Strategic Human Resource Management

This case study explores the strategic human resource management practices and challenges faced by Carlsberg, a renowned beer producer. It discusses the implementation of winning behaviors and their alignment with HR practices. The study also analyzes the challenges of implementing HR strategies in Malaysia and provides recommendations for effective HR strategies in Australia.

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Title: Strategic Human Resource Management
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Executive Summary
The Carlsberg group came into the picture since 1847. Seated in Copenhagen of Denmark, it
recruits 41,000 people and is famous for alcohol and most importantly its beer brands. This
case study is a real workplace simulation of Carlsberg Company. This entails the Human
Resource practices, frameworks, and challenges in deployment, the takeaways and after
effects but focussing on prioritizing them. It also measures the Human Resource Strategies
from multi-dimensional perspectives preferably in the global context of corporate mission
and goals. This also talks lucidly about winning behaviours and frameworks in comparison to
other Human Resource Strategies like equity & diversity, workforce planning, social
responsibility, and work-life balance. Then this formulation and study are tested upon
Malaysia and Australia with lastly the recommendations and conclusions for a good system
of approach.

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Carlsberg’s Strategic HR Priorities............................................................................................3
Rationale for Implementing the ‘Winning Behaviours’ Strategy..............................................4
Alignment of ‘winning behavior’ and HR practices..................................................................5
Challenges of Implementing Human Resource Strategies in Malaysia.....................................5
Analysis of Human Resource Strategies on Australia...............................................................7
Recommendations......................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Human Resource Strategies for any organizations shape up its business climate
globally and locally along with its dynamic structure, mission, and fulfilment of goals. Deep-
seated in the heart of Denmark, the city of Copenhagen gave birth to this group named
Carlsberg in the year 1847. Till date, the company’s manpower strength stands 41000 of
people, suppliers, vendors, sellers and manufacturers with raging beer varieties beyond 500
types of brands. The International acclaim came into forefront with brewery opened overseas
in Malawi in the year 1968. The winning success was short-lived by the firm's superlative
competitor by the year 1990, thereby it shook hands with Norwegian brewery Orkla in the
fortunate year 2001. This gave it recognition as the most renowned brand of beer producers in
the whole Nordic region. The Company created a history of takeovers in successive series,
the great names in the list were Newcastle Brewery in the UK and Scottish brewery as well.
Then the next in the pipeline were Baltic beverages in Russia, Kronenbourg, the famous
French market leader, the Mythos which is Greek brewery and subtotal of other joint ventures
and further such good around 40 takeovers of China. The Carlsberg ranks 4th largest brewery
in the whole world.
Carlsberg’s Strategic HR Priorities
The esteemed CEO of Carlsberg, Mr. Nils Smedegard Andersen thought of Human
Resource Strategies from an innovative direction, thereby developing a new dynamic
framework known as ‘Must-Win-Battles'. Carlsberg’s CEO’s main priority in this Human
Resource Strategies was to grow the company’s brand name all over the world. This
encompassed growing people's competence, knowledge, and skills in common group culture
(Gertsen, Søderberg & Zølner, 2012). If people’s capabilities increased four folds, the
profitability which is directly proportional component reached success graphs in beer
markets. The main goal or mission was to take “The Lead Role” in the business market.

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To implement the underlying Human Resource Strategies and bring about the goal
behaviours, a set of 10 leadership competencies were formulated as a benchmark for gauging
performance in the complete management life cycle span. This was further intricate with
company's surveys showing activities and engagements and made an impact in the business
components and network reviews after this were embedded into the whole setup (Youngkyun
Chang, 2018). The particular Individuals or employees who showed excellence in adhering to
these benchmark behavioural patterns were duly awarded. This further made the base for
training programs of Carlsberg to implement important leadership in this planned academy
and international talent hunt activities. This further supported the mobile managers at the
advent of their global future in the company and worldwide (Beer, 2015).
Rationale for Implementing the ‘Winning Behaviours’ Strategy
The rationale behind Winning behaviour Strategy was the legacy of leadership
enhancing training programs to upgrade the employees. This gave the base to so-called
‘winning culture' which was not taken in right spirits by Danish people as they were reluctant
to find it competent with present culture scenario. They found the word winning out of the
box for the context of company growth and profit (Todd & Binns, 2011). Thereby, this
winning behaviour concept was augmented further by small subsidiaries staffs in the year
2009. Here the platform was put in five pedestals that are; together, they are strong so one
must believe in unity come what may, the main goal is to win the end consumers or important
customers need is the prime goal of every plan of business and Human Resource strategies,
together with everyone’s skills, experience, knowledge and wisdom, the contribution is spell
bounding and can make a big difference in profit goals, the social norms must be adhered to
as we need people around us. The winning behaviors are as follows-

