Continuing Professional Development In HRM

Continuing Professional Development In HRM In this essay the author presents a critical evaluation of the four stages of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) cycle as a tool to support her CPD in Human Resource Management (HRM). The CPD process can be carried out by undertaking step-by-step process (see, Figure 1). However, the basis for most training remains the traditional training process system (see Figure2). Thus, we will use the traditional training process system for our analysis. Defining the CPD poses an interesting problem although a number of eminent researchers and organisation have categorised the different approaches. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) define CPD as the need for individuals to keep up to date with rapidly changing knowledge (Website 1). Other organisations refer to structured processes to maintain, develop and enhance skills, knowledge and competence both professionally and personally in order to improve performance at work (Website 2). The Chartered Institute of Management (Website 3) states that Effective CPD is a commitment to professionalism it shows that you have taken personal responsibility for ensuring that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the challenges of an ever changing world. The process should benefit the individual, and also the business as a whole. Evaluation of the four stages of the CPD cycle The traditional training process system (see Figure2) of CPD cycle comprises four main steps: 1) Identifying development needs, i.e., identifying training and learning needs; 2) devising a learning plan prioritizing needs and selecting appropriate activities; 3) undertaking development activities and; 4) recording and evaluating outcomes (Megginson Whitaker, 2007). Now, if we consider the contents of the MSc in HRM, in relation to the CPD cycle and the authors approach to achieving her goals, i.e., completing the MSc in HRM with at-least merit pass for most modules together with appropriate particle experiences. The first step is that identifying development needs. According to Inglis (1994) identifying development needs means developing an Extraordinary Realistic Self Image (ERSI), which should consist the elements of work it self, reflection by self, feedback from others, individual psychometric self -diagnostic measures, organizational metrics and professional metrics. Moreover in the case of individual identifying development needs includes, feedback from others, self-assignment, reflection, personal professional congruence and aspirations / dreams. In this case, the author as an individual, taking all the above factors into consideration she set up her development needs as follows; by studying MSc in HRM she wish to develop her ability to make an effective contribution at a strategic level in todays rapidly changing organizational contexts, internally or externally. She also wants to learn more about the effective management and utilization of human resources in organizations. By the end of this course, she hope to achieve more knowledge about strategic perspective and operational perspective, also she would like to gain more knowledge and skills to motivate and manage employees, and become a reflective practitioner in this specialist field, so-called human resources management, and develop a strategic understanding of HRM in relation to organizational processes. At present the author is only an affiliate member of the CIPD and by the end of the course she aims to gain graduate membership of the CIPD and in the long time her as pirations is to become a fellow of CIPD. Now, she needs some criterion for deciding which of these needs should be given priority. In relation to this Stephen Covey (1990) emphasized the need to focus on the areas that are important and non-urgent. Megginson (1994) created a framework called SPICE, which covers a range of areas and has a memorable acronym. SPICE involves setting goals in the areas of spirit, physical, intellect, career and emotion. Another model presented by Hawkins (1999), so-called BEST model suggests that we can set goals that get the best out of us if we look for goals that help us to: Broaden move us into new areas; Enjoy get us doing more of the things that we love; Stretch take us into new areas, doing more, facing bigger challenges; Think -challenge our understanding and mastery, demanding deeper insight. The next framework to take into account is the modes model discussed in Boydell and Leary (1996). Each mode has certain key characteristics and strengths, and the large movements of our life, wh en we notice that we are viewing the world from a radically different perspective are about moving from one mode to the next. Figure 3 briefly describes each of the modes, which may help to identify where we stand in our development. The model begins at the bottom and as we develop we work up through the modes over the years. The author is adopting the BEST (Broaden, Enjoy, Stretch, Think) model for prioritizing her needs and selecting appropriate activities, it is in her view that this model is more appropriate to her case. Because, undertaking the MSc in HRM she gains more knowledge and skills in the field of HRM. She is enjoying doing the course and doing more of the things she love. On the other hand the course is quite a challenging one due to the nature of the course contents and the mode of study (i.e., full time) also the time constrain is a big factor. Thus, she is stretching her self to balance the professional and personal life. However, her desire to think ahead and fulfill her ambitions allows her to face the challenges and demanding her to do more to get a deeper insight of the