Category: Skills

Why are employability skills important?

In a fast and very competitive labour market employability skills are the most important key in constructing relationships. The importance is revealed by employers focus for peoples or staffs who can communicate successfully , who are flexible , driven by motivation, who can take the initiative throughout their work , can have the capacity to undertake tasks of different domains.

Great scholastic accreditations were adequate for a remunerating vocation, however today, understudies need to evaluate the expert scene and set themselves up, as sharpen their employability skills to pick up and hold their activity. In the course of the most recent two decades, the point of view on employability of youth has changed drastically from characterizing required properties and aptitudes, to estimating them and implanting them in the educational plan of HE. In the previous years, the abilities required by the business have adjusted extensively because of mechanical developments. The focal point of the paper is to cross the array of viewpoints identified with the worldview of employability and evaluate future abilities necessary. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, Jun 2018, Vol.12(2), pp.7-24

From my point of view this are the top 5 employability skills:

1. Problem solving
2. Communication and interpersonal skills
3. Team working
4. Organisational skills
5. Working under pressure

Fast and erratic changes influencing the world’s economy has incredibly affected the work showcase. These changes made unused patterns and desires of graduates work. The graduates ability may be a basic portion of the world’s work showcase…

BACKGROUND

The employability challenge

The debate on lack of employability has been in the lime light for over two decades. While employers constantly demand for the right skills to meet the ever changing environment, the learning and skills sector is striving to build a better skilled workforce to meet these demands (Martin, et al., 2008), (ONS, 2012).

To meet the challenges experienced from an increasing global market, a learning reform in schools and workplaces would be required (Martin, et al., 2008). This means that students would need to go beyond having basic knowledge of academic subjects, to grasping the significant skills such as handling information, communication, problem solving, and planning, to enhance their employability (Fallows & Steven, 2000).

Similarly, (Andrews, 2007) highlighted the requirement for UK graduates to possess high quality transferable employability skills including the need for universities to offer quality business and management programs aimed at creating highly competent graduates who would continuously meet the contemporary demands of the society.

Today, about 35.9 % of UK graduates are unemployed (ONS, 2012). Of the diverse causes of this increase, a report by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted that more than 10% of skills gap and shortages account for the main problems facing the workforce (Wright, et al., 2010). Therefore, to help improve on this challenge, we need to be clear on what skills are being referred to.

The literature review will highlight key themes surrounding the concept and elements of employability, with specific reference to the understanding of employability skills. The research then discusses the most valued skills from an employer’s point of view, in line with UK’s real Estate Sector. The final part of the review will identify the various supports provided by the employability parties to help develop the skills of UK graduates, highlighting the gaps in these support.

LITERATURE REVIEW

UK Graduate Unemployment Rate

Unemployment among 16-24 year olds remains a key issue. (Martin, et al., 2008) Having lost momentum during the euro crises, UK’s economic recovery remains fragile, as unemployment rates have been forecasted to remain high (CBI, 2012).

Previous research by the Prince’s Trust, in 2008, estimated a 10 million pound economy cost on youth unemployment daily. The Labour force data also added that the unemployment rate between 16-24 year olds remained at 14.1% (Martin, et al., 2008). Currently, the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that unemployment between the above mentioned age group in December 2011 stood at 1.04 million, which is the highest recorded number since 1986-1987 (CIPD, 2012) .

Similarly, reports from the guardian early 2012 noted an overall decline in unemployment figures due to the fall in youth unemployment rate by 49,000. Yet, the UK unemployment statistics are still on the increase, as the estimates of youths resulted to a total of 21% between July and September 2012 (Mulholland, 2012). Specifically, the figures reported in London came to a total of 8.7% compared to 7.6% and 6.5% recorded in North Ireland and South east England, respectively (Mulholland, 2012).

The 21st century highlights people as a vital natural resource with vast potentials. Therefore, possessing the right skills has a significant role to play in unlocking these potentials which will in turn contribute towards economic growth, via overall improvements in productivity and competitiveness (Martin, et al., 2008).

The Concept of Employability

The notion of employability is a subject often difficult to define in a concise manner, due to its usage in a variety of contexts. In simple terms, Employability is the ability of a graduate to get a job (Lees, 2002).

The UK’s Enhancing Student Employability Co-ordination Team (ESECT, 2004) from the view point of Yorke Mantz; a vital contributor to the knowledge of employability, defined employability as: “a set of achievements, skills, understandings and personal attributes that make graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy” (Yorke, 2004)

Hillage and Pollard (1998), described the term as “having the capability to gain, maintain and obtain new employment if necessary” (Lees, 2002).

While Hillage and Pollard highlight the capability to gain and maintain employment, the first definition draws on a key point, – “set of achievement skills”. This exhibits the ability of graduates to demonstrate the required set of achievements and capabilities relevant to gaining employment and carrying out the job effectively (Knight & Yorke, 2003).

Knight and Yorke emphasize that students should not assume being employable by simply acquiring experiences from a successful completion of a course/ curriculum, as this may not guarantee employment. In addition, the second description views employability as an opportunity for career progression, and lifelong learning, in the sense that graduates take effective action towards attaining the jobs they seek, work effectively with others, and continually learn from previous experiences (Hillage & Pollard, 2008)

Employer Perception of Graduate employability Skills

Before highlighting the relevant skills that support future employment, it is essential to identify the meaning of Employability Skills. Similar to the complex nature of employability, the understandings of employability skills vary among employers, academic institutions and government bodies across countries.

Employability skills are often used interchangeably with Generic Skills in most countries, nonetheless, they are perceived differently. In UK, the terms used to describe employability skills are core, key or Common skills.

The definitions range from preparing to work, to holding the specific skills to maintain roles in the organizations (Martin, et al., 2008).

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) sees employability as openness to new ideas, desire to achieve and readiness to partake and improve on performance, staying focus on core skills namely problem solving, team working, IT application, numeracy, literacy, business and customer awareness and literacy (CBI, 2012).

Similarly, employers consider graduate employment as the readiness to work , and the possession of skills such as field knowledge and commercial understanding, which will aid valuable contributions to the companies they eventually work in (Mason, et al., 2006).

A sample of some of the core skills required by graduates can be found in the diagram below, viewed as a process towards sustaining employment (Belt, et al., 2010)

In addition to this, a model formulated by McQuaid et al, 2006, identified three components of graduate employability. They cover individual factors (skills, attributes & work history), personal circumstances (work culture, family support, access to finance and social capital) and demand factors (labour market, macro economic factors, and employment policy factors).

As most employers are heading towards a more global workforce, emphasis is laid on having the right people with economically valuable skills to tackle weaknesses among part of the work force, most especially in the current difficult climate (CBI, 2012). Meeting these global market challenges will also require reforms within the educational sector, which have a large impact on skills development that could foster economic growth in the long run (Martin, et al., 2008). Among other barriers to employment such as age, gaps in CV’s, lack of relevant experience, employment skills are regarded as the most important factors when recruiting graduates (Ofsted, 2012)

Required Employability skills for UK Real estate Sector

A recent research conducted by a contributor to employability knowledge, uncovered some changes in UK’s real estate education over the past 15 years due to the growing European real estate market. This has led to the transformation of real estate skills, increasing the need for economics, finance, investment and business skills (Poon, 2012).

To understand the skills required of real estate graduates, it is essential to consider the expectations of graduates. According to (Archer & Davidson, 2008), some key skills required by employers include soft skills such as; confidence, personality, planning and organizational skills, analytical and decision making skills, and intellectual ability. The report revealed that most employers were dissatisfied with graduates’ lack of commercial awareness which was noted as a key requirement for competing on a global platform. Employers also noted the absence of analytical, decision-making and good writing skills, passion and work experience.

Further research by Connor in 2009 investigated the value of graduates from an employer’s stance. The findings showed that subject knowledge, specialist skills and certain generic personal skills (communication, planning, analytical, and innovation skills) were of critical value to the employers. As a result, academic institutions are urged to develop graduate capacities, by providing work experience for these graduates (Connor & Brown, 2009).

Employability Support

The recruitment scheme is aimed at equipping graduates with hands on experience, linking educational curriculum to real life practices (Swaner, 2003). A recent CIPD survey revealed that one third of organizations have adopted structured graduate recruitment scheme, which has generally increased in larger organizations (CIPD, 2012).

Findings from the 2012 National Employer skills survey for England discovered that 68% of employers offer training programmes to newly recruited graduates, while 47% provide internship opportunities for graduates (CBI, 2012). The survey also revealed the rise in university tuition fees will have an impact on the number of graduates that require graduate programmes. They believe that this rise will affect graduates, in terms of difficulty in acquiring relevant skills needed to improve their experience and skills. (CIPD, 2012)

Part of an employability skills survey in 2011 confirmed the provision apprenticeships to graduates as a key area of concern. An estimated 46% of organisations across all UK sectors reported that organizational support through graduate apprenticeship will help graduates gain essential skills required to become more employable (CIPD, 2012). The results revealed a moderate support by employers, in the provision of internship (28%) and apprenticeship programs with a 14% plan to introduce them within the next 12 months. (Lowden, et al., 2011).

