Human Resource Management Assignment

This assignment provides an overview of the human resource management (HRM) field, covering various aspects such as job offer letters, references to books and journals, and online resources related to HRM. The assignment aims to understand key concepts like strategic HRM, high-performance HR practices, green HRM, and globalizing HRM. It also touches upon topics like determining pay and evaluating jobs, using HR selection tools, and the importance of human capital in organizational outcomes.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Purpose and functions of Human Resources Management in Sainsbury's UK.....................1
P2 Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection..................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P3 HRM practices benefiting the management and employees..................................................3
P4 Effectiveness of different HRM practices in Sainsbury's......................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
P5 Importance of employee relations in respect to HRM decision-making...............................6
P6 Key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM.........................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P7 Application of HRM practices in a work-related context......................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Human resources are the pillar of an organization. Every business has a workforce that
contributes by making efforts in order to meet the objectives of that firm. Human resources
department is therefore considered to be one of the important area which can enhance the
productivity level of company (Guest, 2011). HRD deals with the human resources, their
management and motivation at workplace. In this report, the discussion will be on Sainsbury's
UK and their techniques of HRM. Sainsbury's is the second largest supermarket chain in United
Kingdom. They operate under two formats, supermarkets and specialised convenience stores.
They also provide inline shopping services. The cited company have properties worth £8.6
billion. This report will be dealing with purpose and scope of HRM in terms of talents and skills
needed to fulfil organisational objectives of the company. The project will also focus on internal
and external factors that can affect the HRM and related decision making process inclusive of
employment legislation. Effectiveness of human resource management and its key elements will
also be evaluated within the tasks of this report.
TASK 1
P1 Purpose and functions of Human Resources Management in Sainsbury's UK
Human resources management is about increasing the potential of employees to their
highest level as per their role is concerned to Sainsbury's. As the organisation can't be in
existence without these people, HRM is all about getting people worked for company,
development of their skills, motivate them to do reach their ultimatum and to ensure their loyalty
towards the firm. The major functions of HRM are:
1. Recruitment and Selection: This process deals with captivation, screening and selection
of candidates with potential (Tarique and Schuler, 2010). The main objective of this
process is attracting more of the qualified applicants as they could gain the advantage to
select the best skills and talents for the company. Prior to recruitment process, the human
resources department also executes appropriate staffing plans and calculates the number
of candidates they need to fill the vacant positions.
2. Orientation: Sainsbury's is one of the best retail industry in United Kingdom and
therefore they don't avoid orientation to the new employees as some other organisations
do. Orientation is one the important functions of HRM that helps the new employees to
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get adjusted within that working environment and get to know the goals and objectives of
the organisation.
3. Training and Development: Another major responsibility of human resource
department of any organisation is to provide proper training to their employees, so that
they can gain more skills to improve the company's future performance. This will also
help the employees increase their potential and build motivation within them that their
capabilities are even more (Kusluvan and et. al., 2010).
Human resource management in an organisation have certain purposes to work for. Their
purpose is to hire, train and develop employees and supporting in their discipline and
performance. Effective training of staff and with the development of their skills, they can gain
advantages of promotion within the company. HRD of Sainsbury's does this usually to reduce
external recruitment and to motivate their employees by making use of their existing talent.
HRM functions not only for the management ODF the staff in the said organisation, but they also
plan for strategies in case of changes that may impact their needs of employees in future. Some
of the workforce planning functions of HRM include:
 When new technologies are released in industry, there is a need of new skills in the
organisations.
 When some employees retire and some other get promoted, the gaps left are filled by the
functions of HRD.
P2 Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection
There are various approaches of recruitment and selection process used by Sainsbury's.
They have been adopting internal sourcing for major top level positions. But when the lower
level employees get promoted and move upwards, the vacant positions are filled using external
and third party sourcing of recruitment. Whichever approach they use to get their vacant
positions filled in organisation, every approach has certain merits and on the same time they do
have drawbacks.
Internal Sourcing: In this approach, Sainsbury's inform their existing employees by
advertising within the company that there are positions vacant in the firm. They indeed use this
approach because it is much cost effective as they can reduce the cost of training and save the
time used for orientation (McWilliams and Siegel, 2011). Even charges of advertisement and
background assessment are spared if they are using this approach. This also provides a chance of
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upliftment and motivation to the employees working in the company. It also helps in increasing
loyalty and parity among the members who are already working in the team.
One of the strength of internal recruitment is quick decision making. It is the performance
of the employees that encourage the upper level management and human resource department to
put him or her on an upper position with more authority and responsibilities (Kehoe and Wright,
2013).
