Unit 3 - Functions of Human Resource Management

UNIT 3

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Purposes addition to functions of Human resource management..........................................1
Approach to workforce planning, reward system along with performance management...........2
P2. Strengths together with weaknesses of recruitment as well as selection approaches............3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P3 Advantages of HRM practices in the establishment for both the employer & employee .....5
P4 Evaluation of Human resource management practice effectiveness in increasing the
revenue of the business................................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P5 Need of employee relations in influencing decision making in HRM...................................7
P6 Employment laws...................................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
P7. HRM practice application......................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Human resources are key assets of any business concern. Human resource management is
primarily known as strategic approach which manages organisational personnels effectively
which contributes in attaining profit advantages (ARMSTRONG and TAYLOR, 2014). It is the
key responsibilities of human resource management professionals to manage human capital
addition to emphasising towards implementing various plans, processes, policies and programs
to avoid any type of workforce shortages and retaining personnels as well as meeting operational
requirements at work premises. To understand the concept of human resource management in
deep manner, Sainsbury is chosen which is among the largest supermarket chain performing
workings within retail sector. The report comprises functions and purpose of HRM, distinct
approaches related to selection as well as recruitment, benefits of HRM practices along with
effectiveness. It further analyses significance of employee relations addition to employee
legislation elements. At last, various HRM practices are applied in work context of organisation.
TASK 1
P1. Purposes addition to functions of Human resource management.
Organisational overview: Sainsbury was established by John James Sainsbury in the
year 1869. The headquarters of the business concern at located at Holborn, United Kingdom.
Products of the entity are available at superstores, convenience shops, hypermarkets, high street
shops, forecourt shops and supermarket. It is popular as among the top supermarket chain having
15.3% share of overall retail industry.
HRM's purpose and functions
Human resource management involves practices to handle human capital in formal as
well as organised manner within the work premises. It helps in enhancing personalities,
improving skills addition to developing creative abilities that further contributes in improvement
of work caliberity. The scope of HRM is extensive due to involvement of aspects including
industrial relations, managing personnels and employee welfare (HRM scope. 2019). Personnel
aspects involves workforce planning, hiring, training, remuneration and productivity. Industrial
aspects associated with joint consultation, dispute settlements, union management relations and
collective bargaining. Welfare aspects includes medical assistance, recreation facilities and
working conditions.
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Purpose of HRM:
 Human resource management serves the purpose of assisting managers by following
legislations addition to programs that helps in achieving objectives and effectively
managing all the workings of company. At Sainsbury, the purpose of HRM is to plan
strategic objectives, programs a well as implementing procedures with strategies
accordingly.
 Other HRM purpose is to design programmes for selecting required manpower addition
to develop existing personnels with their working ways. For this, managers of Sainsbury
plans workforce requirements in context to job statements that further lead the business
towards achieving set targets.
Functions of HRM:
 Recruitment and selection: This function is related to attracting, screening and selecting
capable candidate for vacant position. The purpose of such function at selected
organisation is select knowledgeable as well as capable candidate who can help in
achieving set objectives in effective manner. The role addition to responsibility of the
function is to reduce numerous organisational costs by rejecting or firing unproductive
addition to incompetent workforce (BACH and EDWARDS , 2013).
 Employee relations: Organisational employees are considered as main pillars who must
be treated fairly. It is important for HR professionals to build effective relations with
workforce so to improve coordination together with interactions that improves business
productivity. Purpose of existence of the function at Sainsbury is to maintain healthy
relations at workplace so to complete the workings in unified, organised and systematic
manner without any hurdles. Role and responsibilities of management team in context to
managing relations are to organise various events that enhances communication between
personnels which motivates them to work in comfortable manner at the time activities are
performed.
Approach to workforce planning, reward system along with performance management
 Workforce planning: It is characterised as ongoing procedures that ensures that
business posses existing addition to future human capital access that are required at
organisation to perform effectively. By following competency approach, Sainsbury
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managers can acknowledge as well as identify requirement of distinct competencies
which will help in aligning business objectives and targets with success.
 Reward system: Such system is related to selecting distinct kinds of rewards that can
motivate personnels to work with fuller efficiency and results in delivering best
performances. By following incentive approach, management professionals of selected
firm provides incentives to employees according to their performances that motivates
them to carry out functions, duties and operations in productive aspects.
 Performance management: The concept is termed to procedures results in
identification, measurement together with development of work related aspects of
personnels (BRATTON and GOLD, 2012). It is a management technique which benefits
managers to monitor as well as evaluate per romances or work of employees and whole
organisation. Comparative approach helps Sainsbury managers to measure the
performances and rank them from high to low level through paired comparison, graphic
rating scale as well as distribution technique.
