Analysis of HRM Practices at British Airways and Transport for London

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Unit: 18 – Human Resource Management for Service Industries
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Executive Summary
The human resource department of British Airways took several steps in order to improve the
situation of the organization and revised its policies in order to improve its relation with the
employees. It plays a crucial role behind the success of an organization and is responsible for the
recruitment and firing of employees in the organization. It makes sure that the performance of
the employees meets the standards set by the organization. It organizes various training sessions
in the organization and makes sure that the employees learn new skills and are able to develop
themselves such that their productivity increases.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................5
Analysis of the role and purpose of human resource management in a selected service industry
with reference to British Airways................................................................................................5
Creation of an HR plan, based on an analysis of supply and demand, with justification of the
staff roles and numbers of staff and hours of work required to deliver the new flight service to
Madeira........................................................................................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
Assess the current state of employment relations in the airline industry....................................8
Discuss how employment law affects the management of human resources within British
Airways........................................................................................................................................9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
Job description and personal specification for Airport Operations Manager............................10
Comparison of the selection processes of British Airways (Airport Operations Manager) and
Transport for London (e.g. role of Customer Services Assistant in Victoria Coach Station)...12
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................14
Different types of training.........................................................................................................14
Difference between training and development..........................................................................14
Benefits and effectiveness of training........................................................................................14
The role and need of training.....................................................................................................15
A summary of the overall contribution of training and development to the effective operation
of the organization.....................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................17
Reference List................................................................................................................................18
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Introduction
Human resource management is very crucial for an organization. It functions in order to improve
the productivity of the organization. The human resource department is responsible for filling the
vacant positions in the organization and the training as well as development of the employees of
the organization. It is liable for the creation and maintenance of good relation with the employees
of the organization. It looks after the working environment of the organization and functions to
improve the working environment of the organization such that the performance of the
employees improves and the outcome of the organization are increased.
In this assignment, the role of human resource in British Airways has been described and the
effect of employment laws on the operation of human resource management department of
British Airways has been illustrated. The process of recruitment in British Airways and
Transport for London has been elaborated in this assignment.
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Task 1
Analysis of the role and purpose of human resource management in a selected service
industry with reference to British Airways
The human resource department is responsible for the delivery of several administrative
functions in British Airways. The various functions like recruitment of new candidates in the
organization, the retention of candidates, the training and development of the employees,
evaluation of the performance of the employees in the organization and resolve the conflicts that
may arise among the employees are performed by the human resource department of British
Airways. The human resource department of British Airways makes sure that the employees of
the organization get a good environment such that they are satisfied with the work they are doing
(Masum et al., 2018). It also makes sure that the staffs of the organization are safe and secure
while delivering their services in the organization. The functions of the human resource
department in British Airways have been briefly described below:
Recruitment and retention of employees: The human resource department of British Airways is
in charge for the selection of right candidates as per the requirement in order to fill the vacant
position in the organization. It makes sure that the organization is able to retain its employees
such that employee turnover is low in the organization.
Training and development of employees: The human resource department of British Airways
handles the training of the employees in order to increase their productivity so that the
performance of the organization is improved (Azeem and Yasmin, 2016). It ensures that every
worker in the organization get the opportunity improve their skills and increase their knowledge.
The enhanced performance of the employees aids the organization to generate more revenue.
Conflict Management: The human resource department is accountable for the resolution of
conflicts that may occur among the employees or between the management and the employees. It
makes sure that there is a peaceful atmosphere in the workplace and there is healthy and positive
relation among the staffs in the organization.
Monitoring the performance of the employees: The human resource department monitors the
performance of the employees in the organization and analyses their performance based on
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which the staffs are rewarded. The department provides the workforce feedback based on their
performance so that the employees get to know their flaws and work on that to improve.
Implementation of change: In case any sort of change has to be implemented in the organization
the human resource department makes sure that, the modification is executed and that the
organization is stabilized after the implementation of change.
