Developing Individuals, Teams and Organisations: Whirlpool HR

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of HR practices within Whirlpool, addressing key aspects of professional development and organizational performance. It begins by identifying the essential knowledge, skills, and behaviors required of HR professionals in the company, particularly in the context of organizational restructuring and crisis management. A personal skills audit and professional development plan are then presented for an HR consultant, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report explores the distinctions between organizational and individual learning, training, and development, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning for sustainable business performance. It further examines the contribution of High-Performance Work (HPW) to employee engagement and competitive advantage within the Whirlpool context. Finally, the report evaluates different approaches to performance management and how these can support a high-performance culture and commitment within the organization. The analysis is supported by relevant figures and references, providing a detailed understanding of the topics discussed.

Developing Individuals, Teams
and Organisations

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
P1. Appropriate and professional knowledge, skills and behaviours that are required by HR
professionals in Whirlpool...........................................................................................................1
P2. Identifying appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours through personal skills audit
with developing professional development plan for HR consultant in Whirlpool......................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
P3. Differences between organisational and individual learning, training and development......5
P4. Driving sustainable business performance through continuous learning and professional
development.................................................................................................................................6
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................9
P5. Contribution of HPW to employee engagement and competitive advantage within a
specific organisational situation...................................................................................................9
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................10
P6. Different approaches to performance management and the way they can support high-
performance culture and commitment.......................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: The Experiential Learning Cycle.....................................................................................7
Figure 2: Kolb's Learning Styles.....................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
In today’s highly competitive environment, success of any organisation depends on its
human resources so that it can expand and improve on continuous basis. With the help of
collective and individual capabilities that people at workplace possess, company can run its
operations in a smooth way. This is the reason; to develop individuals, teams and organisations
on continuous basis is important. In present report, The Whirlpool HPW Case is given with
reference to which professional knowledge, skills and behaviours in HR professionals will be
explained. Personal skills audit and professional development plan for the HR consultant of
Whirlpool will be given as well. Also, there will be focus on differences between organisational
and individual learning, training and development as well as on the need for continuous learning
and professional development. Further, the way HPW contributes to employee engagement and
in gaining competitive advantage will be explained along with evaluating different approaches to
performance management.
LO 1
P1. Appropriate and professional knowledge, skills and behaviours that are required by HR
professionals in Whirlpool
In Whirlpool, HR professionals play a key role being in a highly competitive sector. They
are the one who are responsible for executing organizational and strategic changes to make
company sustain for longer duration. Firm has faced a time of crisis when it was clear to the
team that major restructuring is required to survive. At that time, HR professionals in company
have shown their skills, knowledge and behaviours to make the efforts of employees lead to
innovation and increased productivity. So, as per the scenario given of Whirlpool, appropriate
and professional knowledge, skills and behaviours that are needed to be there in HR
professionals are as follows:
Professional knowledge required in HR professionals Legal – To have legal knowledge regarding employment and labour laws, policies and
regulations is important for the HR professionals to deal with any kind of issues if arise
from the side of employees by conforming to the legal and regulatory standards.
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 Technical knowledge – In this competitive era, to have technical skills like basic
computer knowledge for working on software such as MS office, internet and database
management is required by HR professional in Whirlpool.
 Administration – One of the foremost knowledge which HR professionals in Whirlpool
like in any organisation require is to have in-depth idea about all concepts related to
administration and management to apply same in their working leading to ideal
management of employees (Söderhjelm and et.al., 2018).
Professional skills required in HR professionals Speaking ability – This is the basic skill required in HR professionals so that they can
communicate effectively to larger audience In Whirlpool, at the time of introducing
changes, it is important for HR professionals to communicate same to staff with
confidence. Listening – One of the most important skills possessed by HR professionals is to listen
what people in organisation are saying and the reason behind same. He needs to be very
patient as well as understanding which requires a focused mind (Zojceska, 2018).
 Empathy – For being a HR professional, to have this skill is crucial which means that he
should have the ability to see and understand viewpoints of others effectually so that an
effective decision can be made based on the situation.
Professional behaviours required in HR professionals Curious – This is a very common behaviour possessed by HR professionals as being
curious is all about seeking insight into the strategies of business as well as knowing and
understanding the way in which employees may behave or react in different situations
(Zojceska, 2018). Personally credible – As today’s business environment is dynamic, to meet the evolving
needs of business, it is significant for HR professionals in Whirlpool to keep their
practices flexible. They are also supposed to provide advice to senior leaders of the
organisation and convince them to take any specific decision like that of changing way of
performing tasks to attain the set goals successfully.
