This assignment is given in UK College for HND Business course, in this Harrods Human Resources Management Assignment, methods are describes chosen by Harrods to manage personnel.

TASK 1: Difference between personnel management and human resource management

P1.1 Difference between personnel management in small retail organisations practicing PM and human resource management at harrods

Personnel management can be defined as the process which handles the recruitment, training and deployment of the employees in an organisation. One of the small retail organisation which is implementing a personnel management system is SAL Designs which is a jewellery retailer. This organisation can be compared with Harrods which is implementing the human resource management system instead of the personnel management (Julian, 2008).

The HRM process in Harrods deals with the planning, monitoring and controlling activities of human resources available to Harrods. But the process of personnel management focuses on the interaction between the management of the SAL designs and its employees. The process of HRM in Harrods is basically a business process which also focuses on the benefits of the employees too. But the process of personnel management in SAL Designs mainly focuses on the benefits to the organisation instead of both the employees and employers (Frazier, 2001). So the personnel management can be perceived as a more administrative process whereas the HRM process can be perceived as a people oriented process as well. The personnel management process of the SAL designs uses the employees, majorly for the benefits of the organisation. But the HRM process of Harrods focuses on the well-being of the employees as well. The PM process of SAL Designs can be implemented as a short term ad hoc strategy to maintain and streamline the usage of the employees in the organisation. But the HRM process of Harrods is a long term proactive strategy which can be used to effectively identify, anticipate and satisfy the human resource requirements of the organisation for a long amount of time (Naff, 2013).

P1.2 Function of the human resource management in contributing to harrods purposes

This section describes the role of the HRM process in terms of the contribution towards the objectives of Harrods. The process of HRM basically handles all the interactions between the employer and the employees. The HRM process plays a number of roles in Harrods which are interconnected to each other in some ways (Julian, 2008). The HRM process in Harrods is responsible for the recruitment of people with suitable skills into the organisation. The new employees in Harrods should be trained regarding the organisational procedures, rules and regulations before they can perform to their maximum ability.

The existing employees in Harrods should also be trained to increase the quality of their skills. The existing employees of Harrods also need development programs to learn new skills and develop their job profile in the organisation. All of these training and development activities in Harrods are handled by the HRM department (Frazier, 2001). One of the most important role of the HRM process in Harrods is to maintain the employee relations. The relation of the management of the organisation with the employees affects the performance of the entire organisation along with the individual employees. The HRM department ensures that the relations of the management of Harrods with its employees is strong and positive. This allows the HRM department to carry out several activities such as audits, appraisals, cultural events, fun activities etc. {Explore Unit 3 : Organizations and Behaviour Free solution}

P1.3 Roles and responsibilities of line managers in the human resource management department at harrods

The line managers are generally the managers at the lower end of the management hierarchy who directly interact with the employees without any managerial responsibilities. The employees reporting to the line managers generally don’t have any managerial responsibility. The line managers play an integral role in the HRM department in Harrods (Frazier, 2001). There are a number of responsibilities of the line managers in the HRM department of Harrods. One of the responsibilities of a line manager in Harrods to ensure that the issues or problems affecting the performance of an employee negatively is removed by the usage of effective and efficient strategies. The line managers in Harrods are also responsible for the setting of goals and targets for the employees reporting to them. The line managers are responsible for the creation of efficient action plans for the modules or projects they are assigned to. The line managers also provide the higher management with the estimation of operational costs. The line managers in Harrods have the responsibility of monitoring the performance of the employees reporting to them closely and provide the higher management the feedback regarding the performance of the employees (Cascio, 1987). The line managers provide the employees the information regarding the deadline of the work assigned to them and ensures that the work in the module or project is on schedule. The line managers Harrods are also responsible for the setup of the status and report calls with the higher management. The line managers are responsible for providing adequate amount of support to the employees.

P1.4 Impact of legal and regulatory framework on harrods human resource management

There are several legal and regulatory frameworks established to ensure the positive and strong relations between the employers and employees. The HRM process in Harrods is affected by these laws and regulations in a number of ways. The employment laws are established to ensure that the employees are not treated unfairly or in an unethical way. The most important regulatory framework in Harrods is the employment contract between the employees and the management. This causes the HRM department to ensure that all the clauses of the employment contract are effectively maintained without any compromise. The employee discrimination act causes the human resource manager in Harrods to treat all the employees equally irrespective of their age, sex, appearance, background or complexion. The regulations related to the maternity situations allows the employees to ask for an extended period of paid leave (Beck, 2003). The paternity rights given to the employees in Harrods should also be exercised by the human resource manager in Harrods. The dismissal act restricts the human resource managers in Harrods to terminate the employment of an employee without any prior notice and genuine reason. The employment laws related to the corresponding industry and market, affect the operations of the human resource managers in Harrods. These employment laws ensure that the employees are satisfied by the work environment and the employer is satisfied by the performance of the employees. The human resource managers in Harrods ensure that their operations in the organisation are according to the guidelines provided by the relevant employment laws.