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1. Training Workshops-these were introduced for embedding the behaviors and
utilized as competency measurement through local system.
2. Performance Management System-The employers and employees have
demonstrated the winning behavior through daily work.
3. Corporate social responsibility-the focus of winning behavior has also been on
the corporate social responsibility which has been welcomed through subsidiary
and has fitted well with the emphasis over volunteering work.
4. Local languages-the company has been facing difficulties in selling the brand in
their daily activities. This is one of the challenge which is being faced by the
company and has been overcoming through volunteering work.
5. Brand Credibility-The Company is emerging as a responsible alcohol producer
and its employees are helping to establish the credibility of a brand.
Alignment of ‘winning behavior’ and HR practices
These winning behaviours of Human Resource Strategies were strategically aligned
with Carlsberg’s business mission worldwide or globally thereby a pertinent framework for
Human Resource Management environment for the company. Though they were
implemented on a global platform they also catered to the needs of local zones with their
interests and constraints intact. So further this successful plan of winning behavioural
component of Human Resource Management goals was further assisted with an array of
flyers, posters, banners, brochures and various web posts on company’s website space (Bagga
& Srivastava, 2014). Inter-office communications and web mails circulated this further to top
management groups all around the world. This awareness about winning behaviour was
further facilitated by workshops, important events with their respective ambassadors to
execute this in further links and circles.

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As mentioned in the previous section, the execution of this winning behaviour, there
were around 10 benchmark competencies framed and were pivotal in performance
maneuvering process prevalent in company’s review logs and survey portals. The individuals
who catered to the norms and these benchmarks were motivated further with promotions and
rewards (Gobind, 2014). And these people played crucial roles in company’s talent hunts and
training programs for national and international managers to prepare them for a winning
outlook with respective skills across the globe (Lee, Batt & Moynihan, 2018).
Some of the HR practices are as follows-
1. Work Life Balance-this is a term used required for both work and different
aspects of life. These can be family related and have personal interest. Work
involves contributory effort and this can be paid or voluntary.
2. Equity-Equity has been referred to as the shareholder equity. This represents the
money amount which would be returned to company shareholders. This is
represented on the balance sheet of a company.
3. Workforce Planning-Workforce planning refers to the procedure of ensuring the
organization has present and future access to perform effectively. This involves
identification of present and future personnel needs and exploring the cost
effective procedures for winning.
4. Social Responsibility –Social responsibility implies individuals and enterprises
have a formal duty to proceed in the best interest of the society and this applies to
business as well.
5. Cultural diversity-Culture shapes the common identity and influences the
behavior of people. This is an actual way of being and refers to shared languages,

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beliefs, norms and behavior as well as materialistic objects. These are passed from
one generation to another.
Challenges of Implementing Human Resource Strategies in Malaysia
One can discuss these challenges at both at the country level of Malaysia and
secondly locally in Australia. The important subsidiary of Carlsberg is Malaysia, the rest two
being India and Chinese. So the winning behaviour when it was introduced in the
multicultural environment of Malaysia one of the oldest foreign ethnic groups which are
already well established since 2007, the results were significant. Though Malaysia underwent
a lot of changes in its own global environment, then be it Leadership, Production scenarios
and other political and economic scenarios with the prime goal to develop the Carlsberg’s
cultural perspectives (Makhecha, 2015). Now measuring the Human Resource strategies was
a different game altogether in this case. Awareness injections through workshops again were
embedded into the local and global atmosphere with competency gauging systems for
implementing this winning behaviour context. The daily occurrences and work results were
measured to elect the role models of such behaviours, thereby motivating them with
promotions and reward, leaving an example for others to follow this syndrome.
1. One of the challenges was the winning behaviours being explicitly explained to
people in their own native language and expressions. Every subsidiary with their
regions has language difference, so Human Resource strategies whose primary
goal is to align globally false short if the language barrier was not taken care of,
with the awareness and working principle of winning behaviour not been able to
reach employees and the end users (Aggerholm, Asmuß & Thomsen, 2012).

