Impacts of Strong Human Resource in Mercedes Benz, London

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human resource management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Executive Summary
The report has examined the role of human resource management in Mercedes Benz in
the United Kingdom. The study had aimed to examine the performance of the employees,
performance of the organization and the human resource strategies to examine the pros and cons
for Mercedes Benz in United Kingdom. The literature review has effectively depicted the
importance of human resource management in developing effective management in any
organization. The research methodology has been developed to conduct thematic analysis where
secondary data sets has been gathered as per the need of the study. The findings show that
compared to the performance of the other subsidiaries and the global headquarter, the business is
lagging and considerable amount of changes is required in the human resource policies.

2HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Background of the study........................................................................................................4
1.2 Significance of the study.......................................................................................................6
1.3 Research Aim and objective..................................................................................................6
1.4 Research question..................................................................................................................7
1.4 Summary................................................................................................................................7
2.0 Literature review........................................................................................................................8
2.1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................8
2.2. Concept and Functions of Human Resource Management...................................................8
2.3. Impacts of Strong Human Resource Management in Organizations..................................11
2.4. Structure and Social Responsibilities of HRM in Organizations.......................................13
2.5. Analysis of HRM Practices in Mercedes Benz...................................................................14
2.6. Research Gap......................................................................................................................16
2.7. Summary.............................................................................................................................17
3.0 Research Methodology............................................................................................................18
3.1 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................18
3.2 Research Approach..............................................................................................................19
3.3 Research Design..................................................................................................................19
3.4 Data collection.....................................................................................................................20

3HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
3.5 Data analysis........................................................................................................................20
3.5 Sampling..............................................................................................................................21
3.6 Reliability and Validity........................................................................................................22
3.7 Ethical consideration...........................................................................................................22
4.0 Data..........................................................................................................................................23
4.1 Analysis...................................................................................................................................39
Theme 1: Performance of employees of the organization.........................................................39
Theme 2: Conditions of employees in the organization............................................................41
Theme 3: Performance of the company as a whole...................................................................41
Theme 4: Human resource management of the company.........................................................43
5.0 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................45
References......................................................................................................................................48
Appendix........................................................................................................................................53
Reflection log.............................................................................................................................53
Professional statement...............................................................................................................54

4HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Topic: Impacts of Strong Human Resource in Mercedes Benz, London
1.0 Introduction
This report will examine the impact of effective human resource management on the
overall performance of the employees and the organization in Mercedes Benz. Globalization has
changed the operating scenario of the companies in the global market due to the increase in level
of competition due to the free trade. Marketing orientation had been the key focus of the
companies for a long time but it has changed with time and managing the workforce effectively
has been one of the major factors for gaining sustainable competitive advantage.
1.1 Background of the study
A rapid changing economic all over the world consisting of factors such as globalization,
deregulation of markets and change in the needs and wants of the consumers in the market has
become the operating environment for majority of the companies. In order to gain competitive
advantage, organizations are looking to reduce their operational cost by improving the
organizational performance and improving the quality of the products and processes (Anitha
2014). Human resource management is the key aspect of enhancing these above mentioned
activities as it increases in employee productivity and efficiency. Effective human resource
management also reduces the turnover rate in the organization which facilitates in reducing the
operational cost. The above mentioned statements shows the gravity human resource
management has on the organizational performance. This means that human resource
management contribute to efficiency and revenue growth of the organization.
Guerci et al. (2015) states that human resource management is just a means of cost
reduction and does not create any value for the company. Therefore, human resource

5HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
management cannot be considered as a source of value creation for the companies. On the
contrary, Jiang et al. (2017) argues that human resource management act a strategic lever that not
only has significant impact on the first bottom line of the organization that is increase in revenue
generation but has shifted their focus on value creation. The workforce in every organization are
essential for adding value to the services or products offered so factors such as employee
retention, level of satisfaction and employment creation are key for organizational success.
Talent management is another aspect of human resource management which has gained
importance in the global market due to the shortage of the high number of skilled workforce in
the market. The companies in the automotive industry also face issues due to high turnover rate
as lack of experienced and skilled employees hampers the production and comprises quality.
Automotive industry is highly competitive in nature and companies are in fierce battle to gain
majority of the shares in the market.
Mercedes-Benz is the global brand of the German company named Daimler AG which
is one of the major brands in the automotive industry. The product line of the organization
consists of products such as coaches, vehicles, buses, Lorries and luxury vehicles (Mercedes-
benz.com 2018). The brand started in the year of 1886 when Karl Benz developed the fastest car
in the world. Innovation is the key identity of the brand and they have explored different forms
of technology and design to reinvent their products. Mercedes-Benz has experienced a downhill
trajectory during the mid-2000s where the company’s growth was stagnated for a long period of
time. The competitors in the market such as Audi and BMW were 40-50% ahead of Mercedes
but the implementation of the growth strategy in the start of the last decade improved the growth
of the company in United Kingdom (Mercedes-benz.com 2018). The major issue that the
company faced in UK that it had excessive red tape where there were too many back-ups for the

6HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
backup processes which were redundant and time consuming. On the other hand, there were less
number of processes at the point of service and point of sales. The company was able to increase
their growth by reducing the level of bureaucracy in the organization which made the businesses
easier to conduct. Human resource management has been the key enabler in improving the
conditions in the organization in United Kingdom. Therefore, the study will aim to shed a light
on the impact of the human resource policies on the employee and organizational performance.
1.2 Significance of the study
Human resource management has been one of the major factors responsible for
improving the bottom line of the organization and sustain in the United Kingdom market. The
study is highly significant as Mercedes Benz in United Kingdom as it is one of the best example
that portrays the importance of human resource management in any organizational setting.
Moreover, the study will able to evaluate the importance of the value creation in an
organizational setting and the way human resource management is essential for value creation in
the market.
1.3 Research Aim and objective
 To analyse the performance of Mercedes Benz in London over the years, in terms of
employment creation, employee retention and level of satisfaction of the employees
 To examine the human resource management practices implemented in the concerned
organization and the changes in the same over the years
 To analyse the positive as well as negative implications which the human resource
department of Mercedes Benz, London, has on the employees, their productivity,
motivation, retention and level of satisfaction and also on the overall performance of the
company

7HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
1.4 Research question
How does the presence of a strong human resource department affect the performance
and operations of Mercedes Benz Company as a whole, in their operational framework in
London?
The secondary questions which the concerned research proposes to study are as follows:
1. What are the current human resource management practices in Mercedes Benz, London and
how have the practices changed and modified over the years?
2. How have the human resource management practices affected the employee performance,
level of satisfaction, motivation, easiness and retention of the employees in the concerned
organization?
3. What are the implications of the human resource department on the overall performance of
Mercedes Benz, London?
1.4 Summary
This chapter of the study has introduced the research problem along the background of
the research. The objectives and the research question which needs to addressed and evaluated in
this research has been defined effectively. The remaining part of the study has been developed
based on the assumptions made in the first chapter of the study.