Managing People and Organisational Behaviour

This study analyzes the relationship between strategic organizational planning and human resource planning in Westpac, a leading bank in Australia and New Zealand. It explores the challenges faced by HR professionals in aligning these two types of planning and examines the effectiveness of HR planning practices in developing a people-centered workplace. The study also suggests models for developing high-performing work teams and a global mindset workforce in a multicultural and global environment.

Running head: MANAGING PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVOUR
MANAGING PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVOUR
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Introduction
WestPac, the first bank and the first company of Australia, was founded in 1817. The main focus
of the organization is to provide the customers with business and banking services, which involves the
wealth management, wealth administrations and the insurance services for maintaining the customer
services across Australia and New Zealand. These services are provided across the Group’s customer-
oriented divisions. The core support teams involving finance, people, risks, compliance, technology and
operations give support to the front line teams. The organization maintains branches and offices in New
York, London and Asia. This was established in 1861. WestPac in New Zealand serves more than 1.5
million customers and there are 3000 shareholders and 197 branches in the nation. WestPac became the
second largest bank in New Zealand and the dominant provider of the banking services provided to
SMEs, corporate and the organizations in New Zealand. This organization is also considered as the
banker of the New Zealand government. This study will analyze the business operations and how the
employees are managed in the business.
The relationship between Strategic Organizational Planning and Human Resource Planning:
Analyze the relationship of Strategic Organizational Planning and Human Resource planning
practices used by Westpac in developing people-centered workplace
The Strategic Organization Planning followed by Westpac is that the organization mainly focuses
on the organic growth leading towards the customers ‘growth for building up the strongest and the
deepest relationship with key stakeholders. The organization focuses in maintaining the service
leadership that is, they are focused in delivering the effective services towards the customers and also
focuses on digitally transforming the business operation process by reducing the group’s cost of the
business operations. The business also maintains the performances and disciplines by managing the
business operations in the balanced manner. Westpac also maintains the growth highways that is by
focusing on the stronger growths to medium enterprises. The business also maintain the workforce
revolutions that is by developing the working place, where the business continues to enhance the
diversities and the significance of the Westpac workforce.
The organization maintains the human resource planning process that is by developing the
thorough understandings of the business’s objectives, evaluating the capability of HR. The business also
analyzes the present capacity of HR in achieving the goals. The business also estimates the future of the
organization based on the HR requirements. The organization also determine the equipment and tools
that are required for the employees in the performance of their tasks and the organizations also require
implementing the HR management strategies.
Thus the organizations are following the strategic organization planning’s and it maintains the
human resource planning process for developing the relations between the strategic planning and the HR
planning practices. The organization focuses on building up the effective relations among the employees
so that they remain satisfied towards their works.
Determining whether Westpac is following both the type of planning or not
Westpac are following the strategically planning process that is by looking after the employee’s
satisfaction. The business provides the flexible working hours, mobile workings and also allows the
work from home options by providing the variety of leave options. The organization uses this strategy to
satisfy the employers of their organization so that they can increase their productivity and their business
operations in the business market.
Westpac follows the HR management policies that is the HR of the organization establishes a
program that is entirely based on the requirements of the business. The organization establishes such
program for determining that the business are able to look after the problem, which the employees may

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face in working with the organization. The organization focuses as these problems as they may hamper
the business productivity.
Two (2) potential challenges that may be faced by HR professional in Westpac in aligning Strategic
Organizational Planning and Human Resource Planning.
This is derived from the research and analysis of the organization that the business may face the
wide gaps between the Human resource planning and the strategic organizational planning. The
organization may face problem in communicating about the new initiatives to the employees. The
business often finds problem in implementing the Human resource strategies by maintaining the strategic
planning that is the cost of implementation of the HR strategies may not follow the business strategies.
Human Resource Planning process and methods
Based on your research and analysis, discussed two (2) potential challenges that may be faced by
HR professional in planning for manpower needs at Westpac.
WestPac looks after both the organization’s demand as well as the employee’s demands. The
organization faces challenges on the demand forecasting process on the grounds of the detailed process
for identifying the future human requirements in terms of the quantity, the number of employees required
and as per the calibre of the talent for meeting the company’s current and the future requirements. The
organization also faces challenges in following the supply forecasting process but supply forecasting
helps the organization to identify the present resources that are available for meeting the demands. Along
with the previous skills inventory, the organization will be able to determine which employees in the
organization will be able to meet the present demands of the organization.
After determining your company’s staffing needs by assessing your current HR capacity and
forecasting supply and demand, it is time to begin the process of developing and adding talent. Talent
development is a crucial part of the strategic human resources management process.
Based on your research, analyse effectiveness of the Human Resource Planning practices used by
Westpac in developing people-centered workplace in the given case study. Justify your answer with
two (2) key points and specific examples.
For improving the strategic alignments of staffs and other resources it has become essential for
understanding how the strategic HR planning process works. At the most basic level, the strategic human
planning could ensure the adequate staffing for meeting the operational goals of the organization. This is
essential for matching with the right people with the right skills at the proper time.
WestPac follows the strategic human resource planning process that begins with the assessment
of the current staffing which involves the question whether it fits with the requirements of the
organization. The organization aligns the organization’s strategy with the employment planning and could
implement the plan of hiring new employees. WestPac retain their employees by properly training the
new as well as the present employees based on the business changes. Westpac follows the first step in the
human resource planning process that is assessing the present staffs before making any moves for hiring
the new employees for the organization. The organization also develops the inventory skills for the
current employees that is by asking the employees to self-evaluate with the questionnaire provided and
looking for the past performance reviews and using up the approach which combines both the process.
Westpac follows the service leadership strategies for maintaining the business to develop the
people-centred workplace. In this leadership strategy the organization leader motivates the employees to
make any suggestions during the decision making process. This helps the business to maintain the

