Examining the Market and Operations Strategy of Tesco

Introduction

Human resource management or shortly said H.R.M. is a designed and articulate way to management of people working in the company or organization. The other term used for this is personnel management which is used instead of human resource management. It cn be defines as:-

“A continues processes managing people in any organizations in a way to achieve its objectives and goals.”

Human Resource Management is basically a study as well as a department in any organization that stands on ideas and techniques set to improve employee motivation, efficiency and performance.

The HRM models makes necessary emphasizes:

search for new ways and methods of working

key role of managers in making progressive change

treating all the workers as individuals

encouragement of staff to think management as their partners instead of bosses

Human capital is the important quality and capability of businesses especially in service based business. Human resources are some time major proportion of costs for many businesses. Management of such important and valuable resources is necessary for the success of business.

Human resource management means recruiting employees, arranging their training to improve their skills, utilizing these skills, maintaining their performances and paying off their services as required. Employees are a value asset for an organization. The purpose of all this arrangement is to contribute in achievement of company or organization targets.

Human Resource Management practitioners have modern view about workplace management comparing to the traditional thinking. As such, HRM techniques, when properly practiced, are expressive of the goals and operating practices of the enterprise overall. HRM is also seen by many to have a key role in risk reduction within organizations.

HRM and Employees Performance

HRM and organisational performance, evident in improved employee commitment, lower levels of absenteeism and turnover, higher levels of skills and therefore higher productivity, enhanced quality and efficiency . This area of work is sometimes referred to as ‘Strategic HRM’ or SHRM (.

Within SHRM three strands of work can be observed: Best practice, Best Fit and the Resource Based View (RBV).

The notion of best practice – sometimes called ‘high commitment’ HRM – proposes that the adoption of certain best practices in HRM will result in better organisational performance. Perhaps the most popular work in this area is that of Pfeffer  who argued that there were seven best practices for achieving competitive advantage through people and ‘building profits by putting people first’. These practices included: providing employment security, selective hiring, extensive training, sharing information, self-managed teams, high pay based on company performance and the reduction of status differentials. However, there is a huge number of studies which provide evidence of best practices, usually implemented in coherent bundles, and therefore it is difficult to draw generalised conclusions about which is the ‘best’ way (For a comparison of different sets of best practices see Becker and Gerhart, 1996 

Best fit, or the contingency approach to HRM, argues that HRM improves performance where there is a close vertical fit between the HRM practices and the company’s strategy. This link ensures close coherence between the HR people processes and policies and the external market or business strategy. There are a range of theories about the nature of this vertical integration. For example, a set of ‘lifecycle’ models argue that HR policies and practices can be mapped onto the stage of an organisation’s development or lifecycle. Competitive advantage models take Porter’s (1985) ideas about strategic choice and map a range of HR practices onto the organisation’s choice of competitive strategy. Finally ‘configurational models’provide a more sophisticated approach which advocates a close examination of the organisation’s strategy in order to determine the appropriate HR policies and practices. However, this approach assumes that the strategy of the organisation can be identified – many organisations exist in a state of flux and development.

The Resource Based View (RBV), argued by some to be at the foundation of modern HRM, focusses on the internal resources of the organisation and how they contribute to competitive advantage. The uniqueness of these resources is preferred to homogeneity and HRM has a central role in developing human resources that are valuable, rare, difficult to copy or substitute and that are effectively organised.

Overall, the theory of HRM argues that the goal of human resource management is to help an organization to meet strategic goals by attracting, and maintaining employees and also to manage them effectively. The key word here perhaps is “fit”, i.e. a HRM approach seeks to ensure a fit between the management of an organisation’s employees, and the overall strategic direction of the company (Miller, 1989).

The basic premise of the academic theory of HRM is that humans are not machines, therefore we need to have an interdisciplinary examination of people in the workplace. Fields such as psychology, industrial relations, industrial engineering, sociology, economics, and critical theories: postmodernism, post-structuralism play a major role. Many colleges and universities offer bachelor and master degrees in Human Resources Management or in Human Resources and Industrial Relations.

One widely used scheme to describe the role of HRM, developed by Dave Ulrich, defines 4 fields for the HRM function:

Strategic business partner

Change Agent

Employee champion

Administration Expert

Human Resource Department Responsibilities

Companies can have different departments, ranging from sales to human resources. 

