(PDF) Managing Human Capital And Leadership | Assignment

MANAGING HUMAN
CAPITAL AND
LEADERSHIP

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Some approaches to manage human resource.............................................................................3
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................5
Recruitment and selection within company and some recommendations for improvement.......5
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................7
Approaches to human resource development and its improvements..........................................7
Task 4...............................................................................................................................................8
Evaluation of classical theories of motivation............................................................................8
Task 5.............................................................................................................................................10
Some characteristics of effective leader and some model in support.......................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Human capital is defined as the employees which work within the company in order to
achieve the objectives and goals of business. The human capital is the major part of any
company or organization. Therefore, it is very necessary to have a good human capital
management within the company (Joo, Lim and Kim, 2016). Human capital management is a
process which starts from acquisition of employees till they leave the organisation and to
maintain their skills and enhance their knowledge so that they are retained within company for
longer time period. The present study is based on the company Sainsbury. It is the second largest
supermarket chain in UK which was founded in the year 1869 by John James Sainsbury.
The present assignment will start by outlining some approaches which the company uses
to manage its human resources. Further the report will discuss some recruitment and selection
methods in relation to strategic human resource along with some recommendations to improve
the recruitment and selection within the company. Next in the assignment some approaches to
HRD will be explained and measures for its improvement. Furthermore, a critical analysis of the
some classical theories of motivation will be done to improve motivational level of employees
within the company. At last various characteristics of effective leader will be discussed with help
of some models (Manuti and De Palma, 2016).
Task 1
Some approaches to manage human resource
Human resource refers to as the employees working within the company for
accomplishing what the company is intended to achieve. Without human resource or human
capital no organization can work effectively and efficiently. Therefore, it is very necessary for
the companies to manage and satisfy their employees so that the work within the company is
appropriately carried on. There are different types of ways in which Sainsbury can manage these
human capital to their fullest potential. Some different approaches used by Sainsbury are as
follows-
Management approach- it is an approach which deals with the management of the
human capital. It is because of the reasons that if there is not adequate human within the
company then there will be problem in accomplishing the work and objective of business. HRM
is an important part of the management of the company (Approaches to human resource

management, 2017). It is because of the reason that management refers to as an act of getting
things done from others in an effective and efficient way. Therefore, for managing the human
capital at the workplace it is very necessary for Sainsbury to manage its human capital in a
productive way so that employees yields maximum output and add to the growth and
development f the company. Within the whole life of business it need to have human capital as
without man force no work can be done and also management of the company cannot take place.
Therefore, it is very crucial to have a sound and sensible human resource management so that
every work is managed on time.
The management approach is helpful in managing the human resources because it takes
into consideration what are the requirement and needs of human resource and how these needs
are managed. In case the human resource is not satisfied with the management of the company
then it might be possible that they do not work with full energy and enthusiasm and this may
result in non fulfilment of business objectives (Masa' deh, Maqableh and Karajeh, 2014).
Proactive approach- it is a major approach which Sainsbury uses in order to manage its
human capital within the company. It is very necessary for the human resource to be very
attentive and spontaneous in any work because every work needs to be done by them only. The
business exist in a dynamic and ever changing world where changes takes place within seconds
and very frequently. However, the company needs to continuously research for the changes
taking place within the business environment. This is possible only with the help of good and
attentive human capital. And if the human resource is not that much capable then Sainsbury will
not be able to upgrade with all the recent changes going on within the business environment.
Under this approach the human resource needs to have the capacity to anticipate the
possible changes which can take place within the business environment. The underlying reason
behind this is that the manager needs to have a very good insight of what can be the possible
problems arising in way of business. This is majorly due to the reason that managers and other
human resource of the company must be intact with the changes taking place within the outside
world (Snell, Bohlander and Morris, 2015). This is crucial due to the fact that if human resource
will be having knowledge relating to the changes taking place within the environment then it will
be helpful for the human resource to take proper and effective decisions on time. It is because if
the human capital is capable of thinking and anticipating the changes or problems which may
arise then they will be more ready with the solutions if the anticipated change is correct then the

