Unit one: Principles of personal responsibilities and working in a business environment Assessment You should use this file to complete your Assessment. • The first thing you need to do is save a copy of this document, either onto your computer or a disk • Then work through your Assessment, remembering to save your work regularly • When you’ve finished, print out a copy to keep for reference • Then, go to www. vision2learn. com and send your completed Assessment to your tutor via your My Study area – make sure it is clearly marked with your name, the course title and the Unit and Assessment number.Please note that this Assessment document has 8 pages and is made up of 7 Sections. Name:Christine O’connor Section 1 – Know the employment rights and responsibilities of the employee and employer 1.
Identify four main points that would be included in a contract of employment. If possible, use an example contract to support your answer (feel free to obscure any confidential information). Employer’s name Employee’s name Date of commencement of employment Main place of work 2a) List three key points of legislation that affect employers in a business environment. Data ProtectionPay and Pensions Health and Safety 2b) List three key points of legislation that affect employees in a business environment. Pay Pensions Employment Rights and Responsibilities 3. Identify a range of places where a person can find information on employment rights and responsibilities.
You should identify at least two internal and two external sources of information. Internal sources: Trade Union Representatives, Staff Association Representatives External sources: Citizens Advice Bureau, Equality and Human Rights commission 4. Describe how representative bodies can support employees.Representatives, such as Trade Unions can help and support you in the work place through Representative bodies in the organisation.
They can inform: Answer questions, give you facts, advise and guide and train you. 5. Briefly describe employer and employee responsibilities for equality and diversity in a business environment. You should give at least two employer responsibilities and two employee responsibilities.
If possible, provide relevant equality and diversity procedures from your workplace (or place of study) to support your answer.These documents should be annotated to highlight the relevant sections. Employer responsibilities for equality is that all employees are treated in an equally fair way and are given equal opportunities and both employer and employee should make sure that inappropriate labelling and prejudice do not happen in a business and that both should be sensitive , polite and patient with others. 6. Briefly explain the benefits of making sure equality and diversity procedures are followed in a business environment.
Your answer should include one benefit for the employer, one benefit for the employee and one benefit for the overall organisation. Benefits for employer: Increasing employee satisfaction, which helps attract new staff and retain those already there Benefits for employee: Have fair and equal access to jobs, training and promotion Benefits for Organisation: Maintaining moral and motivation of the workforce leading to increased quality of product/ output Section 2 – Understand the purpose of health, safety and security procedures in a business environment . Identify employer and employee responsibilities for health, safety and security. If possible, provide relevant health, safety and security policies / documents from your workplace (or place of study) to support your answer. These documents should be annotated to highlight the relevant sections.
Employers have responsibilities for the health, safety and security of their employees. They are also responsible for any visitors to their premises such as customers, suppliers and general public.All employers must make the workplace safe, prevent risks to health and ensure safe working practices are set up and followed. You’re most important responsibilities as an employee are to take reasonable care of your own health and safety. To take reasonable care not to put other people, fellow employees and members of the public at risk by what you do or don’t do in the course of work, to co-operate with your employer, making sure to get proper training and you understand and follow the company’s health and safety policies. 2.
Explain the purpose of following health, safety and security procedures in a business environment. Prime role is to protect the workforce, but also they will be working to ensure that any visitors, customers and even members of the public are not put at risk by anything the company does. If they do this job well and no one is injured then by default they will have also protected the company, its owners, directors and managers from any legal action. 3.
Describe three different ways of maintaining a safe and secure business environment.Personal Hygiene: Good personal hygiene will maintain good customer satisfaction and promote a good company image. Poor standards of hygiene from catering and hospitality employees can lead to contamination which in turn can lead to poisoning, illness or even death. Fire prevention: An important obligation for all businesses, be aware of potential sources of fires and what you can do to prevent them. Security: Staff Areas- Changing rooms and showers, offices and canteens.Only staff should be allowed access to these areas, all of your personal belongings should be kept in a locker or locked in a manager’s office.
Section 3 – Understand how to communicate effectively with others 1. Complete the table below with descriptions of different methods of communication. You should include two verbal, two non-verbal and two written methods of communication. |Methods of communication |Description | |Verbal communication |1.One to one discussions | | | | | | | | |2.
Meetings | | | | | | | |Non-verbal communication |1.Posture-Body language | | | | | | | | |2.Eye contact/ movement | | | | | | | |Written communication |1. Letters | | | | | | | |2. Reports | | | | | | | 2.
Using two specific examples, explain how to choose the most appropriate method of communication to meet your needs and the needs of other Verbal communication is simply speaking. This can be done one-on-one, in a group, over the phone, etc. Being able to see the person you are communicating with face to face can help you gauge their response by reading their body language and actively participating in dialogue. When using verbal communication, be aware of tone of voice, speed, and inflection. Verbal communication is best when you need to discuss something in detail, or when complimenting or reprimanding someoneWritten communication is the most appropriate if detailed instructions are required, if something needs to be documented, or when the person is too far away to easily speak with over a phone or in person.