subjects. Now, moving on to undertaking development activities, these should be in the form of professional work-based activities (e.g. work project and new task), courses conferences (e.g. CIPD branch meetings), and self-directed informal learning (e.g. reading, action learning and reflective diary). In relation to this the author is engaged in professional work-based activities via work-placement, which allows her to use the theories into practices that she learned though formal lectures and further readings. Moreover her self-directed informal learning such as readings, allows her to use wider theoretical concepts into her assignments, exams, and practical activities. This allows optimizing her knowledge and skills, as well as achieving her goals with confidences. Recording and evaluating outcomes the process of writing helps us to distil experiences, recognize patterns and discern trends. It enables us to remember what has gone before and capture lessons for the future. It can also be kept for CIPD upgrading applications (Megginson Whitaker, 2007). The author has included an evidence of her own reflecting back Continuing Professional Development (CPD) record and moving forward plan, which spans the period of her MSc in HRM taught programme and plan for further development. She was very pleased about her overall performance so far, but it is in her own view that she could have done even better in one or two subjects, however due to time constrains and other factors which are beyond her control made it difficult to perform on a highest level for those two subjects. Thus, for the future tasks, she will prepare well by reading wide range of materials including lectures notes and gathering vital information from varies sources, for example, this is particularly very important for her dissertation that will be the immediate future task for her. Furthermore, better manage the time and plan ahead early as possible, and she believes that will leads to the better outcome. So far, the authors approach to formal educational CPD activities (MSc in HRM) explained generally with respect to CPD cycle. Now, she considers the whole CPD process by identifying further needs to journey through the CPD cycle again. With respect to MSc in HRM, assessing her current skills, she studied wide range of HRM functions, models and methods used in organisations. Through these studies she is now able to analyse and critically assess the function of the manager and organisation based management structures alongside the role of human resource management within a range of organisational settings. The authors able to demonstrate a critical understanding of a range of methods and models used in organisation and business analysis from the perspective of human resource management. She have an idea of how leadership developments and how learning development is functioning in an organization (e.g. coaching, and e-learning) and how is the annual pay review managed and application of Performance Related Payment (PRP) system worked; also an up-to date information about current legislations; the employee communications and how the people resourcing strategies managed. Thus, she has insight knowledge of wider area of Human Resource Management (HRM). Moreover the author is able to demonstrate a theoretical and critical understanding of the actors, context, mechanisms, processes, and procedures that regulate and shape the employment relationship, including an appreciation of the contrasting perspectives and interpretations within employment relations. Furthermore, she can demonstrate critical understanding and analytical awareness of how employment relations concepts, policies and practices are applied within organisations to contribute to the management of people and organisational performance. As she reflecting on the outcomes, it is her view that she need to apply the knowledge and skills gained over the year through her studies. However, it is important to note that the author developed her HR skills in the area of Employee Relations (ER) through the work placement; it has strengthened her ability through project management in real life situation. Recommendations As the CPD cycle continue throughout her professional life, for the authors immediate future practices the following activities are recommended. Firstly, drafting a realistic moving forward plan, this should contain the key areas of development, that has to be achieved in the next year or so, and a time scale for the review of professional development needs. Secondly, networking and improved communications with academic and industrial communities within the HRM field is greatly encouraged. This allows her to exchange ideas and other information for optimised performances for her self and the organisation. Finally, continuing work based training is recommended for long-term development of her career. Summary In this essay critical evaluation of the authors approach to the formal educational learning CPD activity (i.e. the MSc in HRM) with reference to the various stages of engagement with the CPD cycle is presented. Conducting this formal educational learning activity the author seeks to broaden and deepen her awareness of the topic of Human Resource management, knowledge and skills. The course covers theory as well as practical applications (i.e., through the work-placement), and lead to a qualification (MSc in HRM). Within the context of CPD process, the authors reflection on her own CPD from both a practical and a theoretical point of view are presented. Furthermore, the authors motivation, engagement and management activities related to the MSc in HRM scheme are described. Finally some recommendations are suggested for the authors future practice.