External Outsourcing: It is a method of recruitment of deserving candidates from the
external bodies of organisation. The employees are searched from outside of the company by
advertising on newspapers and job boards as to inform qualified people who are in search of
jobs. External recruitment is also performed when there is an open position in the firm and there
is no deserving candidate to fill them from their current staff because of the specialisation or
technicality of that particular position. This approach may bring in candidates with some limit of
experience in the field of retail sectors as Sainsbury's operates, or sometimes fresher’s could join
the company who have the latest knowledge related to the field and can help in effective
operations.
The drawback of this approach is that they have to invest time and money in the process
of advertising, hiring and training the candidates who are expected to join Sainsbury's, which
may sometimes prove inefficient in the future operations of the organisation.
TASK 2
P3 HRM practices benefiting the management and employees
Human Resource Management team in Sainsbury's have been successful in
bringing in efficient employees who are contributes in achieving the organisational objectives of
the cited firm. HRM involves the organisation in certain practices that gives the management and
the employees some advantages (Renwick, Redman and Maguire, 2013). The HR practices and
strategies made applicable within the organisational structure brings effectiveness in their
operations and performance. Some major practices benefits the organisation's management in the
following ways:
1. Evaluation of HR policies: Some practices of human resource management helps in
strategic management of policies and procedures of the company that affects the
employees. The management is supported in the development of links among the human
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resources and organisational strategies in evaluating the policies whether they are
efficient enough to meet the goals of Sainsbury's.
2. Team Building: Human resources management has a common practice of building teams
within the organisational structure. This practice of HRM foster a sense of team work and
cooperation in the firm. When the company's functional divisions are aligned with proper
communication that is open and where their opinions are considered valuable, it helps in
building trust on each other and even increase the firm's productivity (Jiang and et. al.,
2012).
3. Progress Monitoring: The major focus of HRM strategies remain on the impact of
recruitment and training, they also have to assess whether the newly joined are able to
adapt to the working environment or not. They have to check whether their decision to
employ qualified candidates as per their process was correct by monitoring the
improvements in the operations as whole. The progress in productivity is also monitored
to know whether the employees' skills are used ultimately.
Human resource managers also imply strategies and practices in the system, where the
employees get ultimate benefits. HRM practices such as performance management, firing,
training, payroll and additional bonuses are examples were the staff gets physical and
psychological benefits, like:
1. Promotion of Positive Behaviour: Creating and maintaining a positive working
environment within the organisation is one of the major duties of Human Resources
Department. The employees are also to be given with favourable benefits by the HRD.
This will help in keeping the employees happy and productive. The HRM also practices
reward systems where the employees are appreciated with 'Employee of the month' or
financial rewards, to encourage them for working even more hard (Wright and
McMahan, 2011).
2. Development of Employees: The satisfaction of employees are necessary for the Human
Resources team to ensure the working environment is good enough. The skills and talents
that the employees of Sainsbury's hold is as important as other assets holding by the
company. Their development and training is a huge responsibility of the HR team and
they have make sure that they are given sufficient facilities to give their best efforts to
improve the firm's performance.
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3. Motivation to Workers: The company needs the maximum performance form the side
of employees. Human Resources Managers are the ones who can make it happen with
their practices and ideas. Successful HR managers help employees increase feelings to
being competent and motivate them by giving them goals regarding their personal
interests and preferences. They care their employees and their interests, which gives them
a feeling to be loyal towards their employer (Guest, 2011).
P4 Effectiveness of different HRM practices in Sainsbury's
The functions performed by human resources department in any organisation has a vital
role in deciding the limits of achieving organisational goals and objectives. Successful human
resource management is an essential element that helps the company in increasing the
productivity by its functions leading to make more profits. These are the impacts each of the
functions of human resource management make on organisational profits and productivity: Recruitment and Selection: It is the procedure of attracting qualified individuals via
advertisements for selecting the best among them to be place in the vacant positions of
the organisation. Sainsbury's management knows the importance of the people and their
skills involved in the process leading to achieving the expected productivity in the
operations of the company. The HRM has to pay attention in each steps of the
recruitment and selection process, that the candidates they are selecting have the skills
and abilities to meet the requirements they listed in the job specification. The advanced
skills and knowledge the employees have in them, more effectively they could work and
will result in increased productivity. More productivity in the operations means more
profit for the company (Meredith Belbin, 2011).
 Training and Development: This functional practice of Human Resource Management
deals with empowering the skills of existing employees in the organisation and
development of their personality to enhance the operations of the Sainsbury's. HRM has
to focus on the performance of all of their human resources, the newly employed and the
ones who are already working for the firm. Hereby, they provide training facilities to
their existing employees where they can learn new skills and improve their knowledge
regarding their functional section. Improved knowledge such as use of latest technology
and updated skills helps in raising the productivity of the organisation leading towards a
hike in revenue.
