This is a solution of Icon college human resources development assignment, in this Harrods is taken as major organization for understanding of the resource management.

TASK 1

LO1 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

Harrods believes that human resource is the most important asset for an organization. This is especially more true for a retail company. Retail is the sector which has high attrition rate. Employees leave the organizations frequently. These employees have to be kept satisfied and happy so that they perform to the best of their levels. This way when the organization would think of the growth and development of the employees then surely they will also work with passion to achieve the organizational objectives (Schuler et al, 2001).

Here is described the difference between the Personnel Management and Human Resource Management:

Personnel Management

• It has an orientation to work.
• It deals only in handling, recruiting and management of employees.
• It is more of a trend that existed in the traditional times.
• It is the traditional Human resource where the objective of the company was making revenues and profitability by engaging and taking out more work from people.
• It has its performance at the operational level.
• It used to record, maintain and store the data and communication that takes place between an employee and company.

Human Resource Management

• It thinks from perspective of making HRM as strategic partner.
• It has bent towards the growth and development of organization as well as all employees working for it.
• It has been designed in such a way that employees and their management in terms of incentives, benefits and the value programs for them are designed.
• Personnel Management is now only one part of the Human Resource Management.

P1.2 - Assess the function of the human resource management in contributing to Harrods purposes.

Human Resources play a key role in the setting and maintaining of the operations of the entire establishment. Harrods has maintained its HRM function very well. The company has been successful only because it has been able to satisfy its employees who are working for it (Becker & Gerhart, 1996). With respect to the case study of Harrods, the various functions that are performed by the HR department at the company are:

• Recruitment & Selection – The Company’s HR functions plays a major role in hiring, and selection of the talent within the organization. This is done on the basis of their job analysis. Harrods is a company that has very strong recruitment and selection procedures and processes.
• Performance Management – All the employees who are working for Harrods have been fully aware of their respective job responsibilities. They have been performing their duties and responsibilities. They are given their succession and talent management so that they know the path on which they have to move in order to realize their potential and perform accordingly.
• Training and Development – Employees at Harrods are given training after the performance evaluation which communicates the skill and competency gaps that the employees have. This training process helps in building the skills that are needed by the company in its performance.
• Employee Engagement & Learning and Development – Employees working for the company are engaged in all kinds of activities in the organization. They are also involved in important decision making related with the company objectives. They are given an environment in which they could learn, develop, grow and explore new areas where they could get succeeded (Legge, 1989).
• Administration – This is the area which is related with the personnel management in terms of keeping the records and data pertaining to the various employees.

The goals and objectives of HRM are as follows

• Functional Objectives – These are dealing with various functions like recruitment, training and appraisal etc.
• Personal Objectives – These are the goals in which the employees are supported and guided on the path so that they could achieve their business objectives and targets. The seniors are involved in giving them motivation and correct guidance and instructions to perform.
• Organizational Objectives – These are the objectives of the organization in terms of making the healthy policies, processes, vision, mission and core values that suit as per the business environment, needs and requirements of the organization. These may be short term of long term objectives that the company has set forth aligning them with the various departments.
• Societal Objectives – HRM is responsible for managing the needs and requirements of the people working for the organization so that a healthy culture and society is developed and built.

P1.3 - Evaluate the role and responsibilities of line managers in the human resource management department at Harrods.

Line managers are the ones which are pertaining to the specific line or the department of an organization. They are having various functions and the goals as per the objectives and the goals of the departments. He is the one who manages the entire department or the line so that the team under him remains motivated and enthusiastic towards the entire work. They are ones who organize formal meetings among the employees of an organization to develop the gaols and targets that they have to meet collectively.

There are various functions performed by the line managers:

• Management of the team of employees working under them.
• Following and maintaining standard operating procedures and values within the team working for the organization.
• Developing an action plan for improvement in the areas that are under-performed.
• Supervision, guidance and motivating of the team members in the line.
• Analysis of Quality
• Bringing Technical Expertise within the system.
• Monitoring and control the employee performance
• Budgeting and controlling the operational costs
• Management and Organization of the various processes

P1.4 – Analyse the impact of legal and regulatory framework on Harrods human resource management

Regulations, rules and legislations that are developed help an organization to be managed, worked and operate smoothly. They develop the processes and organize them in such a way that the employees are satisfied working for it as their needs and requirements are being met and fulfilled. Harrods has effective legal and regulatory framework which helps it to organize all its day-to-day tasks and works efficiently and effectively.

