Employability Skills for University Graduates

This assignment examines the crucial role of employability skills for recent university graduates in securing competitive advantage within the job market. It delves into the drivers of competitive advantage, emphasizing the significance of soft skills training and motivation in enhancing graduate employability. The analysis draws upon various academic sources, including research on dynamic capabilities, work motivation, and effective teaching strategies for promoting skill development.

EMPLOYABILI
TY SKILLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1.1 Set of own responsibilities and performance objectives .......................................................3
1.2 Own effectiveness against defined objectives ......................................................................5
1.3 Recommendations .................................................................................................................5
1.4 review of motivational techniques ........................................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
2.1 Solutions for work based problem ........................................................................................8
2.2 Communicate in variety of styles .........................................................................................8
2.3 Effective time management strategies ..................................................................................9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Roles played by people .......................................................................................................10
3.2 Analysing team dynamics ...................................................................................................11
3.3 Alternative ways for completing a task ..............................................................................11
TASK 4 .........................................................................................................................................12
4.1 Tools and methods for assessing solutions for problem .....................................................12
4.2 Appropriate strategy for resolving a particular problem .....................................................12
4.3 Potential impact of implementing the strategy ...................................................................13
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
Employability skills supports an individual to accomplish task and responsibilities of job
and make advancements in career growth (Mendler, 2015). Present report is based on Primark
which is a leading fashion organization of UK. The report describes about time management
strategies that can be used in the company and methods of communication for solving work
based problems have been described. In addition to that identification of a work based problem
and solutions for resolving the problem have been mentioned. Moreover, roles played by staff
members at work place are explained and analysis of team dynamics has also been done. Other
than that other ways for completing a task has also been mentioned.
TASK 1
1.1 Set of own responsibilities and performance objectives
Primark is a leading fashion and clothing brand which offers superior quality menswear,
women-wear and kids wear for its consumers (PRimark, 2017). Employability skills are defined
as a set of skills and capabilities that are required in an individual for accomplishing assigned
task and responsibilities in a better way (Ghosh, 2017). For working as a sales manager in
Primark organization, I need to perform some specific responsibilities that are as described:-
 I need to give directions and instructions to all my subordinates.
 I need to do task and work allocation so that all employees should be assigned specific set
of work and job responsibilities.
 I need to regularly interact with the colleagues, superiors and subordinates so that I can
understand their issues and resolve their problems.
 I am responsible for implementing the policies and strategies that have been formed by
the top management.
 I am responsible for providing training and competence to staff member so that they can
complete their assigned task and responsibility in a better way.
 I am accountable for monitoring and reviewing performance of my juniors so that I can
take effective measures for improving the performance of staff member.
 I am responsible for motivating my subordinates so that they can perform their work in
an enthusiastic manner.
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 My duty is to set long term and short term goals for my junior employees.
 I need to develop code of conduct, policies and procedures that are required to be
followed in the organization.
I need to develop some specific skills so that I can accomplish and perform the assigned task and
responsibilities in a better and effective way. Performance objectives for me are as described:-
SPECIFIC I need to have good communication skills so that I can effectively
interact with my seniors, subordinates and colleagues.
I need to learn effective time management skills so that I can
schedule my work in a better and effective way.
Decision making skills are vital for working as a sales manager
and I need to acquire better decision making skills.
I need to learn better and effective problem solving skills so that I
can resolve complex and critical issues that are faced in the
enterprise.
MEASURABLE All the objectives set by me are measurable and I will make use of
checklist method for achieving my objectives.
ATTAINABLE It is possible to accomplish the objectives that are set by me. All
the goals are easily attainable for me.
RELIABLE All the objectives set by me are reliable.
TIME BOUND I will set a specific time limit in which the objective needs to be
attained.
Activities for making improvement in skills are as described:-
Communication skills I will watch news programs on television for learning better ways
for making effective communication.
