Human Resource Management at Starbucks: A Case Study

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments. This report analyzes HRM functions and effectiveness at Starbucks.

"Human Resource Functions and their Effectiveness in
Organisation."
1

Executive Summary
This report aims to gain a wider understanding and perspective of the huge significance that the
HRM has in an organisation. Taking into consideration the functioning of the renowned
coffeehouse chain Starbucks, the report will identify and analyse various elements, concepts, and
issues related to HRM along with examining its roles and responsibilities. It will also discuss the
various internal and external factors that affect it and how the HRM ensures the efficient
working and growth of the organisation.
2

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
LO1 Explain the purpose and scope of Human Resource Management concerning resourcing an
organisation with talent and skills appropriate to fulfil business functions.....................................5
1) Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organisation...........................................................................................................5
2) Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection.6
LO2: Evaluate the effectiveness of the key elements of Human Resource Management in an
organisation......................................................................................................................................8
1) Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both the
employer and employee...............................................................................................................8
2) Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices concerning raising organisational
profit and productivity.................................................................................................................9
LO: 3 Analyse internal and external factors that affect Human Resource Management decision-
making, including employment legislation....................................................................................10
1) Analyse the importance of employee relations concerning influencing HRM decision-
making........................................................................................................................................10
2) Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has on HRM
decision-making in Starbucks....................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Reference List................................................................................................................................13
3

Introduction
The HRM is one of the most pivotal parts of an organisation and primarily deals with selecting,
recruiting, training, and developing of employees working in an organisation. Its role also
involves managing the people in an organised way so that they can fulfil their roles efficiently. It
solves the various issues and conflicts among the employees, trains them, and sees to it that they
get a proper work environment where they can work to the best of their ability. This study deals
with the various concepts of the HRM practice along with its various elements and their
significance. It will also analyse the various internal and external factors that affect its working
and how they help in the efficient functioning and productivity of the organisation.
4

LO1 Explain the purpose and scope of Human Resource Management regarding
resourcing an organisation with talent and skills appropriate to fulfil business functions
1) Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing an organisation
The HRM or the Human Resource Management can be understood as those principles, functions,
and activities that are structured and carried out to maximise employee and organisational
growth and effectiveness. Its role in each organisation is huge, and it plays a pivotal
responsibility in the success of the organisation and the fulfilment of various organisational
objectives. Starbucks is one of the most popular coffeehouse chains. It was established in Seattle
and has stores all over the world. In the UK, there are around 14718 Starbucks stores and
employs a huge number of people. Considering how huge its operations are, it is evident that the
HRM plays a huge role in the growth and development of the organisation.
The primary functions of the HRM in Starbucks can be discussed as the following:
Workforce planning:
Staffing implies the function of recruiting and selecting of capable candidates for a job role. This
is one of the most important functions of the HRM. It is the process through which the
management makes sure that only the most competent employees are selected who can
constructively contribute to the productivity of the organisation. Workforce planning is,
therefore, one of the main functions of the HRM as it helps the organisation to perform better
and ensure profit maximisation along with achieving the various organisational goals. Workforce
planning is the process in which an adequate number of competent employees are selected for an
organisation in a way that they can conduct the various jobs efficiently (Sarvaiya et al., 2018).
The major objectives of workforce planning are judicious utilisation of the current human
resources, controlling and preventing any potential imbalance in distributing and allocating of
the human resources, identifying and assessing possibilities of future skill needs of the
organisation and organise all the related aspects of human resources along with formulating
various policies related to transfer and promotion. The various steps included in the workforce-
planning programme are determining the different objectives of such planning, stressing on the
existing HR inventory, forecasting of demand, assessing the job requirements, formulating
employment plan, and conducting various programmes related to training and development
(Alagaraja et al., 2015).
Resourcing organisations:
The HRM plays a vital role in resourcing organisations with the appropriate set of employees
who are capable enough to complete their tasks efficiently which in turn helps in achieving
various long and short term organisational goals. After the selection process, the HRM sees to it
that they remain capable in their job roles and take the responsibility of conducting various
training sessions that are aimed at improving the efficiency of the employees. Apart from that,
the HRM ensures that the correct workplace environment is provided to the employees so that
they are able to give their best for the growth of their organisation along with their own personal
and professional growth (Clair, 2017).
5

2) Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and
selection
Recruitment is the process of identification and hiring of competent and qualified employees
from within or outside the organisation to fill various vacancies in the organisation. It is one of
the most important functions of the HRM, and this hugely influences the productivity and
success of the organisation. The two main approaches of recruitment and selection in an
organisation are internal recruitment and external recruitment. Internal recruitment is the process
of filling up of vacancies from inside the organisation among the already existing employees.
External recruitment, on the other hand, is the process of filling the organisational vacancies by
selecting capable candidates from outside the organisation. While both these approaches are
followed in organisations, each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages (Sheehan et
al., 2016).
The strengths of internal recruitment are as follows:
 The most important strength of having internal recruitment is that it reduces the time
needed to hire new employees. As the candidates are part of the workspace, the time
needed to hire them is less.
 Internal recruitment saves the organisation huge expenses involving the different
processes of recruitment.
 Internal recruitment strengthens employee engagement and acts as a motivating tool for
them.
The weaknesses of internal recruitment are as follows:
 Internal recruitment results in an inflexible and stagnant work culture.
 Internal recruitment may result in conflict among employees, and this can have an
adverse impact on the growth and success of the organisation.
 Internal recruitment often results in limiting the choices of recruitment.
The strength of external recruitment are as follows:
 External recruitment ensures that the organisation is open to a huge number and variety
of capable candidates and this, in turn, enhances the chances of hiring the best candidates
for the job (Thomas et al., 2018).
 External recruitment ensures that the organisation gets a fresh group of talented
candidates and this helps it to attain a greater competitive advantage in the market.
 This approach ensures that highly qualified and competent candidates are selected for the
job role.
The weaknesses of external recruitment are as follows:
 External recruitment is time-consuming and involves greater expenses than internal
recruitment.
 There is a chance of decrease in productivity as external recruitment often results in low
employee morale, as they do not get the opportunity of having a promotion.
 It takes longer to train new employees. Internal recruitment is helpful in this regard, as
the existing employees are already aware of their job roles.
6

LO2: Evaluate the effectiveness of the key elements of Human Resource Management in an
organisation
1) Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within an organisation for both the
employer and employee
The HRM plays a huge role in the proper functioning and growth of the organisation. They strive
for the growth of the employer as well as the employees working in the organisation. The
primary HRM practices and its benefits can be briefly explained as the following:
Conflict resolution: The HRM plays the vital role in solving disputes that arise within the
organisation between the employees as well those conflicts that arise between the management
and the employees. They formulate and implement different company policies and define the
proper workspace behaviour, which all the employees have to follow. (Vidovic, 2016).
Employee relations: The HRM tries to support the employees and initiate communication and
coordination among them. It sees to it that they are able to work together for attaining the various
goals of the organisation.
Training and development: The HRM conducts various programmes for training and
development for the employees. These help the employees to hone and develop their existing
skills and control their inherent weaknesses. It also helps the organisation by making the
employees more skilled and competent in their tasks, which has a positive impact on their
productivity.
7

2) Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organisational
profit and productivity
Different training programmes are organised by Starbucks to develop a high quality of
knowledge and skills among its employees (Tracey et al., 2015). This will help their employees
to put in their best effort in executing the different business operations for Starbucks. The
training programs are organised with the help of modern and advanced technologies, and this
helps the company to plan their workforce in a systematic and substantial manner. This will help
in executing the business operations of the company in a productive way reaping benefits for the
company. Through the different modernised training programs, the company is able to bring
about an overall development within their employees.
Starbucks aids their employees to maintain balance in their work life and personal life. This
helps the employees to acquire confidence and work freely for the company. The management
also helps in building commitment among the employees by giving them targets that are
challenging and require dedicated effort from the employees. The HR practice of recruitment of
new employees and selecting them shall be done in accordance with the screening and
scrutinising the different CV’s of the employees and then selecting the competent employees.
The recruitment and selection procedure of Starbucks is of very high quality. This helps the
company to maintain its reputation and brand image. The employees are also awarded for their
quality performance in the company. The employees of Starbucks receive bonuses and incentives
from the company for executing their operations in a smooth manner.
8

