealed that of the people surveyed that were currently employed, 58 percent would take a job with a company that had a bad reputation of diversity if they were offered more money. However, on average, these individuals would only consider the job if offered double their current salary. So it is quite clear how diversity in the workplace is now considered one of the attractions to any employee and how its absence would affect the cost of operations. Culture benefit:Managing better the impact of globalization and technological changeImproving knowledge of how operate in different cultures. 3 factors that affect an organization’s approach to recruitment and selection| Legal framework and working ethics:As the unlawful discrimination is prohibited, fairness and equality of opportunity could have legal requirements to be considered in the recruitment an d selection processes. Budget:Budget is one of the crucial issues in any organization approach to recruitment and selection. For different types of recruitment methods, they have a variable cost; For example: the price of online recruitment websites is very low if compared to other recruitment methods like head hunters.And relying on different selection methods is highly affected by the budget, such as relying on assessment centers needs expertise and more cost compared to CV database, and so on. Availability of required job or post: Knowing how many people are specialized in the vacant positions will affect the approach of the organization to recruitment and selections methods. I mean for instance, if we are looking for a vacant position of janitor, there will be no need to have an online ad or national press ad or assessment center as a tool to select the candidates.While if we got a vacant of senior consultant IT or business expert, definitely these functions and tools might be a pplied to recruit because we might need a high voice tool to reach everywhere so online or press ads might work and also this post is not common to find. How important is the post for the organization and it is level on the structureThe level that the vacant position is working in in any organization definitely would affect the approach of any organization to select the recruitment and selection methods to use.For example, if the required employee is in the high level or for executive position, those people who might be interested are not normally, at least in our region, apply through general email or address though, so head hunters might be a great tool for such positions. | Discussion comparing and contrasting the benefits of 3 different selection methods| 1. Assessment centers * They are far more accurate than a standard recruitment process as they allow a broader range of selection methods to be used during the process. They enable interviewers to assess existing performance as well as predict future job performance. * They give the opportunity to assess and differentiate between candidates who seem very similar in quality on paper. * They give the candidates a better insight into the role as they are tested on exercises typical for the role they have applied for. * They help employers build an employer brand. Candidates who attend assessment centres which genuinely reflect the job and the organisation are often impressed by that company, even if they are rejected. The cost of an assessment centre is usually cheaper compared with the potential cost of many recruitment phases and the cost of recruitment errors. * They are a fair process – they complement an organisation’s diversity agenda and ensure that people are selected on the basis of merit alone. 2. Typical and structured interviewsWhen it comes to evaluating the advantages of typical structured interviews, the main advantage is that all the applicants have an equal opportunity to prove that they have the required skills and experience for the job.Additionally, as an initial selection process, the structured interview questions are basically set up in a manner which allows the interviewer to obtain all the initial data as well as professional details that he or she would want to know about every applicant. 3. Telephone screening * Telephone interviews are simpler to arrange, and the process itself takes much less time than face-to-face interview sessions. * When using this method as an initial screening process, the cost of interviewing a large number of candidates is much lower than if they were interviewed in person. Telephone interviewing also cuts costs when candidates live far away, since most businesses reimburse interviewee travel expenses. Using the telephone to screen out unsuitable candidates can greatly reduce these costs. * This format is an ideal way to assess a candidate's telephone manner. This is particularly helpful if the job requires telephone c ommunication skills or is heavily customer-service based. | Activity B-Portfolio and Interview Observation Introduction The HR department has followed a recruitment process for filling a vacancy request for â€Å"Office Manager† at ALICO.The recruitment process outlined below highlights the main elements for filling this vacancy which includes: Planning: Identifying need for recruitment Setting the criteria for the job ( drafting job description, person specifications, set of competencies) Resourcing: drafting a job ad Short listing: interview-based competency Selection Offer of Employment Reason for Recruitment There are three main reasons why we are recruiting for the position of â€Å"Office Manager† at our company: 1) Growth in Business Operations: Our insurance company is growing and consequently the business is increasing.We need employ a senior staff member to manage the growing number increasing set of responsibilities and functions at the First Nations Office. 