Unit of Competence: Demonstrating Work Values

TVET –Program Title: Basic Clerical Works Level - I Year: I

Course /Module Title: Demonstrating Work Values Ac. Year: 2011E.C

Nominal Duration: 20 Hours: Semester: I

Course / Module Code: EIS BCW1M10 0814 Program: (Reg/Ext):REGULAR

Name of the Trainer: MELESSE B.

Course / Module Description

This module describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to develop
basic keyboard skills using touch typing techniques.

Learning outcomes:

LO1 Define the purpose of work

LO2 Apply work values/ethics

LO3 Deal with ethical problems

Course / Module Assessment Methods: oral, written and Practical

 Unit of Competence: Demonstrating Work Values

LO1: Define the purpose of work

Information sheet #1

Introduction to Work
Work is an activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

Why work?

Being in work:

 keeps us busy, challenges us and gives us the means to develop ourselves;

 gives us a sense of pride, identity and personal achievement;
 enables us to socialize, build contacts and find support;
 Provides us with money to support ourselves and explore our interests.

Health benefits of working

People in work tend to enjoy happier and healthier lives than those who are not in work.

Our physical and mental health is generally improved through work – we recover from sickness
quicker and are at less risk of long term illness and incapacity.

Because of the health benefits, sick and disabled people are encouraged to return to, or remain in,
work if their health condition permits it.

Being out of work has a negative impact on your health and wellbeing. People who are
unemployed:

 have higher rates of physical and mental health problems;

 take more medication and use more medical services;
 Have a shorter life expectancy.

Work values are the subset of your beliefs and ideas that are related to your occupation or job. These
core principles are an important part of who you are.
 Unit of Competence: Demonstrating Work Values

LO2: Apply work values/ethics

Information sheet #2
The Importance of Work Values
Your work values are the guiding principles that are most important to you about the way that
you work. You use these deeply held principles to choose between right and wrong ways of
working, and they help you make important decisions and career choices.

Some examples of work values include:

 Being accountable.
 Delivering quality.
 Being completely honest.
 Keeping promises.
 Being reliable.
 Being positive.
 Meeting deadlines.
 Helping others.
 Being a great team member.
 Showing tolerance.
 Balancing between family and work
 Sense of nationalism
 Love for work
 Goal-oriented
 Being knowledgeable
 Loyalty to work/company
 High motivation
 Respecting company policy and rules, and respecting others.

Your organization's work values set the tone for your company's culture, and they identify what
your organization, as a whole, cares about. It's important that your people's values align with
these.

When this happens, people understand one another, everyone does the right things for the right
reasons, and this common purpose and understanding helps people build great working
relationships. Values alignment helps the organization as a whole to achieve its core mission.

When values are out of alignment, people work towards different goals, with different intentions,
and with different outcomes. This can damage work relationships, productivity, job satisfaction,
and creative potential.
 Unit of Competence: Demonstrating Work Values

The most important thing that you need to do when interviewing someone is understand his or
her work values. After all, you can train people to cover skills gaps, and you can help people
gain experience. But it's really hard to get people to change their values; and they will be
"problem workers" until they do.

Undertaking Best Work practices

Quality of work
Work quality is the value of work delivered by an individual, team or organization. This can include the
quality of task completion, interactions and deliverables.
Punctuality
Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before
or at a previously designated time. "Punctual" is often used synonymously with "on time"
Efficiency
Efficiency is the ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something
or in producing a desired result.
Effectiveness
Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output.
Productivity
A productivity measure is expressed as the ratio of output to inputs used in a production process, i.e.
output per unit of input.
Resourcefulness
The ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties.
Innovativeness/Creativity
Creativity is the mental and social process used to generate ideas, concepts and associations that lead to
the exploitation of new ideas.
Cost consciousness
Cost-conscious is knowing of how much different products and services cost, and not wanting to spend
more money than is necessary
5S
The term refers to five steps – sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain – that are also
sometimes known as the five pillars of a visual workplace.
Attention to details
Achieves carefulness and accuracy when accomplishing a task through concern for all the areas involved.
 Unit of Competence: Demonstrating Work Values

Don’t misuse or abuse company resources

 Don't misuse or abuse company resources and facilities. Use your company’s resources
like Consumable materials, Equipment/Machineries, Human, Time, Financial resources
and facilities responsibly in accordance with the provided instructions, policies and
procedures.

 Do not use company provided resources such as tools and equipment, facilities, supplies
and transportation for unauthorized work.

 Your company may have an incidental use policy that allows for use of photocopiers,
mobile devices or other equipment for occasional personal purposes, or in some cases
may altogether strictly forbid the same. Make sure that you are familiar with such
policies and follow them.
 Unit of Competence: Demonstrating Work Values

LO3: Deal with ethical problems

Information sheet #3

Deal with ethical problems

Reporting and/or resolving work incidents/situations

Common workplace violence incidents are like:-

 Violent/intense dispute or argument

 Gambling
 Use of prohibited substances
 Pilferages (include theft of the contents but leaving the package, perhaps resealed with fake
contents.)
 Damage to person or property
 Vandalism (action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.)
 Falsification (the action of falsifying information or a theory)
 Bribery (the giving or offering of a bribe)
 Sexual Harassment
 Blackmail (demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing
compromising or damaging information about them)

The Five Steps to Resolve Conflict in any workplace

Conflict implies clash of interest. The basis of conflict may vary but, it is always a part of society. Basis of
conflict- personal, racial, class, caste, political and international.

Learning how to handle conflict efficiently is a necessary skill for anyone in management and the key to
preventing it from hindering employees' professional growth. Conflict resolution is only a five-step
process:

Step 1: Identify the source of the conflict.

The more information you have about the cause of the conflict, the more easily you can help to resolve
it. To get the information you need, use a series of questions to identify the cause, like, “When did you
feel upset?” “Do you see a relationship between that and this incident?” “How did this incident begin?”

As a manager or supervisor, you need to give both parties the chance to share their side of the story. It
will give you a better understanding of the situation, as well as demonstrate your impartiality. As you
 Unit of Competence: Demonstrating Work Values

listen to each disputant, say, “I see” or “uh huh” to acknowledge the information and encourage them
to continue to open up to you.

Step 2: Look beyond the incident.

The source of the conflict might be a minor problem that occurred months before, but the level of stress
has grown to the point where the two parties have begun attacking each other personally instead of
addressing the real problem. In the calm of your office, you can get them to look beyond the triggering
incident to see the real cause. Once again, probing questions will help, like, “What do you think
happened here?” or “When do you think the problem between you first arose?”

Step 3: Request solutions.

After getting each party’s viewpoint on the conflict, the next step is to get each to identify how the
situation could be changed. Again, question the parties to solicit their ideas: “How can you make things
better between you?”

As mediator, you have to be an active listener, aware of every verbal nuance, as well as a good reader of
body language.

Just listen. You want to get the disputants to stop fighting and start cooperating, and that means
steering the discussion away from finger pointing and toward ways of resolving the conflict.

Step 4: Identify solutions both disputants can support.

You are listening for the most acceptable course of action. Point out the merits of various ideas, not
only from each other’s perspective, but in terms of the benefits to the organization. (For instance, you
might point to the need for greater cooperation and collaboration to effectively address team issues and
departmental problems.)

Step 5: Agreement.

The mediator needs to get the two parties to shake hands and agree to one of the alternatives
identified in Step 4. Some mediators go as far as to write up a contract in which actions and time frames
are specified. However, it might be sufficient to meet with the individuals and have they answered these
questions: “What action plans will you both put in place to prevent conflicts from arising in the future?”
and “What will you do if problems arise in the future?”