Unit 1, Business Administration Level2

Unit one: Principles of personal responsibilities and working in a business environment Section 1 – Know the employment rights and responsibilities of the employee and employer 1. Identify four main points that would be included in a contract of employment. If possible, use an example contract to support your answer (feel free to obscure any confidential information). – Employer’s name – Employee’s name – Date of commencement of employment – Main place of work Example: Employer’s name: AbC Ltd. Employee’s name: Date of commencement of employment: 15 Jan 2013 Main place of work: Unit 12, 3 Long Way, New York, AB1 2CD, UK a) List three key points of legislation that affect employers in a business environment. – Health and safety – Employments rights and responsibilities – Data protection 2b) List three key points of legislation that affect employees in a business environment. – Health and safety – Pay & Pensions – Employments rights and responsibilities 3. Identify a range of places where a person can find information on employment rights and responsibilities. You should identify at least two internal and two external sources of information. Internal (within organisation): – Line manager – Informed colleagues – Trade union representativesExternal (outside of the organisation): – Citizens Advice Bureaux – Government – ACAS 4. Describe how representative bodies can support employees. The representative bodies can help and support employees in work place. The best examples are Trade Unions, large organisations that represent the interest of their members. They can offer assistance through work based representatives. Their members may share an occupation or a common industry. Trade Unions will also have regional and national expertise that they can use. One of the place, where employee can get help and advice when is not a member of Trade Union, is Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).It can advise employee on his rights at work  and in other settings. CAB advisers can often  help write letters to present employees complaint or claim to an employer, service provider or business. Sometimes, the CAB will provide representation if person makes a claim at the employment tribunal. 5. Briefly describe employer and employee responsibilities for equality and diversity in a business environment. You should give at least two employer responsibilities and two employee responsibilities. If possible, provide relevant equality and diversity procedures from your workplace (or place of study) to support your answer. These documents hould be annotated to highlight the relevant sections. Equality can be described as breaking down barriers, eliminating discrimination and ensuring equal opportunity and access for all groups both in employment and to goods and services. In all organisations, it’s important that all em ployees are treated in an equally fair way and are given equal opportunities. Diversity can be described as celebrating differences and valuing everyone. Each person is an individual with visible and non-visible differences and by respecting this, everyone can feel valued for their contributions, which is beneficial not only for individual but for company too.Examples: Employer responsibilities: – Should provide training to increase   awareness of equality and diversity so that employees at all levels can perform effectively and develop their full potential within their jobs; –   It has responsibility to protect employees in the work place, to remove all barriers to individual development and to maintain and promote an environment that appreciates diversity and is free from discrimination, harassment and bullying. Employee responsibilities: Focus on actual people rather than the â€Å"label† which may be put on them; – Be aware of the judgements make. 6. Briefly explain the benefits of making sure equality and diversity procedures are followed in a business environment. Your answer should include one benefit for the employer, one benefit for the employee and one benefit for the overall organisation. In all organisations, there are social and economic benefits of equal treatment. Examples: Benefit for employer: – Employer can reduce the risk that will be held legally responsible for he behaviour of the people who work with him, if training them in equality and diversity procedures. Benefit for employee: – Any person doing the same work as someone else has the right to be rewarded in the same way as they are. Benefit for overall organisation: – It brings to an organisation a wide range of experience, ideas and creativity and if managed well it can ensure that each individual utilises their skills effectively and feels valued for their individual qualities. Section 2 – Understand the purpose of health, s afety and security procedures in a business environment . Identify employer and employee responsibilities for health, safety and security. If possible, provide relevant health, safety and security policies / documents from your workplace (or place of study) to support your answer. These documents should be annotated to highlight the relevant sections. Health, safety and security procedures clarify ‘who’ is responsible for ‘what’. This ensures that an organisation has a structure to ensure a secure, safe and healthy business environment for everyone.The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering work-related health and safety in the United Kingdom. It states that everyone has responsibility for health and safety in the workplace. The 1998 Data Protection Act, that is another law, which purpose is to protect people from having information about themselves abused. In other words, in spite of its name it is intended to p rotect individuals rather than data. It does this by imposing restrictions on what those holding personal information may do with it and to whom they may pass it.One more very important