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Program | Diploma in Business |
Unit Number and Title | Unit 22 HRM Strategy in Guest Model |
QFC Level | Level 4 |
Through HRM strategy in guest model assignment, the purpose which will be served is to look into various theoretical aspects in addition to practical activities for the modern day human resource management which is considered as a very important source of competitive advantage for the modern day business entities. Apart from the HRM practices various topical legislations and issues related to HRM will also be looked into through this report. In view of the fact that HRM practices are needed to be discussed in conjunction with the theoretical perspectives, the paper will assess the various factors related to the same
A model of strategic human resource management has been given by Guest (1987) that looks into the basics of the same. The emphasis of this model is on the commitment from and towards the employees. This is the factor which differentiates this model from the traditional models of performance management which had emphasis on the employees’ compliance to the organizational rules (Dessler, 2012). HRM is also considered to be a very important part of the strategic management of the organization that aims to develop as well as maintain the motivation and commitment of the employees for the organizational objective achievement. The model also emphasises on serving the needs of the individual employees apart from managing the entire workforce’s overall requirements. This allows the companies to develop inherent power in HR without losing the flexibility in the human resource processes. This model is dissimilar to PM model and utilizes strategic HRM practices for better overall organizational performances.
The 6 dimensions which are mentioned in the model of HRM by Guest are as following:
The company which will be used for the purpose of the discussion for this report is Tesco which is one of the major retail companies in the UK. Tesco has a strategic human resource management model implemented within the company which has helped the HRM department of the company to empower the employees of it sufficiently. The strategic initiatives of this model are implemented from the phase of selection of the employees in view of the fact it is important for the company to select workers who are fully aligned with the organizational and job objectives for the role. Also in spite of being one of the largest companies in its industry, the company has been able to keep the structure flat and culture open. The employees in this system also get opportunities for decision making with guidance from the business leaders. The training and coaching is also given to the employees, which add to the motivational force for them through their professional as well as personal growth. This also helps in achieving better future career opportunities (Keenoy, T., 1990, pp 370).
Storey’s definitions regarding HRM and PMIR practices help in identifying the differences between these two theoretical structures. The difference which is most significant is the strategic approach as well as impact which are there for HRM as compared to PMIR. HRM has been defined by Storey as the mixture of description, prescription and logical deduction. For comparing the differences between these concepts the organizations which will be used are Tesco and Wal-Mart which are two giants in the UK retail supermarket industry. Following is the table which shows the difference in the same (Sims, 2006):
Dimension | PMIR (as practiced in Wal-Mart) | HRM (as practiced in Tesco) |
Rules, Roles and Responsibility | Through the usage of PMIR in Wal-Mart the company has a set of very strongly defined guidelines which govern the responsibilities and roles of various workers | As HRM is practiced in Tesco, in spite of the various guidelines and rules, the employees are given a lot of freedom in term of their conducts as well as enhancement and rotation of jobs. |
Management Intention & Actions | The management of Wal-Mart takes all the employee welfare related decisions keeping the profit making approach solely in the mind | The leadership teams of Tesco shows a lot of respect for the welfare of the employee as a standalone concept and allocate a lot of resources for the same in view of the fact the company considers the satisfaction of the employees as a key performance metric. |
Flow of Communication | The company boasts of a very rigid and vertically structured organizational hierarchy with the help of strict controls exerted by the line managers which takes place by limited communication | In Tesco, as a result of the strategic HRM practices, the organizational structure has been kept as flat and horizontal as possible. This also facilitates quick and smooth communication flow that helps in knowledge sharing for improved processes for decision making |
Leadership Style | The system uses a leadership which is more autocratic than democratic with very low empowerment for the employees | In Tesco, the strategic HRM leads to skill development of the employees, training of them and sufficient empowerment for them which helps them in their role of decision making. |
The strategic approach development for HRM the line managers and the workers of Tesco have been at the receiving end of the various advantages which has helped in sorting out professional issues as well as management of work life balance. This leads to sufficient employee empowerment that starts from the process of selection and recruitment which considers only the workers who are aligned to Tesco’s mission and vision as well as the role for which the selection is being done. Employees get opportunities decision making related to operational or strategic roles. The training and coaching is also given to the employees, which add to the motivational force for them through their professional as well as personal growth. This also helps in achieving better future career opportunities (Keenoy, T., 1990, pp 370).