Based on the business objectives and goals, the company has planned out its legal and regulatory business environment so that the company as well as the employees are managed and performing effectively (Kerr & Slocum, 1987).

The four major elements that have to be changed at Harrods with respect to the legal and regulatory frameworks are:

• Effective Leadership and its implementation.
• Structure of the Organization.
• Effective Communication Strategy.
• Bringing values for various brands.

In this section the impact of the legislations and the legal regulations would be studied that is listed as under:

• It helps in bringing discipline and decorum within the organization.
• They take care of the needs of the employees, stakeholders and the organization as a whole.
• They help in bringing equality in terms of performance, potential and giving opportunities to various employees to perform.
• It dictates the same rights and regulations for all employees.
• They develop effective, efficient and skilled manpower that may produce the correct result or the output for the company.
• They help in maintaining a competitive advantage.
• They make indiscriminative processes and procedures for the company that keeps it high in terms of performance and ability.

TASK 2

LO2 Understand how to recruit employees

P2.1 - Analyse the reasons for human resource planning at Harrods.

The various reasons for HR planning are:

• In forecasting and planning the needs and requirements of the employees and company as a whole.
• Reducing the costs at various levels and saving for financials of the company.
• Obtaining productivity, efficiency and effectiveness within the organization.
• Planning the budgets for various HR related activities.
• Planning for the succession and growth of all employees.
• Organizing engagement and change within the organization.
• Benchmarking the talent, processes and strategies for the organization.
• Managing the talent and introducing the path of success.

P2.2 - Outline the stages that Harrods can adapt in planning human resource Requirements

The stages that Harrods can adapt in planning for the human resource requirements are:

• Recruitment plan helps in finding out number, type, level and category of people that the organization may need.
• Deployment plan will determine the strategies for training, developing and growing the talent among the manpower.
• Training plan helps in formulating a path that has to be followed in filling the gaps of the competencies among the various employees.
• Retention and production plan helps in retaining the employees for a longer time by designing the policies, processes and practices that will help in increasing the productivity of the employees.

P2.3 - Compare the recruitment and selection process at Harrods with another organisation such as John Lewis, M&S or Sainsbury etc.

The comparison has been made between Harrods and Sainsbury:

Forecasting of Demand at Sainsbury

• Demand for the product in the market.
• Development and correct usage of the technology.
• Application and availing the financial resources for the organization.

Forecasting of Demand at Harrods

• Development and Growth of organization
• Management Policies and practices.
• Determining the productivity of employees and even their turnover.

Forecasting of Supply at Harrods

• Governmental policies and regulations.
• Rate of unemployment.
• Workforce Orientation and approach.

Forecasting of Supply at Sainsbury

• Inventory and resources required for management
• Staffing and related principles.

Balance between Demand and Supply at Harrods

• Employment on full time and regular basis.
• Creating recruitment for part timers.
• Recalling them.

Reductions at Harrods

P2.4 -Evaluate the effectiveness of the recruitment and selection techniques in the above two selected organizations

Recruitment and Selection are not an easy task. At Harrods as well as Sainsbury, the process is carried out with the help of very important tools and strategies. These strategies help in the control and monitoring of the right people for the right job at the right profile and at right time.

The effectiveness of the recruitment and selection techniques in the above two selected organizations are:

• They help in Determining the objectives and strategies of an organization
• Making correct and useful analysis of the situation and practices that have to be adopted for it.
• Assessing the requirements of the human resources.
• Matching the demand and supply of the human resources.
• The level of retention and attrition rate within the organization.
• Making decision on the kind of policies and practices that have to be adopted in effectively managing the people.
• The growth and success of the company.

TASK 3

LO3 how to reward employees in order to motivate and retain them

P3.1 Assess the link between motivation theory and its reward with an application on Harrods Case study.

