Developing Individuals, Teams and Organisations Assignment Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of human resource management within the context of Whirlpool Corporation. It begins by outlining the essential skills, knowledge, and behaviors required of an HR professional, followed by a personal skill audit and professional development plan. The report then differentiates between organizational and individual learning, as well as training and development, emphasizing the need for continuous learning and professional development to drive sustainable business performance. Further, it explores the contribution of High-Performance Work systems (HPW) in employee engagement and competitive advantage and concludes by examining different approaches to performance management that support a high-performance culture and commitment. The report covers key areas like leadership, communication, IT skills, ethical considerations, and problem-solving, as well as practical tools like personal skill audits and development plans to improve HR effectiveness within a global organization.

Developing
Individuals, Teams
and Organisations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Skills, knowledge and behaviour required by an HR professional..................................1
P2. Personal skill audit and professional development for human resource manager in
Whirlpool................................................................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P3. Difference between organisational & individual learning and training & development. 5
P4. Need for continuous learning and professional development to drive sustainable business
performance............................................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P5. Contribution of HPW in employment engagement and competitive advantage..............8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
P6. Different approaches to performance management that support high performance culture
and commitment.....................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Individual development is most crucial factor that a company must consider for achieving
higher productivity and competitive advantage. This focuses on enhancing the skills and
capabilities of employees by regular training and guiding them. Current assignment is about
Whirlpool corporation which is an American manufacturer and seller of home and kitchen
appliance (Aarons, Hurlburt and Horwitz, 2011). This report elaborates about skills, behaviour
and knowledge that a HR professional have along with personal skill audit and professional
development plan. It also describes difference between organisational & individual learning and
training & development along with the importance of continual professional development. It
further describe about the contribution of HPW in employee engagement and competitive
advantages. It also explains different approaches to performance management.
TASK 1
P1. Skills, knowledge and behaviour required by an HR professional
Human resource management refers to the systematic structure which aims toward
management of employees working within the organisation. HR manager perform several
operations such as recruitment, training, payroll and formulation of policies for develop a high
skilled workforce and aligning their work toward accomplishment of organisational objective.
But in order to perform these operations effectively a HR manager must have certain skills and
characteristics which lead them to formulate better strategies that support in achieving the pre
specified goals of company. Following are the skills and characteristics that an HR manager of
Whirlpool must have:
Skills:- Leadership:- Human resource manager must have an ability to guide and motivate
employees to perform their operations in an effective manner (Bolman and Deal, 2017).
This help them Whirlpool in accomplishing their organisation goal as well as targets
effectively by enhancing the morale of employees through effective leadership.
 Communication skills:- Human resource manager is responsible for the management of
people working within the organisation for which they have to interact with them on
regular basis. So in order to manage personnel effectively within the organisation it is
very essential for manager to have greater communicational skills. This support them in
influencing employees effectively which also reduce the chance of conflicts among them.
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Knowledge:- IT:- HR manager must have a basic knowledge about information technology for
managing the information as well as confidential data for performing their operations
effectively. Being an international brand it is very essential for HR manager to have a
knowledge about IT this will support them in communicating with other branches located
over different geographical region.
 Governmental law:- Human resource department is responsible for the formulation of
policies as well as long term plan for organisation. So it is very essential for HR manager
of Whirlpool to have a thorough knowledge about common laws and legislations that are
required to be consider while performing operations.
Behaviour:- Ethics:- As a HR manager have to take several decisions in order to maintain the
effectiveness of operations at workplace. So, a manager must take decision in ethical
manner by following all the policies as well as regulations of organisation (Choi and
Ruona, 2011). This help HR manager of Whirlpool in earning the trust and confidence of
employees as well as company that further support them in motivating workforce toward
performing their operations ethically.
 Problem solving:- HR manager must known how to deal with different situation the may
arises during the course of operations performed within the organisation. Whirlpool is a
global brand where multicultural employees work together this may create several
conflicts among employees. Therefore, HR manager must know how to influence
multicultural people to work together as a team.
P2. Personal skill audit and professional development for human resource manager in Whirlpool
Human resource manager plays a crucial role within the organisation by managing
employees by formulating policies and strategies toward the achievement of company's goal.
Being a global brand it is very essential for HR manager of Whirlpool to perform several
activities for continually updating their knowledge regarding the changes in external
environment for maintain the competitiveness in marketplace (Hartnell, Ou and Kinicki, 2011).
This can be done using CPD (Continuing professional development), it refers to the ongoing
process for maintaining, enhancing and documenting professional skills. CPD is a framework
which includes several step that are explained below:
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 Planning:- This step includes formation of a plan that consists of skills that person has to
improve and method that can be used to learn those skills and capabilities. Action:- Under this step the plan for professional development is executed where
different source of learning are assessed and activities are performed which was decided
during planning. Evaluation:- After performing all the planned activities next step is to evaluate the
performance to determine the improvement over skills.
 Reflection:- This step focuses on reflecting the result of CPD by providing the accurate
image of activities performed during development cycle. It provide information about the
skills that get improved and other which still required to improve.