These help in improving the following factors:
Strategic HRM for Tesco also helps the line managers as they can influence the workers productivity without using coercive power that helps the entire organisation’s performance.
Line managers are also helped through the following:
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Call us: +44 – 7497 786 317Model of flexibility within workplace is a combination of a variety of arrangements which help in making the working conditions more suitable for the workers. Various models of flexibility exist which can be broadly of 2 categories.
In Tesco a model of flexibility can be developed through modifying the HRM guidelines for it. Some of the options of lesser working hours or part time working as well as completion of total hours of work within a limited number of days etc. need to be present. Overtime allowances as well as structured pay also needs to be implemented through the following steps (Fuqua, 1993):
In Tesco due to the specific customer facing nature of the business of the company the types of flexibility which may be developed also need to suit the business model of the company. Some of the flexibility types which can be developed for this specific company for enhancing experience of the employee are as following (Adebayo, 2011):
For the reason that flexible working practice lets the companies to retain various well trained, experienced and skilled employees, this can be very effective and helpful for Tesco. Also it has been seen that a lot of talented female employees leave their jobs due to commitments in the family and personal space. A significant part of this segment of people can also be catered by the flexible working practices and cultures. In view of the fact that these activities not only satisfy the employees but also motivate them and increase the front line staffs’ productivities, Tesco will benefit from the same immensely. The crunch of good workers in the retail industry is a well known factor and this can solve the problem for Tesco (Adebayo, 2011).
On the other hand as far as the employees are concerned, they are immensely benefited through the enhanced balance in the work and personal which brings happiness and satisfaction to their lives and works. They can also give themselves more time for the personal and professional development as they get relaxed work life balance (Fuqua, 1996). Hence a confirmation can be given that for Tesco as well as other companies, the practices for flexible working are advantageous for the employer as well as the employees.
Labour market can be deified as the aggregation of various available employees for the purpose of selection by any organization. Due to the increasing propensity of quick change of jobs as part of the labour market dynamics, the companies like Tesco need to ensure that they add something valuable to the employees for retaining them. One of such conditions is the practices of flexible working for workers which can cater to the requirements of the employees as well as organisation (Davidson, 2006). The arrangement of flexible working needs to be implemented by Tesco as a result of (Keenoy, 1990):
Few of the companies also wasted a significant amount of resources for needless execution of arrangements for flexible working as a result of the pressure felt from the labour market (Davidson, 2006).
Employment discrimination happens due to multiple reasons leading to differential roles or rewards and recognitions as well as remunerations. As seen in the recent workplace discrimination cases, some of the most recognizable forms of the same are as following (Keenoy, 1990):
Due to the multinational nature of Tesco, the chance of various race or religious views related discrimination is high which are essentially form of demographic characteristic based discriminations (Brewster, 2005). Examples have been seen in carious recent cases related to Microsoft in which, in 2015, a group of African-American and Hispanic employees working at Virginia franchises of McDonald’s, claimed that the franchisor as well as the franchisee was committing acts of discrimination basis race and gender at the restaurants. It was confirmed that these people were harassed as well as wrongfully terminated from their jobs. Apart from this, there are also overwhelming number of recent evidences of discrimination basis sexual orientation of the employees.
Equal opportunity arrangements ensure that people with different demographic features get same chances for performing their jobs without any difference in employment or remuneration. Discrimination in employment is prohibited by The Equality Act 2010 which also ensures that all employees get same or similar training despite any difference in any of the following characteristics: age, gender reassignment, disability, marriage, pregnancy, civil partnership, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation (Oxford, 2011).
This legislation prohibits any discrimination within companies for workers with regard to provision of training and education, employment opportunities, provision of training and education, reward and growth opportunities etc. The equal opportunities legislation ensures that HRM practices of Tesco as well as other organizations are aligned to the same with respect to eh countries in which they are operating. Companies need to be compliant with the guidelines without fail. Failing this may lead to losing license of operation and hence immediate modification to HRM policies are mandated by these guidelines. Tesco will require designing a range of stringent guidelines for external as well as internal stakeholders for ensuring that there is no case of workplace discrimination against the employees.
