Equal Opportunities and Diversity

Equality - is the principle that all people regardless of certain attributes e.g. sexual preference are treated equally.

Diversity - is the principle of recognising people's differences and applying it to or in a certain environment e.g. the workplace. A reason for encouraging diversity would be to have different skills amongst a company's employees.

Difference - "The distinction between equality of opportunity and the management of diversity has often been described in terms of equal opportunity being driven by legislation and applying it to specific groups whereas diversity refers to all differences among people (e.g. Kandola and Fullerton, 1998)" (Farmer and Yellowley, 2009, p.61). In the example of older people being employed for instance, legislation protecting the rights and equal opportunity of older people is equality while a business employing an older person because of his/her experience to compliment the business's younger employees is diversity.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/article6830916.ece

3 arguments for Margaret Mountford's views:

• Objective - It is objective to appoint women based only on merit. This is because it doesn't take into account subjective characteristics such as personality.
• Fair - Women shouldn't be treated any differently from men because men are appointed based on merit as well.
• Sympathetic - Her views aren't sympathetic to women that have / may have children.

3 arguments against Margaret Mountford's views:

• Mountford's views don't take into consideration the bigger picture. For example, for certain jobs, personality may be just as important as merit if not more.
• Women are different from men - Women are different from men e.g. have different responsibilities and should therefore be treated differently, regardless of equality.
• Discriminatory - It is unfair for women to be appointed on different grounds from men just because they are women.

The impact age legislation may have on employers:

• Employers may have to invest more money into accommodating extra training/equipment for older people.
• Employers may have to change its current employment program if its currently breaching the age legislation.
• Employers may have to take into account the benefits of employing an older person more considering the age legislation put in place.
• The age legislation will result in business's employing more older people which may change the culture of certain organisations.

Stereotypes we tend to hold about younger people:

• Younger people are inexperienced.
• Younger people are inconsiderate.
• Younger people are immature.
• Younger people are fast learners.

Stereotypes we tend to hold about older people:

• Older people are unproductive/inefficient.
• Older people are reluctant to change / conservative.
• Older people all have disabilities.
• Older people are slow learners.

Two ideas how organisations can attempt to change attitudes regarding old/young people:

1. Directly compare the performance of both the younger and older people in the workplace. This may help prove/disprove any stereotypes that may exist regarding job performance of younger and older people e.g. old people work inefficiently and young people work efficiently.

2. Try and encourage team working between the younger and older people in the workplace. This may help change any preconceived views or attitudes that may have existed before the teamworking had taken place. This is because the younger and older people are working intimately, possibly demonstrating characteristics different from any existing stereotypes.

Practise in relation to equal opportunities (Sainsbury's):

Sainsbury's (2010) state on their website that:

"We are committed to championing equality, diversity, inclusion and flexible working options for our colleagues. We remain committed to recruiting, retaining and engaging the best people, from backgrounds that reflect the communities we serve."

The last sentence from the quote above shows that Sainsbury's encourage equal opportunities of people from different racial backgrounds, assuming they apply into practice what they are stating. Despite the fact that the quote states that Sainsbury's are "committed to championing equality", they make no specific references to certain groups that are / aren't included in such "equality" excluding race. For example, they make no references to sexual preference, age or disability and if they are included or excluded in such "equality". As a result, the broadness of equality in Sainsbury's isn't clear. This may mean that Sainsbury's aren't promoting equal opportunities to a large extent in the respect of certain groups e.g. age.

Sainsbury's are also encouraging graduates to apply with them despite the economic crisis, having a whole subsection of there website dedicated to graduates. Sainsbury's offer many perks to graduates applying for a role at Sainsbury's including gym membership and an interest free loan of up to £2000. It is therefore clear that Sainsbury's are keen in promoting opportunities for graduates, possibly more so than other groups. In this respect, Sainsbury's aren't promoting equality as it appears they are looking for a certain type of employee in particular for jobs i.e. graduates.

Sainsbury's most innovative practice is in offering an interest free loan up to £2000 for graduates. This is because it appears that Sainsbury's are aware of the debts that students get into while at University so it's a nice opportunity for them to possibly make a clean slate, paying back any existing debts they may have with the loan. In addition, it avoids getting the students into further debt as much as possible as the loans are interest free.

