Management of Human ReSOURCES class discussion wk7 Coursework

Management of Human ReSOURCES class discussion wk7 - Coursework Example e job and there are many other applicants with similar qualifications, then the next screening stage should determine if they can be engaged employees in the company because they believe in and practice the organization’s core values and principles that shape its culture. A great example is Southwest Airlines that hires people who are fun-loving and can be team players. It is not focusing on the employee-job fit alone, but on the employee-organization fit. I believe that the elements of the employee selection process that are absolutely essential are determining valid and reliable assessment techniques because they must be able to measure the right predictors for the company. These predictors refer to skill, knowledge, ability, personality, and behavioral styles (including communication style) that are important for the organization and the job opening. For instance, the personality traits of being gregarious and exuberant are more important for a real estate broker than a computer engineer. HR must be able to use the proper assessment techniques that will predict the candidate’s employee-job fit and employee-organization fit. I think the methods of job applicant assessment that are most useful and/or provide reliable results depend on the job. I believe that, for entry-level jobs, work simulations would be useful in determining if the applicant can truly perform the job. An example is letting a call center job applicant take a mock customer call to determine if she can handle calls politely and effectively. Assessment centers are more appropriate for managerial and higher-level positions because they can observe and check the applicant’s actual knowledge, skills, and attitudes in different situations. Interviews are important for any position, nevertheless, because they can show how the candidates communicate and how they respond to different cases and

Management Consultant Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Consultant Industry - Essay Example There has been a lot of criticism of consultants, consulting companies as well as consulting as a profession. This also spurred a large number of jokes and sarcastic comments being made on consultants, one of them being ‘All that management consultants do is to borrow their clients' watches and tell them the time, then send in a huge bill’. Many articles have also been penned on various unethical practices being carried out by consultants especially in big consulting firms (Kitay & Wright 2004, Pinault 2000). While some amount of criticism is valid and makes sense, a large part is also exaggerated. This essay aims to critically analyze both sides of the picture before arriving at the do’s and don’ts for a successful marriage between business and consulting. Criticism against Consultants (Stage 3- Root Definition) Consulting by nature is a service industry and hence its deliverables are highly intangible and subjective (Lemann 1999). Therefore, different bus iness organizations have different evaluation of work done by consultants for them. Consultants generally charge a very high fee. Many times, their recommendations actually lead to worsening of conditions. Moreover, consultants have the inclination to implement or suggest certain standard solutions which have developed in their own organizations or are generally used best practices in the industry. Hence, they don’t make it a point to customize the solution for a particular organization or come up with a new solution. (Pringle 1998). Consultants are often seen focusing on latest management fads in the market or using fashionable business jargon to impress the clients but which may have no implications on the output (Clark & Salaman 1998, Pinault 2000). A large number of consulting projects have simply failed to deliver the results while many others lost touch with reality mid-way and had to be scrapped (Klenter & Mollgard 2006, Seidl & Mohe 2007). In many cases, implementatio n of the consultants’ advice has produced disastrous circumstances for an organization (Byrne 2002). Ferdinand Piech, former CEO of Volkswagen, even went to the extent of saying that â€Å"If you want to ruin a company, you only have to try fixing it with the help of external consultants† (Seidl & Mohe 2007). Analysis of Client- Consultant interaction through CATWOE approach Let us understand the client consultant relationship through CATWOE approach proposed by Checkland (Williams 2005). a. Customers: The customers here would be the end consumers the client caters to. For example, for a steel manufacturer people buying utensils may be the customer. The impact of the client consultant relationship on the customers may occur in the medium to long term. b. Actors: Actors would be the consultants or consulting firm who enable the transformation. The role of consultants is the most significant for the success of this relationship. Now days, consultants work in teams which comprise members of the client side as well. Therefore, in such cases certain client side employees are also actors. c. Transformation: The transformation is the conversion from an unsolved problem to a well laid out solution. The solution may be a suggestion, recommendation, documentation, model or an end to end implementation depending upon the nature and scope of work. d. Weltanschauung: The compensation of the consu