legislation in a business environment is Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This act ensures that things such as literacy, photographs, artists creations, dramatic and musical works cannot be copied. The law is also carried out when it comes to computers as it is illegal to copy software or run pirated software. Everything here mentioned, however, can be claimed as someone else when the original owner has been dead for a certain amount of years.It is usually after 70 years it can be claimed but in some cases where they don't know who the creator is it can be claimed 50 years after it was first made public. Examples Employers responsibilities: – Employers have duties under health and safety law to assess risks in the workplace. Risk assessments should be carried out that address all risks that might cause harm in workplace. – Employers must give information about the risks in workplace and how employees are protected, also instruct and train on how to deal with the risks. Employers must consult employees on health and safety issues. – Employers have a legal duty under the  Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations (HSIER)  to display the approved poster in a prominent position in each workplace or to provide each worker with a copy of the approved leaflet  Health and safety law: â€Å"What you need to know  that outlines British health and safety law†. Employees responsibilities: – Follow the training has received when using any work items your employer has given. – Take reasonable care of own and other people’s health and safety. Co-operate with employer on health and safety. – Tell someone (employer, supervisor, or health and safety representative) if think the work or inadequate precautions ar e putting anyone’s health and safety at risk. 2. Explain the purpose of following health, safety and security procedures in a business environment. All people at work need to take reasonable care to avoid harm to themselves or to others by their working practices, and to co-operate with employers and others in meeting statutory requirements.The principal objective in Health and Safety Act is to prevent harm from occurring to employees while they are at work. It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business. The employer has legal responsibilities to staff and any breach of these could result at legal action against employer as an individual, resulting in heavy fines. All companies have procedures for staff to follow. There are some important reasons for following those procedures.Failure of any of them can bring consequences: – Legal reasons – reprimands, fines, closure s and even prison sentences – Organisational rules – can be subject to disciplinary procedures – Morale reasons – employers and employees have a moral obligation to follow health and safety procedures to ensure no one comes to any harm – Economic reasons – e fines for breaking the law, compensation payments to customers or staff, loss of customers who are aware that health and safety procedures are not being followed, increased costs and, potentially, even the whole organisation being shut down . Describe three different ways of maintaining a safe and secure business environment. – Personal conduct: One of the most significant influences on risks in the workplace is the behaviour of staff. How people conduct themselves can have a significant impact on their own health and safety and that of others. For example: not wearing clothes / jewellery that may be dangerous, not tired when at work etc. Awareness and observation: Noticing any po tential hazard, noticing what is happening in work environment; – Prompt reporting: promptly reporting to the appropriate person when someone is wrong or may have a potential for causing harm but the individual cannot correct it. Section 3 – Understand how to communicate effectively with others 1.Complete the table below with descriptions of different methods of communication. You should include two verbal, two non-verbal and two written methods of communication. |Methods of communication |Description | |Verbal communication |1.One-to-one discussion: allows communicators to exchange ideas | | |back and forth freely; information flowing smoothly and clearly | | |between speaker and the audience | | | | | | | | |2. Presentations: Using effective verbal communication, business | | |professionals give presentations and lectures to convey their | | |expertise on a particular topic.Whether a business professional | | |provides instruction, describes a product to ma ke a sale or | | |communicates a vision or strategy, he needs to keep the message | | |clear by preparing adequately. | | | | | | | |Non-verbal communication |1.Voice ton: quality of person’s voice, characteristic style or | | |manner of expressing yourself orally, that shows what the speaker is| | |feeling | | | | | | | | |2. Eye contact: is strongly influenced by social behaviour, is most | | |often defined as a sign of confidence; can indicate how interested a| | |person is in the communication taking place.It could also suggest | | |trust and truthfulness. | |Written communication |1. E-mail: electronic messaging, virtual communication tool, have | | |taken the place of actual â€Å"pen and paper† memos or written letters | | |due to ease and speed of sending and receiving emails. | | | | | |2.Business letter:   is a  letter  written in formal language, usually| | |used when writing from one business organization to another, or for | | |correspondence between such organizations and their customers, | | |clients and other external parties. The overall style of letter will| | |depend on the relationship between the parties concerned. | | | | | | | 2. Using two specific examples, explain how to choose the most appropriate method of communication to meet your needs and the needs of others. Managers meeting regarding targets for next year – Business manager have to communicate â€Å"plan to win† for next year with all managers. It should be done in out of the public place; it’s kind of the face-to-face meeting in small group. Speaker can use presentations, may discus some issues concerning business with staff. Clearly written, comprehensive and organized notes can be very powerful. They can make the difference between those who attended the meeting going away and doing nothing, or actually doing what's needed in order to move a project forwards. – Confirm additional order – when need to add some more items to existing order, need to quick communicate it with service company.The best and the quickest way is to send fax. It’s good method of communication for all external contacts, or other offices some distance way. In addition, we are in possession of copies of the order confirmation in writing. 