In respect of benchmarking equal opportunities into practice, B&Q is a company that takes equal opportunities very seriously. For example, B&Q removed the retirement age more than 15 years ago (B&Q, 2010). It is therefore clear that B&Q are trying to promote equal opportunities for older employees that are currently working at B&Q as this is encouraging older peoples to stay employed within the company. In addition, B&Q has "been listed in The Times 'top 50 places where women want to work' for four consecutive years" (B&Q, 2010). As a result, B&Q are evidently doing their bit in treating women appropriately and fairly as B&Q wouldn't be receiving such accolades from a major Newspaper if they weren't. This also proves that B&Q are without a doubt adhering to equal opportunities legislation with regards to women. In this respect, it is very clear that equal opportunities are something that B&Q take seriously in practise.

B&Q's most innovative practice is in removing the retirement age over 15 years ago. This is innovative because many business's today still have a retirement age e.g. The Post Office, while B&Q does not. Removing the retirement age gives older people greater opportunities in terms of employment than they usually would with business's that have a retirement age as they can keep their position/s within the company instead of being replaced by younger employees. As a result, older people aren't discriminated against at B&Q because of their age in this respect.

In conclusion, I have enjoyed this topic a lot. This is because equal opportunities and diversity relate to me now in terms of how I'm treated and if it's fair how I'm treated. In addition, this topic has made me more considerate of people's differences e.g. in terms of age, disability, race which would prove to be a good charicteristic if I decide to set-up my own business in the future because I would have to conform to equal opportunities legislation.

References:

B&Q (2010) Our ethics [online]. [s.n.] Available from: http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/corporate/content/environment_ethics/ethics/index.jsp [Accessed 10 March 2010].

Equal opportunities image. [n.d.] [s.n.] Available from: http://www.hometutoring.org.uk/images/equalopportunities.jpg [Accessed 03 March 2010].

Farmer, M. Yellowley, W. (2009) People and Organisations 2nd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited

J Sainsbury plc (2010) A great place to work [online]. [s.n.] Available from: http://www.jsainsbury.co.uk/cr/index.asp?pageid=10 [Accessed 03 March 2010].

Selection

Microsoft is an organisation that I am familiar with. I can therefore identify three different selection methods that Microsoft use, when they are used and why, along with the pros and cons for each.

Three different selection methods that Microsoft use are:

• Interview
• Test
• Assessment Centre

When they are used:

• Interview - Interviews are used at Microsoft after the candidate's written applications have been assessed successfully. This is at the beginning of the selection process.
• Test - Tests are used at Microsoft after the candidates have been interviewed on camera by recruitment consultants. This is during the middle of the selection process.
• Assessment Centre - Assessment centres are used at Microsoft after the candidates have been interviewed on camera by the recruitment consultants successfully. This is at the end of the selection process.

Why they are used:

• Interview - Interviews are used at Microsoft because they give the employers a good idea of who the individual is and what skills they have. For example, interviews are useful in identifying a candidate's verbal fluency which may be important in the role that they are applying for at Microsoft e.g. a marketing position.
• Test - Tests are used at Microsoft because it shows the employers how effectively the candidates apply there knowledge and experience to tasks/activities that may be the same or similar to the one/s that they are applying for. Tests are therefore a good way of identifying candidates that have potential in the role/s that they have applied for.
• Assessment Centre - Assessment centres are used at Microsoft because they are standardised. This means that all the candidates involved have an equal opportunity to showcase why they think they are suitable for the role that they are applying for from a skills and abilities standpoint. This is a good way of directly comparing candidate's from the employers point of view.

Advantages of using these methods as selection tools:


- Interview:

• "Provide opportunities for interviewers t0 ask probing questions about the candidate's experience and to explore the extent to which the candidate's competences match those specified for the job" (Armstrong, 2003, p.442).
• Interview questions can be changed at any time. This can be useful to Interviewers if certain interviews go in a direction that wasn't expected or predicted.
• Interviews can be useful in identifying how skilled candidates are at communicating verbally. This may be useful for interviewers who are looking for good communication skills.

