HR4052: Managing People in Organisations Workbook - Spring Semester

This assignment is a student workbook for the HR4052 module, "Managing People in Organisations," covering topics from recruitment and selection to diversity, training, and performance management. The workbook includes reflections on seminar activities and class discussions, with questions and answers addressing key concepts such as rational recruitment approaches, job descriptions versus person specifications, and strategies for encouraging diversity in recruitment. It also examines selection methods, including interviews and competency frameworks, and explores the challenges of equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. Furthermore, it addresses skills development, coaching, performance management practices, and academic writing. The workbook provides a comprehensive overview of the module's key themes, supported by relevant theory and empirical evidence, offering practical insights into managing people in organizational settings.

HR4052 MANAGING
PEOPLE IN
ORGANISATIONS
1Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Week 2: Recruitment methods..............................................................................................................4
Week 3: Selection Methods...................................................................................................................6
Week 4: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion..............................................................................................7
Week 5: Skills, Training and Development.............................................................................................9
Week 6: Performance Management....................................................................................................11
Week 7: Academic writing, referencing and plagiarism ......................................................................12
Week 8: Motivation and rewards........................................................................................................14
Week 9: The psychological contract and employee engagement........................................................16
Week 10: International differences in organisations and management..............................................17
Week 11: Leadership style...................................................................................................................18
Reference list.......................................................................................................................................20
............................................................................................................................................................22
2Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Introduction
This workbook provides a reflection upon the learning developed from the seminar activities
and class discussions.
The workbook includes ten (weeks 2-11), each includes one or two questions with each
answer in the region of 100 words per question.
3Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Week 2: Recruitment methods
1. Explain why line managers adopt the rational approach to recruitment?
You should cite relevant theory to support your points and illustrate them
with empirical evidence using Harvard referencing.
By using rational choice theory manager adopt
the rational approach to recruitment that is to
create power relationship that is held by the
management. It is the one way process that is
used by the organisation to attract the
candidate for the vacancy and creating the
content that is regarding choosing the best
applicant from the pool (Hunter, and.et.al.,
2017). Rational approach is based on the job
design which is related to describing the tasks
and skills that are needed for filling the
vacancy, job description that includes job title,
summary and main purpose and last person
specification which is the knowledge and the
skills that is required by the candidate to do
the job.
2. Describe the differences between a job description and person specification?
You should cite relevant theory to support your points and illustrate them
with empirical evidence using Harvard referencing.
Basis Job description Person specialization
Meaning It is the term which is based on
the attributes, skills and
knowledge which is used to
create a person specification.
It is related to the describing the
person according to knowledge,
attributes and skills that are needed
to do the job.
Key elements Under job description it
includes job title, working
condition, summary,
performance standards, what is
the purpose of doing the job
and location.
By using Rodger's seven point plan
it includes general intelligence,
interests, physical make-up and
special aptitudes.
Both of them are used by the organisation as the good practice which helps them at the
time of recruiting the candidate.
4Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

