(Solved) Managing Human Capital and Leadership– Assignment

MANAGING HUMAN
CAPITAL AND LEADERSHIP

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Explaining various models of HRM and the approaches that the company must adopt for
managing its human resources....................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
HR functions of organisation and recommendations to improve these functions......................3
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
Analysis of HRM software programs which are beneficial for the organisation........................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
Characteristics of an effective leader..........................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Employees are the lifeline of any organisation. An organisation cannot survive if there
are no employees. Employees need to be motivated from time to time in order to develop their
sense of attachment towards the organisation. Human capital management means man ageing
employees of the company to increase productivity of the business operations of the company. It
starts from recruiting the employees, train them, manage and retain them. For better
understanding of HR practices the report will take Tesco and will show relevant HRM models
and approach of company to mange its employees. Further, the report will discuss various
functions of organisation and evaluate different software programmes which can be used by the
company for efficiencies in its operations and managing human resource. At last, the report will
include various characteristics of effective leaders in relation to issues identifies in previous
tasks.
TASK 1
Explaining various models of HRM and the approaches that the company must adopt for
managing its human resources.
There are various models that the company adopt for managing its human resources. In the study
the two major models that include Harvard and Guest model are to be analysed. Through these
HRM models, company could be able to serve many purposes as they facilitate the analytical
framework from making the study on the management of the human resource such as situational
factors, competence, stakeholders and the strategic level of choice. These models provide for the
characterization in the management of human resource which in turn helps in establishing
variables and the relationship that required to be studied.
Harvard framework- This model is composed of Six major components that are as
follows-
 The model begins with focusing on the interest of the stakeholders that involve
management, government, supplier, shareholders, employees, investors etc (Guest,
2017). The policies defined by the HR must be based on the stakeholders interest so that
objective of the wealth can be attained by the company.
 In the next step the situational factors are taken into account that plays a significant role
in respect of influencing the interest of the stakeholders. The situational factors like
unions, workforce characteristics and the other laws relating to the stakeholders.
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 The above two factors influence the policies of the outcomes that are generated by the
human resource management. The core activities of the HR department such as
recruitment, selection, training, development and performance management highly
depends upon these two factors as per the Harvard model.
 Effective research on these factors by the Human resource in making the strategies or
policies in context of the organizational goals could lead to the favourable outcomes for
the enterprise as well as human resource (Ferrari, 2017). Positive outcome in the sense
that many purposes like retention, competence, cost-effectiveness and the commitment.
 These positive results will help the firm in dealing with the long term uncertainties and
could achieve its long run objectives effectively and efficiently. It facilitates the
organization in achieving the growing success in the long run.
Thus, this model considers more of the holistic approach relating to human resource including
the various level of the outcome.
Guest model- It is the model that had been introduced by David Guest during the year
1997 and has been claimed as superior to the other models. Guest model claimed that manager of
the human resource has particular strategies for starting with their work, which in turn demand
for the certain practices and at the time of its execution results in the outcomes. The resultant
outcome involve financial, behavioural and the performance related rewards. It emphasizes on
the logical sequence for the six major components that are strategy, outcomes, performance,
behavioural, practices and the financial consequences (Shen and Benson, 2016). By looking
indirectly, the financial results majorly depends upon the performance of the employee which in
turn is the outcome of the action oriented behaviour of employee. The behavioural outcomes are
considered as the result of the quality, commitment and the flexibility in the performance of the
staff. Theses outcxome are in turn influenced by the HR practices. The practices followed by the
HR must ensure that it is in tune with their strategies that had been aligned invariably with the
organizational strategies. It has also been claimed that the Guest model is superior against the
other which is partly justified in terms as it maps out field for the human resource management
and helps in delineates the outcome and the inputs. As the dynamics in relation to the
management of the people are complex, that no other model including this model as well could
capture it comprehensively.
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Tesco company follows both the models in managing its human resources effectively so
that goal outcome can be achieved with excellence. Harvard model enables the Tesco company
in attaining the cost effectiveness, congruence, competence, commitment which in turn are
considered as the long run benefits for the company. This model helps the line managers of
Tesco in relation to accepting more and more responsibilities through the alignment of the HR
policies towards the competitive strategy of Tesco. Harvard model assist the organization in
stating the mission of the HR which in turn enable in shaping the activities of the human by
providing them with the appraisal and the recognition process. Harvard model helped Tesco
company in conceptualizing the relationship with the employees and the policies of an enterprise
in the effective manner (Jiang and Li, 2019). It provides for the well explanation regarding the
changing interest of the stakeholders in respect of the business of the Tesco in accordance with
the varying situation. Harvard model is considered as the ideal model which have been
implemented by Tesco company as it helps in making people perform along with the developed
strategies of the organization. On the other side, Guest model facilitate flexible working which
leads to increased satisfaction among the employees of the Tesco. It helps in achieving the
increased motivation and the participation of the employees with improvement in their skills.
