Unit 18 Human Resources Management

LO1 Understand the difference between personnel management and human resource management

P1.1- As new internship HR Assistant at Harrods, your new manager wants you to distinguish between personnel management in Small retail organisations practising PM and human resource management at Harrods
P1.2- Assess the function of the human resource management in contributing to Harrods purposes
P1.3- Evaluate the roles and responsibilities of line managers at the Harrods human resource department
P1.4 - Analyse the impact of legal and regulatory framework on Harrods human resource management.

Scenario for Task 2 (LO 2 AC 2.1, AC 2.2, AC 2.3 and AC 2.4)

Over the past year, your organisation have been experiencing high staff turnover and the Finance/HR Manager  claims the reason for this is because he cannot find good people. There are currently several vacancies which needed to be fill and you have been brought in to support the Finance Manager who is also acting as the HR Manager but have little knowledge on HR matters. You have identified that there are no HR planning policy and the current recruitment and selection (R&S) process is as follows; candidates are given a telephone interview before a face to face interview. Some of their questions asked are,

• What are your life’s goals,
• What is your main motivation in applying for this role,
• If you were to be anything in life what would it be,
• Tell me about your last 4 jobs (they needed 4 jobs to apply).
• Applicants are then asked to complete a psychometric assessment and an aptitude test.

 You are recommending a new policy on HR planning and changes to the current recruitment and selection process.
2.1 Analysing the reasons for human resource planning
2.2 Outlining the stages involved in planning human resource requirements
2.3 Compare the current recruitment and selection process in the organisation with another organisation you recommending.
2.4 Evaluate the effectiveness of the recruitment and selection techniques in two organisations discussed above

Task 3: Case study of Virgin Media (LO 3 AC3.1, AC 3.2, AC3.3 and AC3.4)

In this task you will be required to show an understanding of how to reward employees in order to motivate and retain them.
Virgin Media was created from the merger of NTL, Telewest and Richard Branson's Virgin Mobile and is a part of Liberty Global plc, the world’s largest international cable company. In the UK, Virgin Media is the first ‘quad play’ provider, meaning that they provide broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services. The company has invested over £13 Bobion and owns the UK’s largest fibre optic network, making it the biggest privately built network. In the first quarter of 2013 Virgin Media had 4.49 million broadband subscribers.
Using Virgin Media case study or a company with which you are familiar address the following questions substantiating your answers with suitable examples and proper referencing.
3.1 Assess the link between motivational theory and reward at Virgin Media or your chosen organisation. Your answer must show if you think there is a link, what connects the two.
3.2 Evaluate the process of job evaluation and other factors determining pay at Virgin Media or your chosen organisation
3.3 Assess in different contexts (for e.g. attracting talent, retention, motivation)  how effective is the reward systems at Virgin Media or your chosen organisation
3.4 Examine the methods Virgin Media or your chosen organisation use to monitor employee performance.

Task 4: Case study (LO4 AC 4.1, AC 4.2 and AC 4.3)

In this task you will be required to show an understanding of different mechanisms for the cessation of employment used by organisations to terminate employee contract.  You should be able to identify the reasons for cessation and describe the exit procedures used.  You should also be able to analyse the impact of the legal and regulatory framework on employment cessation arrangements.
Bob Jones owned The Chicken Master, a small, quick-serve chicken and chips restaurant in Gants Hill, Ilford. He hired Faisal to manage The Chicken Master. Faisal was a 54-year-old asian male with 15 years of restaurant management experience; Bob thought he had hit a homerun. Unfortunately, Faisal turned out to be one big strike-out. After six months on the job, Bob had to terminate him for poor performance and violation of company policy. The “front of store” was not properly cleaned and stocked; the kitchen was not cleaned; food was not prepped; and employees were not being supervised. Faisal frequently took time off for personal business during work hours without informing anyone. Bob tried to coach Faisal on his performance, but did not see any improvements. One night after closing, Bob went to check something in the back office, and found Faisal looking at pornography on his computer. Bob confronted Faisal and, after further investigation, discovered Faisal regularly looked at pornography and spent a significant portion of his work day emailing his wife, helping his daughter with homework, and even designing his own restaurant. The Chicken Master’s employee handbook clearly stated that employees were not to use company equipment for personal use. All employees, including Faisal, had received and acknowledged receipt of the employee handbook. Bob had no choice. He fired Faisal for poor performance and violating company policies.
Faisal wasted no time responding to his firing. He immediately filed a case at the Employment Tribunal for a charge of discrimination, claiming that he was replaced by a female under the age of 40 and thus was a victim of age and race discrimination.
4.1 Identify the reasons for termination of Faisal’s employment contract with The Chicken Master and generally explain other reasons for cessation of employment.
4.2 Describe the employment exit procedures used by The Chicken Master and another organisation of your choice
4.3 Consider the impact of the legal and regulatory framework on employment cessation arrangements with an organisation such as The Chicken Master if Faisal’s claim was proven to be true.