Human Resource Management Practices in SMEs

The provided text appears to be a list of references related to human resource management (HRM) practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The references include academic articles and books that discuss various aspects of HRM in SMEs, such as strategic HRM, employee well-being, sustainability strategies, knowledge-intensive teamwork, and HR analytics. The text also includes links to online resources related to the UK labour market, including employment rates and wage data. The purpose of this document is likely to provide a comprehensive overview of HRM practices in SMEs and their relevance to the broader labour market context.

Human Resource
Management

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management (HRM) is known as the practice of managing human
resource of the business so that these assets of the company can be used to gain desired profits in
the business. Strategic human resource practices are very essential for the long term success of
the company as strategic HRM establishes alignment and coordination between the performance
of the organisation and consistent performance of its human resources (Paauwe and Boon,
2018). This study will analyse the needs and benefits of integrating resource based view with the
HRM practices.
Further, in the growing competitive global environment retention and availability of the
skilled and desired human resources is also a tough nut to crack for the business groups. To
analyse this perspective, the report will also discuss the several threats within UK labour market
which affects the performance of business through case study of Crown Plaza hotel, UK. The
organisation among top hospitality service provider in UK and thus managing its human assets is
the first strategy of the company for assuring the quality services to its customers.
Main body
Adapting resource based view to human resource management
In order to gain the competitive advantage and to explore the available organisational
resources with optimum efficiency resource based view (RBV) can be considered as the effective
approach. RBV is defined as the framework which aims at analysing and determining the
strategic resources of the business. The key focus of this management strategy is to identify the
resources present within internal environment of the company and to explore their competencies
and capabilities (Harney and Trehy, 2016). RBV ensures that organisational resources of the
organisation are effectively substituted or imitated so that goals can be achieved.
Human resources plays a great role in the success of organisation. Especially within
hospitality services the behaviour, actions and practices of human resources directly reflect the
organisational culture and competitive position of the organisation. Hotel Crown Plaza
encourages the RBV within its functional practices. With this approach hotel tends to adopt the
competitive position or the strategies which can assist in exploiting internal resources to the
maximum extent so that external opportunities can be grabbed. In the context of strategic HRM,
human assets are the most flexible, demanding and beneficial assets which can deal with all other
competitive threats (Saridakis, Lai and Cooper, 2017).
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Thus, it is very essential that company must conduct regular evaluation that how human
resources of the business can contribute to the business value. The primary criteria or the
consideration subject of RBV is to make every resources valuable. The same concept is strictly
followed in the first and basic HRM practices of recruitment and selection (Marchington, 2015).
For instance, Crown plaza hotel tend to ensure that its recruitment and selection process is highly
precise and effective. When the skilled and talented candidates are selected for the company then
it enhances the performance efficiency of the organisation.
If Crown plaza RBV does not give value to this aspect, then it is possible that its
customers may not prefer or appreciate the services of hotel. A well trained hospitality staff is
crucial factor which makes long term impression on the customers and which guarantees
customer retention. Despite huge competition in the hospitality industry Crown plaza has a
strong brand value and reputation among its customers. The behaviour and professional
excellency of its human resources is one of the USP factor of the organisation. For increasing the
value of human resources in terms of efficiency organisation also consider training and
motivational strategies (Garavan and et.al., 2016).
Motivational theories are widely used by the organisations for keeping their employees
motivated. With the means of motivation companies, training and development programs,
feedbacks and regular performance evaluation organisations makes their employees valuable so
that competitive challenges can be overcome. Organisations can gain competitive advantage only
when their strategies and performance is better and innovative as compare to the other
organisations.
The RBV also emphasis on creating resources which are rare to the companies and thus
which differentiate organisation from others. It is also one of the critical parameters which leads
to the success of the organisation. For instance, the technology advancements are the recent and
the latest trends in the hospitality. Thus, Crown plaza adopts several advancements in its hotel
booking or other functional systems. However, if company will not have employees who are well
trained with these advancements then company will not be able to get benefits of these
improvements (Cascio, 2015). Thus, for this purpose Crown plaza regularly conducts the skill
improvement sessions for its employees so that personal development of its human assets can be
accomplished and their excellence performance can make Crown plaza different from the other
competitive service providers.
