Strategic Human Resource Management

This assignment delves into the crucial aspects of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). It examines how organizations formulate, implement, and evaluate HR strategies to achieve their goals. The discussion encompasses various concepts like human resource accounting, talent management, high-performance work systems, and the role of HR in organizational resilience. The provided resources offer diverse perspectives on SHRM from academic journals and reputable online sources.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Various purposes and functions of HRM applicable to workforce planning........................1
P2. Strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to recruitment and selection...................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P3. Benefits of HRM practices for the employee and employer.................................................3
P4. Effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational profit and
productivity.................................................................................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P5. Importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision making ..........5
P6. Identification of key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision-making .........................................................................................................................6
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
P7. Applications of HRM practices ...........................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
.......................................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Every organisation need different types of resources in order to improve their
performance. Human resource department is considered as one of the most important divisions of
an enterprise as it is responsible for hiring best suitable for the firm. HR department also does
some other tasks like negotiation with salary, solving problems of employees, etc. Aldi is one of
the leading companies in retail sector of UK that is chosen for the present report. Report will
focus on the purpose and functions of HRM with respect to Aldi along with assessing its
effectiveness in terms of raising profits and productivity (Albrech, 2011). This project will also
include importance of human resource in term of employee relation. Some legislation relation to
decision making process will get discuss in this file.
TASK 1
P1. Various purposes and functions of HRM applicable to workforce planning
In every organisation, there are various products and services required to be produced and
for that, human efforts are needed to be made. This is because; it will never be possible that any
product be made without the help of humans. So it will be required that proper human resource
should be maintained and for that various processes will be undertaken which will include
selection and recruitment of the candidates and then proper training facility will be provide to
them so that all the work which will be performed by them will be of great quality and efficiency
can be achieved. It must be noted that employees should be provided with all facilities in relation
to health along with the incentives so that they can be motivated to work with their high level of
potential (Anderson, 2013). By this, company will be able to achieve its objectives and profit
level will be increased as well. It main purpose is to select right person for a job. There are
various purposes which are to be achieved with the help of management of human resources
which are as follows:
 Organisational purpose: In an organisation, effectiveness and efficiency will be
achieved with the recognition of HRM as it will be contributing towards the same.
 Personal purpose: In relation to the employees there are certain personal requirements
that should be fulfilled as then only they will be able to provide their full contribution to
the company.
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 Social purpose: there are various needs and challenges which are face by the society and
it will be possible to be resolved with the help of HRM as the negative effect of the
demands will be decreased.
Apart from the purpose, there are several functions that ALDI performs under human
resource management. Some of these are like:
Recruitment and selection: In relation to a particular job there are certain skills and
qualification which should be possessed by a person and recruitment is the process in which such
candidates are identified (Bamberger, Biron and Meshoulam, 2014). For this purpose it will be
required that proper plan should be formulated by which the correct person will be selected and
in order to complete this process human resource will be needed as they will be the one who will
be conducting all these activities (Armstrong, 2011). First potential candidates need to be
identified than appropriated person should be selected.
Orientation: This is the process in which employees are provided with the proper
directions and training but it is not undertaken by all the companies. So in this it will be required
that such programmes should be introduced by the resource department by which the goals will
be achieved and that will be beneficial for Aldi in the short as well as the long term. Also with
the help of this the employees will be aware about the responsibilities that should be fulfilled by
them. In this process, selected candidates get introduction about culture of firm. He/she meet the
team in which he/she will be working in future.
Establishment of employee relations: In ALDI, there are various activities performed
by different people and in order to maintain the efficiency, it is required that the relation among
them should be maintained so that the chances of conflicts that may arise can be reduced (Bloom
and Van Reenen, 2011). If they will have good relations than they will help each other by which
the overall functioning of the company will be improved.
Maintenance of healthy working environment: In order to maintain the good
atmosphere it will be required by human resource to provide the employees with the proper
facilities. Various management games will be introduced by which employees will be willing to
work as they will be enjoying their work and also various benefits should be provided to them.
