SHR007-1: Business Focus Report on HR Issues at Marks and Spencer

This report presents a business focus analysis of HR issues at Marks and Spencer. It begins with an introduction outlining the research aim, objectives, and research questions, followed by an overview of key HR challenges such as training and development, organizational change, and employee retention. The report includes a small-scale research component, using a questionnaire to gather data on employee perspectives regarding HR practices. The analysis section interprets the survey results, providing insights into the functioning of the HR department, employee satisfaction, and major workplace challenges. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and highlights the importance of effective HR management. The report also provides recommendations for improvement, focusing on better recruitment and selection methods and performance analysis. A reflection section is included to identify personal development during the project. The report utilizes various sources, including academic journals and books, to support its findings and recommendations.

Business focus report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Aim of the research......................................................................................................................3
Objective of the research.............................................................................................................3
Research Questions......................................................................................................................3
Overview of the research.............................................................................................................3
Small scale research.....................................................................................................................4
Analysis.......................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................9
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................9
Reflection...................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Aim of the research
The aim of this research is to know what are the major HR issues faced by companies. A case
study on Marks and Spencer
Objective of the research
The objective of this research are mentioned below –
 To analyse the different HR approaches used within the company
 To evaluate various HR challenges present at workplace
Research Questions
What are the different HR approaches used within the company ?
What are various HR challenges present at workplace ?
Overview of the research
There are different issues and challenges faced by the human resource department while
managing the operations and activities of business. Some of these are mentioned below –
Trading and development - these are associated with management of company to provide
effective trainings to employees so that it is easy for them to enhance skills knowledge and
abilities if there are any new techniques and ways of working (Chelladurai, and Kerwin, 2017).
It is essential for the human resource management leaders to provide effective training programs
for the employees so that they can improve the way of functioning and adopting the new and
latest technologies.
 Organisational management change - It is seen that change is the most essential
requirement within any company. This is insured by the human resource management
that necessary changes will be adopted by the company for managing the performance of
employees properly. For this, managers have to who conducts various meetings in order
to manage the challenges faced by them and resolving them in proper manner.
Retaining talented employees - the human resource manager of organisation has to focus upon
retaining potential as well as loyal employees so that it is easy for the company to manage work.
Employees are the most important assets of the company (DeCenzo, Robbins, and Verhulst,
2016). It is also concluded that knowledge as well as capabilities are very important among the

employees for managing completion of work. Motivation and encouragement it is provided to
employees so that they can work effectively.
There are different approaches of human resource management which are helpful in increasing
the performance management and employee performance. Some of these are mentioned below-
Recruitment and selection - it is one of the essential function which must be adopted within the
organisation so that talented and skilled employees are hired for achieving goals in a specified
time frame (Huselid, and Becker, 2011). The human resource managers focus upon analysing the
requirement of managing day potential employees and hiring skilled labour so that there are no
hurdles in in achieving organisational goal in time.
Workforce planning approach - according to this factor, it is essential for the company to have an
effective plan for the employees so that they can work accordingly for achieving goals and
objectives (López-Nicolás, and Meroño-Cerdán, 2011). The human resource department of
company analyses and evaluates skills and abilities of workforce and tasks are assigned to them
on the basis of their capabilities. This is helpful for managing the overall performance of
company.
Small scale research
Questionnaire
Q 1) Do you think Marks and Spencer is having proper functioning of human resource
management?
Frequency
a) Yes 24
b) No 6
Q 2) Have you ever heard about any case regarding dissatisfaction of employee? Frequency
a) Sometimes 13
b) Never 17
Q 3) Is M&S able to handle HR issues and challenges effectively? Frequency

a) Yes 22
b) No 8
Q 4) According to you, what are the major challenges faced by HRM within M&S
workplace?
Frequency
a) Training and development 10
b) Organisational change 12
c) Employee retention 8
Q 5) According to you, what are the ways of overcoming the above challenges? Frequency
a) Better recruitment and selection method 27
b) Performance analysis of employees at regular interval 3
Analysis
Q 1) Do you think Marks and Spencer is having proper functioning of human resource
management?
Frequency
a) Yes 24
b) No 6

Interpretation – it is analysed form the above pie chart that Marks and Spencer is a big
organisation and there is proper functioning of the human resource department so that all work is
done in effective manner. As per the views of respondents, it is concluded that there are 24
respondents who think that M&S is having proper managing of all the functions related to the
human resource (Marchington and et. al., 2016. On the other hand, remaining 6 respondents
think that this company is having effective working of human resource management.
Q 2) Have you ever heard about any case regarding dissatisfaction of employee? Frequency
a) Sometimes 13
b) Never 17

Interpretation – From the above diagram, it is concluded that there are few people who
have known about the HR issues within this company. There are some issues of human resource
management which are important for managing the work properly. According to the given pie
chart, it is concluded that there are some cases in Marks and Spencer who have heard of issues
related to job dissatisfaction. There are 13 respondents who have knowledge about job
dissatisfaction. On the other hand, there are 17 respondents who have never seen that there is any
case of job dissatisfaction in this company.
Q 3) Is M&S able to handle HR issues and challenges effectively? Frequency
a) Yes 22
b) No 8

