This is a solution of UK College HR Management Assignment which discusses about management if Human Resources in companies, analyze legal and regulatory framework and more.

Introduction

Human Resource management is one of the most essential and complex process of modern business world and it is becoming more and more challenging every day. An effective human resource department helps in building up an efficient workforce to address the responsibilities and perform at their best to achieve the goals set by the organisation (Ulrich, 2013). Organizations with efficient human resource management which have all the policies, processes and practices at place have committed and best skilled employees. The report will discuss the Harrods case study and will analyse the human resource functions at various levels.

Task 1

Difference between personal management and human resource management

People often confuse with personal management and human resources management and use both the terms interchangeably (Ulrich, 2013). But in reality both the terms have very different meaning and have completely different context. Therefore the basic difference between personal management and human resource management is discussed in detail as follows: -

• Personal management is more related with the employees, payrolls of employees and also with employment laws. While human resource management deals with overall work force and also contribute a lot in firm’s success and failure (Armstrong, 2012).
• Personal management has a narrow approach while managing human resource has a broader approach. Human resource management basically deals with developing an efficient and effective personal management skill among the employees. Human resource department in an organisation is completely responsible for making a team of employees in the organisation.
• Personal management have a reactive approach while human resource management has a proactive approach where they plan everything well in advance. While personal management is more spontaneous in dealing with problems.
• Personal management contributes more in administrative part of organisation while on the other hand human resource management contributes more in building and developing a culture in any organisation.
• Personal management is independent part of an organisation and works on its own while human resource management is integral part of an organisation as it works with the cooperation of other department of any organisation (Ulrich, 2013).

An efficiently run human resources department can provide your organization with structure and the ability to meet business needs through managing your company's most valuable resources -- its employees. There are several HR disciplines, or areas, but HR practitioners in each discipline may perform more than one of the more than six essential functions. In small businesses without a dedicated HR department, it's possible to achieve the same level of efficiency and workforce management through outsourcing HR functions or joining a professional employer organization.

For personal management, example of S.A.L designs is perfect where the management practices personal management very effectively.  An S.A.L design is a small company which sells handmade traditional masonic jewellery. They sell a wide range of masonic jewellery and have a large range of such jewelleries. The company practice personal management as the company is small in nature and the company only focus on getting right person for the right job.

·Functions of human resource management in contributing to Harrods purpose

An efficient human resources department can be a very important and can play a crucial role in developing a business. It helps in giving a structure which is significant in meeting the business goals (Armstrong, 2012). The structure is formed in the form of bringing the right people for the right job. Right people are in the form of right employees who are the backbone of any business and the most important resource of an organisation. Human resource management is consists of many subjects and human resource department of any organisation consist of many functions. In any big organisation it is just not possible to achieve some level of efficiency without an effective human resources department. A large organisation cannot be managed without an expert who knows how to handle employees and get work done. Similarly in Harrods, the complete existence of the business is built by the people of the organisation and their effective services to the employees (Schmidt et al, 2011). The functions of the organisation are quite varied in nature and it not just involves acquiring the suitable employees but also related to developing them and makes them more efficient in terms managing them effectively.  Various functions of human resources management are discussed as follows: -