TASK 2: How to recruit employees

P2.1 Reasons for human resource planning at harrods

The human resource planning can be defined as the process in which the human resources needs of the organisation are identified, anticipated and satisfied in every possible situations. The process of human resource planning can also be defined as the intermediate process between the human resource management and the overall objective of the organisation (Cascio, 1987). This section justifies the requirement of the human resource planning process in Harrods.

Harrods has been in the market for a quite long amount of time, in which it has acquired around 4000 employees along with 3500 additional concession employees. The maintenance and management of this large amount of employees in the organisation requires the implementation of human resource planning process. If the human resource managers in Harrods don’t engage the employees efficiently, then the employees won’t be able to develop their skills and won’t feel satisfied with the job profile and workplace environment. This may lead to higher employee turnover (Weiner, 1972). The effective implementation of the human resource planning process in Harrods allows the human resource managers to effectively plan the usage of the available resources in the various activities in the organisation. This allows Harrods to effectively engage all of its employee strength into valuable work roles and responsibilities and relieve the additional employees. Such an implementation of the human resource planning process in Harrods allows the managers to maintain good relations with the employees and constructive workplace environment.

P2.2 Stages that harrods can adapt in planning human resource requirements

The human resource planning process consists of several stages through which Harrods can implement the process efficiently and effectively. The human resource managers in Harrods have to follow the steps described in this section to ensure the successful implementation of the human resource planning process (Beck, 2003). The first step in the human resource planning process is to notify the senior management regarding the requirement of the human resource planning process.

Then the objectives of the organisation are reviewed closely to identify the extent of the changes required by the implementation of the human resource planning process. Then the HR managers should estimate the human resource requirement of the business processes of Harrods and formulate goals for all of the human resources. The external environment of Harrods affects the supply of the human resources to the organisation. So the external environment of Harrods and the human resource supply are estimated as the next step in the human resource planning process. Then the HR managers in Harrods should compare the internal environment of the organisation with the external environment in terms of the supply and demand of the human resource (Beck, 2003). The HR managers in Harrods should identify the strategic opportunities and threats related to the human resource planning process before implementing any of the strategies. Then the HR managers in Harrods ensure that the analysed gap of the organisation are resolved due to the implementation of the human resource planning process. The most suitable human resource strategy planning is chosen to be implemented among a number of alternative strategies. After the implementation, the human resource planning process is closely monitored to identify the requirements of further changes.

P2.3 Comparison of the recruitment and selection process at harrods with sainsbury

This section compares the recruitment and selection processes used by Harrods and Sainsbury. The recruitment and selection process consists of many stages which interact with each other. The initial step of both the selection process involves the activities of closely analysing the CVs of the applicants to determine the suitability of their profiles for the opening in the organisation. In the second stage of the selection process, the HR managers in Harrods organise a telephonic or video interview of the suitable applicants, whereas the HR managers in Sainsbury conduct a test to determine the reasoning skills of the applicants. The reasoning skill tests allow the HR management to get another in-depth knowledge of the applicants. The mangers in Harrods ask the applicants to attend an assessment centre which includes a group interview as the third stage in the recruitment process (Weiner, 1972). The third stage of the recruitment process in Sainsbury makes the applicant to go through a telephonic interview. The HR managers in Harrods allow the applicant to go through the remaining phases of resourcing interview, line managers’ interview, prepared task and final stage interview. In the final stage of the recruitment process in Sainsbury, the applicant is invited to one of the assessment centre for the analysis of his or her talent and skills.

P2.4 Effectiveness of the recruitment and selection techniques in harrods and sainsbury

As described in the previous section, the organisations Harrods and Sainsbury use fairly similar selection process to recruit a new employee into the organisation. The effectiveness of the selection and recruitment process depends on the strategy of implementation of the process along with the effective monitoring of the processes. The initial stage of the review of the applicant’s resume in both Harrods and Sainsbury allows the HRs to identify the applicants with more relevant skill set for the available opening in the corresponding organisation. This allows the HR managers to determine the suitability of all the applicants according to the job description of the vacancy. The telephonic interview process in both the organisations allows the HR manager to evaluate an applicant on the basis of the requirement of the vacancy and the skills of the applicant (Naff, 2013). The assessment centre used in both Harrods and Sainsbury allows the HR managers to evaluate the performance of an individual applicants in a group of employees. This process allows the HR managers to ensure that the selected applicant is enable to put his or her opinions, views and ideas in front of a group of employees. The HR managers becomes able to identify, analyse and review the interpersonal skills of the applicant along with the ability to work in a team.

