B203B - HRM Practices for Competitive Advantage: Aldo Group Analysis

This essay examines the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in creating a competitive advantage for organizations, using Aldo Group as a case study. It discusses key HRM activities such as recruitment and selection, training and development, reward structure and motivation, and employee retention strategies. The essay highlights how Aldo Group focuses on recruiting desirable candidates, providing quality training programs, motivating employees through rewards and recognition, and implementing effective retention strategies to foster a conducive work environment. By strategically managing its human resources, Aldo aims to enhance efficiency, maintain organizational culture, and ultimately achieve a competitive edge in the market. The essay concludes that a strategic approach to HRM is crucial for companies seeking to outperform their competitors.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE
Essay on HRM and competitive advantage
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Human resource management
Human resource management is one of the essential departments of any organization.
This is because, it is the department, which caters to the execution of the business activities.
Here, the managers cater to the management of the human resources in terms of extracting
the required labor (Albrecht et al. 2015). The focus is on ensuring the capability of the
personnel in making effective and judicious use of the organizational resources. All these
aspects prove true for all of the companies and organizations including Aldo.
Company profile of Aldo
Established in 2002, Aldo has achieved accolades and glory by serving quality shoes
to the customers. 5 new outlets have been opened in Kuwait, which has enhanced the brand
image largely. Quality is the main agent, through which the brand achieves customer
satisfaction. Adequate stock of shoes and accessories influence the purchasing power of the
customers. 2005 was the era when the brand added the segment of accessories
(Aldogroup.com 2018). Maintaining the pace with the current competitive phase makes the
brand popular among the customers.
Recruitment and selection
Aldo believes in Total Customer Service. For this, the brand concentrates on the
recruitment of desirable candidates for enhancing the efficiency in the business activities.
This is done through the consideration of certain steps. At the initial stage, advertisements are
given on the newspapers and in the form of leaflets. Along with the advertisements, the brand
informs the candidates about the rules, regulations and eligibility criteria, which they are to
follow for applying to the post. After getting the resume of the candidates, the HR managers
shortlist the profile of the desirable candidates (Aldogroup.com 2018). As a sequential step,

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the shortlisted candidates are called for interview, followed by practical tests. The interview
is presided over by the Board of Directors and external agencies. After the results are
published, the managers indulge in meeting for matching the profile of the candidates with
that of the identified organizational requirements. This helps in estimating the capability of
the candidates towards performing the allocated tasks. As a final step, the selected candidates
are sent an offer letter, stating the job profile, salary package, responsibilities, working hours,
benefits, policies, awards and recognition among others (Aldogroup.com 2018).
Training and development
At Aldo, the employees are provided with quality training programs, which are aimed
at maintaining the organizational culture. As a matter of specification, experts are hired for
enriching the knowledge of the employees on workplace ethics. Herein lays the
appropriateness of Ethical Code of Conduct. The experts attempt to provide motivation and
encouragement to the employees. Effective utilization of the motivation enables the
employees to perform the tasks efficiently and effectively. Online classes are organized for
the employees, which clarifies their doubts regarding execution of the allocated activities
(Brewster, Chung and Sparrow 2016). These online classes prove effective in terms of
reaching to large number of candidates. Post training tests are conducted by the managers for
assessing the capability of the candidates in carrying out the allocated activities. The results
of the post training tests helps the managers to assess whether the candidates would be able to
adjust within the given workplace environment.
Reward structure and motivation
The managers of Aldo provide motivation and encouragement to the employees. This
is in terms of generating within them an urge to perform the allocated tasks. Rewards and
recognition is the way in which the managers lure the employees towards the business

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processes and systems. As a matter of specification, the reward structure of Aldo involves the
relation between motivation and the desire of the employees towards achieving rewards. The
managers assess the performance of the employees for providing them with the appraisals
(Bratton and Gold, 2017). There are different types of rewards- primary, intrinsic and
extrinsic, which evaluates the performance of the employees. Individual recognitions, praises,
lunch and dinner parties are the rewards, which are offered to the employees for better
performance. Rewards are monetary, which increases the cravings of the employees towards
upgrading their performance. Other types here are leaves, which are sanctioned by the
managers for helping the employees to maintain the balance between personal and
professional life.
Retention
Aldo has one of the effective employee retention strategies. This is because the
managers ask the employees about the factors, which motivated them to apply this job instead
of textual questions. This might alter the decision of the employees and compel them to retain
themselves. Creating conducive environment is one of the activities, which the managers
attempt for retaining the employees (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang 2014). Vote of thanks is one
of an important things, which the brand for retaining the employees. This event makes the
employees feel that opinions and judgments are being valued. This is one of the agents in
terms of retaining the employees within the workplace conditions. Private counselling
sessions are organized for the employees in terms of gaining an insight into the reasons,
which compelled them to take such decision. In this, the standards and protocols of Data
Protection Act (1998) is followed in terms of preserving the individual sentiments of the
employees.

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The managers try to develop friendly relationship with the employees, which is
actually beneficial for gaining their trust, dependence and loyalty (Wagner and Hollenbeck
2014). This approach helps the managers to gain an insight into the specific tastes and
preferences of the employees. This type of approach proves fruitful for altering the minds of
the employees regarding turnover.
One of the other steps is ensuring whether the salary and benefits align with that of
current competitive pace. This step is assistance towards preventing the employees from
switching over to the other brands. Strategic approach in this direction supports the brand
personnel in the achievement of positive outcomes. Within this, changing the nature of job is
one of the mentionable aspects (Hollenbeck and Jamieson 2015).
Concluding note
Recruiting right candidates at the initial stage helps Aldo in creating a flexible team,
which results in the efficient execution of the business activities. Providing training to the
employees prove effective in upgrading the preconceived skills, knowledge and expertise of
the employees. Providing motivation proves beneficial in retaining the employees. Strategic
approach is crucial in terms of achieving competitive advantage over the contemporary
brands.

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References
Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. and Saks, A.M., 2015. Employee
engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An
integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1),
pp.7-35.
Aldogroup.com (2018). Career opportunities. Available at:
http://www.aldogroup.com/career-opportunities.html [Accessed on 9th July 2018]
Aldogroup.com (2018). Meet out team. Available at: http://www.aldogroup.com/meet-our-
team.html [Accessed on 9th July 2018]
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C., Chung, C. and Sparrow, P., 2016. Globalizing human resource management.
Routledge.
Hollenbeck, J.R. and Jamieson, B.B., 2015. Human capital, social capital, and social network
analysis: Implications for strategic human resource management. Academy of management
perspectives, 29(3), pp.370-385.
Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S. and Jiang, K., 2014. An aspirational framework for strategic
human resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), pp.1-56.
Wagner III, J.A. and Hollenbeck, J.R., 2014. Organizational behavior: Securing competitive
advantage. Routledge.