Hrmn2820 Hrm | Case Study Assessment Answers
Case study: Bombardier Transportation
Adapted from a case study in People Management by Robert Jeffery
18 Jun 2015
You can glimpse the corner of ?a carriage from between the bars of the entrance gates, but it’s only when you turn the corner inside the vast Bombardier Transportation complex that the incongruity really hits you – here, in the middle of Derby, is a yard full of gleaming new tube trains destined for the cavernous underground tunnels of London.
For Dawn Roberts, HR business partner at the UK’s largest rail manufacturing location, the sight has long since ceased to be remarkable, as have the trainspotters who regularly gather on the bridge overlooking the plant, desperate for a first glimpse of new trains as they roll off the production line.
That’s because for both Roberts and Stephen Bruce – the Canadian-owned business’s head of quality, UK – what matters isn’t just what’s done but how well it’s done. They have initiated a site-wide focus on quality that is already reaping rewards among the 1,600-plus employees, and Bombardier’s global customer base.
It was succession planning, and a determined HR department, that initiated the shift in mindset, says Bruce: “We got a gentle challenge about how well we were developing the team, and we weren’t too sure what the answer was. If I’m honest, we didn’t really understand the question. But HR wouldn’t go away. They kept asking, and it was the succession comments that really resonated with me. I thought, actually, who is going to be doing my job and other senior people’s jobs in the future? I couldn’t see where the next generation was going to come from.”
At the same time, quality issues were becoming problematic. “We inherited a project where the end-of-line inspections by the customer were identifying an average of 900 defects,” says Bruce. “While we were able to reduce that number train by train, it was still accepted as the norm. That wasn’t good enough, and we began to ask what we could do to reduce it.”
Quality, the pair decided, was the solution, and that became the springboard in 2011 for a professionalisation of the concept, with a determined emphasis on switching from quality control – the avoidance of unnecessary errors – to what Bruce describes as quality assurance, where an aspiration to higher standards becomes the norm. He points to the British automotive industry as a salutary lesson in the dangers of not being the best: “Manufacturers didn’t really get on top of quality, and we all know what happened to the industry when the threat came from overseas. It has recovered, but it has had to change massively along the way.”
Similar shifts were buffeting Bombardier. In 2011, it became embroiled in a political storm when it lost the contract for new Thameslink carriers to Germany’s Siemens, one of a number of overseas rivals encroaching on its territory. More than 1,000 staff were laid off during these “dark days”, and though a large order for Southern trains later that year undid the worst of the damage, things had to change.
An emboldened quality department was part of the answer. Its 30 employees were placed on a new pathway which married the firm’s behavioural competency framework – which Roberts says covers “having customer orientation, business acumen and communication skills… the things that are needed to influence the business to change its approach to quality” – with a technical framework developed in conjunction with the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI).
The outside rigour, and the ability to offer quality employees a recognised and professionally benchmarked qualification, has been a vital part of changing the way the entire business prioritises quality. This has required a close relationship with HR, which brings wider oversight of the ‘Bombardier Way’ to technical processes. As Bruce puts it: “Quality is about more than just control. It’s about wider business improvement.”
“That’s a change from where some business leaders were before,” adds Roberts. “They’ve gone from just saying ‘that’s not right’ to looking at root cause analysis of a problem and preventing it from recurring.”
The quality department, aided by HR, has been able to carry this message to the rest of the business, forming cross-functional groups to examine processes and building bespoke frameworks for engineering, procurement and project management. And it’s beginning to bring tangible results: though Bruce says it can be hard to demonstrate the value in processes and procedures, the trains that were recording 900 faults now average 22, and the business recently celebrated a zero-defect project.
“Engagement survey results have been phenomenally good compared to where we were before,” says Bruce. “Across career, reward and learning areas we’ve seen great improvements. That comes as part of a package that includes an improved atmosphere in the office, and the willingness of people to come to us and ask for training. If I look back, we used to almost have to coax them into learning, but not any more.”
The positive indicators have extended to recruitment, where the framework has been used in hiring decisions and benchmarking applicants, as well as helping Bombardier’s shared service centre better understand the business’s requirements in key roles. Succession plans are “more than just names in boxes” and are aligned with wider development. Eventually, says Roberts, the framework will be linked to reward and grading structures, creating additional incentives to drive improvement.