2) Change in Business Objectives: Need for diversity in terms of nationality is necessary to align with the trend of Emiratisation across business sectors in the UAE. In this case, a Emirati national would be preferred as likely candidate to fill this position. 3) Employee Exit: the person previously in charge running the overall office services at the First Nations Office has been re-located to another branch in a different country.A new team member is required to run the existing operation and ensure efficiency and control over them and in case of additional functions. Job Description Position: Office Manager PURPOSE The office Manager is responsible for organizing and coordinating office operations and procedures in order to ensure organizational effectiveness and efficiency. SCOPE The Office Manager reports to the senior Administrative Office and is responsible for providing office management services to the First National Office.This includes maintain office services and effic iency, suprrvisi9ng office staff and maintain office records. RESPONSIBILITIES Maintain Office Services Main Activities Design and implement office policies Establish standards and procedures Organize office operations and procedures Supervise office staff Monitor and record long distance calls Prepare time sheets Control correspondence Review and supply requisitions Liase with other agencies, organizations and groups Update organizational memberships Maintain office equipment Supervise Office StaffAssign and monitor clerical and secretarial functions Recruit and select office staff Orient and train employees Provide on the job and other training opportunities Supervise staff Evaluate staff performance Coaching and disciplining staff Maintain Office Records Design filing system Ensure filing systems are maintained Define procedures for record retention Ensure protection and security of files and records Ensure effective transfer of files and records Transfer and dispose records acco rding to retention schedules and policies Ensure personnel files are up to date and secure.Maintain Office Efficiency Plan and implement office system, layout and system procurement Maintain and replenish inventory Check stock to determine inventory levels Anticipate needed supplies Verify receipt of supply Perform other related duties as required. 3. Person Specification Form Position Required:Office Manager Department:First Nations Office Location:Abu Dhabi | Essential| Desirable| Assessment Method| Qualification| | | | BA in Business Management or equivalent | X| | CV| CIPD certificate in HR| | X| CV| Experience| | | |Minimum 4 years in Management| X| | CV| Minimum 2 years in HR functions| | X| CV| Knowledge and skills| | | | Ability to use MS Office competently| X| | Interview| Ability to design and manage administrative systems| X| | CV, interview| Writing procedures and policies| X| | Interview| Basic Financial skills| | X| Interview| Managing records| X| | Interview| Good ora l and writing skills in Arabic and English| x| | Interview| Excellent Organization skills| X| | Interview| Knowledge of time management applications| X| | Interview| Leadership skills| X| | CV, Interview|Mentoring and coaching| | X| Interview| Interview Assessment Form Candidate's Name:Hayya Al Ali Post:Office Manager Panelists:Monette, Mustafa, Moamen, Abdulaziz Date:27th June 2012 Score (1-5)1 No-low evidence 5 Meets competency fully| Comments| Competencies | 3| * Candidate seemed confident and has a positive attitude. * Demonstrated interest in working for ALICO * Candidate showed â€Å"initiative† since she gave brief information about ALICO * She is familiar with IT systems due to her academic formation. * CIPD certificate provides knowledge on HR. She has knowledge on how to combine HR and IT | -Overall Impression-Academic/Work Experience * Why have you chosen to apply to this position? * Tell me about a typical day at work? * Why did you decide to do the CIPD certifica te? How are you applying it? | 4| * Displayed fluency in English and Arabic * Able to express herself easily * Low tone when speaking but confident * Displayed coordination skills with large groups (10+) as per her role in committees. * Displayed skills in communicating message across to staff through her induction program which she gives across departments. She gave examples on how empathy and listening skills helped her build rapport with her team members. * Able to communicate with senior managers and entry level employees * Displayed her skill in convincing and influencing where she argued her case regarding an employee based on evidence and the benefit for the company. * Displayed experience in presentation design and delivery through her work in committees and induction| Essential CompetencyCommunication and InfluenceCommunicates clearly and effectively with a wide variety of people both formally and informally. . Please explain a time or situation when you had to communicate your views or ideas to senior management to get support? 