• Recruitment and meeting customer needs: - the efficiency of a human resource department can be analysed by the number of functions the department performs like number of vacancies which they fill and the time spent on this process. The positions are filled on the basis of requirement in the market and criteria for selecting the employees are on the ability to fulfil customer needs and their satisfaction. The company Harrods is in complete touch with the customer needs and the management conduct various surveys to understand the needs of the customer. Initially the company saw a major gap between the customer experience and employee’s experience (Schmidt et al, 2011). It was a serious issue and the company had to take some significant steps for which company included series of functions to ensure that the gaps are fulfilled and various arise due to the gap can be solved on time. For this it is very important to conduct the recruitment process very effectively. Recruiter who is not outsourced and is a part of the business environment that plays a very significant role in the organisation. The recruitments are done by posting the vacancies on various newspapers and various other social networking platform and various steps of recruitment and selections are conducted. The suitable candidate is selected for the organisation keeping in mind the requirement of the organisation and the customer’s need to which he or she has to address.
• Retaining the employees: Harrods faced a high turnover rate at one point of time and because of which they were making loss due to wastage of lots of resources which goes into employee training and development. The company realised the problem soon after and once they recognised the issue, the worked a lot in developing employee engagement in the organisation and which help them to stay with the organisation for long period of time (MARTONO, 2011).
• Safety of the employees: - the safety of the workforce working for the company is very important and the workplace should be well maintained so that the people working for the company. In fact there are various laws and regulations which make sure that the safety of the employees can be ensured. In Harrods also the human resource department and safety and risk department work closely to make sure that no mishap can happen in the company.
• Employee Relations: - this is very important function in human resource department. The work can only be done effectively when there is cordial relation between employees and employers. Employee relation and labour relation are two distinct and separate entities but it can be handled by one expert. This relation can be improved by increasing activities which leads to job satisfaction and engagement of the employees. Harrods is one company which is known for its employee’s engagement and level of satisfaction is very high among the employees (MARTONO, 2011).
• Job analysis: the company is very well in this area and is widely known for their job analysis function. Job analysis is related with analysing the job and deciding the abilities required to perform the job perfectly. Abilities are based on the skills and right experience required for the job.
• Compensation and Benefits: like recruitment and other functions, compensation and benefits are also very important functions of human resource. Human resources management helps the organisation set the suitable compensation structure and also have competitive environment by setting effective pay practices.
• Training and development: once proper selection and recruitment process, the selected employees is provided with the tools which are effective for the success for achieving the goals and objectives which means giving extensive training to the employees which help them to perform in organisation (MARTONO, 2011). The company Harrods has maintained a proper training and development cell which works effectively in training the employees. Mentoring and coaching is an integral part of the company. The management make sure that every employee is trained so that objectives can be met in time and that too efficiently.

·The role and responsibilities of the line manager in the human resource management department at Harrods

A line manager is a person who heads a department and is responsible for the working of that specific department. He or she is a person who is responsible for executing the functions formulated by the top management and responsible for achieving the objective (Harrison, 2011). Line mangers play a pivotal role in the organisations. Following are role and responsibilities of the line manager in the human resource management department at Harrods: -

• Employee engagement: the line manager is in direct touch with the employees as they work closely with them. So they can be held responsible for the amount of engagement the employees have in the organisation and behaviour and various functions related to it (Wang et al, 2013).
• Performance benefits: line manager is the right person to rate the employees as far as performance are concerned. Harrods also follows performance a pay structure which is solely based on the performance and line manager is one person who plays a pivotal role in assessing the performance of the employees
• Performance appraisal: line manager also helps in the performance appraisal process and all the functions undertaken by the employees can be assessed perfectly by line manager. Line managers are the people who actually execute and perform the function of performance appraisal (Wang et al, 2013). In fact line managers are the one who bridge the function between human resource department and employees.
• Disciplining the employees: the line manager is one who works closely with the employees and supervise their work and they are the one who is actually exercise rules and regulation. They are the one who apply the rules formulated by the company and discipline the employees.

The impact of legal and regulatory framework on Harrods human resource management

There is major impact of legal and regulatory framework on organisation and they are discussed in details as follows:

• Legal and regulatory framework is essential for saving the interest of people working in the organisation. It is one body which keep a check on all type of discrimination and unfair practices which harms the interest of the employees and people at large. Harrods take this in mind and have a proper legal and regulatory framework in pace which take care that no unfair practice is done in company. With so many companies working in the market, there are so many incidences which come across in day to day life where employees are exploited by the company and people face many problems revolving around it (Wang et al, 2013). To avoid this problem legal and regulatory framework is very important. This framework helps the company to maintain fair practices in the organisation so that people working in organisation can only focus on performance.
• Legal and regulatory framework also helps in defining the minimum wages for the workers and the employees. This rule ensures that the future of the employees is saved and various programs are planned in the organisation which helps the employees in growing in their career. Harrods company make sure the wages given to the employees are fair and proper appraisal system is also at place so that the employees are motivated to work and give their best.
• The pension plan is also very important point mentioned in legal and regulatory framework which saves the future of the employees even after retirement and they can spend their life peacefully post retirement. Harrods also make sure that the employees who have given their life to the company, stay comfortable after the retirement by fix pension plan for them.
• Union these days plays a very significant role these days and the legal and regulatory framework also defines the rights and authority of the union and how they can execute their power. Harrods has an employee and worker union at place which makes sure that no discrimination is practised in the company and rights of the employees can be saved.
• Legal and regulatory framework also gives a lot importance to the health and safety of the employees. Every organisation must have well maintained and proper working environment where employees can focus on work. Harrods have taken care of health and safety issues and made sure the employees working for the organisation are working in the safe environment. Organisation should take care of all the safety options properly (Wang et al, 2013).
• Employee policies are very important document which discuss all the rights and duties of an employee’s so the legal and regulatory framework helps in maintaining these employees policies documents.

