Question :
The purpose of this report is to analyze critical working approaches of HRM within an organization by identifying its roles and responsibility. Furthermore, the influence of HRM decision making over business operations of a firm is also determined.
- Determine the scope and purpose of Human resource management in context of talent and skill management within Sainsbury.
- Critically analyze the appropriateness of strategic elements of HRM in Sainsbury.
- Provide a clear understanding upon the employment legislation as well as determine impact of internal and external factor over decision making of HRM.
- Clearly define application of HRM practices related to a workplace context.
Answer :
INTRODUCTION
Human Resource Management plays crucial role in organizational success and growth. The framework is mainly concerned with managing and controlling employees of a company in an effective and efficient manner(Bratton, J and Gold, J., 2012). In each small and large scale company, there is a Human Resource Department that is concerned towards executing various activities such as recruitment, selection, training and development, employee retention, compensation and benefits etc. It is a kind of resource-oriented approach that mainly emphasize on how to maintain and retain employees for longer period as they possess great contribution in generating firm’s revenues or profits. The chosen organization for this report is Sainsbury which is a leading Supermarket chain in U.K. It covers the various purpose and function of HRM, advantage and disadvantages of recruitment and selection, application of different HRM practices, significance of employee relation and effectiveness of different HRM practices.
TASK 1
P1 Function and purpose of Human resource management
Human Resource Management is the most important part of an organization as it help in managing and controlling the workforce in a structured and thorough manner. Workforce planning is also considered as an essential element which perform key role in operating business activities systematically. The main objective of human resource management is to render significant direction to their workers which ultimately help them in developing their overall productivity and performance. Every organization aims at hiring skilled and talented HR manager whoeffectively manage all resources of the firm so that growth and success can be attained in an appropriate way. The major purpose of executing Human Resource Department is to make proper utilization of available resources in respect to eliminating or minimizing the wastage at workplace and create benefit for the business in terms of earning higher profitability. As a large public retail company, Sainsburyfocused on employing a skilled HR manager who is able to take responsibility and work incredibly hard towards achieving organizational objective through managing organizational activities in a cost effective and timely manner. The primary responsibility of HR manager is to provide guidance and direction to others in respect to implement their vast efforts towards higher productivity and performance of the company. Manager of Sainsbury motivate their workers by enhancing their skills and knowledge at workplace which further create value in accomplishing their desired goal within stipulated time frame. There are different functions that are carried out by human resource management at workplace. Some of the common functions are discussed below:
Orientation: This is the first and foremost function mainly performed by HR department at workplace. When a company hires new candidate it become primarily important for them to make them familiar with the organization and its working environment. Orientation means making new employee familiar with the work force and the entire business environment of the company. It is the duty of HR manager to conduct an orientation programme for new employees so asprovide them proper detailsregarding their job profile and the responsibilities qualities which are required to be carried out by them at workplace. Sainsbury arranges orientation programme for their employees which gives them clarification regarding their assigned duties so that they can actively perform their role in the company(Brewster, C and Hegewisch, A. eds., 2017).
Maintaining good working condition: Is the chief responsibility of the HRM to provide healthy working condition to the workers so that they me like the work environment and the workplace. It is the fundamental duty of every HR manager to motivate and inspire their employees so that they can work incredibly hard towards achieving organizational objective.
Managing employee relations: Workers are the pillars of any business enterprise. Employee relation is one of the crucial function of HRM because they possess the ability to influence work output and behaviour of employees(Chelladurai, P and Kerwin, S., 2017). Management needs to organize various activities that help in knowing an employee both at the personal and professional level. Well planned employee relation encourage a balanced and healthy relation among the employer and employee. Basically, it is the key for the company to be successful.
Training and development: Another important function of HRM is to train and develop their employees so that they can work more effectively and efficiently towards attaining business objectives within given time frame. It is the main duty of every HR manager to conduct training programs or sessions for their work force that provide them appropriate practical knowledge regarding attempting their roles and responsibilities in a systematic manner. Sainsbury also conduct training session for their personnel that help in improvingtheir overall productivity and performance which ultimately benefits the firm as well.
P2 Strength and weakness of different HRM practices
Recruitment refers to the process of searching and hiring most suitable and talented candidate for the company. It basically deals with finding a competent candidate andstimulates them to apply for job in the respective firm. There are two sources of recruitment one is internal and other is external. Internet deals with selecting employee within the company only mainly through promotion and transfer. External source of recruitment deals with hiring suitable employees from outside theorganization such as employment exchange, direct recruitment, walk-ins, advertisement etc.
