Unit 22 Practical Issues in Human Resource Assignment

Unit 22 Practical Issues in Human Resource Assignment

LO1 Understand the difference between personnel management and human resource management

1.1. Differentiate between personnel management and human resource management

Personnel management deals with tasks such as employee’s payroll, welfare and administrative kind of role which is a traditional approach. This kind of management is common in construction companies working in Dubai or Saudi Arabia where workers from developing countries are working and the manager’s role is to see that the proper employment laws and regulations are followed. It is workforce centered and there is no scope of programs such as skill development or talent nurturing (Introducing Human Resource Management, 2016).

On the other hand  human resource management  is a modern approach which considers employees as a resource which can be developed and nurtured to achieve the organizational as well as individual goals. An enterprise like Greka Drilling Limited has vibrant and dedicated human resource department which continuously perform performance evaluation and training programs for skill development of its employees. The company has a pool of technicians who have bachelor’s in technical faculty along with experience personnel who have diplomas or have done certifications courses of short durations. The HR management has to manage the technical team where new technical graduates could work with experienced technicians who may not have gone to good schools and it is the only way of imparting training to freshers.

The HR team monitors the training and also performs on job performance analysis based on criteria set by the various departments like environment and safety, maintenance department along with its own analysis based on workplace behavioral conduct. The entire process helps an individual to improve his/her performance along with benefits that are offered for competence.  

1.2. Assess the function of the human resource management in contributing to organisational purposes

The function of a human resource management circles round these three objectives

• Efficient and effective use of human resource
• Ensuring pleasant environment in the workplace with desirable working relationship among the employees.
• Providing opportunities for individual development.

Based on these objectives the function of a HR management can be divided in to five categories:

• Recruitment: Hiring and retaining the competent individuals is the most important and basic function of the human resources. Greka Drilling limited has to recruit competent individuals because of the nature of the work. It is basically a field work outside the cities in remote locations and is done 24x7x365. Whether it is raining or snowing it does not matter. The work goes on and is hard labor. So many individuals may find it tuff to work so correct assessment is required before hiring.
• Human resource Planning: Planning the required number and type of human resource according to the work in order to achieve the organizational goal is part of HRM. In this work it can take help from operations manager along with the data of past experience could be analysed to get the best result. Greka Drilling used to plan for the two months of operations in advance. Sometimes some drilling rigs have to be shut down for longer period of time according to the project requirements. So the management has to make sure that the employees are sent on leave in order to save the money and at the same time has to make sure that those employees should join their duties when called upon. If anybody does not respond then they have to manage the crew with some other employee from other rig crew without hampering the operations of that rig.
• Employee Development: HRM ensures that the employees are equipped with proper skills and knowledge for efficient working. For this purpose they provide training programmes for experienced as well as inexperienced employees.Greka Drilling used to conduct regular safety training exercises and first aid programmes to enhance the skills of technicians.
• Performance appraisal and compensation: Greka Drilling used to do performance appraisal every six months. The site in charge who are called as Tool Pushers were given a questionnaire which was designed for performance and behavior evaluation of the crew members. The crew comprised of technicians of various experience and educational background and had a hierarchy level in the crew. So the questionnaire was designed in such a way that proper appraisal for each and every crew member could be done. Compensations and pay hikes were given according to the evaluations. 

1.3. Evaluate the role and responsibilities of line managers in human resource management

The role of line managers consists of activities which were considered for HR managers traditionally. The difference is that the HR managers are responsible for human resource planning for the entire organization whereas line managers are responsible for planning for a team or an individual of a team. Line managers act as a link between higher management and a team assigned to them(Human Resource Management Journal, 2012).In Greka Drilling, Tool Pushers acts as a line manager whose responsibility is to train and guide the technical team throughout the all kinds of jobs and take  decision making  regarding the operations. He is responsible for the disciplines and sorting out small grievances on the field. His role in performance evaluation has been explained in the upper section.

During everyday team meeting which is known as “tool box talk” he assigns work responsibility to each crew member and discuss about the role of each individual in every job. Any individual can approach to him for work related problem and he would try to seek it out on his level. Even he can recommend for promotion of employees to the next level of hierarchy. He is responsible for the implementation of organization policy of human resource on the unit level.

1.4. Analyse the impact of the legal and regulatory framework on human resource management

The legal and regulatory framework is devised for the safeguard of the rights of employees and employers in order to make the workplace safer and pleasant for all of the stakeholders. It prohibits HRM to discriminate on the basis of race, gender and religion. It ensures that same wage is given for same work to all of the employees. The Employment rights act empowers the employee to voice against improper dismissal from the work. It also ensures that national minimum wage is paid and no manager could ask for more working hours than 48 hours per week until unless the employee wishes to work for more hours.