3. Describe at least two ways of actively listening. The way to become better listener is to practice â€Å"active listening†. This is where the person makes a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, try to understand the complete message being sent. There are some key elements of active listening. They all help to ensure that you hear the other person, and that the other person knows you are hearing what they say.Examples: – Pay Attention: Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message. Recognize that non-verbal communication also â€Å"speaks† loudly. * Loo k at the speaker directly. * Put aside distracting thoughts. * Don't mentally prepare a rebuttal! * Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. For example, side conversations. * Listen† to the speaker's body language. – Respond Appropriately: Active listening is a model for respect and understanding. You are gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down. * Be candid, open, and honest in your response. Assert your opinions respectfully. * Treat the other person in a way that you think he or she would want to be treated. Section 4 – Understand how to work with and support colleagues 1. Explain the purpose of agreeing standards for your own work. Give at least two reasons. Organisation provides a foundation of work standards to ensure everyone knows what is required from them and from people around them. As an employee, we should always make sure that we know exactly the work standards requir ed of you. If an employee doesn't have a standard of work or unclear then it is difficult for them to know what or how or when they should be doing it.The absence of standards makes it impossible for an employee to effectively monitor their own performance. If work standards don't exist, then things are open to personal interpretation and this can lead to conflicting viewpoints. If some colleagues work to lower standards, it can affect the work of others. Examples: – Wastage standards – An engineering business producing ‘widgets' may set a maximum of 0. 25% scrap; a chef in a restaurant aims to keep the cost of unused ingredients down to ? 30 per day. – Behavioural standards – Members of the armed forces will have very precise standards on appearance and dress; a receptionist should smile 100% of the time when greeting customers. 2.Explain the purpose of taking on new challenges and being able to adapt to change at work. It is important to take on n ew challenges and adapt to changes, because nothing ever stays the same, things are always changing which means unless you can adapt and change too, you will be stuck doing the same things which could then make your life a lot harder than it needs to be. Changes could be due to an advance in technology, new environment or anything that will have an impact on you and your day to day life. Those people who welcome change are likely to get more opportunities for variation in their work. If a person wishes to learn then they will need to face up to new information and new situations.If a person will not change and adapt then there is little scope for learning. Employees who resist or deny changes will find themselves at odds with colleagues and managers. Their skills and attitudes may become redundant. This may result in them no longer fitting in with the business. 3. Explain the purpose of treating others with honesty and consideration. Having integrity and being honest are fundamental requirements if you want to grow spiritually and follow your true destination of personal development. It’s not simply about being honest with people. Whilst that will make you a better person and a more accepted one it’s more importantly about being honest with yourself.If we’re honest in all that we do and say, it means we are genuine, real and true whereas dishonesty symbolises all that is fake, fictitious and unreal. Living your life honestly and with integrity means that you’ve decided to live openly and to show your true self to others and that you can be relied upon to be genuine. One of the key elements in any relationship, be it a personal or professional one, is the ability to trust and be trusted. Without trust, we have no credibility which is at the core of being able to influence people and provide strong leadership. Without honesty, there is no foundation upon which to build a personal relationship with someone you love.Section 5 – K now how to plan own work and be accountable to others 1. Explain the purpose of meeting work standards and deadlines when completing tasks in a business environment. Setting clear standards of work and deadlines enables people to complete work effectively. If there are no standards or they are vague this can lead to confusion and problems. It is important that you produce your work to the best possible standard in order to meet the requirements of the person who set you the task. This shows that you are responsible and trustworthy and that you can be relied upon to get things done. You do not know who else might be waiting for your work; it could have to be passed