Training and development function: In order to improve the functioning of employees,
it is needed that HR manager should provide proper training to new employees so that their skills
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will be developed (CHUANG and Liao, 2010). Due to this, the performance will be improved
which will be advantageous for company.
P2. Strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to recruitment and selection
In HRM, there are various methods which can be used in relation to the recruitment and
selection process. In these process the exponential candidates are identified which will be
beneficial for the organisation and for that various approaches which are available will be used.
There are certain strengths and weaknesses that are involved in the methods of recruitment and
selection which are provided as below:
External sourcing: This is the method in which recruitment is done from external
sources which include newspapers, publications or job boards. This method is usually preferred
when the person required should possess high skills which is not available from the internal
sources. In this method, advertisement will be required to find potential candidates. This is one
of the disadvantage of this option (Farndale, Scullion and Sparrow, 2010). Also this will be a
time consuming process and with the hiring of new employees the existing employees will
somehow feel insecure.
Internal sourcing: In this method, the job vacancy is filled with the help of reference
provided by the existing employees. In this the person on the lower position will be promoted
and this will be used when no personalised skills will be required. By this, the existing customers
will feel good as they will be given with high importance. But, on the other hand, in this, there
will be lack of new talent as there will be no new ideas in the firm. The innovation and
development will get hampered as no new talent will be recruited and the old people will be the
one who will be involved.
Sourcing from third party: In this method, services of the outside parties is availed and
it includes filling of vacancies with the help of placement agencies. By this method, the
appropriate candidates are recruited, various tools are used by like higher package and additional
incentives (Ployhart and Moliterno, 2011). This process require lot of money and time so it
cannot be used on regular basis.
TASK 2
P3. Benefits of HRM practices for the employee and employer
Human resource management plays a crucial role in keeping the relationship in between
company and their workers strong. Following are the benefits to both of them:
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For employers – One of the most important advantages they cited organisation will have
is that they will get right employee at right place. This will help them in achieving desired goals
in set period of time. Most of the firms believe in hiring talented candidates who have fancy
degrees, but Aldi focus on recruiting participants who enjoy the task that is given to them
(Mossholder,Richardson and Settoon, 2011). Most of the enterprises have to do some work
which do not make any direct connection with profits. Like deciding salary of personnel,
government regulation relating to income and other formalities. Human resources manager also
play crucial role at the time of solving conflicts between employer and employee. They also take
care of internal fights among workers which can make a negative impact on the image on
organisation.
For employees – HR department is responsible for raising various problems faced by
employees in front of top level management. If they want to any increment in their salary than
they seek help of this department. They also support worker in initial days of their jobs which
can be very hard for them before they do not have any idea about the culture which is present in
a firm (Flamholtz, 2012). They focus on providing them positive and healthy atmosphere so they
can enhance their productivity. Aldi consider their employees as one of the most important assets
they have, this is the main reason that they have given instruction to human resource division
that troubles of personnel will be solved on priority basis. They also arrange various functions
and activities which help workers in understanding each other's nature.
P4. Effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational profit and
productivity
Aldi believes that human resource department plays a crucial role in the success of
company. Following are the practices that assist enterprise in enhancing their profits and
productivity:
Structured Governance – Scalar chain in ALDI is very important in order to avoid
miscommunication between manager and workers. HR manager ensures effective relationship
between them by avoiding various types of barriers and disturbance. When employees are clear
about the position where they are working they follow correct procedure of communication. This
improve effectiveness of governance.
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Development of advanced workforce – HR division makes teams which can work on a
project effectively by synchronising all the tasks they are going to perform. It supports in
increasing the revenue and productivity of organisation .
Reduced work of administration – Most of the organisations have to do lot of work
which do not have direct connection with their profits, HRM practice play crucial role in doing
these functions. This helps all the departments in focusing on their target instead of performing
activities which do not have any relation with their jobs and so, with profits and productivity of
firm.
