National Training Infrastructure and Competitive Advantage in Biscuit Manufacturing

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TASK 1

What are the issues with the resourcing and development in biscuit manufacturing companies in the UK?

Farmhouse biscuit Ltd have been facing some issues with the resource and development which are explained below:

Volatility in raw material prices

The key ingredients which Farmhouse biscuit Ltd uses in the process of manufacturing of biscuits are flour, sugar, wheat, butter, cocoa etc. are getting costlier in the wholesale market. For instance prices of milk and sugar has gone up by 4.5% and 5.5% respectively in the year between 2013-2017. UK are price sensitive and that is why Farmhouse biscuit Ltd is facing difficulty to increase in the prices and if they don't shareholders of the company will realize the reduction in profit. Farmhouse biscuit Ltd cannot control the prices of the raw materials which are used in making biscuits but they can surely devise some strategy so that they can be prepared for the fluctuations in the pricing of the market. Farmhouse biscuit Ltd are now using the method of Tech Sci Research so that they can improve the value chain and provide them with the intelligence of market. It also helps in facilitating the channel of distribution and developing the product and improving the strategies of sales. (Riley, Michael and Mahoney, 2017)

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Low acceptance of premium range biscuit

The premium range biscuit is generally being preferred by the urban people. These products are generally not accepted by the rural people. So Farmhouse biscuit Ltd finds it very difficult for the selling the biscuit to these rural people. Tech Sci Research have provided with the customized solution to deal with the rural people price problem, but Farmhouse biscuit Ltd is finding it very difficult to work out of this problem. Farmhouse biscuit Ltd has to look into new areas so that they can sell there product and diversify there customer base.

Highly fragmented market

Farmhouse biscuit Ltd is facing a high level of competition from many other companies. These companies who operates on a large scale has a diversified product portfolio which has resulted in increased the fragmentation of markets for the biscuits. This factor is taking the time of companies and not letting them focus on the sales of a single brand. This lead to increase in the promotional activities conducted by Farmhouse biscuit Ltd which created a huge amount of expenditure for them. Companies need to partner or tie up with someone so that they can understand the local areas and spread awareness of their products in those areas. Farmhouse biscuit Ltd should start to look for markets which are untapped and thus increase there customer base. If Farmhouse biscuit Ltd makes a share in that market then they will have the leverage over their competitors.

Impact of Brexit

Brexit has been a hurdle for Farmhouse biscuit Ltd due to the exit of European Union from UK.(Ognjenović, 2015) The reason behind this is that new policies has been formed which has affected the economy badly and the political environment is also not stable. This will have long termed impact on Farmhouse biscuit Ltd. After this effect either Farmhouse biscuit Ltd will have to go through fewer profits or else consumers will have to pay more for the products as company will increase the prices of the products. In order to face this implementation of new policy Farmhouse biscuit Ltd should adopt a solution with a viable long term approach. All the companies be it bigger or smaller will face many problems due to this issue. If they come up with a new long term plan which can absorb these factors then they will not be affected. For that Farmhouse biscuit Ltd needs to analyse and predict the demand and supply for a long term. They have conducted research in both international and domestic markets which will help them to formulate and plan a strategy so that they can maintain their operations easily.

TASK 2

Why is the UK productivity level of biscuit manufacturing companies lower than companies in continental Europe?

The productivity level are certainly lower than the continental Europe because of the reason given below:

Low labour productivity

In UK, the productivity level are very low as compared to the European countries. An analysis have shown that the labour in British are producing 16 per cent less than the European countries. So, Farmhouse biscuit Ltd is facing problem as there labours are not as efficient as in other country so there productivity is lower.(Davis, 2019) In a GDP graph of 2016, it was shown that the average production of a French labour by Thursday is more than the UK labour in the whole week. The country needs to deal with this problem as there is a lot of competition in the international market which the companies like Farmhouse biscuit Ltd will have to deal.

Slow pace

In the mid 90s the productivity of UK was highest than any other European country like France, Germany etc., but the growth that UK was having was way slower than these countries. So in the coming 50 years the growth of productivity level gradually decreased as compared to other European country. Britain’s slowdown has been more dramatic than any leading western economy So now the biscuit manufacturing company like Farmhouse biscuit Ltd is facing the reduced level of productivity. In the UK GDP per hour worked, the main measure of productivity, has risen by just 2.2% since 2010, less than a third the rate seen in Germany. If this continues than there will be more and more problem such as more competition from foreign market.