Explain Rote Learning. How Might Teachers Use This Aspect of Behaviourist Theory to Guide Their Practice in the Classroom? What Are the Benefits for Learning and What Are the Drawbacks?

Behaviourist theory is a type of teaching approach that can be used by a teacher within a classroom in the form of rote learning. This will be discussed throughout this essay with the benefits and drawbacks. I will briefly discuss reinforcement as a behaviourist approach too. Behaviourism is the idea that everyone responds to a stimulus. Pritchard believed that behaviourism is based on the idea that learning is a change in behaviour and that changes in behaviour occur as a response to a stimulus of one kind or another’ (Pritchard 2005:11).Children’s behavioural response is influenced by the stimulus. Skinner is a psychologist who analysed children’s behavioural responses and came up with the theory of operant conditioning: This concept shows ‘how behaviours are learned through reinforcers and punishment’ (Hughes 2001:22). The behaviour response is dependent on how the child reacts to the stimulus. A reinforcer is something that increases their behavi oural response whereas punishment decreases their behavioural response.If the behaviour is followed by a reward then it will occur again but if the behaviour is followed by a punishing stimulus then it will less likely to occur as the child will have to change their behaviour to get a reward. Skinner proved this by experimenting with animals. He placed rats in a box and wanted to see how they would respond to the given stimulus which was the trap. ‘He found that an organism will tend to repeat a response that has been reinforced and will suppress a response that has been punished’ (Papilia 2002:31).Positive reinforcement was shown on placement as the teacher positively reinforced the child by saying ‘well done’. This praise meant that their behaviour occurred again. This reinforcement allows the child to keep engaged in their learning and focused on the tasks ahead. Another example was where the teacher gave out stickers to the children who helped tidy away after play which meant they would repeat this behaviour again next time. Rote learning is an example of a behaviourist approach that involves a child learning key information through the use of repetition. This can be in the form of facts, numbers or the alphabet.Short relevant information allows the children to process information enabling them to recall it when needed. The child doesn’t necessarily understand the learning but knows when to use it. It is commonly used at the early stages of child development as it allows the children to process small amounts of information. The use of rote learning was massively seen whilst I was on placement in a number of forms. The children had to say the order of the numbers from one to fifty repeatedly. The use of repetition allowed the children to process this information and allow them to learn the order.Another example that ties in nicely is where the teacher asked the children to go through the different parts of a book. This allow ed the children to reflect on their past understanding and recall the parts of the book showing the learning process of knowing the different parts: front page, back page, spine. Timetables are another example that the teacher used to reinforce the information the child already knew. It allows them to be familiar with the tables and when they have to use them. ‘Behaviourism apparently doesn’t provide a complete account of development’ (Berk 2006:20).Rote learning through behaviourism doesn’t allow the child to develop a full understanding of the topic involved and stops the child from increasing their knowledge therefore a lack of understanding doesn’t allow the child to fully develop their learning. This means the child is unable to move onto more complex learning. It has been criticized for ‘neglecting children’s contributions to their own development’ (Berk 2006:20). It doesn’t allow the child to contribute to their lea rning as the information is thrown at them and all they have to do is learn it. This doesn’t allow the child to explore new things and be creative.Rote learning is useful for the start of child development as it allows children to just know the information and they don’t have to apply knowledge as they are still at a young age and still developing. The child doesn’t necessarily need to understand the concept of what they are learning. This approach is very beneficial for a child because the information can be used in further stages of learning once the child has progressed onto more advanced learning. Rote learning is the basis of learning and the information received can be expanded once they develop more understanding.It’s ideal for younger children because they don’t have to go into in depth thinking therefore it doesn’t put any strain on the brain allowing them to take in the information. On the other hand rote learning