2. What were the problems encountered? How did you handle them? 3. Here you mentioned committee involvement, tell me more about this experience. | 4| * Displayed skill in working within a tight timeframe and prioritizing tasks according to an action plan. * Able to balance work and personal life where she mentioned that â€Å"time management† is an area she improved with time. Displayed planning skills in her ability to design workflow for the Orientation program. * Identified essential skills for planning which include team discussions, research, benchmarking, setting objectives and implementation. | Essential CompetencyPlanning and Organizing Tendency to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others 1. Tell me about an example where you had to plan and organize a task in a short time-frame. 2. Tell me about your experience in designing the Orientation program. Who did it involve? 3.What a re the tools that you used for recruitment and selection since you did that in your previous job? | 3| * Showed experience in leadership skills through her involvement in various committees where she acted as President. * Acquired skills in leadership by attending a multitude of forums on the subject * Showed experience in managing and coordinating team activities and assign/delegate responsibilities (approximately 17 people) * Managing â€Å"emotional situations† with staff with empathy. * Displayed firmness if employees do not complete a task they have been assigned. Identified that lessons learned from leadership are: planning, being firm and having people accountable for their work. * Tries to sympathize and listen to employees. | Essential CompetencyLeadership Promotes and generate of cooperation among the team to achieve a collective outcome 1. In your resume, you mention that you have â€Å"leadership† skills, can you elaborate more on this? How many people did you manage in your last job? what did you learn from that experience? 2. What are the best ways of improving the performance of a team? 3.Demonstrate how you use your leadership skills to achieve project 4. What did you learn? 5. Please describe a time when you had to provide feedback to others on their performance. How did you go 6. What kind of feedback did you provide? | 3| * She displayed professionalism and confidence when facing a conflict whereby she maintained her position or opinion bc it is based on facts and respected other people's different opinion. * She seems a bit â€Å"stubborn† regarding her opinions which are based on facts. * Identified that â€Å"best practice† and policies are the best way to address a problem r make a decision * She respects the hierarchy of the organization and the decision making process should respect that hierarchy. | Desirable CompetencyDecision-Making and problem solving (Desirable)Tendency to make swift decisions and judgm ents even in the absence of all necessary information. 1. Give me an example where you had to make decisions in the absence of your Manager? 2. How did it go? 3. What did you learn? 4. Tell me about a time when you had conflicting priorities and what you did to resolve them. 5. What kind of problems do you handle best? 2| * Uses IT in analysis at her work. * Developed a new system that combines IT and HR that can produce data and statistics relevant for HR and Finance. * Knowledge in ERP systems and KPI development. | Desirable CompetencyData Analysis (Desirable)Tendency to analyze, organize, understand and present data. 1. What kind of IT skills did you acquire? How did you apply this in your work? 2. Tell me about a system you developed that helped organize the data. | 3| * Candidate interested in the job since she feels that it provides growth to her career | General Comments|Interview Evaluation ( group discussion)| * Considerable experienced in all HR functions * Sufficient kno wledge of management of office operations ( skills in IT and time management) * Good record in leadership and supervisory skills * Confident and organized. * Good skills in starting new projects * Has good initiative and self-motivation * May not have sufficient basic financial skills but is knowledgeable in excel sheets | DecisionCandidate is accepted for the position and offer letter to be sent by recruitment office. Signature †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ALICO Insurance LLC P. O. Box 2. UAE, Abu Dhabi Phone 00000000 – Fax 11111111 June 27, 2012 Hayyah Al Ali 11603, Abu Dhabi Dear Ms Al Ali, ALICO is pleased to offer you a job as an Office Manager of the First Nations Office located in Abu Dhabi. We trust that your knowledge, skills and experience will be among our most valuable assets. Sh ould you accept this job offer, per company policy you'll be eligible to receive the following beginning on your hire date. Salary: 45,000 AED monthlyBenefits: ALICO provided benefits for employees, including the following: Education assistance Health, dental, life and disability insurance Profit sharing Vacation and personal days To accept or decline this job offer: Sign and date this job offer letter where indicated below. Fax all pages of this job offer letter back to us. This offer is valid for one month from the date of send. If we didn’t receive any reply from you within a month this offer will be cancelled. For any clarifications, kindly contact Recruitment Department, Phone 897987789.We hope to welcome you on board personally. Sincerely, Abdulaziz Ali Recruitment Manager, Human Resources Accept Job Offer By signing and dating this letter below, I, Hayyah Al Ali, accept the job offer of Office Manager by ALICO. Signature:_________________________________ Date:_________ ____ Decline Job Offer By signing and dating this letter below, I, Hayyah Al Ali, decline the job offer of Office Manager by ALICO. Signature:_________________________________ Date:_____________ ALICO Insurance LLC P. O. Box 2. UAE, Abu Dhabi Phone 00000000 – Fax 11111111 June 27, 2012Mr. Moamen Azab 11603, Abu Dhabi Dear Ms Mary, We appreciate your interest in ALICO and the position of ‘Office Manager’ for which you applied. Though the selection committee appreciates the time you invested during the panel interview, it has selected another candidate who has experience in human resources-a main requirement for the position. Thank you for interviewing with our team. Everyone enjoyed meeting you and we hope that you consider applying for our open positions for which you qualify in the future Sincerely, Abdulaziz Ali Recruitment Manager, Human Resources

