Strategic Human Resource Management in Carlsberg Group

This report discusses the concept of strategic human resource management in the context of Carlsberg Group. It explores the implementation of the winning behaviour strategy and its alignment with HR practices. The report also highlights the challenges faced by Carlsberg in strategy implementation in Malaysia and provides recommendations for success. Study material and solved assignments on strategic HRM are available on Desklib.

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Strategic Human Resource Management
6/3/2019

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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Overview of the case study (Carlsberg group).......................................................................................2
1. Strategic HR priorities of Carlsberg Group...............................................................................2
2. Rationale behind implementation of ‘Winning Behaviour’ strategy.........................................3
3. Alignment of the Winning Behaviour strategy with Carlsberg HR practices.................................4
Equity and Diversity......................................................................................................................4
Workforce planning and development...........................................................................................4
Social responsibility......................................................................................................................5
4. Challenges faced by Carlsberg in strategy implementation in Malaysia................................6
5.‘Winning Behaviours’ strategy in Australia and recommendations for success..........................6
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................7
References.............................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The report brings about the discussion on the concept of human resource management
in context to business organisations. The concept of strategic human resource management
can be defined as the process of linking the function of human resource to the objective of
the organisation. The significance or aim of the strategic management of human resource is to
enhance the performance of the organisation. The discussion is based on a given case study
of the company, i.e. ‘Carlsberg’, inclusive of the HR strategies, and their winning
behaviours strategy (Carlsberg group, 2018). In addition, the assignment will also include the
discussion of the difficulties faced by the company in implementing the HR strategy. In the
later part, the report will provide recommendations to the aspect of implementation of the
‘winning behaviour’ strategy in context to Australian business environment.
Overview of the case study (Carlsberg group)
The case study is given on the company, ‘Carlsberg’ established in the year 1847, is
located in the Copenhagen, Denmark. The company provides employment to 41,000 people
and deals in the sale of 500 different brands of beer. The CEO of the company established a
strategy development process, which is based on the phenomenon of ‘must-win battles’
(Carlsberg, 2018). The goal behind the strategy of the brand, was to incorporate a common
group culture and focusing on the enhancement of the capabilities and potential of the
individuals in the organisation. Five types of behaviours were mentioned, which were
aligned with the global strategy of the company. The group faced certain challenges, in their
business practices due to the nature of work or operations, for an instance in the cases of
Muslim countries (Chan et al., 2018).
Other than this, the case has mentioned about the introduction or expansion of the
business of the group in context to Australian market. The company from the analysis of the
case, and other such concepts has been stated as one of the successful brewing firm. Thus, the
business strategy and other concepts of HRM will be studied in the later section of this report
(Hatch & Schultz, 2017).
1. Strategic HR priorities of Carlsberg Group
The first aspect in the report will analyse the HR priorities and other practices of the
company, Carlsberg. In any organisation, HR department carries out different functions of

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human resource management, and has certain priorities in the organisation. To outline the
major HR priorities of Carlsberg, it can be stated, the company aims to build critical skills
and capacities of their people for attaining the objectives. The case has represented that
company focuses to take lead of the market. Therefore, attaining or establishing effective
leadership is another key HR priority of the organisation (Buckley & Ghauri, 2015).
Besides, this Carlsberg prioritise to improve or enhance the performance of employees to
attain high customer satisfaction from the sale of their products. Thus, it has been analysed
that the brewery company will be able to attain these listed HR priorities through developing
behaviours and providing training to their employees. In addition, the managers will also
emphasize on the performance management tools to enhance level of organisational
performance and growth (Kumaraswamy, Garud & Ansari, 2018).
2. Rationale behind implementation of ‘Winning Behaviour’ strategy
Carlsberg has implemented the ‘winning behaviours strategy’ in their organisation as a
broader perspective for the effective functioning. Winning behaviour is the strategic
behaviour adopted by the organisation to incorporate common culture in the organisation.
The senior staff at the Carlsberg group implemented the winning culture, that focused on five
behaviours, i.e. ‘together’, ‘we are stronger’, we want to win, and the customers are central
to the decision-making. the other two types or aspects of behaviour include ‘we are
empowered to create a difference, and ‘ensuring high engagement with society’ (Sozen &
O’Neill, 2019).
The aim of the company was to direct the efforts and interests of people towards a
common goal. Thus, to determine the rationale behind Carlsberg choosing or adopting the
‘winning culture’ is the alignment of the global business strategy with the international
approach of HRM. The senior managers perceived the benefit or advantage of using the
‘winning behaviour strategy’ as it established a glocal way of thinking in the organisation
(Noe et al., 2017).
The glocal way of thinking explains the approach of ‘think globally, act locally’. The
winning strategy has been termed as FAST strategy i.e. (fearless, ambitious, smart, team)
which aimed to ensure people work together at high efficiency. Another major objective
behind the use of ‘winning behaviour’ strategy was to ensure that people in the local firm
speak same language as adopted by the headquarters (Hatch & Schultz, 2017). However, it also
aim at integrating these aspects with the locally relevant FAST programme. For an example,