These are the steps involved in CPD cycle which support HR manager of Whirlpool to
develop skills on continuous basis (Herrmann and Herrmann-Nehdi, 2015). But in order to
determine the skills required to be develop HR manager can use personal skill audit method.
Personal skill audit:- It refers to the process which is used to identify the performance
gaps of an individual within the organisation which help in identifying the skills that are required
to improve. Being a HR manager of Whirlpool, I conducted my personal skill audit for
determining the skills which are required to improve.
SNO Skill & competencies Self assessed score Score from
others
Variances
1 Leadership skill 8 9 -1
2 Communication skill 9 8 1
3 Information technology 9 7 2
4 Conflict management 8 9 -1
5 Presentation skill 8 6 2
6 Time management skill 7 9 -2
7 Decisive thinker 8 8 0
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Here negative variances reflect my strength and positive variance depict my weaknesses
which I required to improve.
Strength Weaknesses
 I am quite good at leading people and
managing conflicts that arises between
employees at workplace while
performing their operations.
 My time management skill is also good
which support in performing my work
on time.
 I am not well aware about the use of
information technology which also
affect work done by me.
 My communication and presentation
skills are not good which sometimes
leads to miss interpretation of things
which I present while interacting with
others.
In order to overcome these weaknesses I have prepared a Personal development plan
which support in improving my skills.
Personal development plan:- It refers to the process through which a person set out the
goals, strategies and outcomes for training and learning in order to enhance skills.
SNO Learning goals Targets Development
opportunity
Judgement Time
1 Communication
skills
I need to
improve my
communication
skill for
effectively
managing
orientation
program of new
employees by
interacting with
them regarding
the policies and
I decided to
attend seminar
for improving
my
communicatio
n skills. I will
also
participate in
debates for
overcoming
my hesitation
to speak in
Higher
management
3 months
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their work. public.
2 Information
technology
I want to
improve my
knowledge
regarding the
Information
technology so
that I can
manage my
computer
related work on
myself.
I decided to
visit online
classes for
learning basics
about IT.
Apart from
this I have also
decided to
concern with
IT department
for improving
my skills
IT department,
higher
management
4 months
3 Presentation skills To improve my
presentation
skills so that I
can present
information
effectively
which I want to
communicate.
I decided to
take online
classes for
learning the
tricks to make
my
presentation
more attractive
and
representative.
Colleagues,
subordinates
2 months
TASK 2
P3. Difference between organisational & individual learning and training & development
Organisational learning refers to the process of developing, retaining and transferring
knowledge within the organisation for enhancing the skills and knowledge of employees. On the
other hand individual learning refers to the process through which a person can enhancing its
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knowledge individually (Hislop, 2013). Following table describe about the differences between
organisational & individual learning
Organisational learning Individual learning
 Organisational learning aims toward
developing the overall knowledge
of employees working within the
organisation.
 Individual learning focuses on personal
development of an individual that further
support in career enhancement.
 It is group oriented activity which
help Whirlpool to sharpen up the
skills and knowledge of employees
as per the market trend or changes
in external environment
(Katzenbach and Smith, 2015).
 It focuses on single individual by providing
them adequate training for developing
skills and knowledge among them.
 It requires more time, resources and
also expensive for Whirlpool.
 Individual learning requires lees resources
and money as compare to organisational
learning.
Training and development
Training refers to the organised activity aims toward transferring information or
instruction to improve the performance or help employees to attain their objectives (Landy and
Conte, 2016). On the other hand development refers to the process which strives over building
the capacity to achieve a new desired state for the benefit of organisation.
Training Development
 Training focuses on enhancing the
particular skill of employees for
achieving the set targets. Whirlpool
manage training programs for
providing a thorough knowledge to
employees regarding new technology
 Development is an educational process
which focuses on overall growth of
employees that further support in career
advancement.
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implemented by company.
 It is a short term process and focuses
over specific task or job role.
 It is long term in nature and focuses on
overall development of a person.
 It emphases toward improving the
working performance of employees
 It focuses on preparing the employees
for future challenges.
P4. Need for continuous learning and professional development to drive sustainable business
performance
Continuous learning and professional development is a crucial part of an organisation that
support them in enhancing the profitability and in achieving competitive advantage at workplace.
Through these processes Whirlpool can improve the productivity of employees and overall
performance of company. Continuous learning:- It is an ongoing process which focuses on enhancing the
knowledge of individual and organisation by adopting changes in business environment
and industrial development (Nahavandi, 2016).
 Professional development:- This process focuses on improving the employees capability
through several training opportunities within as well as outside the organisation.
Continuous and professional development plays an essential role within the organisation
for enhancing the performance level by developing an environment of continuous learning which
support company in achieving sustainability in marketplace. Following are the importance of
continuous learning and professional development for Whirlpool: Employees advancement:- Continuous learning help in enhancing the skills and
capabilities of employees which support them in performing their operations effectively;y
and deal with contingent situations. Through this Whirlpool will be able to prepare high
skilled and competent workforce that have the capacity to handle each situations
effectively.