Rewards are way in which the company can motivate and keep the employee satisfied within the organization. They may be of majorly two kinds: Financial Rewards and Non-Financial Rewards. They enable the employee in understanding the link or gap that exist between his performance and the kind of potential that he can input for performance.

They help in developing a clear, transparent and concise system for the motivation, performance and personal development of all the employees equally within an organization. Rewards determine the level of performance that has been achieved by employees and their seniors.

 The four Ps achieved with rewards are:

• Punishment – It decides on the action plan that has to be followed for the non-performers.
• Pay – It pays the financial and non-financial rewards and recognition to all employees.
• Praise – Based on the performance feedback, rewarding and awarding the employees.
• Promotion – Giving a path and chart for success and growth of the employees.

P3.2- Research and Evaluate the process of job evaluation and other factors determining pay with special reference to Harrods as your scenario.

Job evaluation is the technique where in the experience; qualification and the profile with the pay are matched for the various categories of people. The major objective is fulfilling a gap and providing equal opportunity to all the employees so that they could apply their full potential and convert it into performance.

The analysis of job evaluation helps in describing a job in all aspects. It makes a useful comparison of the various jobs. There are various steps involved in job evaluation:

• Description of Job in terms of the kind of person required with qualification and the experience in him.
• Factors of relation are used in making the comparisons among the various positions.
• The process of decision making and inclusion of the job involves structure of the job
• Determination of the correct salary and wage.

Methods of Job evaluation

Quantitative Methods  

• Schedule for assessment.
• Comparing the various factors.

Qualitative Methods 

• Comparison (Gould, 1998).
• Ranking
• Classification & Grading and of job.

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P3.3 - Assess the effectiveness of reward systems in different contexts with your references to Harrods

The effectiveness of reward systems with references to Harrods are as follows

• The level of achievement of the organizational objectives.
• The level at which strategies and processes have been successful and developed.
• The Recruitment of right fit for right profile at a right salary.
• Retention and the attrition rate of the company.
• Level at which the employees are motivated and encouraged to perform.
• Strong processes and systems.
• Growth and development of the financials of the company.
• Legislative processes and regulations for the company.

Advantages of Job evaluation

Job evaluation is beneficial to an organization in following ways:

• Removing the inequalities within the organization.
• Benchmarking the company strategies with that of its competitors.
• Introduction of technological and manpower development within the organization.
• Introducing satisfaction and motivation among the employees thereby increasing the retention rate.
• Developing cordial relation between employee and management.

P3.4 - Examine the methods adopted by Harrods to monitor employee performance. Comment with any suggestions

Various methods by which a mapping could be done on employee performance are:

• The growth and success of the organization.
• The level and extent of the customer loyalty that is observed for the products of the company.
• The extent at which the deadline and timelines are achieved by the employees.
• Passion, encouragement and motivational levels among the various employees.
• Creativity, innovation and development seen in employees.

TASK 4

LO4 Know the mechanisms for the cessation of employment

P4.1 Identify the reasons for cessation of employment with special reference to Harrods in General.

There are various reasons that are responsible for the cessation of employment with special reference to Harrods:

• The performance of the employees in terms of their targets and the objectives that are being met.
• The gap that is seen in the potential and performance which is not getting fulfilled for a longer time. In case the employee is not performing then he will not be kept within the organization.
• Voluntary Cessation by asking for retirement before the stipulated time period. This may be done at the wishes of the employee himself.
• Involuntary as per the rules and policies of the organization. This may be layoff when the company may not be operating in profits and running into loses (Huselid, 1995).

P4.2 - Research and Describe the employment exit procedures used by Harrods and compare it with any other organisation of your choice.

HR department at Harrods takes a special care of the people in terms of the exit procedures. It formulates the plan and strategies whereby it develops the formats and takes the physical interviews of the people in order to know the reasons that they have been leaving the organizations. The various phases in cessation process are:

• Determination of the objectives and strategies of an organization – This way the correct policies, strategies and the objectives of the company are planned, designed and evaluated with the correct implementation and enforcement.
• Analysis of the situation in terms of the needs, their fulfilment, demand and supply of the manpower.
• Assessment of the external and internal human resources – It helps in the correct determination of the various internal and external processes and the procedures that have to be followed by the company.
• Determination of the action plan – There will be planning and designing of the action plan that has to be followed for the process.
• Elimination of gaps between supply and demand – When the gaps would be met then the needs and requirements of the organization would be surely met.

