Human Resource Management Practices in ASDA: A Case Study

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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