Unit 3 Managing Human Resources Assignment – IKEA

Unit 3 Managing Human Resources Assignment – IKEA

Introduction

Human resources are the key assets of an organisation which required to be managed in an effective and efficient manner so that to make them capable to meet the desired organisational goals effectively. Managing human resources is a widespread field which includes various aspects related to the human resources and the organisation specifically. It is basically an approach which assists an organisation in performing various activities like planning, recruiting, selection, training and development, etc. for the betterment of the human resources especially. Thus, this particular Unit 3 Managing human resources assignment – IKEA is been developed with the purpose to assess various aspect of managing human resources and the make use of the same for the business. It would be helping out in evaluating the Guest model of HRM and would even compare HRM, Personnel management and IR practices specifically. The report would even identify the applicability of the flexibility mode in an organisation along with its types which could be used in the organisation. It would identify the forms of discrimination which could be faced at the workplace along with the practical implications of the equal opportunities and managing the diversity. It would further assess the approaches being used to managing the welfare in the organisation. Moreover, to attain an in-depth knowledge the functionalities of IKEA which is a leading furniture company and deals in the ready to make furniture products would be evaluated specifically.

Task 1

1.1 . Explain Guest’s model of HRM as applied to IKEA

Guest model of HRM is been mainly stated by the David guest which includes mainly 6 dimensions of evaluation such as HRM outcome, strategy, practices, behavior outcome, performance outcome and financial outcome. This particular model facilitates the organization in identifying the differences between the  human resource management and the personnel management effectively. The model generally works upon the identification of the skills and capabilities of the workers and make the managers familiar with the requirement of improving the skills and knowledge of the employees and get better performance out of it(Guest.et.al, 2012).In context to the functionalities of IKEA, it has been seen that the organization makes use of this model with the purpose to grab the loyalty and trust of the employees towards the business.

The model is also used to execute the strategic planning with the purpose to achieve the desired levels of objectives. The model basically facilitates IKEA in making sure about the optimum utilization of the resourcesin the company and collect higher amounts of profitability out of the same. In addition to this, guest model also indicates the healthy relations within the management and the employees at the workplaces. It has been identified that IKEA could extract higher levels of revenue income by implementing this model in its functionalities and would also enhance the communication skills of the staff members and make them convey the information effectively within the workplace (Alfes.et.al, 2013). Guest model would prove to be helpful to the management of IKEA as would be contributing in wide ranges of the business operations within the organizational framework.         

                                     Figure 1: Guest model

1.2 Storey’s definitions of HRM, Personnel and IR Practices

HRM is a widespread concept which includes various activities and aspects related to the organizations while Personnel management is been commonly defined as a traditional approach of managing the human resources in an organization. Concerning to the storey’s definitions, it has been found thatStorey had stated personnel management as the area in which the management is highly focused to thestaffing and the remunerations of the staff members. In the view of storey, it is a practical aspect of an organization where the management is more focused on specific number of employees leaving the rest (Storey, 2014). For example, the sales manager of an organization would be promoting the members of its department only due to the bureaucracy.

On the other hand, HRM according to storey’s definition is an ongoing process which mainly concentrates on the capabilities and competencies of the employees in order to make them attain the desired goals of the organization. Storey had classified HRM into two basic models i.e. soft model and hard model. Soft model of HRM mainly indicates that the employees must be considered as a precious asset of an organization that contributes in the achievement of the set objectives effectively. The hard model of HRM by storey represents that the management must recognize the basic requirements of the staff members and analyzes their performances with the help of different tools and techniques (Storey, 2016). The models basically facilitate the organization in managing the business operations and execute the planning and strategies effectively and ensure the enhancement of the productivity along with the profitability of the business. However, it has been observed that the  business environment of IKEA  makes use of the soft model of HRM and makes effective initiatives to keep the employees motivated to achieve the goals.

With respect to the ITR practices, it has been identified that the organization would be facilitates with the assistance in designing the rule and regulation for the employees and avail better controls over them. It would even assist the authorities in monitoring the performances of the employees in an enhanced manner and make them improve when required. However, it has been found that ASDA which is a leading company supermarket chain of UK makes use of the IR practices to manage its resources and acquire effective outcome out of the same (Storey and Sisson, 2014).