Task 2

Analyse the reason of human resource planning at Harrods.

Human resource planning is one of most significant function for organisation and so is it for Harrods which spent a lot of time in human resource planning. Human resources planning perform very crucial roles and it also helps in maintain a stock of suitable candidates who can be immediately replaced in the case of any emergency (Chan & Marchington, 2013). Many times, organisation faces this situation where an employee leaves the job all of a sudden due to multiple reasons and in this time of crisis it is human resource planning which helps in fill in the gap and vacuum created by the previous employees. In addition to this, Business Strategy planning is also a very effective tool for forecasting the human resource function and estimating the cost incurred in it. It helps in solving the issue which can become a challenge. Human resources planning also help in determining that the skilled workers can be maintained and retained. The planning is done in a way which ensures that the nature of the work can be analysed and that most suitable candidate can be selected at the work. Acquiring the right people for the right job is not an easy task and lots of planning is required prior to it.  Human resources planning make sure that the best people are selected and work for the company as people are most important resources which helps in moving the factors of production. So human resource planning plays a very significant role in these criteria.

·Outline the stages that Harrods can adapt in planning human resources requirements

Harrods can adopt following functions in order to adapt in planning human resources requirements: -

• The very first thing which should be conducted while planning the human resource requirement is assessing the various functions and the ability to perform various tasks. This can be done by performing the proper environmental audit. These audits can be performed by adapting various methods like PESTLE analysis or Porter’s five forces analysis or SWOT analysis (Chan & Marchington, 2013). Available stock in human resources should be analysed and various internal forces should also be assessed. After analysis the current situation in the organisation, human resources department can clearly recognise the internal strengths and also the weakness of the organisation. Human resource department should also analyse the current stock available in the company in the form of skills. It also helps in analysing the gap and which are needed to be a part of the organisation. Functions like job analysis and job description also helps in planning the human resource management.
• The second step should be forecasting the demand of employees in future. This function analysis the current demand and also the supply of employees at the right time.
• It not only helps in demand forecasting but also in supply forecasting. Under this step the main motive is to get the right people for the right job and at the right time.
• In addition to determining the demand and supply needs, it is also very important that demand and supply is matched properly so that the middle path can be devised. This process is all about matching both the functions and making sure that there is never a shortage and oversupply of the candidates (Chan & Marchington, 2013).
• Once the demand and supply requirement are matched and come in tune with each other than the main action plan is put into place. This function involves all the activities which make sure the best people become the part of the organisation.

Compare the recruitment and selection process at Harrods with John Lewis organisation

 Every company has a distinct process of selecting and conducting the recruitment process in the organisation. Therefore following is the recruitment process followed by Harrods: -

Harrods follows a very normal process of recruitment and selection method which is more or less similar to the other organisation: -

• The company start with initial screening where the management eliminate candidates on the basis of experience and other things.
• In the next step the human resource department screens the CV in which the candidate is eliminated on the basis of the qualification and other abilities mentioned in CV.
• Those who qualify the CV screen round have to give telephonic or video interview.
• After clearing this step selected candidates application is sent to assessment centre for further screening (Werner, & DeSimone, 2011).
• After that resourcing interview is conducted this tests the resources knowledge of the candidates.
• Candidates who clear the resource interview have then had to go through line Manager interview
• Candidate then have to perform some prepared task to get into final stage of interview.
• After clearing all the rounds the candidate finally comes in final interview phase which is when cleared will be the selected candidate.