A person with these abilities will communicate well with others. This is not only about being clear and talking in a way that people can understand the message you are putting across, it is also about listening and understanding others. It includes being able to pick up on tensions and situations whilst managing and controlling your own emotions. Being calm in negotiation situations or pre-empting/during conflict would demonstrate good interpersonal skills. A person with these skills tends to build and maintain good/strong relationships and will work extremely well with individuals as well as in group situations. These are the skills a good manager will display with customers, suppliers, partners, stakeholders and their team and colleagues.

A manager who is self-aware while also being mindful of how others are presenting themselves will also be alert to the team dynamics. This will support the team working well together as well as collaborative working across other services in the company. Having good communication skills will help with giving clear and constructive feedback to employees. It is also about listening to feedback from employees and building a trust and loyalty with staff so they feel confident first of all that they can come and talk to the manager and also they have been listened to. When a manager is a good role model it encourages their team and colleagues to foster similar characteristics, which means they will also build good relationships with colleagues and customers.

An example of good interpersonal skills would be a manager/leader who takes responsibility and actively listens to people. Within my role as a branch manager I take responsibility for my actions and how we perform as a team against our KPI’s. I have an open-door policy and team members know I am available to them at all times. This means they come to me with any concerns they have about work or their personal life and I have a good understanding of what motivates them and what pressures they may be under. I try to always act in a fair and open way and to take the appropriate action. I have undertaken a 360-degree appraisal and received anonymous feedback from a wide range of internal and external work contacts. This showed I am perceived as assertive, dependable, a good and clear communicator, I motivate people, take responsibility and have a good level of emotional intelligence.

INTRODUCTION

Before discussing about the various roles and skills required by modern day managers, lets discuss about what managers and what are the various types of management roles and skills.

Who are “managers”?

Managers are people who are responsible of getting organizational work completed not only timely but also effectively and efficiently through its staff. They achieve the goals and objectives laid down by the firm by four basic management functions which are planning, organizing, leading and controlling.

What is meant by “management”?

Management is the coordination and administration of tasks to achieve a goal. Such administration activities include setting the organization’s strategy and coordinating the efforts of staff to accomplish these objectives through application of available resources.

Now that we have determined what management is and who are managers, we can now thoroughly discuss about what is meant by management roles and skills.

What are “management skills”?

Management skills as the name suggests means the set of skills required by a manager to perform various managerial tasks. It can be defined as a certain set of abilities that a modern day manager should be equipped with to fulfill specific organizational tasks. Robert Lee Katz popularized the concept of “management skills” in his article in Harvard Business Review. He classified the management skills into three categories:

1. Conceptual skills
2. Human skills
3. Technical skills

What are “management roles?”

The role of a modern day manager is to establish an environment in which people can establish and accomplish group goals consuming the least amount of time, money and resources. They are the specific behaviors associated with the task of management. Managers adopt these roles to accomplish the basic functions of management. The various managerial roles classified are:

1. Interpersonal roles
2. Informational roles
3. Decision roles

CORE CONTENT

In order to determine the managerial skills and roles required for a modern day manager, managers from 5 industries were interviewed. The 5 industries shortlisted for the primary research were:

• Hospitality
• Entertainment
• Education
• Telecommunication
• Retail

1. HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Before getting to the managerial skills and roles required for the hospitality industry, let us figure out what hospitality industry is. Hospitality industry deals with a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging services, food and beverage services, event management, travel tourism and others. Hence it is a widespread industry and it is evidently not an easy job to be a manager in the hospitality industry. Hence to determine the managerial skills and roles required for the hospitality industry I have taken as Mr Puneet Chaudhary, The general manager at the Radisson hotel group. (Mr Puneet Chaudhary)

Mr Puneet Chaudhary had a lot to say about the hospitality industry and its management owing to the years of experience he possesses. There were some valuable insights and industry specific information provided by him in order to excel in the industry as a manager.

The skills required as a modern day manager in the hospitality industry are:

• Good interpersonal skills are the very first set of skills which a manager is expected to be equipped with. These skills are required to lead, to communicate, to motivate, to develop team spirit and most of all to work with people.
• Industry awareness is a very important skill. Industry awareness means to be constantly aware about the rapid change in trends, consumer behavior, market conditions and government policies. Owing to the dynamism of the hospitality industry this skill is of utmost necessity.
• Managers of this industry must have capacity to handle immense pressure under uncertain conditions. They must be prepared for any type of contingency owing to the unpredictable industry,
• There must a sense of team spirit. With the absence of team spirit one cannot be a team player and get the work done from a particular department.

The roles to be performed by the managers are:

• The members of this industry have to be very efficient in budget management. Keeping the budget in mind and providing with the best possible output is of the very essence.
• As mentioned hospitality industry is a service oriented industry and makes profit by the customer service provided. Best possible consumer service has to be provided in order to maintain goodwill in the market and to deal with the cut-throat competition.
• A manager in this industry has to keep tabs of the various departments under him and to ensure best possible coordination amongst them. A well coordinated group of departments get the work done more efficiently and saves a lot of man hours.
• Most parts of hospitality industry are dependent on its wide range of vendors. Good relations has to be maintained with the vendors along with regular follow ups and timely payments in order to ensure regular and long term relations.

2. ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

Entertainment and media industry in India consists of many different segments under its folds such as Television, Print media, films etc. It also includes smaller segments such as radio, animation, gaming etc. Hence to determine the managerial skills and roles required for the entertainment industry I have taken Ms. Nitisha Seth, manager at Netflix. (Nitisha Seth)

The skills required for the entertainment industry are:

• Technical skills are the skills required to deal with the day to day operations and activities.
• In this industry networking skills are extremely necessary. It is of utmost importance to network with various people ranging from artists to service providers in order to complete the work in hand and bring out the best possible output.
• Good interpersonal skills are the very first set of skills which a manager is expected to be equipped with. These skills are required to lead, to communicate, to motivate, to develop team spirit and most of all to work with people.
• As the name of industry suggests there must be creativity amongst the managers to give the industry the hundred percent involvement in its proceedings demanded by it.

The roles to be performed are:

• The manager must be constantly updated with the constantly changing trends of the entertainment industry. This industry is extremely dynamic and requires constant market research.
• The industry demands the problems at hand to be dealt not only effectively but also within a stipulated time.
• The manager must possess impressive knowledge about online marketing and sales and must be able to pitch the idea to its clients or convince the concerned authorities about the same.

3. EDUCATION INDUSTRY

The education industry comprises of establishments whose primary objective is to provide education. These establishments can be public, non-public, profit or non-profit institutions. To determine the various managerial skills and roles required of the education industry I have interviewed Mr. Ritobroto Chakravorty, manager at BYJU’s (Ritobroto Chakravorty)

The skills required for education industry are:

• Motivational skills are extremely important in consideration of the education industry. It is of utmost importance to keep the staff personnel as well as the students motivated and satisfied.
• A manager must have analytical skills. Analytical skills refers to the ability to eamine and understand a particular problem and enables them to take necessary decisions.
• Supervisory skills are also an important set of skills required for this industry since the manager has to supervise not only the staff personnel but also the functioning of various departments along with the coordination of various branches of the institution.

The roles to be performed are:

• They need to manage all the staff personnel effectively.
• It is the role of an education manager to design an unconventional curriculum ensuring an overall development of the students enrolling for the same.
• It is the duty of the manager to take timely follow ups from both its staff as well as the students. This develops a sense of belonging amongst the staff since they feel their presence being felt and their decision and opinion taken into consideration.
• The manager should work on development of flexible courses and curriculum to suit the varying interests and aptitude of the students.

4. TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY

The telecommunication industries within the sector of information and communication technology is made up of all telecom industries and internet services. It plays crucial role in evolution of mobile communication and information technology. In order to determine the various roles and skills required for the telecom industry I have interviewed Mr. Abhinav Sharma, manager at JIO. (Mr. Abhinav Sharma)

The skills required to be a manager in telecom industry are:

• Most importantly the manager must possess technological skills. He must have a hang of technology and possess a decent and updated information and knowledge about the same.
• Design skills are of utmost importance in this industry. They refer to the problem solving skills. A manager should not just identify a problem, but design the best solution to solve the problem.
• The managers, especially, at higher levels need to have the ability to frame plans and policies. For this efficient administrative skills are required. They need to be able coordinate the functioning and get the work done.

The roles to be performed by the managers are:

• Their role is to develop and maintain policies and procedures for installing and maintaining telecom equipment.
• A manager also need to set up modern hardware and install updated software.
• He must research on the latest advances made by telecom technology.