isn’t an i deal teaching method to use from the point of view of psychologist Richard Mayor as he believes that rote learning doesn’t allow you to gain knowledge and be able to transfer that knowledge to solve new problems therefore the child is unable to use the information memorised. (Mayor 2002:2). As a result of the child being unable to put their learning into practice this type of learning doesn’t benefit the child in anyway.No knowledge means the child cannot use in depth thinking and create new ideas to new situations. As the child gets older they need to come away from the idea of rote learning as they need to be able to fully understand what they have just learnt and be able to gain knowledge and apply this knowledge and understanding to different situations. (Mayor 2002:2). The use of repetition through rote learning allows the child to process the information and use it when needed in lessons. ‘Repetitive experiences allow children to construct and consolidate m eaning’ (Ward 2008:155).This puts a lot of empathy on the child’s learning and shows how the use of repetition helps the child’s learning. For example, learning the alphabet means that they can construct some meaning from the letters and be able to apply the alphabet to class situations. I believe that rote learning is the best teaching approach to use at the early stages of learning for a child as they only need to know the information they are provided with. Rote learning provides the child with the basis and therefore once they progress they are able to use the information learnt through rote to expand their learning.

Can Business Ethics Be Taught?

Business Ethics can be defined as the study and evaluation of decision making by businesses according to moral concepts and judgments. Ethical issues range from a company’s obligation to be honest with its customers to a company’s responsibility to preserve the environment and protect employee rights. Ethics includes the need to produce a reasonable profit for the company’s shareholders with honesty in business practices, safety in the workplace, and larger environmental and social issues. Business ethics calls for an awareness of social responsibility and this includes addressing social problems such as poverty, crime, environmental protection, equal rights, public health, and improving education. Can business ethics be taught? This is a question where there is no absolute answer yes or no. But I believe the ethics and business ethical examples should be and have to be taught in business school. First, it is important to help graduates understand other people's value systems and expectations of them, to be able to engage and discuss this side of things in a decision making process (especially if other people's expectations have become rules or laws, as with accounting and disclosure requirements, rules against conflicts of interest, etc). Second, it's important to help graduates realize the horrible consequences (especially for others) of some seemingly harmless selfish acts. We certainly shouldn't delude ourselves that a required course in grad school is going to make bad people into good people, or mean people into kind people. Nor should we be sanctimonious about it and feel that offering a course on ethics somehow makes us (the instructors or administrators) â€Å"good people. † But the first approach above will make it easier for the graduate to interact with others in the workplace, and to avoid oblivious violations of industry regulations. And the second approach above might actually change the way some people behave, at least a little, by instilling a greater awareness of how their decisions affect or harm others. However, most people would agree with that ethics is very difficult to be taught especially when the financial reward to do unethical behavior is greater than doing the right thing. The strong ethical behavior will not prevent another melt down that was witnessed on Wall Street. Too many times, the issue is all about money. How much can I get in the short term, can I get out before the long term risk hits, and can I retire before with the money I made. This type of mentality forces high risk taking to get the greatest return in a short time. For any company, this will eventually hit the bottom line. The company may even see bankruptcy. The Board of Directors has a major responsibility to the shareholders. That is to develop strategic plans to ensure growth, but to ensure longevity of the company to survive the long haul. Not quick profits and get out. The shareholders need to also control the Board of Directors to ensure that Board of Directors financial gains are measured appropriately and to ensure longevity of the company. But what happens only a small minority shareholders have enough stocks to make decisions. The rest are just along for the ride. What is needed besides ethics, is being held accountable for the actions taken, and ensure that all actions are