Creation of an HR plan, based on an analysis of supply and demand, with justification of
the staff roles and numbers of staff and hours of work required to deliver the new flight
service to Madeira
The demand in airline industry in the United Kingdom is relatively high. There is always high
demand of flights for either business purpose or leisure. However, the supply or the availability
of flights in the industry is less thus the industry is not always able to serve the interests of the
customers. This creates inconvenience and restlessness among the customers, which create a bad
reputation of the industry. Hence, it is required that the problem is resolved and effective steps
are taken by the organizations in the airline industry such that the demand of the customers is
met. In order to serve this purpose it is required that supply of flights is increased and the work
force of the industry has to be increased to handle the increased supply of flights in the industry.
In order to deliver new flight service in Madeira it is required that high demands of the
customers therefore it is mandatory to increase the number of flights and the number of
employees in British Airways. It is also necessary to manage and fix the time-schedule of the
employees such that the work pressure is easily handled in the organization (Ulrich and
Dulebohn, 2015). The plan in order to have proper coordination of activities such that the
pressure in the organization is easily managed is that the employees will have to rotational shifts
every week. There will be hundred employees in Madeira Airport who will be in charge for
providing the best services to the customers. Out of hundred employees, fifty candidates will be
responsible for delivering their services to the customers in the day shift. The working hours of
the employees will be nine hours of day from eight o’ clock in the morning to five o’ clock in
the evening. The working hours of the employees working at night will be nine hours from six
o’clock in the evening to three o’ clock at night.
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The fifty workers working at night in one week will be working during day in the next week and
this will continue, that is, the workers will be working in rotational shifts. Thus, this will make
sure that the service is not stopped at any point of time in a day. However, it is required to recruit
more employees in the organization so that the gaps are covered and British Airways is able to
provide continuous services to its customers in a day. Thus, in order to improve the services
offered by British Airways it is required to increase the work force in the organization and fix the
schedules accordingly.
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TASK 2
Assess the current state of employment relations in the airline industry
Customer service has always been the main priority of British Airways. In order to meet the
expectations of its customers and with the changing trend in the market, the human resource
department of the organization has embraced changes with open hands. The organization has
successfully implemented the changes in the organization and stabilized after that. However,
there were times when the organization had to take steps that spoiled its relation with the
employees as it fired approximately more than thousand jobs in 2009. Nevertheless, the
organization took steps to cope up with the situation and create good relations with its
employees.
In the present scenario, the organization has improved its governance and administrative
functions by revising the policies and the procedures of the management of the organization and
its human resource department. The organization appointed strong leaders to handle chaotic
situations in the organization properly and successfully handled it thereby, resulting in the
stabilization of the organization (Britishairways.com, 2019). The strong leaders carefully and
successfully handled the challenging situations that British Airways faced in its financial as well
as operational environment or department. It revised the policies pertaining to the employees in
order to improve the operation and the relation of the employees with the organization.
The human resource department has taken many steps in order to improve the scenario of the
organization and has put in continuous efforts to resolve the conflicts that arise in the
organization. It started working with unions in order to create a network of relations in the
industry. It supports diversity and does not practice discrimination as well as it rewards its
employees based on their performance (Britishairways.com, 2019). It puts in sincere efforts to
make its employees achieve their personal goals as well as the organizational goals through
training and development programs practiced in the organization. The organization has taken
every possible step to ensure that situations like before do not arise again.
Thus, the organization has emerged successful in its venture and has changed the scenario in
each of its branch all around the world. The employees give a positive feedback regarding the
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work environment and the benefits associated with employment in the organization. The
organization successfully handled the adverse situations that it faced before and has productively
emerged to be one of the best organizations in the airline industry.
