Human Resource Management Practices in ASDA: A Case Study

This case study examines the Human Resource Management (HRM) practices employed by ASDA, a leading retail giant in the United Kingdom. It explores the purpose and functions of HRM in workforce planning and resourcing, analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of different recruitment and selection approaches, and evaluates the effectiveness of various HRM practices in terms of raising organizational profit and productivity. The study also delves into the importance of employee relations in influencing HRM decision-making and identifies key elements of employment legislation and their impact on HRM practices. Through specific examples, the case study illustrates the application of HRM practices in a work-related context, highlighting ASDA's successful implementation of HRM strategies to achieve organizational objectives.

Human Resource Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM applicable to workforce planning and resourcing
an organisation. (P1)........................................................................................................................4
Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection (P2)..5
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both the employer and
employee (P3)..................................................................................................................................7
Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational profit
and productivity (P4).......................................................................................................................9
Analyse the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-making
(P5)................................................................................................................................................10
Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM decision-
making (P6)...................................................................................................................................12
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................14
Illustrate the application of HRM practices in a work-related context, using specific examples
(P7)................................................................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................22
Reference List................................................................................................................................23
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Introduction
Human Resource Management (HRM) plays a crucial role in any organization to provide
benefits to the employees. The HR department works to recruit and select new employees for the
company. The human resource department has some responsibilities to maintain the security and
safety of the employees. On the other hand, the human resource department works to increase the
productivity and profit of the company. The case study focuses on the HRM practices of ASDA.
ASDA is considered as the retail giant of the United Kingdom, so that the company makes an
effective human resource team to take decision for the benefits of the employees. The human
resource department helps the company to achieve the highest goal in the business industry.
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Task 1
Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organisation. (P1)
The employees in any organization are considered as the backbone. An organization to achieve
its targets must develop good democratic relationship with the employees. Efficient workforce
planning refers to the method where the organization bridges the employees with desired
outcomes (Cascio, 2018). Workforce planning determines the knowledge, skill requirements and
the knowledge to sequence up the correct number of employees at the correct time and at the
correct place. In ASDA, the management cares about its employees largely. It comes up with
policies so that a favourable environment can be created for the employees. The functions of
human resource management, which helps in workforce planning and resourcing, are given
below:
 One of the most vital rationales of human resource management (HRM) is to recognize
the number of vacancies that are there in the organization. According to the prevailing
vacancies, the HRM should hire employees. The first role of the human resource
department is to plan which department needs how many number of employees. The
other things that are anticipated by the HR department is to plan job requirements, to
analyze the recruitment sources and plan job description. The HR department of ASDA
should thoroughly look at the recruitment process so that, suitable employees are
recruited (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).
 The HRM should be responsible for the establishment of the objectives and the
development of the plans. The next responsibility that needs to be carried out by HRM is
to structure the organization goals and to design various operations are related to the
work process. This role includes clubbing together of personal activities, co-ordinating
the activities and authority delegation.
 The HRM should motivate the employees working in an organization. Motivating the
employees encourages them to reach the company goals effectively and willingly
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(Brewster et al., 2016). The HR department of ASDA should motivate its employees so
that the goals of the organization can be achieved easily.
 The HRM should ensure the correct recruitment of people. HRM should look into the
recruitment process keenly. While recruiting the people, the HRM should ensure the
people who are being hired have the right kind of skills (Marchington, 2015). The other
key functions of HRM are to control, evaluate, monitor and direct the employees.
Comparisons and observation of results should be of major concern for the HRM
department.
 HRM should include itself in the planning process regarding the development of training
and competency that helps the employees to work better in the organization.
Development and training programs are useful as it helps the employees to work with
greater efficiency.
 The HRM department of the organization should review the salary structure regularly.
This has to be done to ensure that the employees are getting the correct worth of their
work.
The HRM department of ASDA should focus on to develop its plan regarding the human
resource policies. It should administer programs and policies that improves the quality of the
employees working in the organization. Improving the relationship between the employees and
employees should be another key function of the HRM at ASDA.
Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection
(P2)
Selection and recruitment process is very vital to establish any kind of business organization.
Organizations like ASDA, Walmart, Tesco gives minute attention to the recruitment process.