 Skilled influencer – It is one of the major behaviours of HR professionals in Whirlpool
to influence all stakeholders of business with whom they need to interact by
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communicating authoritatively along with delivering clear messages (Wilke, Lisa
Rossum and Wouter Dirk Have, 2018).
P2. Identifying appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours through personal skills audit with
developing professional development plan for HR consultant in Whirlpool
Personal skills audit is one of the best ways through which an employee in organisation
comes to know about his/her strengths and so, becomes able to develop same in a healthy
environment.
Personal Skills Audit
Strengths
 HR consultant in Whirlpool is able
enough to make employees agree to
accept changes through his effective
communication and influencing
power.
 He is good in time management as
well as in self-discipline by which he
is able to make employees follow the
same and attain targets on time
(North and Kumta, 2018).
 In Whirlpool, HR consultant is good
at employee development and
undertake initiatives to keep staff
always ready to work with
enthusiasm in dynamic situations.
Weaknesses
 As per the given scenario, it can be said
that in Whirlpool, major weakness that
HR consultant was having at the time
of company crisis in 2011 is that of
lack of innovation and less focus on
productivity.
 Another weakness found as per the
given case is that he was unable to
found loopholes existing in teams
which led to ineffective performance of
business.
Opportunities
 Main opportunity which HR
consultant in Whirlpool is having is
of improving and increasing the
interaction with employees to
understand their issues and deal with
same effectually.
Threats
 Main threat which HR consultant is
having being in Whirlpool is of
employee turnover as if his
communication would not be effective
enough with people and idea of
bringing changes will not work
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 Another opportunity is that of
bringing innovation in company
through advanced techniques and
making employees learn same to beat
the competition existing in market
with developing human resources of
the organisation.
 By implementing new policies time
to time as per the changing scenario
of business, HR consultant can
maintain stability in organisation
(Zojceska, 2018).
properly, it may lead to negative results
in terms of staff leaving the firm (Rae,
2018).
 Also, being in one of the most
competitive industries, if HR consultant
will not keep on developing the
employees, they would not be able to
deal with the dynamic environment of
business that will create issues for the
firm like decreased productivity, no
profits, etc.
Professional Development Plan
Skills
to be
achieve
d
Current proficiency Rat
ing
Target proficiency Rat
ing
Mitigating Strategies Time
Frame
Decisio
n
making
At present, decision
making skill of HR
consultant is not that
good and he is not
able to make
judgements instantly
whenever needed.
4 To improve it to an
extent that in any kind
of situation arise in
Whirlpool, whenever
required, decision of
immediate basis can be
made.
7 Through reading case
studies, books, taking
suggestions from higher
management, etc.
3-4
months
Conflict
handlin
g
Presently, HR
consultant in
Whirlpool is not able
to handle the conflicts
effectually when it
3 To make this skill
better so that conflicts
occurring among staff
can be handled
effectively and work
7 Through making
negotiation, listening
viewpoints of both the
parties and using own
instinct.
4-5
months
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occurs in between
employees.
will not get hampered
(Hewison and et.al.,
2018).
Creatin
g
solidarit
y
Company has faced
many issues just
because of the reason
that was no harmony
among departments.
HR consultant in
Whirlpool lacks in
this skill.
3 To create coordination
and unity among
employees so that
productivity and quality
in operations can be
improved.
7 Through organising
role plays and activities
that require teamwork,
arranging workshops,
etc.
3-4
months
Ability
to work
under
pressur
e
For HR consultant in
Whirlpool, to work
under high pressure at
the time of workload
is not possible.
5 To handle two or more
tasks simultaneously
and in an effectual
manner at the time of
peak lead in
organisation (Baldwin,
2016).
8 By making to-do lists,
setting priorities based
on the tasks allotted,
keeping positive
attitude, etc.
5-6
months
LO 2
P3. Differences between organisational and individual learning, training and development
At organisational and individual level, there are lot many differences in terms of learning
as well as training and development. Some of these are given as below:
Organisational learning Individual learning
 Learning at organisational level
promotes and encourages the
development of employees and a
healthy working culture at workplace.
 It is an important part of learning
cycle which gets directly impacted
 Learning at individual level enables
individuals to deal effectually with the
changes and adapt same positively.
 It leads to continuous professional
development (CPD) of employees.
 Individuals in Whirlpool learn under
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through individual learning as
organisation gets directly affected in
terms of its processes and functioning
with what employees learn at
workplace. For example: Learning of
employees has a direct impact on the
functioning of Whirlpool like with
learning how to work effectually in
teams, staff will be able to increase
the productivity in operations (Pareek
and Purohit, 2018).
 Organisational learning leads to a
structure and culture in Whirlpool
which makes employees able to be
innovative, willing to learn and to use
learning opportunities to the fullest.
