The Human Resource Profession Map

1.0 Introduce the CIPD Profession Map and explain how HR professionals and organisations use it.

The CIPD profession map is a general Human Resource platform that explains the requirements of a capable management system (Mayo, 2016). It shows the condition and methods human resource professionals should implement to ensure optimal operations in an organisation. The map provides a proper analysis takes place. HR professional maps offer limited gaps in performance. The choice of a career path depends on the CIPD profession map. It focuses on strategy, insights, leading HR and solution. The subsidiary elements it focuses on include: service delivery, development, employee relationships, organisational development, information, rewards and performance and corporate event. A map is a measuring tool for HR practices around the world. Human resource professionals use the plan for recruitment of new workforce, understanding organisations values and principles, career development and establishing career duties for their employees.

Describe a range of knowledge, activities and behaviours (1 of each), from two selected professional areas, at Band 1 or 2.

CIPD focuses on the behaviours of an organisation. The practices include: drive to deliver, decisive thinking, curious, role model, personal credibility, and the drive to achieve (Ulrich et al.2013). Professionals use the map to enhance the organisation-client relationship. The bands of focus include information provision, support services, client-coach and confidence. The objective is to design the best policies for allocation of resources. It is responsible for formulating and developing activities such as, which services to be offered to clients, time spent and how to measure performance. One of the critical areas for an HR professional is solutions, strategy and insights. Applying Band 1 will involve the professionals’ knowledge and experience to make work decisions. HR uses Band 2 to combine personal expertise and organisational data.    

Show how the elements of the CIPD Profession Map are used to demonstrate what it means to be an HR professional.

The map measures behaviours and knowledge, people output against capabilities and provides recommendations. Strategy, solutions and insights ensure proper understanding of plans, business activities, and organisation and implementation procedure (Harrison, 2011). The business opportunities available forms basis of HR mapping. The organisation must be in a position to analyse the risk associated with the current openings. The organisations’ vision, mission, values, objectives, customers and culture is a critical area for an HR professional.

An HR professional is a role model. HR contribution ensures proper allocation and utilisation of the resources to the workforce. They measure and improve performance in the organisation.  Employee reward is an essential factor in any organisation. The HR is responsible for designing, formulating and implementing a proper reward system for the employees of a company. They must consider some useful elements like employee commitment, loyalty and self-motivation towards the organisation. To come up with appropriate appraisal packages for employees, HR professionals must understand performance evaluation. The HR department must monitor employee performance and formulate strategies to improve their output. The classification of employees from their performance helps identify areas of improvement to ensure the smooth running of an organisation.

1.1Evaluate what it means to be an HR professional concerning the CIPDs most current Profession Map?

A professional HR practitioner must understand all the stakeholders they engage in their operations. The stakeholders in the HR function include employees, customer’s needs, and management. The human resources play four significant roles also known as Bands. The tasks range from Band 1 to Band 4 (Davidson, 2012). The HR focuses on organisation development, talent planning and resourcing, information and service delivery, employee engagement, employee relations, development and learning, reward and performance. A competent HR manager will formulate a perfect mix of operations practices to enhance organisational goal achievements.

The HR must have a clear understanding of the professional areas which consists of solutions, strategy and insights and leading HR. The fields form the fundamental of the profession. They affect all HR professionals. The human resource must clearly understand the organisation structure, practices and value to measure performance and develop beneficial strategies. Through the use of one’s effort or collaborations they measure and build performance in the organisation.

They ensure excellent employer-employee relations. The HR is responsible for maintaining employee records, appraisals and performance evaluation (Dosey et al.2015). They create the workplace culture and set out policies that will increase employees output. They design and build a learning culture to ensure the growth and development of the workforce. The Human resource is responsible for recruitment of skilled labour. HR provides talent to match with jobs to ensure maximum productivity for the organisation.

The human resource professional is responsible for ensuring a proper reward system is in place for the employees. They provide employees who adhere to customer-focused service delivery. They are responsible for doing research that aid in improving the organisation performance. It is the responsibility of the HR to ensure the right organisation design is in place to provide optimal operations in the organisation.

Knowledge from Band 1 employee and engagement: - How to ensure customer satisfaction through well laid out plans and procedures.