When the right kind of employees get recruited its becomes easier of the organization to achieve
the desired goals (Beauchamp et al., 2015). The HR department firstly has to recognize the
vacancies and then has to start with the recruitment process. Candidates with suitable skill sets
needs to be pooled in which allows the filling of the post. In the recruitment process, many
sources can be used. Internal source of recruitment, external source of recruitment job
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description, job analysis, competency framework, person specification are some of the methods
in which employees are selected by the human resource department.
Internal and External Recruitment: When work force is supplied within the organization, it is
termed as internal recruitment. External recruitment refers to the process where prospective
employees are searched from outside the organization. Both internal as well as external
recruitment have some kind of positive aspects and some shortcomings as well. The process of
internal recruitment is fast (Koleva and Stoyanova-Warner, 2018). It does not include processes
like advertising, screening and short listing. None of these steps are required in the process of
internal recruitment. In external recruitment, there is a huge need for financial assistance while
internal recruitment is cost effective. In case of internal recruitment, the chances of fresh talent
are quite limited. However, when external recruitment is considered, the company gets a chance
to choose from various fresh talents.
Job Analysis: The process of job analysis includes observations, diary, critical incidents,
questionnaire, interviews, checklists and observation. All the methods mentioned have some kind
of shortcomings and advantages too. Verified information, which is firsthand, is provided by
observations. Observation is a time taking process. The help of interviews can gather qualitative
data. A difficult process to compile all the data is obtained from the interviews. The inexpensive
methods include checklists and diary, however it may not provide with all the correct and
relevant information (da Motta Veiga and Turban, 2018). ASDA uses the interview procedure
for the recruitment of their employees
Person specification and job description: All the details regarding a specific job are provided
by the description of the job. The job description method attracts candidates who are qualified,
but the candidates who are disabled may be left out in this process. The method of job
description is used by ASDA regarding its recruitment process.
Competency Recruitment: In contingency recruitment, an agreement gets formed among the
employer and the recruitment agency (Kekäle, 2018). When the agency finds any suitable
employee for the organization and is selected in the organization, the organization has to pay the
agency. This is a fast and easy process of recruitment. However, it requires financial assistance.
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ASDA is a multi-layered organization. It requires many recruitment agencies to get appropriate
employees for the different vacancies.
ASDA used the method of competency recruitment and external recruitment to employ
candidates. In these two methods, ASDA gets to choose from huge number candidates. At the
end of the process, the suitable employees get selected who can contribute to the growth of the
organization.
Task 2
Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both the
employer and employee (P3)
Human Resource Management (HRM) plays a vital role in an organization in different ways.
The human resource management practice is developed and segmented to fulfil various HR
needs of ASDA. The HR department provides benefits both for the management and employees.
The Human Resource department works on the various areas such as work force planning,
recruitment and selection process, training, and appraisal. The HRM department arranges
training for the new employees to make them competent for the work place. The Human
Resource Department of ASDA provides on job training and off job training to the employees. In
ASDA, the human resource department organizes practical training session for the employees to
gather knowledge practically. Besides, in ASDA, the HR department arranges conferences,
workshops, business games to provide theoretical knowledge to the employees. On the other
hand, Human Resource department works on the salary structure of the company. The HRM
designs an extensive salary structure according to current financial status of the company. In
ASDA, the HR team helps to intend an attractive salary structure, which is beneficial both for the
management and employees. Besides, the HR department makes plan to reduce the overall cost
of the company related to turnover and hiring replacement workers. The human resource
department is beneficial for the company because they have the skills that are necessary to
provide benefits to the employees (Henderson, 2017).
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The human resource department works to provide safety and security to the employees in their
work place. In ASDA, the human resource department works on various policies of employees
such as safety and health administration policy to provide safe working conditions for the
employees. They maintain the work logs, records and on the other hand, they develop programs
to reduce work place injuries and fatalities. On the other hand, the Human Resource department
works on the liability issues of the ASDA. They maintain the attendance of the employees in the
workplace to stop unfair practices in the work place. Besides, they investigate workplace issues
such as harassment, conflict and gossiping to build a healthy atmosphere in the work place. The
human resource department of ASDA implements some strategies to gain competitive edge that
is very beneficial for the future improvement of the company. The human resource department
arranges motivation training that is essential to boost the employees. On the other hand, the
human resource department recruits new employees for the company. They have appropriate
skills to identify perfect person for the company. The recruitment process of ASDA is very
impressive because the human resource department implements an effective plan to recruit new
employees. The human resource department has invented the online recruitment process to
improve speed and efficiency of recruitment. After the online registration, the HR executives
shortlist the eligible candidates for further interview. Therefore, the company is able to hire
eligible candidates, who will serve the best for the customers (Morgan-Jones, 2018).
