Sunday 22 July 2012

Unit 201 – Manage own performance in a business environment

Introduction

This unit is about managing and being accountable for your own work.



What key guidelines, procedures and codes of practice are relevant to your work? (1.1)
Guidelines, procedures and codes of practice that relate to my work are very important  as each of them gives me critical information on how to perform my job effectively and safely. Failing to follow these could potentially hurt myself, others or even more cause problems for the company I work for by falling foul of legislation.
The procedures, guidelines and codes of practice relevant to my work are:
Procedures: Reporting of accidents at work, fire drills, reporting absence from work and first aid procedures.
Codes of practice: Good customer service, quality assurance, freedom of information and privacy of personal data.
Guidelines: How to answer the phone, dress code, how to handle email, how to store and retrieve information, how to use IT to exchange and store information, how to use office equipment and ensure my own actions reduce risk to health and safety.

Why is it important to plan your work and be accountable to others? (1.2)
Planning in fundamental to time management and involves organising and prioritising work. A plan gives us a clear idea about what is to be done and helps avoid duplication of labour. It allows managing time effectively to meet objectives and deadlines. Everything is made easier if we establish
Exactly what we are supposed to be doing, to what standard and to what time limit. Having a plan allows my line manager to know my daily task and allows them to check I understand my work objectives.
I need to be accountable or responsible so I can provide what is expected from me and to do a quality job.

How do you agree realistic targets for your work and why is it beneficial and important to do so? (1.3, 1.4)

I can agree realistic targets for my work by trying and making sure that they are realistic and possible to do in the time I have been given and with the resources I can use and still have time to complete another task allocated to me.
Also it is beneficial and important to agree realistic targets because in this way I won’t be under stress and I won’t let down my colleagues, managers and customers.

How do you plan your work to meet agreed deadlines? (1.5)
To meet agreed deadlines I should make a list of work that needs to be done together with any required dates for completion and prioritise the order that I will need to undertake the work.
I should plan  ahead what resources I have got available; for example equipment, information etc., Don’t promise what I can deliver and communicate with my colleagues and team leader/manager if I think I am not going to be able to complete my deadline.

Why is it important to keep other people informed about progress of work? (1.6)
It is important to keep other people informed about my progress of work because if I am having problems to meet my deadlines my team leader or supervisor will help me to reprioritise my work or may ask someone to help me.
As well is important because the person I am doing the work for can miss their deadlines if I am not on time.

Why should you give people notice if you need to revise your work plans and what are the key benefits of doing this? (1.7)
It is important to give people notice if I need to revise my work plans because my team leader/manager could help me if I need it. If I don’t keep them informed they can assume I am on target and this could cause a lot of problems to my colleagues, managers and to me.

What types of problems occur during your work and what are the key ways you can get help with them? (1.8, 1.9)
 The types of problem that can occur during work are:
             Breakage of equipment.
             Interruptions such a colleagues asking things.
             People not keeping me informed or providing me with the information I need to complete my job.
             Absence of other colleagues.
The key ways I can get help with them are:
             By reporting any problems to my team leader/manager so they can try to solve it.
             If my team leader/manager is not available I should talk with colleagues that have more experience to help to solve the problem.

Why is it important to acknowledge and learn from your mistakes? What are the benefits of doing this? (1.10)
It is important to acknowledge and learn from my mistakes doing so can help both me and others around. People will recognise I have admitted my mistake and then be in a position to try to correct it. They can help me to ensure I don’t make the same mistake again by providing extra support.

Why is it important to set high standards for your work and how you do this? (2.1, 2.2)
It is important to set high standards for my work because it means producing work without mistakes that is delivered on time, which content is accurate and presented professionally. It is important to do so otherwise my line manager/supervisor will feel I am not interested in my job .It will create a poor impression of myself and it could result in dismissal.
In order to set high standards for my work I need to speak with my supervisor about them and agree what the standards are and what I need to do to achieve those. I will need to get feedback from my line manager and colleagues on how I am performing and identify areas of improvement.

Why is important to take on new challenge and be able to adapt to change? (2.3, 2.4)
It is important to take in new challenges and be able to adapt to change because this will show my employer that I am committed to the organisation and it will help me to learn new skills and improve my knowledge.
As well is important to adapt to change and undertake any training that is require doing my job to a higher level. Refuse to do so could make think others that I am a negative person and no flexible to changes and to learn new procedures or methods in the work place.

Why is it important to treat others with honesty, respect and consideration and what are the key benefits of doing so? (2.5)
I is important to treat others with respect, honesty and consideration because this will help to create a good environment in the work place and it will affect the happiness and job satisfaction of everyone and myself. This attitude will prove that we are part of a team.
With consideration to other people and their feelings I will know what others like and dislike and I could act accordingly.
With honesty I will build trust and others will know I will keep them informed of my progress and I will meet standards and deadlines.
With courtesy, being polite and having good manners I will give others a feeling of being valued and respected.
If I respect others they will respect me.

What are the types of behaviour at work that show honesty, respect and consideration? What types of behaviour do not? (2.7)
The types of behaviour at work that show honesty, respect and consideration are:
             To be competent at the work place and have high standards.
             Being trustworthy.
             Show consideration for others and being helpful.
             Have appositive attitude towards work.
The types of behaviour that doesn’t show honesty, respect and consideration are:
             Not being willing to help or change.
             Being dishonest.
             Not being responsible for my own work.
             Not being a good team player.
             Being disrespectful to other and not considering how they may feel.