 Improve employees performance:- Continuous learning and professional development
process help Whirlpool in enhancing the employees' level of performance by improving
their knowledge periodically as per the changes anticipated in external environment. It
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also support in increasing the morale of employees which leads to increase in
productivity.
Learning is an ongoing process which consist of acquiring new or modifying the existing
skills, knowledge and preferences of employees that support in their personal as well as
professional development (Penuel and et. al. 2011). Learning cycle model was given by Kolb
which represent this procedure of learning in 4 different stages which are as explained below: Experience:- This step state that employees experience new things or situation at
workplace and try to solve them. Reflect:- Under this step they think about their experience and develop an understanding
about the situation tat support them in dealing with same contingency in future. Conceptualise:- Reflection stage gives rise to new idea or method that can be used to
deal with such situation. This will modify the current knowledge as per the situation
experienced.
 Plan:- After getting idea, learner try to apply their ideas in their regular practices to
identify what happen when they deal from same situation with experience and learning.
TASK 3
P5. Contribution of HPW in employment engagement and competitive advantage
High performance working refers to the environment within organisation that focuses on
bringing transparency and proper communication among employees for improving the level of
performance (Robbins and Judge, 2012). Being an international brand it is very essential for
Whirlpool to improve performance of their employees which further support them in achieving
competitive advantage at marketplace. The Whirlpool's team of North American region was the
first to implement High performance working in their operations that involve five core
dimensions which support them in achieving the expected team performance. So for improving
the overall performance of employees company must follow these dimensions of high
performance. Following are the characteristics of HPW organisation that Whirlpool must
follow :
 Shared commitment to company vision and extraordinary goals:- Whirlpool must
share company's visions as well as goals with its employees that support them in
improving the relation with employees. It also help in providing the direction to
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employees on which they have to work for the accomplishment of organisational
objective. This leads to more employee engagement and enhanced performance that
further support in achieving competitive advantage.
 Shared accountability for result:- Whirlpool must share the accountability of result
with its employees of the work performed by them in form of reward or other monetary
as well as promotional benefit (Shin and et. al. 2012) . This support in improving the trust
of employees toward management which contribute toward motivating them and building
up a strong relationship. This further help in increasing employment engagement in
business operations and productivity enhancement.
 Transparent communication:- It refers to the removing of authority layers by
developing an structure where communication can flow in upward as well as downward
direction. Whirlpool must encourage employees to share their view and suggestion for
improvement to higher authority this help in building up a employer-employee relation
that contribute toward encouraging employment engagement (Von Krogh, Nonaka and
Rechsteiner, 2012). This further support in developing effective strategies which help in
enhancing productivity and achieving competitive advantage at workplace.
 Constructive conflicts:- Whirlpool must encourage employees to involve more in
constructive conflicts rather than destructive which help in identifying the solution which
provide benefit to both employer as well as employee. This also support in strategy
formulation which results in improving the employees productivity that further help in
achieving the competitive advantage.
 Mutual respect & solidarity:- For achieving high performance working, Whirlpool
must ensure to develop an environment of mutual respect and trust where employees feel
comfortable and motivated to work. This help in brining coordination among employees
that further support in enhancing the level of employment engagement which in turn will
improve productivity and contribute toward achieving competitive advantage.
TASK 4
P6. Different approaches to performance management that support high performance culture and
commitment
Performance management is defined as the process of regularly measuring, determining
and developing the performance of employees within the organisation (Performance
9

Management, 2018). Main aim behind the performance management system is to enhance the
level of performance and productivity by improving the skills and capabilities of employees
(Wates, 2014). It is a systematic process which includes following steps:
 Setting up the standards over the performance of employees.
 Providing training or guidelines to employees for enhancing their productivity or
minimizing the error in work.
 Continuously monitoring the performance for keeping employees engaged with their
targets.
 Comparing the actual work with planned performance for determining the gap between
them.
 Determining the measures to eliminated those gaps and rewarding the employees over
their accomplishment of targets.
Performance management help in improving the productivity as well as profitability
within the organisation. But in order to encourage effective PM, HR manager of Whirlpool must
maintain an effective and open communication channel with employees and also try to invite
suggestions for improvement. Performance management help in developing the culture of
learning that support in enhancing the knowledge of employees individually and skills of team
for the attainment of specific goal.
Organisational cultural:- The culture which an organisation have also influence the
effectiveness of performance management. It company have learning and flexible structure then
it will act as a facilitator toward the performance enhancement. Other side if company has the
culture hat follows more strict and structured procedure then it act as a barrier for the
performance management (Von Krogh, Nonaka and Rechsteiner, 2012).
Performance management provide better result if it is measured properly that support in
determining the gap between the performance and areas that required to improve in order to
achieve the targets or benchmark that have been fixed. Following are the tools that can be used
by Whirlpool for performance measurement: Comparative approach:- Under this method, employees are ranked from top to lowest
performer on the basis of their performance level as compare to other groups. In this high
performers are rewarded and then trained for promoting them to higher position. The
lowest performers are given a chance for improvement.
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