SUBJECT: EMPLOYBILITY SKILLS.

SUBMITTED TO: SIR ZAFARULLAH SIDDIQUI.

SUBMITTED BY: FIZAH ZIA.

LEARNING OUTCOME 1

1.1 Develop a set of responsibilities and performance objectives

1.2 Evaluate own effectiveness against defined objectives

1.3 Make recommendations for improvement

1.4 Review how motivational techniques can be used to improve quality

of performance.
INTRODUCTION

While there will always be job-specific skills that an employer is looking

for, most employers will also want you to have some general skills. These
general job skills are sometimes called "employability skills". Having
employability skills can help you get a job. They can also help you stay in a
job and work your way to the top. But it is considerable that every job
determines a different kind of roles and responsibilities that demand
different kind of employability skills (Berghman and Vloeberghs, 2003).
Generally speaking, there are eight skills that employers want you to have,
no matter what industry youre working in:

1. Communication
2. Teamwork
3. Problem solving
4. Initiative and enterprise
5. Planning and organizing
6. Self-management
7. Learning
8. Technology
Ralph & Russo is a British luxury goods company and haute couture
fashion house. It became the first and only British house to be elected by the
Chamber Syndical de la Haute Couture to show its collection on the official
schedule at Paris Haute Couture Week, along with brands such as Chanel,
Dior and Valentino. The Chambre Syndicales former president, Didier
Grumbach was quoted as saying We expect savoir faire, which is being
lost, and they Ralph & Russo have it

The house was founded in 2007 by duo Tamara Ralph (Creative Director)
and Michael Russo (CEO) and within a very short time established itself as
one of the worlds fashion houses.

In 2013, Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo both joined Marissa Mayer and
Mark Zuckerberg on Fortune magazine's prestigious 40 under 40. Jointly
listed at number 39 Tamara and Michael are two of the youngest stars
acknowledged by Fortune and the only fashion company to be recognized,
cementing their presence, influence and status in the fashion world.

Notable clients
International royalty, celebrities and some significant people have become
clients of Ralph & Russo, including HRH Sheikha Mozah of Qatar, HH
Princess Ameera al-Taweel of Saudi Arabia and celebrities such as
Beyonc, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Angelina Jolie.
Task 1:
1.1: Develop a set of own responsibilities and performance
objectives

ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

As a large scale business an organization has heavy responsibilities.

Management is responsible for assigning the roles and responsibilities to
each of its employee. There are many employees working in the firm with
different objectives to achieve.

Merchandiser: Merchandising is about planning and developing a

strategy to enable a company to sell a range of products that delivers sales
and profit targets. A Merchandiser will work closely with a Buyer to ensure
the product that's bought will enable them to achieve the sales plan.

Account Manager: The general duties of an account manager include

costing products, seeking the market, discussing prices and deliveries and
briefing designers on the requirements of the customer. In addition to these
tasks, an account manager is expected to have a good level of commercial
consciousness gained through competitive shop visits and keeping up to date
with reading material, for example trade press, to develop the business.

Graphic Designer: A graphic designer produces visual solutions to

communicate messages for their clients. Most work is two-dimensional and
used within a range of media, including advertising campaigns, book covers,
magazines, posters, corporate communications and websites. Some graphic
designers work on three-dimensional designs, such as product packaging,
exhibitions and displays.

QA Manager: A quality assurance, or QA, manager aims to ensure that

the product or service an organization provides is fit for its purpose and
meets customer expectations. The QA manager co-ordinates the activities
required to meet this aim.
Product Developer: The Product Developer will be responsible for
managing development of the styles from design stage through to shipment
and monitoring sales once the styles are in-store. As a product developer you
will be responsible for distributing technical packs to relevant factories,
managing samples and trims etc. Ensuring they are fitted, approved and
comments sent within the desired timeframe.

