Unit 18 HRM models Assignment McDonald’s

Unit 18 HRM models Assignment McDonald’s

Introduction

The assignment is divided into several tasks where each of the tasks focuses on the Human Resources Management practices of companies in general and McDonald’s in particular. The first task deals with the HRM models that were put forward by John Storey and Davis Guest and how that is relevant for the HRM practices of McDonald’s. The next task is on the flexibility in the work practices of companies and its influences on the  labour market . Discrimination among employees is considered to be one of the major issues in workplaces. The steps taken by the government as well as the management of companies like McDonald’s to prohibit such practices are discussed at length. The last part deals with the ways which are responsible for improving the welfare of employees.

Task 1

1.1 Explain Guest’s model of HRM as applied to the organization of your choice.

The strategically developed relationship between the employers and the employees is referred to as the Human Resource Management (HRM). This practice aims to increase the productivity of the employees by inspiring them and this will eventually lead to an increase in the productivity of an organization. David Guest’s HRM model is considered to be extremely prominent among the several models that are laid down by scholars and theorists. It includes the various ways in which the management of a company engages itself for the purpose of increasing the output by the employees. It consists of the following perspectives:

• An extremely efficient HR strategy.
• HRM practices and outcomes.
• The outcomes are with respect to behavior, finance and performance (Guest, Paauwe and Wright, 2012).

Professor David Guest further lays importance on the fact that appropriate HRM strategies will result in the improvement of the workplace which will in turn lead to an increase in the total production of any firm. The strategies that can be incorporated by the HRM department are as follows:

•  Adequate means of training can be provided to employees for improving their productivity. Several companies like McDonald’s offer training practices to their employees for keeping them updated with the latest technology and to enable them to put in their maximum efforts.
• Before the starting of daily work, the supervisors of McDonald’s let the workers know about their targets and objectives so that they can act accordingly. The management of the company shares its goals and targets with the employees.
• Flexibility is considered to be one of the key elements in the HR policies of a company. McDonald’s revises the pay structure of the company from time to time (Cogin and Williamson, 2014). Incentives are provided depending on the performances of the working members. Such recognition makes the employees feel respected and valued.

1.2 Choosing two organizations of your choice, compare the differences between Storey’s definitions of HRM, personnel and IR practices.

John Storey in his HRM model gives importance to the various kinds of HRM practices and what can be done to achieve the most ideal set of practices. The characteristics that form a part of his model are as follows:

• Key Levers
• Beliefs
• Assumptions
• Implementation of Strategies
• Various functions of line managers

Storey mentions in his model that the primary concern of any organization should be the welfare of the employees. They form the most important part of the organization. He has categorized HRM in the following two parts:

• Hard HRM - This includes active participation of the members in order to elevate the productivity of firms (Bratton and Gold, 2012). Companies like McDonald’s often follow hard HRM and evaluate the value of the employees by calculating the total production of the organization including the franchisees. The workers are merely means of obtaining the goals of the company.
• Soft HRM – In this case, the employees are given maximum attention in the company. McDonald’s provides opportunities to employees to give their suggestions and ideas. This makes the employees feel valued in the organization they work.

The characteristics of the IR and personnel practices are as follows:

• The entire work in an organization is done based on a contract.
• It is the responsibility of the management to look after the procedures.
• The work is always supervised.
• The employees are managed efficiently.
• However, the entire process of making a decision is extremely slow.

The HRM practices of McDonald’s are:

• Workplace flexibility is one of the primary characteristics.
• Several welfare schemes are adopted for developing the conditions of outlets and franchisees.
• The stakeholders, customers, employees and shareholders who are involved in an organization are treated equally before the management of the company.
• Decisions are taken very swiftly owing to the developed communication system.

Unilever is considered to be one of the best employers of the world. The IR practices and HRM practices at Unilever:

• Unilever is one such company which moves beyond written contracts (Chang, Gong, Way and Jia, 2013).
• A continuous supervision of the work of the employees takes place at Unilever which is not a part of Storey’s model of HRM.
• Several incentives are provided to the employees for their performances.
• The company also encourages team work which improves the work environment within the firm.

1.3 Assess the implications for line managers and employees of developing a strategic approach to HRM for any organization of your choice.