TASK 2
HR functions of organisation and recommendations to improve these functions
Human capital management is the combination of practices which deals with managing
human and includes functions like recruiting, managing,developing and providing training tot he
employees for increasing the productivity of the organisation (Holzer, 2019). The HR department
of the organisation handles different HR functions in the organisation to ensure that the
organisation runs effectively. The HR department's duties are very critical for the success of the
organisation.
Tesco plc deals in groceries, merchandise and is one of the largest retailer not just in UK
but in the world. It has expanded its operations all over the world and have more than 460,000
employees which are need to be managed for achieving success and to increase productivity of
the company and for that purpose the company has HR department which consists of different
HR functions (HRM functions, 2016). The company makes sure that the functions are carried out
effectively so that the company can be ready to face uncertainties and can achieve growth. The
different HR functions are :
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Recruitment and selection
Recruitment is the function of HR through which the companies find and hire the new
candidates that are suitable for the job. The manager of the company uses data and analysis to
invite various job applicants. For this purpose the recruiter needs to know what the company
wants. The first function of recruitment process is to analyse the need of company and what new
employee will work on (Arunprasad, 2017). From this, the recruiter needs to develop a job
description which is easily understandable and need to set a basic pay scale so that interested
candidates can join in. after preparing the job description the company needs to find out the
population that might be interested in that job and that can be done with the help of media,
advertisements etc. in Tesco the job can be for the position of storekeeper, manager, inventory
manager etc.
After recruiting candidates comes the selection process in which after inviting applicants
for the job, the recruiter tracks the details of the applicant who is more eligible for the job
according to the qualifications mentioned in the job description. After that, the interviews are
held and questions are asked from the interviewee to check its aptitude and confidence for the
job. After the interview process, the candidates are evaluated and the best ones are selected and
get placed in the organisation (Noe and et.al., 2017). In this recruitment is known as to be a
positive process as it invites the job applicants for a particular position in the company whereas
selection process said to be negative process as it eliminates most of the candidates and select the
best one.
The recruitment process can be done with the help of many platforms like in house
recruitment in which few candidates who have potential and are already working in the company
get recruited for particular post. The other way can be outsourcing in which employment
agencies can provide candidates that are suitable for the company. The other way can be
executive search firms that are used for the position of executives. These candidates can be
recruited with the help of advertising and networking. Internet job boards and search engines for
jobs can also be useful to recruit candidates (Kianto, 2017). At last, nowadays company hire the
candidates from social networking sites as well in which employees and employer can interact
and can share job related information to get recruited.
On the other hand, the selection process of the company the company checks the
background of the employee which includes their family background, work background,
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personality etc. which helps the company in selecting the best one for the job. It involves
screening process in which the candidates after getting selected go through the medical tests
which includes eye check-ups, blood check-ups etc. This process is of utmost importance as
unless the candidate which is selected is not efficient, the organisation cannot succeed (Ramadan
and et.al., 2017 ).
Tesco is the biggest private sector employer in UK and provide employment
opportunities to many employees. There are many employees worldwide and it has stores
ranging from superstores to local Tesco sites. It operates in more than 12 countries outside UK.
To expand its market internationally is the strategy of Tesco. The Tesco stores needs employees
for both store based as well as non store based jobs. It needs employees in the form of checkout
staff, stock handlers, specialists in stores. It needs skilled employees in stock management and
logistics. It needs employees in various department like IT, property management, marketing,
accounting etc.
Tesco ensures that all workers work together to achieve its business objectives and for
that it needs right number of people at right job at right time. To do so the company need to have
structured process which can attract candidates for operational and managerial roles.
Recommendation
 To ensure that the recruitment ans selection process of Tesco be efficient, it should do
workforce planning which means analysing future neds of people in the organisation
terms of skills and locations. Tesco need to recruit the candidates on regular basis and
therefore needs to set the ambitions, targets which can be understandable by new recruit
and can help company in achieving goals and help employees in overall development
(He, 2016).
 Tesco needs to have an efficient organisation structure which will help the company in
hiring new and talented candidates and will help it in knowing that at what level the
candidate is required.