Why is your own behaviour in the work place important? (2.7)
My own behaviour in the work place is important because it will affect how others view me and how they will behave towards me.
Being a good professional, showing respect, consideration and being accountable to others will make me feel good with myself. My colleagues and supervisors will respect me and consider me as part of the team, bringing me satisfaction in the work place and in my life in general.
Mandatory Unit 201: level 2 Business and Administration

Saturday 21 July 2012

Unit 203 – Work in a business environment NVQ Level 2 Business and Administration

INTRODUCTION




This unit is about being able to behave, and make contributions to work tasks and procedures, in a business environment, in ways that support diversity, security and confidentiality at work, reduction of waste and improve efficiency.


What is meant by diversity in the workplace and why should we value it?  (1.1)

Diversity means different individuals valuing each other regardless of intellect, talents or years.
Diversity should be respected and valued because nobody is completely the same as anyone else. Everyone in the workplace has to be treated equally because everyone has something to offer and everyone has a strong factor/skill that they can contribute to the company. They enrich a society because they allow people to experience different thinking processes, to see that there is more than one way of approaching issues or living one's life.
Diversity brings other point of view and perspectives to different situations. Mixing with different people can help us to overcome fears and prejudices having people from diverse backgrounds in the work place will bring different talents, skills and knowledge.

How can you be sensitive to peoples’ needs and respect their abilities, backgrounds, values, customs and beliefs? (1.2, 1.3)

I can be sensitive to peoples needs and respect their abilities, background, values customs and beliefs and by considering the opinions, circumstances and feelings of my colleagues and customers without make difference because of race, religion, position, circumstances, status or appearance.
By trying to always listen to people and be open to other points of view and by treating every one in the same way and don’t laugh about other religions and customs. By being polite, tolerant and patient with others and don’t use language or behaviours that could be offensive to others.

Why is maintaining security and confidentiality at work important and what are the key benefits? (2.1)

It is important to maintain security and confidentiality at work because we have a legal obligation to maintain the personal information that is given to us from customer and we have an obligation to our employer and colleagues to maintain the highest standards of security awareness.

If I am casual about security and information it could cost my employer quite a lot of money as they could face prosecution for breach of security and I could face disciplinary action.

What are the legal requirements in relation to security and confidentiality? (2.3)

The legal requirement in relation to security and confidentiality are described by in the Data Protection Act 1998 and says that anyone who records information about individuals is classed as a data processor under the Act and is required by law to process the data fairly and lawfully. The Act prevents the unauthorised use of data and so protects the privacy of individuals. The Act also say never to disclose information that my organisation holds about individuals.
The Act also allows individuals the right to know what information is held about them.
The Data Protection Act applies to any information held about individual.

What should you do if you have any concerns about security and confidentiality? What organisational procedures would you follow? (2.4)

When gaining employment in an organisation, it is the company’s duty to inform us of what the procedures are for security and confidentiality.
When working for an organisation or a business or any work environment, it is very important to follow safety, security and legal procedures. Every organisation has its own confidential information and care has to be taken to protect these documents from the public, else it will lead to disastrous effects. The property has to be secured with locks that can be opened by only authorised personnel. In our organisation, we have secure locks that can be opened only by the employees of the organisation using their swipe card. The rooms of managers are secured with number locks. All confidential information and files are secured in cabinets that are only accessible by the employees.
If I am having any concerns they must be raised to my line manager and my line manager will talk with one of the managers about it and try to fix the problem as soon as possible.

Why is it important to keep waste to a minimum and to improve efficiency in a business environment? (3.1, 5.1)

It is important to maintain waste to the minimum and improve efficiency in a business environment because it means being aware of our impact on our environment and ensuring that anything we do will help to reduce wastage and pollution and the need for landfill space for burial of waste.
If we keep the amount of waste produced to the minimum our organisation can save money though using less energy, resources, the cost of recycling used resources and paying for a landfill space.

What are the main causes of waste in a business environment and how do you minimise this waste?  (3.2, 3.3)

The main causes of waste in a business environment are:
o       Leaving lights on when the rooms are not being used and the same with air conditioner and not switching off office equipment.
o       Re stocking stationary when there is not need
o       Printing documents when we don need it
I can minimise waste by:
o       Turning off equipment that is not in use and switching off lights and air conditioner.
o       Don’t print if is not necessary. 
o       Used recycled materials.
o       Try to recycle as much as possible.
o       Take good care of the equipment we use so it can last longer.

How can you improve your own working methods and make use of technology to increase efficiency and reduce waste (in a business environment)? (3.4, 5.2)   

I can improve my own working methods and make use of  technology to increase efficiency and reduce waste in a business environment by:
o       Making proof-read documents on screen to avoid printing.
o       Scan documents and store electronically.
o       Scan documents and store electronically.
o       Setting up the printer to print in both sides of the paper.
o       Issuing documents electronically and ask other colleagues not to print if is not necessary.

Why is recycling important (in a business) and what are the key benefits?  (3.5)

Recycling is important to help fight climate change and to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill sites. Organisations save money by recycling because landfill sites are expensive. There is a charge for commercial waste collection so companies can save money by reducing the quantity of waste.
Businesses have a legal duty to have appropriate arrangement for the disposal of the waste they generate.

What are your organisation’s procedures for recycling materials? (3.6)

My organisation’s procedures for recycling materials are:
o       Dispose of different materials in designated bins ex: plastics, paper etc
o       Sending photocopy and printer machines cartridges for recycling.
o       Making sure equipment is dispose in a safe and controlled way.
 

What are your organisation’s procedures for the recycling and the disposal of hazardous materials? (4.2)  Why is it beneficial to have such procedures in place? (4.1)

The procedure is to write a COSHH assessment for each substance to be disposed of or recycled. This comprises writing an assessment of the hazards and risks, the safety precautions that are needed, what to do if something goes wrong and how to contain the waste material at the end.
It is beneficial to have such procedures in place because there are legal obligations on employers to control Hazardous Substances to preserve the health of their employees.

Mandatory Unit: 203 Level 2 Business and Administration