5. RETAIL INDUSTRY

Retail industry is the industry dealing with the process of selling consumer goods or service to customer through multiple channels of distribution to earn a profit. To determine the skills and roles required for this industry I interviewed Mr. Jawed Sheikh, manager at Aditya birla fashion and retail (PANTALOONS) (Mr. Javed Sheikh)

The skills required for the retail industry are:

• As mentioned retail industry is a service oriented industry and makes profit by the customer service provided. Best possible consumer service has to be provided in order to maintain goodwill in the market and to deal with the cut-throat competition.
• This specific industry demands extreme patience to deal with the task at hand.
• It takes extreme sensitivity and understanding on the side of the manager to put himself in the shoes of his staff and perform with extreme empathy and rationality.
• As a manager in the retail industry he must possess high persuasive and negotiation skills.

The roles to be performed are:

• He must timely supervise the retail outlets and the staff personnel.
• He must efficiently manage the budget.
• He must at all times monitor stock levels and make sure there is no over stocking of goods or goods being lesser than those being demanded.
• He must know top notch inventory management.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research methodology I have used to gather information for my assignment is Interview method of research. It is a qualitative research technique which involves asking open ended questions to converse with the respondent and collect data about a subject. I asked the managers industry specific questions in order to determine the roles and skills of a modern day manager. Owing to the years of experience the managers had to lots to offer and invaluable insights over the current market conditions. Questions covering the change in industry and consumer patterns in the past decade and the future of the industry were covered. A list of open ended questions resulted in the best possible output of a near perfect list of all the skills and roles which a person should possess who is planning his managerial career in the specific industry.

CONCLUSION

After this assignment I have concluded that being a manager is not an easy task. It takes wide range of skills and abilities to be a modern day manager. A job of a manager is not only to look after day to day proceedings of the firm but also to ensure coordination amongst the various departments of the firm. It is his role to maintain the morale of the employees to keep them motivated and happy to ensure highest possible efficiency and reduce employee turnover. There are wide ranges of industries in the market and all demands different skills to tackle its specific challenges. A manager has to adapt itself to the rapidly changing industry. There are wide range of challenges in industries like change in market conditions, change in current market trends, changes in consumer taste. Hence a manager has to constantly keep himself updated about the dynamism of his industry.

Introduction

In today’s hospitality industry employability skills are key factors that an employer takes into consideration while recruiting an employee. I have also been continuously developing some of the employability skills (Conflict, Teamwork, Problem-Solving, and professionalism) by implementing those theoretical learnings into practice. Throughout this entire assessment, I would be reflecting on these four employability skills and will connect with the theories that I have learned from various subjects during campus study. some of the subjects are Delivering Guest Service, Room Division Service. The main aim of the assessment is the implications of the employability skills in the workplace which I have learned through various campus subjects and Understanding how the implementation of those theories has impacted on my workplace followed by my reflective practices and its positive outcome to exceed guest expectations thereby creating an exceptional experience for the guest where they can enjoy their special moments during their stays.

Conflict

When the team isn’t working effectively and efficiently it creates conflicts among the team members which affects the overall operation of the department. While working at Intercontinental Hayman Island Resort as a steward, I encountered a situation where my supervisor was overloading me with lots of tasks and gave me an unrealistic time frame to perform those tasks. Moreover, he was overloading his part of the jobs to me as he thought that as I was a newly recruited employee it would be easier for him to dominate and delegates his jobs to me. Moreover, when chefs asked me to clean the fryer and change the oil, my supervisor told me just to give a wipe and change the oil. I remained silent for a few weeks but his workloads and pressure kept on increasing on a daily basis, that’s when I decided to confront him and talk about the matter personally. Ichm “Graduate Quality” (GQ3) states that one must be able to resolve a conflict by collaborating with others and exchanging views and ideas to achieve the desire outcomes fostering teamwork. When I tried to talk with him about how the extra workload and pressure have affected my performance, I also tried to share him my ideas and view to get the task done effectively he did not listen to my ideas and told me that I have to do it no matter what which increased the conflict further. Intra-group conflicts cause task conflicts, which have adverse percussion on employee performance and productivity when two individuals working together have antagonistic perceptions (Thakore 2013, pp. 9). Similarly, we also have a different perspective as my supervisor cut corners and uses loopholes to get the task done by compromising quality whereas I foster ichm GQ6 which makes me aware of and sensitive to ethics and ethical standards in interpersonal, social and industry context which has created conflict between us while performing a task.

While studying Managing Productivity through people lecturers taught us about conflict management where the lecturer said that when there is any conflict between team members if personally talking with the person doesn’t helps take the matters to the head of the department. So, I informed about the situation to the Chief Steward as he repeatedly gave me extra workload and pressure. The chief steward held a meeting with both of us and advised my supervisor not to give extra workload to anyone perform their delegated task themselves. In addition, he also provided clear guidelines stating what each individual will be doing and also reminded supervisors to avoid giving extra workload. Sometimes avoidance might be a solution for the short-term but compromising over a situation for a longer period of time will adversely affect the performance and success of the organization (Wood et al. 2013). If I had not raised the concern with the management the conflicts would have continued which would have affected my performance and ability to perform tasks effectively thereby stopping my growth within the organization. Timely and well-managed conflicts inspire creativity and create a healthy work environment which increases employee satisfaction and boosts overall productivity (Eke et al. 2020, pp. 307).

Teamwork

According to the two subjects, Culinary Techniques and Standards and Delivering Guest Services effective teamwork play a crucial part in achieving organizational and departmental goals in an effective manner. In addition, effective teamwork leads to exceptional guest experiences which helps to exceed guest expectations. Furthermore, teamwork is one of the key employability skills which helps to bring individual strengths to the group where each individuals strength are combined to complete the task in an effective manner and helps in improving individuals existing skills as well as learn new skills that would be useful for rest of their lives (Medhi, B 2020).

While working at The Treasury Casino And Hotel I was working as a Food and Beverage attendant where we faced an unexpected number of guest businesses and the limited staff was rostered on that day as it was the off-peak season. In addition, there was a group of 15 guests who walk in for a birthday celebration, and on top of that two staff from the kitchen called for the sick leave which created chaos in the kitchen as chefs were struggling to deliver the orders.

While studying at ichm we studied that a well-synchronized team creates a sense of responsibility and ownership whereas failing to synchronize team and inability to work effectively would negatively impact employee’s productivity, performance, service standard, and overall guest experience (Cohen & Bailey 1997). I talked with my manager about having previous experience in the kitchen department and offered help to chefs in food preparation, plating the food and took those plated menu items and served to the guest and all of my colleagues were actively taking care of guest orders, clearing the plates, resetting tables and finalizing payments while one of the staff from front office helped us to greet and seat the guest.

During such situation by working hand in hand, supporting and covering each other back we were not only able to delegate work based on individuals strength but also we were able to identify the uncertainty, implement solutions to the problem and overcome the difficult situation, and successfully eliminated inter-departmental conflicts and negative guest experiences (Buil et al. 2019). As per ichm graduate qualities 3 we were able to relate and collaborate with other and exchange views and ideas to achieve the desired outcome through effective teamwork, leadership, networking, and problem-solving. The guest personally thanked us for exceptional service and they stated that they were very much satisfied with us and definitely recommend to others. We were able to handle the situation very well and if a similar situation arises again in the future we are more than ready to deliver the service with a high level of excellence in order to continuously build a positive brand image of the hotel and keep exceeding guests expectations. We also had a meeting where each team member put certain ideas for outsourcing staff during uncertainties where I also put forward my opinions of cross-departmental training and keep lists of staff who are ready to pick up shift whenever needed and every team member and managers appreciated the ideas.

Problem-Solving

While undertaking my work-integrated learning during 1st year at the Majestic hotel I was able to develop a strong understanding of problem-solving. Problem-solving skill is one of the essential techniques that individual must acquire no matter whichever field they are working in. in addition, formulating various solution and critically thinking various techniques to tackle various difficult problems are the valuable skill that every employee must have (Masterclass 2020). Working at the Majestic Hotels and dealing with many guest complaints I have been able to determine the root cause of the complex problems, select various solutions, and implement the effective solution to the complex problems. Similarly, Ichm GQ4 also states that one must have an ability to research, evaluate, critically think and formulate effective ideas or solutions to the problems to demonstrate your capacity for innovation, taking initiative, and judgment. I have always been praised by my managers for exhibiting strong initiatives to find an effective and efficient solution to guest problems and providing them with an exceptional environment to enjoy their stays. According to (Mokhtar et al. 2019) by identifying the problem and improving the quality or implementing an effective solution to or beyond guest expectations is key for higher guest satisfaction and building customer loyalty. I have implemented a similar theory while handling a guest complaint.

