Programme |
Diploma in Business |
Unit Number and Title |
Unit 22 Managing Human Resources Mulberry Company Assignment |
QFC Level |
Level 5 |
This Unit 22 Managing Human Resources Mulberry Company Assignment throws light on various aspects of Human Resource Management and helps us to comprehend different methods and models via which the employees can be given flexibility at their work place. We also come to understand the range of impact that the practice of flexibility in working can bring about for the employer and the employee. Mulberry, the company from the fashion Industry is being considered for comprehending the aspects of HRM in a better manner.
Mulberry is placed in the category of the most luxurious fashion brands in Britain. Being a design company, it is renowned all over the globe for exhibiting craftsmanship that is British in nature fused with remarkable quality. The company i strengthened with its range of classic and chic jewellery collection, footwear and handbags. The head offices of the company are located in London and Somerset in United Kingdom. (Mulberry official site, n.d.)
Model Of HRM David Guest
The model of HRM given by David Guest establishes a strategic link between the policies of the business strategy and thus helps the organization in managing the operations effectively, seeking and inculcating commitment amongst employees towards the organizational goals, focussing on the needs of the individuals, practicing the models of flexibility at work and considering the employees as the assets for the organization.
The model given by David Guest in the year 1987, suggests that the Human Resource Management in the organizations of UK must make efforts to bring about the following outcomes and align them.
Aligning the above mentioned outcomes will make the employees productive and efficient and develop the skills of problem solving and other soft skills amongst them. This will lead to various changes in the organizational culture that would help in the achievement of organizational goals with cost effective operations. But there also exist a condition for the achievement of these outcomes. The condition is that the business organization must integrate its strategic policies of HRM with the business policies and strategies and this integration must be supported by all levels of managers.
Application Of Model Of David Guest To Mulberry
The HRM model of David Guest has been used by Mulberry to enhance the employee engagement in the company. It has been observed in Mulberry that the implementation of the Guest’s Model has inculcated the loyalty and trust amongst the employees towards the company and its management which has led to the raised levels of productivity of the employees. Mulberry has always tried to recruit the best talent and develop it to suit to the needs of the company. Earlier the company Mulberry practices the hierarchical management structure but now it has been replaced by layered management structure. The employees are given incentives, empowerment and responsibility that give them a sense of belongingness. The practice of providing participatory role and leadership to the employees has also increased the employee engagement. Managers of Mulberry ensure that a healthy work culture and effective communication exists in the company and employees are given appropriate opportunities for self expression. (Paulo, 2012)
I am choosing two organizations for differentiating the definitions of HRM, Personnel and IR Practices.
One is the Mulberry Company which is a fashion company producing luxurious range of handbags, jewellery and footwear. This company practices the latest form of managing employees and updates it from time to time.
Another organization that I have chosen is Barresi’s which is the chain of Italian restaurants that has been working in various parts of United Kingdom since ten years. This company still believes in old form of managing employees and practices Personnel Management (PM) and IR Practices. (Barresi’s, 2016)
Storey suggested by the medium of his theory that the traditional methods of managing employees, termed as personnel management is gradually being replaced with modern methods of Human Resource Management. The differences between Human Resource Management and Personnel management with the help of the two organizations, i.e. Barresi’s and Mulberry as examples have been given as below:
When the strategic approach to HRM is developed in Mulberry, the implications for the line managers as well as for the employees come to the surface. Line managers of Mulberry help in integrating various approaches with the styles of leadership, culture of the organization, goals of the organization and the policies of the organization. Therefore it has been observed that the aspects and various policies of Human Resource Management in Mulberry have large implications for the line managers of the company as the line managers have to frame and implement the policies in such a manner that the conflicts do not arise amongst the employees and the goals of the employees and the goals of the organization are aligned in a compatible manner. As far as the implications for the employees of Mulberry are concerned, these are the job security, remuneration, work flexibility, incentives etc. as these are the factors that are dependent upon the performance of the employees.(Giorgiana, 2016)
The provision of the privilege of flexibility at work place is getting prevalent in the business organization rapidly. Flexibility at work place is in relation to the provision of flexibility of time and place to the employees for work that suits the convenience and needs of both the organization and the employees.
Various situations are there where the flexibility model is applied in Mulberry. For instance when the company needs to increase the rate of production, it offers the employees to work overtime and make extra earnings. When the company needs to decrease the absenteeism rate of employees, there are various situations where the model of flexibility can be applied. For example if a company desires to increase the production, it can give the offer to the employees for overtime working or outsourcing the work. If the company needs to decrease the rate of absenteeism, it offers the employees the privilege to share the job or work with flexible schedule.