Own responsibility and performance management is related to self-

management. Self-management can be best defined as the ability of
individual to provide most possible outcome for their specific job.
In this modern world workers must be able to communicate clearly and
productively across many platforms. However, for an effective
communication skills one should have an ability to listen and to take
feedback properly.
Nowadays, teamwork is highly in demand. Workers will demonstrate the
ability not only to work individually but to work with other employees to
achieve better results, and also to fulfill specific roles as needed and mitigate
conflict.
Tackling potential problems before being asked by management is a great
way to demonstrate initiative.
Problem solving skills are required. Problem solving is about being able to
find solutions as soon as possible.
I have to make sure that my workers are working effectively and they are
skilled enough to perform various tasks. As an assistant designer I should be
able to research to help the design team develop a new product according to
the season and what customer demands nowadays

The clothing industry, both domestic and international, must abide by

appropriate safety measures to ensure that employees are treated in an
ethical and moral manner. Training for the newly recruited staff should be
held under safety work places and even the existing staff who needs
continues polishing. Management should have a proper communication
method if any problem is to be reported by any of the employee.
Management should ensure appropriate fair labor practices. Examples of
acceptable ethical practices include no exploitation of child labor or illegal
immigrants, wages comparable to local standards and termination of trade
relations in the event of ethics violations. Management must take strict
actions against employees who try to violate the ambiance of a firm.
1.2 Evaluating own effectiveness against defined objectives:

OWN RESPOSIBILITIES AND PERFORMANCE

Individual have to evaluate personal effectiveness with the goals and

objectives that are assigned by the organization, so to evaluate individual
have to proceed with a systematic way.
As being the assistant designer of my firm, my job is to develop and create
various pieces of apparel. I need to design with such beauty that it attracts
most of the consumers and keep them loyal to the brand.

OBJECTIVES:

When working in the fashion industry, there are many responsibilities that
must be completed on a daily basis. Everything from preliminary designs to
production and client management are observed diligently, making fashion a
world in which business and creativity collide. There are a number of key
clothing and fashion design objectives that are kept in mind by fashion
industry workers at all levels.

Creativity
Creativity is the base of any fashion company. I as a designer must work to
develop a fresh viewpoint on fashion with each new line. I must also know
how to make the ideas into a reality, without losing sight of the concept in
the procedure. With this creativity, comes a lot of research. In order to
advance my ideas to the fullest, industry professionals should have a solid
idea of what other designers are creating, and have created throughout
fashion history. This engenders a true understanding of what has and has not
worked, and allows individuals to bring old concepts to life in a new way,
while dodging recycling concepts completely.

Image
Developing and maintaining a unique and professional image is perhaps my
most important objective as a designer. The image is what defines the
company and what comes to mind when the companys name is heard. An
image is created primarily through advertising and promotional methods.
Photo and video shoots are meticulously curated by a team, with specific
models selected, sets designed, and scenes set up in order to create a desired
image.

Client Relations
Maintaining strong relationships with clients is the key to any companys
survival. I must work to keep clients up to date with new styles, and
occasionally even offer perks for their provision. This means keeping in
close contact with retailers, sending them emails featuring new designs, and
inviting them to visit the studio and see the work process in person.
Anything that can be done to make the company and designs more
accessible to the clients is worth it in the end.

Quality
Ensuring that designs are produced at top quality helps to seal the
companys popularity and staying power. If great ideas are poorly
implemented, clients will be dissatisfied, and the designs will not sell at top
price. Quality assurance means hand selecting the materials to be used for
the fabrication of each piece, hiring reliable sewers to create them, or even
forming them yourself, and visiting the sewers on a daily basis to check up
on things. Doing this will save the company a lot of distress in the long run,
as one bad order can taint the companys image.

Maintenance safety of society:

Danger of safety are determined and reacted in relation to possible

healthiness of society and Crisis of society should be pointed out within
shortest possible time and cured in perfect manner. Moreover, Consequences
of events are not similar on different customers, so consequences of events
on dissimilar on different customers are cared with due care.

Managing changes:
 To be developed and changed exterior change are occurred in
organization
Place of work is changed for individual work and it is acknowledged
Predetermined changes in advance labor outcomes are placed into
action
To supply proposition for job exact ways are determined
Proposals of job civilization are handled in a positive mind.