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the case study has mentioned the managerial desire of the people to work efficiently within a
team (Greer, Lusch & Hitt, 2017).
This has been observed through the operations of the brewery in context to Malaysian
business environment. Therefore, it has been analysed that the major goal of incorporating
the winning behaviour strategy, is to encourage the united efforts of people, determining high
performance of the team. For incorporating the winning behaviours strategy, the company
organised several training workshops, to initiate desired change in the behaviour of people in
the organisation. Moreover, it is also utilised as the means of measuring competencies in
context to performance measurement. Henceforth, it has been analysed that the
implementation of the strategy of winning behaviour, assured better culture and enhanced
performance of the subsidiaries of Carlsberg (Hatch, M. J., & Schultz, 2017).
3. Alignment of the Winning Behaviour strategy with Carlsberg HR practices
Equity and Diversity
From the research on the brewer company, the senior directors developed major
strategic concept for the purpose of integration across different nations. In every
organisation, managers who value the aspects of equal opportunities, and diversity encourage
positive work culture in the organisation (Lehmann, 2019).
In the given case, the company empowered the behaviour of ‘together we are
stronger’ represented the principle or HR practices. This stated that the company promotes or
hires people from different cultural backgrounds and countries. The research stated, that
Carlsberg ensure promoting equality or equity in respect to the remuneration. In the brewery,
women are paid higher than men, and this determines practice of promoting equity and
diversity (Paulsen Galal, Lund Liebmann & Nordin, 2018).
Workforce planning and development
The HR practice of workforce planning refer to the process of analysing, forecasting and
ensuring effective planning for their demand and supply in the market. It also determines the
role of assessing the gaps for candidates in the organisation to undertake different job roles.
Therefore, it enables managers to identify gaps, and finding and placing right people at the

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right place. In context to the brewery company, the managers ensure effective planning to
hire people in their organisation (Tzu, 2018). As they work at global level, it is essential for
them to emphasize the practice of workforce planning. Moreover, developing the capabilities
and potential of the employees is one of the top priorities of the organisation. Employees are
provided training to build essential skills and abilities to perform their job. One example can
be stated here, the International talent programme initiated by Carlsberg, for supporting the
managers during the period of developing career. This is one major aspect of development of
the workers or employees in the brewery for their high commitment towards the
organisational goals. Thus, skilled or trained workers, in the organisation lead to effective
integration of the winning behaviour strategy, in the organisation (Tzu, 2018).
Social responsibility
The concept of social responsibility is used in businesses, representing their
obligations or duties towards the society. Social responsibility refers to the aspect whereby
individuals and business have to perform in the best interests of the society. The term social
responsibility or corporate social responsibility ensures the long-term survival and growth of
the business organisations (Lasserre, 2017).
Managers at Carlsberg in all their subsidiaries undertake responsible business
practices, and involve their stakeholders in the decision-making. For an example, the
company has worked towards minimising the lost-time accident rates of the production.
Carlsberg group also emphasize on the creation of jobs and government revenues, for the
betterment of the society. Three core areas has been highlighted in context to the group’s
social responsibility has been found in respect to the effective use of emission & energy,
water and packaging. It has been understood that the organisation has shown effective
contribution to their environment and society leading to growth in the future (Hall-Ellis,
2015).
Thus, above discussion is one major part of HR practices adopted by various subsidiaries
and helped organisation establish credibility as one major alcohol producer. Hence, it has
been discovered through analysis that HR practice of social responsibility has been
emphasized and supported by the Winning behaviour strategy in Carlsberg. To analyse the
above discussion, it can be stated that ‘winning behaviour’ strategy has been successfully
aligned with the HR practices. An effective or successful integration of the strategy to the
HR practices lead to improved organisational performance (Mosca & Civera, 2017).