The most important function of human resource department is to identify the training gap, so that
the employees can be more proficient in the work place. The expert human department of ASDA
designs some effective strategies to identify the training gap. The HR executives evaluate the
skills of the employees to define the differences between desired organizational results and
actual organizational results. When the gap is identified, the HR executives arrange further
training session to fill the gap. Therefore, it is an effective HR practice of ASDA to make
employees more proficient.
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Figure 1(Scope OF HRM), Source: (Bratton and Gold, 2017)
Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational
profit and productivity (P4)
Work force is the key component of an organization to increase the profit and productivity of the
company. The human resource department plays the crucial role to appoint employees for the
company. The human resource department of ASDA is well known for the effective recruitment
process to appoint eligible employees. Therefore, the eligible employees work hard to help the
organization for the achievement of goal. On the other hand, the human resource department
arranges proper training session for the employees, so that they can learn all the work place
activities, which help them to increase the productivity of the company. When the productivity is
increased, the company automatically increases its overall profit. The human resource team of
ASDA arranges practical and theoretical training session for the employees to gather knowledge
for the improvement of the business. The practical knowledge helps the new employees to
improve their skills that are very helpful for the long run profit of the company. Besides, the
human resource department works to identify the training gap, so that they can fulfil the gap by
providing further training. The HRM of ASDA arranges work time courses to improve the
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knowledge of the employees. These types of short time courses help the company to increase the
productive through the skills of the workers (Bachman et al., 2017).
The most important strategy of the HRM of ASDA is to provide promotion to the internal
employees. This system helps the company to increase its productivity because the existing the
colleagues are aware about the activities of the company. Therefore, the company is able to
increase its productivity through the activities of existing employees. On the other hand, the HR
team of ASDA plays a vital role to conduct bargaining and negotiating with the suppliers.
Therefore, the company is able to reduce the cost of raw materials through the bargaining power
of HRM. Therefore, the price reduction of raw materials helps to increase the overall profit of the
company. The human resource department designs an effective salary structure for the
employees according to the present financial status of the company. Besides, the human resource
department notices the work place issues, which help the company to reduce problems in the
work place. Therefore, human resource management plays a crucial role to provide good
working conditions to the employees, so that they can work effectively to increase the
productivity of the company. On the other hand, the human resource team maintains the quality
of products to satisfy the customers. The product quality increases the overall profit of ASDA.
The human resource management motivates the employees, so that they are engaged to provide
quality work for a longer period. Sometimes, the human resource management of ASDA
arranges reward system to improve the skill of the employees. Therefore, the proper skills of the
employees help to increase the productivity of the company. Thus, it is said that the human
resource team of ASDA is very effective to increase the productivity and profit of the company
(Henderson, 2017).
Analyse the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-
making (P5)
Employees are the pillar of every organization because they help to increase the productivity and
profit of the company. ASDA is a reputed company, so that the company has huge employee
strength to run the operation successfully and effectively. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain
the relationship with the employees for the long term benefits. The human resource management
gives emphasis to build relation with the employees. In ASDA, the human resource department
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provides safety and security to the workers, so that they feel secure in the work place during
work. Safeguarding is necessary to build the bond with the employees. The human resource team
works to collect agreements through the trade unions for the safeguarding of the employees. On
the other hand, the human resource management designs an effective employee relation strategy
to build a strong relation between employee and employer. The HRM department identifies the
issues in the work place to provide safety and security. Therefore, the human resource
management takes decision for the overall benefits of the employees.
There are some actors, who work together to maintain the employees relations in the work place.