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working environment that aids in the growth of the organization. The business allows the employees to
work in the provided direction so that they do not have to face any additional problems. This leadership
makes the employees to provide the effective and the superior services for the customers by genuinely
focusing on the requirements of the customers. Moreover, the organization makes use of digital
technologies for putting the customers in control of the finances.
Westpac also continues to build a workplace where the most efficient employees want to work
and the organization focuses on the services for strengthening the skills of their employees to serve the
customers in the better manner and to meet their appropriate financial requirements. The organization also
empowers the Westpac employees for driving new innovations, delivering the new and the improved
ways of performing and responsive towards the changes. This help the organization to enhance the
diversity and the inclusiveness of Westpac in the working force.
Developing High Performing and Global Mindset Employees and Managers
Suggest how Westpac can apply a relevant model in developing a high performing work team for
multi-cultural workplace. Justify your answer with the model and specific examples based on your
research and analysis
WestPac is required to acknowledge and respect the cultural differences in the working place
that is, by following the useful model for understanding the value of respecting the cultural differences.
The Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimension model highlights the most important six dimensions of the
value perspectives among the national cultures that is Power Distance, Individualism vs. Collectivism,
Masculinity vs. Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term v Short Term Orientation and Indulgence
v Restraint. This model also provides a great initiating point for understanding the core point of what
influences peoples from the different cultures and how they could adopt the working and the
communication styles for working together in the cross-cultural team of the multinational company. This
suggest the best way for understanding the cultural diversity by discussing the cultural differences in the
team meeting where everybody could share their cultural backgrounds, the expectations in the
communication and the working style in the organization.
In order for effective application of cultural dimension models, it is important that some smart
objectives are formed. Westpac needs to hold annual cultural events to help in the intermixing of the
people from various cultural backgrounds. A strong anti-discriminatory policy need to be strongly
implemented. For example WestPac showed an inclusive workplace campaign which was implemented
for helping people to get along better with each other. In Westpac there is more prevalence of
individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation and restraint. The
organization also incorporates inclusive collectivism for generating better cultural understanding.
Suggest how Westpac can apply a global mind set model in developing a global mind set workforce.
Justify your answer with a specific example per key point based on your research and analysis.
In applying and developing the global mindset, the business are required to find the challenges
and the abilities to operate in the effective manner across the countries. The professionals of the
organization should gain the knowledge of the cultures of the people for reacting with the situations in
most productive manners. The business is required to recognize the cultural values and biases as the
business cycle begins with discovering and analyzing the values and the biases that are rooted in the
cultural varieties that influences the business life span. The business should determine the personal traits
for developing the global mindset that involves openness, flexibility, social dexterity, emotional
awareness and curiosity.

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For example WestPac focuses on the workplace for gaining the business expectations of the
relevant countries and the business markets. This is more effective in building the strong intercultural
relationships with the customers across the world. For example, this was helpful for the business to
immerse the business across the world for developing the global mindset. The international relationships
facilitates the valuable learnings regarding what communication technologies works and what does not.
Thus the business has the ability to develop the business across the cultures and develop the strategies for
adjusting and developing the flexible styles. Both strong intercultural relationships and flexible styles can
help WestPac to improve their bond with the customers as well as improve the operational coordination
between the teams. Intercultural relationships help WestPac to become efficient banker and flexible styles
can help the company to increase their employee coordination.
Conclusion
Therefore from the above solution it can be concluded that WestPac has focused on the core
business markets of Australia and New Zealand as they provide a comprehensive range of the services
and products. This also assist the business to maintain the requirements based on the financial services for
customers. The strong position in the business market and over 13 million customers are achieved by the
business as it focuses on the organic growth which led to the growing number of customers in the chosen
segments by building the stronger and the deeper relationships with the key stakeholders. The key
element of the business approach is to maintain the portfolio of the financial service brands that enables
them to appeal to the customers. This would provide the business with the strategic flexibility for offering
the solutions that could better meet the individual customer requirements. This study has suggested the
ways for maintaining the strategic relationships in the global market. The business will be able to
maintain the global mindset for the business in the working force by introducing the effective methods of
growing the international relationships with the customers. This will be able to link up the business across
the global business market.

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References
Human Resources Director Australia (2010, March 18). Keys to successful workforce planning –
Westpac story. Retrieved from Human Resources Director Australia: https://www.hcamag.com/hr-
resources/hrstrategy/keys-to-successful-workforce-planning--westpac-story-115687.aspx
Innovation and Business Skills Australia Ltd. (n.d.). Skilling Australians: Workforce Development Case
Study - Westpac Embedding a Learning Culture. Australia: Innovation and Business Skills Australia Ltd.
Westpac Banking Corporation (2016). Westpac New Zealand: Market Update. New Zealand: Westpac
Banking Corporation.
Westpac Group (2018). Westpac Group’s Principles for Doing Business. Australia: Westpac Group