Unit 9 HRM for Service Industries

This is a HRM for Service Industries Assignmentin which we discuss human resource management in service industry.

Introduction

HRM or Human Resource Management in an organisation is the process by which the human resources in an organisation are planned, selected, trained and retained. Hence the main functions of HRM are Human Resource Planning in which the human resource needs of the organisation are planned keeping into consideration the various environmental factors. The next function is recruitment and selection of employees through various processes like interviews, written tests, aptitude tests etc. Another important function is training and development of the employees of the system. Providing the benefits of compensation along with other perks in another function called Employee retention. These various aspects of human resource management hold true for all kinds of organisation including the service sector. The given assignment studies these aspects with respect to Education Service Sector.

Task A

a.

Analyze the role and purpose of Human Resource Management in the education sector.

Human resource management is basically the process of planning, acquiring, training and managing human resources in an organisation. This is done in such a way that the efficiency of the employee and the profitability of the organisation are maximized. As education is a service industry, delivering quality services to the customer is very essential to ensure customer satisfaction. Hence the human resource management has many roles to play in the education sector. (Ghobadian, Speller & Jones, 1994). This has been discussed below:

Human Resource Planning:The human resource department is responsible for planning of the human resources like professors, associate professors, back office staff and administrative positions. The planning for human resources is done on the basis of forecasting techniques like number of employees retiring from the job, employees going on long term leave, new courses being opened in the education sector.The planning of requirements of the employees in the education sector would depend on the nature and scale of the organisation.

Recruitment and Selection: The critical success factor for any service sector organisation like educational institutes is to ensure quality services to the customers. For this the HR department plays a very significant role as it helps in the recruitment and selection of highly qualified personnel in the educational institute. The main aim of recruitment is to attract a number of employees towards the desired job vacancy. This may be done by advertisements in the newspapers, campus recruitment drives. The selection process involves the implementation of various techniques like interviews, aptitude tests, written tests etc to choose the right candidate for the job in the education sector.
Employee Compensation and Perks: The human resource department is also responsible in the design and implementation of attractive compensation and perks for the employees in the education sector. This will help in the getting the best candidates for the job and also keep them motivated. The policy of compensation and perks should be at par with the industry standards. This will help in getting quality staff which will further help to get quality services for the customers.
Training and Development of Employees:Though the education industry provides knowledge to students, the training of the staff of the education industry is also required. This is responsibility of the human resource department. Training and development function of the education sector is to ensure that the knowledge and skill of the professors are according to the recent trends. The HR manager develops training sessions and workshops for this. The HR department also makes sure that the employee is technically skilled and competent to succeed the next position.
Performance Management:The HR management is also responsible for developing an appropriate system for performance management. This keeps the employees at the educational institute motivated and determined to put in the best of their efforts to deliver quality services to their customers. The human resource department looks after the career planning of the employees.
Overall Welfare of Employees: Lastly, the human resource department takes active interest and plays a significant role in taking care of the overall welfare and healthcare of the employees in the educational institute. This includes providing clean and safe working environment with basic amenities like clean drinking water. The HR department also plays a vital role in ensuring health services like medical cover and wellness programs to the employees. The HR manager also ensures that the employees are able to maintain a perfect work life balance. Human resource management also plays the role of looking after the overall growth and development of the employees which includes mental, social and physical health.

b.

Justify a human resource plan based on an analysis of demand and supply for educational service sector.

Human Resource Planning (HRP) is an important function of Human resource management. HRP is often done in line with the goals of educational institute. The purpose of HRP is to develop human resource plans to ensure that the right kind of people get the right job. plan aims to get the right people at the right positions at the right time. All HR plans have four major steps:

The most important step of the human resource plan is to make forecasts regarding the supply and demand of workforce. The forecasts of the future are mainly based on the idea of the HR manager about the uncertainties in the near future and an in-depth analysis of the environment. For example if the HR manager analysis that a number of employees are retiring from the job in the educational institute, he has to make plans for recruiting new employees in the institute (Jackson& Schuler, 1995).