In the meantime, another unusual sight within the facility points to the brighter future: the scaffolding is going up on a vast new hanger-like building as Bombardier gears up for production of flagship Crossrail trains. The order book is full for 10 years, and recruitment of both graduates and apprentices is skyrocketing. The only thing you won’t find on the agenda is failure, says Bruce: “That’s something we just don’t have to accept any more.”
This article is taken from People Management. Bombardier do run graduate schemes. Considering the information above, and also looking at their website, write a report proposing the details for a graduate assessment centre to select 8 graduates to be part of a graduate trainee programme for the engineering team at the Derby depot. They have outlined the structure of a graduate scheme. Your report is to furnish the finer details for the assessment centre. You will need to outline a set of competencies to use and give some detail to the ways in which you will assess those competencies, to come up with a team of 8 graduate trainees to add to the Derby depot.
Start your research at www.uk.bombardier.com, look at the jobs they have, and the graduate schemes they are running, and consider the competencies that need to be included. You may want to research other companies to find out what competencies that are used (be careful of plagiarism). Put forward a well researched account in your report, and a justified set of recommendations for a selection centre.
This article is taken from People Management. Bombardier do run graduate schemes. Considering the information above, and also looking at their website, write a report proposing the details for a graduate assessment centre to select 8 graduates to be part of a graduate trainee programme for the engineering team at the Derby depot. They have outlined the structure of a graduate scheme. Your report is to furnish the finer details for the assessment centre. You will need to outline a set of competencies to use and give some detail to the ways in which you will assess those competencies, to come up with a team of 8 graduate trainees to add to the Derby depot.
Start your research at www.uk.bombardier.com, look at the jobs they have, and the graduate schemes they are running, and consider the competencies that need to be included. You may want to research other companies to find out what competencies that are used (be careful of plagiarism). Put forward a well researched account in your report, and a justified set of recommendations for a selection centre
Answer:
Overview of the Company
Bombardier Inc. is a multinational transportation and aerospace company, which is based in the Montreal, Canada. The company started off as a snowmobiles maker and is one of the largest manufacturers of business jets, regional airlines, mass transportation equipments as well as a provider of the financial services. Founded in the year 1942, the company was founded by a mechanic named Joseph-Armand Bombardier, who dreamt of a vehicle which could float on the snow. The company’s technological breakthrough came in mid 1930s, after he developed a system, which revolutionized travel in swampy and snow conditions. Bombardier transportation believes that innovation is the key to success.
The company continuously evolves with new technologies for their target customers, all across the world. At Bombardier Transportation, the organizational leaders constantly search for and develop ambitious and talented graduates as well as students. This is done in order to enable the company to innovate, evolve as well as continually deliver higher standards of performance and quality. If the graduates want to develop their skills and acquire some valuable experiences in the challenging, innovative and fast-paced global organization, they should join Bombardier Transportation. The selection centers of the company consist of a huge number of exercises that are designed in order to assess full range of personal attributes and skills that are required for the job role.
At Bombardier Company, more than thirty nine thousand employees work in collaboration with others to move people all around the globe, implementing one particular idea at a time. The company is one of the global leaders in the transportation industry. They cover all the aspects of railway solutions, ranging from sub-systems to complete trains, system integration and their maintenance services. In addition to this, the company has 17 operational sectors of their target customers all across the world. If the graduates or post graduates have a good idea for the company’s growth or progress, the company is ready to provide them with a healthy working environment, where they will have innumerable opportunities of growth. However, the ideas should grow and result into a great service or product and lead to exceptional consumer experiences. The employees’ ideas are the company’s fuel, which assists it with its operations (Bombardier.com 2018).
Graduates
The students who will graduate soon or have graduated recently, Bombardier Transportation invites them to explore current opportunities of career and apply online to the company’s official website, directly. In addition to this, the students can also submit their resume as well as register to the website. They will receive email notifications of the job openings, automatically. The job notifications will be sent directly to the students as per their skills, qualifications and job experiences. The UK Graduate Program refers to the local development program, which prepares talented and passionate individuals for the future role within the Bombardier Transportation Company. If the students want to know more about these programs, including the application procedure and Bombardier company’s current vacancies, they can find it over the website of UK. The students who are looking for some new opportunities in order to gain work experiences at the company, they can visit Bombardier’s website and check the available internships portal or contact directly to their human resource management department.
Beware of deceptive Job Offers
Bombardier Transportation Company never communicates offers related to full time jobs or internships from several free email services like Hotmail, Yahoo, Rediffmail, Gmail or some other domains.