TASK 3: How to reward employees in order to motivate and retain them

P3.1 Link between motivation theory and its reward with an application on harrods case study

The motivational theory used in an organisation describes the strategies used by the human resource managers of the organisation to increase the motivation of the employees which in turn allows the increase in the performance and profit of the organisation. The human resource managers in Harrods identify and use the motivational theory in terms of the satisfaction of the personal needs and requirements of the individuals (Beach, 1970). The human resource managers in Harrods perceive the satisfaction of the personal needs and requirements of an individual in the organisation as some amount of motivation to the corresponding employees. Some of the personal needs which can lead to motivation of the employees are the need to feel that the employee can do something well, the need for respect and encouragement from the other employees and the need to be a part of a group. The human resource managers in Harrods connect the satisfaction of the personal needs of the employees to the corresponding rewards provided to him or her at different points of time. The human resource managers in Harrods identify the rewards provided to the employees as financial and nonfinancial rewards. As the non-financial rewards, the employees in Harrods are included in the decision making process, allowed to complete a various types of tasks to contribute to the team and is allowed for promotion. In case of the financial rewards related to the motivational theory in Harrods, the employees are provided with remuneration as the drive for their motivation (Naff, 2013).

P3.2 Process of job evaluation and other factors determining pay with reference to harrods

The human resource managers in Harrods use a number of ways to determine the pay for a particular job specification. There are a number of factors which affect the pay for the corresponding job specification. These factors can be used in the various job evaluation process used in Harrods.The process of job evaluation determines the relative value of a particular job specification in comparison to all the other job specification in Harrods. The job evaluation process can generally be done in two ways. The job description stage allows the human resource managers in Harrods to identify and analyse the responsibilities involved in the corresponding job position in Harrods, the qualifications required for the job specification and the decision making requirements of the job position (Beach, 1970). All of these information and findings regarding a particular position in Harrods allows the human resource managers to determine the relative value of the corresponding job and the amount of the salary that can be paid to an employee in that role according to his total experience and skillset.There are some other factors which affect the total salary offered to the employees working in a specific role and job profile in Harrods. One of the most important factors is the comparison of the salaries offered by the various organisations in the same industry. This factor allows the human resource managers to determine the salary for a particular job specification in relation to the offer from the competitors of Harrods.

P3.3 Effectiveness of reward systems in different contexts with references to harrods

This section describes the effectiveness of the rewards system in Harrods. The rewards system in Harrods is used by the human resource managers to motivate the employees and maintain a positive work environment in the organisation. The effective implementation of the reward system in Harrods allows the human resource managers to closely monitor and observe the employees.

The observation leads to the collection of data related to the performance of the employees. These data can be used by the human resource managers to determine the relative performance of the employees and in turn allows them to determine the appropriate amount of increase in the remuneration deserved by the employees (Klingner, 2003). The reward system allows the employees of Harrods to look forward to the rewards and recognition in return of the work they have done. The effectiveness of the reward system in Harrods depends on the efficient analysis of the job specification along with the work done by the employees in Harrods. The employees of Harrods are provided with a number of key goals which they have to attain and based on that they are provided with some relative rating of their performance (Armstrong, 1977). This relative rating assigned to the employees in Harrods allows the human resource managers to determine the hike in the salary according to the rating. The effectiveness of the reward system also depends on the employee relations in the organisation. The positive relations with the employees and the satisfaction of the employees of the workplace and the assigned responsibilities to them affects the implementation of the reward system.

P3.4 Methods adopted by harrods to monitor employee performance

The human resource managers in Harrods utilise a number of methodologies to monitor the performance of the employees. These methodologies allow the human resource managers in the Harrods to determine the rewards which the employees deserve. The employee performance monitoring is a continuous process which is continued in the entire appraisal cycle.

There are a number of performance monitoring methodologies used by the human resource managers in Harrods (Miner, 1994). The first method to monitor and observe the performance of the employees in Harrods is to check in regularly with the employees regarding the status of their work, their relationship with the other employees and their knowledge about the work of the closest colleague. These monitoring process should be ensured to be done as a check-in process instead of a checking-up process. The employees should not feel threatened by this method. Generally the line managers in Harrods carry out this process to analyse the performance of the various employees (Wanous, 1980). The second methodology to monitor the performance of the employees, the human resource managers arrange timely and regular status meetings. In these meetings, the line managers along with the technical employees describe the higher management regarding the status of the work assigned to them and issues them are facing. Another method used by the line managers in Harrods is to go through the recorded data regarding the status of the corresponding work of each of the employees.