While working at the Majestic Hotel a long-staying guest in room no 107 complained that her rooms have not been cleaned properly by the previous housekeeper and she was really angry about it. From the theoretical knowledge based on Rooms Division Service Standards, a key to resolve angry guest complaints is to actively listen to his problems and provide an effective solution to it as guest usually complaints in order to receive a quick response to the solution (Wren 2020). Keeping this theory in mind I stopped my work and listen to the guest’s complaint evaluated the situation and apologized to the guest on behalf of my colleague and I personally went to the room and instantly cleaned the room. she was very happy that I responded quickly to her problems and she thanked me for the instant response. This timely response to guest complaints not only helped solve the problem but it also gave me an opportunity to turn a negative experience into a positive experience and retain customer loyalty (Wren 2020). Moreover, I also notified my supervisors that the designated colleague have not cleaned the room properly to the hotel standard so that a similar situation doesn’t arise again. The later manager checked on the system and found out the staff and issued him a warning letter since then we never had any guest complaints about dirty rooms.

Professionalism

Professionalism is a form of courtesy that mainly links to respectful and courteous behaviors of an individual in the workplace which can benefit both one’s career and improve the chances of becoming a successful leader (Fuller 2020). In addition, punctuality, expertise, honesty, and integrity, respect, and accountability are some of the attributes of professionalism which are valued greatly in the workplace (Porcupile, DW 2015). Throughout my entire life, whether it is a professional or personal life, I have always fostered professional behavior at all times and also have been appreciated by many peoples and managers. Working at Intercontinental Hayman island resort as a steward through 2 weeks of ongoing orientation and training I have acquired a systematic, logical, and in-depth body of knowledge relating to the IHG (Intercontinental Hotel Group), their basic principals & concepts, and associated industry communication and professional skills which also fosters ICHM GQ1 that I have learned during campus study.

Showing professionalism in a workplace also means being careful how you treat your co-workers and guests and at the same time ensuring a positive workplace attitude which can help you enhance productivity and effectiveness in the workplace as unprofessional behaviors such as coming late to work or being rude with co-workers and guest effects Teamwork as well as the overall success of the business. While working at Hayman island I face a situation where I was walking by the restaurant area where I greet the guest and asked him is his stay and the guest shared his disappointment about the cleaning standards of the housekeeping team as his room was dirty. At this situation, as being a steward most of the people just ignore the guest complaints as they feel that it’s not their responsibility but what I did was I apologized a guest for the inconvenience, asked him the room no he was staying at and I informed the front office about the guest dissatisfactions about his room. Later, the front office informed housekeeping team and they instantly went to the guest room and cleaned the room to the perfection before the guest arrives. The next day I was appreciated by my chief steward for the approach I took to turn the guest bad experience into an amazing experience. According to the learnings from Delivering guest service, it states that guest complaints provide an opportunity to the hotel to show their true value to the guest by solving their problems as quickly as possible and turning their bad experience into one of the amazing experiences. In addition, we can see guest complaints as an opportunity to earn guest loyalty and repetitive guest business as solving their problem as quickly as possible not only target increasing profitability of the business bust also guest’s perspective where both hotel and guest receive the net value of their effort and expenses (Hayes & Miller 2011).

Conclusion

To conclude we can say that employability skills are one of the important skills which help each individual to become a successful leader. This assessment also gave me an opportunity to evaluate my employability skills and reflect on my experience that I have learned through the implementation of theoretical knowledge into the workplace and also helped me to improve my existing skill. From the above-discussed fours, employability skills professionalism is the key factors which bind all other employability skills as being professionalism make you more ethical, responsible, respectful, and accountable towards business or department which embraces teamwork as well as helps to solve guest problems and resolve conflict or have a healthy conflict which increases productivity and efficiency.

The Importance of Writing Skills: How to Be an Effective Leader and Communicator

Introduction

Writing consists of more than 70 percent of the world’s communication. The major contributor to this is the widespread use of new communication technologies such as mobile phones, messaging, social sites, and email. You now can see why the importance of writing skills in leaders is deemed necessary.

Although information can be passed on through videos and podcasts such as Skype, a leader will at some point be required to communicate through writing memos or emails. Writing skills still, play a vital role in leadership as a poor writer will demonstrate to the employees.

Relationship between Grammar and Writing

Most of those campaigning against writing skills often refer to grammar and spelling only. They must be tired of teachers telling them that they will not get an A if they do not work on their poor grammar.

However, we must take two things into account. First, grammar and spelling exist to facilitate effective communication and not just to make life difficult. Minor mistakes increase the chance of destroying your career. Also ignoring the rules makes audiences misunderstand you frequently.

Second, writing is not just about grammar; it also involves the use of tone, punctuation, and style. It is vital to consider your choice of words to engage your audience and influence them. A leader should not just put together a bunch of words; instead, he should send his ideas, influence, and shine through the words.

Attributes of good writing

1. Precision

The following two sentences will help bring out this:

• The cat jumped on the couch and fell asleep
• The black cat jumped on the couch and kneaded the couch as if in a trance before coiling itself in a near circle for sleep.

Both these sentences are grammatically correct, but one is superior and helps the reader to create imagery. Good writing involves knowing your writing style and tone by using descriptive language and logical arrangement of points.

Precision is controlling how others perceive you and your message. Whether you are emailing employees or delivering your message by word of mouth, you must be able to manipulate the opinion of the audience. It will ensure they understand your personality, plans, and passions.

2. Accuracy

You cannot achieve good writing by the delivery of false information and claims that do not have support. Leadership and communication move together, it does not make one a good leader if he asks others to follow blindly.

As a leader, you should thoroughly research and consult with others. it will help you adjust quickly in case the facts pointed to a different conclusion.

3. Precision

Attention to grammar in writing reflects attention to details in practical performance. While leaders are big-picture thinkers who perceive the grand vision of the future, they must understand that smaller steps are required to attain a bigger goal.

It calls for a commitment to excellence all through the writing process. It is crucial that you invest extra time to ensure you have correctly capitalized the title and also used the right words. it will help you be patient and keen on little things.

4. Openness

It requires one to avoid complicated long sentences but instead uses powerful, simple, short sentences. Understandable sentences can be powerful and depict honesty in a leader. Never use a long sentence where you can replace it with a short one.

Written communication plays a vital role in communication

It may seem like social media; apps such as Skype and mobile have diverted communication to audio and video decreasing written communication. However, it is the opposite. Decades ago, people relied on phone calls to talk to partners, friends, and family.

Currently, we can get just an instant message or email them. Press releases, reports, websites, e-books, applications, emails, and newsletters are all written communication. As a leader, this brings out the importance of writing skills as you have to make your material stand out from competitors.

A leader should know how to write to different audiences. The messages vary depending on writing styles, focus, and approaches. It ensures you are flexible in your writing and communication without losing the core message.

Besides, there are writings you will send to team members. A good piece has the power to unify and inspire while a bad piece can distort your authority and may disrespect other employees.

Poor writing skills ruin your reputation and credibility

Am sure you have come across all the bad jokes and memes that go around the internet due to grammar and spelling errors in an online published work. Although most of them seem rude and too silly to be taken seriously, am sure you have at one point been put off just by bad writing.

It is not just about the presence of a mistake, but the error makes the text hard to understand or read. Leaders must, therefore, be keen as you may damage your credibility by not being clear. You even may end up unwillingly offending your audience

To be seen as a leader, you require a certain level of expertise in your writing skills. It is essential as you are expected to have a higher level of expertise, experience, and qualification.

Take time to read articles and pieces from other people in a similar leadership position or one which you aspire to be. It will significantly help you in evaluating your writing and will help you to set a realistic standard.

In conclusion

Writing skills are a must for one to be an effective leader. Technology has made writing even more significant by increasing the amount of writing required in a day. If you want to be considered a leader in your field, you must dominate in good writing.

You should ensure you eliminate any instance of being misunderstood. Your primary purpose is to give direction and influence your team or clients.

Do not ignore the importance of writing skills to your career. You can either join a one-on-one class, take online courses or try the available apps. Remain consistent and optimistic knowing that this is an additional life challenge.

The writing process can help drastically when it comes to essays. The five steps of the essay include prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. They can help make sure a subject is on point and there is enough information. It is important for writers to work through each step to achieve a complete piece that is well thought out. The writing process ensures that the point is clear, and improves overall writing. The writing process is essential in writing to make the objective and intentions of the author clear.

Prewriting is the first step, which makes it very important. This is where a writer chooses a topic and tries to narrow down some points to go along. Considering who needs to be addressed, developing ideas are also a big part of the process. Prewriting may consist of outlining, clustering, or other techniques to help focus on a subject. Brainstorming is a great idea to receive topics.

The second step of the writing process is drafting. During this step, the writer puts these fragmented ideas into complete thoughts, like sentences and paragraphs. Once a topic is chosen, identify a purpose for the essay. For example, if the topic is dogs and it needs to be persuasive, someone could write about dog racing and its controversy. The first thing a writer should compose is an introduction to state the topic and draw readers into the writing. The first rough draft will not be perfect, but prewriting can keep a writer on track and ensure the piece maintains focus.