Skills/activities from Band 1 employee and engagement: - Help managers to develop strategies, policies and working conditions that will ensure the effective delivery of output.

Behaviours: - Personally credible and collaborative.

Knowledge from Band 2 employee and engagement: - How to manage team or individuals to get best possible answers

Skills and activities from Band 2 employee and engagement:-enable HR to put a working talent to match to job specification to ensure best results.

Behaviours:-Individual

Knowledge from Band 1 reward and performance: - Assist the manager to develop best remuneration plans working with the management.

Skills and activities from Band 1 employees and reward: - Help managers how to decide the deserving salaries for employees.

 Behaviour:-Individual/collective.

Knowledge from Band 2 reward and employees: - Assist managers how to develop the mindset of employees to focus on customer satisfaction.

Skills and behaviours from Band 2 reward and employees: - Enable the HR train and develop their employees towards customer satisfaction

Behaviour:-Collective

1.2ACTIVITY 2 GROUP DYNAMICS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Select a theory/model to describe the factors which influence group dynamics. Apply this theory to an example of team development.

As an active member of the journalism club on campus, I have had to deal with group dynamics (Forsty 2018). The society has over fifty members. According to Dr.Tuckman, it is best to analyse the life cycle of a team. Belbin, on the other hand, established Team roles (Hanon & Zhang 2017). He illustrates ways of interrelating and contributing in teams. Group dynamics fall a triangle which is task, process and support.

Forming is the first stage of group dynamics (Brock et al.2017). It is the stage where the members’ behaviour is independent. There is no structure developed at this point. It is a familiarisation stage. The focus of discussions taking place is to improve the scope and tasks of the group. Laid down procedure on how to achieve the purpose of the group is available. A leader duty is guiding the group. During our first meeting at the journalism club, we elected leaders, set our goals and time frame of achieving our objectives. The group roles were clearly defined and activity schedule introduced to members of the team. At this stage, members got to learn the weaknesses and strengths of each member. Team roles established at the forming step. Members feared to contribute at this stage for fear of causing conflict among other team members. In the cases where the competitive nature of different members on roles occur, confrontations resolution is swift.

Norming stage occurs when there are consensus and agreements in the decision making. The responsibilities and roles are defined, and the group moves ahead with their operations. At the journalism club, it is at during this stage that members approved the leaders and assigned roles to different individuals in the group. Every member knows their role and responsibility in the group. Group coordination is designed in at this stage. The suitable person for the position takes charge.  New ideas face a steep hurdle as members are focused on the already laid down plans.

At the performing stage, the team is aware of its goals and purposes. The members are knowledgeable and motivated. The normal functioning of the team can run without the presence of a leader. Belbin procedure is to ensure high performance. At the journalism club, everyone understood their role. After a period teams may recruit more members or disband when they achieve their goals. Belbin focuses on Team Roles. Individual members can express their preference and what works for the best. A clear structure on how to resolve conflicts is present.

Describe two examples of conflict resolution methods/models and apply these methods/models to a case of conflict that did/may occur.

Conflicts occur in an organisation when the needs, values or interest of parties involved contradict each other (Wellensteen, 2015). The most used conflict resolution method is collaboration also known as win-win. The partnership consists of formulating a middle ground for the conflicting parties involved. Conflict is as an opportunity where mutual benefit strategy can be expressed (Singer, 2018).  The method of conflict resolution is to ensure long-term relationships, plausible deniability and collaboration among all involved parties. It addresses the interest of many parties. There has to exist trust among stakeholders for cooperation to be fruitful. The main benefit of collaboration is that a problem/conflict is solved. The downside of a win-win situation is that it consumes a lot of time to reach into an agreement.

Withdrawing/avoiding is a popular method of conflict resolution. It is where parties/individual leave alone their grievances. They decide to overlook their issues (Barksey 2014). Withdrawal is appropriate where a possibility of winning is limited. It is used to protect general interests while disregarding less important matters. It is the best method when an individual where one of the parties involved shows aggression. The benefit of withdrawing is that one gets a chance to strategise before making informed decisions. The main disadvantage of using withdrawing as a method of conflict resolutions is that one loses their position and can affect their status with other party members who do not support the idea.

