Unit 22 Assignment on Human Resources Management

Introduction

The term Human Resource Management is been significantly used for describing the précised structure that is been worked out for managing the human resources of any organization. The HR department is accountable for staffing, employee compensation, perquisites and designing work.  The key purpose behind forming HRM within an organization is maximizing the organizations productiveness by advancing the employees effectiveness. Despite of the constantly enhancing pace of changing business world, HRM is unlikely to bring any kind of change in its essential way.According to author Edward L. Gubman, “the basic mission of  human resources  will always be to acquire, develop, and retain talent; align the workforce with the business; and be an excellent contributor to the business. Those three challenges will never change."

HRM also has a strategic role to playin managing people, workplace culture and the environment. An effective HRM can make great contributionsin giving the business a direction and in the achievement of the predefined goals and objectives.

Task 1

1.1 Differentiate between personnel management and human resource management giving examples in two suitable organisations

Human resource management is the process which maximises utilization of available manpower assets to achieve organizational purposes of a business. It nurtures human aspect such as employee relationship and development within an organization in addition to other HR activities like hiring and retention, induction, performance assessment and management, employee welfare and motivation.   (Boxall and Purcell, 2011)

Whereas, Personnel management is the process that focuses on planning, directing and controlling various operational functions such as procurement, development and utilization of labour to achieve aims and interest of organization in best possible manner that is even cost effective at all levels.

In this section difference between personnel management and HRM will be discussed in relation to two organizations namely Higgidy and Tesco. Higgidy is a small restaurant in South East, UK that offers delicious home cooked pies; sausage rolls etc and has made way into UK’s list of promising companies 2016. Currently Higgidy runs its departments through personnel management but has plans to expand in future. Whereas, Tesco is a multinational retailer in UK dealing with grocery and general merchandise. It originated in 1919 and currently operates across 12 countries in Asia and Europe and is leader in UK market. It runs its departments with more structured HRM approach. (Boxall and Purcell, 2011)

The differences between Personnel management and Human Resource Management: 

Dimensions	Personnel Management	Human Resource Management
Approach	Personnel management is concerned about planning and organising management of human resources to achieve outcomes for organization. Example, at Higgidy all activities are planned and implemented to deliver quality food to their customers. So, focus is more on planning and controlling rather than on optimising resources.  (Boxall and Purcell, 2011)	Under human resource management focus is more on utilising skills of available human inventory efficiently to achieve organizational aims. Thus, at Tesco, all activities are carried out under structured process to maintain efficiency and optimisation of efforts to deliver quality outcomes for organization.
Nature	Personnel management is tradition in nature where focus is on management of manpower.	It is modern in nature with focus on nurturing as well as management of manpower. (Boxall and Purcell, 2011)
Function	Regular activities and operational functions are planned by decision taken by management or founder team. Employees have to follow the outline laid so there is less scope of challenges in Higgidy.	Activities are planned and implemented by undertaking careful strategic decisions to manage changes and challenges at work in Tesco. So its function is more strategic in approach.
Allocation of task	As Higgidy has less number of departments so employees have to take multiple responsibilities to manage team activities timely, so allocation is not limited to specialised tasks only.	At Tesco, there are various departments based on specialised roles and functions so tasks are allotted according to specific skills and specialised needs.
Decision making	At Higgidy major decisions are taken by centralised authority.	At Tesco, strategic decisions are taken by engaging cross functional teams and management. Thus decisions that are finalised are more real to meet industrial competency.
Categorization	Tasks are divided into different roles within small individual team at Higgidy so there is no wider classification of job available. (Boxall and Purcell, 2011)	Tasks are divided between cross functional teams to deliver a combined group objective at Tesco. Example, when a customer makes a purchase, various teams get involved in the process beginning from frontline crew members, billing team to delivery team.
Managerial Role	It is transaction in nature.	Managerial role is transformational.
Compensation	At Higgidy compensation of employees is linked to roles handled by teams.	At Tesco, compensation of employees is reviewed on performances.
Correspondence	Correspondence between teams and management of Higgidy is not direct so it can result into lack of understanding and satisfaction among teams.	Correspondence between different teams and management in Tesco is carried out directly through employee forums; group meetings so it results into more fulfilled and satisfied employees.