Choosing the right candidates – HRM plays a significant role in determining the right
person for a position. If an employee who does not deserve to get promotion then he/she will not
deliver results according to the needs of cited enterprise. This will make a negative impact on the
profit of company. Human resource division is responsible to select the best suitable worker for a
specific vacant position so that he/she can improve the current performance of ALDI and
ultimately, increase its productivity and revenue.
Allotment of tasks – This is a problem faced by many employees as sometimes, they do
not have any idea about the work they are going to do (Hendry, 2012). They communicate them
about the tasks they are going to perform which reduce confusion in their minds. HRM practice
play crucial role in reduction of confusion by telling employee about the tasks they are going to
perform. Sometimes, workers want internal transfer because of various reasons. This department
provide them details about the vacant position, they also give power to experienced employee so
they can choose job according to them. This type of facility is not present in every firm but
ALDI firmly believes in internal promotion and transfer. This improves their effectiveness which
make a positive impact on the profit of company.
TASK 3
P5. Importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision making
Earlier, trade unions were responsible for making a strong connection between employees
and employers but gradually, this concept started fading because of various issues. After
sometime, companies understood that human resource is one of the most important resource
which is present in their organisation. This wing of a firm took accountability of making good
connection with workers by solving their problems at the point of generation only. Following are
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the importance employee relation which can make a huge impact on decision making process of
firm:
Better productivity – If management of Aldi involves workers in decision making then
they will feel their significance in company which will improve their performance. This will
make a positive impact on their productivity which will be beneficial for both; the organisation
and personnel.
Improve morale – Better employee relationship will decrease gap between a firm and its
employees. This will promote proper communication in organisation which will help is solving
problems of workers at the point of their generation (Kehoe and Wright, 2013). When
management implements ideas of personnel than their morale goes up which increases their job
satisfaction.
Reduction in expenses – When a company uses internal resources instead of hiring
external person, it saves a lot of time and money which they can invest in other areas. Aldi does
not need to hire consultants from outside as they can promote and take advice from the workers
who are working in enterprise.
Teamwork – If management of ALDI involves workers in decision making process then it
will make strong connection between employers and employees. This will improve the working
environment because workers will share knowledge and opinions with managers who can
implement their ideas.
P6. Identification of key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision-making
Key elements of employment legislation and their impact on HRM decision are stated as
below:
Equal employment opportunity - As per this act, every employee should get equal
employment opportunity and there should not be any kind of discrimination according to age,
race and gender.
Civil rights act of 1954 - It restricts discrimination based on colour, sex, race, caste and
religion. According to this act that every employee should be treated equally in the organisation.
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Civil rights acts of 1991 - This act permits sue for discrimination. Employee can sue
other employee or person in the organisation.
Equal pay act 1953 - This act says that there should be no discrimination at workplace in
terms of for payment based on sex (in between men or women). It allows every person to get
appropriate payment, men and women both should be paid according to their work performance.
Pregnancy discrimination act 1978 - This act allows that there should be the facility for
pregnant women. Basically, in simple words, pregnant women should have their job security in
the firm.
Disability act - This act allows restriction on discrimination based on mental and physical
incapability, employees should be informed about actions plans.
Anti-discrimination act: According to this point that employers should not allow
discrimination to their employees if they did than employee can sue to employer. This is rule is
follow on that employer who had 15 or employees in the organisation. Employer can not refuse
this rule or discriminate his employees according to race,cast, colour.
Wage and hour: Fair labour standard act states that company has to play minimum wades
to their workers. This amount has to be paid for fixed working hour and if they want personnel to
work for extra time than they have to give them money for overtime.
Every state has its own rules and legislations according to the environment (Kusluvan and et.al.,
2010). These employment legislation affect topic such as labour retention,record retention and
check the criminal records of employees if any.
TASK 4
P7. Applications of HRM practices
Human resource is one of the most important department in an enterprise because they
are responsible for choosing right candidate for a position. They do various activity like selection
of employees, their training, orientation, etc. (Lengnick-Hall, Beck and Lengnick-Hall, 2011).