The various rules and regulation forced the HR managers to change their policies on the guidelines of the government. The fear of being dragged to the court of law ensures the fair behavior with each and every employee. The HR managers plan for the carrier development for each individual according to their performance without biasing. The health and safety act has forced the HR managers to work for better ergonomics for the work place which has gained importance a lot for people who have long hours of desk jobs (Employee Relation Act, 1999 and 2003).

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LO2 Understand how to recruit employees

2.1 analyse the reasons for human resource planning in organisations.

The reasons for human resource planning in an organisation are:

• Determine present and future needs of employee: The HR managers are responsible for assessing the current and future needs of human resource with desired skill sets according to the need of a project at right place and at right time(What is Human Resource, 2012). The planning helps in smooth running of the organization as far as man power or workers are concerned. The management maintains a database of all employees and their skill and knowledge and then tries to estimate the requirements of the future. In this process the organization creates a talent reservoir.
• Coping with the change: HR planning helps to cope with the changes in required skill set of employees through training and development programmes. This helps the organization to prepare for the future projects.
• Employee Turnover: Employee turnover is a global phenomenon which every HR management has to face. A wide gap in individuals available and vacancies can affect the operations significantly. Thus it is the responsibility of HR management to do proper planning and have exact data and numbers of people leaving the job or may leave in near future. The management has to recruit the requisite number of competent employees.
• Cost cutting: Apart from hiring required number of employees according to the project, sometimes HR management has to take decisions regarding laying off employees in order to maintain the percentage of profit or reduce the loses. The performance appraisal done by the management helps in taking this decision. The human resource planning helps in deciding the minimum number of essential individuals for running the project. The proper planning increases the scope of taking correct decisions during hard times of the organisations. In similar fashion it helps in increasing the employee base also.

2.2 outline the stages involved in planning human resource requirements

The human resource requirement planning based on organizational goals and aims can be divided into following stages

• Strategic Planning: The HR management with the help ofoperational, finance and other concerned managements do the technical man power forecast with the economic and financial budget availability for the future projects and estimate the requirements. This is a crucial decision making process on which the successful execution of the project depends.
• Human resource planning: The operation management gives the required estimate of individuals with desired skill set for the future projects. It is the job of HR management to hire such individuals and plan for their induction and training. They prepare a database of existing employees along with their knowledge and skills. The planning is done keeping in mind employee turnover and accurate estimation of required competent personnel. If they have more than the required number then lay off or retirement decision is also exercised. If more workforce is required or employee with other skill set is required then acquisition planning is done.
• Acquisition planning: The skill set is fixed and head hunting is done. The criteria of hiring for each department with hierarchy level are sorted out. Pulling employees with better performance to next level of hierarchy is also done in this stage of planning. Monitoring and control of performance to achieve the organizational goal is also done as a final step of acquisition. This step ensures the success of the planning.

2.3 compare the recruitment and selection process in two organisations

Recruitment is a process of finding about candidates who are willing to work for an organization whereas selection is the process of choosing suitable candidate for the post. There are two types of recruitment- Internal and External recruitment process. Internal recruitment is done when the vacancies can be filled by the employees already working in the organization. This process is saves time and cost involved in the recruitment. External recruitment is done when candidates outside the organization is required to be hired. It is done by posting the job vacancies on online portals and other job platforms. Sometimes the management takes help from various recruitment consultancies also.

For comparison purpose the recruitment and selection process of Maersk Corporation and Pizza Hut is discussed below.

Maersk advertises the openings on various online job portals and seek applications from candidates who have relevant knowledge and expertise. It also tries to fill the vacancies through internal recruitment process. For external candidates it advertises vacancies on its website. Maersk makes sure that people know about the openings and make the application process simple. The applicants search for the job openings from various fields available on the website according to their experience and area of expertise. They fill the application form and submit to the website directly. An automated email regarding the application submitted successfully is sent on the applicant’s email address. Then the management sorts out the most desirable candidates for the post and are contacted through email and various kinds of exercises are given to analyze their team work and problem solving attitude methods. Then they are contacted on phone for first round of interview. If the performance is satisfactory then second round of face to face interview of interview through video conferencing or through Skype is done. All this process ensures the selection of most competent individual who applied for the job.

On the other hand the Pizza Hut advertises the vacancies in their own restaurants and local job fairs or job centers. Normally they hire younger people with decent personality with average communication skills. Since no particular qualification or experience is required a lot of people apply for the job. Here the manager sort out the applications of those criteria and call the applicants for face to face interviews. Then the candidates are selected on the basis of this interview and their induction process starts.  