 

Task 2

2.1 Analyse the reasons for human resource planning

Human resource planning is the function that plans various functional activities for managing of human resources in order to fulfil the organizational objectives effectively by efficient utilization of resources available. Thus it helps in implementation of the proposals that are made by HRM. The reasons HRP is needed within an organization are:

• Prediction of skill shortage: human resource planning identifies the existing supply of labour with an organization and assesses the volume that would fall short due to retirements, cessation, employee turnover etc. Then it forecasts demand of additional labour that would be needed in organization to meet its future capacities. This assessment of skill shortage helps to balance the supply and demand of labour. It also helps to control uncertainties such as sudden death, illness and emergencies through proper labour management. (Bloom and Van Reenen, 2011)
• Managing changes in market and product demand: as changes in market conditions such as economy, customer preferences, market trends and technology are volatile which leads to new product or service development, so arises the need for skill enrichment of employees as well as need to hire new talents within organizations. Thus HRP recognises such changes and plans activities such as Recruitment and selection or Training and Development to deal with changes.
• Manpower management: HRP identifies surplus or shortage of flow of labour. Thus when there is surplus flow of manpower in some areas of organizations then they are positioned in other locations of organization to balance the flow of workforce. Conversely, when there arises shortage, the workforce is shredded to make them more productive.(Bloom and Van Reenen, 2011)
• Performance management and maintaining employee relations: HRP assesses the performance of employees by measuring the contributed level of outcome against the expected level. This is carried out to reward the contributions of employees who have outperformed with benefits, appraisals or recognitions. On the other hand those who have lacked behind are identified and supported with mentoring and training. Thus, it helps to meet employee’s expectations and maintain a strong relationship between employee’s and the organization.   

In the case scenario, HRP is required within organization to check employee turnover. Thus, HRP will help to analyse the reasons for such change and then plan solutions such as recruitment. In order to hire right fit for vacancies HRP needs to match carefully skills requirements with needs of job role so that only right candidates are routed who can be retained for long.

2.2 Outline the stages involved in planning human resource requirements

The stages that are required to plan human resource requirements for case scenario organization can be outlined as:

• Review of organization objectives: in this stage the objectives of organization such as its business priorities, current position and strengths, competitive advantage, policies and budget is identified and reviewed.  This helps to determine and plan future needs and assess it impact on objectives. Example, as the organization is currently facing employee turnover so its objectives would be to hire right personnel at right job and time to achieve its business goals with no additional cost or losses. (Werner and DeSimone,  2011)
• Scan the environment: the next stage would be to assess the internal and external factors of environment that would impact the organization capabilities to fulfil its objectives. The internal factors include workforce profile (such as skill, experience, age etc), organization policies,  structure and culture  whereas external factors include labour market, economic, technological, legislation changes etc. Example, in this case, assessment is made on workforce profile and organization policies to identify reasons for employee turnover and strategise solutions. Also, assessment of labour market trend is also carried to route talented workforce to fill the vacancies. 
• Identify the Gap: in this stage skill gap is identified by assessment of current skills of occupational groups and need in future for potential skills. After skill shortage is identified either plans are made for training or development of existing knowledge resources or recruitment planning is designed to acquire new resources. (Werner and DeSimone,  2011)
• Developing HR plan: in this stage human resource priorities are set and strategic planning is made to fulfil the key objectives of organization. Also budget allocation is considered and stakeholders are engaged and communicated about the developments of plans. Example, in this case, job description and personnel specifications are matched to fulfil key requirements.  
• Measuring progress: after the human resource plan is implemented, focus is made to monitor, record and respond to progress and the changes that are needed to be executed for successful achievement of key organizational objectives. Example, in this case, the organization needs to carry out routine review, observation and communication of progress as well as measure changes.  (Werner and DeSimone,  2011)