- Test:

• Test's are almost always reliable, particularly on-the-job tests. This is because many of the tasks / activities involved in the on-the-job tests are the same or similar to the actual tasks / activities in the jobs themselves.
• On-the-job tests identify the skills that candidates have in carrying out tasks that relate to the actual job that they are applying for. As a result, it is difficult for candidates to "fake" performing well because they are likely to be doing the same or similar tasks/activities in the job itself.
• Considering the relationship that on-the-job tests have with the job itself, "these tests are typically viewed more favourable by examinees than aptitude or personality tests" [Anon 1.] (2001).

- Assessment Centre:

• "The organisation is forced to develop a pre-defined and articulated set of measurable criteria that is related to job performance" [Anon 2.] [n.d.].
• Assessment centres are fair because a candidate's performance is measured using a set criteria. As a result, bias is avoided.
• Since assessment centres usually consist of practical work, candidates often enjoy themselves. This is a sharp contrast to other forms of selection e.g. interviews.

Disadvantages of using these methods as selection tools:


- Interview:

• Interviews are open to subjectivity (Marquis and Huston, 2009, p.344).
• Interviews can be time consuming if many candidates are selected for interviewing. In business, time is money which means interviews can be expensive.
• Interviewers often create stereotypes of what a good candidate is like e.g. a particular sex, race or age. This can lead to discrimination of certain groups.

- Test:

• On-the-job test's can be expensive to oversee and control. This is because in a lot of cases, candidate's are monitored individually.
• On-the-job test's usually take a short period of time to complete i.e. no longer than a day's worth of work. As a result, on-the-job test's aren't very useful in predicting job performance for tasks that take days, weeks, months or longer to finish.
• It's difficult to measure a candidate's aptitude with on-the-job test's as training may not be given to the candidate.

- Assessment Centre:

• Assessment centre's are very expensive for employers. "Typically, the assessment centre will cost at least $500 to $1000 per candidate" (LaRue, 1989). This may not even include staff costs.
• The assessor's and candidate's don't directly communicate with each other at assessment centre's. As a result, it may be difficult for the assessor's to assess the candidate's verbal and communication skills in general.
• Assessment centre's "can be perceived more as an assessment of your ability to 'act' or 'perform' to an audience than a true reflection of your abilities" [Anon 3.] [n.d.].

An interview that I have taken part in was for a placement at my secondary school's sixth form. Overall, I think the interview went well although it could have been better. For example, I don't think I gave enough eye contact to my interviewer which may have indicated from there point of view that what I was saying wasn't sincere. In addition, it may have given the impression that I wasn't very confident which is obviously an attribute that probably didn't reflect well on myself. Furthermore, I spoke quite calmy during the whole interview which may have made it seem like I wasn't enthusiastic about the interview or the prospect of joining the school's sixth form.

I interviewed my Mother and discussed with her whether she feels personality tests used within a selection procedure are advantageous. She believed that they are in fact advantageous. My Mother believed that they are advantageous because personality tests may help reduce the labour turnover rate as the employees in the work environment may all share the same or similar personalities provided that they are selected in this way. She stated that this would prove to be advantageous because it would mean that their would be more agreements and fewer conflicts in the workplace which may result in a more efficient and productive workforce, particularly in teamworking because their is decision making and interaction involved between different people. If they all share the same or similar personalities, they can avoid wasting time arguing over disagreemeents but instead collectively agree on decisions and work cohesively together, according to her.

In addition, she also felt that personality tests are advantageous because they may help bring to light information regarding the candidate's interests. She felt that this would be advantageous because the candidate's interests may be useful in the job that they are applying for if they relate in any signficiant way. For example, if a candidate's interest is going to the gym and keeping fit and the job that they are applying for is very physical, the candidate may prove to be suitable for the position that they are applying for and vice versa thanks to the personality test/s.

One recommendation that I would make to improve the selection process at Microsoft would be to use more selection processes. Despite the fact that Microsoft use interviews, tests and assessment centres as selection processes, I think they could use one or two more selection processes in order to make sure that they are selecting suitable candidates. For example, currently Microsoft don't use references for recruitment. I think that they should use references because employers may be able to consider employing someone that they know work well (as they may already work in the same company) which gives the employers a greater range of candidates to select from.