Brexit

The biggest reason for the setback of UK productivity is the separation of UK from the European Union. The food manufacturing is been damaged the most as there supply from the European Union has been cut. The food manufacturers received a large amount of raw material from the European Union for their production which they are not going to receive. Farmhouse biscuit Ltd needs to look for alternative source of supply for the continuous production of there biscuit. They may find the supplier more expensive than before as European Union supplied them at cheaper rates. So, Brexit has resulted in low level of productivity in UK, therefore companies like Farmhouse biscuit Ltd has to work out some strategies in order to survive thus crisis.(Ajamieh, 2016)

Low capital investment

The capital investment in the biscuit manufacturing seemed to be pretty lower, this may also be the cause of the low production. The government has should provide subsidy on the capital requirement so that the companies like Farmhouse biscuit Ltd can also bring more and more machines in order to increase there productivity level. The other European countries are making more and more investment in the capital requirement goods. Thus, there productivity levels are more than the UK.

Unskilled labours

The number of unskilled labours which in the biscuit industry are high in UK so the company like Farmhouse biscuit Ltd facing problems. The unskilled labours reduce the efficiency of the productivity. England had one of the largest proportions of low-skilled young workers among advanced economies. Farmhouse biscuit Ltd need to recruit skilled labours in their organisation so that there work could be done effectively and efficiently.

TASK 3

What HR practices can UK biscuit manufacturing companies used to increase their competitiveness in the marketplace?

There are a variety of HR practices which Farmhouse biscuit Ltd can do so that they can increase the competitiveness in the market, these are discussed below:

Provide security to employees

The employees of the organisation expects that they get a stable environment so that they can work there without changing there job time to time. Like in any other company Farmhouse biscuit Ltd there is a formal contract between both the employees and the employer which includes every detail regarding the job. This includes the working hour, pay, bonus, time period for which the contract is valid etc., thus it provides the security to the employee.

Hiring the right person

Selective hiring helps HR in bring those employees who will enhance the value of Farmhouse biscuit Ltd. If Farmhouse biscuit Ltd anyone then they will have to provide them with more training in order to make them efficient and the employee may leave the organisation soon as they don't like the work too, therefore selective hiring will lead to efficient employee being selected and the staff turnover is reduced to the minimum. This will also result in gaining competitive advantage over there rivals HR of Farmhouse biscuit Ltd can take the help of various tools to check the eligibility of prospective candidates. They even of to keep on an eye on the existing employees that whether they are performing up to the market then only Farmhouse biscuit Ltd will be able to increase their revenues.

Self managed and effective team

The success of Farmhouse biscuit Ltd is also hidden in the excellent team management of the company. An effective team will lead to the achievement of the goal more effectively and efficiently. Farmhouse biscuit Ltd need to remember that the team selected is adaptive to the changes in the external as well as internal environment. HR of Farmhouse biscuit Ltd needs to encourage different teams to work together in the organization as this will facilitate to built a strong organisation.(Zeebaree and Siron, 2017)

Fair and performance based compensation

HR needs to pay a fair wage if they want their employee remain in the organisation, as paying them lesser than what they deserve results in demotivating the employee which in turn leading to employees looking for new jobs. These are well discussed in advance when the employee is joining the organisation, so any change at the time of payment will lead to frustration in the employees. Therefore, fare compensation will lead to increase in the employee motivation. Farmhouse biscuit Ltd has dealt with this very efficiently as all there employees are happy and there staff turnover is very low as compared to other company in the same industry.

Training

Farmhouse biscuit Ltd has a department specifically for training people who are not efficient and they require training to be eligible for working in the biscuit industry. After hiring them they need to make sure that they are experienced and front runners in this field, which will help Farmhouse biscuit Ltd achieve there goal. Internet has increased the scope of courses which are on demand because now people can stay connected all the time and learn things anytime and anywhere. Also, now Farmhouse biscuit Ltd have been started to use the technology to give training to the employee wherever they want to. The current generation is eager to learn new things and also they have potential to do so, there biscuit company like Farmhouse biscuit Ltd can use this to their own advantage.(Sook-Ling, Ismail and Yee-Yen 2015)

CONCLUSION

From this report we have come to a conclusion that the company is performing well in there industry but they are currently facing some challenges which they are trying to deal with. The company has the major threat of Brexit, which has been briefly discussed in the first and second task.

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