P2. Strengths together with weaknesses of recruitment as well as selection approaches
Recruitment: The term is said to a positive procedure for attracting as well as searching
potential candidate and at same time influencing them to apply for such position. All
organisation has recruiting team which discovers sources that further helps in searching potential
employees.
Approaches of recruitment:
Internal approaches: With this approach, managers selects existing personnels for
vacant positions. Recruiting team of Sainsbury uses such approach to source candidates among
the current available workforce. Some of its sourcing methods are:
Internal advertisements: In order to promoting vacant position to recruit internally at
work premises, preferences are given on internal advertisements. Recruiting team of selected
business hangs notices on bulletin boards, break rooms as well as sends memos through mails to
staff members.
Promotion: For filling high level vacant positions, recruiting team uses promotional
method. Hiring managers of Sainsbury promotes current competent employee who has
potentiality to work at the high level. It helps the company to retain old personnels addition to
reduces employee turnover.
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Strengths with weaknesses of internal recruitment approaches:
Strengths Weaknesses
 On boarding procedures are less time
consuming.
 These methods helps Sainsbury to
boost retention as well as influences
existing staff members by delivering
growth opportunities in career
development (Collings, Wood and
Szamosi, 2018).
 Internal approaches generally
demotivated personnels who were not
chosen for vacant position.
 These approaches also increases
biasness level as all personnels allures
management team in distinct manner
for desired outcomes.
External approaches: It is said to attracting candidate from outside the boundaries of
business concerns. Recruitment team of Sainsbury uses the approach when they feel that existing
workforce is unsuitable for position as well as believes in expanding organisational diversity.
Numerous external recruitment methods are discussed below:
Campus recruitment: With this method, entities attracts enthusiastic young candidates
having technical addition to professional qualifications from various colleges or universities. For
filling junior positions, recruiting team of Sainsbury uses campus recruitment method.
Media advertisements: selected organisational managers also puts ads in professional
journals, social media and newspaper by providing detailed information about job position,
experience expected as well as requirement of skill set that attracts diverse candidates for
unfilled position.
Strengths with weaknesses associated with external recruitment approaches:
Strengths Weaknesses
 New together with creative ideas are
attracted through external methods.
 These methods helps in bringing fresh
blood with more efficiency in
company.
 These methods consumes more time to
reach on final recruitment decision
(Edwards and et. al., 2016).
 With these approaches, various morale
issues among personnels are
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experienced by Sainsbury managers.
Selection:
Approaches of selection:
Group exercise: one of the assessment technique through which applications are
properly examined through exercising various activities in groups. Candidates are given distinct
exercises through which managers of Sainsbury maps out abilities of person to work in team.
Tests: For understanding diagrammatic ability, numerical ability, general intelligence
addition to sensory skills, various tests are taken by organisational managers. The management
of selected business conduct tests including performance assessment test, psychometric test,
situational judgement test as well as job knowledge tests and accordingly makes final selection
decision.
Strengths as well as weaknesses of selection approaches:
Strengths Weaknesses
 With selection approaches, candidate
having required capabilities, skills
addition to potentialities are only
selected for positions (Gatewood Feild
and Barrick, 2015).
 Selection approaches allows managers
of Sainsbury to assess that whether
candidates will fit in company or not
and then takes selection decision.
 Various times, these approaches results
in decreasing morale of candidate who
didn't get chance for working in
organisation.
 Procedures involves selection criteria
are usually hectic for recruiting team.
TASK 2
P3 Advantages of HRM practices in the establishment for both the employer & employee
HRM practices are generally strategic in nature which represents guidance system
activities of employees with executive business plan. With these practices, flexible as well as
caring environment is established that boost performance of staff members in better manner.
Management authorities of Sainsbury adopts HRM practices with the aim to strengthen functions
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as well as cater platform for personnels to present their talents through developing skills with
knowledge.
HRM practices with benefits to employee and employer
Recruitment and selection: With such practice, management team ensures that they
have competent addition to qualified employees. Recruitment procedures begins at the time
when vacant positions are identified by managers within organisation. Selection practices ends
when final decision is taken about the candidate who will fill the position. Management team of
Sainsbury properly administers all tests and conducts background check before offering
employment to candidates (Harrison and Lock, 2017).
Benefits to employees: With these practices, existing employers benefits in making
growth in their career and they learn new things while applying for vacant job. In context to
Sainsbury, it enhances employee morale addition to strengths relationships with other staff
members at workplace.
Benefits to employers: Recruitment and selection practice benefits employers to
recognize workplace diversity values which further embraces practices to attract and select
diverse application pools. These benefits employers of the selected entity in improving employee
engagement and retaining valuable personnels.
Reward system: It is another HRM practice that analyse as well as control
compensation, pay policies, remuneration and other benefits. At Sainsbury, with such practice,
managers devise and implement policies with strategies to reward personnels consistently, fairly
as well as equitable.