human resource have solutions also with the changes that how these changes needs to be
implemented within the company (Greer, Lusch and Hitt, 2017).
Task 2
Recruitment and selection within company and some recommendations for improvement
For managing the human capital within the company the most important thins are
recruitment and selection of right candidate at a right work and right place and on right time.
This is very necessary because of the reason that if the employees do not know what work
theyhave to do then how they will work. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that every
employee is placed at the appropriate place so that there is no confusion related to the work and
every work is accomplished by the person who is responsible for that work. This will make sure
that th work is completed on time and in an effective and productive manner.
Recruitment
Recruitment refers to as inviting of applicants for a vacant position within the company.
This is doen in order to fill the position of the company with the required effective human
resource. This is a proces in which the company advertises its job vacancy through different
platforms and tries to attract more and more prospective candidates so that they apply for the
vacant job position (Haynes, Hitt and Campbell, 2015). There are many different types of
methods of recruitment which are used by Sainsbury. It uses mainly internal method of
recruitment and from external methods the method of advertising in form of print media and
notice outside the company.
The company mainly uses the internal source of recruitment because of the reason that it
is very cheap source of recruitment. Also, the another benefit of this source is that as here the
recruitment is done internally so all the trusted candidates come for being selected. This is
majorly because of the reason that internal recruitment refers to a process of stimulating the
relative and friends of the existing employees. This is trusted because the company knows its
existing employees and can trust the existing employees. Also, the another method which is
notice outside the office is also a good source of recruitment as it is also very less expensive and
grabs attention of every person passing by the office of Sainsbury (Gelard, Boroumand and
Mohammadi, 2014).
Selection

It is a process of selecting from the shortlisted candidates from the stage of recruitment.
This is the essential stage as it leads to the selection of some candidates from all the recruited
candidates (Popescu, Comanescu and Sabie, 2016). The success of the company is being
dependent on the selection process. The selection of one candidate out of so many can be done in
many ways like by taking some written test or by taking personal interview or by placing the
candidate sin certain situations to check how they will deal with the situation and many more
other ways. But Sainsbury uses the method of written test to check the mental status and the
thinking of the candidate.
It is very necessary for the company to opt for correct process of selection which it can
use in order to select candidates from a group of shortlisted candidates at time of recruitment.
Sainsbury uses method of written test because of the reason that this method helps in thoroughly
examining the candidate in and out in every aspect. This is the only reason behind selection
method being so much important because it helps in choosing the suitable candidate with all the
qualifications which are necessary for the candidate to possess in order to work within Sainsbury
(Morley, Heraty and Michailova, 2016).
Recommendations
The major recommendation for Sainsbury is to change the recruitment method and try to
adapt to new methods of recruitment. This is majorly because of the reason that internal source
of recruitment has limited choice for the company to choose from which is very limited. That is
why it is recommended to Sainsbury to use some new and different sources of recruitment such
as online recruitment, campus placement, employment exchanges and many other different
sources of external recruitment. These methods will provide for a wide variety of choice of
candidates to chose from at time of selection.
Another recommendation for Sainsbury is to make some modifications in the process of
selection. This is because of the major reason that only written test cannot define the candidate
and his level of knowledge and expertise. Even the candidates can clear the written test by asking
from other persons. Therefore, Sainsbury must also use method of personal interview along with
some written test (Smith, Lewis and Tushman, 2016). This is majorly because of the reason that
with personal intraction the candidate selector can personally interact with the candidate and by
understanding his body language and expressions it can try to figure out the unsaid things and

can understand the candidate much better as compared with the only written test as the mode of
selection of the candidates.
Task 3
Approaches to human resource development and its improvements
Human resource development is a concept which is defined as the development and
growth of the human resource present within the company in accordance with the changes taking
place within the outside business environment (Cabrilo, Grubic Nesic and Mitrovic, 2014). For
Sainsbury it is of utmost importance to provide the human resource with the option of
development and growth because of the reason that if the employees will not find any growth
opportunities within the company then they will leave the company and may go to another of the
competitor. Therefore, it is very necessary for the company to provide all its employees with the
option of training and development so that they can have the potential of growth.
In this modern and competitive world there are many new things and technologies
coming in the way of business which makes the working within the companies very easy and
convenient. But the major problem which arises is that the frequent changes taking place within
the business environment. However, these problems can be managed with help of some different
types and tools of technology and other different developmental techniques. But the thing is that
the development of the work force must be sustainable that is it must last for long within the
company. It should not be the case like the employees take training from one company and then
join another company.
Human resource development is in itself an approach. It is because of the reason that
HRD is an approach wherein the company works on building the level of knowledge, expertise,
skills, capabilities and many more other good things within the human resource of Sainsbury. It
is an integrated use of both training and development so that the human resource get upgraded.
In this modern and globalized era there are very frequent changes with in the business
environment and in the technological sector (Di Segni, Huly and Akron, 2015). All the
employees need to adapt to these changes and upgrade their knowledge in respet to the changes
which are taking place within the business environment. Also, it is the responsibility of
Sainsbury to provide for its employees and the human resource with all the facilities of providing
for different training and development programs for human resource of company.