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 Compensation/Remuneration: This practice of Human Resource Management plays a
very important role in Sainsbury's and similar organisations. Practice of remuneration or
compensation involves providing the employees financial advantages as an
encouragement for the efforts they are giving as their contribution towards the
achievements of organisational goals (Storey, 2014). Some organisations avail their
employees opportunities to earn more than their usual salary/wage, like extra pay for
overtime. Such practices motivates the employees to work more for the company as they
have their own personal goals to achieve which will help the firm increase productivity
and at the end of the financial year, will provide a higher profit.
TASK 3
P5 Importance of employee relations in respect to HRM decision-making
Employees relation can be referred to as the overall relationship an employer and the
employee in relation with establishment of conditions of employment. Industrial relations was
the previously used term to describe these relations. An employee is considered to be an asset
rather than a cost. Open communication between the employer and employee are to be done
regarding encouragement and goal orientation. Human Resources Department's existence in
organisations are also for reducing the conflicts due to legitimate differences in workplace by
implying effective procedures and relationships. Organisations are constantly assessing new
techniques for improving profitability and competitiveness. The core of these aims are the
efficiency and effectiveness employees bring in operations. HRM of a business seeking those
goals will use their employee relations functions as for:
 The encouragement of an effective workforce as a technique to add values to overall
segments of performance of the company.
 Focusing in the usage of particular strategies that will retain, reward and motivate skilled
and efficient employees.
Human Resource managers takes care of employee relations and issues related to it on a
regular basis, inclusive of their development programs focusing on improving performance of
the organisation. Sainsbury's have relation experts in their human resources department who are
specialist is handling employee relation issues (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung, 2016). These
personnels are also considered to be ideal human resource managers who is aware of the legal
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requirements regarding the relation of employer and employees. These are the important
functions of HRM where they have to be aware regarding employee relations to meet the
following objectives of the organisation:
 Profit and Profitability: Sainsbury's, as all other businesses, aims profit maximisation
and improvement of profitability as a means to achieve this. High wages provided to the
workers will be a subject to profit reduction and if the wages are cut down too low, it will
reduce employee motivation (Berman and et. al., 2012). The human resources
management team along with the finance team has to decide the wage rates which wont
lead to any of the both, that is reduced profit or employee dissatisfaction. That's the
reason, the cited company increases wages as they know it will motivate the employees
to work more efficiently leading to increase in productivity followed my hike in
profitability.
 Customer Satisfaction: The more satisfied the employees are with their employers, they
will give more efforts in every functional department. Effective operations in marketing
and sales, that is good quality communication of employees with customers and
availability of quality products makes the customers happy and satisfied. Customer
satisfaction will lead to increase the reputation of company and the sales will be on rise.
P6 Key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
Employment legislation refers to the laws that gives certain rights that the employers
must avail to the employees to avoid exploitation and discrimination (Budhwar and Debrah,
2013). There is a list of such laws which are provided to employees such as:
 The Employment Rights Act: This act was subsequently amended by the Employment
Relations Act 1999 and 2003, providing a list of rights of contraction to the employees,
inclusive of:
◦ Entitlement to an itemised pay statement
◦ Entitlement to minimum wage fixed nationally
◦ Provision of terms and conditions in documented form
◦ Protection against unfair termination at work
 The Sex Discrimination Act, 1975: This law protects the employees from being
discriminated on the basis of their gender, such as:
◦ In case of advertisements of job
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◦ In the recruitment and selection process of employees for a job
◦ In case of promotion of employees
◦ In the opportunities of training and career development
The employers don't have any right to discriminate any employee on the ground of them
being a male, female or LGBT. There are some particular situations where the Act cannot be
made applicable when it comes in relation to Genuine Occupational Qualifications (GOQ). For
instance, it is considered to be appropriate if in case the employer requires a candidate specific of
their gender, such as for posts of 'male lavatory attendant' or in case of a ' female actor' to play a
part in a stage play (Bratton and Gold, 2012).
 The Equal Pay Act, 1970: This act states that unconsidered of an employee's gender,
race, religion or nationality, they have to be paid equally as per the norms of their work
or ranks at which they serve for the organisation, giving them equal values and rights in
the organisation.
 The Race Relations Act, 1976: This law acts against the employees being discriminated
on the grounds of their and if done, the employer will be a subject to legal punishment.
Here also, GOQs are applicable, for example, a Chinese restaurant requires a 'Chinese
Waiter'.