Bombardier Transportation only communicates with their applicants directly from addresses like bombardier.com.
Moreover, Bombardier Company never requests for money from their prospective candidates during the entire recruitment procedure.
The company believes in smart transportation solutions as tomorrow’s smart cities are supposed to redefine livability and sustainability. Visit the company’s website and get an overview of the selected transport solutions all across the world.
Diversity and Inclusion
Bombardier Transportation is a global company with a diverse workforce and inclusive workplace. Inclusiveness is more about creating an equitable and open environment, irrespective of the individual’s culture, gender and ethnicity. For the company, diversity is more about embracing various perspectives, ideas, experiences and skills brought to the organization by its employees. The company values diversity as it brings it new ideas, experiences, higher customer satisfaction and stronger products or services. Bombardier is more committed to providing an environment, which is free from all kinds of biasness and barriers. Bombardier Company is a place where dignity and independence are fostered for all the stakeholders, clients and employees.
The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is the framework of Bombardier, which aims at being respectful towards the differences and maintains a workplace that is inclusive of all the differences. This is the key to sustainability and success of the Bombardier Company. The company believes that is the duty of each employee to maintain a healthy working environment that is respectful and free from all kinds of discrimination. In addition to this, Bombardier Transportation Company has zero tolerance policy towards all type of harassments or discrimination on the basis of color, race, religion, sexual orientation, sex, age, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status and any other category of protection under the applicable laws. Moreover, the company encourages the actions, which make all the employees feel special or valued, enabling them to realize their potential. As per the company, each and every employee’s well being and welfare counts.
Assessment Centre
The company may ask the selected candidates to stay for all the training activities and they need to pass the activities, in order to get through.
Assessment Day Schedule
9:00 am: Group interactions and introduction sessions.
9:30 am: General discussions on given topic.
11:00 am: Coffee break.
11:30 am: Group discussion continues.
12:30 pm: Networking Lunch.
1:30 pm: Personality/ Psychometric tests.
2:30 pm: Interview round.
3:30 pm: Tea time and departure of the candidates.
4:00 pm: Assessors’ discussion about the candidates.
Important points
The first impression is very much important as evidence shows that several employers make their minds up within the first thirty seconds. Therefore, the interviewees should dress well and formally, with a good haircut, clean shoes and take care of other factors, in order to impress the employers. Moreover, the applicants should try to arrive at the venue ten minutes earlier, in order to show their interest and enthusiasm for the job role. In addition to this, it will give the applicants ample amount of time to collect and recollect their thoughts.
Interpersonal skills
The applicants are required to be pleasant to each and every one. In addition to this, they should maintain a confident and positive body language for impressing the employers. They can start with a firm handshake, regular and direct eye contact and other positive signs.
Feedback
Most of the employers tend to provide the individuals with feedback after the assessment centers. This is a great way for the applicants to improve their techniques and therefore, they should always ask questions in order to rectify their mistakes and faults. Several employers will let the candidates know if they have successfully cracked the interview after the assessment centre. However, this can vary from company to company, particularly when they have different dates for assessment and interviews. Therefore, the applicants should wait patiently until the procedures are completed, before making any decision.
Personality and Psychometric Tests
Aptitude or Psychometric tests are the way of assessing the skills and experiences of the applicants in some particular areas, typically diagrammatic reasoning, data interpretation, numerical and verbal reasoning.
Profiling for Success
This typically includes a set of questionnaires and tests, which covers the abilities, personality, potential, style, interests, approach to relationships and motivations of the applicants. This consists of;
Aptitude tests: Numerical, abstract and verbal reasoning are the first three types of tests, which the applicants need to complete within the given time, without any sort of distractions.
Personality tests: These tests are not timed. These tests comprise; learning styles indicator, values based indicator of motivation and type dynamics.
Personality and situation judgment tests: In these types of tests, the employees are provided with a hypothetical situation and are asked to comment or give their valuable opinions or values regarding the given topics. These types of tests cannot be prepared beforehand and therefore, there is no right or wrong answers. It depends upon the applicants on how they answer the questions and how strongly they justify their points. These tests are carried in order to test the abilities and potential of the employees. The tests are being set in order to see how well the applicants fit into the company and therefore, it is important for them to answer with utmost honesty and sincerity.