Revising is the third step, which is an entire revision of the essay. This includes reviewing, altering, and amending messages. Writers usually go back and forth between drafting and revising. Writers can go through dozens of drafts and revisions before moving on to the next step. Revision includes determining the structure of the draft and identifying weak arguments and presentations. When writers first start, it is not always the best, so revision is a chance to crucially look at the writing piece and see if the audience will understand, if it is worth stating and if it conveys a point.

The fourth step is editing the essay but on the sentence level. Editing includes questioning and analyzing sentences, managing sentence length, and removing spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and formatting errors. By going through and editing the entire essay, it ensures writing is efficient, the topics support the thesis, and the essay is not too technical or does not make sense.

The final step of the writing process is publishing, which is fairly easy. Turn in the assignment to whoever needs it, online or in person. People get to see all their hard work, and weights are lifted off their shoulders. Publishing does not seem like an important step, but going from nothing to a full essay that is drafted, revised, and edited a dozen times is a great feeling.

In conclusion, the writing process is vital to create an essay that has a clear point and thesis and makes sense throughout the writing. The writing process allows writers to envision their idea and make them come to life. Through drafting, revisions, and editing, the hard work shows when the essay is completed and flawless. The writing process is a great tool for writers and should not be forgotten because it can make essays better.

Introduction

Waltham International College is in London borough of barking and Dagenham in east London and was founded in 2010. In recent years there is growing demand in skills and education in barking and Dagenham area (https://www.walthamintcollege.ac.uk/why-wic.html). WIC offers Further Education and Higher Education Programme for students (https: walthamintcollege.ac.uk). Waltham international college has a good environment and excellent quality services for students. As a WIC student, I am going to present a portfolio of student support services on campus.

Student support services

Waltham international college offers educational, personal and career support services for students. WIC support every student who is studying with us in many ways. WIC encourage and appreciate students to achieve their success. Every student experience peace of mind when they are on campus. As We are in London, which every student dream to come and study in London. WIC offers a high-quality programmes and support to our students to develop their career in future.

Student advice

student welfare teams offer a great support and try to solve any kind of non- academic issues including mental, physical and emotional for students. WIC also have the facility to make one-to-one appointments for complex issues of students. It could be a student finance or money management. For advisor call 02070180430 or email info@walthamintcollege.ac.uk

Library resources

Waltham international college library has a great space to sit and study with computer facility. It contains a variety of books, journals, magazines and other related materials for students to develop their knowledge. WIC also allow students to lend a book from a library. WIC offers E-resources- 24 hours a day access off- campus to teachers and students. We also have a professional and experienced staff team to support students on library and if needed team gives a training.

Language support for students

When it comes to English language, it differs in higher education which we learnt in school or college. To develop an academic English in all format, WIC provides special courses who needs to improve and increase a confident level in English language. For more information about regarding the courses, please contact admission team: call 020070180430 or email info@walthamintcollege.ac.uk.

Healthcare

WIC is located near so many healthcare providers and doctors. Students health and safety is our priority and important to us. WIC have an emergency medical team to help students who feels sick. For assistance or support call 02070180430 or email info@walthamintcollege.ac.uk

Mental health and wellbeing support

In this busy world, we are facing so many problems in daily life. It affects our mental health and wellbeing. WIC offers a short-term support and therapy for students who ever facing difficulties in personal life or at college. Our college advisors help to find counsellor if needed. WIC delivers a free service, and it is fully confidential. WIC have a choice of appointment days and times suitable for you.

WIC provides more support to students with a range of disabilities, including physical or sensory impairments, specific learning difficulties, autism spectrum conditions, long-term medical conditions and mental health conditions (https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/student-life/student-support/disability-and-dyslexia-service). Those who have disabilities or medical conditions, college take extra care to make sure they get every support they needed at any time. WIC have a special and personalised services to the students who needs help at our campus. For more information about disability and dyslexia- call 02070180430 or email info@walthamintcollege.ac.uk

Equality and diversity

WIC provides every students equality of opportunity, giving every student chance to achieve their potential. WIC students could be multicultural, but we love our rich diversity of student and staff.

Student voice

In this section students can submit and act their needs by forming a team within themselves. From their own team they select their own five or seven executive officers depend upon their needs. Each executive officer brings the student voice into board meetings and committees and showing their interest on college and student union decision making. Executive officers focussing only on their project to improve or fulfil student needs. Also, they have student representative selected by students who ask and find what is each student requirements and handed to the executive officers and support completely to students. Each one can submit their requirements via by online student union email or forms.

Jobs

WIC has Waltham Employability framework which ensure students have human capital capabilities, psychological capital confidence and social capital connections.

College always make sure employability linked with student’s life cycle, support, career information given to graduates to progress in career, work placement or employability skills added additionally to the course for career support.

Our college provides and helps students to find jobs via several jobs link websites. There must be a campus interviews and job offering. Students can apply for part time, fulltime jobs, interns, volunteer jobs, projects etc.

Samaritans- getting confidential support if anyone are in crisis, depression and urgent needs by calling the Samaritans available 24 hours a day, throughout the year.

London Nightline- it is a listening support and information helpline run by students for students.

Students discount:

WIC provides 30% discount on travel, NUS card and 20% discount on council tax.

Student facilities

There are number of student facilities provided at college. WIC ensure that all the students enrolled in the college are getting invaluable source of advice and support. The facilities provided by the college are listed below:

• Computing and internet facilities

Inside WIC campus, students have access to internet through the Hi-speed dedicated broadband connections and we can also find free Wi-Fi hotspots for the use of students. In addition to this, the college supports students by lending PCs for students inside the college.

• IT support

WIC provides expert IT help and training throughout the year and make sure that students are not facing any IT related issues. Moreover, students have free access to computers and the software used in their course work and research.

• Photocopying/printing facility

We can find printers inside the campus. Students can use the printers which are free of cost during their class time.

Reflection

Our college is reflecting on all the needs of students. Setting goals, thriving for it and achieving is WIC vision. Even though very few needs to be still must fulfil by student support services. In our college there is no sitting area in canteen. They should fulfil that needs of students. Other issues we are facing are login issues whenever I try to log in at home for virtual learning.

Conclusion

So, I conclude that student union in our college provides most of the need’s student. As a volunteer worker I have seen how gradually WIC improve in all areas of student needs in last ten years. Only very few needs and issues student union must fulfil and resolve. That would be grateful if our college student Support services fix these issues and fulfil the needs.

References

1. https://www.walthamintcollege.ac.uk/why-wic.html
2. https://www.walthamintcollege.ac.uk/student-services.html
3. https://www.walthamintcollege.ac.uk/facilities.html
4. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/student-life/student-support/disability-and-dyslexia-service

Introduction to Time Management for University Students

A lot of university students complain about running out of time when asked to do a certain task, they get frustrated because they are not able to make it before the deadline. Time management is an ability that every student must not only know but also apply. Time management is extremely important, particularly when it comes to university students since it will boost their grades and improve their productivity (Laurie & Hellsten, 2002).

Theoretical Perspectives on Time Management

Faisal, Miqdadi, Abdulla & Mohammad (2014) demonstrate that time management practices show the way not only to a high level of academic performance but to good physical condition and lower levels of stress.

Strategies and Techniques for Effective Time Management

Sabelis, (2001) analyze the Dimensions of Time Management: The effectual utilizing of time and managing time requires procedures and good quality planning behaviors. One can make use of time effectively and competently by keeping time logs, setting immediate and long-standing goals, prioritizing responsibilities, constructing to-do lists and arrangements, and organizing one`s workspace, as studies of the earlier periods and plentiful how-to books proposed.

Time-saving techniques and behaviors can be categorized into numerous groups and be liable to contribute to a number of fundamental qualities in general. There are three surfaces of time management behaviors: short-range planning, long-range planning, and time attitudes (Laurie & Hellsten, 2002).

Overcoming Procrastination and Enhancing Organizational Skills

However, most of the time students face problems like task aversion and uncertainty, so they start to procrastinate because they lack organizational skills. As a result, students will not be able to organize duties according to their priorities, so they get distracted easily, ending up procrastinating. As we can see, time management is quite essential to any university student, and it is one of the keys to higher academic achievements (Kelly, 2004).

The Relationship Between Time Management and Academic Success

It directs to have less perception of control over time because it may be tackling to be familiar with how much effort requires to be completed within hours, days or weeks; it may even be the immediately measurable effect of planning. This gives the impression to indicate that time management practices accomplish to have an influence on educational achievement, but that`s not all they affect (Brigitte et al., 2005).