LO: 3 Analyse internal and external factors that affect Human Resource Management
decision-making, including employment legislation
1) Analyse the importance of employee relations with respect to influencing HRM decision-
making
The brand image of Starbucks Company is driven by values, and their performance is aligned
with the quality of services they provide to their customers. The company depends upon their
employees for providing quality service, which will help the company to maintain their brand
image (Hickman and Silva 2018). Starbucks stresses upon managing their employees in
accordance with the traditional model of management skills. The company aids their employees
to inculcate self-esteem, and the management of the company acknowledges and gives
importance to the contribution of the employees. This helps to boost the morale of the employees
and uplifts their employees. Starbucks values their employees irrespective of their educational
background (Wheeler, 2017).
The Starbucks authorities help to develop a perfect environment in work set up so that the
employees can work with freedom and express themselves through their performance. The
company involves its employees to acquire knowledge and information about the product, which
is coffee that they serve (Quirke, 2017). The authorities of the company and the managing head
ensure that the employees are aided with the support of modern technologies and equipment,
which will help the employees to provide smooth services to the customers. With the help of
effective policies, Starbucks helps in building up the sense of commitment among their
employees and instil leadership skills to the employees by providing training methods and
procedures. The employees must acquire skills of learning various features of leadership skills
from the senior management heads (Bolden, 2016). In this way, freshers or newly recruited
employees will thus be able to learn the skills to lead a team within the company in future. The
employees will thus have a sense of belonging to the company.
The company believes that in order for the company to sustain success and growth in an
economy, the business executives must maintain a healthy and stable relationship with the
employees as well as the customers through good commercial dealing of the business operations
provided by the company. Encouragement and right opportunities are provided to the employees
so that they can exhibit their performance in a successful manner thereby reaping benefits for the
company. Starbucks gives importance and considers every opinion and viewpoints of their
employees in a serious manner so that they can combine all the ideas in executing the final
decision of implementing their strategies. The company involves different systems such as
carrying out surveys through telephonic systems and introducing cards having comments of the
employees expressing their ideas and opinions. The management staffs consider the opinions and
ideas of the employees and try to look after their grievances and suggestions. The viewpoints of
all the employees are given equal value. Starbucks arranges for a discussion forum for its
employees and its management staff.
2) Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has on HRM
decision-making in Starbucks
Legislations, laws, policies have to be adhered to by Starbucks like other companies, and it
affects the HRM decision-making in Starbucks. Laws such as The Employment Rights Act,
9

Equal Pay Act, Sex Discrimination Act, and The Act dealing with national minimum wage are
applied upon the working of the employees within the company as well as on various business
operations prevailing within the company. All these acts and laws are to be followed by the
employees as well as the management, which will help in executing the various business
strategies smoothly and properly. Different features related to employment legislation are
providing equal and similar opportunities, chances to the employees so that they can work
properly, and freely under the rights related to the employment act or law. The work condition
within the working setup has to be proper and adhere to the strict standards of workplace laws
(Helmreich and Merritt 2017). The health and safety of the employees must be looked upon, as it
will help to motivate the employees to work well within the work setup. The employees should
be paid equally irrespective of the caste, creed, sex, and class and many other. of the employees.
Thus, fairness and equality shall be maintained while implementing the various legislations of
the employees in Starbucks.
10

Conclusion
As the report came to its closure, it was found out that the report dealt with the different HRM
practices followed within the company Starbucks, and the benefits of those practices were also
mentioned. The purpose and functions of HRM practices were also discussed, and the different
employee legislations were covered in the report. Starbucks maintains proper employee relations
within the company and motivates their employees to put in the proper performance.
11

Reference List
Alagaraja, M., Cumberland, D.M. and Choi, N., 2015. The mediating role of leadership and
people management practices on HRD and organisational performance. Human Resource
Development International, 18(3), pp.220-234.
Bolden, R., 2016. Leadership, management and organisational development. In Gower handbook
of leadership and management development (pp. 143-158). Routledge.
Clair, J. and Milliman, J., 2017. Best environmental HRM practices in the US. In Greening
People (pp. 49-73). Routledge.
Helmreich, R.L. and Merritt, A.C., 2017. Culture at work in aviation and medicine: National,
organisational and professional influences. Routledge.
Hickman, C.R. and Silva, M.A., 2018. Creating excellence: Managing corporate culture,
strategy, and change in the new age. Routledge.
Quirke, B., 2017. Making the connections: using internal communication to turn strategy into
action. Routledge.
Sarvaiya, H., Eweje, G. and Arrowsmith, J., 2018. The roles of HRM in CSR: strategic
partnership or operational support?. Journal of Business Ethics, 153(3), pp.825-837.
Sheehan, C., De Cieri, H., Cooper, B.K. and Brooks, R., 2016. The impact of HR political skill
in the HRM and organisational performance relationship. Australian Journal of
Management, 41(1), pp.161-181.
Thomas, C.H., Roberts, F., Novicevic, M.M., Ammeter, A.P. and Loncar, D., 2018. Familiarity
and Fluid Team Performance: Leadership and HRM Implications. In Research in Personnel and
Human Resources Management (pp. 163-196). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Tracey, J.B., Hinkin, T.R., Tran, T.L.B., Emigh, T., Kingra, M., Taylor, J. and Thorek, D., 2015.
A field study of new employee training programs: industry practices and strategic
insights. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 56(4), pp.345-354.
Vidovic, M. and Farndale, E., 2016. HR departments in multinational corporations.
In International Human Resource Management: Trends, Practices and Future Directions. Nova
Science Publishers, Inc..
Wheeler, A., 2017. Designing brand identity: an essential guide for the whole branding team.
John Wiley & Sons.
12