TASK 4: Mechanisms for the cessation of employment

P4.1 Reasons for cessation of employment with reference to harrods

The employment contract of the employees in Harrods allows the employees to leave the organisation at any point after the successful completion of the notice period. The employees in Harrods are allowed to leave the organisation to various types of reasons. The employment contract of the employer with the employees also states a number of situations in which the managers in Harrods may relieve the employees due to a number of reasons (Armstrong, 1977). Some of the reasons for stopping the employment of an employee in Harrods are described in this section. The first possible reason for the cessation of the employment in Harrods may be the poor performance of the employees which reveals the lower capabilities of the employees along with the poor qualifications. Another reason for the cessation of the employment from the human resources managers’ side is due to any of the non-compliance to the code of conduct of the organisation. In some situations, an employee in Harrods may be relieved by the human resource managers due to extra redundancy in the current team. If there is a very big client issue or escalation against the employee which could lead to any damage to the organisation, then the employee is relieved from his or her employment. The employment contract and company policies of Harrods restrict the human resource managers to terminate the employment of an employee without any proper and genuine reason. (See more at Understanding Specific Needs in HSC)

P4.2 Employment exit procedures used by harrods& comparison with SAL Designs

The exit procedures in Harrods ensure that the termination of the employment of an employees from the organisation is ended on good terms. The exit procedures in Harrods allow the human resource managers to smoothly terminate the employment. Both the employees who resigned from their end and the employees who were terminated by the managers go through the same process of exiting from employment. There are a number of exit procedures utilised by the human resource managers in Harrods which includes all the required activities to terminate the employment. One of the employment exit procedures used in Harrods is an interview with the employee leaving the company. The data collected in this interview allows the human resource managers in Harrods to identify and analyse the required changes in the business processes and activities. The employees in Harrods are required to provide the organisation a three weeks of notice period before leaving the company. In this notice period, the human resource managers in Harrods complete all the required formalities before the employee leaves the organisation (Miner, 1994). The employees are required to go through the processes of submitting the artefacts of the organisation before the termination of the employment. All the documents related to the work assigned to the employee leaving the company have to submit to the corresponding alternative. All the knowledge transitions related to the work assigned to the employee leaving the company should be given to the chosen alternative.

Exit procedures in different companies occur differently. As far as the exit procedure in SAL Designs, the exit interview is carried out face to face as well as a written document is being provided to the candidate which features some questions to answer. This also helps in proper documentation of the exit interview. The person who is exiting is asked to provide full details about the knowledge which he/she has and can be useful for the company’s tasks and operations. This knowledge transfer is done in between the person who is leaving and the one who is replacing him. Unlike Harrods, there is just one week of notice period which is very good from the point of view of employees in SAL Designs. Finally the relieving letter is provided to the candidate.

P4.3 Impact of the legal and regulatory framework on employment cessation arrangements with reference to harrods

There are a number of laws and regulations which affects the employment of an employee in Harrods. Some of these employment laws and regulations are related to the employment cessation of any of the employees in Harrods. These laws ensure that an employee is never faced with a termination of employment against his or her will without any genuine and proper reasons (Wanous, 1980). The employment laws of the government and the regulatory frameworks both outside and inside Harrods suggest a various number of situations in which an employee in Harrods is asked to terminate his employment with Harrods. According to the employment laws these situations are limited according to the presence of genuine and effective reasons against the employee. The employment laws and regulations also restrict the employees of Harrods to leave the organisation without any prior notice. The employment laws in Harrods forces the employees to serve a certain amount of notice period before leaving the company.

References

Armstrong, M. 1977. A handbook of personnel management practice (pp. 892-894). Kogan Page. Beach, D. S. 1970. Personnel: The management of people at work. Macmillan. Beck, R. C. 2003. Motivation: Theories And Principles, 4/e. Pearson Education India. Cascio, W. F. 1987. Applied psychology in personnel management. Prentice-Hall. Frazier, L. M., Golbeck, A. L., & Lipscomb, L. 2001. Medically recommended cessation of employment among pregnant women in Georgia. Obstetrics &Gynaecology, 97(6), 971-975. Julian, L. J., Vella, L., Vollmer, T., Hadjimichael, O., & Mohr, D. C. 2008. Employment in multiple sclerosis. Journal of neurology, 255(9), 1354-1360. Klingner, D. E., & Nalbandian, J. 2003. Public personnel management: Contexts and strategies. Miner, J. B. 1994. Role motivation theories. Psychology Press.

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