In ASDA, the employee relations are controlled by certain actors. The main actors in employee
relations are employees, employers and the government. Therefore, the company frames an
effective employee relations strategy such as pay structure, work contracts, leaves, duty hours,
bonus system and others according to the legislations of the UK government. The human
resource management designs an effective strategy to provide overall benefits for the employees
according to employee laws of the United Kingdom. There are employer association and Trade
union, who act effectively to maintain the employee relations. Trade union and employee
association perform to establish the link between the employees and the management. The
human resource management of ASDA is conscious about the activities of the Trade union, so
that they are able to fulfil the demands of the Trade union. On the other hand, Court and
Tribunals are also important actors to build the employees relation. The human resource
department of ASDA is expert about the legislations related to employees’ benefits, so that they
can handle the matter easily and successfully. Therefore, the human resource department of this
company is able to take all types of decision according to laws and legislations of the local
government.
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Figure 2: (Employee Relations Actors), Source: (Giri, 2017)
Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision-making (P6)
The management of ASDA should focus on the key elements of employment legislation before
implementing any HRM decision. The employment legislations consist of employment
contracts, salary, work hour, holiday entitlement, leave, terminations and pension scheme.
According to the employee legislations, the management of ASDA needs to develop the
employment contract that is essential to mention the job roll of the employees. Besides, the duty
hours, leaves and salary are mentioned in the contract to inform the employees. Therefore, the
management should analyze the legislations of the government before making the contracts for
employees. ASDA faced a mass legal action due to unequal pay to the women employees.
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According to the equality law of 2010, the organization needs to pay same salary to the both men
and female employees (The World Bank, 2018). Some female employees of this company
claimed that they are offered fewer amounts than the male employees. The legal action is
harmful for any organization because it damages the reputation of the company. ASDA is
considered as one of the leading retail company of the UK, so that the management should pay
equal salary to the women employees to avoid this legal issue ((Haggerty, 2013)).
According to National Wage Act of 1988, the minimum pay is £6.19 per hour and 8 hours is
considered as a standard work time in the work place. The management of ASDA has designed a
flexible working hour, which is beneficial for the employees. On the other hand, the management
of ASDA has increased the wage to improve the productivity of the employees. The company
offers £8.50 per hour to the employees, so that they perform efficiently with necessary efforts.
On the other hand, the employees are paid overtime if they work extra time in the company. The
company provides 28 days annual leave, together with bank holidays. Besides, the company
provides maternity and paternity leave to the employees according to the Work and Families Act
(2006). Therefore, ASDA has brought effective changes in the contracts of the employees.
According to the legislations of the UK government, the company has changed the agreement to
give satisfaction to the employees. The ‘night shift window’ process is changed to ‘night shift
premium’ and it is an essential step to improve the legislation policy in the company. The
company designs the pension of the employees according to the pension scheme of the UK
government. The company has developed a system of system to the old employees and this is a
beneficial scheme for the employments. Therefore, the company should analyze the employment
legislations to take any HRM related decision for the employees. The company is improving its
contract to provide more benefits to the employees on the basis of employee legislations of the
United Kingdom (The World Bank, 2018).
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Task 3
Illustrate the application of HRM practices in a work-related context, using specific
examples (P7)
In order to achieve the organizational objectives, the organization uses HRM in different ways.
ASDA is a successful retail company of the United Kingdom because of its brilliance practice of
HRM. The human resource department of this company is efficient and skilled to implement new
and innovative strategies to the overall benefits of the employees and management. ASDA is
able to use its HRM department effectively and efficiently in the work place. The applications of
HRM in ASDA are discussed as follows:
Recruitment and Selection: The human resource department of an organization performs
effectively to appoint perfect employees for the company. The main aim of the human resource
department of ASDA is to appoint talented workers, who are fit for the job. The company offers
attractive salaries to achieve skilled employees for their company. The human resource
department gives advertisement in the social media sites such as LinkedIn to fulfil job vacancy.
On the other hand, the human resource department contacts with the recruitment firms such as
Remploy to recruit potential employees for the company. The human resource department
operates a fairly process to recruit new employees. The applicants apply for the job through
online registration process and then the HR executive shortlists the eligible candidates for further
interview. ASDA implements a recruitment policy that is to reach to the potential candidates
both internally and externally. Therefore, the company has a promotion system to recruit
employees for the highest position. The company recruits existing employees in the highest
position because they are more conscious about the strategies of the company. The human
resource team of the company designs a perfect workforce planning to control the recruitment
process effectively. The most important policy of ASDA is to select future leaders on the basis of
internal promotion. On the other hand, the selection process of ASDA is innovative and effective
because the company has the assessment centre, which provides the opportunity to the candidates
to display their strength according to the culture of ASDA. Therefore, the Human Resource
Management performs effectively to recruit perfect employees (Haggerty, 2013).
