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BUSINESS REPORT
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Table of Contents

Section 1 3

Section 2 5

Section 3 7

References 10

Appendices 11
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Section 1

I desire to acquire the position of GM Human Resources in Woolworths Group. To me, the
success of Woolworths has always been an interesting story. As a GM of Human Resources in
the company, I would be directly under the influence of Bradford Banducci who, I feel, has
contributed immensely to the massive growth and success that the company has been able to
achieve. Bradford Banducci, as a leader, has placed enormous focus on increasing the value
offered to the shareholders while ensuring proper management of the overall activities of the
retail chain. I feel that these qualities are of paramount importance when it comes to business
leaders and entrepreneurs. I wish to own a business one day and therefore, an employment as a
GM HR in Woolworths Group would certainly be immensely beneficial for me as it would give
me a chance to growth both as a person and a professional.

Under the Australian law, the legal obligations of employers to employees within a workplace
generates from a wide range of sources including both the written and verbal contracts of
employment, industrial agreements and awards, territory, state and federal laws, as well as,
tribunal decisions (Nguyen, 2019). Under the Australian law, several legal obligations and
responsibilities must be addressed by the employers to the employees. Some of these legal
responsibilities include:

● Ensuring that employees are compensated with proper wages

● Reimbursing the workers for the expenses that are work-related
● Guaranteeing a working environment that is healthy and safe for the workers
● Ensuring not to enact in a way which may considerably affect the reputation of the
workers or initiative mental distress by causing humiliation
● All of the workers must be provided with pay slips by the employer
● The Australian law compels employers to have workers compensation insurance for
every worker in the organisation
● Ensuring not to enact in a way which may affect the confidence and trust needed for a
sustained employment relationship
● Ensuring to forward the PAYG tax withheld amounts for each employee to the ATO
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That being said, there are a wide range of human resource, employment and labour laws that
need to be strictly adhered to by the Australian employers. The existence of these laws and
legislatures ensure that there are equal employment and development opportunities for all of the
eligible candidates, to safeguard the health and safety of the Australian workers, to ensure that
the workers are able to sustain a good work-life balance and to ensure that all of the workers,
regardless of their differences and similarities, are treated the same and equally (Webster et al.
2015). The work environment in which the employees will be working must be free of
discrimination and any form of bias over the different identities and charactorial attributes of the
different personnel (Bohatko-Naismith et al. 2015). In addition, there are also maternity and
family leave rights which helps employers to enable the workers in terms of sustaining a good
work-life balance. According to the Australian legal structure, the data and privacy pertaining to
the employees must also be protected and ensured by the employers.

At all stages of employment, the primary obligation of employers to employees is to look out for
their welfare. In addition to being provided with a fair compensation plan, it must be ensured by
the employers that each and every eligible candidates have equal career-oriented progress and
development opportunity. It falls under the ethical obligation of the employers to ensure that the
work environment in which the workers will perform their activities is free from discrimination
on the basis of personal and professional differences and to promote the idea of equal treatment
and respect towards each other within the workforce. Additionally, it is also one of the main
responsibilities of the organisational leadership to ensure that there is sufficient amount of
coordination and communication among the employees and the senior management to avoid the
chances of misunderstanding and unclear messages to the employees.

The Fair Work Commission is one of the most considerable institutions in terms of ensuring fair
treatment of the employees which ensures that employers are able to maintain productive and fair
workplaces. The Australian Workers’ Union can be consulted in case any employees experience
being treated unfairly. The Australian Workers’ Union is a national body which protects the
rights of the Australian workers and promotes the provision of both physically and mentally
healthy, as well as, safe workplaces for the employees. In addition to these organisations, the
Federal and State judicial systems have also put enormous focus to ensure the wellbeing and
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safety of the Australian workers and can be reported to for documenting unfair treatment within
the workplace (Haque et al. 2019).

Naturally, the employees carry a fair share of both legal and moral obligations or responsibilities
towards their employers. According to the Australian legislature, the employees have the legal
obligation to obey the orders of the management that are reasonable, lawful and fall under to
terms specified in the employment contract. The employees are also legally obligated to perform
activities with appropriate diligence and care so as to ensure the upkeep of the reputation of the
companies (Hunter, 2018). Employees must not misuse the sensitive and confidential
information that is shared with them while they are in service. In addition to that, it is also the
obligation of workers to account of all property or money received during a business transaction.
Lastly, employees must have the moral obligation of protecting and nurturing the interests of the
business and cooperate with the employers by serving faithfully and honestly.

Communication is of paramount importance in terms of setting expectations within the

workplace. A clear communication between the employer and the employee to ensure that there
is no lack of information among either parties, enables both the parties to establish a definite set
of goals and milestones to be achieved and clarifies the exact responsibilities and obligations of
both sides. As a GM HR in Woolworths Group, I would consider discussing the inclusion of
workshops and monthly seminars to provide appropriate training to the employees. In addition to
that, I would also suggest the inclusion of at least three compulsory days of performance review
training in a month to ensure all of the employees are aware of the current standards,
expectations and are able to perform their activities accurately and appropriately. Lastly, I would
like to suggest the inclusion of online training to the employees as it would enable the
management to save a significant amount of time and would ensure that the employees are able
to receive training properly at their convenience.