Whenever a worker in an organisation face any problem, they go to this HR division. Personnels
play crucial role in success and failure of a company. Cited company is opening new branch at
Wembley central. For this task they have to perform various functions:
Recruitment and selection – Human resource department should find potential candidates
who can work according to the need of organisation. They should hire a person who can
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understand mission and working culture of Aldi. They can select employees from colleges and
universities, these places are considered as best location for recruiting fresh talent. If they want
to hire experienced workers than they can give an advertisement relating to job vacancy. Once
they gather all the potential candidates than they should start interviewing them. This process
will help in finding right man for a particular job.
Training and development – Every person who work for cited company has some talent.
But enterprise like to shape it according to their need so they can get desired result. If employees
get proper training than it will improve their efficiency. They can learn new things and remove
their shortcomings.
Compensation – The wages Aldi is paying is account for almost 50% of cost of business.
In initial weeks of new opening, they can adopt various types of incentive schemes for workers
so they can get their best effort. Beside basic pay, they should give more money to the employee
who is performing better than expectation of management.
Work life balance – Personnel should not be treated like machine. Workers who are
going to work in new store should get proper number of holidays. Aldi should focus on
providing a health and happy environment so employees can enjoy the task which they are doing.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that human resource department plays a
crucial role in success and failure of organisation. They are responsible for hiring the right
candidates in company who can deliver desired outcomes according as per the expectations of
management. It has been assessed from the report that HRM practices prove to be highly
beneficial for both employer and employee. This department help in making strong connection
between both sides which make a positive impact on performance of an enterprise. People who
are working in this division must have complete knowledge about various laws like anti
discrimination act, disabilities act, equal pay act etc. Human resource department also play
crucial role in other activities like, decision relating to promotion, salary etc.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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practice. Human Resource Management International Digest. 19(7).
Anderson, V., 2013. Research methods in human resource management: investigating a business
issue. Kogan Page Publishers.
Armstrong, M., 2011. Armstrong's handbook of strategic human resource management. Kogan
Page Publishers.
Bamberger, P. A., Biron, M. and Meshoulam, I., 2014. Human resource strategy: Formulation,
implementation, and impact. Routledge.
Bloom, N. and Van Reenen, J., 2011. Human resource management and productivity. Handbook
of labor economics. 4. pp. 1697-1767.
CHUANG, C. H. and Liao, H. U. I., 2010. Strategic human resource management in service
context: Taking care of business by taking care of employees and customers. Personnel
Psychology. 63(1). pp. 153-196.
Farndale, E., Scullion, H. and Sparrow, P., 2010. The role of the corporate HR function in global
talent management. Journal of World Business. 45(2). pp. 161-168.
Flamholtz, E. G., 2012. Human resource accounting: Advances in concepts, methods and
applications. Springer Science & Business Media.
Hendry, C., 2012. Human resource management. Routledge.
Kehoe, R. R. and Wright, P. M., 2013. The impact of high-performance human resource
practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Journal of management. 39(2). pp. 366-
391.
Kusluvan, S., and et.al., 2010. The human dimension: A review of human resources management
issues in the tourism and hospitality industry. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. 51(2). pp.
171-214.
Lengnick-Hall, C. A., Beck, T. E. and Lengnick-Hall, M. L., 2011. Developing a capacity for
organizational resilience through strategic human resource management. Human
Resource Management Review. 21(3). pp. 243-255.
Mossholder, K. W., Richardson, H. A. and Settoon, R. P., 2011. Human resource systems and
helping in organizations: A relational perspective. Academy of Management Review.
36(1). pp. 33-52.
Ployhart, R. E. and Moliterno, T. P., 2011. Emergence of the human capital resource: A
multilevel model. Academy of Management Review. 36(1). pp.127-150.
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Werner, J. M. and DeSimone, R. L., 2011. Human resource development. Cengage Learning.
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