Understanding Self and Others

Four skills or attributes as HR manager

Define and describe the core skills:

As an HR manager I have to possess certain skills which are as follows:

Multi tasking: On a typical HR day, as an HR professional I need to handle with an employee's personal problems, create a recruiting strategy for a hard to fill job and deal with social media, wages and salaries, engagement, retention and whole host of other task and activities (Baron-Cohen, Lombardoand Tager-Flusberg, 2013). I have to handle all the tasks by prioritising them so that each of the tasks get enough time. This will make my job effective and efficient which will reflect positively on my performance.

Problem solving: As an HR manager I have to ensure that every individual who has different personality can work together with unity to achieve the organisational goals. I have to assure that each and every problem of the employees whether it is official i.e. work related or personal i.e. family issues etc. I have to make sure that these issues do not make a negative impact on their performance and productivity.

Conflict management: Everyone does not always get along with everyone else. For gaining high productivity in the organisation I have to make sure that people work together with coordination and cooperation. I have to find methods of resolving conflicts and disputes so that it does not pollute the harmonious working environment of the company. It will also impact their working and affect the others employees also (Rochat, 2014). As an HR professional I have to assure that there are less chances of conflicts and disputes.

Change management: As an HR manager I have to bring changes in my working patterns and styles so that it does not gets boring and monotonous. To manage changes is an essential skill as it makes the organisation adaptable and flexible. When change is introduced in the organisation, a lot of people try to avoid it or fear from it. I have to help everyone cope with the changes.

Why to possess skills?

The reasons why the the above attributes are necessary to possess are as follows:

Multi tasking: For me it is essential to possess multi tasking skills as in every business there is a need to move fast and change quickly. As an HR manager I need to possess this skill as it will enhance my performance and increase productivity. It will make me learn how to manage various tasks and activities at a time. It will develop the ability to schedule my time and prioritising things so that every task receives adequate time and attention. If each and every task is given equal attention then there will be no mismanagement and confusions (Foucault, Davidson and Burchell, 2012).

Problem solving: I need to develop these skills, as in an organisation, I will encounter problems and issues each and everyday. For resolving the problems I need to understand it first and then list the ways to solve them. Problems can be related to me, employees or the organisation. Problems if not addressed can harm the organisation to a large extent. If I try to avoid problems, then they will become more bigger and tough to solve (van Dijk, Ouwerkerk, Wesseling and van Koningsbruggen, 2011). Therefore it is important to pay attention to every problem whether it is small or big.

Conflict management: Conflicts are unavoidable to the organisation. As an HR manager I need to tackle conflicts almost everyday. Every employee possess different attitude, thinking abilities, personality etc. These variations results in disputes and conflicts as they come together while working. As an HR manager I need to build this skill for making the working environment of the organisation harmonious and smooth (Cozolino, 2014).

Change management: As an HR professional I need to develop skills for bringing change in the organisation. These changes can be related to HR policies, procedures or practices. It is important to welcome changes with open hands so that the organisation is working according to the recent trends and scenarios. The organisation will not lack behind in the fast changing competition if it accepts changes.

Importance of skills

The above elaborated skills and attributes are very important for me to perform by job better as an HR manager. There importance is highlighted in the following points:

• To introduce changes in the organisation in terms of policies, procedures, strategies etc. I need to build change management skills to take my organisation on success and growth.
• It is necessary to develop multi tasking skills in me for handling different task at a same day or time. It will enable me to finish my tasks within the deadline so that mismanagement dos not exist (Salvatore, Lysaker, Popolo, Procacci, Carcione and Dimaggio, 2012).
• It is essential for me to learn scheduling and prioritising my tasks and activities. This can be done through building multi tasking skills.
• For tackling day to day or big problems and issues, I need to develop problem solving skills.
• It is necessary to solve the problems in such a manner that they do not come again. For that purpose, problem solving skills needs to be inculcated (Gonzales and Hancock, 2011).
• As an HR manager I need to deal with conflicts and disputes. These can occur between employee and employee or employer and employee. For handling such situations in the organisation, it is important to build conflict management skills in me.

Contradictions or weaknesses in skills

The above discussed importance shows the benefits of the skills but there are various contradictions and disadvantages of these skills too. They are highlighted below:

• Change is never free, it requires money. Every change also have an opportunity cost.
• Sometime it is dangerous to assume that I know the exact cause of a problem and I apply the solution very quickly (Baumeister, 2010).
• The employees can resist to bring change. This can become a very big hurdle in introducing change as, the employees are the key persons who are going to apply the changes.
• Conflict resolution can sometimes result in winning of one person and loss of other person. The loser in this type of situation may feel that the other person won due to favoured status.
• The resolution of conflicts may be impermanent and similar situation may arise again in the near future (Siegel and Hartzell, 2013).
• Multi tasking may prove sometimes a time wasting skill as I have to switch from one task to another.
• To do multi tasking I may need a constant reminder of what to do.