In any reputed organization like McDonald’s, both line managers and employees play an integral role in the overall production of the company. The functions of the line managers and the employees differ from each other. The line managers engage themselves in the supervision of the work of the employees. They also look into the fact whether the employees are working according to the rules and policies of the firm. It is the duty of the line managers to assign work to the employees and also to solve their problems (Storey, 2014). Both the employees and the line managers need to work together for the betterment of the firm. The employees are the ones who work the entire day for the company in return of payment and other incentives. They have the best knowledge of the wants and desires of the customers. In order to develop the company, the line managers require the help of the employees for strategic planning.

The following ways can be proposed:

• It is the duty of the line managers to inform the employees about the future targets of the firm in order to enable them to work towards achieving the target. This in turn will prevent any kind of misunderstandings that are likely to take place among the workers as they will have the clear knowledge about their aims and objectives.
• The approach of the line managers of McDonald’s towards the employees should be such that the employees become active participants in rendering suggestions. All kinds of decisions should be taken by keeping in mind the opinions that are put forward by the workers of the company.
• For the proper functioning of an organization, all the employees and the line managers must cooperate and work with each other (Cameron, Quinn, DeGraff and Thakor, 2014). It should have a well developed communication system where information is transferred easily from one level to another.

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Task 2: Topical Issue

2.1 Explain how a model of flexibility might be applied in your organization.

Increase in the rate of competition has forced the organizations to change their way of working for the purpose of enhancing the productivity of the workers. A flexible working structure has been developed for the smooth functioning of the employees. They have the liberty to choose work timings according to their convenience. McDonald’s, the largest food chains globally, has noticed that more and more employees are getting motivated to work harder. They can do all the company’s work without compromising on their personal needs. Academician Charles Handy came up with the concept of Shamrock organization where he recognized the prime importance of the various kinds of people involved in it. This particular model of flexibility comprises of three different parts:

• Core Workers: The section comprises of the vital employees of a firm like that of McDonald’s. These people are experienced and are often given the duty to mentor and supervise the newcomers in the workplace. Several training opportunities are provided so that they can update themselves with growing technology. The core workers in McDonald’s are recognized on the basis of their performances.
• Contractual Fringe: Unlike permanent employees, the contractual workers are mainly found in the several franchisees of the company (Håkansson and Isidorsson, 2012). They are aware of McDonald’s objectives and its way of functioning. Even these people are also provided with training opportunities for improving their work. These groups experience higher flexibility as compared to the core workers because they have the privilege of changing the locations of their jobs and the management can also ask them to do the same.
• Flexible Workers: Students who are recent pass outs from colleges or having holidays often attend several programs organized by McDonald’s to gain knowledge of the functioning of restaurant chains. This helps the students to get a fair idea of the work practices in a food chain. They have the benefit of choosing work timings according to their needs.

2.2 Discuss the types of flexibility which may be developed by your organization.

After an extensive research based on the feedbacks of the employees, McDonald’s have added the provision of flexible working hours in its structure. Employers also ask the candidates about the amount of time that they can dedicate to the workings of the company during the process of the interviews. Employees are classified into full time or contractual workers cased on the replies that they give. McDonald’s also provides flexible work timings for students who are eager to earn (Mahajan, 2014). The flexibility structures that are followed by McDonald’s are as follows:

• Part time working model- This type of model is suitable for students who want to work on part time basis for McDonald’s. Students are also given the privilege to choose their work timings depending on their vacations and other convenience. Although they are part time employees, the students are also given rewards, incentives and appraisals on the basis of their performances like the core workers. The flexible work timings allow the students to give their maximum efforts in the functioning of the company.
• Job sharing model- McDonald’s provides work which are challenging in nature to its employees so that they are able to work on any type of project. They are moved within departments so that they gain a fair knowledge about the workings of all the departments. This kind of model is beneficial in case of a crisis where the employees can take care of more than a single department (Kragl and Schöttner, 2014).
• Participation- As mentioned earlier, the employees of McDonald’s are given the opportunity to give suggestions and recommend changes that may be beneficial for the company. This participation makes them feel valued.
• Location- McDonald’s allows its employees to choose suitable work locations as per their convenience. Employees can choose outlets which are near their residential areas in order to save time.