International Journal of Technology Management and Sustainable Development

The last decade has witnessed the emergence of an array of increasingly vibrant movements to harness science and technology (S&T) in the quest for a transition toward sustainability. These movements take as their point of departure a widely shared view that the challenge of sustainable development is the reconciliation of society's development goals with the planet's environmental limits over the long term. In seeking to help meet this sustainability challenge, the multiple movements to harness science and technology for sustainability focus on the dynamic interactions between nature and society, with equal attention to how social change shapes the environment and how environmental change shapes society. These movements seek to address the essential complexity of those interactions, recognizing that understanding the individual components of nature society systems provides insufficient understanding about the behaviour of the systems themselves. They are problem driven, with the goal of creating and applying knowledge in support of decision making for sustainable development. Finally, they are grounded in the belief that for such knowledge to be truly useful it generally needs to be â€Å"coproduced† through close collaboration between scholars and practitioners. The research and applications program that has begun to emerge from these movements has been called sustainability science by the National Research Council. This Special Feature high-lights this emerging program and some of the new results it is beginning to produce. The need for sustainable development initiatives to mobilize appropriate science and technology has long been recognized. Early research on sustainable yield management of renewable resources provided the foundation for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's seminal World Conservation Strategy, published in 1980. The case for making appropriate research and development (R&D) an integral component of sustainable development strategies was broadened by a number of international scientific organizations during the mid-1980s, promoted by the Brundtland Commission's report Our Common Future in 1987, and enshrined in the Agenda 21 action plan that emerged from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992. Over the succeeding decade, the discussion of how S&T could contribute more effectively to sustainability intensified, involving numerous researchers, practitioners, scientific academies, and development rganizations from around the world. By the time of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg in 2002, a broadly based consensus had begun to take shape on the most important ways in which S&T has already contributed to sustainability, on what new R&D is most important, and on what stands in the way of getting it done. Many of the most valuable contributions of S&T to sustainable development predate the term itself. These range from the â€Å"mundane technologies† that have improved delivery of basic needs for sanitation and cooking, through the yield enhancing, land saving accomplishments of the international agricultural research system, to the fundamental scholarship of geographers and anthropologists on nature society interactions. In more recent times, a host of R&D efforts explicitly aimed at promoting sustainability have been launched. These extend from a rich tradition of work on energy systems and ecosystem resilience to new initiatives in industrial ecology and earth system complexity. A feel for the breadth and scope of relevant R&D now underway around the world is suggested by the rapidly growing list of entries on the virtual â€Å"Forum on Science and Technology for Sustainability†. However, much remains to be done. Perhaps the strongest message to emerge from dialogues induced by the Johannesburg Summit was that the research community needs to complement its historic role in identifying problems of sustainability with a greater willingness to join with the development and other communities to work on practical solutions to those problems. This means bringing our S&T to bear on the highest-priority goals of a sustainability transition, with those goals defined not by scientists alone but rather through a dialogue between scientists and the people engaged in the practice of â€Å"meeting human needs while conserving the earth's life support systems and reducing hunger and poverty†. At the international level, the Johannesburg Summit, building on the United Nations Millennium Declaration, has defined these priorities in terms of the so-called â€Å"WEHAB† targets for water, energy, health, agriculture, and biodiversity. A more systematic study of internationally sanctioned goals and targets for a sustainability transition, together with an evaluation of the state of reporting