In addition, I also recommend that Microsoft should only use selection processes that are appropriate for selecting people for certain jobs. For example, if using an assessment centre for finding and selecting a Marketing executive isn't appropriate, then Microsoft shouldn't use an assessment centre for finding Marketing executives. I think that this is important because certain selection processes may be more useful in selecting for certain jobs than others. As a result, a selection process's usefulness may vary from job to job.

In conclusion, I have enjoyed this topic very much. This is because the topic relates to me once I finish University and apply for a job in the future. Learning about the different selection methods and their advantages/disadvantages I have found particularly interesting. This is also a topic that I'm not familiar with which therefore means that I've learnt quite a lot from this topic on selection.

References:


[Anon 1.] (2001) HR Guide to the Internet: Personnel Selection: Methods: Work Sample Tests[online]. [s.n.] Available from: http://www.hr-guide.com/data/G316.htm [Accessed 17 February 2010].


[Anon 2.] [n.d.] Assessment Centres [online]. [s.n.] Available from: http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/content/view/full/1081 [Accessed 17 February 2010].


[Anon 3.] [n.d.] Assessment Centre [online]. [s.n.] Available from: http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:5fR4YbJCbEMJ:www.braintree.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/30633AE4-AAE1-433D-9EB6-EF1DF952D8E0/0/AssessmentCentre.doc+disadvantages+of+assessment+centres&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk [Accessed 19 February 2010].


Armstrong, M. (2003) A handbook of human resource management practise. 9th edition. London: Kogan Page Limited.

Cow image - Available from: http://www.miniaturedextercattle.com.au/images/services_01.jpg [Accessed 05 February 2010].


LaRue, J. (1989) Assessing the Assessment Centre. [online]. [s.n.] Available from: http://www.jlarue.com/assessment_center.html [Accessed 19 February 2010].


Marquis, B. Huston, C. (2009) Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory and Application. 6th edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Recruitment

I have chosen www.monster.co.uk as an online recruitment site to review.

Use of the site - Monster's website proved to be very useful in the time I used it. This is because I found various job roles in areas that I was specifically looking for using the two search bars at the top of the home page.

Layout - The layout of Monster's website is very good overall. This is because there are two search box's at the top-centre of the page that allow people to search for jobs that they are interested in, in a certain location. The position of these search box's are easy to find which is important as they are pivotal features to the website. In addition, there is also a drop down menu at the top-centre of the page that is also easy to find which is crucial as the drop down menu allows viewers to access specific sections from any page e.g. "Forums".

Accessibility - All of the links on Monster's website worked that I clicked on and linked to the correct pages. This shows that the accessibility part of Monster's website is very good as employers and employees can navigate around Monster's website quickly and easily. In addition, typing "Monster" into Google generates Monster.co.uk as the first result so the website can be easily accessed even if the URL isn't typed into the address bar.

Efficiency - All of the web pages within Monster.co.uk load quickly without delay. On average, each page took two seconds to load. This means that Monster.co.uk is a very efficient website.

Fit for purpose - Monster.co.uk is fit for purpose i.e. is suitable for people looking for jobs / employers as the website looks stylish yet professional, all the links work properly including the drop down menu, the search bar works and all the content necessary for people looking for jobs / employers is available.

Content - Monster's content is very good. This is because all of the information is given in a professional manner. For example, the content has a serious tone and avoids giving unnecessary and inappropriate information e.g. jokes which is appropriate given the nature of the site. In addition, the site doesn't contain advertisements. This is good because it the viewer won't be distracted from finding the information that he/she is looking for. Their are also no pop-ups on Monster which is good as they can be frustrating to keep closing for users that want to simply browse the website without any sort of interruption.

Security - Monster appears to be a secure website. This is because users with Monster accounts have unique email-addresses and passwords to use in order to sign in. As a result, it is difficult for people to hack into other people's accounts without knowing their email address and password. Any job postings that look questionable can also be reported to Monster to ensure the users safety.