1.3 Make recommendations for improvement

RECOMMENDATION FOR IMPROVEMENT

Human resources are very much eager to get promotion and are willing to
display recommendation for improvements. It is the worker who are able to
take initiatives and take the organization at pick at all stages by
concentrating on issues like cost minimization, improving goodwill, by
providing good service. Proper monitoring from executive level may reduce
the responsibility of employees. Some initiatives can be taken which are like
recommendation for improvements.

Certain techniques can help me in improving my skill set and most

importantly the effectiveness could be enhanced. Here it is clear that the role
of continuous training could be huge for the same purpose (Downs, 2008). It
can help on the ground of bringing the improvement into the current skill
and competency level while dealing with the customers.

It is very important to recommend for improvements. I recommend that they

should keep in touch with other companies so that they get some new ideas
in order to produce more effectively and ensure that samples would be ready
on time. They should maintain old and new production patterns. They should
develop and maintain an archive for all existing styles and style numbers.
They should use knowledge of garment construction and design, to create
flat sketches in illustrator for presentation boards and technical packages.
It is very important to develop new techniques and ideas for current trends. I
recommend that they should create mood/trend boards to show
buyers/merchandisers for important sales/corporate meetings. Above all
employees can generate new ideas and can work properly which will give
company a huge advantage.

Mostly all the clutches designed by Ralph & Russo are feathered themed and
same design in various colors. In my opinion, they should rather keep
variety in designs than providing same design in different colors.

Employees best know the condition of an organization so they can generate

idea to develop the organization. So all staffs and members should be
encouraged to share idea to enhance work opportunities and practices.

Further, the meetings or sessions with the line manager could also generate
positive results on bringing the possible improvements. It is to acknowledge
that the line managers understand the small aspects and strengthening
feature of every individual. Moreover, I suggest that continuous feedback
should be taken from the customers, through feedback, the mistakes and
errors would come into notice along with the excellent job performance
(Tosi and Pilati, 2011). And then alterations cam be made.
1.4 Reviewing how motivational techniques can be used to improve
quality of performance:

Douglas McGregor consigns the motivational factor theory commonly

known as the X and Y employee motivation theory. As per McGregor there
are two types of employees. One type is not willing to work and take work
as a pressure. But other type of employees is willing to work and take work
as simple other works and enjoy doing it. Studies show that motivated
worker are willing to work and on contrary unmotivated worker are not
willing to work, they search for switching job and take better job. In this
case managers should take initiatives to motivate employees. Because
motivated workers work willingly for the betterment of the organization and
bring competitive advantage for the organization.

There are several ways of motivating employees.

1. Show them that you have faith in them

2. Give Incentives
3. Create a Welcoming Environment
4. Lead by Example
5. Friendly Communication
6. Health benefits

On the other hand, Herzberg's perspective on motivating employees through

his Two-Factor Theory (also known as Motivation-Hygiene Theory). It is a
framework which is developed by Herzberg that suggests there are certain
factors in the workplace that can cause job satisfaction and a separate set of
factors can cause dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, intrinsic motivators
and extrinsic motivators have an opposite relationship. This is to say that
intrinsic motivators lean to inspire motivation when they are present, while
extrinsic motivators lean to reduce motivation when they are absent.

CONCLUSIONS:

Being an assistant fashion designer it will help me to develop different skills

through which I can help my fashion designer with new ideas and
techniques. And to become a successful assistant fashion designer I think
that it is very important for them to be creative and more talented so that
they can produce effectively.

REFERENCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_%26_Russo

http://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/jobs-careers/planning-your-
career/employability-skills

http://www.inc.com/ilya-pozin/14-highly-effective-ways-to-motivate-
employees.html

https://blog.udemy.com/assistant-manager-job-description/

Learning outcome 2:

2.1: Develop solutions to worked based problems

2.2: Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner

2.3: Identify effective time management strategies

INTRODUCTION:

Assuming myself as a manager of a fashion house, Ill take care of the

following three points. This can also be assessment criteria. Its really
important to develop solutions to the work based problems in the fashion
house, communicate in variety of styles to cater the customers and identify
effective time management strategies to keep the customers happy.
2.1: Develop solutions to worked based problems

Problem solving can be best described as observing something wrong and

take creativity to solve the problem. As per more complex description,
problem solving is including process of identifying problem, such that
quality declaration, risk management. Initiative in problem solving is an
important aspect; initiative means to take action to solve the problems.
Initiative not always means the involvement of administrator, but to solve
problem before it effect workplace environment. While defining the
problem its important to have accurate and good source of information. We
may confuse symptoms with underlying causes. Prepare a statement of the
problem and find someone whom I trust to review it and talk it over.

Being a manager Ill consider these questions:

What is the problem?
Is it my problem?
Can I solve it? Is it worth solving?
Is this the real problem, or merely a symptom of a larger one?
If this is an old problem, what's wrong with the previous solution?
Does it need an immediate solution, or can it wait?
Is it likely to go away by itself?
Can I risk ignoring it?
Does the problem have ethical dimensions?
What conditions must the solution satisfy?
Will the solution affect something that must remain unchanged?

When problem solving, its again very important to identify the causes of the
problem in order to solve it. Next step is:
Identify causes of your problem
Look at the current situation, rather than its history in fashion house.
Do not consider the "trouble" it creates whether now or in the future.
List and organize the causes of the problem.

Next step is to gather information. Individuals, groups, organizations that are

affected by the problem or its solution. Ill begin with myself. Decision
makers and those close to us are very important to identify.
Facts & data
Research
Results from experimentation and studies
Interviews of "experts" and trusted sources
Observed events, past or present, either personally observed or reported.

Now after this the next step is to find a solution. There are a number of
methods for finding solutions. I will describe four thinking methods below,
but I recommend that you use a number of them in finding solutions. The
methods described are unconventional and more innovative. They allow you
the possibility of arriving at a novel solution.

1. Association: This sort of thinking is mostly a connecting process either

through likeness, difference, or contiguity. Associative thinking knocks the
resources of the mind. It takes into focus options you might not have
considered if you stuck to ideas only directly linked to the problem. As an
outcome of associative thinking, you might find other connections rooted in
the problem that will lead to a healthier solution.

2. Analogy: This thinking method is a way of finding solutions through

comparisons. The process is based on comparing the different facets of the
problem with other problems that may or may not have similar facets.

3. Brainstorming: This thoughtful method is based on a free, non-

threatening, anything goes atmosphere. You can brainstorm on your own or
with a group of people. Most often a group of people from diverse
backgrounds is preferable. The procedure works like this: The problem is
described to the group and each fellow is encouraged to throw out as many
thoughts for solutions as he or she can think of no matter how bizarre or
farfetched they may sound. For example, the group of people might throw
out for consideration any thoughts they might have on how to increase sales
or improve profits.

4. Intuition: This mode of thinking is based on hunches. It is not, as some

think, illogical. Intuition or guesses are built on a robust basis of facts and
know-hows that are hidden somewhere in the subconscious reality. Use your
intuition as much as possible but check it against the reality of the situation.
How to discover best solutions:
Go from side to side your long list of solutions and erase those that
obviously won't work. From the solutions which are left, use what is called
the "Force Field Analysis Technique." This is basically an analysis
technique which breakdowns the solution down into its positive effects and
negative effects. To do this, list down each solution you are considering on a
separate piece of paper. Make one column advantages and one column
disadvantages. After you are done with this procedure for each solution,
select those solutions which have the most advantages. In order to select the
most suitable solution, you should check each solution against the following
criteria:
Cost effectiveness
Time restraints
Availability of manpower, solid material, etc.
Your own perception.

Before you truly implement the solution, you should assess it. Ask yourself
these questions:
1. Are the objectives of the solution sound and clear and not difficult?
2. Will the solution complete the objectives?
3. What are the likelihoods it will fail and in what way?