The various group of students who exploited time-saving proficiencies notably had rich academic achievement. They accomplished those students who do not use time-saving techniques in their educational surroundings have significantly lower academic as compared to results students who employ time-management tactics have considerably higher achievement (Mercanlioglu, 2010). This literature revealed that the student’s time management skills affect their academic achievement at a significant level and the skills are one of the predictors of academic performance. The relevant literature suggested that students should start to acquire time management senses on their own in their primary school years by reading materials on the issue or via the framework of psychological counseling and guidance studies applied in schools and adopt effective time management attitudes and techniques to determine how and where they spend their time (Lisa & Robert, 2008). The related literature showed the time management attitude and skill levels of university students and the effects of these skills on their academic achievement. The research revealed that a majority of student possesses moderate-level time management skills and only a significantly small portion has high-level time management skills (Yilmaz, Yoncalik & Bekta, 2006).

Gerald (2002) Defined time management as a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems that work together to help you get more value out of your time with the aim of improving the quality of your life Aggarwal (2008) his contribution asserts that time management is usually a personal problem and if one instinctively knows what the right is, then there is no need to worry.

Local Insights on Time Management Among Nursing Students

Many nursing students complain about needing more time to perform various roles in different settings. They have to manage time not only as students but also as a child, partner, or a friend. Being a student alone is stressful because of the expectation of parents and relatives to perform well in school. With the escalating burden in the workload of nursing students as graduation approaches, time management becomes even more difficult. One has to juggle his time for both academics and clinical duties without compromising his academic performance. It is for these reasons that the researchers decided to investigate the relationship between time management and academic performance of selected third-year nursing students of Arellano University for School Year 2008-2009. CEBU, Philippines – It is said that time is a very scarce resource. While it seems to many people that there’s plenty of it, time is clicking away every single moment. Before long, one realizes that he or she has already wasted a lot by just letting time pass by without making good use of it. Time waits for no one. The smart thing for one to do is to be ready with things to do at any time available. It means making one’s time productive. Ironically, given the scarcity and potential value of time, smart management of time is not one of the skills people are usually taught while growing up. No wonder there’s a lot of precious time wasted. No wonder many people wrestle with time pressure for their entire lives – there seems, to them, too much to do in too little time.

Truth is, there is enough time for everything. The problem is, people don’t usually identify the right thing to do at the right time. They inundate themselves with all kinds of tasks to do all at the same time. Another problem is procrastination. Again, it is not doing the right thing at the right time, and so everything is lumped together at a later time. It results in time pressure, something that most people complain to drive them crazy. Time pressure is a common problem among students. There are class assignments and quizzes and new lessons to tackle every day. Students are left feeling there’s no way to cover everything with the time available. Too many tasks to all fit in a limited time result in time pressure. But, in fact, almost always time pressure is avoidable. The secret is in developing an organized approach to the student’s schedules in order to work more efficiently. Of course, with so many activities it feels like time just flies by. The student is often wondering where all of the time went. In contrast, there are also times when it feels like the day will never end. It is, thus, necessary to spread school tasks properly, such that there is something to do comfortably at particular times. The website www.qualifax.ie reminds students to remember that there are 24 hours in every day. No student has more time than another. The secret to achieving great exam results is good time management. Fortunately, good time management can be learned. Anyone can learn how to control his or her time – and how to spend it wisely. There are ways to ensure that the time spent studying gives the maximum amount of learning possible. The www.qualifax.ie website shares ideas for planning one’s everyday life and getting organized in his or her studies: Make a list. The best way to track what tasks need to be done is to list them down. Prioritize. Next, decide which task is to be done first and next and so on – and arrange the tasks accordingly. Be realistic. Figure out how long each task will take and allot it to the time required. Procrastinate less. It is a formidable goal to aim for zero procrastination. Just aim to procrastinate less every time. Your written list of tasks will help you know exactly what you will study before you sit down at your desk. You are more likely to get down to it and get it done. Be persistent. There’s no guarantee, though, that the tasks you list down will be sufficiently covered, no matter how much you planned. It’s okay; just keep at it and keep learning better. Take note of what didn’t work well and try adjusting tasks and time allotment for next time. Track your progress. Regularly check your tasks list and timetable to know how you are doing. It also keeps you on course to get everything done. Focus on the positive. For the few misses now and then, bear in mind that it would have been much worse if you didn’t have a plan. Anyone who embarks on the journey towards managing time effectively should consider that it does not happen instantly. A journey takes a while to unfold. But the reward is worth it – a well-organized school life, even life in general. Much of the uncertainty of life is removed and more is achieved. ( Rufino Rios: THE FREEMAN).

There is an old saying that Time is gold.’ It is also the only thing that people cannot replace. Time flies so quickly that once it is gone, nobody can ever bring it back. According to Ferner (2003), time controls and limits how we use other resources. Thus, it is often referred to as our most valuable resource. Similarly, in the healthcare setting, time affects both money and quality according to Severance and Cervantes (2003). For every individual, there is a finite and identifiable limit to the minutes and hours available to do work and for leisure. How you use it defines the person`s character and values about time. (Monica Jane F. Mendoza | Nenci Gay T. Gonzales | Criza Aina A. Masa | Clarissa Angelica L. Mingi | Marie Antonette C. Ocampo)

Global Studies on Time Management and Academic Performance

Alan R. Roper studied EDUCAUSE QUARTERLY 63 student is the self-discipline required to devote adequate time to class in courses that might not have regularly scheduled times to meet synchronously online or in person. Most students found that establishing their own schedules for class time helped them ensure enough time for class participation. One student commented, setting and staying to specific study days was one factor that worked for me. For example, in the evenings, throughout the week, I read my lessons. Saturdays were generally Educause Quarterly 30 (1), 62, 2007

Numerous studies invented that short-range planning behavior, forecasting of time in the short run, surrounded by the time enclose of a week or less, established a constructive relationship to grade point average. Short-range planning in interface with accomplishment determined was optimistically associated with dealing performance as well (Noftle et al., 2007). Likewise, most of the studies that control for the student time do so by determining the total time committed to the course, a variable normally found to be unimportant. Academic achievement means the educational objective that is accomplished by a student, teacher, or institution realized over a definite short period (Lisa & Robert, 2008).

In a related study Davis (2002) examined the effect of time management on work and academic settings. Using research design, his result suggests a positive relationship between time and management and work academic settings increased performance. A number of experts (wright,,2002, Acona, Goodman, Lawrence, and Trushtman,2001, George, and Jonas,2000), assessed the need to incorporate time in theoretical models and research design in organizations. Applying the survey method, their findings indicate that time management facilitates improvement and effort.

Prior studies on time management among students present varied perspectives and findings, repack ( 2007; Acemoglu and Sevil 2010; Ellam and Aharon 2003, In their study Gleason, Eerde, Rutte, and roe 2007, reviewed 32 empirical studies on time management conducted between 1982 and 2004 in order to provide an overview of the current state of the art in time management research. The review reveals that time management behavior relates positively to perceived control of time, job satisfaction, and health, while it is negative to stress. However, the relationship between work and academic performance is not dear Cognizance of none acceptability of a universal definition of time management in work in academic settings. Using survey research design, his results suggest a positive relationship between time management and work academic settings and increased performance

A number of experts ( wright, 2002, Ancona, Goodman, Lawrence, and transhuman,2001, gorge and Jonas, 2000), assessed the need to incorporate time in theoretical models and research designs in organizations. Applying the survey method, their findings indicate that time management facilities improve in the effort.

Cognizance of the non-acceptability of a universal definition of time management, Shellenbarger(2009) views time management as behavioral change techniques that help people get organized, clarify thinking and increase output. Eilam and Sharon 2003 believe that time management is a way of monitoring and controlling time.

In the study of Yilmaz, Yoncalk, and betas (2006), the result revealed that a majority of student possesses moderate level time management skills, and only a significantly small portion has high-level time management skills. It was also revealed in the study of Lisa and Robert (2008) that students’ time management affects their academic achievement at a significant level and skills are one of the predictors of academic performance.

They accomplished those students who do not use time-saving techniques in their educational surroundings having significantly lower academic as compared to results students who employ time management tactics have considerably higher achievement (Mercanlloglu2010).

Abulshawi and Abusultana (2003) conducted a study aiming at recognizing the student of Yarmouk University’s ability to manage time from different faculties and identifying its relation to academic achievement considering the variables; gender, the university year, and the faculty and how much these variables affect time management skills.

To the researcher, however, time management is as important as human and material resources in any organization, from observation, poor time planners seem to be faced with low productivity, Inefficiency, Ineffectiveness, low morale, stress, and frustration with themselves. Time is always available although it waits for no one

Conclusion and Recommendations for Effective Time Management

In relation to time management behavior, some people studied it. Kaufman (1991) states that time assessment behaviors were aimed at awareness of here and now, or past, present, and future self-awareness of one’s time use and they cover or help to accept tasks and responsibilities that fit one’s capabilities. Macan (1996) states that planning behavior includes goals, planning, task, prioritizing, making a to-do list, grouping tasks, aim to use effective time. Claessen (2007) says monitoring behaviors focus on observing one’s use of time while performing activities generating a feedback loop that allows a limit to the influence of interruptions by others.

