HR Report: Developing Individuals, Teams & Organizations at Whirlpool

This report examines HR practices at Whirlpool, a global home appliance company. It explores the professional knowledge, skills, and behaviors required of HR staff, including communication, teamwork, and time management. A personal skills audit and professional development plan are presented to enhance the skills of an HR consultant, focusing on areas like oral communication, time management, and problem-solving. The report differentiates between individual and organizational learning, emphasizing the importance of both for employee and company performance. It also analyzes the need for continuous learning and professional development to drive sustainable business performance and demonstrates how a high-performance work culture contributes to employee engagement and competitive advantage. Finally, it evaluates various performance management approaches to support a high-performance culture within Whirlpool, offering specific examples and recommendations for implementation.

Developing Individual, Teams and Organizations in Whirlpool
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
1 What professional knowledge, skills and behaviors are required by HR staff members within Whirlpool...............................................................3
2. Prepare a personal skills audit and develop a professional development plan to identify knowledge, skills and behaviors for a job role at
Whirlpool..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
3. Explain the differences between organizational and individual learning, training and development as per case study at Whirlpool.....................10
4. Analyze the need for continuous learning and professional development for driving sustainable business performance at Whirlpool.................11
5. Demonstrate understanding of how HPW contributes to employee engagement and competitive advantage within the organizational situation at
Whirlpool................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
P6 Evaluate different approaches to performance management and demonstrate with specific examples how they can support high-performance
culture and commitment at Whirlpool....................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
References................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 15
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Introduction
Individual development is that process where emphasis is given by staff members on developing skill set, forming professional goals
and increasing work potential as a person. It is all about rediscovering one’s own self and bringing a positive change in work life. The
emphasis of present study has been on a renowned home appliances company being Whirlpool (Huang, 2016). It is involved in
production and marketing of the home appliances through its outlets that have a worldwide presence. The employee number is more
than 90000 that serves the needs and requirements of diverse consumer base (Kasemsap, 2015). The report is based on a case study
which emphasizes on how the company can maintain high-performance culture by use of collaborative working and good
communication. Other than this, importance has also been laid on analyzing the skills, knowledge and behavioral traits that are
required for overall success.
1 What professional knowledge, skills and behaviors are required by HR staff members within Whirlpool
There is a need of many skills, knowledge base as well as behavioral traits in employees of Whirlpool so that they can do justice with
mission and vision of company.
Skills – Being in hr. department, the employees are required to focus on communication skill in both oral and written formats. The Hr.
team must be in touch with new recruits to tell them about vacancies; employees about strategic changes in company and also
management. This skill will help in making the restructuring process a transparent one and support can be gained by staff members as
well. The next skill set is of team work and collaboration which is all about working together with other members of department and
act as role model for other employees of company. This skillset can also help in avoiding conflicting situations which may occur on
account of strategic changes introduced in the company. Moreover, constructive conflict is among the five dimensions which are
required in Whirlpool to give effective performance (Hollenbeck and Jamieson, 2015). Then is time management which can help in
ensuring that restructuring process is done as per schedule. This is most important as the trait is essential in all the employees to allow
in timely completion of work related responsibilities. There is also a presence of planning skill in the area of restructuring, policy
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formulation, deciding on appointing new workforce; carrying out job rotation among others. This skill set can further assist in carrying
out restructuring process in an organized fashion (Kramar, 2014). Then is the skill of multitasking which is required within Whirlpool
as lot of goals and objectives are to be attained by the company in a short time duration.
Knowledge – Any Hr. professional is required to have an education in human resource, business administration either as a degree or
diploma. He should further possess knowledge about employee laws, labor regulations, compensation, and remuneration among
others. If he is able to do a course in accounts, statistics and information technology then it is a good source of advantage. He or she
must also be trained in workforce planning, employee relations so as to gain an edge over others and also provide benefits to company
(Cornelissen and Cornelissen, 2017). These days awareness about high-performance work culture is a good thing so as to help in
maintaining good employee and employer relationships. It is also mandatory to have knowledge about the basic terminologies like
transparent communication; respect for other staff; shared commitment and accountability as well as collaborative working. These are
also the ones which should be attained by Whirlpool in next six months hence knowledge in employees about the same is a source of
advantage.
Behavior - As Whirlpool is heading towards high performance work culture hence there is also a need of certain behavior traits in the
employees. For example, the management must have a good EQ (emotional quotient) so as to be in a better position to motivate staff
members. He or she must be curious, creative and innovate in work approach (Lu and et.al., 2015). This behavior trait will help in
developing solutions to the issues that are being faced by employees. Other than this, the manager must lead the employees rather than
just managing them so as to attain the five core dimensions as set by senior officials of Whirlpool (Hollenbeck and Jamieson, 2015).