The different approaches of improving the human resource development are as follows-
The integrative framework- this is an important approach used in process of human
resource development. Under this approach there are three ways which can help in improving the
level of human resource in direction of development (Scafarto, Ricci and Scafarto, 2016). These
ways are like building organizational capabilities, increasing employee satisfaction and the last is
by increasing the customer and shareholders. All these three facts increases the knowledge and
expertise of the employees within Sainsbury.
HRD score card- this is yet another approach which can be used by Sainsbury. This
approach states that HR interventions are used in order to ensure that right competency and
culture is linked with correct business styles. The HRD culture refers to as maturity level of
appropriateness of each subsystem, HR structures and the competencies of HR staff and other
managers.
Human capital appraisal approach- it is an approach which is based on beliefs but there
are five different stages which are clarification, assessment, design, implementation and
monitoring stages. These stages need to be taken int consideration that what the customer wants
and in what ways and how.
Task 4
Evaluation of classical theories of motivation
Motivation refers to as an inner state which drives the person to do some work.
Motivation is a force or an action which drives to the person in the direction of accomplishing
some or the other task. These motivations can be of two different types that is intrinsic and the
other extrinsic. Where intrinsic motivation is when the motivation is from inside the person
himself and on other hand extrinsic motivation are type of motivation which occurs when some
other people or events or things motivates a person to work into particular direction.
Sainsbury uses some theories and models of motivation which it uses in order to motivate
the employees to work up to their fullest potential and capacity. The classical theories of
motivation used by Sainsbury for motivating its employees and work force are as follows-
Maslow's need hierarchy theory- it is a very old and effective technique of motivation
(Peng, Sun and Markóczy, 2015). This theory states that the needs of a person is divided in form
of pyramid where the needs starts with its order. That is the needs are divided in form of order

of fulfilment of needs. For example if first the basic needs of shelter, food and others are fulfilled
then only it will go to second stage that is safety needs and so on. And at the top of the pyramid
there is the self actualization need which is the need met in the end when all other needs are
fulfilled. Under this pyramid of needs which consists of five different types of needs which are
physiological needs, safety needs, love or belonging needs, self esteem needs and self-
actualization needs. In the basic needs get fulfilled then only the person can go for
accomplishment of the second need. And this pyramid works from bottom to top and the area of
needs narrows down to little by the time the person reaches to the top.
Herzberg's two factor theory- it is a theory which is proposed as a two factor theory or
motivator hygiene theory. In accordance with some job factors the result of work is satisfaction
and because of some other factors the result may be not satisfactorily resulted in positive.
Herzberg categorised job factors into two different categories which are as follows-
Hygiene factors- these are job factors which are necessary for presence of motivation at
workplace. If these job factors are not present at the workplace then thee will be dissatisfaction
among the employees. These factors can be both satisfiers and dissatisfies. The different job
factors are like pay, status, working conditions, interpersonal relation and many others.
Motivational factor- this is yet another factor which is named as motivational factor.
These factors are mainly non- financial in nature. These motivational factors include recognition,
growth and promotional opportunities, responsibility, sense of achievement and many others.
Carrot and Stick approach
With the study of the different motivational theories Sainsbury has got a combination of
different motivational theory which it can implement within the company and working is the
theory of carrot and stick approach. This is an approach which has two motivating forces for two
different type of employees working within the company. The first motivator is carrot which is
provided to the employees which are very hard working and finishes all the work on time or
before time and in an effective and efficient manner (Kim and Von Glinow, 2017). Therefore,
such type of employees are provided with the carrot motivators. These motivators include
monetary incentives, bonus, promotions, bonus and many other similar type of incentives. These
are provided as motivators because of the reason that these motivators encourages employees to
work more hard to earn more of the incentives and other bonuses.

On the other hand if the employees do not work up to the expected level then the
employees are provided with stick as a motivator. Here the stick refers to as demotion or any
other strict action against the employee who do not perform well in the office. These are also
known as negative motivators because this motivates the employees to work hard but by way of
negative things. That is it provides for negative motivators if the employees do not perform up to
the mark.
Task 5
Some characteristics of effective leader and some model in support
Leadership :
It refers to the process through which Leader guide, direct and influence the members of
team to work towards achievement of aim and objectives of the organization. It can also be
defined as human factor that combine the employees together and motivates them to achieve
goals (Roux and Härtel, 2018).
Leader :
A leader is an individual who convince other people to follow directions towards
accomplishment of goals of the organization. Great leader possess various attributes such as clear
focus, integrity, clear vision etc. (Cragg and Spurgeon, 2018). Leader of Sainsbury should
possess various characteristics to become an effective leader. These are as follows -
Self-managing -
An individual cannot manage other people effectively if, they are not having ability to
manage themselves. Managing self means, the ability to give priority to goals and being
responsible for accomplishing those goals. Leader of Sainsbury will be effective only when they
are able to regulate emotions, attention and time and being aware of weaknesses and strengths.
Risk – taking -
Experimentation is essential for developing and maintaining competitive advantage over
competitors. Effective leaders recognize this and brings innovation within the organization.
Leader of Sainsbury should make efforts for promoting the culture that grasp failure and workers
will more emboldened to bring new ideas because they believe that their creativity will be
valued.
Optimistic -