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2. Secondly, alcohol selling followed some rules in a Muslim country with a lot of
stringent measures and strictness. The beer advertising itself was not allowed;
leave apart selling them to people of the native place.
3. The alcohol and other such beverages followed strict rules of advance taxes at all
levels making it difficult to sell again or gain profit margins in Muslim country.
4. One required volunteer which they got to take this winning behaviour on global
climate a step further thereby welcoming the beer business giant into the
subsidiaries and company on the whole (Mitchell, Obeidat & Bray, 2013).
Thereby making the Carlsberg one of the leading alcohol sellers in the world.
Analysis of Human Resource Strategies on Australia
The Winning behaviour Human Resource Strategy reigned supreme with the
subsidiaries, the headquarters and came through the longest way of implementation saga
defined by global goals of Carlsberg. Well, Australia, the local zone also adapted to it in
many good ways. It further enacted this with a better terminology called FAST. This
encompassed the working principle of winning behaviour being devoid of fear or insecurity
of any sort, having goals and ambitions, tactful and smart in trying situations but the bottom-
line being team spirits or working in a big global team to align Human Resource strategies
with corporate goals (Akong'o Dimba, 2010). This intertwined the social web making the
people work closely with transparency and overall control. The performance was efficiency,
co-operation of team and increase in profits overall. So the winning behaviour goal was the
same cultural and work ethics over the global strata through the roads of the local framework.
This took care of traditional company setup and its traditional onset, managerial skill
advancement, and overall development and gave motivation to employees in a close-knit
environment to work as a team and work productively. This brought harmony in Malaysia

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and Australian setups on the same footsteps can gain a lot giving the company the best of
results in implementing its Human Resource framework worldwide (Pourkiani, 2013).
Recommendations
So the Strategic HR Priority of Carlsberg is to win by advancement, developing their
managers, invoking team spirits and to make a move taking the local and global infrastructure
together with one leap. The rationale of Winning Strategy is declaring the winner manager
and a team who walks with each other, upgrades themselves and believe in hard work and
sincerity towards the requirement fulfilment of the customers as their prime goal, vision, and
perspectives (Hajro, 2014). This winning behaviour also accomplishes self-confidence in
thyself thereby believing in self, trusting one’s uniqueness and giving limelight to motivation
and leadership qualities. So the recommendations for Australia remain the same as what has
been achieved with Malaysia and other subsidiaries. The recommendations in a broader
perspective are as follows:
1. Learn to work in a team in diversely dispersed culture and at all levels. There
should be total transparency in human resource Strategies and efforts should be
there to align it to Global climate by Meetings of all levels, discussion and sharing
updated knowledge in the social network (Rodriguez, Johnstone & Procter, 2015).
2. Share information and strategies in all levels and branches of Human Resource
and company branches.
3. Update new, old, local and global managers and staff according to the
environment of the country, harnessing their skills, knowledge, and competency.
Also, educate the employees about Human Resource Policy in a common platform
which should be kept the same for company branches across borders.

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4. A good reward program to motivate the role models of this Winning Behaviours
and also inculcating their viewpoints and share their knowledge in awareness
programs and employee training workshops. The awareness program’s paradigms
should be designed keeping all these factors in mind.
5. The cultural language barriers must be looked into by translators and volunteers
who constitute self-awareness programs educating the people, staff and end users
about winning behaviour. Not only this, they take surveys about their
understanding levels, their shortcomings so that they know where to fill the
required gaps (Sikora & Ferris, 2014).
6. Working on the advertising and media constraints as per the regional
requirements. One can also dissect the language barrier by converting the policies
into native languages and seeking advertising channels which are applicable to the
country‘s political and economic environment (Yuile, Chang, Gudmundsson &
Sawang, 2012).
7. The taxation and other geographical country policies need proper planning and
handling the situations smartly as every volunteer of the native country,
understand the country climate well can help in advertising the business through
other viable channels or spread information smoothly without any hindrances.
Conclusion
The Winning Behaviour Strategy by Carlsberg was exemplary in every perspective.
Carlsberg, very bravely, with aforethought, vision and global business goals, aligned well it's
dynamic, productive and profitable Human Resource Strategies on Winning behaviour
rationale. Nothing is served on a platter like cake so they had their share of challenges as
well. With Muslim countries rules and regulations on their best fit corporate Human Resource

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Strategies, language barriers in a multi-cultural environment, taxation gnawing at profit
margins, a good ban on advertisements, all this and much more made things next to
impossible. But Carlsberg with the help of awareness programs and volunteers was able to
break apart all barriers of language, stringent rules, and other factors. This is a real-life
company creating histories and benchmark human resource strategies for the world to learn,
unlearn and relearn with their smart moves and hard work. This study unwraps an array of
Human Resource studies of strategies by winning behaviour such that be in Australia or any
other country, they can reap benefits on implementing the same guidelines.
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