On the other hand, selection refers to the process of choosing most appropriate and suitable candidate from the pool of applicants. Both recruitment and selection plays important role in an organization in terms of maintaining and ensuring the proper flow of employees at work place. The primary duty of every HR manager is to put right employee at right place and at right time. It mainly encompasses searching, screening, shortlisting, testing, interviewing and selecting most suitable candidate for the given vacant profile. Sainsbury recruit employees mainly through internal and external source. Each is having its own strength and weakness which are discussed below:
Strength of Internal Sources:
Recruitment costs are lower: When a company finds suitable employee from inside the company only then there is no need to spend extra money for advertising about job vacancies. Thus, it helping saving both time and money. Moreover, existing selected employees are fully aware of the operating policies and procedures of the company that means they required little training and thus, it brings economy in training cost.
Improves employer morale: When a worker is selected within the organization and gives higher post to them its assist in improving the morale of all other employees as well. Normally every employee expect promotion to a higher post that provide them more status and pay.
No error in selection: When a company select employees from inside, there is less chances of selection errors as every company maintains proper record of all its employees which further help in judging them in a proper manner(CHUANG, C. H and Liao, H. U. I., 2010).
Weaknesses of internal sources of recruitment:
Can create conflict amongst employees: At certain times, hiring employee from inside the company may lead to create conflict among workers which negatively impact their morale. For example: If companies is already having someone in their mind for the vacant position then the other staff who have applied for the same role may feel de-motivated. It might seem like a minor issue but it reduces overall team morale due to which entire profitability of the company may suffers.
Lack of pool of talent:Recruiting internally might easier or quicker but it severally limiting the talent pool i.e. lack of innovative and talented personnel in company(Dacin, P. A., Dacin, M. T andMatear, M., 2010).
Strength of external source of recruitment:
Availability of suitable person: External source provide wide choice to the management. Large number of applicants have applied for given job vacancy which gives firm the option to choose the most talented and skilled among them.
Bring new ideas: Selecting a new person from outside sources provides the benefit of new and creative idea. The person that has been selectedfrom external sources have great experience in other concern and can suggest new things and methods as that benefits the whole organization.
Economical: The given method economical because selected employees are already trained and experienced and do not require much training for their given job.
Weaknesses of external source of recruitment:
Demoralization: When a new candidate joins the organization from outside there might be chances that present employees may feel demoralized because these positions should have gone to them.
Lack of co- operation: There might be possibility that old staff may not able to co-operate with the new candidates because they feel that there right and positions has been snatched away from them due to new employees.
TASK 2
P3 Benefits of different HRM practices for both employee and employer
Human resource management is an important concept for attaining organization growth and success. It is the combination of various aspectssuch as recruiting, managing, selecting, controlling and hiring a people at work place. The most essential activity ofHRM practices is performance management. The role of HR manager is to ensure that each and every employee performs effectively and efficiently towards achieving business objective. Sainsbury implementing various HRM practices that help in attaining desirable goals and objectives in an appropriate manner. Some of the benefits of HRM practices for both employee an employer are discussed below:
Developing Employee’s skill: Human resource management is the most essential source that play key role in growth and development of company or its operation. With the help of effective HRM practices, performance and skills of employees can be increased which ultimately leads to increase its overall productivity.
Building an effective working environment: In a company, manageis accountable for performing various task related with management function. The main responsibility of employer is to establish healthy and effective working environment that encourages and motivates people to work incredibly hard towards achieving business objective(Fulton, E. A and et. al., 2011). Sainsbury makes an effort to build up an adaptable working environment that gives variousbenefits to staff members. If employees are satisfied with their working environment, chances of completing the work within defined time frame increases that ultimately leads to generate higher profitability ratio.
Promoting good behaviour: It is also an essential practice of company which needs to be followed by every business entity as to manage and control the nature and attitude of workers at workplace. It is the primary duty of HR Manager to evaluate the behavior of employee at work place in regards to encouraging them towards gaining growth and development(Guest, D. E., 2011). Positive employee assist in increasing the growth of the company through implementing effective tools and strategies at right place. In addition to that they also play role in maintaining firm's brand image in the market. Sainsbury laid stress on analyzing the behavior of their workers that help them in grabbing the attention of people in an effective manner at marketplace
P4 Effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organizational productivity
Innovative and high performing employee: It has been believe that companies HRM practices promote innovative environment that motivates employees to work incredibly hard towards achieving business objectives in an effective manner. Moreover it also provide better facilities that help them to take initiative regarding increasing company’s productivity as well as profit.