According to the 2002 Act Mulberry implements the flexible work schedule for women having disabled children or having children under the 6 years of age. Employees who have been working continuously for twenty six weeks are also given this advantage.
The flexible model of working at Mulberry includes privilege of job sharing, work from home privilege, mobile working, working part time facility, privilege of working overtime compressing of working hours, etc. (Michigan State University, 2016)
Mulberry has been consistently recognizing the needs of its employees. HRM of Mulberry has been developing strategies and models of flexible working for the employees in order to engage them optimally. For example the mobile working facility helps them to complete their jobs and working hours even when they are travelling. This practice of flexible working offers a quality life to the employees of Mulberry. (Walsh, 2015)
The changing scenario of demography, business, developing technology, education system, rapid competition in the market has raised the demands for flexible working in the organizations in order to make balance between the work life and personnel life. Flexible work has given benefits to business organizations by helping in reducing costs, enhancing efficiency, productivity, boosting morale and retaining good talent.
Mulberry gives the work flexibility of following types:
The HRM of Mulberry practices various models of flexible working that helps the company in optimum employee engagement and offering quality life to its employees simultaneously.
Mulberry offers part time working facility to women who have small children or elderly parents to take care of. During high sales season, Mulberry also hires workers to work on temporary basis. The facility of sharing of jobs and rotation of jobs is also offered to the employees.
Advantages Of Flexible Models Of Working For Employer
Flexible models of working benefits the employees in balancing the work and the personnel life positively and having a quality and stress free life style. This balance helps them to remain healthy and be productive and more committed towards their jobs and the organization. The rate of employee absenteeism is reduced and the retention of good talent is enhanced. This is ultimately beneficial benefits the employer as the overhead charges are reduced and the productivity increases.
Disadvantages Of Flexible Models Of Working For Employer
The disadvantages of flexible working to the employer are that the cost of administering these models is high for the employer. The overhead charges like utility bills may increase and the resources may not be optimally used if the employees are not trained. Different work schedule may also bring about miscommunication.
Advantages Of Flexible Models Of Working For Employer
Flexible Models of working benefit the employees by making the personal and professional lives of the employees balanced. This consequently helps in keeping the employees healthy, motivated, energetic, efficient and more productive. The quality life helps the employees the time and enthusiasm to develop their skill sets and develop their weak areas.
Disadvantages Of Flexible Models Of Working For Employer
The disadvantages of flexible working to the employees are that the multi talented and multi tasking employees have to bear more work burden nd work related responsibilities relatively. Compressing the week and expanding the working hours may leave the employees drained. (Beale, 2013)
The business style and structure is changing rapidly all over the globe. The operations and strategic policies are very much different from what they were in the past. The demography and culture is also undergoing transformation. These changing conditions have raised the demand for the practice of flexible working in the labour market. A number of business organizations that include Mulberry Company as well are introducing the practice of flexible working at the work place. The transformations in the demographic, legal, political, environmental structure, increasing undergraduate and post graduate recruits, the willingness to migrate amongst the youth, rapid developments in technology etc. are big factors that have raised the demand for the practice of flexible working in the organizations.
These changes have positive impacts on Mulberry. The company now prefers multi talented and multi tasking employees to the specialized employees. The willingness of workers to migrate to other places for work has made the workers from different skills, culture and background available for the company. The implementation of strategic policies has also become more cost effective and easy with the practice of flexible working. (Broughton, 2015)
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Call us: +44 – 7497 786 317Sometimes people are treated in an unfavourable way due to some personal characteristics like sex, age, disability, religion, cast, colour and many more. This is called discrimination at the work place. Mulberry is a company which works on the basis of unity in diversity. It has made its law against discrimination under Equal Opportunity Act 2010.
Discrimination is classified into two categories:
Mulberry protects its employees at all the stages of employment like appointment, working conditions at the place and the retirement or dismissal period. In spite of all the strict laws Mulberry has sometimes faced the discrimination cases and the efficient management has solved them under the Law and Regulation.
Racial Discrimination: A mulberry worker in 2013 accused the other employees at her workplace were discriminating her racially. The case of resolved by the management and senior authorities and the people who were accused were questioned and strict actions were taken against them. (The Ledger, 2013)
In Mulberry the discrimination laws are no laughing matter. They have created strict rules and formed departments and hired lawyers so that the employees can seek discrimination attorney in Mulberry.
Mulberry has diversity at its workplace that means it has wide range of employees from different background working together for the organisation. This includes employees from different religion, cast, age, sex, physical disability, sexual orientation, educational background, work experience and so on.