2.3 Assess the use of flexible working practices from both the employee and the employer perspective.

The employers work towards increasing the production of the company. The employees also work towards the same objective but they also require good working conditions. Flexible working practices have proved to be beneficial for both the groups in various ways:

Employees:

• Employees decide work timings according to their convenience and are able to dedicate themselves in the work of the organization (Christensen and Schneider, 2015).
• They also get a chance to earn extra by dedicating more time to their work.
• The employees at McDonald’s try to give their utmost efforts because they feel valued for the convenience provided by the management of the company.
• However, developing team work is problematic in such work conditions. Employees are often transferred from place to place which does not allow the firm to develop cooperative functioning.

Employers:

• The organization is provided with skillful employees due to flexible working practices. Generally, students are the ones who give maximum efforts in their work.
• Often confusions arise because of the work practices which make it difficult for the management to resolve them. McDonald’s was also subjected to protests when they started zero working hours’ facility (Ryan, 2015).
• Staffs might be absent during peak sales hours due to flexibility in work hours. Customers might not be provided with superior quality service which can demean the reputation of McDonald’s.

2.4 Discuss the impact that changes in the labour market have had on flexible working practices.

Globalization has lead to certain significant changes in the labour market. It has been undergoing a continuous change due to development in technological and educational practices. The management formulates strategies for the purpose of increasing productivity by keeping in mind the work force of any company. Similarly, McDonald’s has developed flexible work practices without compromising on the profit making objective of the company.

Training and other educational facilities are provided by the Government and the management of organizations so that the employees achieve an adequate knowledge of the working practices of the respective firms. McDonald’s provides students with apprenticeship programs of 12 months so that they gain a fair idea about the work in a food chain before making a career in this particular field. Students are also provided with part time work hours so that they can earn along with gaining education.

Advanced technological practices also have an impact on the labour market. As more and more people are gaining access to the internet, they are being able to gain an adequate amount of knowledge in their fields of interest (Muffels, 2014). The UK government also provides vocational trainings so that the workers can improve their work. Even several traineeship programs have proved to be beneficial for the newcomers who are willing to make a career in different industries. The Government also provides loans to young people for advanced learning programs. These people start repaying the loans after acquiring a minimum of 21,000 pounds. The management of McDonald’s takes notice of these changes and makes its decisions accordingly.

Task 3

3.1 Explain the forms of discrimination that can take place in the workplace using examples of recent discrimination cases which has made the news.

Discrimination is the type of act which is done by the employer to an employee based on the protected characteristics that is age, gender, race, caste etc. There are several types of discrimination that are as follows (Hirsh and Lyons, 2011)

• Direct Discrimination: Treating unfairly to an employee in the organisation based on the grounds like gender, age, religion, sexual orientation etc. fall under the category of direct discrimination. Under the Equality Act 2010, the direct discrimination is protected and the employee can appeal to the Employment tribunal.
• Indirect Discrimination: Sometimes the discrimination is done indirectly in the form of policy, rule or practice at the workplace. As per the Equality Act 2010 if the victim as a strong reason for the indirect treatment that is affecting him, then it will come under the discrimination case (Citizens Advice, 2016).

Very recently at the franchisee of Mc Donald’s in Virginia, the instances of the racial discrimination was observed. The franchisee and the franchisor were alleged by the employees towards the supervisor and owner of that restaurant. The employees complained that they are the African-American, Hispanic and for that reason they are treated unfavourably and harassed frequently. The racial jokes, slurs and setting a disciplinary standard are mainly been done with them as per the claims made by the victims at federal court in Virginia (Shah, 2016). In this case direct discrimination can be observed where both the franchisor and franchisee was alleged. The supervisor is recruited by the franchisor and the owner of the franchisee was also included due to the setting of new employment standards that bring discrimination.