Depending on the size of a company, the human resource department may have an entire staff. Employment opportunities found in the department include human resource coordinator, assistant and director. Human resource department responsibilities can involve understanding federal, state and local laws.

Training and Development

The human resources department assists companies with training and development. Companies train employees for different reasons, ranging from employee motivation to new technology. The length of training can differ from hours to weeks. Types of training can range from workshops to classroom participation. Some topics discussed in training sessions include employee safety and customer service.

Benefits

Companies must use different incentives to attract and maintain employees. After compensation, benefits are a common incentive to keep employees. The Society for Human Resource Management states benefits can involve federal and state requirements, such as unemployment insurance. Some companies offer a range of benefits. Types of benefits include dental insurance, vision insurance and paid days off.

Compensation

The Human Resources Department verifies that employees receive proper compensation. One form of compensation involves the amount of pay an employee receives in exchange for work performed, known as base pay. Commissions offer another form of compensation. Some companies offer only a combination of base pay and commissions, such as for a sales job.

Staffing

A company requires staff to provide products and services to its customers. One human resources staffing-related activity involves advertising. Advertising allows companies to match applicants with potential jobs. Forms of advertising can take place on employment boards, specialty newspapers or business websites. Other human resource activities involve contacting applicants for interviews and confirming each applicant’s background.

Employee Exit Interview

HR Tools indicates employee exit interviews can help organizations maintain retention rates. Another benefit from exit interviews is a company can obtain positive feedback about its compensation, benefits or training programs. The human resources department has the responsibility of scheduling and conducting exit interviews. The employee should feel comfortable discussing employment issues, so a private office is advisable for the interviews.

Business Practice

Human resources management involves several processes. Together they are supposed to achieve the above mentioned goal. These processes can be performed in an HR department, but some tasks can also be outsourced or performed by line-managers or other departments. When effectively integrated they provide significant economic benefit to the company.

Workforce planning

Recruitment (sometimes separated into attraction and selection)

Induction, Orientation and Onboarding

Skills management

Training and development

Personnel administration

Compensation in wage or salary

Time management

Travel management (sometimes assigned to accounting rather than HRM)

Payroll (sometimes assigned to accounting rather than HRM)

Employee benefits administration

Personnel cost planning

Performance appraisal

Labor relations

HRM strategy

An HRM strategy pertains to the means as to how to implement the specific functions of HRM. An organization’s HR function may possess recruitment and selection policies, disciplinary procedures, reward/recognition policies, an HR plan, or learning and development policies, however all of these functional areas of HRM need to be aligned and correlated, in order to correspond with the overall business strategy. An HRM strategy thus is an overall plan, concerning the implementation of specific HRM functional areas.

An HRM strategy typically consists of the following factors:-

“Best fit” and “best practice” – meaning that there is correlation between the HRM strategy and the overall corporate strategy. As HRM as a field seeks to manage human resources in order to achieve properly organizational goals, an organization’s HRM strategy seeks to accomplish such management by applying a firm’s personnel needs with the goals/objectives of the organisation. As an example, a firm selling cars could have a corporate strategy of increasing car sales by 10% over a five year period. Accordingly, the HRM strategy would seek to facilitate how exactly to manage personnel in order to achieve the 10% figure. Specific HRM functions, such as recruitment and selection, reward/recognition, an HR plan, or learning and development policies, would be tailored to achieve the corporate objectives.

Close co-operation (at least in theory) between HR and the top/senior management, in the development of the corporate strategy. Theoretically, a senior HR representative should be present when an organization’s corporate objectives are devised. This is so, since it is a firm’s personnel who actually construct a good, or provide a service. The personnel’s proper management is vital in the firm being successful, or even existing as a going concern. Thus, HR can be seen as one of the critical departments within the functional area of an organization.

Continual monitoring of the strategy, via employee feedback, surveys, etc.

The implementation of an HR strategy is not always required, and may depend on a number of factors, namely the size of the firm, the organizational culture within the firm or the industry that the firm operates in and also the people in the firm.