not in the gray area white and black are no longer seen. We have been read and seen too many unethical issues happened, such as Enron Corporation, Andersen, Bernard Madoff Fraud etc†¦ Also so many unethical things in China, Sanlu infant milk powder issue which has killed so many babies, a big number of corruption issues about high position officials, which we can often read news from medias. But if some shareholders or anyone can stand up and say something in the beginning before the things went too wrong, it probably would prevent some corruption or fraud, to some degree. People who don’t believe the ethics can be taught have their concerns. â€Å"It's unrealistic to expect people's behavior is going to change because they sit in classes,† says Marshall Goldsmith, an executive coach based in San Diego and an adjunct lecturer at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business. â€Å"Is there any proof in any executive education †¦ hat anyone who went to any course ever changed any behavior as measured by anyone else over any period of time? Not that I know of. † Mr. Goldsmith and others concede that new emphases on ethics in business schools send a message to future managers that ethics are important, even in the corner office. But, they caution, expectations for a big impact from these programs are pie-in-the-sky thinking. â€Å"No one is going to come out of those courses as a different person,† Mr. Bruhn says. â€Å"The thing those courses are going to do is create awareness. They're not going to change behavior because ethics is learned by modeling, not by reading a bunch of books over a weekend. † There is another main problem is the patterns of moral behavior are formed long before students are able to study in the business schools. An analysis shows that the key period for shaping a person's moral character falls between the ages of 2 and 10. When we reach business schools we normally are more then 22, it's kind of too late. The students are already all formed their own moral thinking, behavior and ethical habit. Ethics should be learned since we start knowing and sensing this world, and be taught by our parents, seniors, teachers in kindergarten, in primary schools, by the environment we grow. It is about a whole education system for a country. Especially for the education of our young next generations, we have to put more emphasis into subject of moral virtues. Ethics should be a basic issues in any organizations and be taught in all levels of education. Over all, to some extent, yes, ethics can be taught in a classroom, if the schools, teachers, professor and the students adopt a practical approach, in preference to a philosophical one.

Recidivism of Sex Offenders Essay example - 2488 Words

Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhoods destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their†¦show more content†¦Barbaree looked at 224 sex offenders. Of those men, 33 committed a new offense of some kind for a general recidivism rate of 14.7 percent. Even more interesting was the study did not support the idea that good treatmen t behavior, as in positive or appropriate behavior in group sessions, good homework assignments, and positive ratings of motivation, could be associated with a less of a chance for recidivism. They gave two possible reasons for this finding. Sex offenders, by the very nature of their criminal behavior, are masters of manipulation and exploitation. These individuals can exhibit behavior that contributes to favorable assessments. The second possible reason is these skills are learned, or enhanced, in the treatment setting. Data from a program evaluation by Quinsey et al in 1998 is consistent with this interpretation. They hypothesized that it was due to exposure to sexually deviant material or by learning about others modi operandi. A more recent study, published in the same journal, by Looman et al in 2000 suggests the opposite. Of the released sex offenders they studied they found a 23.6 percent recidivism rate for those treated while a 51.7 percent rate for the untreated group. They also conducted an analysis separately on the outcome for men who had previous sexual convictions. Those with no previous sexual offense convictions had a 20.9 percent recidivism rate of the treated men compared to 42.9 percent of the untreated men. OfShow MoreRelatedThe Recidivism Rate of Juvenile Sex Offenders between Uses of Legal Sentencing as Adults or Utilizing Psychological Treatment2308 Words   |  10 PagesThe Recidivism Rate of Juvenile Sex Offenders between Uses of Legal Sentencing as Adults or Utilizing Psychological Treatment It is typically thought that sex offenders are the type of individual that needs to be tried in our courts and then sentenced because there is really no hope for an individual that harms the most innocent of our society. But there just may be an exception to this way of thinking. 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