Human Resource Management in Marks & Spencer: Practices and Strategies

Unit Number and Title Unit 1 – Business and Business Environment
Project Title Human Resources Employee Induction Manual (Part 1)
The Job Application (Part 2)
Statement of Authenticity:
I certify that the work submitted for this unit is my own and the research sources are fully
acknowledged.
Learner Name: Date:
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Table of Contents
Assessment Part 1: Employee Induction Manual
1.0 Introduction to the chosen organisation p
2.1 An explanation of the purpose of the HR function and the key
roles and responsibilities of the HR function P
2.2 The significance that HR plays in acquiring talent to meet
business objectives p
3.0 An assessment of the approach to:
3.1 Workforce planning p
3.2 Recruitment and selection p
3.3 Development and training p
3.4 Performance management and reward systems p
3.5 Inclusion of case study examples to examine the different
methods used in HR practices p
References p
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1.0 Introduction to the chosen organisation
Marks & Spencer (M&S) group plc was established in 1884 by Michael Marks and
Thomas Spencer. This is a British multinational retail sector company whose headquarter is
in Landon, England, UK. It engaged in selling products like clothes, home accessories, food
and beverages etc. mostly deal in its own label. Currently, M&S has approximately 959
stores across the UK and out of this 615 stores sell only food product by using different
mediums like TV, advertisement. Moreover, currently it is dealing in different brands Per
Una, Autograph, Good-move etc. It is into long term relationship with British manufactures
for dealing in clothes and food under the St Michael label. Mission of M&S is to provide the
best quality of product in a wide range and make it accessible to everyone It is listed on
Landon stock exchange and traded as part of LSE: MKS FTSE 250 index. It had earned over
£1 billion before tax and made a first position in British retailer in 1998. At present, it also
came under joint venture with Ocado for providing online food delivery to its customer.
Approximate 78000 employees are currently working in M&S company. The foundation of
M&S brand is to build values, satisfied customer, innovation, trust, quality of product etc.
2.1 An explanation of the purpose of the HR function and
the key roles and responsibilities of the HR function
Human resource management works as a foundation of the company. It includes
planning, recruitment, selection, training and development, motivation etc.
Planning
The main function of Human resource management is planning which include
recruitment, selection, learning and development programme to new and existing employees.
It analysis the current demand and supply of the man power in the company to meet
organizational objective. M&S company give more focus on getting right person suitable for
the right job as a part of key HRM practices. Organisation further provide resources &
training to employee so that knowledge and skills are better utilized (Fahim, 2018). Human
resource management of the M&S company make a plan like what are the vacant jobs present
in the company, what are the skills and experience required, what are the educational
qualification criteria etc.
Recruitment and selection
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Another function of HRM deal with recruitment and selection process. Recruitment is
a process where company is looking for potential candidate and encourage talent to apply.
Selection process is used by company to select the desirable person among the applied
candidates. M&S company use this process for getting new talent from the market. It uses
different types of recruitment tool like internet technology, direct advertisement, employee
reference, promotion and transfer etc. selection process vary from company to company like
written test, interview, medical examination etc (Koster and Benda, 2020). M&S company
uses internal and external selection process. Internal process includes promotion, transfer etc.
and external selection process includes on campus interview, job agency etc.
Performance management
Performance management is important for getting and retaining employee. company
use performance management tools like annual performance review, analyse feedback,
comparison with peers, customer review on employee performance. M&S company use 360-
degree feedback tools to analysis the performance of the employee. In addition to M&S also
provide continuous communication, clarification of job responsibility, priorities, performance
expectation, training & development programme (Koster and Benda, 2020). Which help in
encouraging their performance and in order to increase the efficiency in quality of work.
Increase productivity
HRM provide training and development programme, promotion, transfer, incentives
etc. to increase productivity which led to increase the brand value. M&S also use HRM to
provide friendly environment and culture so that employee feels engaged. Different
approaches like motivation, frequently meeting, flexibility at working place etc. is being used
by M&S company to maintain goodwill in the market. When employees are satisfied with
their work and environment this will automatically help in achieving organization goal.
2.2 The significance that HR plays in acquiring talent to
meet business objectives
Human resource management use different strategy to acquire new talent. Every company
want to attract and keep the desirable employee because it is directly connected to company
objectives. The role of HR is not only related to payments, incentives, complaints handling
but also plays significance role in recruiting, screening, interviewing, positioning etc. HRM
uses different types of techniques like on job training, career panning, online screening
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