Every decision does not result into success. There are situations when decision of
individual gets failed. Therefore, it is the duty of effective leader to exercise resiliency. It is the
attribute of effective leaders that, they do not avoid hard truths. Leader of Sainsbury should take
responsibility to maintain optimism and also for taking other decisions. Further, it is the
responsibility of effective leaders to help team members to cope up with implementing changes
in the firm (Welch and Hodge, 2018).
Having vision for the future -
Effective leaders have ability to look into the future of company and also make concrete
and clear goals that will offer various advantages to the firm. Leader of Sainsbury is very
confident and inspires enthusiasm in people that are working around them. Further, effective
leaders should be capable of incorporating new methods without getting distract from main aim
and objectives of the firm.
Effective communicator -
Effective leaders know when to listen and when to talk. They are also known as effective
communicators, and they have capability to clearly explain their followers every detail regarding
objectives of the company. Leader of Sainsbury must be able to communicate with employees at
every level of the organization. Effective leaders has ability to use different methods of
communication like verbal, written and non-verbal etc.
Integrity -
Leader that has characteristic of integrity draws on their values to support their
behaviour, decisions and dealings with other people. Leader of Sainsbury should have strong
belief regarding what is wrong and right and are respected as ethical, genuine and consistent.
The characteristics of effective leader can be supported with the relevant model. It is described
below -
Transformational Leadership Model :
It is a style of leadership in which leader of the company encourage, motivate and inspire
the employees to create and innovate change that will support growth and success of the
organization. Transformational leaders help to motivate and inspire staff members without
micromanaging. They provide authority to team members to take decisions related with their
assigned jobs. These type of leaders help employees to being more creative and find new
solutions for resolving old problems (Gautam, 2019).

Concept of transformational leadership was developed by James V. Downton in year
1973. The model for transformational leadership encourages leaders to reflect strong leadership,
authentic with the idea that followers will get inspired to follow the directions of leader.
According to this model, transformational leaders possess various types of characteristics and
these are as follows-
 Transformational leaders have ability to hold focus on cooperation and communication.
 They emphasis on providing mentoring and caching to employees to take decisions
themselves.
 Encourages creativity and innovation in the organization by taking risks.
 Having ability to give priorities to different activities on the basis of their importance in
accomplishing goals of the firm.
 Transformational leaders has ability to support employees to cope up with changes for
effective implementation in the company.
If, Transformational leadership model is followed by the leader of Sainsbury in right
manner then it will help to improve productivity and also motivate team members to perform
better for achieving aim and objectives of the company. According to the author Ribeiro, Yücel
and Gomes (2018) transformational leadership offers various benefits to the organization.
Transformational leader assist the firm to satisfy needs of employees along with needs of the
organization. Therefore, with the help of this leadership style employees of the company feel a
corporate feel, and they will not leave the firm. Further, it will also help management to bring
change in the organization in effective manner
CONCLUSION
The above Report has outlined that firm has adopted different approaches for managing
human resource of the firm. Management of Sainsbury plays an important role in managing
subordinates. Human Resource Manager should forecast problems before they arise. This will
help to save time and money of the firm. Further, the Report has also described that recruitment
and selection approaches adopted by Sainsbury helps to recruit talented workers at right time.
Human Resource development helps to develop abilities and competencies in employees that
supports the individuals to perform assigned job in effective way.
Moreover, it has been concluded that, classical theories of motivation such as Abraham
Maslow's theory helps to determine different levels of needs of employees that helps to motivate

employees to perform better such as safety needs, self actualization, self esteem needs etc.
Herzberg two factor theory helps to analyse the factors that motivates workers. Motivators
includes recognition, challenging work etc. Whereas, hygiene factors are job security, fringe
benefits etc. The Report has also explained that effective leaders should possess attributes such
as optimistic, self-managing, risk-taking etc. Effective leaders should be capable of incorporating
new changes in organization without distracting from objectives of the firm.

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