2.4 evaluate the effectiveness of the recruitment and selection techniques in two organisations

The recruitment and selection process for both the organization are designed and planned to get the best candidate for the job. The organisation’s effectiveness depends on the work force it has hired so it’s the key responsibility of the HR management to induct competent employees in order to achieve the organisation’s goal.

Maersk through its website advertise the post and the qualification and experience required for the post. The candidates who fulfill the criteria apply for the job. So the HR manager has a pool of desired candidates and he/she has the select best among those who possess the required expertise for the post. The application process in itself designed in the way that no discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, and race is done. The selection process is designed to identify the most competent individual among who have applied for the job. Similarly the Pizza Hut recruitment drive attracts many individuals who want to work for the joint. There is no such screening process involved in the selection method so a lot of candidates are interviewed. The selection is totally based on the performance in the interview with the manager. The process is time consuming and a lot of effort is required to select the right candidate.

LO3 Understand how to reward employees in order to motivate and retain them

3.1 assess the link between motivational theory and reward

Motivational theories can be broadly divided into two viewpoints- content theories and process theories. The content theory deals with motivates and process theory deals with the process of motivation. Motivation is a process of influencing the behavior of an individual either by offering or withholding the satisfaction of the needs (BPP Learning Media, 2010). On the other hand reward is something that is awarded by an organization in lieu of good performance of an employee which gives the sense of achievement. Rewards could be either financial or non-financial.

Frederick W Taylor put before the earliest of the motivational theory. He believed that work could be broken down into step wise task activities using scientific methods to find the most efficient way of doing a job (The Principles of Scientific Management). Taylor believed that money motivates the worker so he introduced the method of payment on piece work basis. Virgin Media still follows these principles (not entirely) and has introduced bonuses for better performances.

Herzberg in his theory states that there are two sets of need of workers at the work place- Motivational factors and Hygiene factors. The combination of these two factors can give better results in the employee’s performance. Virgin Media based on this theory hire apprentices based on their behavior and talent and give them proper mentoring and training. The Virgin Media also provides on job training to its employees to increase their confidence level and competence.

Maslow’s Theory speaks about five hierarchy levels of human needs which every individual starting from the first level of fulfilling of basic needs tries to climb up to the next level to attain the fifth level of self-actualization. Virgin Media does a survey every year where questions related to job profile, training and development are asked. In this way everyone’s contributes to the HR policy. The career progression of the  employee relationship  is a part of the policy and is drafted with the help of employees.

3.2 evaluate the process of job evaluation and other factors determining pay

Job evaluation is an extensive process and is done through a systematic approach. The approach defines the relative worth or size of the jobs within the organization in order to establish internal relativities. The systematic approach provides the basis for pay structure, structure of the grade of the job and pay relatives. At the initial stage of the approach, the management must sort out all the reasons of the entire process and its importance. A group of HR managers and employees of all departments are formed for the evaluation process.

The group formulates the method of evaluation of the job. There two methods for this task:

• Analytical method- points rating, proprietary brand and factor comparison
• Non analytical method- job classification, ranking of the job and paired comparison

The other factors of pay determining are as follows:

• Skills and experience
• Seniority
• Industry type
• Profits
• Performance of the employee
• Size of the organisation

3.3 assess the effectiveness of reward systems in different contexts

The effectiveness of the reward system depends on the type of reward. There are mainly two types of reward:

Extrinsic Rewards- These are tangible in nature which an employee receives due to their performance. These include bonuses, salary hike, gifts, commissions and promotions.

Intrinsic Rewards- These are intangible in nature and are in the forms of recognitions for good performance, appreciations, trust and relationship.

Employee bonus system and pay hike are positive strategy and can provide good motivation. These can improve performance and attendance as well as customer service and quality of the work. The organization profit increases as result of the reward system due to the increased effectiveness and interest of towards the work.

3.4 examine the methods organisations use to monitor employee performance

There are several methods by which the employee performance can be monitored. The Virgin networks uses observation and feedback system for monitoring the performance. The company hire third party for the monitoring along with its own HR management. The observation is analyzed which gives accurate result based on the feedback. The company also sets the standards for its employees and expects to follow the standards. The training programmes help the employees to fulfill the expectation. The employees performance is evaluated on the fixed criteria which is quality, cost, quantity and manner of performance.

The employees are interviewed to know about their performance and to identify their strength and weaknesses and ways to improve them

LO4 Know the mechanisms for the cessation of employment

4.1 identify the reasons for cessation of employment with an organization

According to the context given, Faisal from the The Chicken Master was terminated due to poor performance and violation of company’s policy. According to the owner, Faisal neglected his duty as a manager of the store. On further investigation, many reasons for his termination were found.