An HRM strategy can be divided, in general, into two facets – the people strategy and the HR functional strategy. The people strategy pertains to the point listed in the first paragraph, namely the careful correlation of HRM policies/actions to attain the goals laid down in the corporate strategy. The HR functional strategy relates to the policies employed within the HR functional area itself, regarding the management of persons internal to it, to ensure its own departmental goals are met.

Career and Education

Several universities offer programs of study pertaining to HRM and broader fields. Cornell University created the world’s first school for college-level study in HRM (ILR School). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign also now has a school dedicated to the study of HRM, while several business schools also house a center or department dedicated.

There are both generalist and specialist HRM jobs. There are careers involved with employment, recruitment and placement and these are usually conducted by interviewers, EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) specialists or college recruiters. Training and development specialism is often conducted by trainers and orientation specialists. Compensation and benefits tasks are handled by compensation analysts, salary administrators, and benefits administrators.

Professional organizations

Professional organizations in HRM include the Society for Human Resource Management, the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the International Public Management Association for HR (IPMA-HR), Management Association of Nepal (MAN) and the International Personnel Management Association of Canada (IPMA-Canada), Human Capital Institute. National Human Resource Development Network in India.

Functions

The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs to have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can’t yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have-and are aware of-personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have.

Note that some people distinguish a difference between HRM (a major management activity) and HRD (Human Resource Development, a profession). Those people might include HRM in HRD, explaining that HRD includes the broader range of activities to develop personnel inside of organizations, including, e.g., career development, training, organization development, etc.

There is a long-standing argument about where HR-related functions should be organized into large organizations, e.g., “should HR be in the Organization Development department or the other way around?”

The HRM function and HRD profession have undergone major changes over the past 20-30 years. Many years ago, large organizations looked to the “Personnel Department,” mostly to manage the paperwork around hiring and paying people. More recently, organizations consider the “HR Department” as playing an important role in staffing, training and helping to manage people so that people and the organization are performing at maximum capability in a highly fulfilling manner.

The Responsibilities of a Manager in Human Resources Planning

The human resources department has many roles and functions. Historically, the department was responsible for recruitment and training within an organization. Human resources has evolved to include a wide variety of competencies that are necessary for an organization’s growth and success. Managers are in constant communication with the human resources department. Effective human resources planning requires managers and company executives to identify the needs of the company and develop a strategic plan to meet those needs.

Recruitment

The acquisition of experienced and qualified employees is vital to the success of an organization. Managers are responsible for interviewing potential candidates and making recommendations to hire a particular individual. Managers also attend recruiting events and evaluate applicants to determine whether the candidate’s personality will fit within the corporate environment.

Retention

Employee retention is an integral part of a manager’s responsibilities. Managers are obligated to ensure that employee work environments are conducive to individual success. Managers are responsible for motivating employees and developing programs that encourage good employees to remain with the company. Managers communicate the feedback they receive from employees to human resources so they may expand retention initiatives. These initiatives are designed to keep existing employees happy and satisfied with their jobs.

Training

Training within an organization is a work in progress. As new products are introduced or industry trends shift in a new direction, additional training and employee development will be necessary. Human resources departments watch markets closely to ensure their organizations remain up to speed on changes within their enterprise. Managers also must supervise employees to ensure that a lack of understanding of company products and services does not interfere with job duties. Further, managers are responsible for making recommendations that additional training be conducted if several employees fall behind on a particular objective.

Employee Relations

Employee relations involve many different aspects of human resources planning. Employee relations are events or situations that affect an employee’s well-being, such as managerial disputes or employee discrimination. Employee relations also involve employee salaries, benefits, health care and retirement. If an employee has a work-related issue, it is usually brought to the attention of his manager first. Managers are responsible for keeping employee relations matters confidential and referring complex issues to the appropriate department to remedy the situation.

Job Duties for a Human Resource Specialist

Human resource specialists provide a specific type of work in the human resources department of a business. Even though a person may specialize in any of several areas, the responsibilities of different specialists may overlap.

Employee Recruitment and Placement

Specialists in employee recruitment and placement manage the applicant screening process and hiring activities for open positions. They may seek out promising applicants through job boards or career fairs and help match them to appropriate jobs.

Compensation and Benefits

Specialists in this area design and administer employee benefit programs such as health insurance, retirement plans and flexible spending accounts. They must be knowledgeable about the various benefit programs offered by their company as well as laws that may affect these benefits.