3.2 Discuss the practical implications of equal opportunities legislation for an organisation.

Promoting equality in the workplace at UK is the basic objective of the Government and thus several bodies are there to regulate the several aspects of discrimination. There were three commissions which were merged in to a single body that is Equality and Human Rights Commission. The basic purpose of this body is to secure equal opportunities in the workplace and safeguard the minority groups. As per the Equality Act 2010, Equal Opportunities imply the right to access all the benefits of the workplace even before pre-employment period (EOC, 2016). All the candidates must have the equal chance to get selected in the interview, training, promotion etc. Discrimination is strictly prohibited under the circumstances of the gender, religion, race, disability, etc. The employees should be treated equally, allocating same targets, providing equal benefits; restrictions in the bullying etc. are focused under the Act (Einarsen et al, 2012). For example, when the management of Mc Donald’s decided to recruit candidates then they need to create specific job description, detailed advertisement where the salary, work location, eligibility need to be mentioned. As per the Equality Act 2010, the employees can approach the trade unions at first for negotiating with the management of the organisation and if the result is not positive then they can approach Employment Tribunal or Equality Advisory Support Service for the help.

The positive implications of the Equal opportunity legislation in Mc Donald’s can bring confidence among the employees due to their job security and positive working  business environment . As a result they can give productive performance which will increase the business turnover for the organisation. The positive working culture can be established which will drive the positive commitment from the side of the employees. On the other hand the negative implication can be the false allegation done from the side of the employees which can hamper the goodwill of Mc Donald’s in the labour market.

3.3 Compare the approaches to managing equal opportunities and managing diversity. You should give examples from a selected organisation and discuss the similarities and differences in their approaches to managing equal opportunities and diversity.

Managing the equal opportunities and diversity is one of the basic activities of the management in order to motivate the workforce as well as to achieve the desired profitability. Positive working culture can only bring productive performance and service quality in an organisation. The two approaches of managing equal opportunity and diversity are distinct to each other that can be related with the organisation Mc Donald’s.

Equal opportunity is to give accessibility to the employees in the form of rights and benefits associated with the workplace. When the management of Mc Donald’s decide to recruit candidates then it separately forms a team who look after the entire process. The transparency is maintained in the recruitment stages by giving detailed advertisement in the website at the career page. The candidates can get the knowledge about the job details, pay structure, work location etc. The employees are promoted based on the performances that are measured by following the Performance Appraisal method which is not biased. Promoting the female employees by organising Women’s Leadership Development Programme is undertaken by the management. Benefits like discounted coupons, health insurance, family holidays are given equally to all the employees (Mc Donald’s, 2016).

On the other hand managing diversity is to support the differences in the culture, religion in the workplace. All the employees of Mc Donald’s are not selected based on the racial or cultural background parameters. Apart from that customers are also targeted for managing the diversity. In India Mc Donald’s do not offer any beef items and in some places they used to offer purely vegetarian dishes in order to support the religious and cultural background.

Apart from the differences, the similarity between the two approaches is to set a positive working culture that will support the employees and customers to get satisfied. Secondly, motivating the employees for gearing up their performance level is also considered with these two approaches.

Task 4

4.1 Select an organisation you work or have worked for, identify and compare the performance management

Performance Management is the function of the  Human Resource department in an organisation for measuring the performance and also to enhance the competency level of the employees. The organisation is a global fast food chain Mc Donald’s where the performances of the employees are measured twice a year by setting objectives and addressing the need of the skill development (Mc Donald’s, 2016).

The Performance management tool that is being used in Mc Donald’s is Performance Appraisal where the technique like 360 degree feedbacks is considered. The employees are measured by the set of parameters designed by the management and responses of those parameters are given by other colleagues, seniors, subordinates etc. in order to bring fairness in measuring the performances. The advantage is the fairness in measuring the performances and several views or opinions can be assessed for measuring the performance (Eagly and Chin, 2011). The disadvantage can be improper opinion from the employees due to the popularity of a certain employee in the organisation.

Direct observation is another tool under the Performance Management where the employees are measured by the direct observation of an immediate senior. The feedback for the improvements can be shared instantly which is the positive side but the partiality due to the negative relationship with an employee will not reflect the true picture.

Another approach can be the active participation from the employees in the decision making process of the organisation. Meetings and feedbacks are collected from all the employees regarding any changes or decision in order to make them feel that they are the important part of the organisation. This will motivate the employees and productive performances can be expected. The negative side can be the personal interests which are put forwarded by the employees during any meetings or feedbacks and that become critical for the management to consider (Chuang, and Liao, 2010).