Equal opportunities ensure people with varied characteristics get similar or same chance for performing their tasks without any differential remuneration or employment in the company. Diversity management uses and utilizes the diverse group of employees with utmost competence for the organizational effectiveness. Some approaches for equal opportunity management and diversity management starts with a string of internal guidelines which are needed to be complemented through the culture and behavior of the organization which is set from the time of recruitment of the new employees. These also require development and training, knowledge management, information dissemination etc.
Approaches used by Tesco for managing equal opportunities as well as diversity are helped by the strict guidelines for discouraging any discriminatory act. If the guidelines are violated willingly the employee is terminated. In terms of the vendors or franchisors, the contract with them is terminated by the company. Some of the enablers which are being practiced by the company which helps and enhances the process of implementation of the above mentioned internal guidelines include the following:
The discussion on performance management methods for Tesco can be classified broadly into 2 types of activities for performance management.
The continued performance management process helps the employees to track their achievements through various tools like performance dashboards, management information systems etc. The discussion and frequent feedback sessions which take place as part of this with the line managers is also helpful for immediate course correction by workers for improving their effort or productivity for better output of the performance. The annual performance management is usually for giving out rewards and recognitions to the workers. These are done by:
The continuous performance review and measurement is more effective in terms of enhancing the skills and performance output of the employees.
The factors which are covered within the entire process of employee welfare include the following factors offered to employees by the employer:
Tesco has employee welfare and benefits mechanism which start with the normal benefits and perks like health care insurance, life risk insurance, as well as childcare benefits for the workers of the company who are eligible. Tesco also has an employee helpline which extends assistance for the employees as well as their families in terms of a range of local as well as state assistance programs.
Short and long leaves apart from the statutory holidays are also given to the employees one they are eligible for the same after spending a specific amount of time with Tesco. Sabbaticals for pursuing higher education are also given to the eligible employees which effectively are a longer leave without the pay and a commitment of resuming the job after the course (Lebas, 1995). Some other factors include gym memberships, shift allowances, overtime pays, free transportation etc. These approaches for managing welfare of the employees are quite employee friendly and hence effective.
There are various legislations in terms of health and safety of the workers and working conditions. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is one of the most important health and safety legislation and this act which is termed as HASAW or HSW, is the main health and safety legislation in the UK. It confirms that all the employers have the duty to make sure in a reasonably practicable manner that the safety, health, as well as welfare of the employees at the work are maintained. The legislation of health and safety for the workers controlling the various issues and guidelines related to standards of occupational safety and health also influences the HRM practices of Tesco in view of the fact that there are various employees in the company who work in the manufacturing plants of the company and retail stores. Hence the company needs to implement the health standards and safety criteria at the workplace strictly. This leads to use of resources for implementing mechanisms for preventing fatal or non-fatal accidents as well as injuries within the workplace. In case of non compliance, the company may have to pay high penalty or face loss of license.
Retention of the experienced employee is one of the very important issue for the modern day companies in the retail industry and hence Tesco. In view of the fact that the horizon of the workers and labor markets are expanding due to the increasing size of global labor market in addition to globalization, the presentation of talents is a very important factor and the HRM department needs to be well cognizant of the same and practice the same for keeping the well trained and experienced employees in the company. One of the major factor which is important for the same is the effective communication within the organization which helps the employees is being informative about the future plans as well as strategy of the company as a whole. In view of the fact that through this the senior management can communicate the mission as well as vision of the company to the mid and lower level of employees, this helps them in having more alignment with the company. Also the strategic human resource managementmodel needs to be implemented within the company that can help the HRM department of the company to empower the employees of it sufficiently, which is an important factor in employee retention. The strategic initiatives of this model need implemented from the phase of selection of the employees in view of the fact it is important for the company to select workers who are fully aligned with the organizational and job objectives for the role. This leads to increased chance of employees staying with the company for long. A flat structure and open culture also helps the cause as the employees in this system also get opportunities for decision making with guidance from the business leaders. The training and coaching is also given to the employees, which add to the motivational force for them through their professional as well as personal growth. This also helps in achieving better future career opportunities (Keenoy, T., 1990, pp 370).
In this paper, the purpose which has been served is to look into various theoretical aspects in addition to practical activities for the modern day human resource management which is considered as a very important source of competitive advantage for the modern day business entities. Apart from the HRM practices various topical legislations and issues related to HRM has also been looked into through this report. In view of the fact that HRM practices are needed to be discussed in conjunction with the theoretical perspectives, the paper has been able to assess the various factors related to the same.
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