Benefits to employees: HRM practice of reward system benefits employees by
improving their wellness and achieving satisfaction for the work they perform. In addition, such
practice benefit Sainsbury employees to achieve recognition which will further help in
developing career opportunities.
Benefits to employers: With reward systems, employers of Sainsbury gains advantages
of increasing engagement of personnels in distinct activities, increasing productivity as well as
boosting their own career.
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P4 Evaluation of Human resource management practice effectiveness in increasing the revenue
of the business.
HRM practices are performed to analyse the capabilities and potentiality of staff
members are improved to attain targets of production. These practices assists organisational
managers to select, manage human capital, guide operational work flow as well as optimally
utilise available manpower in diverse areas. The management team of Sainsbury adopts
numerous HRM practices so that they can deal with compensatory issues, provide employee
motivations, benefits and overall organisational development. The evaluation of effectiveness of
few HRM practices are the followings:
Recruitment and selection: With such practice, management authorities of Sainsbury
attracts and hires qualified personnels that further contribute in organisational growth. Selection
competent candidate brings new innovations and ideas which ensures effective workings in the
path of achieving expected productivity together with improving margin of profit. Hiring skilled,
competent and qualified employee benefits the organisation in facing tough competitions as well
as earning huge revenues that aids in raising profits with productivity.
Reward system: Reward programs are generally based on performances. Employees of
selected firm when performs best then they are rewarded with more benefits that directly or
indirectly motivates personnels to perform future activities in better aspects (Kavanagh and
Johnson, 2017). These systems effectively motivates others for making improvements in existing
performances and reinforce motivation that results in raising level of productivity together with
profit margins.
TASK 3
P5 Need of employee relations in influencing decision making in HRM
Employee relations is termed to an attempt made by managers to build cordial relations
with staff members. As a personnels spend most of its day time at work premises so it is
important for them to build strong addition to healthy relationships with peer members in order
to enhance performance level. In context to Sainsbury, good employee relation results in
enhancing employee morale, increases revenue, employee loyalty, reduces absenteeism, conflict
reduction and increases business productivity.
Importance of employee relations:
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Dealing with issues: Effective relationship with managers or supervisors helps in dealing
with issues including working condition grievances, employee complaints addition to
discriminatory practices within work premise. Human resource managers of Sainsbury builds
effective employee relation that results in sharing opinions so that they can deal with issues and
reduces conflicts. When workers are happy then they work as per the decisions made by HR
professionals and unhappy employees influences decisions by ignoring them resulting in
mismanagement of work.
Communicating effectively: Good employee relations creates friendly work
environment wherein all information are communicates in effective manner without any
interruptions or barriers (Noe and et. al., 2017). At selected organisation, open communication
channels are build where all the information or decisions are circulated to each and every
member which influences decisions of HR in positive manner as they are communicated to all
personnels resulting in compliance with decisions.
Adoption of flexible establishment, flexible working practice and employer of choice
In relevance to Sainsbury, human resource team adopts practices related to flexible
working practice addition to flexible establishment that results in enhancing business potentiality
for selection candidate with competent skills who can provide valuable contributions in
improving production level as well as working in satisfactory aspects. Implementing flexible
working practice results in bringing various benefits in personnel's life including increased job
satisfaction, increased employee motivation as well as improves work balance. Employer of
choice practice provides befits to selected business in terms of higher retention rates, healthy
workplace culture and better productivity.
P6 Employment laws
Employment laws are termed to regulations which establishes conditions associated to
employment. These are primarily enacted by state, federal addition to local governing bodies in
order to provide welfare to employees and superiors. Management authorities of Sainsbury
follows all the governed employment laws so that they can prevent discrimination, work
disruptions and promote health with safe workings.
Various employment laws
Employment rights act, 2002: As per the legislation, employees should be provided with
aspects related to employment, study or training, industrial relations, leaves as well as
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termination. Sainsbury managers follows the legislations provisions so to enhance statutory
rights that are designed to help balance working as well as family commitments and resolving
workplace disputes. While making HR decisions all the provisions under the act are clearly
understood by HR managers as unfollowing any of the provision will influence the decisions of
human resource managers at great extent (Employment act, 2002. 2019).
Health and welfare act, 1974: According to the law, all personnels should be provided
health benefits together with safety at work locations (Sirmon and et. al., 2011). The obligations
of the act that Sainsbury follows are providing safe place, system of work, proper training with
supervision, eliminating hazardous activities and choosing controlling measures. The legislation
influences decision making of organisational managers to emphasise on certain factors including
catering continuous training to provide safety so that machines are handled effectively and
injuries or accidents are avoided at workplace.
TASK 4
P7. HRM practice application.