3. List three ways to encourage diversity when recruiting candidates?
You should cite relevant theory to support your points and illustrate them
with empirical evidence using Harvard referencing.
Three ways to encourage the diversity at the
time of recruiting candidates are:
 The company must give equal
opportunity to every candidate and
people that is race, class, treated
fairly& equally, gender and age which
is the legal framework based on social
justice.
 In the business diversity is very
different there is lot of difference
between goals of the company,
performance of all the employees
working together in the organizations
like branding & team working and the
way people are respected
 Main role of encouraging diversity is
to avoid hidden tacit assumption that
are based on class and disability
(Goldstein, and.et.al., 2017)
5Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Week 3: Selection Methods
1. What are the problems with using selection interviews to identify the best
candidate in relation to reliability and validity as a selection tool?
You should cite relevant theory to support your points and illustrate them
with empirical evidence using Harvard referencing.
At the time of selection process the problems
faced by the organization is to identify the best
candidates who is the right for that vacancy is
poor predictor of job performance, based on
negative information, applicant order, not have
any information about the job, premature
decisions by taking wrong candidate for the
job. The person who is appointing the
candidate can discriminate the other person by
selecting the candidate who have no
knowledge and skills that is required by the
business. Also, they can appoint their family
members instead of other employees who have
applied for the job.
2. What are the advantages of using a competency framework to design selection
interview questions?
You should cite relevant theory to support your points and illustrate them
with empirical evidence using Harvard referencing.
The advantages of using a competency
framework to design selection interview
questions are:
By asking questions they provide, job related,
fair and valid standards which are important
for performing the job that are related to
knowledge and skills.
By this they can select the right candidate that
have good behaviour.
By asking questions in the interview they can
also know about the attitudes and values of the
individuals that are useful for the company.
Helping as the financial institution for the
design of a well-designed, economical and
impressive recruitment and selection processes
It also provides the standard that are used for
the success of the selection process.
6Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Week 4: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
1. A friend suggests that George should implement mandatory diversity
training. Based on your reading of the Dobbin and Kalev (2016) article, do
you agree with George’s friend?
Provide specific examples from the article to back up your point why you
agree/why you do not.
By using dobbin and kalev the specific
examples are employment rates of the UK is
very high as compared to other country.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have low
employment rate and are more likely at
insecure employment (Waxin, and.et.al.,
2018).
By this discrimination means that negative
unfavourable behaviour that the individual
does towards their members. At the
workplace employees are harassed and bullied
by their leaders. By using social theory, it is
mandatory to implement diversity training that
to identify individual experience that are based
in terms of gender and ethnic identities.
2. Please recommend to George two alternative diversity management
interventions, that academic research has proven to be effective.
You should cite relevant theory to support your points and illustrate them
with empirical evidence using Harvard referencing.
7Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Two alternative diversity management
interventions by then George are:
Stop thinking of diversity: diversity is related
to shaped culture, personalities and
background experience that is the core concept
of the diversity.
Build connection to create talent pipelines: it
is important for the employees to build
internal talent pipelines that are related to
organizations and the standards that is of
hiring process that is important step for
creating business and culture (Albert, E.T.,
2019)
.
8Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Week 5: Skills, Training and Development
1. What are the challenges which Covid 19, has created for adult learners
employability in the labour market?
The different challenges that are faced by the
adults learners after the covid-19 is:
 The learners need ore critical thinking
and information processing skills so
they can easily face the challenges.
 They also have to face the challenge
that is related to radical job change and
new rules and regulation.
 They have to high challenge regarding
the jobs as after the covid most of the
companies have reduced their
employees and want the experienced
people who have full knowledge and
skills (Matlin, and.et.al., 2019).
 The most important challenge that was
faced by the adult learners was finding
the jobs as per their specification.
2. Why is coaching by line managers important for the performance of their
teams?
What benefits does conducting induction for new joiners have for
organizations?
9Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Coaching by line managers is important for
the performance of the teams because it helps
the member to improve their weakness in
performance and will create and develop the
strength and potential in them. It will also help
the individuals to work in good direction
without going to wrong path.
Different benefits that are used by the
organization for effective induction training
for new joiner is:
 it saves the time and money of the
organization's
 It will help in reducing the employees
turnover.
 Employees of the company will feel
valued and respected.
 By this company can also provide the
necessary information (Mehta,
and.et.al., 2018).
10Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Week 6: Performance Management
1. Please copy and paste a fully completed table assessing the performance
review practices that you have experienced in your current job role.
Review practice Fully in place Partly in practice
Performance
standards are clearly
set during the
induction process ✅
Managers set clear
and SMART goals
for employees
Employees have a
role in setting their
own goals
(involvement)
✅
Managers hold
regular (at least
monthly) informal
conversations around
performance
Performance review
is job oriented
(focused on
objectives)
2. Identify one area of performance review in your current job role that is weak,
and explain why this is a problem.
You should cite relevant theory to support your points and illustrate them
with empirical evidence using Harvard referencing.
11Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.

Performance appraisal is the area that helps
the company to know about the employees
who is weak in the organization. Poor
communication skills will result in
misunderstanding between the employees and
loss both their time and money. Evaluating
employees will make sure that employees are
not facing any problems that are related to the
standard of their jobs. If the employee will not
have the full information about the job or any
project then it will result in wrong information
and wrong working in the organization.
Demand to be able to with success perform
their jobs in rapidly dynamic condition
(Ibrahim, Boerhannoeddin and Bakare, 2017).
Week 7: Academic writing, referencing and plagiarism
1. What have you learnt about academic writing that will do differently as a
result of your learning from today’s lecture/seminar?
Academic writing are related to responding
the serious of questions in proper way. It
means that emphasis is based on the
arguments that is related to what you have
learned and what was your research is
discussed in the conclusions. By the academic
learning it has been learned that in the writing
use from the above discussion instead of in my
opinion (Lindahl and Grace, 2018). Avoid
different type of abbreviated forms and
colloquial expressions and words because it
uses clear and appropriate vocabularies. In
academic writing use citing facts, objective
styles and proper referencing that are
supporting the arguments.
2. What have you learnt about plagiarism OR referencing that will do
differently as a result of your learning from today’s lecture/seminar?
12Naidoo, V., Abarantyne, I. and Rugimbana, R., 2019. The impact of psychological contracts on
employee engagement at a university of technology. SA Journal of Human Resource Management,
17, p.11.