2.3Compare the current recruitment and selection process in the organisation with another organisation you recommending

Recruitment and selection process in case study organization:

• Telephonic round: the shortlisted applications received by the organization are contacted for telephonic interview where HR manager learns more about their background, technical skills, experiences and aspirations. Also the applicants have scope to learn more about role and opportunities associated with vacancies. The successful candidates are screened and further invited to participate in psychometric assessment and aptitude test.
• Psychometric and aptitude test: in this stage the successful candidates are asked various role plays and logical interpretations to assess core subject related knowledge, competency level and conscious thinking ability. Also aptitude tests are conducted to assess behaviour and personality of applicants. The scores are provided and evaluations are done to route the final candidate who is offered letter of joining.  (Siavelis, 2012)
• Recruitment and selection process in Tesco: To fill in any proposed vacancy Tesco first sources resources internally through its Internal Talent Plan where existing employees look out for job rotations, promotions, transfers etc. It advertises the vacancy in its intranet for about 2 weeks before sourcing for external applications.
• For external recruitment, Tesco advertises the vacant positions on company website, in stores and in print media such as The Appointment Journal. For in store roles the applications or CV’s are collected in stores or are registered on Job Centre Plus. For managerial roles, CV’s are posted online at websites.   (Siavelis, 2012)

Then begins the selection process, which includes:

• Screening of CV: the received applications are matched with roles and job description needed to be filled and with potential skills. Thus, information is assessed to shortlist eligible candidates who are invited for interview in assessment centre.
• Assessment centre: the shortlisted candidates attend assessment centre where they are made to handle real situation exercises in stores related to job role. Here line managers to choose right candidate who may fit the requirement assess teamwork ability, technical ability and problem solving skills. The successful candidates are informed and invited for second round of interview with project managers. In addition, unsuccessful candidates are sent letters.
• Face-to-Face Interview: the successful candidates face interview with project manager who reviews the feedbacks from assessment centres and line managers. The approved candidate is finally sent offer letter and contract.  (Siavelis, 2012)

2.4 Evaluate the effectiveness ofthe organisation recruitment and selection techniques with another organisation you recommending

The R&S process carried out in case study organization is limited to route right candidate for right job profile because it has basic process such as telephonic round which helps to assess only the background, technical skills, communication and listening abilities. It lacks in assessing job related skills and experiences. Further the other round where candidates are made to appear for psychometric and aptitude test is partially efficient to route best fitting talent because they are not effective in identifying behaviour and response of candidates in real situation exercises which may be faced during handling of job roles. Thus the current R&S process significantly lacks proper planning to meet organizational objectives to reduce employee turnover and hire competent employees who can be retained for long. (Jiang, Lepak, Hu, and Baer, 2012)

On the other hand, the R&S process in Tesco is comparatively better as it checks first internal sources to meet hiring objectives and then goes for external sources when not fulfilled internally. This helps to provide opportunities to internal employees first making them more loyal for Tesco. Secondly, it is cost effective as it saves budget on advertisement and hiring.

Further, when external recruitment is carried out, the process followed by Tesco is more structured to route right fit for job design because it includes various elimination steps. During screening of CV’s surplus applications that do not fit are routed to database to be used for future opportunities. Then during assessment centre round, real exercises are made to handle which helps to identify conscious mental and technical ability of candidates. The approved candidates are further reviewed during second interview before final offer is made. Thus, the process has several elimination and filter rounds to reach to best talent.  (Jiang, Lepak, Hu, and Baer, 2012)

Task 3

3.1 Assess the link between motivational theory and reward at Virgin Media or your chosen organisation

One can describe motivation as a driving force behind an individual’s actions and behaviour undertaken for achieving a certain goal or for fulfilling a need or expectation. It is important to understand the factors motivating an employee at work for ensuring that an organization like Virgin Media just not possesses employees who have the skill and ability of doing the job but are also highly committed in attaining high work standards. Positive behaviours such as taking added responsibilities, helping co-workers, dedication towards achieving of business goalsand targets etc. indicate that employees are motivated. However, negative behaviours such as poor timekeeping, absenteeism, escaping from responsibility and poor customer service are indicators of de-motivated employees. (Cho and Perry, 2012)