Time management skills I will join training sessions for learning better ways for managing
my time.
Decision making skills I will read good books written by management leaders for acquiring
better and effective ways for taking better decisions.
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Problem solving skills I will take assistance from my seniors for learning good problem
solving skills.
1.2 Own effectiveness against defined objectives
Sales manager of Primark need to have effective employability skills so that all the
operational activities of the enterprise can be executed in a better and effective way. I have taken
positive efforts for getting engaged in various activities for making positive and significant
improvements in my existing skills and capabilities. It has supported me in acquiring better
competence and capabilities for working as a sales manager of the Primark organization.
However, I have not taken proper initiatives for making significant improvements in my existing
skills. It is required that I should take initiatives for improving existing capabilities and
competence.
I have started watching television news programs so that I can acquire good
communication skills. It supported me in doing better and effective interaction with my
subordinates and colleagues. Other than this, I have joined training sessions for improving
management skills. It supported me in scheduling my work and tasks in better and effective
manner. In addition to that, I have taken initiatives for acquiring good decision making skills and
gaining effective problem solving skills by taking assistance from my seniors and reading good
books. All the activities have supported me in gaining fruitful improvements in my current
capabilities and skills. I can also improve my capabilities by engaging in some other activities
and further it will support me in enhancing my competence and capabilities. Presently, my
communication skills, my time management skills, decision making and problem solving skills
are effective.
1.3 Recommendations
To work as a sales manager in Primark organization, I need to take better decisions for
handling complex and critical problems that are faced in the business. I have taken in initiatives
in making significant improvements in my problem solving and decision making skills. It helped
me in taking good decisions for managing complex and critical issues that are faced in the
enterprise. Some recommendations for improvement are as described:-
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Business situation: - Primark organization was facing issues due to decreasing sales and due to
that overall profitability of the enterprise decreased. All the business firms face challenges and
work based problems and it is required that these should be properly reduced (Rao, 2014). It was
required that better and effective approaches should be adopted by the organization for resolving
problem that was faced in the enterprise. Due to decreasing sales, overall profitability of the
enterprise was affected and negative impact was observed on the financial revenues earned by
the firm. It was required that proper support and involvement of staff members should be taken
so that problems faced in the enterprise can be solved in better and effective way. Some
recommendations for resolving the issues are as follows :-
I need to make more improvements in my decision making and problem solving skills so
that better decisions can be taken for resolving this issue. Other than that I need to have good
communication skills so that I can make proper and effective interaction with the staff members
so that there positive involvement can be taken for enhancing sales and revenues of the entity. I
can motivate my subordinates and enhance their morale and capabilities so that they can be
encouraged for performing their assigned work and responsibilities in better and effective way. I
can organize open discussion session for taking ideas and suggestions from my subordinates. It
will help for identifying better ways for resolving the issues that is faced due to the decreasing
sales in the enterprise. Positive support given by staff members will help for enhancing the sales
and financial revenue of the enterprise.
1.4 review of motivational techniques
Motivation is defines as practice followed for enhancing morale of an individual towards
accomplishment of a specific goal. There are various types of motivational techniques that can
be used in the organization there are various methods that can be adopted in the enterprise for
enhancing the motivational level of the staff members (Rosen, 2014). Primark organization
makes use of various methods and techniques for making improvements in morale and
motivational level of staff members. According to Maslow's Need hierarchy theory there are five
stages of need and these are as described :-
Physiological needs :- Every individual has some basic needs and it includes food, shelter and
other requirement of basic amenities. It is required that these needs of people should be fulfilled
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so that better and effective involvement of employees should be gained for accomplishing the
goals of the enterprise (Spence and Hyams-Ssekasi, 2015). Primark organization takes
significant initiatives for providing appropriate wages and compensation to the staff members so
that they can complete their basic requirements. Human resource department of the enterprise
takes initiatives for designing and developing compensation policy for the organization.