THE PLAN OF ACTION

Finding the solution does not mean the problem is solved. Now, you need to
design a plan of action so that the solution gets carried out properly. When
designing the plan of action, consider the following:

o Who will be involved in the solution;

o Who will be affected by the solution;
o What course of action will be taken;
o How should the course of action be presented to company
employees, customers, vendors, etc.;
o When, where and how will it happen
o What is needed to make it happen
Application of the Plan of Action: Before you apply the plan of action, you
should examine it to see if you've carried out as many of the variables as
likely. Some questions you might ask yourself are:

1. Is the plan detailed yet simple enough for those affected to know what
to expect and how to carry it out?
2. Will it humiliate anyone other managers, employee, customer,
vendor, etc.?
3. Is the time frame representative and possible?
4. Are there exceptional conditions which may have been ignored?
5. Who should be informed and involved?
6. Who should be accountable for each facet and/or phase?
7. Is the plan of act cost effective?
8. Does the plan have a public relationships section?

How to measure the success of the solution and the Plan of Action:

To guarantee the successful implementation of your solution and plan of

action, remember the following:

1. Organize and train your staff well in advance;

2. Order equipment, material, etc.,
3. If required, appoint new staff
4. Use PR at every meeting and in minutes as much as possible;
5. Assess the effects of each phase as it is executed and make the
required adjustments;
6. Try to remain flexible and open-minded.

As each phase of your plan of action is implemented, you should ask

yourself whether your goals were achieved, how well they were achieved,
and did it work smoothly. To check your own perceptions of the results, get
as much feedback as possible from your managers and from your
employees. What you may think is working may not be working well in the
eyes of your people. Always remember that they are one of your most
valuable tools in successfully carrying out your solution.
2.2: Communicate in a variety of styles and appropriate manner

Employability skill is mostly related to communication. For a job practice

four most important issues to all job practices that are:

1. To read.
2. To write.
3. To speak.
4. To listen.

Communication is very important for any businesss success. It is mostly

developed at an organizational circle. Learning to identify the different
communication styles and recognizing which one we use is essential. Being
assertive means respecting yourself and other people. It is the ability to
clearly express your thoughts and feelings through open, honest and direct
communication.

Basically communication is not an easy task and has a lot of levels and
stages to overcome, so one has to settle proper communication channel for
the components and fundamentals one working with. Clear communication
channel is required at all stage of organizational performance. Employees
can keep proper communication with consumers such as convey message,
wishing on special occasions etc. by using proper communication channel.

There are different ways of communicating to one another:

Assertive
Participative
Affiliative
Pace-Setting
Aggressive
Passive-aggressive
Submissive
Manipulative
2.3: Identity effective time management strategies

Time management strategies are about identifying where you should focus
your energy to achieve better results. It is very essential in an organization.
First of all, there is an enormous requirement of focusing on the diary
management. Through diary management, one can quickly concentrate on
noting down the important and priority task (Time Management Strategies,
2013).

As a manager, youre accountable for your own time and help those you
manage devote theirs. Finding time to accomplish everything that needs to
be done sometimes may seem unmanageable. But some artless shifts in
decisions can help you get a grip on your time and use it more efficiently.

Using some tools can identify effective time management. Effective time
management strategies are:

Prioritization of task
Make sequence of work
Decentralization of difficult task
Time distraction
Measure of time consuming tasks and take initiatives.

Learning outcome 3:

3.1 Explain the roles people play in a team and how they can work
together to achieve shared goals

3.2 Analyse team dynamics

3.3 Suggest alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goal
3.1 Explain the roles people play in a team and how they can work
together to achieve shared goals

Teamwork is very vital for the motivation of workforce. A team is a group in

which two or more worker of a company work together towards same
objective to have mutual support and increase their efficiency. Team
workers share authority and responsibility for the goal they work towards. A
team becomes strong when the members perform collectively with mutual
understanding leading toward successful outcome. Each of member in the
team has specific role to perform.