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2. Prepare a personal skills audit and develop a professional development plan to identify knowledge, skills and behaviors for
a job role at Whirlpool.
Being an HR consultant for the home appliances company it is essential to carry out my own skills audit to assess knowledge, skills
and behaviors and develop a professional development plan accordingly (Budhwar and Debrah, 2013). As per the table drawn below 1
denotes high level of confidence while 5 is meant for no confidence.
Skill set Summary of the skill Confidence/
competence level
Leadership skills I am a good leader and able to motivate the
employees by use of emotional quotient. I also
share a good rapport with my employees.
2
Oral communication I am good at communicating with my
employees and management. I can easily
communicate them the needed information but
get nervous on stage or in front of big group. I
need to get well versed in this area (Lima and
Patah, 2016).
3
Problem solving I am not good in this skill set and often get
stuck while searching for solutions to any
issue. This issue is especially faced during
conflict resolution when I am able to generate
logical, constructive solutions that can be
5
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applied in reality.
Team work I am a good team player and can work in an
effective manner while in a team. This helps
me to attain the goals and objectives of
company followed by maintaining harmony.
Things will further improve if I am able to
solve the problems of my team members in an
easy manner.
2
Time management I face the issue of time management during the
time of work load when there is immense
pressure in the company. I tend to miss
deadlines and have to take help of other
colleagues to complete work responsibilities.
4
Written
communication
I am quite good in written communication on
account of my education in a missionary
school. I am confident in drafting mails and
notices that is a major part of my work profile.
1
Professional development plan
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On the basis of above mentioned skill audit, it can be said that there is a need to enhance my skill set which are not up to the mark.
This has been made possible by the development of a professional plan to assist me in my role as HR consultant for Whirlpool. The
plan is as follows;
Skill set Current proficiency Target proficiency Steps to take Resources
required
Time scale Criteria to judge success
Oral
Communication
I get nervous while speaking
in front of a big group and
also during presentations.
I am required to
develop my
confidence in
public speaking.
I should practice in
front of mirror.
I can take help of
online sites on
public speaking.
Refer to speeches
given by world
famous speakers.
Talk on a topic in
small groups.
Practice
presentation in
front of small
groups.
Videos on speeches
of famous speakers
Mirror for
practicing.
Internet
Books
Help of friends and
colleagues
(Jackson, Schuler,
and Jiang, 2014).
6 months Increase in confidence in front
of group and during
presentations.
A positive remark by
supervisor.
Good feedback from friends
and colleagues.
More chances for delivering
presentations in office.
Time Feel pressure during work Need to feel less Discussing about Watch 2 months Lack of pressure during work
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management load while in office
Often miss the deadlines on
which work was to be
completed.
pressured during
work load
Need to complete
work on or before
time.
the issue to
supervisor.
Asking him to
provide a helping
hand during work
pressure.
Avoiding
distractions like
phone calls; What
Sapp and meeting
with friends.
Working on tough
works before and
leaving small/easy
ones for later.
Adopting work
distribution policy
in team members.
Help of supervisor.
Calendar to
schedule work.
load.
Easily able to meet deadlines.
Increase in performance.
Positive remark by supervisor.
Problem solving Find issue in solving
problems of my team
members.
Unable to adopt strategies
Be recognized as
the one who is
good at solving
issues faced by
Need to develop an
understanding
about the problem
Problem solving
cases
Internet
Positive attitude
6 months Satisfaction in my team
members.
Increased confidence in me
with respect to solving issues
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for conflict resolution. team members. in hand.
Getting out of I
know everything
mentality.
Focusing on root
cause of the issue.
Provide creative
solutions
(Hollenbeck and
Jamieson, 2015).
Input about
problem from
employees.
Enhancement in the
performance.
Excel
spreadsheet and
database
As of now, I am not so sound
with the usage of excel.
The need is to
attain expertise in
using excel so as to
compete with other
team members
(Lilian, 2013).
Practical training
session should be
taken in Excel that
is given by database
expert.
Regular practice
after the end of
training sessions.
Taking help of
internet and seniors
database expert.
Excel software
Internet
Books on excel
5 months Able to carry out complex
calcuations with ease.
Able to guide new team
members towards usage of
excel.
Make proper entries in HR
database without any guidance.
Positive feedback from my
supervisors (Jamali, El Dirani
and Harwood, 2015).
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to solve queries.
3. Explain the differences between organizational and individual learning, training and development as per case study at
Whirlpool.
Organizational and individual learning as well as training and development are considered to be the same concepts but this is not true
in reality. The difference in above mentioned concepts has been discussed with reference to Whirlpool case study.