4.2 Assess the approaches used to managing employee welfare in your organisation

Managing the employee’s welfare is one of the functions of the Human Resource Management of an organisation for attracting and retaining the talents. The benefits, employee friendly schemes will create interest for the candidates and as a result the management can get access to the best talent from the labour market. On the other hand, the potential employees can be retained in the organisation by managing the employee’s welfare effectively.

The training programmes, development courses from Mc Donald’s university, personal development, promotions and rewards are there in the employee’s welfare schemes. Medical insurance, family protection cards, free meals, car for the employee at the Managerial level are provided to motivate the workforce for giving productive performances. The management has also designed recognised course for the employees by awarding recognised degrees which support the employees in making the future prosperous (Mc Donald’s, 2016).

The positive approach towards the welfare schemes will influence one existing employee to stay back in Mc Donald’s and thus it will reduce the employee’s turnover. The reduction in the employee’s turnover will reduce the cost of the operation as well as time for the recruitment and selection process (Huselid and Becker, 2010). The negative approach towards the employee’s welfare will be the increase in the expenditure that can influence the excessive cash flow of the company.

4.3 Discuss the implications of health and safety legislation on human resources practices

Health and safety approaches are one of the important considerations of the organisation for the employees as well as customers. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 was formed in UK for securing the health of the employees and also to reduce the occupational accidents in the workplace (Gov. UK, 2016). This Act protects the employees against the risk associated in the workplace, enforcing the control in handling the explosives and also to regulate the harmful emissions. Secondly, the non departmental public body that is Health and safety commission plays an important role in training the staffs for by sharing the steps to remain safe at the workplace. They also propose the Government for bringing any changes in the   health and safety  areas. Thirdly, the directives like The Working Time Regulations 1998 frame the shift timings that are needed to be maintained by the organisations. For example, in night more than 8 hours are not permissible. Lastly the employees can take unpaid leave on the ground of parental leave which will help them to stay with their family and can take care of their new born (Gov. UK, 2016).

The positive implication is the security in the job is getting strengthened which will motivate the employees to give best performances and also to maintain their work life balance. Irregularity and absenteeism can be minimised and ensure positive productivity. The negative implication can be the time spends for carrying out the Risk assessment as per the legislation which will affect the productivity.

4.4 Evaluate the impact of another topical issue on human resources practices.

One of the topical issues can be the work-life balance that is very much challenging for the employees to maintain. The management of Mc Donald’s has identified this issue and implement several programmes to maintain the work life balance of the employee. They are focused to ensure a right balance between the professional and personal life by giving holidays on the anniversary, shorter Fridays in the summer season, family holidays, child care planning schemes, shopping cards, educational assistance by providing reimbursement up to $ 5,250 in a year is allowed (Mc Donald’s, 2016). The work life balance will support the employees to give the exact performance that is required for growth of the organisation. Allowing certain benefits to the employee will bring concentration towards the performance and help the management to achieve the target. Reduction in the employee’s turnover can be possible due to minimisation of the cost in the areas of recruitment and selection. The inspiration of the employees to remain committed with the organisation can be observed with the positive approach of Mc Donald’s for maintaining the work life balance. On the other hand, during the work pressure sometimes it is not possible for the management to allow certain benefits and holidays which create conflict among the workforce (Snell and Bohlander, 2014). The incidents like the over time, excessive pressure are certain incidents which are influencing the work life balance of an employee and that is the reason which brings negative impact in the productivity in the organisation (Tsai and Wu, 2015).

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Conclusion

In order to conclude this report has highlighted the several aspect of the human resource management in the organisation Mc Donald’s. The basic concept of the HRM related to the Guest model, role of the line managers are discussed in the first part of the report. The second part of the report has given the glimpses of the flexibility approaches, flexible working hours, changes in the labour market etc. The third part of the report has shown the different forms of discrimination at the workplace and the legislation for overcoming the discrimination issues. The different approach of diversity and equal opportunity is also discussed by the relating it with Mc Donald’s. At the last part the tools used in the performance management and one topical issue that is work life balance is highlighted with the proper assessment.

References