To understand the role of people within the organization we can take into
consideration the Belbin team theory. Belbin suggests that, by understanding
your role within a particular team, you can develop your strengths and
manage your weaknesses as a team member, and so improve how you
contribute to the team.

Belbin identified nine team roles and he categorized those roles into three
groups: Action Oriented, People Oriented, and Thought Oriented. Each team
role is associated with typical behavioral and interpersonal strengths.

Action Oriented Roles

Shaper: Shapers are people who challenge the team to improve. They are
dynamic and usually extroverted people who enjoy stimulating others,
questioning norms, and finding the best approaches for solving problems.
The Shaper is the one who shakes things up to make sure that all
possibilities are considered and that the team does not become complacent.

Shapers often see obstacles as exciting challenges and they tend to have the
courage to push on when others feel like quitting.

Their potential weaknesses may be that they're argumentative, and that they
may offend people's feelings.
Implementers: They are the one who fulfill the initiatives taken by the
shapers. They turn the team's ideas and concepts into practical actions and
plans. They are typically conservative, disciplined people who work
systematically and efficiently and are very well organized. These are the
people who you can count on to get the job done. On the downside,
Implementers may be inflexible and can be somewhat resistant to change.

Completer-Finisher: The role of the complete finisher is enormous as they

focus on eradicating the errors and mistakes within the project. Their role is
clear that they need to carry out the project in a proper and efficient way.
They are described as perfectionists who are orderly, conscientious and
anxious. However, a Completer-Finisher may worry unnecessarily, and may
find it hard to delegate.

People Oriented Roles

Coordinator: Coordinators are the ones who take on the traditional team-
leader role and have also been referred to as the chairmen. They guide the
team to what they perceive are the objectives. They delegate tasks very
effectively. Their potential weaknesses are that they may delegate away too
much personal responsibility, and may tend to be manipulative.

Team Worker: Team Workers are the people who provide support and
ensure that people within the team are working effectively. These people fill
the role of negotiators within the team. These people prioritize team
cohesion and help people get along. Their weaknesses may be a tendency to
be indecisive, and to maintain uncommitted positions during discussions and
decision-making.

Resource Investigator: Resource Investigators are innovative and curious.

They explore available options, develop contacts, and negotiate for resources
on behalf of the team. They are enthusiastic team members, who identify
and work with external stakeholders to help the team accomplish its
objective. On the downside, they may lose enthusiasm quickly, and are often
overly optimistic.
Thought Oriented Roles

Plant: The Plant is the creative innovator who comes up with new ideas and
approaches. They thrive on praise but criticism is especially hard for them to
deal with. Plants are often introverted and prefer to work apart from the
team. They can be impractical at times. They may also be poor
communicators and can tend to ignore given parameters and constraints.

Monitor-Evaluator: Monitor-Evaluators are best at analyzing and

evaluating ideas that other people come up with. These people are shrewd
and objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options
before coming to a decision. Monitor-Evaluators are critical thinkers and are
often perceived as detached or unemotional.

Specialist: People who have specialized knowledge that is needed to get the
job done. They pride themselves on their skills and abilities, and they work
to maintain their professional status. Their job within the team is to be an
expert in the area. This may limit their contribution, and lead to a
preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture.

3.2 Analyse team dynamics

Dr Bruce Tuckman published his Forming Storming Norming Performing

model in 1965 which can be taken into consideration while understanding
team dynamics.
Here are the features of each phase:

Forming - The team is assembled and the task is allocated. Team members
tend to behave independently and although goodwill may exist they do not
know each other well enough to unconditionally trust one another.

Time is spent planning, collecting information and bonding.

Storming -The team starts to address the task suggesting ideas. Different
ideas may compete for ascendancy and if badly managed this phase can be
very destructive for the team. Relationships between team members will be
made or broken in this phase and some may never recover. In extreme cases
the team can become stuck in the Storming phase.

Norming - This tends to be a move towards harmonious working practices

with teams agreeing on the rules and values by which they operate. In the
ideal situation teams begin to trust themselves during this phase as they
accept the vital contribution of each member to the team.