• Cleanliness of front of the store and kitchen was not adequate.
• The food was not prepped.
• The other staffs were not supervised properly.
• Frequent absence from the job for personal works without informing anyone.
• Using store’s resources such as computer and internet for personal use which is against the company’s policy.

The owner was forced to terminate him as he also tried to coach Faisal for improving his performance but no result forced him to terminate him.

Other reasons for cessation of employment with an organization are

• Resignation: Resignation or end of service contract is done for various reasons by the employee. If anyone is not satisfied with the nature of the job or pay then the employee will look for some other opportunities. Sometime family issues force the employer to resign from the current job and shift to other location or country.
• Retirement: According to the company’s policy employees have to retire form the job after a particular age they attain. Now a day’s many employees choose for voluntary retirement after attaining certain goal in their carrier and money.
• Redundancy: During economic slowdown or recession, many employees become redundant due to less work or no work. The company gives notice in advance to the employees explaining the reason behind the laying off. There are certain regulations which every company has to follow before lay off of the employees (Boxall, 1992).
• Death: It’s a self-explanatory reason for cessation of employment. Some companies have certain policy of providing jobs next to the keen if the sole bread earner of the family is died. Mostly government agency follows this kind of system.
• Dismissals: This is the most common reason for cessation of the employment in an organization. Poor performance, misconduct at the work place or legal boundation to terminate like visa expire are some the reasons behind dismissal of employee. The employer has to inform the employee about their dismissal with the reasons involved. Depending on the company, there is notice period. The employer has to inform regarding dismissal before prior the notice period and has to give equal pay and benefits during that period.

4.2 describe the employment exit procedures used by two organisations

In case of The Chicken Masters, the employer tried to coach Faisal gave him appropriate time to show improvement in his works. But no good result came out so on the basis of poor performance and violation of company’s policy, the owner terminated Faisal. The exit procedure involved these steps

• Collect Id card, parking card, visiting cards or any other card was given to him.
• Collect all mobile phones, computer given to him
• Clear off the desk from his personal belongings or any other personal files saved on the computer.

The exit procedure depends on the type of organization. For a person in R&D of a sophisticated technological field the exit procedure would be completely different with a person working in a bank. For a person in R&D, there would be completely different protocol.

• Collect ID card, access cards, company credit card, parking cards
• Collect all equipment whether used on work place or house( provided by the company)
• Disable network IDs and system access
• Clear of desk of personal belongings.

4.3 consider the impact of the legal and regulatory framework on employment cessation arrangements.

The dismissal or cessation of employment should comply with the regulations set by the legal bodies of the country or state. A fair and reasonable behavior of employer is expected for cessation. The employee has a right to go to the Employment Tribunal if he/she feels that any kind of discrimination or injustice is done. Employers are advised to follow ACAS code which has the guideline for cessation process along with the company’s own contractual procedures.

If dismissal notice is served then specific areas are reviewed so that a decision could be taken. The areas which are reviewed include performance, responsibility, absenteeism and special achievements (Truss &Gratton, 2004). In The Chicken Master case, Faisal failed in all areas of job. At the same time company’s policy of not using the company’s property for personal work was not followed, even was misused for pornography which is a kind of misconduct at the work place.

Employment Right Act states that proper warning and time should be given to improve performance. Faisal was given prior training by the owner to improve his performance as manager. Employment Right Act also provides with the compensation if the tribunal finds that proper guidelines have been not fallen. So if Faisal’s claims are found to be true than the tribunal can order The Chicken Master to reinstate him as a manager or to some other post in the joint or in some cases compensation and job also.

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References:

Human Resource Management Journal
The Financial Timesand other quality newspapers. Many business stories will appear in the   news sections.
Harvard Business Review (Harvard Business Publishing)
The Economist (The Economist Newspaper Ltd)
Helen Shipton, Karin Sanders, Carol Atkinson, Stephen Frenkel, Sense-giving in health care: 2016, the relationship between the HR roles of line managers and employee commitment, Human Resource Management Journal
HosseinSamei, AlirezaFeyzbakhsh, 2015, Predecessors competency framework for nurturing successors in family firms,International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
DamianosGiannakis, Michael J. Harker, 2014, Strategic alignment between relationship marketing and human resource management in financial services organizations, Journal of  Strategic Marketing 
VasanthiSrinivasan, Rajesh Chandwani, 2014,HRM innovations in rapid growth contexts: the healthcare sector in India, The International Journal of Human Resource Management,
Voselsang John, 2013, Handbook for Strategic HR
Thomas H, DiezFermin, Smith R. Richard, 2013, Human Capital and Global Business Strategy