The demand and supply forecasting involves forecasting the supply of human resources from both internal and external sources by using methods like trend analysis, skill inventories, labor market, replacement charts, competency models and succession planning.

Forecasting HR demand is also done by making approximations of the employee requirements by using methods like Delhi technique, regression analysis, scenario analysis, vacancy analysis.

A human resource plan based on forecasting of demand and supply in the education sector stands justified because it offers the following advantages:

More efficient use of human resources.
Offers a formal and systematic approach for human resource planning.
Estimates the future trends in the demand and supply of employees.
Basis of all other HR functions like recruitment, selection, training development.
Aim to improve the efficiency of the employees and the profitability of the institute.
Decreases the time taken to fill vacancies.

c.

Assess the current state of employment relations in the education service sector.

The education services sector is considered to be the third largest employer in the United Kingdom. The education sector provides a number of employment opportunities to people in the form of pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher education, special needs and vocational (dance, sports, music) education, adult and long distance education. The main employers include colleges, universities and local education authorities.

The current state of employment relations in the education sector involves a cohesive and friendly environment where employees of all levels work together as a team. The remuneration and other benefits offered to the employees in the education sector are dependent on the type of job the employee is involved in and the kind of institute he is working for. For example a Head of Department of the institute will get more salary than an associate professor. A professor in an education institute of private sector will be more than in an education institute of the public sector. (Steyn&Niekerk, 2007).

In addition to teaching, the job profile in the education sector includes making lesson plans and assignments also in marking. Employment relations in the higher education involve working in the evening and also in the summer break.

The introduction of special rules and regulations by the government to decrease the spending of the general public on education has led to the introduction of a new system of pay for the employees in the education sector. This is called as the pay freeze system under which the salaries of the teachers were fixed and their raises were restricted. The government also introduced changes in the policy of childcare like the need of improved and qualified staff and the reduction in the ratio of staff to children. This changed the employment relations for the nursery education.

The education sector was earlier considered to less taxing and more relaxed and easy offering a comfortable pay. But with the changes introduced by the government, the employment relations in the education sector were changed. The job has become more demanding with increased responsibility and the overall compensation for the teachers, professors have been cut down.

d.

Discuss how employment law affects the management of human resources in the education service sector.

A number of laws govern employment in the educational service sector. The impact of employment law in the management of human resource has been discussed in detail below:

Equal Employment Opportunity:The law related to equal employment opportunity ensures that all the prospective employees get an equal opportunity for employment in the educational institutes irrespective of any discrimination on caste, color, sex, nationality or religion. This prevents any kind of victimization and harassment.
Equal pay:The law of equal pay was related to the equality act. This laid emphasis on the fact that both men and women should be paid equally. The pay that should be given to the employees should depend on the knowledge and skills of the employees in the education sector. (Fiss, 1971).
Pay Freeze:The government also introduced a method of pay freeze. Under this method the rise in the pay of the employees in the education institute was restricted and the basic pay of the employees was fixed. This was basically due to the decrease in education costs by the government.
Human Rights Act: The human rights act gives the freedom of academic thought and expression. This is applicable to the employees as well as the students. It gives a right to the employees to express them.
Recruitment Laws:Provisions have also been made to describe minimum qualifying requirements to recruit employees in the education sector. This is especially relevant for the higher positions like the head of the institute etc.
Duty of Care: This law makes sure that the employees are provided a clean and healthy environment to work by the employers. The main guidelines for health and safety have been mentioned under the Health and safety Work Act.
Trade Unions:Trade unions and collective bargainingare also a part of the reforms of the education sector. They help to safeguard the interests of the employees and also protect their rights (Guest, 1987).

The main aim of all these laws is to keep the employee motivated and make sure that he put in the best of his efforts in whatever job he undertakes. This helps in increasing the overall employee efficiency which helps to create satisfied customers and also increases the profitability of the institute in the education sector.

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Task B

a.

Discuss a job description and person specification for an educational service sector job.

Job Title: Associate Professor (English and Literature)

Department: Education

College: St. Thomas

Term: five years in the first term, extended till retirement after review.