Appropriate payment of wages is done to the staff members and it helps for meeting the
physiological needs of the employees.
Safety needs :- Secure and conductive working environment is provided to employees in
Primark organization and it helps for meeting the safety needs of staff members. It is ensured by
management that all the employees should work in safe and protective working environment and
it also helps for providing protection to the staff members against hazardous and risky work
conditions.
Social needs :- Mutual understanding and cooperation is enhanced among staff members by
organizing role playing sessions and management games for them. It supports in developing
better and effective understanding among employees. Other than this flexible working hours are
also provided to employees so that they can spend quality time with my family members. These
are some positive and effective initiatives that are taken by Primark organization for meeting the
social needs of the staff members.
Esteem needs:- Esteem needs are those needs of individuals in which they require acceptance
and recognition from their colleagues and superiors (Tsitskari, Goudas and Michalopoulou,
2017). Job promotions are given to the staff members and they are also provided performance
based incentives. Other than that annual reward functions are organized in the company in which
top performing employees are given the appreciation for the good and effective work that is
being performed by them.
Self actualization needs :- under these needs challenges faced by employees and their
satisfaction level with their current job positions. Employees are encouraged for self learning so
that they can accomplish their assigned goals and responsibilities in better ways. It aids in
making significant improvements in capabilities and competence of the staff members.
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All the efforts and initiatives that are taken by staff members supports for accomplishing
needs of the staff members. Their basic requirements are fulfilled and they are encouraged for
completing their assigned task and responsibility.
TASK 2
2.1 Solutions for work based problem
Priamrk organization is a leading fashion brand and it offers superior quality products for
its business consumers. It is required that all the operations of the enterprise should be performed
smoothly so that revenues and financial performance of the business can be improved.
Sometimes complex and critical business problems are faced in the company and due to that
overall working and performance gets affected. It is required that better and effective solutions
for work based problems should be identified. One particular work based problem and solution
for it are as follows :-
Work based problem :- Primark organization is a leading fashion brand and it holds big market
share. However, recently organization faced issues due to the decreasing sales and overall
profitability of the enterprise was decreasing. For resolving this issue I adopted democratic
participative leadership style and due to that I became successful in involving positive support of
staff members in the decision making process. Methods adopted for resolving the issue are as
follows :-
Brainstorming sessions :- These sessions are organized in the enterprise for identifying the root
cause of the problem that is being faced in the enterprise (Suleman, 2016). Sales executives were
invited to attend the session and members were requested for giving their recommendations and
suggestions for making improvements in methods that are used by the enterprise for resolving
the issues that are faced by them. Innovative ideas and concepts will be evaluated and it
supported for identifying methods for resolving the issues that are being faced in the enterprise.
After identifying and assessing major cause of the problem new ideas and suggestions were
taken from the employees for resolving the issue that was being faced by them.
2.2 Communicate in variety of styles
Communication is a procedure in which required information and message is transferred
from one person to another person. It is critical that effective communication channel should be
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used so that flow of information can be ensured (Watty, Jackling and Wilson, 2014). It is needed
that work based problem should be disclosed to the staff members so that involvement of the
employees is taken for solving the problem that is being faced in the enterprise. Working as a
sales manager of Primark organization I will use some effective methods for making workers
aware about the issues that are being faced in the firm. Three different departments work in the
organization and I will make use of different methods for communicating the required
information to the staff members. Wide range of methods that will be used by me are as
described :-
Top level management :- I will prepare written documents and mention all the necessary details
under it so that better and effective decisions can be taken for resolving the issues that are being
faced in the entity.
Middle level management :-circulars and memo will be distributed and middle level management
will be informed regarding the critical and troublesome issue that is being faced in the
organization. In addition to that E-mails will also be sent to employees that are working at
middle level management so that they can be made aware about the issues that are being faced in
the enterprise.
Lower level management :- telephonic communication method will be used and employees will
be informed regarding the issues that was being faced in the enterprise.