and assessment on progress in attaining those goals, is provided by Parris and Kates in their contribution to this Special Feature. As important as this international consensus on goals and targets may be for targeting problem-driven research in support of a sustainability transition, however, it is not sufficient. A joint workshop held by the International Council for Sciences, the Third World Academy of Science, and the Initiative on Science and Technology for Sustainability concluded that â€Å"agenda setting at the global, continental, and even national scale will miss a lot of the most important needs. The transcendent challenge is to help promote the relatively `local' (place- or enterprise-based) dialogues from which meaningful priorities can emerge, and to put in place the local support systems that will allow those priorities to be implemented†. Where such systems exist, the production of usable, place-based knowledge for promoting sustainability has been impressive indeed. The commitment of sustainability science to problem-driven agenda setting does not mean that it has been confined to â€Å"applied† research. Indeed, pursuit of practical solutions to the pressing challenges of sustainability has driven the field to tackle an array of fundamental questions. The Friibergh Workshop on Sustainability Science identified a half-dozen such core conceptual questions that have been further developed through the virtual Forum on Science and Technology for Sustainability and are beginning to appear in the context of emerging agendas in other more established fields, such as global environmental change. Examples of the new sorts of research now beginning to emerge on several of those core questions are reported elsewhere in this Special Feature: Kates and Parris on â€Å"How are long-term trends in environment and development reshaping nature–society interactions in ways relevant to sustainability†; Turner et al. on â€Å"What determines the vulnerability or resilience of the nature–society systems in particular kinds of places and for particular types of ecosystems and human livelihoods? ; and Cash et al. on â€Å"How can today's relatively independent activities of research planning, observation, assessment, and decision support be better integrated into systems for adaptive management and societal learning? † The sustainability science program is also beginning to address a range of fundamental observational and methodological challenges. For example, H.  J. Schellnhuber and his colleagues at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research have developed innovative new answers to the question â€Å"How can the dynamic interactions between nature and society—including lags and inertia—be better incorporated in emerging models and conceptualizations that integrate the Earth system, human development, and sustainability. Wolfgang Lucht, writing in the IHDP Update, summarizes current work on answering â€Å"How can today's operational systems for monitoring and reporting on environmental and social conditions be integrated or extended to provide more useful guidance for efforts to navigate a transition toward sustainability and a number of groups are calling for re-examination of national and international social account measures to include sustainability considerations. Activities to advance the sustainability science program are moving forward on a number of fronts and at scales from the global to the local. One of the more up-to-date lists of programs and projects is maintained on the Forum on Science and Technology for Sustainability. As an indication of the range of activities underway internationally, the International Council for Science, Third World Academy of Sciences, Initiative on Science and Technology for Sustainability, and other organizations have formed a Consortium for promoting a coordinated international program of research, capacity building, and applications. The Earth System Science Partnership of the Global Environmental Change Programmes has launched a series of â€Å"Joint Projects on Sustainability† focused on problems of food security, water, and carbon management. An increasing number of international science assessments for environmental protection (e. g. , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Millennium Ecosystem Assessments) are incorporating sustainability concerns. And a rapidly expanding set of multi-stakeholder â€Å"Partnerships for Sustainable Development† are developing in the wake of the Johannesburg Summit. An even greater variety of S&T-based efforts are underway at the local, regional, and national levels around the world. The research products of some of these efforts are beginning to appear in the published literature, although many of the relatively local results remain largely unknown beyond their places of origin and application. Sustainability science is not yet an autonomous field or discipline, but rather a vibrant arena that is bringing together scholarship and practice, global and local perspectives from north and south, and disciplines across the natural and social sciences, engineering, and medicine. Its scope of core questions, criteria for quality control and membership are consequently in substantial flux and may be expected to remain so for some time. Nonetheless, as the papers included in this Special Feature are meant to suggest, something different is surely â€Å"in the air,† something that is intellectually exciting, practically compelling, and might as well be called â€Å"sustainability science. †