TASK 4
P7 Application of HRM practices in a work-related context
As per the discussions in the above questions, it is clearly understandable that how
important human resource management is for a business organisation and how its functions
create effectiveness in the operations and efficiency in employees. This effectiveness and
efficiency is the main reason in the successful achievement of organisational objectives. So, this
is how HRD of a company makes their strategies and practices applicable within the
organisational structure:
 Recruitment and Selection: This is the practice where the HR team of a firm is involved
in selecting deserving candidates with proper skills and education for jobs of vacant
positions in the organisation. The HRM has to make it happen by locating their budget
first, prepare job specifications and then they have to advertise about the vacancies in
newspapers and job board. Then they have to attract the skilled candidates out of which
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they could select the best ones to fill in the vacant positions. They conduct interviews and
tests to realise the skills of applied candidates (Boxall and Purcell, 2011).
 Training and Development: This practice of HRM involves the process of improving
the knowledge and skills of the existing employees in the organisation as to increase their
efficiency to meet their expected rate of productivity. The HRM of the company conducts
workshops and seminars for their employees working there, so that they could attend it
and then gain knowledge and new skills useful to increase their productivity in their
functional units.
JOB SPECIFICATION
Organization Name Sainsbury's
Job designation Sales Manager
Location Edinburgh
Report to Human Resource Manager
Roles and Responsibilities Management of stock
Supervision of workers
Managing the store set-up
Record keeping of sales
Report daily to branch manager
Skill Required Good Communication skills
Experience in sales department
Creative store presentation
Leadership skills
Personal Qualities Presentable
Responsible
Creative
Well behaved
Salary 55,000 GBP
Working hours 10:00 to 19:00
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CURRICULUM VITAE
NAME: Samuel Richardson for Sales Manager
Phone: XXXXXXXXX Address: 12A, Parkville Apartments,
Downtown, Edinsburgh.
Educational Qualifications
Post Graduation: Masters in Commerce from London School of Business
Graduation: Bachelors in Commerce from Birmingham Business Institute
High School: Greenfield Academy, Edinburgh
Professional Experience
Worked as a Sales Executive in Spencers, Edinburgh (2010-2013)
Worked as Assistant Branch Manager in Walmart, London (2014-2016)
Skills
I am an individual with patience and have been experienced with dealing customers from every
background. I have been presentable and technical towards my profession, and so I will be in
the future too. I have worked a lot to bring up my communicational skill and I have been
successful in convincing customers in huge deals. I have the ability to lead a team with
efficiency and managing tasks within the members. Responsibility is a serious aspect I take
with authority and dutifulness. Creativity in store arrangement is my speciality.
I, Samuel Richardson, hereby verify that each and every information given above are genuine.
Signature: Date:
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Preparation of structured interview
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses according to you?
3. What is the reason for me hiring you?
4. Where do you see yourself after 5 years?
5. What is your expectation about salary?
Offer letter
A job offer letter is a formal document given to a selected job candidate by the employer.
The letter confirms the information of the employment offer, inclusive of, description of job,
salary, benefits and date of joining.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Berman, E.M., and et. al., M.R., 2012. Human resource management in public service:
Paradoxes, processes, and problems. Sage.
Boxall, P. and Purcell, J., 2011. Strategy and human resource management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2012. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Budhwar, P.S. and Debrah, Y.A. eds., 2013. Human resource management in developing
countries. Routledge.
Daley, D.M., 2012. Strategic human resource management. Public Personnel Management.
pp.120-125.
Guest, D.E., 2011. Human resource management and performance: still searching for some
answers. Human resource management journal. 21(1). pp.3-13.
Hendry, C., 2012. Human resource management. Routledge.
Jiang, K.,and et. al., J.C., 2012. How does human resource management influence organizational
outcomes? A meta-analytic investigation of mediating mechanisms. Academy of
management Journal. 55(6). pp.1264-1294.
Kehoe, R.R. and Wright, P.M., 2013. The impact of high-performance human resource practices
on employees’ attitudes and behaviours. Journal of management. 39(2). pp.366-391.
Meredith Belbin, R., 2011. Management teams: Why they succeed or fail. Human Resource
Management International Digest. 19(3).
Renwick, D.W., Redman, T. and Maguire, S., 2013. Green human resource management: A
review and research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews. 15(1). pp.1-
14.
Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016. Globalizing human resource management.
Routledge.
Storey, J., 2014. New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals).
Routledge.
Wright, P.M. and McMahan, G.C., 2011. Exploring human capital: putting ‘human’back into
strategic human resource management. Human resource management journal. 21(2).
pp.93-104.
Online
Determining Pay and Evaluating Jobs. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/human-resources/compensation-
services/determining-pay-and-evaluating-jobs>. [Accessed on 24th June 2017]
HR Selection Tools. 2017. [Online]. Available Through: <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/hr-
selection-tools-60384.html>. [Accessed on 24th June 2017]
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