Individual learning is about increasing knowledge by reflection and experience on the basis of interaction that has been done by others
in workplace. Organizational learning on other hand is all about development of a new skill set so as to bring a change in employee
behavior over a period of time. With respect to individual learning the staff members at Whirlpool should carry out learning activities
all by themselves such as through internet, case studies, attending seminars and taking part in discussions. Overall the individual must
reduce their dependency on Whirlpool for the purpose of learning (Lawler and Boudreau, 2015). This is one of the most essential steps
to develop a high performance workforce within Whirlpool. Also the learning should be imbibed in employee in such a manner that
there is a change in his or her behavior (Kitchin and Tate, 2013). This will not only assist in enhancing employee performance but also
of Whirlpool. Then is the concept of organizational learning where senior officials at Whirlpool must provide necessary resources and
training sessions so that learning can happen in the employee. This can be in form of focusing on activities such as role plays sessions,
systematic problem solving, allowing for creativity and innovation in workplace etc. Overall it can be said that management in
Whirlpool should ensure that all systems and processes are in place that may support the process of organizational learning. If officials
at Whirlpool adhere with the above two approaches of learning then there can be formulation of high performance work culture. It
must also be explained to supervisors that both the forms of learning are essential for employees hence they should support the
processes and systems.
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Training is that learning strategy where staff members develop the skill set, knowledge and expertise in the area which is concerned
with their current job profile. On the other hand, development is regarded as that educational strategy which emphasizes on overall
employee development. In this regard, an important role is played by both training and development approaches for the improved
performance of employees in Whirlpool. Employee can be trained in learning of a new software; soft skill; tool for quality
management; how to take an interview etc. On the other hand, development activities aid in increasing the general employee skill set
such as leadership and managerial skills (Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall and Rigsbee, 2013). As of now, the company has laid
emphasis on many career development activities for the staff members. One such noteworthy example is of Leadership Development
Program where young employees are provided with challenging job opportunities that assists in developing there skill set and provides
differentiated results (re-inventing learning at whirlpool. 2018). In the area of training, the firm has started activities to create
innovative skills of staff members. From the above given example, another difference has been noted being employee training sessions
at Whirlpool are job oriented while developmental activities are career oriented.
4. Analyze the need for continuous learning and professional development for driving sustainable business performance at
Whirlpool.
Continuous learning is all about the approach taken by staff members to bring an overall improvement in the knowledge and expertise
possessed by the employees. This is required to aid in effective adaption of employees with respect to restructuring process that is
going to take place in Whirlpool. In the same lines, professional development can be regarded as increase in overall ability of staff
members by use of techniques like education, training or watching the employee working (Hollenbeck and Jamieson, 2015). If the
concepts of continuous learning and professional development have been imbibed in employees then a sustainable business
performance can be generated. The strategies are quite advantageous for the staff members at the company so as to generate an
increased learning curve (Min, Liu and Ji, 2010). This will further lead to more employee productivity and enhancement in
organizational performance in terms of profit and revenue figures. Moreover, there will be an increase in overall staff motivation
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which will lead to contentment. This may then spread to entire organization thereby bringing a reduction in employee turnover and led
to increase in retention. There will further be an increase in employee skill set that are in par with standards as laid by industry
(Developing and Sustaining High-Performance Work Teams. 2018).
5. Demonstrate understanding of how HPW contributes to employee engagement and competitive advantage within the
organizational situation at Whirlpool
High performance working (HPW) has been defined by the UK commission for skills and employment as a technique which helps to
manage the company and involve the staff. HPW also pay attention on making the employees committed towards their work so as to
attain high performance. Within Whirlpool, HPW has helped in attaining engagement of employee within the organization and
competitive advantage as well (Laschinger and Read, 2017). According to the case study, it can be said that in order to employ HPW
within Whirlpool, a well-planned strategy was formulated and implemented by the management. The results of the plan were also seen
in just a span of 6 months. This became possible because of engagement and commitment shown by employees towards their work.
As a result, this helped Whirlpool to gain competitive advantage over its competitors as the company was able to deal with the critical
situation through hard work and high performance of its employees in less time.
6 Evaluate different approaches to performance management and demonstrate with specific examples how they can support
high-performance culture and commitment at Whirlpool.
There is an existence of diverse approaches for performance management that can be used by management team in Whirlpool.
Collaborative working - The management should train the staff members to work with collaboration and team work. They must carry
out shared decision making and also take advice from each other. This will help in learning the skill set from and there will also be an
enhancement in overall knowledge base of the employees. This may led to creation of high-performance culture and commitment in a
long time.
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