Necati and devil (2010) carry out a study to determine the relationship between the time management skills and academic achievements of students who are potential teachers studying in the faculty of education at Gazi University.

Meaningful and moderate relation between time management and academic achievements. The relative Importance order of the predictor variables on academic achievement, according to the standardized regression coefficient, was time consumers, time planning, and time attitude; each of the three variables had an important predictor effect on the academic achievement of the student.

Whoever you are or whatever you’re up to, the skill you can’t afford to joke with in life is Time management. Everybody needs time management as everyone excluding none works with time. Statistics-wise, 98% of every building has a wall clock on it. Even the poor man that can rarely afford three square meals has a means of keeping track with time.

Time, the clock existed with existence. It’s not just a discovery or an innovation over time, it is life itself. Time management is an effective skill you must acquire. If time is not well managed, there’s no way you will reach your desired destination. Just like the popular statement ‘time waits for no one. This is the more reason why you have to be hard on the issue of time management.

Entrepreneurs, and all forms of professions, don’t at all joke with time because they have a good understanding of its value. Have you ever wondered how it is that some people seem to have enough time to do everything that they want to, whereas others are always rushing from task to task, and never seem to finish anything? It’s all just about Time management. The fact is this, time is the greatest equalizer in life. No matter who you are, your age, influence, race, gender, religion, or even income, you have the same number of hours to spend in a day. Whether you’re rich or poor, your time is still the same. It’s not about how much time you have but about how effectively you can manage your time.

We can’t successfully talk about time management without the discipline it demands. The first thing that is seen of a man that lacks discipline is the lack of time management. If you are serious with this time management, it will give you a high percentage of getting your goals achieved. Time management will help you wave off distractions and leave you disciplined.

Time management is actually not very difficult as a concept, but it is hard to do in practice. It requires the investment of a little time at the start of the day to organize and scale your events based on priority yourself. But once that is done, you will find that your day will fall in place and in an orderly manner with time for everything you need to do and this will subsequently affect your weeks, months, and also years.

I’ll share with you the story of a fisherman who made a fortune just because He met one man in his life. It was in the cool of the day when a business expert and administrator met one fisherman.

A Business expert and administrator, on vacation in a small, Greek sea-coast village, was strolling by the bank of the sea also singing along. He saw one fisherman on the quality of his catch and greeted him. He asked him how long it would take him to get all those fishes and the fisherman replied saying it would take him just one or two hours.

The Business expert wondered, twisting His face and asked ‘why don’t you stay longer to catch more fishes’. The fisherman gave a surprise gesture and explained to the business expert that all He was about is to catch enough fish to meet his needs and those of his family. The businessman then asked him what he does with the rest of the time.

The fisherman answered ‘I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a nap with my wife. In the evening, I go to the village to see my friends, dance a little, play the bouzouki, and sing songs. I have a full life.”. The business expert looked at him with disdain and said ‘I bagged an MBA from Oxford and I’m certain I can help you make a fortune. You should fish longer every day. Apart from the fishes you use to cater for yourself and your family, you will fish extra and that you can sell. With the money you get from the extra fish, you can buy a bigger boat and this will lead to you buying a second and even third boat and this will generate more revenue.

The executive said, “Well I have an MBA from Harvard and I’m sure I can help you. You should start by fishing longer every day. You’ll catch extra fish that you can sell. With the revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring you, you can buy a second boat and a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.

The fisherman then asked ‘How many years would this take’ and the business expert answered ‘fifteen to twenty years thereabout and by the time your business gets big, you can sell stock and make million’. The fisher-man exclaimed in amazement wondering why he was just knowing about that and the business expert continued and said ‘after the fifteen-twenty years, you’ll then retire, and live wherever you want to live with your family.

He continued ‘ You can then sleep as much as you can, play with grandchildren, and every other thing you want to do with your life. And that ends the story. So, a man just walked in into the fisherman’s life and changed everything just by prioritizing some things above others. You can see clearly from the short story that there’s no time management without prioritizing some things.

In prioritizing things, you must differentiate the urgent from the important. Not every important thing is urgent. Urgent matters demand your immediate attention. The truth of the matter is that only you can perfectly differentiate urgent from important. Important tasks on the other hand are tasks that demand your attention but are not necessarily immediate.

A good example of urgent matters is going to a place of work if you’re an employee or to class as a student. You can’t do anything else when you ought to be in your place of work or in class as it may apply. You may have some other things to do like responding to texts and funny emails but you won’t do that at the expense of urgent matters. You must not joke about prioritizing things.

For you to prioritize things, you must be disciplined. Discipline is when you follow those set of rules and regulations laid down. This will involve you waving off distractions. Many people especially young entrepreneurs have not been successful because they can’t just wave off distractions. The major source of distractions to young men really is Mobile Phones.

In this age we are in, mobile phone is all some people engage with 24/7. About One-third of the whole world is on the popular social media platform Facebook. You can just be stuck with reading posts, replying to chats, and viewing pictures all day without being conscious of time. You can set a time to do all those. I go on social media only when I’m about to sleep, so I spend little time there.

In the set goals, there’s a right and wrong way to get it done. If you don’t set your goals the right way, then you won’t achieve those targets, which will force you to fall off track. But when you set them the right way, you’ll see a fulfilled day in the end. And when you do set those goals, be sure you have a powerful deep own intention to achieve them.

We’ll still look at goal setting later but you must know that time management is very vital to ensure one maintains a perfect life. Goals are set a great while before the day starts. As we’ve examined the difference between urgent and important tasks, you’ll put urgent tasks first and get them done and important ones can then follow. You should be flexible also with your goal setting as regards the time intervals. This is because you might tend to spend more time on some tasks greater than the allotted time, this usually applies to urgent and important tasks. For example, there might be days that you’ll spend more time than usual in your place of work, or there could even be traffic on your road back from your place of work or wherever you planned according to your set goal.

You surely will have some tasks you didn’t accomplish, two things you should do about them. First, you can decide to put a disciplinary measure to it for example if you were supposed to read 30 pages of a book in 24 hours, you can tell yourself that if you fail to, you’ll read two times the previous one. This will help you to be responsible for achieving your goals. You should know by now that only a disciplined person can do that.

Second, this is actually if achieving that goal didn’t depend on you. For example, this applies mostly to students, if you were supposed to attend a class and the class didn’t hold, to make your day even more productive, it will be very wise of you if you do some other menial tasks that you were supposed to do or even brought down tasks of the previous day.

Let’s talk about laziness a bit. Laziness is one of the greatest enemies of time management. Like my mentor would say, laziness is from the mind. People just set limits for themselves (in their minds). Once you agree and settle it in your mind that you’ll get something done, I tell you, the sky is your limit. You can’t manage time well without shaving off laziness.

The first attribute of a lazy man is the inability to wake up consistently at a set time. While I was an undergraduate, I once have a roommate that sets alarm at all sorts of time but rather fails to wake up. He was always covering himself with that lazy blanket and anytime the alarm sounds, he wakes without opening his eyes, off the alarm, roll on the bed and sleep back.

I’ve been like that before and I can tell you, such a person cannot make any good thing out of His or Her time. Let me teach you the skill of waking up. It actually starts from that moment that you want o sleep. What was in your mind the moment you wanted to sleep? If you slept after you told yourself how tired you are and how much sleep you need, just be rest assured that you’ll never wake up at the right time.

Before you sleep, tell yourself over and over that you have to be awake at the right time and you can even put up with yourself that something is at stake if you don’t wake up at the right time. Setting an alarm works also. For example, if you have to be awake by 5 am, you can’t set your alarm to 5 am, the best time is at least fifteen minutes before the time you want to wake up, so you could make it 4:45 am.

The hardest job now is to stand up from that bed. Let me help you with that. There’s a way I look at my bed and it really helps me. Don’t forget, I already told you that laziness is all in the mind. I view my bed as though it is a death trigger. I run away from it apart from sleep time. Whenever your alarm sounds or you mistakenly get conscious, first take a sprint race away from that bed.

You will run away from that bed and stand for a while, you can walk a bit too until your face is clear. Don’t stay near the bed to even now get tempted to go back to sleep. Right away do the necessary things you do when you wake up and set your goals for that with high optimism that the day will be fruitful and amazing. Runaway from laziness.

I am pleased to present to you the report on the time management of the employee process at Canunited Corporation that was discussed present to you at the Boarding Room meeting last November. This report reviews the low quality of the work and the time management issue in place, along with available industry reports and studies, in an effort to pinpoint where improvements can be made based on the process.

I wish to thank all employees who participated in this study; they provided information about gaps in the current quality process. Furthermore, I must acknowledge the support of Case Manager Peter Cheng, who provided his invaluable insight into this report of the corporate plan to improve the quality and time management of the work.

I like to hear any thoughts, or questions you may have about my report. Please kindly advise me if there is an issue. I hope to have provided some much-needed focus on an issue that has company-wide implications. If you have any questions, I may be reached at (647) 205-1526, and by email at wyi@cconestep.com. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss the report further and review the recommendations.