Discuss how employment law affects the management of human resources within British
Airways
The employment law in the United Kingdom formulated by the government affects the policies
set by the human resource department of the organizations based in the country. The laws have
been so formulated to safeguard the interests of the employees and every individual in the
organization. It makes sure that every individual of the organization gets equal opportunity in the
organizations and does not become vulnerable to unfair practices by the employers in the
organization. The laws which governs the management of the human resource department in
British Airways are as follows:
Conditions of employment: The law governs the number of working hours, that is, the maximum
number of hours that the employees can work or give services to the organization has been fixed.
The employment law of the United Kingdom has standardized the standard of working
environment that the employers must provide to its employees (Azeem and Yasmin, 2016).
Prevention of discrimination: The law of employment as formulated by the United Kingdom
makes sure that the human resource department of British Airways does not practice any sort of
discrimination or biasness in its practice or operation. The law ensures that every individual is
given equal opportunity irrespective of his or her cast, creed, religion, race or gender in terms of
selection in the organization and his or her training and development.
Safety and security of the employees: The employment law of the United Kingdom has set
standards for the safety and security of the workers in the organization, which the human
resource department of British Airways must strictly adhere (Lo et al., 2015). The standard of the
environment has been standardized by the United Kingdom and ensures the welfare of the people
working in the organization.
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TASK 3
Job description and personal specification for Airport Operations Manager
British Airways
Email id – [e-mail]
Job Profile: Operations Manager
Job description:
 Monitor the safety and security of operation
 Developing and managing a team
 Leading a team
 Make sure that the members cooperate and work in a team
 Make decisions that will have substantial impact commercially in the organization
 Communicate with the customers and make sure that they are comfortable
 Set goals and objectives for the team members
 Work 24*7 in rotational shifts
 Manage people
 Make sure that the operational and punctuality targets are met
Venue: British Airways Head Office, Harmondsworth, London, United Kingdom
(Till 28th February 2019)
Reporting time: 9:30 AM
Figure 1: Job description
(Source: Appendix 1)
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Personal Specification
Background  3 to 6-years experience in Airport Operations Manager
role
 Excellent communication skills
 Excellent analytical skills
 Must be quick in work
 Excellent decision-making skills
 Excellent presentation skills
Experience 3 – 6 year
Qualifications  Any graduate
 Any post-graduate
 Diploma candidates are not eligible
Teamwork abilities Candidate must have good coordination skills and must be able to
build a team as well as manage them
Administration and
communication
skills
Candidate must have excellent communication, interpersonal skills
and administrative skills
Preference Post-graduate candidates having relevant experience will be
preferred
Table 1: Personal specification
(Source: Appendix 1)
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Comparison of the selection processes of British Airways (Airport Operations Manager)
and Transport for London (e.g. role of Customer Services Assistant in Victoria Coach
Station)
Selection process of British Airways Selection process of Transport for London
The applicants need to answer the online
questions in the career page of British Airways
where the vacancies are placed and confirm that
they meet the requirements set by the
organization
The applicants need to fill an application
form in order to confirm their eligibility for
the position in the career page of Transport
for London
After the completion of the application for, the
applicants need to appear for a series of tests like
psychometric test that includes numerical test,
verbal reasoning, spatial reasoning test and
situational judgment test.
After the completion of application form, the
eligible candidates need to appear for
Situational Judgement Test.
In case the applicants are able to clear the above
step, the applicants are called for assessment and
need to solve multiple choice questions related to
situations and participate in group exercise as
well as role play. Finally, the candidates are
interviewed.
Once the candidate is able to clear the
situational judgement test the applicants need
to appear for online ability test. In case the
applicant clears the above rounds, the
candidates need to give video or telephonic
round of interview.
Following the above rounds, in case the applicant
is able to clear the above rounds the background
of the candidate is verified and the their fitness is
checked medically
Following the above steps the applicants
need to go to the assessment centre and
appear for group and exercises along with
presentation and role play
Once the selection is made, the selected
candidates are trained and finally start working
for the position
Finally, the candidates need to give
competency based interview and once the
employees are able to clear all of the above
rounds the candidates are asked to join the
organization
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