1.3 Implications of line manager and employees of developing a strategic approach of HRM in IKEA

Line managers are basically an individual with the direct managerial responsibilities for specific group of employees or the individuals. It has been identified that the line managers in IKEA plays an important role in developing the strategies and assist the employees in case of any of the difficulties. The manager is basically liable to assess the strategies and planning and then communicates the report about any of the issues if found to the higher management of the organization directly. He is majorly liable to find out the loopholes or the pros and cons of the strategic plan prior to the execution so that to avoid any of the inconveniences (Marler and Fisher, 2013). The line manager is even responsible to monitor the staff performancesand help them improve if do not meet the levels with the help of suitable training sessions. It has been observed that the line manager of IKEA monitors the employees and keep them updated with the performance levels so that to make them bring improvements and organizes relevant trainings when required. In addition to this, the line manager of IKEA also helps in implementing the strategies designed by the top managements effectively and contribute in resolving the issues at the workplace.

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Task 2

2.1 Explanation of how a model of flexibility might be applied in IKEA.

Workplace safety  is comprised of various policies and practices which have been emerged due to the employee and employer needs specifically. In the present era, flexibility in the working patterns had become a major concern for the organization as it has become crucial to facilitate the workforce with the privileges and provide them with the higher satisfactions with the jobs. The flexibility model facilitates the IKEA to measure the HRM activities and identify the development needs in the business. It has been identified that the management of IKEA provides the staff members with favorable flexibility patters within the workplace in order to extract better performance levels and productivity for the business(Bamberger.et.al, 2014)

                             Figure 2: Workplace flexibility

The basic flexibility models being applied by IKEA are as follows:

• Functional model:This particular model is been applied by IKEA with the purpose to determine the functional skills of the employees and assign the roles accordingly. The model basically signifies that the staff members must be facilitated with sufficient training and motivationto put their best efforts towards the organizational goals (Cogin and Boedker, 2014). IKEA ensures the accomplishment of the required skills and provide the employees with the effective satisfactions.
• Financial model:Financial resources are been considered to be the most important aspect in any of the organization and are been used to fulfill the needs of both the organization and the employees specifically. The financial model of flexibility is been mainly implemented with the intention to provide the employees with better motivation and make them work more effectively and keenly towards the business. IKEA had thus made use of this flexibility model by providing the financial perquisites and make sure about the enhanced job satisfaction of the staff along with the motivation of working with their best efforts(Chang.et.al, 2013). Therefore, the financial model of flexibility would help IKEA in reducing the employee turnover rate and retain them for the longer periods of time at the workplace.

2.2 Discussion of the types of flexibility which may be developed by IKEA

With the increasing pressure or workloads at the workplace, it has become very much important to manage the work life balance of the people so that to live a better living. Flexibility in common words could be termed as the convenience or freedom to change any of the activity according to the changing environment (Scott and Davis, 2015). In context to the workplace of IKEA, there are various types of flexibility which could be developed by the organization. Some of the most common types being developed by IKEA are:

• Work from home: The work from home flexibility allows an employee to complete its tasks from its home only and provide the managers with the report within a set timeframe. Although, this type is not considered much beneficial for some of the employees as they do not get any guidance of the authorities which could lead towards the lack of proficiency in the work or might face failure (Berg.et.al, 2014).
• Job sharing: This type of flexibility is been most trending now a days as the employees are been facilitated with the freedom to split their full time jobs with other employee having a common consent for equal hours specifically or according to their working hours.
• Part time working: This is another type which has been largelypreferred by the candidates. IKEA allows its employees to work for the partial hours or less than the standards working hours. This is mainly due to the unavailability of the employees for fulltimein the organization because of any circumstances. For example, students, housewives, etc (Allen.et.al, 2013).
• Shift swapping: Shift swapping is also an effective type of flexibility which is been used by the management of IKEA for its employees. The employees are been provided with the liberty to set the shifts according to their ease and manage the task with the authorities. However, the management of IKEA makes sure that all the shifts are been fulfilled and occupied by the employees and do not impact its productivity.