Effective direction setting and execution: Both Managers and leaders assist in setting the purpose, direction, goals, roles, priorities and responsibilities of the employees. With the help of effective HRM practices Sainsbury can recruit appropriate manager for the right place at right time which leads the company to the higher place with higher productivity and profitability.
Team and individual goal with effective communication: HRM practices also assist in framing and attaining both team and individual goal. The role of communication is very important. It is essential for managers to choose appropriate communication channel that transfer their message directly among employees without hampering their work. Effective mode of communication leads to generate better relation among employee and employer.
Effective reward drive performance: It has been believed that if effective rewards are given to employees on the basis of their work performance, it will motivate and inspire them work more incredibly hard. Rewards can be either in the form of monetary or in the form of non-monetary. Monetary factors includes giving higher pay or incentive to employee for their work. On the other hand non-monetary factors covers holidays trip, sense of recognition, sense of achievement etc.
Sharing and collaboration: Profitability and productivity of the company increases magically when others from outside the business feels freely to collaborate and shares their unique and creative ideas. It help the firm in gaining higher competitive advantage in the market.
TASK 3
P5 Significance of employee relation
Employees relation is an important element each small and large scale business. In today's competitive area it is important for each company to establish effective relationship with employees so that work can be carried out with proper coordination and co-operation. A natural relationship often creates with an association towardsfulfillment of specialist but ultimately leads to increase company’s proficiency of work. The key motivation behind the administration of human assets is make effective connection among employee and employers that leads to fulfill the requirement of the company in an appropriate manner(Halbesleben, J. R., 2010). A good relation needs to be develop or generated among higher authorities and subordinates as they play vast role in in solving the conflict and issues that are mainly faced by employees at workplace. The entire functioning of the company is depend upon how effectively their works or contribute. This can only become impossible if they share good relationship among each other. Both employees and employers plays key role in executing organizational activities in a proper manner. Therefore, company needs to involve them in decision making process that makes them feel that valued and important at work place. Some of the importance of employee relation are discussed below:
1. Team building plays crucial role in completing each and every business activity in an effective and efficient manner. Therefore it is primary important for each organization is to prepare or develop team by implementing good relationship among workers(Hobfoll, S. E., 2011).
2. It is important for companies to maintain a formal relationship among workers in respect to formulating appropriate decision and strategies that are beneficial for company growth and success. Being a public limited company, Sainsbury mainly emphasize on developing friendly relationship with their employees that help them in gaining highercompetitive advantage and higher profitability ratio.
3. A healthy working environmental assist in providing higher satisfaction among employees because there is less possibility of misunderstanding and conflict among them.
4. Sharing good relationship among employees helping accomplishing business pre-defined goals and objective in a cost effective and timely manner through working with more collaboration and passion.
P6 Key elements of employment legislation and its impact upon HRM decision making
It is important for every company to maintain the employment legislation while hiring the new candidate as well as for running employees. However, these legislation have critical impact on the HRM decision making of the entity. Some of the major elements of employment legislation are discussed below:
Defining position: At the time of recruitment, the primary responsibility of every HR manager is to define job position to new employees and makes them familiar with working environment. In addition to that, managers are also required to describe roles and responsibilities related to their position as well. Cleared roles and responsibility makes them motivated and encouraged.
Proper compensation: The Company needs to describe the compensation scheme for the workforce at the time of recruitment only. The company to give detail regarding minimum wages, length of working hours, incentives and rewards etc. Once the proper agreement is done on everything the company is liable to select their desired employee.
Ensuring equality: Every company must ensure the equality and give fair chances to all employees. Under this act, the company is not liable to do discrimination on the basis of age, gender or sex. Equal and fair opportunities should be given to each and every employee which gives them the chance to develop and grow themselves both personally and professionally. However if any discrimination found in the concerned company, the consequences impacts adversely on their overall functioning and performance.
Time of work: Every employee must aware of their working hour which daily or weekly working are required to perform the defined task(Kim, H. R and et. al., 2010). There are certain situations when employee perform the overtime duties. In such circumstances, company is liable to pay them extra for their overtime work.