. 3. Describe at least two ways of actively listening. Don’t interrupt. Note any questions and ask them at the appropriate time.
Look at the speaker and focus on what they are saying ask for a summary if you think you have missed anything. Section 4 – Understand how to work with and support colleagues 1. Explain the purpose of agreeing standards for your own work.Give at least two reasons. By agreeing work standards, everyone knows what is required from them and from people around them. This provides a foundation for people working effectively together.
If work standards are set, it is possible to monitor progress and performance. Each party will know exactly what outputs are expected. 2. Explain the purpose of taking on new challenges and being able to adapt to change at work. If you are willing to take on new challenges you are potentially more valuable to the organisation than someone who resists change.
Pressures for change: Changing requirements of their customers. The introduction of new technologies/ working practise, social or legal changes that influence the organisation. 3. Explain the purpose of treating others with honesty and consideration. Being honest involves telling the truth and keeping your word. When you are honest with people, they know that they can trust you, showing consideration involves listening to different views, not ignoring these views and looking for the positives.
Section 5 – Know how to plan own work and be accountable to others 1.Explain the purpose of meeting work standards and deadlines when completing tasks in a business environment. It is important that you produce your work to the best possible standard in order to meet the requirements of the person who set you the task. This shows that you are responsible and trustworthy and that you can be relied upon to get things done. It is important to use equipment quickly and efficiently so that it is ready for the next person to use. If you take a long time using equipment and someone else wants to use it you could be stopping someone else from meeting deadlines.
This could cause problems in a business environment and affect your team relationship. Your manager will expect you to meet all your deadlines, this could have a detrimental effect on your progress. 2. Describe two different methods that you can use to plan your own work in a business environment. Planning your work is a vital part of your job. At the planning stage, you will take time to consider all of the tasks that you need to complete, estimate the time needed to complete each one and identify any urgent tasks which you need to attend to.
By taking a little time out at the beginning of your day to plan your work, you will dramatically improve your productivity and work efficiency and you will also have an at-a-glance checklist of your tasks for the day. 3. Describe ways of keeping other people informed about progress and compare their effectiveness. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each approach? It is important to keep people informed about progress so that other people can plan and prioritise their workloads around you.
If someone is relying on a piece of work from you to complete their own tasks then it is important to keep people informed of where you are. By doing this you can also gain information on timescales, when this work needs to be completed. If you are unable to complete something by the time requested then other people will have to re-prioritise their own workloads to fit around you and by keeping people informed of your progress you can show that you are on track with your work. Section 6 – Understand the purpose of improving own performance in a business environment and how to do so . Explain the purpose of continuously improving your performance in a business environment.
So you can work more efficiently, get a promotion, earn more money, live a better lifestyle, self-satisfaction. 2. Describe at least two ways of improving your performance at work. Where relevant, illustrate your answer with specific examples from your own experience. Improvement can take place in the following ways: Learn from performance reviews: i.
e. Improvement and development steps agreed. Chris generally achieves the required tasks.However this often happens because she does them herself rather than delegate them. In order to progress and embrace new responsibilities Chris needs to become more effective at delegating to her team. Learn from mistakes.
The first step to performance improvement is to recognise that one aspect of your performance must be improved. 3. Briefly describe at least two different types of career pathways that may be available to you. Management, Marketing and Operations: of Restaurants and other Food services.
Business, Management and Administration: planning, organising, directing and evaluating business functions. Section 7 – Understand the types of problems that may occur in a business environment and how to deal with them 1. Identify at least two different types of problems that can occur in a business environment. Someone not doing a task/ job right so you will have to wait for them to finish it, one of the problems this incurs is you not getting to complete your task on time because of them. This could be resolved by making sure that they fully understand the task.
Different personality types maybe difficult and problems and conflicts can arise between different personalities. For example, an introverted personality will tend to speak very little and contribute less than others. Also, if there are very strong extrovert people in a group, there may be clashes. 2. Complete the table below by describing at least two specific problems that can occur at work and how they can be dealt with. |Problem |Dealing with the problem | |1.
Harassment, Discrimination |Take the problem to someone in a higher position in the company | | | | | | | | | | |2.Performance |Sit down with the employee talk through the problem, the reasons, | | |and the solutions | | | | | | | . Complete the table below by listing at least two problems you are able to deal with yourself and two problems you would need to refer to others to deal with (and how you would refer these problems). |Problems I can deal with: |Problems I would need to refer to others: |How are problems referred to others? | |1. |1.
| |The problem is minor |The problem and solution impact on many |Circumstances when its best to check your | | |people |solution with an appropriate manager before | | | |you take action | | | | | | | | | | | | | |2. |2. | |It is directly related to your own area of |If they are not solved quickly |Some problems of a size and scale that they | |work | |must be referred to a senior manager | | | | | | | | | | | | | Once you have completed all 7 Sections of this Assessment, go to www. vision2learn.
com and send your work to your tutor for marking.