on to someone else.This could cause problems in a business environment and affect your  team  relationship. Your line manager will expect you to meet all your deadlines, this could have a detrimental effect on your progress is you regularly fail at this. 2. Describe two different methods that you can use to plan your o wn work in a business environment. – Prioritization – Prioritization is the essential skill you need to make the very best use of your own efforts and those of your team. It's also a skill that you need to create calmness and space in your life so that you can focus your energy and attention on the things that really matter. It is particularly important when time is limited and demands are seemingly unlimited.It helps you to allocate your time where it is most-needed and most wisely spent, freeing you and your team up from less important tasks that can be attended to later or quietly dropped. With good prioritization (and careful management of reprioritized tasks) you can bring order to chaos, massively reduce stress, and move towards a successful conclusion. Without it, you'll flounder around, drowning in competing demands. – Goal setting – is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality. The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. You'll also quickly spot the istractions that can, so easily, lead you astray. A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants (some of which we've included in parenthesis), SMART usually stands for: †¢ S  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Specific (or Significant). †¢ M  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Measurable (or Meaningful). †¢ A  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Attainable (or Action-Oriented). †¢ R  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Relevant (or Rewarding). †¢ T  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Time-bound (or Track able). 3. Describe ways of keeping other people informed about progress and compare their effectiveness. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each approach? Very few people work entirely on their own. Even fewer are responsible to no one but themselves for the work they do.Most of us have to make sure that other people know what we are doing and, in many cases, approve it. If you don’t keep them informed you’re going to make both your life and theirs that bit harder. It’s quite easy to let people know about the end of your actions. You send a memo to each member of staff telling him or her of the time of the staff appraisal interview. You hand the boss a file containing all the relevant travel documents. You tick the completed box on your list of â€Å"jobs to do† and that’s that. What is equally important is keeping people informed on an ongoing basis as a particular job progress, particularly if it is long and complicated.The reasons of that: – You might not be completely clear about what you are supposed to do and don’t want to go any further because you might be taking the wrong route; – Something unexpected turns up that might alter what you have to do; – You might urgently require some advice; – The person for whom you are doing the job needs a regular progress report for his or her own boss; – The job is so big that a number of people have to be kept informed on a regular basis of what everyone else is doing so that they feel confident that they can continue carrying out their part of the plan. There are many different methods of communicate progress with other people, but always have to remember to choose correct one. One can be very effective, the others less. For example: Meetings – These can vary from one-time kickoff meetings to daily meetings of small groups of team members, weekly or monthly executive updates, or occasional all-hands meetings. Although you can’t guarantee that people will pay attention in a meeting, getting people in the same room is ideal for discussions, brainstorming, and decision making. – Status reports – These can contain different types of information depending on the audience. Moreover, whether you produce paper or electronic status reports depends on the audience as well. Sending status reports to people makes it easy for them to read the information, and they can choose to scan the reports for pertinent topics or ignore them if time is at a premium. Newsletters and email distribution lists:  These work well for announcements and other information you want to disseminate to broad audiences. You can distribute information to many people without much effort, but the readers can skip the message if it doesn’t apply to them. Section 6 – Understand the purpose of improving own performance in a business environment and how to do so 1. Explain the purpose of continuously improving your performance in a business environment. Knowing that you are getting better at something feels good. Sometimes this happens just because you get more and more experienced at doing it. At other times it needs someone to show you how you can improve on what you’re doing.Your first step is to decide where you are now and where you want to get to. A lot of organisations try to encourage their staff to â€Å"continuously improve† themselves; often referring to it as â€Å"lifetime learning† because they feel that it can help them to improve the organisation’s overall performance. Businesses and employees should focus on doing their tasks as well as possible, and look for what can be improved. By continuing to improve, an employee can increase job interest, wages, long-term careers and a more valued contribution to the organisation and the satisfaction of customers. 