Relevance to future career:

The above described skills are very significant in shaping my future growth. The skills which I have identified are going to support my personal as well as professional growth. If I acquire these attributes then it will give immense benefits to my career advancement and growth objectives. If I apply for a high level position, then these skills will prove beneficial for me. I will be able to handle more roles and responsibilities of the high position with these skills and attributes. Overall, these skills will help me in making a good career in HR field.

Evidence your wide reading and familiarity with theoretical concepts

All these reading and theories has helped me to improve my performance in an effective manner. For an instance, the learning theory has helped me to impart the knowledge with the help of useful technique. With the help of practical environment I learned different things and techniques. The impact of the same is on my performance which is improving day by day. In addition to this, conflict management helped me to Conflicts are unavoidable to the organisation. As an HR manager I need to tackle conflicts almost everyday. Every employee possess different attitude, thinking abilities, personality etc. These variations results in disputes and conflicts as they come together while working. On another side, change management theory has provided an assistance to me to adapt the changes in the dynamic situations. Being an HR manager its my duty to be versatile and manage the changing situations. These changes can be related to HR policies, procedures or practices. It is important to welcome changes with open hands so that the organisation is working according to the recent trends and scenarios. The organisation will not lack behind in the fast changing competition if it accepts changes. All these changes allowed me to attain my personal and group goals in an effective manner. The two theories has provided an assistance in improving my current position in an effective manner. With the help of this, I will be able to manage my team for the achievement of team goals and objectives. All these theories has remained useful in order to improve my position in an effective manner.

Demonstrate your ability to reflect on practice

Working as a HR Manager, I have learned four main attributes that important for me to complete my all job duties and attain my own set objectives. In this context, first one was multi tasking in which I have realized that I have able to do different work within a single time. it has allowed to perform various work activities that enable me to carry out different functions in more effective manner. On the other hand, in the case of problem solving, I have able solve all the issues at the workplace. For example, I have resolved the issues between the employees and employer relationship and have tried to maintain them. Along with this, I have listened the issues of the staff members related to HR policies and other areas. While, in the case of conflict management case, I have deal with various conflicts such as working practices, misunderstanding between the staffs, leave issues etc. All these have resolved with the use of conflict management skills. In addition to this, I have also gained the skill related to change management. With the help of this, I have prepared the personnel to accept the changes within the organization. It has assisted me to develop various plans to bring the changes at the workplace and deal with different situations.

Summary and Action Plan

Strengths and weaknesses:

The strengths which are identified in the above elaborated skills are as follows:

• I have learned how to schedule my time and manage many tasks at one time.
• Giving due attention to all the tasks and activities equally is my strength.
• Prioritising the tasks and activities in an effective way has become my strength.
• Dealing with any kind of problem is my capability.
• I do not avoid or neglect even small problems which can make big losses if not paid due attention.
• The weaknesses assessed in the skills are as follows:
• I am not capable enough to handle the conflicts in an effective manner.
• While dealing with the conflicts I am unable to find out the appropriate solutions to it.
• Sometimes I get confused with the solutions as to which will be more effective.
• I hesitate and resist to bring changes in my HR policies and procedures.
• I apply the solutions to the problems very quickly which is a big weakness.

Alignment of personal development plan with the skills

The plan which is being prepared will help me in gaining those skills which I have identified in the above part. The need for time management will help me to perform multiple tasks at one time which will be done by making a to do list and prioritising the activities and tasks. Communication skills will help me in resolving the conflicts and disputes in the organisation. In addressing a conflict there is a vital role of communication skills as I need to listen the views of the employees who are fighting. For this the planning for communication skills will be very helpful. Team management skills will help me in bringing change in the organisation. If change is to be introduced than it cant be done on individual basis, I will need support and strength of many people. It can be done by effective team management skills only. Therefore it can be said that the personal development plan is prepared in such a manner that it links the skills identified above and it helps me in removing the weaknesses in those skills.

Conclusion

It describes about the core attributes which one should possess. These are identified such as conflict management skills and problem solving skills. It also discusses about the importance of these skills. Moreover, it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of these skills. Further, it gives a personal development plan to develop the skills which can be aligned with the identified needs. It can be concluded from this report that an individual is required to understand himself and others so that he is able to identify his strengths and w