The company basically does this in two ways:

• Circulation of the form and format for exit – This form mentions the reason for change, exit from job and what problems the employee faced during his employment within the organization. This form is analysed and determined to find out is it that employee has been living the organization under some pressure or problem (Davenport, 1998).
• Physical interview with immediate superior and the HR department – This is the exit interview that all have to face so that a discussion could be carried out on the ways in which organization can improve its systems and processes as per the strategies and objectives of retaining and developing of talent within the organization.

P4.3 - Consider the impact of the legal and regulatory framework on employment cessation arrangements with special reference to Harrods.

There are a lot of rules, regulations and the legal framework that has been developed by the government and the labour authorities that set the rules and regulations that have to be followed during the cessation of an employee.

These regulations have a lot of impact:

• Maintaining of the processes and practices of cessation – As per the various regulations and even the company policies, there should be adherence to the various systems, processes and the practices.
• Planning for the strictness in the regulations so that employees get equal rights and opportunities after cessation. This helps in giving equal rights and the opportunities to all employees and its related stakeholders.
• The company may not take benefit of the situation by paying lesser to the employees.
• Ensuring Fair dismissal process – Cessation should always be followed by a reason rather than just terminating the employees without any reason (Boxall & Purcell, 2003).
• There is no harassment of an employee – Employees have to be given enough notice as per the regulation and the legal laws. They should be paid for various components that are applicable on the tenure of job that they have been fulfilled within the organization.
• There is no destruction to the Company’s property – Along with employee, the company should not suffer from any kind of problem in terms of the manpower and financial loses.
• There is keeping of the timeframe of the employment – The amount of time or the period that is applicable as per law should be spent by the employee within the organization.

Conclusion

Human Resource is the most important asset for an organization. The companies in service sector have nothing to show except the talent, skills and competencies of their manpower. HR has a lot of functions like: recruitment, selection, training, engagement and learning and development of an employee. It has been able to fulfil all its functions with the help and support of the management at Harrods. The major components of the organization are: People, place and purpose. Harrods has developed its HR management and run it as a strategic partner rather than its functioning as a personnel management function. It has completely transformed its processes policies, and the systems to encourage the retention of the talent and the skilled manpower. Job Evaluation determines the value of job for the purpose of differentiating it and benchmarking the differentials that exist in salaries of various employees. Job Description and Specification determines the actual working and the kind of qualification, experience and attributes that are needed in an individual for a specific kind of job and its performance. Reward System is a way by which all the employees could be motivated, encouraged and asked to perform. It creates a culture of competition and performance.  The rewards could be in form of financial rewards and recognition that may be given to the employees for the kind of performance that they have shown in their activities and tasks. There have been many strategies and techniques that are used by the company so that the right talent is recruited, selected and even retained within the organization. This is done because in the end if the company would be ending up in the recruitment of the wrong talent then the company may not be successful and growing at a rate that has been forecasted. In the nutshell it could be said that traditional PM has taken a new shape of modern HRM which is managed with the help of various new and advanced techniques, processes, procedures and policies. It has introduced the talent and even recognized the employees for showing their talent and performance for the company. HR has been working as one of the strong wings on which the company flies and performs well. HR has given a new design to the companies and they have been climbing the ladder of success (Schuler & Jackson, 1987).

References

Schuler, R. S., Jackson, S. E., & Storey, J. (2001). HRM and its link with strategic management. Hansen, G. S., & Wernerfelt, B. 1989. Determinants of firm performance: The relative importance of economic and organizational factors. Strategic management journal, 10(5), 399-411. Ferner, A. 1997. Country of origin effects and HRM in multinational companies. Human Resource Management Journal, 7(1), 19-37.

1993. Boxall, P. 1993. The significance of human resource management: a reconsideration of the evidence.International Journal of Human Resource Management,4(3), 645-664.

Legge, K. 1989. Human resource management: a critical analysis. New perspectives on human resource management, 19-40. Gould, J. M. 1998. Understanding organizations as learning systems. The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital, 121.

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