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The organisations which successfully manages their resources in systematic and
organised way tend to achieve more success. As per RBV different competitor provides the same
products or services. However, the way they deliver the service or the way through which their
human resources works brings the differences in outcomes (Fratričová and Rudy, 2015). For
instance, the guest service in hotels can be considered qualitative only if all functional aspects
such as housekeeping, restaurant and front desk works in alignment or as a team.
Contrary to this it is also possible that organisation does not have efficient teams who can
work together in collaboration. Such situations lead to internal conflicts within team and overall
service quality of the organisation is affected. Thus, by properly addressing the issue of such
imperfectly imitable issues companies can improve their functional efficiency. Crown plaza
always assure that such common issues like conflict between team members, training
requirements and employee motivation are accomplished and resolved effectively (Guest,
2017.).
When these aspects of human resources of company are improved then performance of
firm is improved and it becomes capable to lead the other competitive organisations. Human
resources and all other tangible sources of the business are very important for the RBV. Human
resources are considered as the fundamental resources which formulates the base of business and
define limits for the utilisation of all other resources. RBV also gives priority to the intangible
resources such as knowledge, culture, experience and organisational relationships. These
elements have critical impact on HRM.
Crown plaza develops an organisational culture which promotes equality and perfect
blend of cultural diversity. The management of cultural diversity among teams also assist
organisation in understanding the needs of consumers from diversified culture or backgrounds
(Baluch and Ridder, 2017). The way companies use these resources can significantly affect the
performance and existence of the organisation. For instance, organisational cultural and
influence the motivation level of the staff members. The organisational culture which follows
discriminatory practices can demotivate the team members and can even lead to legal issues
corresponding to discriminatory laws.
Such events are not good for the brand value and overall growth of the company. They
directly reflect the in capabilities of the organisation and thus company may not achieve
competitive advantage (Buller and McEvoy, 2016). It has been also analysed that if company has
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well defined regulations for the employee behaviour and practices then such types of issues can
be easily managed. It also has positive impact on the efficient use of other organisational
resources. Such strategies make the company capable to avoid the unnecessary complexities in
its culture. The strategies and the way they are implemented influences the competitiveness in
the business culture.
RBV is critical and vital element for the theoretical and conceptual promotion of strategic
HRM (Chuang, Jackson and Jiang, 2016). The practices of RBV helps HR managers of the
organisation to understand and realise that for achieving the competitive advantage companies
must understand the role of creating and enhancing the value of HR practices. The competitive
benefits are easy to gain when human resources practices are in alignment with the competitive
plan of the organisation. Crown plaza hotel cannot achieve its goals without involving the active
participation of its human resources into practices. The efficiency of the employees and the high
performing work systems are the basic elements of achieving total quality goals. There has been
relation between the team performance and certain skills which must be acquired by the team
members. RBV helps to identify the resources which can be used to enhance the skills and
performance of team members (Viitala, Kultalahti and Kangas, 2017).
The accurate market positioning is one of the factor which reduces the possible risks
involved in the proposed growth strategy of the business. However, the for performing the
precise risk evaluation it is required that organisation must evaluate the capabilities of its human
resources as well as the availability of other potential resources which are mandatory for
achieving the business goals. For this purpose the HRM practices must follow the RBV theory.
Managers and leaders must play an active role in this approach. Strategic human resources
concepts must explore the resources in a way such that it maximises the profits of organisation
and failure risks can be minimised (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Smale, 2016). Thus, for the quality
improvements in the performance and sustainable competencies RBV must be adopted to explore
the HR practices.
RBV is also beneficial from the cost perspective. This approach analyses the resource
availability and its usage in a way so that wastage is reduced and sustainable growth can be
achieved. For this purpose organisation must have suitable framework which aims to select most
appropriate candidates for the job. It also evaluates the impact and method of motivating
employees so that for enhancing their performance well defined regulations can be used. RBV
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also analyses that which strategic HRM policies will be beneficial for the company in terms of
risk taking, implementation, monitoring, benefits and operational cost.