Salary: £ 45,000 to £ 60, 000 (per month with benefits)

The Associate Professor (English and Literature) is expected to perform the following duties:

To teach for an average of 300 hrs in a year.
To get involved in research work related to English or teaching in general.
To work in coordination with the department director during the session as well as during vacations.
To monitor the students at the post graduate level for research.
To take on additional responsibilities as and when required by the director of the department.
To take charge of at least one club or committee of the students.
To advice the students on the post graduate level for the PhD level.
To take exam duties or any other special duty as per the requirement of the department director.
To make significant contributions to teaching related developments in the institute.

The person specifications for the Associate Professor (English and Literature) are:

Doctorate or equivalent degree in English or Literature.
Research experience in English education.
Successful experience in teaching at junior as well as senior level.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to work in a team.
Well equipped with using MS-WORD and MS-POWERPOINT.
Keen interest in recent advances in English language and field of education.

b.

Compare the selection process of different service industry businesses.

Searching and attracting potential candidates towards a vacant job and making the final choice for the vacancy are important functions of the human resource management. This is known as the process of Recruitment and Selection (Gatewood, Field &Barrick, 2010).There are different kinds of recruitment and selection processes. And the selection of these processes depends on the time of industry and also on the type of business in a specific business. For example the different processes for selection are different for different businesses of the service sector like financial services, IT, education, food and beverage, retail, hospitality etc. The various methods of selection are:

Written Tests: Written tests are generally conducted to evaluate the basic knowledge of the candidate. These tests are more relevant for jobs which are more technical and knowledge centric. Hence taking written tests will be a common method of selection for education sector and financial sector.
Personality Tests: The personality tests tend to analyze the basic personality traits of the potential candidate like introvert or extrovert, team man or individual worker. This is of much relevance especially in the hotel and hospitality sector.
Psychometric Tests: These tests generally analyze the ability of a person to perform under stress conditions. This is of significance in financial services sector as the job is more challenging with targets and closings.
Personal Interviews: This is most common method of selection in all types of businesses in service-Education, Retail, Hospitality, Financial Services etc.

c.

Assessthe contribution of training and development activities to the effective operation of the education service sector.

An important element of the human resource management which helps to create satisfied customers by increasing employee efficiency is training and development. This in turn helps to improve the overall profitability of the organisation. The contribution of training and development activities in the effective operation of the education services sector has been given below:

It keeps the knowledge of the employees updated and according to the recent trends.
It helps to make the teaching faculty aware of the different methodologies to keep the students motivated.
The teaching faculty is made well equipped with the recent techniques and methodologies of teaching.
It also facilitates in the improvement of communication and other soft skills of the faculty at the education institute
It keeps the employees modernized about the recent advancements in technology
Training and development also prepares the faculty for role succession in education institutes.(Huselid, 1995).
Training is also often given on topics of concern to the youth like alcohol abuse, drug addiction, HIV-AIDS to the faculty of the institutes so that they may guide the students on the same.

Conclusion

The Education sector is considered to be a very potential segment of employment on the service sector. Like various other functions of an organisation like Operations, Accounting and Finance, Information technology, Marketing, Human Resource Management, is also an important element of managing a education institute. The basic role of the human resource department is acquiring and maintaining employees in accordance with the recruitment and staffing plans. In addition to this, the human resource manager is also responsible for providing a positive environment for work with open channels for communication and tremendous scope for team work and recognition for individual contributions. This helps to provide quality services to the end customers who lead to complete satisfaction of the client and the profitability for the organisation. Hence, HRM plays a significant role for the profitability of any institute in the education sector.(Armstrong, 2003).

References

Armstrong, M. 2003. A handbook of human resource management practice.Kogan Page Limited.

Fiss, O. M. 1971. A theory of fair employment laws. The University of Chicago Law Review, 235-314.

Gatewood, R., Feild, H., &Barrick, M. 2010. Human resource selection.Cengage Learning.

Guest, D. E. 1987. Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations . Journal of management Studies, 24(5), 503-521.

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