2. Describe at least two ways of improving your performance at work.Where relevant, illustrate your answer with specific examples from your own experience. Knowing that you are getting better at something feels good. Sometimes this happens just because you get more experienced at doing it. At other times it needs someone to show you how you can improve on what you’re doing. First step is to decide where you are now and where you want to get to. For an organisation to survive and grow it must continuously improve its performance. When an organisation makes changes, employees will have to make changes in what they do and how they do it. Improvement can take place in different ways. Examples: – Learning from mistakes – very few people like saying sorry.Nor do they like even admitting to themselves that they have made a mistake. It might boost your morale in short term to blame everyone but yourself when a mistake is made. In longer term, never admitting a mistake can cause problems. Acknowledging your mistakes can help both you and the person you’re talking to. He or she will recognise that you have admitted your mistake without trying to lay the blame on anyone else, be immediately in a position to try to correct the mistake because you have not tried to be obstructive about it, will try to ensure that the same mistake won’t occur a gain by giving your extra training, assistance or support, will appreciate your honesty. Learning from performance reviews -it is a systematic and periodic process that assesses an individual employee’s job performance and productivity in relation to certain pre-established criteria and organizational objectives. These reviews tend to be done every 6-12 months so they create a framework for continuous performance review and improvement. Most people think of a performance review as an uncomfortable meeting with their boss; a chance to hear how great (or not so great) a job they’ve been doing or what sort of salary increase to expect this year. But a good performance review should be much more than this — it should be an engaged, two-way conversation between employer and employee.While this is your manager's time to share his or her overall evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses, it is also  your  time to ask insightful questions, receive constructive fee dback, and establish a clear plan for improvement or future professional development. Your performance review, whether overwhelmingly positive or somewhat disappointing, is always a great opportunity to learn, grow, and move forward in your career. 3. Briefly describe at least two different types of career pathways that may be available to you. One and the most wanted career pathways for me is kind of administrative job. I would like to work in the office environment.Many of administrative and clerical jobs, like Administrative Assistant, Data Entry Clarke, Secretary and other, all are about following procedures, checking things and keeping records. So, I’m organised person, accurate and pay close attention to detail. I have ability to use my own initiative, but also know when matters need to be referred to a supervisor. Second career pathway for me is the social service sector. All of these services are about helping people. I could work as Social Work Assistant, Family Supp ort Worker or Youth and Community Worker. I’ve got a caring personality and want to help people during trying times in their lives. I want to make a positive difference to children and their families' lives, and help them have a better future.Unfortunately, I don’t have specific qualifications to work in this environment, but the most of employers giving training before work begin. Section 7 – Understand the types of problems that may occur in a business environment and how to deal with them 1. Identify at least two different types of problems that can occur in a business environment. At work, problems are at the centre of what many people do every day. You're either solving a problem for a client (internal or external), supporting those who are solving problems, or discovering new problems to solve. The problems you face can be large or small, simple or complex, and easy or difficult to solve. Regardless of the nature of the problems, a fundamental part of ever y manager's role is finding ways to solve them.There are two main types of problems that may occur at work environment: – Minor problems – small and usually have obvious, easy-to-implement solutions, where you can use your own knowledge and experience to come up with a workable solution. – Major problems – are likely to have serious consequences and need careful consideration, they must be referred to a senior manager. In this instance, you should inform a senior manager as soon as possible. 2. Complete the table below by describing at least two specific problems that can occur at work and how they can be dealt with. |Problem |Dealing with the problem | |1.Equipment failure |Need to report the problem to store manager, he need to call | | |engineer to fix it up | | | | | | | |2. Customer complaint about hair in food |Ask shift manager to deal with customer. Need to apologise customer,| | |offer replace food, extra dessert.Check that they are kept f ood | | |safety roles on the kitchen. | 3. Complete the table below by listing at least two problems you are able to deal with yourself and two problems you would need to refer to others to deal with (and how you would refer these problems). |Problems I can deal with: |Problems I would need to refer to others: |How are problems referred to others? | |1. Delivery not arrived – need to contact |1. Computer crashing |Report to computer technician by telephone. | |with head office by telephone, to find out | | | |what happened. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |2. Stock on front counter run out – need to |2. Important equipment failure |Report to store manager. If is present in | |go to stockroom to pick up some stock or | |store – face to face, if not – by phone call | |delegate someone to stock up | |or by email. Should leave note in managers | | | |diary for next shift manager, to let him know| | | |about problem | | | | | | | | |