Major threats faced by organisation within UK labour market
Labour market provides and interactive environment between employers and workers
communicate or interact with each other. These markets give an opportunity to Crown plaza to
recruit the most talented suit of the human resources while at the same time it gives a wide
platform to workers or job seekers to get a satisfactory and job. Thus, the labour market greatly
affects the business activities as it provides the human resources as well as can also influence the
organisational culture in terms of daily wages, HR regulations and organisational cultural trends
(Saridakis, Lai and Cooper, 2017). The UK labour market has been undergoing significant
changes which are not affecting only business trends but also have impact on the unemployment
and overall development of the country. The two major threats in the UK labour market which
can be considered to have the most dominating impact on the business practices and trends of
organisations are as follows:
Skill shortage and rising supply demand gap
Crown Plaza is a multinational hotel chain and thus it requires highly expertise in its
human resources so that its global quality standards can be achieved. However, in the current UK
labour market there has been a great shortage of skill which is creating huge gap between labour
supply and demand. Being a multinational organisation and follower of innovative products and
services Crown plaza always encourages the innovative practices (Paauwe and Boon, 2018). For
this purpose, organisation is also shifting towards the digital changes such as digital marketing
and information communication technologies. However, for this purpose skilled labours are
required which have additional expertise in terms of technical knowledge.
Contrary to this in UK labour market there is shortage of labours who are highly educated
or who possess these skills. The problem has not only affected in terms of skilled labour only.
The same has been observed in low skilled required job profiles as well. For instance, there are
various job roles in which less skilled labourers are needed but in market there is plenty of highly
educated labours who does not find such job roles suitable. With Brexit uncertainties the
migration of both skilled and unskilled labourers has increased. The migration of workers has
significantly affected the performance of organisation (The UK labour market: where do we
stand now?, 2017). In order to sustain the continuity of the profits and success Crown plaza
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needs both skilled and unskilled workers so that all of its functional activities can be
accomplished with perfection.
When organisation does not get required labours then it becomes essential to adopt
several strategies for dealing with the situation (Harney and Trehy, 2016). For example, for
meeting the needs of technical experience company is providing training to its existing human
resources. The skill shortage in the labour market cannot be considered beneficial for the
company. It enhances the additional burden on employer for providing training to the employees.
Skill shortage issues and inadequate imbalance in supply and demand of the workers can also
affect the operational continuity of the business functions.
It has been also observed that this type of market trends can act as barrier to the growth
and expansion plan for the organisation. Crown plaza has been providing its services to several
locations in UK. It is also possible that in specific location's organisation may not be able to find
the suitable and desired candidates and thus it can be challenging for the company to accomplish
its routine functions. Another reason for the skill shortage among job aspirants is that many
candidates are newly graduates and thus they lack the experience (Ten Important Facts about the
UK Labour Market Today, 2018). It is also challenging concern for the organisation to fill the
skill gap between workers available in the labour market.
The variance in supply and demand factors also influences the performance and
operational strategies of the organisation. The long term exposure of this type of threat can be a
matter of concern for the organisation. There has been huge competition in the hospitality service
in UK. Along with the local organisations, there is plenty of various global companies which are
providing their services. Thus, it has been observed that talented and skilled human resources
have huge opportunities to grow and develop their career.
The organisation may also suffer from the issues of challenges in attracting talented
human resources due to supply and demand gap. In such situation it is expected from the
organisation that company must focus and pay attention to its brand value and popularity among
customers and other stakeholders. It will help Crown Plaza to even sustain good supply of human
resources during shortage. The skill gap which is becoming a major concern for the labour
market is vital to address (Katou and Budhwar, 2015). It has been analysed that the business
service providers which does not pay attention to the skill gaps of the workers they are recruiting
tends to have poor performance.
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The skill gaps not only influence the quality of work but also prevents company from
implementing innovation or the improvement strategies. Thus, it is very important for the
companies to identify the skill gap and to overcome the gap by providing suitable training to the
staff members. The UK culture is full of diversity and there is plenty of labour forces in the
market (Paauwe and Boon, 2018). These forces belong to multiple culture and communities. In
order to ensure their safety and good organisational culture Crown Plaza also required to ensure
that their cultural ethics and environment is favourable for all labours. If there are any kinds of
conflicts then organisation must have proper strategy to resolve such conflicts in advance so that
it does not cause any harm to the brand value of the organisation (Marler and Boudreau, 2017).
Vast and uncertain changes in the UK economy
With the Brexit decision and post recession impact UK economy has witness variety of
changes. These economic changes have changed numerous trends in UK labour market ranging
form the availability of labours to the basic wages. For most of the people wages are not
increasing in UK labour market. Thus, Crown Plaza and other service providers are easily getting
low wage labours which is beneficial for them. However, this aspect is also creating challenge of
increasing competition for the companies. The increasing unemployment in UK has also
contributed to this element. Since 2012 UK has been observing increase in unemployment rate
and low skilled occupations are also facing the issues (There’s a big problem lurking behind
Britain’s record-high employment, 2017).