UK covers all laws of equal opportunities and anti-discriminations at all the workplace. Mulberry has made aware to its employees about all their rights and laws. The equal opportunity legislations give equal chances to flourish to all the employees. They give their best to the organisation and succeed.
The HRM analyse the working style, capability and skills of the employees before deploying responsibilities on them. The management goes through the performance chart of each employee. The working teams are created in such a way that the weakness of one employee is balanced by the strength of the other.
Mulberry is the most popular fashion brand company in UK and an established company since 1971. It has hundreds of stores located in different parts of UK and thousands of employees working for it. To manage such a vast range of employees with equal opportunities and diversity is a big challenge for the HRM team of Mulberry.
Mulberry always works under the protection of Law. Mulberry makes sure that there is a collaborated effort by all the employees of the company irrespective of gender, disability, ethnicity, sexuality and so on. Every person should share equal responsibilities and participate equally. The Equal Opportunity policy says that the company should engage the employees at the workplace according to their capabilities and they should discriminate and get equality from all the other employees and staff members.
The individual should be appointed according to the job criteria and requirements. But at the work place everyone is equal and the rewards and promotions are entirely based on the performance analysis of the individual in Mulberry.
As it is already discussed that Mulberry is a big company working with thousands of employees of different sex, cast, disability, religion, colour and so on. HRM of Mulberry is very efficient in managing this diversity in the company. Mulberry makes sure that the potential of the employees is engaged in the best way to take out the best results for the company. While analysing the feedbacks and performance of the employee the company only looks at the performance and not the physical appearance. The employees are given equal opportunities to flourish. Training sessions to new technology and new projects are time conducted to make the employees updated. The whole division of work among the employees is done according to the individual’s capacity and capability as the main ambition of the company is to achieve the set goals. (Shen, Chanda, Netto, and Monga, 2009)
The basic motto of performance management is to polish and promote an employee’s effectiveness. It is a continuous process where the managers play the main role in monitoring the employee’s work objectives and they both plan together to achieve the goals set by the organisation.
A satisfied employee is a key to success for any organisation. How an organisation treats its employees and what facilities are provided to the employees is shown by the approaches to manage the employee welfare in an organisation. Mulberry knows that its employees are the asset to the company.
Mulberry feels the responsibility of the employees and their health on its shoulders. Under the rules of health and legislation Mulberry has health policies to all of its employees. Mulberry takes full care of the employees and their health working at the workplace.
The implications of health and safety legislation on HRM practices of Mulberry:
To retain the position in the global market Mulberry needs to remain updated. The efficient management team of Mulberry keeps a close look at the changing trends, requirements of the customers, new ideas and the competitors. The marketing team implement the new strategies based on the market survey. The biggest impact of one of the topical issue is the emerging trend of E-learning. The whole global market is interconnected through this technology. The employees of Mulberry are required to remain updated and learn the new practices E-Learning. The market survey and data remains in the record and is just a click away from all the employees. Mulberry conducts regular programs for understanding end learning this new technology. The working style and conditions at the work place become smoother and surveys are more accurate due to E-Leaning. (Andriotis, 2015)
This MHR Assignment Mulberry is a well of knowledge about the working style of Human resource management in Mulberry. This explains that how the HRM team acts as the life line for the company. The assignment explains the importance of the employees and how the company takes care of them. The employees treat their employees under rules and regulations set by the Government.
Andriotis, N., (2015), E Front: eLearning for Human Resources Management, [Online], Available: https://www.efrontlearning.com/blog/2015/02/elearning-human-resources-management.html [Accessed 15 November, 2016]
Barresi’s (2016), [Online], Available: http://www.barresis.com/about_us.php [Accessed on 16 November, 2016]
Beale, S., (2013), Flexible working-The advantages and disadvantages, [Online],
Available:http://www.businesszone.co.uk/community-voice/blogs/sbeale/flexible-working-the-advantages-and-disadvantages [Accessed on 16 November, 2016]
Broughton, A., (2015), Flexible working remains a mainstay of the UK labour market, [Online], Available:http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/news/flexible-working-remains-mainstay-uk-labour-market, [Accessed on 16 November, 2016]
City of Mulberry, (2014), Personal Rules and Regulations, [Pdf], Available:http://www.cityofmulberryfl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/City-of-Mulberry-Personnel-Manual.pdf [Accessed 15 November, 2016]
Giorgiana, A., (2016), Implications for line managers and employees of developing a strategic approach to HRM at Harrods, [Online], Available: http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/implications-for-line-managers-and-employees-of-developing-a-strategic-approach-to-hrm-at-harrods-7453901.html [Accessed on 16 November, 2016]
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