Designing of job specification for a given job position
The job specification for HR executive position is as follows:
Job position: HR Executive
Organisation: Sainsbury
Overview of Job: HR Executive will manage recruitments, employee performance programs,
development activities and will design referral programs. The candidate applying for vacant
position should posses effective conflict resolution addition to decision making skills so that
they can maintain employee relations.
Roles and responsibilities:
 Oversees daily operations.
 Manage employees grievances.
 Monitor departmental budgets.
 Devise effective recruiting, screening addition to interview techniques.
Academic qualification:
The candidate applying for post should have following qualification:
 Bachelor's degree in Human resource management.
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 Master's degree in human Resource management addition to other fields.
Experience of work:
 One year experience in any reputed post in any organsition.
Curriculum Vitae:
CV of Ist candidate
Christina Dsouza
Address: 780, Oxfordshire, London, United Kingdom
Contact Number: +083 275 1258
Email Id: [e-mail]
Career objective:
To work in motivated environment where I can present my innovative skills and serve workings
in human resource management field that can develop my knowledge and contribute in
organisational growth.
Work experience:
 Worked for 3 years as Human Resource Executive in Malabar Atlantics Center, London.
Qualifications:
 Master's degree in Human Resource Management from Delaware university, 2010
 Bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management from Rodney university, 2008
 Schooling from Oxford High school, 2005
Key skills:
 Problem solving skills
 Communication Skills
Personal information:
Father's Name: Peter Dsouza
Date of birth: April 08, 1980
Status: Single:
All the mentioned information is correct to my consideration.
CV of Iind candidate:
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Peter lewis
Address: 18 street, Oxfordshire, England
Contact Number: [phone]
Career goal:
To work in company where my potentiality and skill will help in further growth in career as
well as help the entity to sustain high growth in competitive market.
Career History:
 2 year experience as Human resource Assistant in Airdri Limited.
Skills:
 Managing workforce skills.
 Team building skills.
 Communication skills
 Decision making skills
Educational qualifications:
 Master of Commerce degree from South university.
 Bachelor of Commerce degree from Delaware University.
Declaration:
I declare the mentioned information correct according to my knowledge.
Documentation of preparatory notes for selection criteria and interview
Preparatory notes are usually designed before recruitment or selection activities. Such
notes are associated with interview and questions that interviewer will ask to candidate. in
context to selection procedure includes details that are prerequisites by Sainsbury managers so to
make decision about hiring deserving candidate (TORRINGTON, 2011). The responses for
questions will help in determining selecting of candidate for HR Executive post. Following
questions will be asked from Interviewee by Manager of the company:
Interview questions
 Define your goals in minimum words?
 Describe your key recruitment approach addition to the ways you will approach in
sourcing talented candidates?
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 What will you suggest one foremost employee policy being new HR Executive?
 Which management style is prefer by you to manage workforce effectively?
Preparatory documents for selection criteria will be based on management styles together
with employee policy that will be defined by candidate for selecting at HR Executive position.
For this, managers of Sainsbury will follow distinct phases including preliminary interview,
screening applications, employment tests and medical check. The chart representing selection
procedures is as follows:
Job Offer Letter
Mr. Ronald Mathew,
150 Street, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
Dear Ms. Christina Dsouza,
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This is for the acknowledgement that you are hired for job position of HR Executive within
Human Resource Department in our entity.
Job responsibilities:
 Prepares reports for employee performances monthly.
 Manage employee grievances daily.
 Run referral incentive programs.
 Communicate required information to staff members.
Reporting: HR Managerial
Working timings: 11 AM to 6 PM
Salary: $ 50000 per month
Sincerely,
Ronald Mathew
Evaluation of procedures addition to principle in order to implementing HRM practices
The practice of recruitment as well as selection are implemented by recruiting team of
Sainsbury. In context to recruitment, approaches of internal along with external recruitments are
used and more focus was on advertisements of job specification (Wilsens and et. al., 2016).
Distinct HR practices that are carried forward to select the candidate include interview, selection
test, reference check and job specification that all helped in performing activities systematically.
CONCLUSION
As per the discussion it is concluded that the department of managing human resources
play effective role in fulfilling demands of human capital. Purpose of HRM is to assist managers
and design various programmes. Functions of HRM are associated to Recruitment and selection
along with Employee relations. Approaches of recruitment are Internal advertisements,
Promotion, Campus recruitment and Media advertisements. On other hand, selection approaches
are classified as group exercise addition to Tests. HRM practices adopted at workplace are
reward system, recruitment and selection that benefits to both employee as well as employer.
Various employment laws that are followed by organisational managers are Employment rights
act, 2002 as well as Health and welfare act, 1974. HRM practice that are applied to select final
candidate are job specification, Curriculum Vitae, Preparatory notes, Job Offer Letter and
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Evaluation of procedures which helped in selecting prospective candidate for unfilled position.
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