 For attracting new employees the company needs to use talent plan in which the company
, before hiring the candidate need to focus on few aspects like nature of work, resources
available, external interaction etc. and behalf of that should hire the candidate which can
increase efficiencies, decrease time and cost of company. The company neds to invest on
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advertisements through websites, offline media, radio, magazines etc. so that all sort of
candidates can get the job.
 For effective selection process, Tesco need to introduce two interviews in which the good
candidates will reach to the second level interview and those who will clear the second
one will get the job. This way the reputation of company will increase along with the
company would get served with the best candidate.
Human Resource development
HRD is the framework that is used by companies to help their employees in developing
their personal and organisational skills, knowledge and abilities. HRD helps the company in
motivating and retaining the employees (Fuller, 2016). It includes opportunities for employees to
develop like employee training, career development, management of their performance,
coaching, organisation development etc. healthy organisations believe in human resource
development as it increases the ability and strength of the organisation as well as employees.
Tesco believes that performance and rewards are important for evaluating performances
and to develop employees within the organisation. Tesco performance appraisal system increases
output, motivation of the employees and help the company in achieving growth. It pays a lot of
attention to its performance appraisal system and believes that it has the best as compared with
its competitors. It allows its employees to have reward objectives which keep its employees
happy and loyal towards the organisation. Tesco provides unique rewards to its employees like [-
privilege cards, long service rewards, personalized annual report etc. However, Tesco need to
sustain efficient running of HRM department in order to keep it on number one position.
Recommendation
 Tesco need to consider some potential employee who possess the quality of being
creative, innovative, enthusiasm and need to motivate them towards the goal of the
company.
 The company need to consider strategic vision of the company and need to provide the
direction to the employees that where the company is heading. HR should review the
vision of the company and should consider internal and external factors and in case all of
them do not match then should immediately change the vision.
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 HR leaders should examine the demographics of the employees and should figure out the
gap between their current and needed skills. The company should focus on filling these
gaps through strategic recruitment, retention and training efforts,.
Motivation
Motivation is the process of influencing others to work hard in the organisation.
Motivation leads to increase in productivity of the organisation, it boosts the morale of the
employees and make them feel wanted in the company. To support growth, Tesco needs a
workforce that is motivated, flexible and well trained and to recognise the needs of the customer.
Tesco employees are supported by the company in their different roles at different levels. Tesco
recognises that employees motivation which is important form the continuous growth of the
company (Larsen, 2017). Tesco considers that the business depends on two aspect of people
which are employees and customers. To motivate its staff Tesco provides flexible working hours
to its employees which increases the loyalty of the employees. It provides free or reduced rate
benefits of health. It offers staff discount to its employees and provide competitive salaries.
Tesco has discovered that it is essential to create trust and respect and to provide good
atmosphere to its employees to work. Every year, Tesco invites its staff to take part in
satisfactory survey called viewpoint which gives the opportunity to express their views on each
aspect of the job. Tesco makes sure to offer right things to keep it staff motivated. It includes
career break of 6 months and 5 years away which give rights to the worker to return in the
organisation. This all factors keep the staff motivated.
Recommendation
 The company to motivate its employees should use greater communication and good
teamwork which will lead to increase in morale of the employees.
 The company should involve its employees in decision making in order to make them
feel important.
 The company should focus on making the work interesting and non repetitive so that
it can grab the attention of the employees and they can learn new skills.
Performance appraisal
Performance appraisal simply means to praise the performance of the employee to
appreciate their work in order to motivate them and retain them. It helps in employee
development as it frames the supervisors in framing training and development policies. Through
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performance appraisal it gets easy for the company to create trust and confidence among
employees. It develops spirit of work and boosts morale of employee. It helps the company in
maintaining cordial relationship with labour. It serves as a tool of motivation and helps in
evaluating the performances of the employees.
Tesco only recruits the employees that will benefit the company and neglects the
employees that are weaker in nature. Tesco through training and development can improve
efficiencies of the workers and can affect profitability and efficiency of the company.
Recommendation
 Tesco should use ranking method for performance appraisal of its employees. Under this
method, the ranking system will tank the overall performance of the employees and
employees will compete against each other.
 Tesco should develop performance appraisal programmes in which independent workers
work towards a team and be active about it. This can improve the health of the business
and can improve performance appraisal(Guest, 2017).
 The company should focus on giving weekly feedbacks to its employees and also need to
tell them, the areas in which they can improve and can achieve greater efficiencies.
TASK 3
Analysis of HRM software programs which are beneficial for the organisation
Every organisation needs to manage its human resources efficiently because humans are
responsible for almost everything that happens in the organisation. The best way to have great
team in the company is to have an effective HR department with right people working in it with
software that collects and manges the information of the employees and other human resources
and saves time and cost. Its the goal of every company to have information about its employees.