Section 2

As a GM of Human Resource, the specific employability skill areas I need to be competent in

include:

● Organisational skills
● Communication skills
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● Confidentiality skills
● Adaptability skills
● Multi-tasking
● Decision-making
● Negotiation
● Training and Development
● Performance assessment and feedback
● Ethical and discrete
● Change management

Employability skills I need to be competent in Skills I need to strengthen

to for fill the job requirements

● Organisational skills ● Time structuring and management,

leading, planning
● Effectiveness in group interaction,
● Communication skills non-verbal communication, clarity of
expression
● Constructive disagreement, working
● Confidentiality skills with analogues, use of metaphors and
analogies, foreign language
competency
● Observing and recording, participating
in teamwork, sharing responsibilities,
● Adaptability skills
recognising, accepting, allowing for
differences
● Perceiving likenesses among things
apparently unlike, extrapolating from
● Multi-tasking the known to the unknown, ability to
self-disclosure, developing self-
confidence, ability to de-centre,
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● Decision-making identifying personal potential and

routes to achieving it
● Showing capacity to improvise,
transfer and application of ideas and
concepts, anticipating problems and
● Negotiation
building in ways to manage them
● Observing and recording, showing
capacity to improvise, giving and
● Training and Development
receiving feedback, ability to move to
closure, clarity of expression, active
listening, non-verbal communication

The primary responsibility of HR managers towards the employees is to ensure that they are able
to competently carry out the functions and tasks allocated to them. Therefore, I would prioritise
the areas of organisation, communication, decision-making and negotiation. Being able to plan
tasks and appropriate organising would enable me to delegate tasks in a more efficient manner to
the employees. Improving my communication skills would ensure that I am able to relay the
messages as they are to the employees and instruct/guide them properly. As an HR, I would also
be responsible for reviewing and revising the compensation structure for the employees and,
thereby, I would need to enhance my negotiation skills to ensure the satisfaction of both the
company and the workers. Lastly, I need to enhance my ability to move to closure to consolidate
my decisions which would help me in every area of my career.

Section 3

According to the VAK learning theory, the way to elaborate and comprehend the learning styles
of humans is simple. The VAK learning theory fundamentally utilise the three primary sensory
receivers within humans which include their vision, auditory and kinesthetic senses (Willis,
2017). All of these can be addressed in order to consider the dominant or preferred method of
learning of an individual. In this context, the VAK learning theory also suggests that no
individual uses only one style of learning alone but rather, combine the experiences acquired
from different styles of learning or to receive information. Notwithstanding, an individual may
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prefer one or more among these learning styles (Pritchard, 2017). Comprehending the preferred
learning style of individuals enable trainers to comprehend the best style for an individual to
learn with the consideration of what is going to be learnt. However, in this context, the VAK
learning theory also implies that the preferred learning style of individuals may vary depending
on the tasks (Rahman et al. 2016). Although there is a preferred or dominant method that is
usually followed by individuals, some people may use a combined or evenly balanced
combination of all the styles. In addition, it is also possible for individuals to opt for one method
of learning for a task whereas, the same individuals may select other methods of learning for
other types of tasks.

Vision: The V in VAK stands for vision. The visual learning style entails the utilisation of things
that can be seen or observed such as images, handouts, films, displays, demonstrations, as well
as, diagrams.

Auditory: The A in VAK stands for auditory capabilities. The auditory learning style entails the
consumption of data through listening. The methods of auditory learning style include work
spoken by self or others, as well as, of noises and sounds.

Kinesthetic: The K in VAK stands for kinesthetic. The kinesthetic learning style entails the
acquisition of physical experiences which include, but are not limited to, touching, doing,
holding, feeling or acquiring experience via performing practice hands-on tasks.

As an individual learner, I would prefer a combination of each of these styles in order to ensure
the optimal learning experience. Additionally, I feel that the kinesthetic learning style suits me
best as it would enable me to assess my own improvements and areas the need further
strengthening through the acquisition of practical hands-on experience. In order to improve my
communication skills, I would implement a combination of the mentioned learning styles. I
would attend a spoken English course and will also engage in regular conversations with my
peers to enhance my linguistic abilities. I would also learn non-verbal communication methods
by watching online videos. In order to improve my decision-making skills, I would prefer to
follow my superiors and would like to be placed as a subordinate directly under a supervisor.
This method would allow me to learn from the best practices of the practitioner and gather
practical hands-on experience which would enable me to enhance my ability to make quick and
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informative decisions. In order to improve my negotiation skills, I would prefer a combination of

each of the styles to observe, listen to and learn from the best practices of the practitioner which
would allow me to flourish my current set of skills and competencies. As a concluding thought, it
may be said that a combination of all of these styles would allow me to learn new information
from multiple sources and screen the information to develop the best practices.
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References

Bohatko-Naismith, J., James, C., Guest, M. and Rivett, D.A., 2015. The role of the Australian
workplace return to work coordinator: essential qualities and attributes. Journal of occupational
rehabilitation, 25(1), pp.65-73.

Haque, A., Fernando, M. and Caputi, P., 2019. The relationship between responsible leadership
and organisational commitment and the mediating effect of employee turnover intentions: an
empirical study with Australian employees. Journal of Business Ethics, 156(3), pp.759-774.

Hunter, B., 2018. The potential impact of the Workplace Relations and other Legislation
Amendment Act 1996 on Indigenous employees. Canberra, ACT: Centre for Aboriginal
Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), The Australian National University.

Nguyen, T., 2019. “Working Together with Difference” in an Australian Multicultural

Workplace. International Journal of Sociology, 49(4), pp.282-297.

Pritchard, A., 2017. Ways of learning: Learning theories for the classroom. Routledge.

Rahman, A., Ahmar, A. and Rusli, R., 2016. The influence of cooperative learning models on
learning outcomes based on students’ learning styles. World Transactions on Engineering and
Technology Education, 14(3).
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Webster, J., Evangelou, M. and Baillie, C., 2015. Employers' obligations to interns. Bulletin
(Law Society of South Australia), 37(5), p.18.

Willis, S., 2017. Literature review on the use of VAK learning strategies. The STeP
Journal, 4(2), pp.90-94.

Appendices

Personal Skills Audit