As a result, the number of people who are willing to remain part of the UK labour market
are even agreed to work at low wages. It has been observed that there has been low competition
among organisations in term of paying wages (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Smale, 2016.). Though
recession period has been passed away but still it has its impact in the form of inflation. Post
inflation the average income or the profitability of the employers has been reduced and they are
trying very hard to cope up with it.
Along with the differences in the wages it has been also observed that the pay gap on the
basis of gender or age is also observed in the UK labour market. The Brexit decision has lead to
the instability and uncertainty in the market (Saridakis, Lai and Cooper, 2017). Thus, Crown
plaza and other service providers are trying to avoid making new investments. Unemployment
rate, inflation, basic wage limits and migration of labour forces are analysed by the companies
before making their plans to choose the work force.
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CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above study that strategic HRM practices can be improved
with the adaption of resource based view. It has been analysed that this approach in the business
practices helps companies to achieve the competitive advantage. It also focuses on improving the
performance and efficiency of employees so that organisations can sustain their success in
rapidly changing market. From the discussion above it is also evaluated that in present context
companies are facing several challenges in labour market. Thus, for accomplishing operational
objectives of the company, labour related challenges must be addressed. Further it is also
concluded from the essay that changing perspective of the business needs and procedures cannot
be understood or applied without integrating review based view with strategic HRM.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Paauwe, J. and Boon, C., 2018. Strategic HRM: A critical review. In Human Resource
Management (pp. 49-73). Routledge.
Harney, B. and Trehy, J., 2016. Resource-based view. In Encyclopedia of Human Resource
Management. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Saridakis, G., Lai, Y. and Cooper, C.L., 2017. Exploring the relationship between HRM and firm
performance: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Human Resource Management
Review. 27(1).pp.87-96.
Marchington, M., 2015. Human resource management (HRM): Too busy looking up to see
where it is going longer term?. Human Resource Management Review. 25(2) pp.176-187.
Garavan, T. and et.al., 2016. The antecedents of leadership development practices in SMEs: The
influence of HRM strategy and practice. International Small Business Journal. 34(6).
pp.870-890.
Cascio, W.F., 2015. Strategic HRM: Too important for an insular approach. Human Resource
Management. 54(3). pp.423-426.
Fratričová, J. and Rudy, J., 2015. Get Strategic Human Resource Management Really Strategic:
Strategic HRM in Practice. International Journal of Management Cases. 17(4).
Guest, D.E., 2017. Human resource management and employee well‐being: Towards a new
analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(1). pp.22-38.
Baluch, A.M. and Ridder, H.G., 2017. Strategic human resource management. In The Nonprofit
Human Resource Management Handbook (pp. 89-106). Routledge.
Buller, P.F. and McEvoy, G.M., 2016. A model for implementing a sustainability strategy
through HRM practices. Business and Society Review. 121(4). pp.465-495.
Chuang, C.H., Jackson, S.E. and Jiang, Y., 2016. Can knowledge-intensive teamwork be
managed? Examining the roles of HRM systems, leadership, and tacit
knowledge. Journal of management. 42(2). pp.524-554.
Viitala, R., Kultalahti, S. and Kangas, H., 2017. Does strategic leadership development feature in
managers’ responses to future HRM challenges?. Leadership & Organization
Development Journal. 38(4). pp.576-587.
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Brewster, C., Mayrhofer, W. and Smale, A., 2016. Crossing the streams: HRM in multinational
enterprises and comparative HRM. Human Resource Management Review. 26(4).
pp.285-297.
Marler, J.H. and Boudreau, J.W., 2017. An evidence-based review of HR Analytics. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management. 28(1). pp.3-26.
Katou, A.A. and Budhwar, P., 2015. Human resource management and organisational
productivity: a systems approach based empirical analysis. Journal of Organizational
Effectiveness: People and Performance. 2(3). pp.244-266.
Online
Ten Important Facts about the UK Labour Market Today. 2018. [Online]. Accessed through
<https://www.niesr.ac.uk/blog/ten-important-facts-about-uk-labour-market-today>
The UK labour market: where do we stand now?. 2017. [Online]. Accessed through
<https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/9170>
There’s a big problem lurking behind Britain’s record-high employment. 2017. [Online].
Accessed through <https://qz.com/1076257/ons-uk-employment-and-wage-data-biggest-
problem-in-britains-labor-market-wages/>
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