Group Exercises
Most of the assessment centers include one or more than one group exercises. However, these can be a bit difficult to prepare as the applicants do not know in advance, what the activities might involve. The group exercises quite often fall into the four major categories that are being discussed as follows;
General topic; The applicants can prepare on general topics like, “Comment on organizational leadership and motivation.”
Debate on Work related problems;
Priority lists;
Completion of tasks; like constructing a bridge out of paper and straws.
What the assessors look for?
The group exercises enable the employers to test a number of competencies and skills of the employees. The applicants are generally being assessed as per their competencies and skills. Moreover, they are usually being assessed as per their competencies for their significant roles in the organization. In addition to this, it is immensely important to be confident and honest in front of the assessors, while operating in the given real life situations. If an applicant is naturally quiet, he/she should assert himself/herself to make their opinions heard. If someone has a naturally dominant character, he/she should let others speak and give them the opportunity to raise their valuable opinions.
How can the applicants prepare?
The applicants should prepare and think about the qualities and skills, which will be required for the job role. For most of the job roles, it is likely that the co-operation, teamwork and listening abilities will be immensely important.
Always remember these points
The applicants should not assume as they have to cooperate with the groups in order to succeed,
The applicants should listen to the instructions carefully.
They should agree upon the priorities and objectives.
In addition to this, it is important to keep an eye over the time and remind the groups.
Moreover, the applicants should be positive, even when the tasks seem trivial.
The applicants should be prepared in putting forward their creative ideas or concepts.
Group roles
The effective work team requires the organizational members to listen to each one, cooperate, communicate in a clear manner, share information and knowledge, show commitment towards team tasks and always be supportive. Majority of the teams perform the best when they have great mix of team associates and members.
Top tips for group exercises
Speak Up; It is immensely important to put forward new ideas and opinions and contribute them to the teams. The assessors cannot give the applicants marks if they have not heard what the applicants spoke.
The contributions should be kept short;
Avoid interruptions and being interrupted;
Encouraging other members of the team; If some other member has not said anything yet, it is the duty to get them actively involved within the discussion.
Keeping an eye over the time; Keeping an eye over the time lets the individuals gain a control over them-selves and give their opinions within the time allotted to them. This in turn gives each and every candidate with equal time to raise their opinions and personal thoughts.
The applicants should be prepared to change their arguments over time;
Hold on to the grounds;
Being professional; It is immensely important to be professional as first impression matters a lot. Therefore, the applicant should be as much professional as possible and raise their opinions by maintaining professionalism.
Bibliography
Barnes, S.A., Green, A. and Hoyos, M., 2015. Crowdsourcing and work: individual factors and circumstances influencing employability. New Technology, Work and Employment, 30(1), pp.16-31.
Birdi, K., Leach, D. and Magadley, W., 2016. The relationship of individual capabilities and environmental support with different facets of designers' innovative behavior. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 33(1), pp.19-35.
Bombardier.com (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.bombardier.com/en/home.html [Accessed 27 Jun. 2018].
Bright, J. and Earl, J., 2015. How to Write a Brilliant CV: What employers want to see and how to write it. FT Press.
Cottrell, S., 2015. Skills for success: Personal development and employability. Palgrave Macmillan.
Erickson, B.H., 2017. Good networks and good jobs: The value of social capital to employers and employees. In Social capital (pp. 127-158). Routledge.
Gowsalya, G. and Kumar, M.A., 2015. Employability skill: A literature review. International Journal of Advance Research in Computer Science and Management Studies, 3(3).
Herz, R., 2016. More Accounting Changes: Financial Reporting Through the Age of Crisis and Globalization. Emerald Group Publishing.
Humburg, M. and Van der Velden, R., 2015. Skills and the graduate recruitment process: Evidence from two discrete choice experiments. Economics of Education Review, 49, pp.24-41.
Katzenbach, J.R. and Smith, D.K., 2015. The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. Harvard Business Review Press.
Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Lin, N., 2017. Building a network theory of social capital. In Social capital (pp. 3-28). Routledge.
Massy, J. and Harrison, J., 2014. Evaluating Human Capital Projects: Improve, Prove, Predict. Routledge.
Matteson, M.L. and Hankinson, E., 2018. Getting Off on the Right Foot: Psychological Contracts, Socialization Theory and Library Student Workers. The Journal of Academic Librarianship.
Powell, G., 2016. Construction Contract Preparation and Management: From Concept to Completion. Palgrave Macmillan.
Tansey, E.M. and Zarros, A., 2017. Environmental, Public & Global Health.
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