In the media firm where I worked, conflicts arose between journalists and editors. It was difficult to decide which articles were to appear on the cover page. Most journalists wanted their items to look on the cover page. The editors focused on what will sell most. Interest bases approach (IBR) in conflict resolution involve separation of emotions from conflict. According to William Ury and Roger Fisher, the role of a manager is conflict resolution. The managers ensure the members are understood and respected. The approach provides conflict management is civil (Njoku, 2017). Members are advised to behave in a calm way across the board. The manager teaches members to understand one another perspective in an issue. Using IBR theory, the management was able to explain to the journalist the criteria for choosing cover page articles. The journalist got the chance to develop their skills to get a cover page slot. Thomas Clint Instrument (TKI) would be very beneficial in solving conflicts in our group. TKI analyses the conflict situation and prescribes the best solution. Team building, stress reduction and performance improvements policies would ensure synergy in our group.  

Activity 3 Project management

2.1Summarise a recent or current business project (large or small) which you are familiar with (leading or as part of a project team). (Brief context).

I was part of a team in a local bank that needed to establish policies that will inform financial decision. Our task was to formulate reliable data and resource utilisation to ensure consistency in our operations.  The objective of this project was to get rid of old systems and spreadsheets. The management wanted to access all their data in one order. The business system integration and migration were effective. It reduced the management costs and transparency. The movement from traditional spreadsheet systems to a well-established Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) enabled to meet the current standards set by industry leaders in the sector.

Describe how you have applied two project management/planning techniques during this project (show examples of their application).

Smart Objectives

We used original objectives to achieve our objectives in data migration. Specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic and time (SMART) goals measure the project stages and output (Maylor et al.2016).

Specific: - We wanted to develop and improve the data system that was already functional in our organisation. We needed to create an all-inclusive system that is easily accessible. The purpose of the system was to reduce the time taken for data retrieval and improve transparency in the organisation. We wanted to find out if the system will reduce the cost of operations and increase our revenue.

Measure-How we will measure the effectiveness of the ERP. The ERP system speeds got tested. The access and security control measures were examined to filter out system vulnerability. A project tracking system was established to investigate the performance of the new system against the old one.

Agreed upon- The team members tasked to oversee the migration agreed on the procedures and time factors put in place. The management, I.T specialist, HR, Accountants and customer service staff had to synch their efforts to achieve our objectives. The risk got identified and best solutions formulated.

Realistic: - At this stage, we reviewed the project goals to see if they are achievable. Our concern was if our customers will enjoy our new automated system or will the cost of running the system result into loss-making? Here we scrutinised whether we had enough resources in the form of skilled personnel and finances implement the new system.

Time: - The project implementation was to take a specified duration of time. The management gave three months for the migration system. The fourth-month test run would be carried out to measure the performance of the system.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring is an essential tool in tracking the implementation of a project. It involves collecting and analysing information against set objectives/targets. At the bank, the objectives of the new system were clarified (Todorović et al.2015). The purposes were transformed to set goals and performance indicators. Progress reports during the implementation period were made available to the management team. Monitoring gives activity and records and results. Its primary function is to ensure optimal use of resources.

Evaluation is useful to estimate the worth/impact of the procedure used. It takes place periodically. The evaluation policy used during our project implementation was carried out on a monthly basis. The system performed well but did not meet all the objectives it was to do. The evaluation was carried out to ascertain the issues that made the system not to function as fully intended adequately. After evaluation, proper correction activities were carried out to ensure the system’s functionality met the required standard.

2.2Describe how you have applied a technique(s) to analyse and resolve a problem during this project (relate a model/theory to your example).

The project faced some challenges. To be successful, we used the rational decisions to formulate step-by-step to make decisions. The problem was on system vulnerability. It was difficult to decide which players would have access to specific system functionality. We defined the problem as system access. The system was to increase the speed of services to the clients. Everyone is not entitled to access all aspects of the operations but on areas that suit their functionality in the organisation. The most significant weight of the system is to reduce customers’ long queues in the banking hall. We had to develop alternatives and introduce services like online banking to address the long queue issues.