The motivation factor of one employee at work differs from that of the other. Virgin Media considers employee welfare as its prior concern and thereby, understands the importance of keeping the employees motivated and engaged and how it is helpful in satisfying the customers, business and the people involved. Reward system, on the other hand is a key HRM practice, which is helpful in enhancing the employees performances and are eventually provided by evaluating the performances and achievement criteria. A reward system and performance evaluation is been designed for development of the employees and promoting motivation with an only purpose of attaining better and more evidentoutcomes. There are times when just getting a fat paycheck might not be enough for an employee to boost his/her motivational levels and maintain the dedication and focus towards the work. Therefore, it is important for a manager in finding new ways for holding employees attention and interest on a certain task or the organization as a whole. Motivational theories like Maslow’s needs- hierarchy theory and rewards are interlinked further imposing enhanced performances. Virgin Media offers rewards like bonus, incentives, promotions, recognition etc. to motivate the employees. (Cho and Perry, 2012)

3.2 Evaluate the process of job evaluation and other factors determining pay at Virgin Media or your chosen organisation

The process of job evaluation is a methodical means adopted by an organization in order to define the worthiness of a job at the workplace for establishing in-houseprospects and providing the base for designing a proper grade structure for grading jobs in the structure and handling relativities.(Bratton and Gold, 2012)

Conferring to Kimball and Kimball Jr., "Job evaluation represents an effort to determine the relative value of every job in a plant and to determine what the fair basic wage for such a job should be."

One can evaluate jobs based on contents and can be placed according to its importance eventually establishing Job Hierarchies which turns into a base  for adequate wage differentials among various jobs.

Job evaluation is abstract in nature and needs relevant factors to be selected for evaluating the job. It is also equally important for Virgin Media in having useful criterion in place for evaluating a job so that during the time of assessing the job performance, any individuality is not involvedin the process and an impartial assessment is done.  (Bratton and Gold, 2012)The key techniques for job evaluation in the existing organizational environment of Virgin Media comprises of three decisive aspects for job evaluation namely jobresponsibilitiesassigned, thinking level involved at workplace and knowledge gained for resolving the issues at work. It is important that ahead of job evaluation, Virgin Media conductjob analysis, which will eventually help in identifying the entire job description. The process of job evaluation considers factors like an employee’s skills, knowledge, leadership quality, customer relation etc. apart from determining the work atmosphere and a job’s complexness. For job evaluation, Virgin Media uses software for measuring 17 dimensions of non-exempt work and 28 dimensions of exempt work that is further used for evaluating staff positionsrelative worth. It eventually focuses on valuing each position’s content in terms of compensable factors that are well defined. Other than job evaluation, there are numerous factors helping in determining theemployees wage such as prior professional experience and salary records including academic qualification, awards, publications, certifications, location, employer industry etc.(Bratton and Gold, 2012)

3.3 Assassin different contexts (for e.g. attracting talent, retention, motivation) how effective is the reward systems at Virgin Media or your chosen organisation

Virgin Media has adopted a reward system where the employees are provided different types of rewards for keeping them motivated and getting the best performances from them thereby, making the system effective at large. If all the standards set by the management are met then at the each quarter end of a financial year, Virgin Media distributes bonuses amid the employees. This encourages the employees in giving their 100% best effort in giving an outstanding performance and taking added bonus. The HR department also selects the best performer every month from each department and awards them with a gift voucher. (Cooper, 2012)