Moreover, making use of these types of flexibility IKEA could be able to establish flexible working patters effectively and attain the best efforts out of the efforts of employees.

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

The  employee and employers relation  both are been provided with the beneficial of flexible working patters so that to maintain their effectiveness and performances for longer periods. It has been found that the flexible working practices had impacted the employees and the employer both. IKEA in this term would make use of the flexible working practices in various ways such as part time working, job sharing, team working, work from home, etc. Concerning the employer perspective, flexible working patters would facilitate IKEA in reduced absenteeism and enhanced employee dedication towards the job (Glitz, 2012). It would even help in retaining the experienced and knowledge able employees for longer period of time and lead to the enhancement in the levels of production for the business. With the help of this, IKEA would be able to establish higher levels of satisfaction among the employees and keep them motivated effectively. However, this might lead to the uncertain tiesof facing different issues for the employers because of the comfort in the working practices and would even impact the performance and productivity of the business.

On the contrary to this,the flexible working practices had proved to be beneficial to IKEA in providing the employees with better work life balance and adjust the working hours between the personal and professional lives. Flexibility in the working patterns of the employees had become a major concern for the organization as it has become crucial to facilitate the workforce with the privileges and provide them with the higher satisfactions with the jobs.  It would even contribute in the enhancement of the capabilities of the employees as the flexible working would reduce the pressure or stress on them and make them more enthusiastic towards their jobs. IKEA would be benefited in extracting new innovative and creative ideas for its business by keeping the employees satisfied and relaxed with their job roles. However, it might lead to a negative impact and make the employees lethargic and ignorant with their jobs as flexibility would carry them into a comfort zone and would reduce their efficienciestowards the productivity of the business.

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

Labor market is been considered to be fluctuating due to the changing market conditionsand thus impacts the flexible working practices to the great extent. It has been found thatthe HR managers are required to recruit the best suitable individual having the adequate competencies and capabilities for the organizations. The working practices of IKEA had been impacted in both the negative and positive ways. The management of the organization had initiated to hire all the candidates whether under graduates, graduates or the post graduates for different vacancies at the workplace. It has been identified that with the increase in the demands of the qualified and skilled manpower, there had been a remarkable change in the labor market which had made the organization to provide the desirable working flexibilities at the workplace (Klinger and Rothe, 2012). The management of IKEA is thus striving hard to grab the best skilled workplace by providing them with the flexibilities in the working patterns.

Task 3

3.1 Types of discriminations at workplace

According to analysis of organizational process and managing human resourcesas per the new standard, management needs to consider the different forms of discrimination to avoid the situations of unfair means. IKEA is one of the leading organizations is furniture industry that required focusing on the following types of discriminations at workplace to maintain the legal and ethical process in managing human resources:

• Gender discrimination: This is a major type of discrimination within organizations that has negative impact on the performance and loyalty of existing staff members. For example, the female staff is not getting the as much benefits compare to male staff in salary and offering of higher positioning (Nier and Gaertner, 2012). This type of discrimination is affecting the satisfaction level of female staff and increasing the rate of turnover at workplace which is directly affecting the performance of organization.
• Race discrimination: According of evaluation, it is been carried out that race discrimination is one of the major issue which affecting the process of managing human resources at workplace. Race discrimination involves the ethics and values of individual that inherent from the community from which they belong to. Sometime within organization the manager or senior staff members encourage biasness regarding the racial and ethics which increase the level of dissatisfaction among the staff members and affect their performance. IKEA manager needs to monitor the activities of scenario staff at workplace to overcome the impact of such discrimination issues(Offermann.et.al, 2014).

3.2 Implications of Equal opportunities legislations

For staff members of IKEA, it is important to have equal opportunities within organization which influence their performance the help management to develop the healthy working environment. Equal opportunities refers to allocation of resources and knowledge to staff members that can help to encourage for meeting the benchmarking standard as well as improves the efficiency in operations. The Parliament of UK has proposed Equal opportunity Act 1998 to maintain the legal and ethical approach inmanaging the human resources. According to this law, it is responsibility of HR manager to implement the process and maintain the equal benefits for each members of organization (Barak, 2013). Moreover, the legislation suggest that if organization is not offering the equal benefits to them and having any kind of discrimination than employee can claim using the act and raise voice against discrimination. According to observation of IKEA process it is been considered that management is treating the staff members with equal benefits that has positive impact on the performance of staff as well helping to develop highly competitive and supportive working environment.