These soft wares help the company in keeping the details of the employees in centralized
database. These help the company in managing and reporting data of an individual employee.
Companies can effectively manage their human resources if they use the appropriate core
HRM software products. With the right core HR software and information system, Tesco can
easily perform key functions of the HR department and can track basic data of employees,
manage it and can generate valuable reports.
HRM software are the tools that are used to automate HR process of the company. These
applications are computerize and integrate processes of HRM like Recruitment, selection,
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performance appraisal etc. These are the most valuable resource in the human capital. These
systems cover all the tasks associated with HR departments that includes process efficiency,
managing hierarchy and simplifying financial transactions of all types. These systems
encompasses payroll, time and attendance, HRIS, scheduling etc. The following software are :
Database - It can help Tesco in managing and recording details of the employee for
quick excess. The database contains employee's personal details, salaries, promotion, and other
types of data.
Self service portal – It can help Tesco in accessing the information with minimum or no
human input. In short, the portal will show the information without relying on human (Russell,
2016).
Dash board and reporting – As all the database of the company is stored in centralized
database, the users of the software can access accurate real time reports at one click of a button.
Some company have dashboard with a message board, social media links and featured
employees. These software can help Tesco in making effective reports with the information
available.
Payroll management – These software can help Tesco in calculating pay of employees
along with benefits that are provided by the company to its employees. It also helps the company
in managing direct deposits, revising salary of employee in case of miscalculation and at last
track payroll f the employees
Leave and attendance management – These software makes it possible for or the
company to streamline communication between various departments and employees to make
sure that effective management of leave of employees and their attendance are taken into
consideration. The system automatically calculate leaves, identify trends and trigger alerts.
Among all these system Tesco can opt for leave and attendance management as Tesco
has vast number of employees and to keep the track of absentee gets hard for the company. For
this purpose, this software would be beneficial for the company as it will show the clear picture
to the company that which employee is absent and which employee is on leave etc. it will help
the company in managing its work properly.
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TASK 4
Characteristics of an effective leader
To solve all the issues in an organisation including labour turnover, absenteeism, lack of
consumer retention, decrease in sales, improper management, lack of communication, lack of
motivation etc. Tesco needs effective leader who can solve all the issues in the organisation. The
characteristics of an effective leader includes :
Strong communication – Leader need to be a good communicator first. The leader need
to be clear in what it wants to communicate its followers. When the leader has good
communication skills, the employees understand their duties and responsibilities better which
lead to increase in work efficiency.
Good listener – A leader needs to be a good listener means the employees of the
company need to feel free in giving suggestion to their leader which increases the morale of the
employees. The leader should listen to the ideas of it employees which will lead to increase in
innovation and creativity.
Passion and commitment – The leader need to have passion and should be committed
towards the goal of the company. If leader would be committed to the goal, it will motivate
others to do the same as well.
Positive attitude – The positive attitude is contagious so if the leader of the company is
happy and energetic and full of positive attitude, its employees would be happy too. Positive
attitude creates positive work environment. It helps the employees in keeping balance between
their work and personal life as when employees work happily it increases their efficiency.
Honesty – Leadership begins with honesty. When the leader is honest it creates stability
and trust in the organisation and among employees. Leader sets an example in front of the
employees that work should be done with honesty to achieve efficiencies in work.
Humility – It is one of the most respected quality of a leader. When a leader admits their
mistakes in front of their followers, share credit, talks politely creates positive environment and
influence employees to be good as well (Boudreau, 2017). It create harmony and coordination
among employees which helps the company in achieving economies of scale and operational
synergies.
Tactful – The leader cannot be straight forward always therefore, leader require tactics
and diplomacy in some matter which help the leader in solving conflicts in the organisation. It
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helps the leader in dealing with disagreements and competing priorities. It helps the leader in
having win win situation.
Emotional stability – Good leaders can overcome any stress and frustration. They do not
show it on their followers. They strongly and maturely deal with the situation which do not affect
the working conditions of the company.
Result oriented – the real leaders believes in performing and to complete the job in timely
manner. They exceed the expectations consistently and slowly. When no results can be arrived
means there was no effective leadership used,
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that human resource management plays an
important role in respect of dealing with the issues relating to the compensation, development of
the organization, wellness, performance management, safety, employee motivation and other
benefits. It plays a vital role in managing the staff and the culture of the workplace within the
business environment of Tesco. It is very important to for the company that the leaders must
possess all the characteristics that are needed for becoming the effective leaders so that goals can
be achieved efficiently and within the time frame.
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