Effectiveness of reward systems at Virgin Media in the context of

• Retention: with the help of rewards like incentives, salary increment or bonuses, Virgin Media has been successful in retaining the employees who might in future think of quitting the job for any other better opportunity. Moreover, the management in consultation with the HR department provides the employees leisure time, pension, staff privilege cards for holding them back. With the help of this kind of a reward system, Virgin Media has been constantly trying in fulfilling the employees’ needs simultaneously keeping them engaged by applying measures that are more constructive. (Cooper, 2012)
• Attracting talent: Virgin Media also uses the reward systemsfor attracting the new talent and has been successful in employing a large number of human resources every year. With the help of training and development, Virgin ensures that the new talents are involved with the existing human resources at the workplace further allowing the ability of the current employees torise. At Virgin Media, the employees are provided with opportunities of gaining momentum through rewards that might be in the form of money, bonus and promotions eventually helping them in working effectively.
• Motivation: as specified by Maslow’s theory of motivation, reward system is one of the key tools that is been used for keeping the employees motivated. By implementing a proper wage structure, incentives, training and other basic achievements, Virgin Mediahas achieved success in promoting employee motivation and enhancing their productiveness. The company believes in  decision making  an investment on the employees, as they understand that engaged and motivated employee’s further lead into pleased customers which in turn leading to a shareholder gain.(Cooper, 2012)

3.4 Examine the methods Virgin Media or your chosen organisation use to monitor employee performance

If managersare unaware of how the team members are performing at work then they will have no idea of how to reward the outshining employees neither will they know when an employee is need of their assistance or when terminatethe underperformers. Therefore, it is important to measure and manage the employees’ performance further allowing the manager in accurately gauging the employees’ efficiencies, identifying the hard workers and underperformers, determining the measures of properly compensating theworkforce and improvingthe overall productivity of the workplace. (Rakos, 2014)

Various ways of monitoring employees performances is adopted by Virgin Media where the Team leader and Department manager closely monitors employees while they work. Employees are just not monitored for thetask assigned but also for discipline, cooperativeness etc. The team leader documents every employee’s performances and once in every two months the HOD organizes an open meeting where they are provided with performance feedbacks. As a part of performance monitoring, employees logbook is also been checked. The management reviews the daily performance reports and convey their views through the line managers.

Monitoring employees’ performance without turning out to be invasive or controlling is the toughest managerial challenge.

Mentioned below are the ways of monitoring employee performance at Virgin Media:

• RegularChecks: visiting the employees’ desk inadvertently in different times is apparently the best way of keeping a tab on their performances and cultivating healthy professional relations further allowing the manager to foresee the hurdles. (Rakos, 2014)
• Organizing stand-up meeting: the manager conducts an update meeting ahead of starting the day-to-day operations where the employees need to exchange operational information with the others. By practicing these kinds of meetings has allowed the manager in generating organization and shared responsibility amid theemployees
• 360-degree assessment: with the help of this tool an employee’s performance is been evaluated through multiple sources such as superiors, peers and subordinates. This kind of surveys works best when the results are discussed with the employee for their feedback and long –term learning.
• Use whiteboards: the manager uses whiteboards where the employees’ goals and achievements are displayed further acting as a tool for monitoring performance specifically while dealing with goals and results that are measurable. There are times when these whiteboards are also used in celebrating the success of an employee. (Rakos, 2014)

Task 4

4.1 Identify the reasons for termination of Faisal’s employment contract with The Chicken Masterand generally explainother reasons for cessation of employment

Thereasons behind the termination of employment contract withChicken Master was his constant poor performanceand violation of the policies of the restaurant. Bob was impressed from Faisal’s 15 years of experience in managing a restaurant but he turned out to be a strikeout. Under his supervision, Bob noticed that the front of the eatery was neitherproperly cleaned and nor the kitchen was stocked and was messed up. Bob realised that Faisal would take frequent time-off without informing anyone for doing his personal business. Despite of Bob personally trying to train Faisal any improvements were not seen. On investigating more Bob discovered that Faisal would regularly watch pornography on his computer, mailing his wife, helping his daughter with her homework and even planning his own restaurant. Faisal would also take the restaurant’s equipments for personal use which was violation of Chicken Master’s policies which he was made aware the day he joined. All these activities forced Bob to terminate Faisal on grounds of inappropriate behaviour at work.