For staff member prospective, it is important to follow the rule and policies of organization that are proposed to maintain the ethical approach and fare activities. The major implications that have been identified are influence on brand image as the knowledge of top management regarding the issues as well respect of staff members (Landy and Conte, 2016).  Moreover, consideration of equal opportunity legislation would be beneficial for both organization and employees to maintain trust and supportive behaviour.

3.3 Approaches to manage the equal opportunities and diversity

There are various types of approaches being used by the management of IKEA to manage the equal opportunity and diversity at the workplace. In order to ensure equal opportunities at the workplace, IKEA had developed specific committees which focuses in the employee development and provides them with the opportunities according to their capabilities and their roles (Reason, 2016). The diversity approach mainly helps in creating a peaceful work environment with the framework of the organization which contributes in motivating the employees and retain them for the longer periods of time. It has been however found that the equal opportunity mainly treats the employees as one where as diversity approach manages all the problems of all the employees.

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Task 4

4.1 Performance management methods used by IKEA

Performance management is basically a process being carried out by the managersto measure performances of the employees on the basis of their roles and responsibility within the organization and their performances as well. It is very much important for themanagement to manage the performances of the employees so that to make them meet the requirements of the organizations. In context to IKEA, the manger adopts wide ranges of techniques for monitoring the employee performances and managing the same for the future terms. Some of the major techniques are:

• Checklist and weighted checklists:The manager in this method mainly develops a list of statements of each and every behavior whether effective or ineffective among the employees(Van Dooren.et.al, 2015). This largely helps the manager to represent the poor or outstanding behavior of the staff members at the workplace. This method would help IKEA in reducing the biasness on the performances and would provide a basis to discuss upon the performances.
• Management by objective:This technique would help the management to define the objectives clearly and convey the same among the workforce. The management of IKEA would be able to decide specific deadline for the staff members which has to be met by them. The management mainly monitors the employee performances and discusses the performance with the employees.
• Graphic Rating Scale:The management of IKEA had adopted this method with the purpose to increase the performances and the productivity of the employee along with the revenue enhancements (De Waal, 2013). The graphic rating scale allows the manager to rank the staff members ranging from 1-5 based on their behavior and performances at the workplace. This helps in evaluating the performances of the employees effectively.

                           Figure 3: Performance management cycle

4.2 Assessment of the approaches used to manage the employee welfare in IKEA

Employee welfare is been considered to be the most important aspect within an organization. In order to manage the employee welfare at the workplace, IKEA makes use of different initiatives which increases the motivational levels of the staff members effectively. Making various initiatives such as training program, personal assistance to resolve their personal issues would help in inclining the employees towards the organization. In addition to this, IKEA could also make use of the job security management program which provides with the assurance to the employees working for more than one year (Watson, 2013). The management even facilitates the employees with the profitable retirement plans and would be receiving the pension after the job for the future survivals. The basic intention of the management of IKEA behind these approaches is to acquire trust and loyalty of the employees and motivate them to work towards the organizational goals effectively. These approaches help in ensuring the employee welfare within the organization and make the employees more productive and effective towards their jobs.

4.3 Implications of health and safety legislation on human resource practices

Government authorities have provided lots of directions and guidelines for implementing health and safety legislation. Health and safety legislations are related to rules and regulations that an organization follows for the customers and its staff, so that local and national level standards could be achieved. The management of IKEA is always concerned with making the environment which is free from accidents and injuries. Impact of these legislations can be easily seen on IKEA. For the safe environment government has made lot of rules and policies which are need to be followed. Proper training sessions are been made for making the workplace accident free (Stone, 2013). Currently IKEA is following international standards for employee’s safety and health and ensures a healthy and risk free environment on workplace. Various safety equipments are been established at the work place. Placards regarding the awareness of safety are been placed on the walls. For example: holding the railings while going downstairs, no smoking, put off electric switch after use, wear shoes, etc. These create awareness among the employees to adopt a safe working culture.