All the communication strategies will help for solving the issues that are being faced in the
enterprise and all the three different departments of the organization including top management,
middle level and lower level management will be informed regarding the issue that is being
faced ion the company.
2.3 Effective time management strategies
Time management is essential for scheduling all the necessary activities that are needed
to be completed in the enterprise. Working as a sales manager of the organization I need to
manage my time schedules so that I can accomplish all my assigned work and activities on due
time. Some time management strategies that are used in the organization are as described :-
Avoiding multitasking :- it is required that all the necessary activities should be properly
scheduled and multitasking should be completely avoided in the enterprise. It aids for carrying
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out all the required activities in sequential and structure way and it also supports for carrying out
necessary functions in effectual manner.
Recording necessary task and activities :- It is required that proper record of all the necessary
task and work activities should be formed so that all the assigned work and activities should be
completed on due time without facing much difficulty (Finch, Peacock and Foster, 2016).
Setting time schedule for completing all the necessary work activities :- all the required work and
activities needs to be scheduled and divided into most important, less important and on the basis
of that time schedule should be allocated for completing those activities.
TASK 3
3.1 Roles played by people
Situation :- Primark organization is facing issues due to decreasing sales and it is required
that mutual support should be given by all the staff members for resolving this issue. All the staff
members of the organization have been directed for solving the problem and rendering their
positive and effective support for resolving the issue. Various types of roles that are played by
employees in the organization are as described :-
Belbin's team roles are as described :-
Resource investigator :- innovative ideas and concepts will be given by employee working as a
resource investigator (Mayer, 2014). New methods will be assessed for increasing the sales of
the enterprise by adopting innovative ideas and concepts.
Team worker :- person working as a team worker will be responsible for assigning work and task
to the employees and making improvement in efficiency and productivity of the staff members.
Co-ordinator :- goals and objectives for the team will be given by employee working as
coordinator and the person will be accountable for delegating authorities and responsibilities to
the staff members (Thomas, Silverman and Nelson, 2015).
Plant :- Employee working as plant will be responsible for handling problems and issues that are
faced while working as an team.
Monitor- evaluator :- Employee working at this role will be accountable for making action plans
and strategies for carrying out necessary activities. Other than that person will be responsible for
monitoring the work performed by the employees.
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Specialist :- Better understanding about root cause of problem will be provided by the individual
working as a specialist.
Shaper:- All the decisions and strategies formed in the team will be implemented by person
working as a shaper.
Implementer :- All the strategies and action plan will be implemented by efforts made by person
working as an implementer.
Complete finisher :- All the required task and activities will be completed by finisher and final
monitoring of work completed by the staff members will be done.
3.2 Analysing team dynamics
Priamrk organization is facing issues due to the decreasing sales and due to that overall
profitability and sales of the enterprise are getting affected. Team dynamics is defined as force
that leads the team towards accomplishment of a specific goal (Conroy, Yang and Maher, 2014).
It gives impact on the overall working of the organization and revenues earned by the company
and profitability of the enterprise got affected due to it.
Influence of team dynamics is observed on overall performance of the organization.
Performance given by individual staff members gets affected due to it and impact is observed on
individual performance given by employees (Pinder, 2014). In addition to that team roles, office
layouts, tools and technology that are used in the enterprise. In addition to that stages of team
formation includes forming, storming, norming and performing.
3.3 Alternative ways for completing a task
Primark organization can make use of some alternative methods for completing the task
and goals of the enterprise. Some methods are as follows -
Brainstorming sessions :- In this method members meet together for evaluating and identifying
various ways that could be used for completing required tasks and activities (Benson, Morgan,
and Filippaios, 2014). All the members provide innovative ideas and concepts for resolving the
issues that are faced by the staff members.
Expert advice :- In this method task and work are completed by taking assistance from an expert
and it helps for accomplishing the work and task in better and effective ways.