On the other hand the recruitment process of John Lewis is completely different since the company is working very hard on introducing some unique and very different approaches in the field of recruitment and selection. The company is trying very hard to make the complete process of recruitment a speedy one which makes sure that the no wastage of money and the time can be conducted here in this process. The company is trying to make this process a cost effective process. For this the company is introducing an online assessment which reduces the time in hiring and the process becomes faster and effective (Werner, & DeSimone, 2011). The company introspects and realised that the normal recruitment process is very time taking process due to which the company also loses on lots of money. So this new technique is efficient process which selects the candidates quickly and also helps in saving lots of resources.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the recruitment and selection techniques in the above two selected organisation.

The company Harrods is in the business from past many years and recruit approx. 4000 employees every year along with around 3500 agencies and concession employees. The process of recruitment is little long in the company as the company wanted to make sure that the employees appointed are the best and doesn’t have to rethink about the capability of the people working for the organisation. If recruitment process of Harrods is deeply analysed than one can understand that it’s a usual process that requires a lot of time and energy. With series of interviews and selection tests, the candidates are screened on various scale and parameters (Werner, & DeSimone, 2011).  Getting selected is not an easy task and for whatever result they had to wait a lot for knowing the result. It is obviously a time taking and costly process but at the same time the company make sure that the candidate selected is the most suitable employees. While on the other hand, the company John Lewis has a very unique and new approach where the company find ways to make it faster and more efficient. The company make sure that the process become cost effective and at the same time helps the organisation to get the best people of industry (McGoldrick et al, 2012). John Lewis is more practical in the approach and they wanted to make sure that the people selected quickly and then they are trained in a proper manner so that they can start working fast. The recruitment process is fast and efficient. The process is also a lesson for many other organisations where the recruitment process takes the longest time and money to take place because of which so much time is wasted which could be very well used in production and other function and increasing its efficiency.

Task 3

Assess the link between motivation theory and its rewards with an application on Harrods case study.

Motivation is an important aspect for any organisation and companies devise various methods to motivate their employees. There are so many theories of motivation which has been discussed and invented by many researchers over the years. Theories like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg two factor theories, Alderfer’s ERG theory have made significant contribution in the field of motivation. All these theories are discussed in detail as follows: -

• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: - the author Maslow’s developed a hierarchy of needs and according to him there are five steps of needs which motivate the employees to perform. People are motivated when the basic needs of the people are satisfied and met in time. These needs are physiology, safety and security which is also related to shelter and health. Then there is belongingness with the people around, boost of self-esteem and lastly self-actualization. In Harrods these needs are met on time and the company make sure that the employees working in the organisation basic needs are met on time.
• Herzberg’s two factor theory: - according to the author Fredrick Herzberg there are certain features at the workplace which if met in the right manner then it result in the satisfaction and motivation among the employees. He distinguished between the motivators factors like recognition and responsibility and hygiene factors which are main responsible for the satisfaction of an employee at workplace.

 Similarly Harrods also conducts various surveys at every regular interval of time. These surveys revealed the state of mind of the employees and features which satisfies the employees the most are the internal factors (McGoldrick et al, 2012). These are related to meeting the personal need of employees and also addressing few psychological needs which includes recognition for work, be a important part of the a group and respect from the people. Company just not have to focus on providing financial rewards but providing some non-financial rewards which includes activities like promotion, giving decision making authority, be able to make important contribution as team member and being recognised for work.

Research skills to evaluate the process of job evaluation and other factors determining the pay with special reference to Harrods case study.

Harrods had conducted the intrinsic evaluation of each and every job and have also encouraged job rotation in all forms. Job rotation is periodical change of job designation and work nature to understand the working of each and every type of job. The company also provided range of jobs to the employees and encouraged job enlargement activities.  Harrods have follows a step-by-step process of job evaluation which is discussed in detail as follows: -

• The management works on explaining the aim and main target of various functions and which is approved by top management.
• After that the company works on creating a team for job evaluation. The team includes various experienced employees who are experts and understands job evaluation well (Qin & Mu, 2012).
• Next step is evaluating the right job which can be a costly process.
• The next step is defining the appropriate job description on the basis of job evaluation.
• Finally in the end, it is about selecting the suitable method of evaluation.

Assess the effectiveness of reward system in different context with your reference to Harrods.