2.3 Explain how you successfully applied each of the three following techniques - possibly during this project- Influencing, persuading and negotiating with others.

I used influencing to get the management on board with the functionality of the system. I explained to that our customers are the essence of our existence. The system developed should serve the customers effectively. I demonstrated how our customer-oriented system would increase the revenue of our organisation and reduce operating costs. I persuaded the management to allow for online banking to be part of the system. I backed my arguments with facts about customer satisfaction and organisational goals achievements. I negotiated our approach strategy to be approved. It was a collective negotiation between my colleagues and the management to incorporate our ideas towards an effective ERP system delivery. The most important consideration was to identify all views and establish a common ground.

3.0 Assessment criterion: Undertake a self-assessment of one area of HR professional practice capabilities to identify continuing professional development needs

 Resource and talent planning

The right person for the right job is the essence of resourcing and talent planning. It is essential for an organisation to achieve strategic and immediate goals. I understand the legal framework that guides recruitment, appraisals and termination of employees. I am capable of drafting employer-employee contracts. I have known for talents search and use of applicant tracking system (ATS) to ensure we get the most suited candidates to fill up positions. Development of the right recruitment and employee development is essential. The workforce of an organisation determines the success of an organisation. My core values allow me to ensure a continuous flow of a suitable workforce.

3.1Professional development plan

NAME:

MEMBERSHIP NUMBER:

COVERING THE PERIOD FROM:

TO:

What do I want/ need to learn?

What will I do to achieve this?

What resources or support will I need?

What will my success criteria be?

Target dates for review and completion

The role of the HR and need for useful HR function

Read CIPD research. Research the emerging trends in HR

Read scholarly journals

Internet research on best practices

Use the CIPD database for evaluation practices

To be able to understand the purpose of HR in an organisation and establish a relationship with other departments.

Conflict resolutions techniques

Understand the code of conduct in my area of jurisdiction.

Understand organisational policies.

Internet research

Internet resources

Enquire about our organisation’s culture

Understand employee culture in a relationship with the organisational principles.

To be able to solve employees’ conflict in an effective manner that does not affect our operations.

How to handle data/information issues in an organisation

I will research the Data protection act in my area of jurisdiction.

Enquire information from our I.T department

Read journals and publications in best data handling practices

Be able to play a role in data protection without the need for acquiring external services

Bibliography

Mayo, A., 2016. Human resources or human capital? ’Managing people as assets’. Routledge.

Ulrich, D., Younger, J., Brockbank, W. and Ulrich, M.D., 2013. The state of the HR profession. Human Resource Management, 52(3), pp.457-471.

Harrison, P., 2011. ’Learning culture, line manager and HR professional practice’. Journal of European Industrial Training, 35(9), pp.914-928.

Davidson, P., 2012. Preparing the next generation of HRM professionals: An international comparison of tertiary HRM programs.

Tosey, P., Anderson, V., Elliott, C., Harrison, P. and Valentin, C., 2015. HRD programme provision in the UK: past, present and future. In 16th International Conference on Human Resource Development Research and Practice Across Europe, Cork: Ireland.

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

Hannon, J. and Zhang, F., 2017, July. A New Methodology for Partnering Transportation Projects. In International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (pp. 318-325). Springer, Cham.

Brock, S.E., McAliney, P.J., Ma, C.H. and Sen, A., 2017. Toward more practical measurement of teamwork skills. Journal of Workplace Learning, 29(2), pp.124-133.

Wallensteen, P., 2015. Understanding conflict resolution. Sage.

Singer, L., 2018. Settling disputes: Conflict resolution in business, families, and the legal system. Routledge.

Barsky, A., 2014. Conflict resolution for the helping professions. Oxford University Press.

Njoku, I.A., 2017. ’The role of communication in conflict resolution’. International Journal of Communication, 5(1).

Maylor, H., Blackmon, K. and Huemann, M., 2016. ’Researching business and management’. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Todorović, M.L., Petrović, D.Č., Mihić, M.M., Obradović, V.L. and Bushuyev, S.D., 2015. Project success analysis framework: A knowledge-based approach to project management. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), pp.772-783.