Job Analysis

Job analysts determine job titles, develop job descriptions and designate position classifications. In some companies, job analysis is done by compensation and benefit specialists.

Training and Professional Development

These specialists provide employee training such as new employee orientation and continuing education. They often develop and present materials for professional development workshops.

Labor Relations

Labor relations specialists assist with the resolution of employee disputes and grievances, as well as contract negotiation and workplace safety. They negotiate with labor unions and act as liaisons between employees and management.

Effective Interviewing

Giving an interview is as nerve racking as having one! As an interviewer you want to get as much information from the interviewee as possible, so to do this you’re going to have to be nice to them! By making the environment calm and relaxing, both you and the interviewee will get the best from the interview.

Before the interview, decide what information you require. It may help you to write yourself a list of questions or keywords, which will help the interview go smoothly.

It is important that you listen to the candidate carefully, as well as getting all of the information you want, it will also help you to expand on the interviewees answers. Try to avoid asking questions together as this may confuse the candidate, as well as giving them the option to avoid certain questions.

Glossary Of Terms

Added Value often refers to the analysis undertaken by management of the cost and contribution made by employees involved at each stage in the process of producing a product or providing a service.

Appraisal Schemes – an individual’s performance is reviewed by their manager. Their past performance is examined and future goals are set.

Benchmarking measures standards of performance against others doing similar work.

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) refers to the methods by which a company or service undertakes a thorough review of all its operations.

Business Units often have their own Trading Accounts and operate with relative autonomy from the rest of the company or service.

Continuous Improvement (Kaizen) requires employees to constantly seek ways of improving the quality of the product or service.

Delayering is the removal of middle layers of management resulting in a ‘flatter’ management organisation.

Dismissal is when you are removed from employment

Empowerment/Enablement are strategies aimed to give people more control and responsibility for their work

Flexibility describes changes in the size of the workforce, depending on short-term changes in market conditions

Management-by-Objectivesmeans each management team identifying its key tasks and goals and using these as a yardstick against which performance is measured.

Multi-Skilling is the increase of the skills base of the workforce, usually bringing in new technology

Multi-tasking requires for staff to take on a wider range of tasks, usually involving on-the-job training

Outsourcing occurs when management invites external contractors to undertake work that was previously done by in-house staff.

Performance Indicators measure the improvements in throughputs, outputs and outcomes.

Performance Related Pay (PRP)links an individuals performance with their pay. Different schemes have been set up to measure

Team Building brings together employers and employees, with the goal of increasing performance by strengthening relationships within the workplace

Total Quality Management (TQM)usually involves the introduction of continuous monitoring. It refers to initiatives designed to improve the quality of products and services to meet customer’s requirements.

http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/business/hrm/lesson/hrm1map.gif

Title

Human resource management: a problem-solving approach linked to ISLLC standards

G – Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series

Authors

Jerry R. Baker, Madeleine S. Doran

Edition

2, revised, illustrated

Publisher

R&L Education, 2007

Length

217 pages

Title

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Authors

ROBERT L. MATHIS, JOHN H. JACKSON

Publisher

Cengage Learning, 2007

Subjects

Business & Economics / Human Resources & Personnel Management

 

 

Title

Human resource management: a strategic approach to employment

B H contemporary business series

Author

Chris Hendry

Edition

illustrated, reprint

Publisher

Butterworth-Heinemann, 1995

ISBN

075060994X, 9780750609944

Length

485 pages

Title

A handbook of human resource management practice

Author

Michael Armstrong

Edition

9, illustrated

Publisher

Kogan Page Publishers, 2003

ISBN

0749441054, 9780749441050

Length

979 pages

Title

Human Resource Management

Authors

Derek Torrington, Stephen Taylor, Laura Hall, Carol Atkinson

Edition

8

Publisher

Pearson Education, Limited, 2010

ISBN

0273732323, 9780273732327

Length

848 pages

Subjects

Business & Economics / Commerce

Title

Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice

Authors

John Bratton, Jeffrey Gold

Edition

2, illustrated

Publisher

Routledge, 2001

ISBN

0805838627, 9780805838626

Length

432 pages