Reward system is very essential part of any business. People all over the world required recognition and promotion for their work. Harrods also have a very effective system of recognition and rewards (Qin & Mu, 2012). Functions like job rotation are also encouraged by the employee where employees gets the opportunity to work in different department which help them to understand all type of work in organisation and make them multitasking. Not only this, Harrods also promotes planning and product development of the employees.  People take a pride in working in Harrods. To encourage and motivate employees to work efficiently and give their best the company promotes job enlargement where employees get various varied opportunity to preform and prove their capability. The company believed that the intrinsic elements are the one which actually encourage the employees to preform so for that the company improved the employee working culture. The company believed that it is important that the employees believe that they are a part of the team and they are contributing something substantial to the company. The company also encourage the good work by recognizing it and also giving due respect to each and every employee.

Examine the methods adopted by Harrods to monitor employee’s performance. Comment with any suggestion.

The company adopts all the necessary steps where they ensure that the employees are well informed and well versed about what is happening in the company. The business management also promotes employee engagement. The company is also indulged in various surveys, where they test the various factors which employees’ engagement in the organisation (Garavan & McGuire, 2010). The company also encourages employees to be the part of culture of the organisation. The employees are also treated the way they become the part of the big family and value the brand of Harrods and provide effective services to the customers as they also have high expectations from the company. For systematic monitoring the employee performance, the company promotes mentoring and coaching facilities from the experienced people where employees were given advice to improve their services at each and every step. Manager were also encouraged to meet other managers from other department to support and share ideas so that the company can grow.

Read all other  UK College of Business and Computing Assignments

Task 4

·Identify the reason for the cessation of employment with special reference to Harrods in General.

Cessation is a basically a notice in written form which is passed and issued by the company or any concerned party which mention the lack of work done by other party and the time period under which both the parties can exercise their lien rights (Garavan & McGuire, 2010). Cessation can be a very serious step for any company. Following are various reasons of cessation of employment: -

• The first thing any company expect form the employees is to perform as per the expectations set by the organisation. When they are unable to perform and achieve the target than they can become a liability for the organisation and the company under such circumstances can decide to replace the employees with more effective employees (Garavan & McGuire, 2010). Although Harrods believe in retaining the employees since they work very hard on the employee’s development. But if an employee is not performing as expected and could not develop skills required for the job despite various training program then the company should replace such employee.
• Another important aspect which can take the employee towards cessation is the attitude of the employee towards the work and the nature of the employees. The attitude should be forthcoming and with full of zeal towards the work and if they lack it then they cannot perform properly (Dunn, 2012).

Research and describe the employment exit procedures used by Harrods and compare it with any other organisation of your choice.

The employee exit program is normal where employee have served the notice period and then takes the exit from the firm. It is a usual procedure like all other companies follows. On the other hand John Lewis tries to make the process even simpler for the employees. The company is sensitive towards the employees’ reason to take exit and treat them well (Sambrook, 2012). The company see a potential customer in them and they believe in treating them well. They also have notice period policy but they are easier in dealing with this.

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

Cessation is not an easy job regardless of the reason and circumstances for cessation. Following are the steps which should be undertaken: -

• The company should inform the employee well in advance about the cessation so that he or she can prepare for other options and it may not become the huge loss for them as far as money is concerned (Sambrook, 2012).
• All the employees are expected should be given fair treatment all the time.
• The process of termination should be professional and should be conducted carefully and with dignity (Dunn, 2012).
• The company should also not share the reason of cessation with anybody the person in concern.
• Employers have the authority to exercise cessation any time but it is a big responsibly too so employers should make sure that it done effectively with minimum hurt and issues (Sambrook, 2012).
• Employment standards must be followed at all the steps.

Conclusion

The report has addressed all the important aspects of the human resource functions and has addressed all the issue related to it. Human resource management is the most crucial and important aspect of any organisation. It is one department which should be handled with extreme care and sensitivity. This department helps in smooth functioning of the organizational structure . The changes brought in by Harrods have developed it as a people- focused organization and the company is doing very well in addressing the issue relate to employees.

Reference

Armstrong, M. 2012. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.

Chan, P., & Marchington, M. 2013. 4 Human resource development in construction: moving beyond alignment with organisational strategy. Human Resource Management in Construction Projects, 80.

Dunn, W. N. 2012. Public policy analysis. Pearson.

Harrison, P. 2011. Learning culture, line manager and HR professional practice. Journal of European Industrial Training, 35(9), 914-928.

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