The management of IKEA ensures enhanced and smooth working by taking care of individual’s health and safety. IKEA even promotes its employees to give proper feedback regarding the working culture at the workplace. Maximum interaction among employees makes the chances of mistake very less. Providing facilities like neat and clean canteens, bathrooms, toilets, clean drinking water to ensure a healthy working environment.  Management organizes programs for removing burden from the employees.

4.4 Impact of other issues on the human resource practices

HR practices in IKEA are affected by various issues. Operational and non operational procedures are affected by these issues. IKEA’s team always focuses on making the impact of such issues very less. By after so many efforts also, lots of issues been generate and they affect the system. The issues are as follows:

• Rapid Change in the technology: Due to technical advancements and changes, the HR practices of IKEA is affected. Daily new technical tools been added up, so the manager should keep the employees updating accordingly (Hasle, 2014). Technology tools are used for designing, promoting and monitoring the environment.  The organization should make necessary changes and keep the system updated by providing proper steps of training to the HR department.
• Shortage of man power:It affects IKEA in a direct manner. Due to lack of man power work distribution becomes a tough job. Due to shortage of skilled workers in the market such situation arises. This would affect the production of furniture in IKEA. Making good furniture always requires highly skilled workers. Sometimes the HR manager hires more qualified staff to give training to the present staff.
• Over supply of man power:Due to recession or any other reason, sometimes the demand of furniture is less. So the man power is a overload or burden to the organization. This happens when the organization hires employees more than needed (Watson, 2013). This would affect the HR practices.

Conclusion

With the above study it could be stated that managing human resourcesis a widespread field which includes various aspects related to the human resources and the organisation specifically. The report has identified that IKEA could extract higher levels of revenue income by implementing this model in its functionalities and would also enhance the communication skills of the staff members and make them convey the information effectively within the workplace. Even it has been identified that the line managers in IKEA plays an important role in developing the strategies and assist the employees in case of any of the difficulties. The report revealed that that the line manager of IKEA monitors the employees and keep them updated with the performance levels so that to make them bring improvements and organizes relevant trainings when required. It has been found that the flexible working practices had impacted the employees and the employer both. It has been also found that it is very much important for the management to manage the performances of the employees so that to make them meet the requirements of the organizations.

References

Books and journals:

Alfes, K., Truss, C., Soane, E.C., Rees, C. and Gatenby, M., 2013. The relationship between line manager behavior, perceived HRM practices, and individual performance: Examining the mediating role of engagement. Human resource management, 52(6), pp.839-859.
Allen, T.D., Johnson, R.C., Kiburz, K.M. and Shockley, K.M., 2013. Work–family conflict and flexible work arrangements: Deconstructing flexibility. Personnel Psychology, 66(2), pp.345-376.
Bamberger, P.A., Biron, M. and Meshoulam, I., 2014. Human resource strategy: Formulation, implementation, and impact. Routledge.
Barak, M.E.M., 2013. Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage Publications.
Berg, P., Kossek, E.E., Misra, K. and Belman, D., 2014. Work-Life Flexibility Policies: Do Unions Affect Employee Access and Use?. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 67(1), pp.111-137.
Chang, S., Gong, Y., Way, S.A. and Jia, L., 2013. Flexibility-oriented HRM systems, absorptive capacity, and market responsiveness and firm innovativeness. Journal of Management, 39(7), pp.1924-1951.
Cogin, J.A. and Boedker, C., 2014, January. How HRM adds Value to a Firm: The Mediating Effects of Flexibility and Capital in the Service Sector. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2014, No. 1, p. 10094). Academy of Management.
De Waal, A., 2013. Strategic Performance Management: A managerial and behavioral approach. Palgrave Macmillan.
Glitz, A., 2012. The labor market impact of immigration: A quasi-experiment exploiting immigrant location rules in Germany. Journal of Labor Economics, 30 (1), pp.175-213.
Guest, D.E., Paauwe, J. and Wright, P. eds., 2012. HRM and performance: Achievements and challenges. John Wiley & Sons.