Design - The background of Monster's website is white which is very clean looking but also very professional looking. The background is therefore suitable for Monster given the subject matter of the site. In addition, the font colour of the text on Monster's website is black which is appropriate as it looks professional and is easy to read given that the background is white.

Advantages of on-line recruitment:

1. Cost - It's free to put job vacancies on your own website and costs only a few hundred pounds to put job vacancies on a recruitment website. On-line recruitment is therefore very cheap overall, especially in comparison with off-line recruitment.

2. Quick - Job vacancies can be uploaded in seconds, with applicants applying and interviews taking place within a space of a few hours. Suitable candidates can therefore be identified and recruited very quickly.

3. Easy - Uploading job vacancies is a very simple task even for people that aren't very IT literate. As a result, both novice and experienced computer users can upload job vacancies with ease.

4. 24/7 - Websites are accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a result, candidates can apply for job vacancies at any time giving them the convenience of being able to apply when it's most convenient for them.

5. Audience - On-line recruitment is considered to be not only a standard part of job hunting for young people but also older people too. As a result, their is a wide range of different types of people applying for jobs whether they are young and have potential or old and have years of experience.

Disadvantages of on-line recruitment

1. Not everyone has access to the Internet - Despite the fact that on-line recruitment is very popular, not everyone is connected to the Internet. As a result, certain demographics that are less likely to be connected to the Internet will be somewhat discriminated against.

2. Too many candidates - Despite the fact that it may appear that having many candidates is a positive thing, on-line recruitment can attract too many candidates that aren't suitable for certain roles. As a result, it can be time consuming to manage and separate poor candidates from good candidates.

3. Doesn't always work - Not all job vacancies can be filled online with on-line recruitment. This is the case particularly with more senior roles that may require headhunters. As a result, on-line recruitment is limited in it's ability to fulfil certain positions.

4. Process is impersonal - On-line recruitment is impersonal as the process is automated. This may put off candidates from applying that may be suitable for particular positions.

5. Groups that can't use certain technologies will be discriminated against - Groups that can't use technologies such as the Internet will be discriminated against as it will be physically impossible for them to apply for a certain role online.

A recruitment campaign that really interested me was a IT web designer role for The Cookehouse. The campaign really interested me as I did ICT at A level and GCSE levels respectively so I knew I had enough qualifications and experience in IT to be considered seriously as an applicant. This is because the campaign clearly stated in the paper that I was reading the campaign from that they are looking for candidates with qualifications and experience in IT, which I have. In addition, the campaign had a slick and clean background which caught my eye immediately. Having read that I had the qualifications that they were looking for, the stylish background of the campaign gave me the impression that this is a company that would value an employee such as myself if I were to get a position at The Cookehouse.

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/psycntrct/psycontr.htm

I understand that a physcological contract is a contract that exists psychologically or mentally as opposed to a legal contract that is physical. As a result, a physcological contracts exist from verbal agreements while legal contracts exist from written and signed agreements. From reading the link above, the recession of the 1990's and the effect of globalisation are largely responsible for why the term has become so popular although the term dates back as early as the 1960's. The recession of the early 1990's is responsible for popularising the term because during that period, the number of employees that were getting laid off was very high as job security was uncertain and not guaranteed. Globalisation is also responsible for popularising the term because foreign workers would do the jobs of others for less money and in some cases, more efficiently. This resulted in employees being made redundant in favour of the foreign workers, increasing the unemployment rate.

Recently, employees are becoming increasingly concerned about their job security which is why it is very important that employers communicate with their employees regularly regarding their performance and role in the company and negotiate accordingly i.e. the "physcological contract" as it helps to restore confidence in the employees and therefore motivate them into working more productively and efficiently.

In conclusion, I have learnt quite a lot from this topic on Recruitment. This is because this is a topic that I'm not particularly familiar with or have much knowledge of. It is also a subject that I've found interesting as it is something that would be of relevance to myself once I leave University and apply for a full time job.

References

Recruitment image - Available from: http://www.jobquest.com.sg/website_picture/recruitment-handshake.jpg [Accessed 01 February 2010].