Interpretation – It is concluded from the above pie chart that this company is able to
manage and control HR issues and challenges in proper manner. Marks and Spencer is working
in different areas of the world. It is very essential for the company to manage the work in
effective manner. The HR issues are properly managed and handles within Marks and Spencer
and employees are provided good treatment and well being.
Q 4) According to you, what are the major challenges faced by HRM within M&S
workplace?
Frequency
a) Training and development 10
b) Organisational change 12
c) Employee retention 8

Interpretation – From the above pie chart, it is concluded that there are various challenges
faced by the company while implementing HR protocols and regulations. These are very
important for a company as they are helpful in managing different problems faced by employees.
From the above pie chart, it is concluded that out of 30 respondents, there are 10 respondents
who think that training and development provided to employees is a great challenge for the
Human resource department of company. Moreover, there are 12 respondents who think that if
there is organisational change within the company, there is problem to the employees. Also,
there are 8 respondents who think that employee retention is a problem in case of managing HR
issues.
Q 5) According to you, what are the ways of overcoming the above challenges? Frequency
a) Better recruitment and selection method 27
b) Performance analysis of employees at regular interval 3

Interpretation – It is analysed from the above discussion that there are various ways for
overcoming the challenges of human resource management. The pie chart states that according to
viewpoint of 27 respondents, the challenges of HR can be overcome by hiring more talented and
skilled workers. On the other hand, there are 3 respondents who think that employees must be
evaluated on the basis of their performance as it will help to manage the company’s HR issues
and overall performance.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is concluded that human resource department is present
within organisations for managing the employee performance. It is essential for all companies to
work properly in order to evaluate the performance and success of company. It is concluded from
the above discussion that there is need of managing the HR approaches properly so that all work
is done in proper manner. Also, it is essential for the companies to ensure that they are keeping
good evaluation about the working of employees so that company is benefited.
Recommendation
There are some recommendations made for the company. These are listed below –
 It is essential for the company to manage the HR approaches so that proper working for
employee evaluation is done

 Organisations must analyse the employee performance as it is helpful for increasing
employee performance as well as leads to benefit of the company.
Reflection
The above report help me to increase my knowledge about various HR issues and
challenges faced by the companies. I have learnt about different factors that affect the success of
any company due to the in effective management of human resource. I have developed lot of
skills while performing the research. I have learnt that there are various research methodologies
used by investigators while conducting the research. My communication skills have developed
when I was conducting this research. This is good for me to manage my work and accomplish
the goals of research. I have also developed interpersonal skills while conducting the research. It
is also seen that I have develop time management skills while doing different activities related to
the project work. In this research, there was various ways by which I have developed my
knowledge as well as skills. I have used the Gibb's reflective cycle for managing the skill
development. The different steps involved in in my personal development include different
stages like description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. Description
includes the need for conducting this research. I think that human resource management is the
most important factor that is involved in success of any organisation. I have chosen this topic for
conducting research because it will enhance my knowledge regarding several human resource
issues and challenges that are are faced by organisations and how do they overcome these
problems. There were many times when I felt low while conducting this research, but I have to
manage positivity and put full efforts in order to achieve the aims and objectives quickly. I have
chosen primary research method for collecting the data and making interpretations from the
research. I have been through a lot of difficulties while conducting research but each and every
time I motivated myself to to put efforts and work properly for achieving the the targets in less
time. According to the evaluation step, research activities work done properly and desired results
were obtained. I have worked with my teammates for collecting information from different
respondents so that questionnaire will be analysed for making results and findings for the project.
In the analysis section, It is seen that there are various activities and events conducted for
managing the research success. I have analysed the completion of research activities in proper
manner and attaining goals and objectives properly. In context of the conclusion part, I think that
it will be more beneficial to use secondary data for analysing the research aim. This will help me

to manage the work properly and achieve the targets in less time. Action plan is the last step
involved in the management of research activities. This includes conducting all the tasks and
activities involved in research in effective manner and reaching the goals. I think it is very
important for me to manage my work and conduct the research work properly. This is very
essential that I will conduct my research work in effective manner and work effectively.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chelladurai, P. and Kerwin, S., 2017. Human resource management in sport and recreation.
Human Kinetics.
DeCenzo, D.A., Robbins, S.P. and Verhulst, S.L., 2016.Fundamentals of human resource
management. John Wiley & Sons.
Huselid, M. A. and Becker, B. E., 2011. Bridging micro and macro domains: Workforce
differentiation and strategic human resource management.
López-Nicolás, C. and Meroño-Cerdán, Á. L., 2011. Strategic knowledge management,
innovation and performance. International journal of information management. 31(6).
pp.502-509.
Marchington and et. al., 2016. Human resource management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Messersmith, J. G. and et. al., 2011. Unlocking the black box: exploring the link between high-
performance work systems and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology. 96(6).
pp.1105.
Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016.Globalizing human resource management.
Routledge.
Stewart, G.L. and Brown, K.G., 2019.Human resource management. John Wiley & Sons.