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Meetings :- All the staff members who are responsible for completing a task will be called in
meeting and they will be asked for giving innovative ideas and suggestions for carrying out
required functions of the organization in better and effective way.
TASK 4
4.1 Tools and methods for assessing solutions for problem
It is assertive that effective tools should be used for assessing the solutions for the
problem that is being faced in the Primark organization.
Problem faced in the primark company :- Organization is facing issues due to the decreasing
sales and it is creating problem in maintaining current market position of the enterprise. Some
effective methods that can be used in the enterprise are as described :-
Bench marking process :- Under this technique existing practices and procedures of the
organization are compared with other organizations that are working in the same industry
(Mayer, 2014). Effective improvements can be made in the current procedures and growth and
success of the enterprise can be ensured by making use of this method. This method supports for
assessing solutions for a particular problem that is being faced in the enterprise.
Brainstorming sessions :- In this methods employees working in the sales department will be
invited to take part in the brainstorming session. This method helps for assessing root cause of a
particular problem and it will also help for evaluating innovative concepts for solving a problem
that is being faced in the enterprise.
4.2 Appropriate strategy for resolving a particular problem
It is critical that appropriate strategy should be used by Primark organization for
resolving a particular problem that is being faced in the enterprise. Two methods that will be
used in the entity are as described :-
Force field analysis :- This method provides an effective medium for assessing root cause of the
problem that is being faced in the enterprise (Conroy, Yang and Maher, 2014). A list is prepared
under this method in which all the forces that gives impact on the problem are identified and it
supports in identifying methods that could be used for resolving issues that are being faced in the
organization. Diverse range of forces that lead towards creating problems in the firm are assessed
and due to that impact is observed on the overall performance of the business. Data and
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information needs to be collected from authentic and reliable sources so that this method should
be implemented properly.
Fish bone diagram :- in this method major causes that lead towards creating a specific problem
are identified and impact of these causes on the problem faced in the enterprise are identified. It
aids in evaluating methods that could be used for resolving specific problem that is being faced
in the organization. Primark organization is facing troubles due to the decreasing sales and it is
giving negative influence on the overall performance of the company.
Both the methods are effective and can be sued by Primark organization for resolving a
specific problem that is being faced in the enterprise.
4.3 Potential impact of implementing the strategy
Primark company has made positive and effective efforts for resolving the issues that are
being faced in the enterprise. Initially root cause of a specific problem was identified and on the
basis of that strategies and action plans are formed for resolving the issues that are being faced in
the company. Company was facing issues due to decreasing sales and it was giving impact on the
overall financial performance of the enterprise.
Force field analysis and fish bone diagrams have been used for solving the problems that
are being faced in the company. Company has found the solution that sales team can be
motivated for enhancing existing sales of the organization. Other than this for resolving this issue
organization adopted performance linked schemes and sales executives of the company were
given options for earning more incentives by increasing the sales and profitability of the
enterprise. By implementing the strategy organization got benefited and increment in existing
sales performance of the enterprise are observed. In addition to that morale and motivation level
of staff members increased when they were given option for gaining performance linked
incentives. Participation and involvement of employees increased and it supported for making
positive and effective improvements in performance of the organization.
CONCLUSION
Aforementioned report concludes that employability skills supports an individual for
completing their assigned work and job responsibilities in better manner. Motivational
techniques that are used in company supports for making improvements in morale and
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motivational level of staff members. Other than that force field analysis and fish bone diagrams
are two different methods that can be used in the organization for identifying root cause for a
specific business problem. Various positive benefits can be reaped by implementing the strategy
and long term growth and success of the entity can be ensured through this. Work based
problems that are faced in the company can be handled and managed by organizing
brainstorming sessions in which participants can be encouraged for giving their valuable
suggestions that could be used for resolving the issues that are being faced in the entity.
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[Accessed on 7th February 2017].
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