 Through organisational learning,
Whirlpool has become able to
develop organisation’s strategy and
also, it creates responsibility to
deliver the same to human resources
of firm (Boahin and Hofman, 2014).
the experienced staff among which HR
professionals play a significant role.
 Here, provision of learning of
individuals in Whirlpool is based on
social background of employees, their
relations with others as well as status at
work. As company is having its
operations in distinct parts of the world,
so to make employees learn on same
parameters is important so that
uniformity at all branches of company
can be maintained (Baldwin, 2016).
 Existing skills and knowledge
necessary for work along with growth
and development on personal level
increases through individual learning.
Organisational training and development Individual training and development
 Training and development changes the
behaviour of employees and improve
their activities from the inside out.
 With reference to the case given, if
employees would have been provided
with the training on shared
commitment to the company’s vision
 It increases the existing skills, abilities
and knowledge of employees by
which their performance gets better.
 In relation with the case given, when
Whirlpool faced the crisis situation, it
decided for a major restructuring for
which HR professionals were
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transparent communication, as well as
mutual respect and solidarity,
Whirlpool might have not faced crisis
(Hewison and et.al., 2018).
 Training and development at
organisational level leads to improve
the performance of business as a
whole resulting in increased profits
and revenues with gaining a
competitive edge over rivalries in the
market.
supposed to provide effective training
and development sessions to
individuals to ensure their improved
performance.
 Training and development at
individual level leads to create a
healthy environment at workplace as
with increased skills and knowledge,
employees feel confident and perform
their tasks with effectiveness and
positivity (Pareek and Purohit, 2018).
P4. Driving sustainable business performance through continuous learning and professional
development
According to British Council, CPD can be termed as a process which is used by
organisations for continuous and lifelong development of employees to make them personally
and professionally able to perform their tasks with improved knowledge, skills and practice. In
Whirlpool, there is huge need of continuous learning and professional development so that
sustainability in performance can be gained and business can grow on consistent basis. CPD is
needed in company and it ensures capabilities of employees to keep pace and meet the set
standards of others as well.
Whirlpool can get highly benefitted if it gives due emphasis on continuous learning and
professional development of employees as with the help of this, professional and effective
services can be delivered to customers, clients as well as the community (Boahin and Hofman,
2014). As Whirlpool needs to make their employees trained and deal with the upcoming changes
effectually, CPD is highly important so that a meaningful contribution of team can be gained.
Through CPD, employees gain new possibilities, knowledge and skills which ultimately proves
to be beneficial for Whirlpool to run business in a smooth way.
Need for continuous learning and professional development can be understood with the
help of Kolb’s Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Cycle which if applied in Whirlpool, it
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would bring lots of advantages and profits to business (Dixon, 2017). This is basically known as
a four stage learning cycle in the person learns on 4 stages which are:
Figure 1: The Experiential Learning Cycle
(Source: McLeod, 2017)
Concrete Experience – In this phase, learner has a new experience as well as need to encounter
a situation which he has never faced before. When this learning cycle will be applied in
Whirlpool, either employees will have a new experience if this is the time of bringing changes in
company or they will have to reinterpret the existing experience like at the time of restructuring
when firm faced crisis which will ultimately drive sustainable business performance.
Reflective Observation of the New Experience – In the next stage, employees in firm think
about that what they have actually done or experienced till now (Dixon, 2017). However, at this
phase, some people become efficient enough and work naturally well. While, many are there
who train themselves so that can become more cautious with what they have experienced.
Abstract Conceptualization – This is the third stage where people generate a hypothesis that
what they have learnt and bring out the meaning of their experiences. At the time when get
passed from thinking about their learning and experience, they realize their entrance in the realm
of what David Kolb meant with ‘conceptualization’ (McLeod, 2017).
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Active Experimentation – This is the last stage of Experiential Learning Cycle where people
effectively test hypothesis that they have made in the previous phase. Here, they come to know
that whether their new experiences will support them in performing tasks or prove to be a
challenge.
As per the approach provided by David Kolb, there are four types of learning styles that
enable employees in an organisation to be oriented in accordance with the style as per their
preference. It depends on the situation as well as preference of learner that which learning style
he will choose. These styles are like:
Figure 2: Kolb's Learning Styles
(Source: McLeod, 2017)
Diverging – As per this style, people feel and look at things with their own perspectives. They
are highly sensitive and mainly prefer to watch rather doing the same. These kinds of learners are
good at gathering information first and then using their imagination to find solution for the
problems. If any kind of concrete situation arises in Whirlpool, they will view the same with
several viewpoints. Employees preferring this style prove to be helpful for business at the time of
idea generation and so, will drive sustainable performance.
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