The risk during the Norming stage is that the team becomes complacent and
loses either their creative edge or the drive that brought them to this phase.

Performing - The stage of performing is all about completing the task as per
the discussion or stages defined at storming phase (Kock, 2007).

Thus, this theory provides the precise scenario about team dynamics or
nature at every stage.

3.3: Suggest alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve team goals

Objective of formation of a team is to achieve the goals and objectives of the

team. Alternatives method of work is termed as specialization. In case of
specialization all team members will continuously perform the work role
that is assigned by the team and that is his area of expertise. There are a few
alternative ways to complete tasks. Even if any business is working
successfully here are a few areas where an alternative approach can be
adopted. For instance, the store manager can give the assistants autonomy
over what is needed at the store and take their views into consideration since
these assistants are the first point of contact for the customers. By doing so,
they will be able to provide first-hand information in regards to the
customers preferences and take into the opinion of the customers. This could
vary from getting input on items to store setup. By doing so, it will enable a
business to be more customer centric. Alternative methods are very accurate
and is based upon the philosophical ideologies. It is to acknowledge that the
team goals could be reached only if the team mates have effective
communication and interaction process. Research and development
department which has enabled the company to expand into different markets
over the years. An alternative approach for this particular department would
be to set up smaller teams that works by collaborating and brainstorming
ideas. The key elements of brainstorming are to engage the group in
generating a large quantity of alternatives, suspending judgment as to which
ideas are workable. This will allow the individuals to generate ideas, and
gives the team ability to evaluate the alternatives in a reasonable period of
time.

REFERENCES

https://www.teambuilding.co.uk/Forming-Storming-Norming-
Performing.html

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_83.htm

http://www.mediate.com/articles/thicks.cfm

Learning outcome 4:

4.1: Evaluate tools and methods for developing solutions to problem

In order to ensure a company's problem-solving strategy is a strength rather
a weakness, the company must not only determine if it was successful in
converting a challenge to an opportunity, but also evaluate the manner in
which it solved the problem. A structured process helps ensure you stay on
track with what you need to do to solve a problem. There are many steps to
develop solutions to problems but some of them are as follows:

Mathematics: Algorithm is a very important tool of developing solutions

for problems. It is a very organized way of developing tools for solving
problems and brings out solution. By using algorithm it can be assumed that
correct result can be found but it not necessarily ensure that algorithm is the
most possible way of solving problems. Solving problems by algorithm is
popular because it serves a standard way and using these standards can solve
problems that arise in organizations. But in some situation algorithm does
not work as it is time consuming and sometimes unrelated. Such that
algorithm works with numbers and all problems are not always related to
numbers.

Heuristics: Heuristic is an experience based problems solving, learning and

discovering technique. It is psychological technique which might not work at
all situations. Problem that arises in an organization in continuous process
by different elements can be solved by using this technique. But this
technique may not solve all straightforward difficult situations.

Trial and Error: Trial and error method is a way of solving problems in
which numbers are different but those are not function. This is an alternative
method and users use it when all other alternatives are not working. When
there are available alternatives, than it is not necessary to use this technique
to solve problem.

EVALUATION: As Ralph & Russo is a British luxury goods company and

is working on a very large scale and providing goods to niche customers
they should get as much feedback as possible from the managers and
employees to produce more effectively and feedback from consumers is also
needed to keep track of their taste changes and demands. The high level of
employee retention is one of the major problems that could affect the
performance and sustainability of the organization because of the lack of
communication between them. The management of the hotel is required to
understand the reason behind the problem so that the cause of the problem
could be identified. Ralph & Russo needs to assess the internal environment
as well as the external environment with relevance to the problem. They
should get proper information about the environmental analysis so that the
strategies that are positive and favorable with context to hospitality industry
could be developed (Tosi and Pilate 2011). They should check their own
perceptions of the results and ask themselves whether the goals were
achieved properly or not and how to improve them. Always remember that
they are one of your most valuable tools in successfully carrying out your
solution.