Other reasons for cessation of employment

Business Conditions: In case, an organization is facing a financial crunch over a long period of time or the economic condition is slowing down or there is a recession, many companies choose to fire thousands of its employees and hand them the layoff notice. (Collins, Ewing and McColgan, 2012)

Most of the organizations compile a descriptive list of misconducts that can result into termination without notice or without pay in lieu of notice.

• Absence for three consecutive working days without prior notice can lead to termination
• Tampering with personnel or pay records, forged employment application or health records, deceiving official records, sending false mails and communicating in someone else’s name.
• Immoral or indecent conduct in office premises that might bring discredit to the company
• Unjustifiable neglect of duties, infringementandinsubordination
• Theft, mishandling of funds and/or unofficial use or removal of company’s property

4.2 Describe the employment exit procedures used by The Chicken Master and another organisation of your choice

In Chicken Master, employment exit procedure is done in both written form and is also carried out face to face. In the written form, the employee is provided with a document featuring certain generic questions. It further helps in documenting and keeping a record of the entire exit interview. The concerned employee is requested to share his/her knowledge gained in detail, which might be useful for the restaurant’s future operations. The transfer of knowledge is done amid the employee who is leaving and his/her subordinate. The employee needs to serve a notice period of 1 week and on the completion of the period, a relieving is provided.  (Si and Li, 2012)

Employment exit procedures at Barclay’s covers four steps namely Resignation processing, Exit interviews, Reference requests and Evaluation. Once an employee submits the resignation letter, the HR Manager will evaluate the same and convey the final day of work and the floor manager will be informed so that any new work is not assigned to that employee and the incomplete tasks are designated to others. An exit interview is organized where the employee is asked the reason behind his/her decision of resigning. After the exit interview is over, the line manager offers the employee with references, if he/she needs so for future endeavours. In the final stage, HR Manager will evaluate the exit procedure and if any changes are required will implement them at the earliest. (Kidwell -Ross, 2011)

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

The legal and regulatory frameworkson employment cession arrangement differs from one nation to the other. In UK specifically in England and Wales, an employer can terminate an employee at any time if the contract is over or they provide proper notice. However, the government of UK has enforced certain employment laws for the safety of the employees and further prohibiting the employers from dismissing anyemployee unreasonably or unjustifiably.(Gallagher and Underhill, 2012)

In case an employee is been dismissed wrongfully then he/she can drag the employer to the tribunal and if the employer is found to be guilty can be forced to compensate a huge amount to the victim. Thus, it is important that Chicken Masterpursue the legal way while terminating an employee and ensures that it is not involved in breach of employment contract.

Moreover, Chicken Mastercan terminate the employment contract on the grounds of redundancy, incapability, misconduct, illegality, planned retirement. Any employee who has worked in an organisation for more than a year cannot be dismissed without these reasons. According to the ACAS code, it is mandatory that the employer consider any of the above-mentioned reasons for terminating an employee without facing a claim. It is also equally important that if the employer determinesof dismissing an employee based on incapability, misconduct, illegality etc. it mustundergo fair practices such as consultation, warning etc.(Gallagher and Underhill, 2012)

Conclusion

At the end, it can be concluded that HRM is needed for efficient managing of the most invaluable element of an organization i.e. human resources. HRM is also helpful in employee motivation and fulfilling their needs and seeing into their performances at work. In this report, HRM’s and personnel management’s different aspects have been discussed along with the evaluation of their impact on an organization. A discussion has been done on how the use of motivational theories is helpful for an organization in enhancing the employees’ performances. With the help of human resource planning an organization can own the right skills and better competencies that are needed in attaining the goals of an organisation.

References

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice.Kogan Page Publishers.
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Collins, H., Ewing, K.D. and McColgan, A., 2012. Labour law. Cambridge University Press.
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Kidwell -Ross, Ranger. (2011).  Employee Exit Procedures and Guidelines (Online) Available at http://www.worldsweeper.com/EmployeeManagement/EmployeeExitPolicies.html  Accessed on 26/7/2016