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Reward System: ASDA arranges reward system to provide job satisfaction to the employees.
After evaluating the performances of the employees, reward is given to the best employee. The
human resource department helps the company to select the best employees. ASDA operates an
employee recognition scheme named Asda star, to choose the best employee on the basis of
performance. The company has started the online gift card service to give reward to the
employees according to their performances. On the other hand, the eligible employees are given
discount as reward during their purchases of products. Besides, there is employee motivation
scheme, which is give after the achievement of target. The company also arranges reward to
reduce the absenteeism in the company. The most innovative reward scheme of ASDA is salary
sacrifice scheme, which helps the employees to manage their taxes. The company provides
Christmas gifts to the employees to boost them, so that they can work effectively for the overall
benefits of the company.
Therefore, these types of HRM practices are essential in the organization to motivate the
employees, so that they can work in a competitive atmosphere to increase the productivity and
profit of the company.
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Document Portfolio:
1. The design of a job description and person specification for a new role within the
organization.
Job Description
Sales person is needed for ASDA.
Person specification
 Informing the consumers about the products and services of ASDA
 Take care the requirements of the customers
 Give information to the organization according to the needs of the customers
 Contact with the customers effectively to provide them support
 Convincing the customers to purchase products
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CV 1
Mike Richardson
Street Address 9 Hartford Street, London
Contact No: [phone]
Email Id: [e-mail]
Profile: An active individual with effective communication skill and highly flexible in all types
of circumstances. I want to join in a reputed organization that provides me the best platform for
my career growth.
Education Background: MBA(2013), BBA(2011)
Summary of Job Background: 4 years of work experience as a sales man in Marks and Spencer
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CV 2
Andrew Simons
Street Address: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London
Contact No: [phone]
Email Id: [e-mail]
Profile: An efficient individual with effective communication skill and highly flexible in all
types of circumstances. I want to join in a reputed organization that provides me all types of
facilities.
Education Background: MBA(2015), BBA(2013)
Summary of Job Background: 1 years of work experience in Amigo
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CV 3
Kate William
Street Address: 17 Old Gloucester Street, London
Contact No: [phone]
Email Id: [e-mail]
Profile: An energetic individual, who has a good communication skill to work as a sales man.I
can work under the work pressure. I can easily mix up with colleagues in work place
Education Background: MBA(2013), BBA(2011)
Summary of Job Background: 5years of work experience in Tesco PLC.
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2. Interview preparatory notes, selection criteria and an interview decision sheet of the
candidate selected.
Interview preparatory notes
The company designed three major segments to conduct the interview. In the first part, the
candidates give information about their personal life. The next session is conducted to analyze
the communication skill of the candidate. In the last, the candidate gives their opinion about the
job role of the sales man in ASDA.
Selection criteria
The selection criteria are done on the basis of communication skill and knowledge. As
communication is one of the important aspects of a sales person, so that HR department gives
emphasis on the communication skill to hire the employee. Besides, the experience of the
candidate is seen to hire him as a sales person of ASDA.
Interview decision sheet
Candidate Criteria Decision
Candidate 1 good communication skill but
not so much energetic
Not selected
Candidate 2 Communication skill is not
good
Not selected
Candidate 3 Energetic and effective
communication skill
Selected
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3. A job offer to the selected candidate.
From Diana Smith, HR manager of ASDA
Leeds, UK
To, Kate William
Dear Mr. William
We are glad to inform you that you have been selected in our company as the sales person. You
are requested to join in the company on 2nd August,2018
Your job duties are as follows:
Help the customers to choose products according to their needs.
Communicate with the customers to understand about their requirements.
Your starting salary is 18k with incentives.
We congratulate and thank you for being a part of our company.
Sincerely,
Diana Smith
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Conclusion
Therefore, this discussion helps to understand the activities of human resource in ASDA. The
human resource department helps the company to run its business effectively and successfully.
The human resource department of ASDA is effective and innovative to implement new
strategies for the overall benefits of the employees and management. It is understood that the
management of ASDA follows legislations to take HR related decisions in the company.
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