4.2 Develop an appropriate strategy for resolving a particular

problem

It can be easy to get lost in the sea of issues and problems in the business,
but keeping it simple is the main aim of the game.

Analysis tools like the process flow chart, scattered diagrams, histograms
and others can help pin point at what point in the process issues arise, but a
simple tool to help kick-start the root cause the analysis is the fishbone
diagram. The objective here is to paddle through the symptoms, and identify
the root causes to the problems.

Problem solving is the essence of what leaders exist to do. As leaders, the
goal is to minimize the occurrence of problems which means we must be
courageous enough to tackle them head-on before circumstances force our
hand. We must be strong in our pursuit to create and sustain power for the
organization and people we serve. But the reality of the workplace finds us
dealing with people that complicate matters with their corporate politicking,
self-promotion, power-plays and ploys, and envy. Silos, lack of budgets and
resources, and many other random acts or circumstances also make it harder
for people to be productive.
No matter what kind of nature the problem has, if you need it to be solved,
the key factor is good communication. The workforce should be comfortable
with the managers about their ideas about the solution and the manager
should have confidence in their workforce. The authorities of Ralph &
Russo need to identify the satisfaction level of employees within the
organization. With the help of survey or feedback method, the team can
focus on gaining the information about the problems or grievance level of
staff people. And then note down the issues and try to fix them. Thus, it is a
very general strategy to resolve the problem. It is to acknowledge that the
trust factor can also play a crucial role in the same scenario. The managers
need to win the confidence of employees so that they can discuss their
problem job dissatisfactory reasons in the proper and efficient way. Thus
building trust and faith should be the significant element of strategy
formulation process.

The very characteristic feature for the employee turnover is the

discrimination and stressed working situation. Ralph & Russo is required to
eliminate these aspects form the hierarchical levels and need to take
appropriate steps so that these issues could be dealt in the proper way
(Parker, 2010).

As leaders, we must take the time to talk more about the things that we are
thinking, but not saying. There is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, by not
talking about them, we are being irresponsible to those who depend upon our
leadership. To keep our perspectives fresh and remain competitive, its time
to get the issues out in the open and talk about them.

4.3 Evaluate the potential impact on the business of implementing

the strategy

Making strategy work is one of the greatest challenges of management. In

fact, no strategy is stronger than the weakest link in the chain between
insightful strategic ideas to front-line actions. Based on Implement
Consulting Groups experience within strategic transformation, we have
shaped five guiding principles that will help your organization design a
strategy implementation model to bridge the gap between strategy and
impact.

It is actually that simple. But in reality, both the art of making the right
strategic choices and the hard work of transforming the choices into real
business impact are often unsuccessful endeavors. Managers fail to strike the
balance between running the business and changing the business due to
short-term performance demands and incentives.

In order to bridge strategic intent with real business impact, we need to put
the people and individual sense-making at the center of implementing
strategy. We need to rethink broken implementation models that put systems
before people. We must acknowledge that the connecting thinking and doing
is a far more demanding journey than spending a couple of days at a strategy
off- site event. Therefore, organizations that want to make strategy work
both in theory and practice need a truly human- centric strategy
implementation model.

The key is to consider the interdependencies across the elements and to

design an integrated approach to implementation. Last but not least, we must
always remember to put the people at the center of making and
implementing strategy. If we do, chances are that we will not end up like the
large majority of organizations that are not able to deliver on strategic
ambitions.

CONCLUSION

Strategic decision makings and managers cannot be separated. They go

inline together. Moreover with the organization's concern on the firm
performance, strategic decision makings are considered crucial to managers
that manage the organization. Moreover due to the demands of globalization,
managers have to make several strategic decision makings in their
managerial functions. Nevertheless, managers are faced with a myriad of
factors in their strategic decision making for organizations. These factors
will directly and indirectly affect the wellbeing of the organization.

Further, the primary outcomes of the study are to get intellect about the team
work that is another required employability skill. It includes the Belbin and
Tuckman theory that enhances the knowledge on the ground of team
development and achievement of team goals.