Executive Summary

This report is to analyze the current negative time management issue, help the employees develop a sense of time management for those employees, and the way to solve the issue. The main reason employees work overtime is that they don’t know how to manage their time and make the time more useful and higher quality.

The employees should know and understand that complaints were not the solution for the issue, and this report could help them to understand that they are the main issue for the overtime, in addition, the report also can help them solve the issue.

The results of the study show the negative effects of low work quality and work without time management. In order for employees to increase their work quality and time management skills, a number of tips are recommended:

• Create a Daily Work Plan and Summary. This will help employees to plan and keep track of the work they finish and will finish.
• Completer the most important and demanding tasks at first. This helps employees to keep their effort and attention on the most difficult tasks, finish them first, and then work on other easier tasks afterward.
• Block out distractions. The employees should focus on their tasks, distractions will increase the error rate of the work.
• Never Multitask. Employees should not do many things at once because it will maintain their quality standards.
• Always proofread the work when finished. Employees should always proofread their work, do not rely on others, they should develop a positive work attitude.

Introduction

The Canunited Corporation is a mid-size immigration service firm located in North York, Ontario. The company has been in operation for more than fifteen years, the company has grown from a two-person company, into one with five divisions, three locations, and over thirty-five employees. However, the work quality done by the employees did not grow along with the company. This report seeks to address this gap and help Canunited continue to expand.

Background

The Canunited Corporation is a company focusing on providing Immigration Services to the public, such as Student Visa, Visitor Visa, Province Nominee Programs, etc. This means the company will hire a lot of immigration consultants to service the clients. As common sense, immigration consultants have their own licenses, they can work from home. This causes those immigration consultants who work from home not to accept the way the company works because what the company pays attention to is teamwork, which those immigration consultants have never experienced before. This issue causes a series of consequences.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this report is to analyze the current low-quality issue, develop a sense of time management for those employees, and the way to solve the issue. The main reason employees work overtime is that they don’t know how to manage their time, make the time more useful, and increase the quality.

Scope of the Study

The study examines the current quality and time management of employees, identifying problem areas and their effects. The report discusses the difference between people with different levels of time management skills. And the completion of work can be done by those people. Finally, this report will provide the solutions for the issues.

Sources and Methods

The findings presented in this report included:

• An analysis of data for work quality and time management from all the employee surveys and evaluations at the Canunited Corporation
• A review of the literature related to the quality and time management for employees in professional publications and website sources

Low-Quality and Low Time Management issues at the Canunited Corporation

The findings of this study will be presented in four categories: (1) current daily work quality, (2) current time management issues, (3) issues brought by the low work quality and low time management, and (4) solutions.

Current Daily Work Quality

By the time passed, Canunited Corporation had grown from only a two-person company to a company that owns thirty-five employees in North York. This relied on the high quality of the work the company had done and the effective time use. However, as time went by, the company got bigger, and the work quality got lower. Although the President and the Managers keep their control of the company, however, the employees have often spent time on not work-related things, such as browsing the news, online shopping, etc. The issues mentioned above did not only reduce the work quality, they also reduced the time spent on work.

Current Time Management Issue

Employees are the backbone of success when properly trained to perform their roles according to industry standards. Time is the great equalizer; everybody gets the same eight hours of work each workday. Making productive use of that time can mean the difference between getting things done and scrambling to keep up.

The cause of the low-quality issue is that employees had wasted their time on non-work-related things, all the work they did was on the deadline, which made the low-quality issue. On the other hand, there will be someone to proofread their work before they submit it, this makes the employees over-rely on others. Root causes for those issues include the following:

• Lack of time management.
• Lack of ability to work independently.
• Negative work attitude.

Implications for Employees

The discussion in the November 2015 Town Hall meeting revealed that virtually all new hires experience low morale due to their lack of training. Training increases employee efficiency and productivity by keeping employees up to date with the latest technology and most up-to-date practices. Most employees take pride in their work. Without access to proper tools to learn the skills needed to perform a job to the best of their ability, many employees may feel frustrated at not being afforded an opportunity to excel and advance to higher positions. Frustration often leads to high staff turnover (Othman & Suleiman, 2013; Truitt, 2011). This correlation is quite evident at Mandrake.

Mandrake already has a process of semi-annually surveying recently hired employees—those hired within the last 6-12 months— to gain feedback about their orientation and training experience. Employees are polled again after one year of employment. As shown in Figure 1, a compilation of five years of survey data suggests that, in terms of time and resources at Mandrake, the absence of a distinct, formal training program has had the following negative effects:

• A lack of corporately approved, standardized training material or model was considered to be problematic by 95% of respondents.
• A lack of staff, or other outsourced resources tasked to facilitate training, was detrimental to performance for 75% of respondents.
• After one year of employment, 90% of respondents felt that it had taken them a longer time to achieve the proper skill level required for optimal job performance as a result of a lack of training.
• The percentage of staff members who are considering looking for new employment is exceedingly high, at 60%.

Solutions

According to relevant studies on low work quality and low time management issues, the report provides different solutions based on different studies and reports:

• Learn to control their time. When employees learn to take control of their time, they will improve their ability to focus. And with increased focus comes enhanced efficiency, because they don’t lose momentum. They will start to breeze through tasks more quickly. (AppointmentPlus, 2018)
• Improved decision-making ability. A nice side benefit of good time management skills is the ability to make better decisions. When employees feel pressed for time and have to make a decision, they are more likely to jump to conclusions without fully considering every option. That leads to poor decision-making. Through effective time management, they can eliminate the pressure that comes from feeling like they don’t have enough time. (AppointmentPlus, 2018)
• Organize, Plan, and Prioritize the work. The employees should organize, prioritize, and plan their daily schedule is essential for improving work performance. Break down big projects into small tasks, establishing a due date and priority status for each one. (Salemme, 2019)
• Communicate Effectively. Whenever the employees are feeling uncertain about anything, they should ask someone. Find new and improved ways to achieve better results. Make sure all the employees know their opinion matters. (Salemme, 2019)
• Time Limit on Tasks. By setting time constraints for the work, employees will focus more and work more efficiently. If the employees still find they are going beyond these time limits, they should check their workflow and eliminate little time-wasters. (Management Tips)

Figure 2 illustrates the different percentages of the completion of work for people with different levels of time management skills. The persons who have high-level time management skills will complete 64% of the work in the company or in the croup. By comparison with high-level time management skills, persons with middle-level time management skills can finish 25% of the work, and Low-level time management skills can only cover 11% of the work.

Conclusion

Employees who work overtime in a company are not based on whether the employee can finish the job on time or not. The main issue for employees working overtime was not fully relying on the quality of their work or the attitude of the employer, it was more related to time management for the employee and employer.

Recommendations

Blind supervision can only make employees rebellious and should be fundamentally cultivated. The recommendations listed below are the key points that can be taught to the employees by the employers. Employees should:

• Create a work list every day before they start working, the first thing to do when they sit at their desk is to sharpen the list, adding any last-minute items.
• Start with the worst things because the worst things are the things that will take the most time and effort. By beating the worst things, the employees can be encouraged, and keep their work effort up.
• The employees should know how to batch their work and cluster their emailing sessions and their phone call sessions. Short for 3-4 batches a day. This will help keep short emails and phone calls from distracting them.
• Focus on one single task at a time. Distractions and multitasking will waste time. Consistently completing and crossing off tasks is encouraging and satisfying.

Conclusion

Employees who work overtime in a company are not based on whether the employee can finish the job on time or not. The main issue for employees working overtime was not fully relying on the quality of their work or the attitude of the employer, it was more related to time management for the employee and employer.

Recommendations

Blind supervision can only make employees rebellious and should be fundamentally cultivated. The recommendations listed below are the key points that can be taught to the employees by the employers. Employees should:

• Create a work list every day before they start working, the first thing to do when they sit at their desk is to sharpen the list, adding any last-minute items.
• Start with the worst things because the worst things are the things that will take the most time and effort. By beating the worst things, the employees can be encouraged, and keep their work effort up.
• The employees should know how to batch their work and cluster their emailing sessions and their phone call sessions. Short for 3-4 batches a day. This will help keep short emails and phone calls from distracting them.
• Focus on one single task at a time. Distractions and multitasking will waste time. Consistently completing and crossing off tasks is encouraging and satisfying.

References

1. AppointmentPlus, W. by: (2018, February 11). Why Time Management Is Important. Retrieved from https://www.appointmentplus.com/blog/why-time-management-is-important/
2. Salemme, I., & Salemme, I. (2019, August 7). 10 tips to improve work performance: Productivity. Retrieved from https://www.pipefy.com/blog/productivity/10-tips-improve-work-performance/.
3. 27 Time Management Tips to Work Less and Play More. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://toggl.com/time-management-tips/.