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4. Challenges faced by Carlsberg in strategy implementation in Malaysia
The strategy implementation of the Carlsberg group has shown effectiveness,
enabling the organisation lead the brewing industry. However, the company faced number of
challenges in implementing the ‘winning behaviour’ strategy in market of Malaysia. One of
the challenges mentioned in the case, includes the issues related for the translation of the
‘winning behaviour’ into the local languages (Sozen & O’Neill, 2019).
Another major challenge in consideration to the strategy implementation included the sale
of alcohol in Malaysia. As it was a Muslim country, and the sale or advertisement of beer has
been banned in the country. Therefore, it acts as a major barrier for the brewing companies to
conduct the trade of the alcohol, as heavy tax has been levied on these products. Thus,
Carlsberg need to focus on eliminating or reducing these barriers or challenges to establish a
strong image and sustain growth in the market (Søderberg, 2015).
5.‘Winning Behaviours’ strategy in Australia and recommendations for success
Now, the last section of this report will analyse the implementation of the strategy of
‘winning behaviour’ in Australia. It has been found that the beer industry constitutes for
around $16.5 billion a year in the economic activity. It is a domestic industry in the Australia
and strict rules and laws are applied to the industry. Moreover, the drinking behaviour of
people is often associated with certain aspects such as masculinity, sexual expression,
relaxation, risk-taking, and freedom (Hansen & Hoenen, 2016).
Therefore, to implement the winning behaviour strategy in Australian business the
company will have to follow the culture prevailing in Australia. The consumption of alcohol
or beer is associated with the culture, habits, or values of the people. Australian business
industry of the brewing has number of strict rules, and laws that are imposed on the trade of
the alcohol or beer (Junior et al., 2018). Besides, this the company applying the strategy in
Australia, will first require making changes in their HR strategies or practices. It is essential
due to the difference in the workforce, or methods of production, and other work processes
(Hatch, Schultz & Skov, 2015).
Carlsberg operates at global level, and supports the glocal language; therefore,
managers will have to provide training to their employees, for learning new language. This is
an essential aspect or part of the work processes, in any business organisation. Thus, making

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these changes or adapting to these recommendations will improve the efficiency of workers.
Besides, this ensuring effective performance management system will help in attaining the
goal of strategic human resource management. The discussion stated the importance of
incorporating efficient practices or HR strategies to lead high performance in the Australian
market. Hence, these were some of the important recommendations in context to the brewing
company doing business in other countries (Vrellas & Tsiotras, 2015).
Conclusion
To conclude the above discussion on strategic HRM, Carlsberg group has been one of
the leading brewing companies within industry. The report has discussed the case study, and
the relevant concepts, and the implementation of different HR strategies. The discussion
stated the contribution of the ‘winning behaviour’ strategy of Carlsberg, in both internal and
external business environments. In addition, the report mentioned about the challenges faced
by the group in strategy implementation. The company ‘Carlsberg group has been effective in
the management of human resource and this act as a major source of competitive advantage
for the company. However, for expanding or implementing the strategy of ‘winning culture’
several things need to be considered important. This has been described in the discussion,
including the elements of language, culture and other practices of doing business in context to
Australian work environment. Hence, the organisation must undertake their responsibilities
effectively to implement the ‘winning behaviour’ strategy and attain the predetermined goals
and objectives.

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