Human Resource Management Report: M&S in International Markets

This report analyzes the Human Resource Management (HRM) practices of Marks and Spencer (M&S), a multinational retailer, focusing on its operations in Asian markets. The report explores how M&S utilizes strategic HRM concepts to create value, including employee engagement and brand image construction. It examines the influence of regional and national cultures on HRM practices, particularly in Asia, and describes the employment models and organizational levers used by the company. The report also differentiates between HRM and personnel management, utilizing Storey's distinguishing points, and discusses the significance of local culture in recruitment, firing, and international expansion. Furthermore, it examines differences in employment laws in an international context and provides recommendations for enhancing organizational performance.

Human Resource
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Examine how organisation utilised strategic human resource concepts to create of value in the
firm..............................................................................................................................................4
Analyse the influence of regional and national culture on the practices of Human resource
management in Asian country.....................................................................................................5
Describe suitable employment model and organisational levers used by the company to create
value. ..........................................................................................................................................6
Utilizing Storey's distinguishing points between HRM and personnel management as a
standard , describe HRM or personnel management practices that are being conducted by the
firm in Asian market ..................................................................................................................7
Significance of local culture in recruitment and firing process and HRM practices during
expansion of company in international market...........................................................................9
Examine the difference in context of employment laws when international human resource
management changes local business system.............................................................................10
Recommendations.....................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management is termed as a procedure of employing people,
compensating them, training them, developing policies and strategies to retain them. In addition
to this, it is a strategic concept for the effective management of individuals working within an
organisation as it help in attaining competitive edge at marketplace. It is developed in relation to
enhance the employees performance and productivity. It is important for the human resource
professionals to manage human capital of organisation by emphasizing on the developed policies
as well as procedures (Cooke, 2018). HRM plays vital role within an organisation as it consist of
activities such as training and development, employee engagement, recruitment and selection,
compensation, employee benefit and so on.
Along with this, HRM is also evolved with the aspects of personnel management that is
beneficial in order to manage staff members undertaking the behaviour & suitable response for
particular situations. It is significant for an organisation to ensure that an effective relationship is
maintained that take place by developing policies effectively. Apart from this, in context to
managing the prominent advantages or benefits of staff members tends to consider proper
development of leave program, compensate structure & other advantages as well. Human
resource professionals work in the area of labour relation with unionised staff members that is
significant for an organisation.
In the present report, Marks and Spencer is taken into consideration. It is a multinational
retailer that specialise in offering food products, clothing and home products. The company was
established in the year 1884 and its head office is located in London, UK. The organisation has
presence in Asian country that is China and so on (Haghighi, Bijani and Parhizkar, 2019). The
report will cover HR strategies that tends to develop value for organisation. In addition to this,
there is a discussion about the influence of national and regional culture on HRM practices
within the Asian country. Along with this, there is difference among human resource
management and personnel management as a benchmark. Moreover, it covers the effective
difference between employment laws and some recommendations is given in order to enhance
performance of organisation.

MAIN BODY
Examine how organisation utilised strategic human resource concepts to create of value in the
firm
HRM plays a significant role in helping an organisation accomplish their goals
effectively. HR strategies are practices adopted by an organisation which help the organisation
develop and manage their workforce in a way which improve performance of the company .
Marks and Spencer utilises various concepts of strategic human resource development to build
competent workforce which which generate value for the organisation by maintaining positive
working atmosphere, increasing productivity and enhancing consumer satisfaction. The
respective organisation implements such HR concepts which increase overall output of the
organisation and enhance quality of their products and services. Several ways in which these
concepts help the organisation produce value are provided below:
Increase employee engagement: Employee engagement is an important element which
helps an organisation reach their desired goals swiftly and effectively. Increase in employee
engagement provides an organisation motivated workforce which is encouraged to utilize their
skills for growth of the organisation. In relation to HR, this is achieved by implementing policies
which construct a positive working environment along with establishment of proper
communication channels which allow employees to contribute their ideas and opinions in
decision making process of the company (Wilkinson, Donaghey and Freeman, 2020). The HRM
division at Marks and Spencer improves employee engagement by building portals where
employees can share their ideas about various operations conducted at the organisation to the
highest authority and maintains impartial working environment which increases transparent
communication between management and employees.
Brand image construction: Positive brand image helps an organisation promote their
brand by associating the company with specific attributes that improve their market presence and
increase their brand equity. This generates value for the organisation in the form of brand
recognition and enhanced consumer engagement. In context of HR, this process is completed by
recruiting employees which understand the main elements of the organisation's brand. The HRM
department at M&S recruits employees which incorporate the brand image and organisational
values in their mannerisms and reflect them during consumer engagement and enhance consumer
experience in ways which reflect present brand of the organisation. This practice helps the

company associate their brand with attributes of their choice and elevates their brand image in
the consumer's psyche.
Analyse the influence of regional and national culture on the practices of Human resource
management in Asian country
Culture influence and guide the behaviour of people prevailing within the society. In
addition to this, it is analysed that culture shape the personality of a person and also impact on
their level of performance. Different culture have different values, beliefs, opinions, mind sets
and opinions as well that is directly and indirectly incorporate on the personality of a person. The
national and regional culture develop an influence on HR procedure and policies as well. It also
impact on the decision making process that is taken by a business entity for its employees
prevailing with the company. There are various human resource management functions related to
Marks and Spencer are impacted by culture in which they are operate in ( Song, Fisher and
Kwoh, 2019). It is significant for a company to gain insight about the national and regional
culture so that all the activities and operations is implemented in a proper manner and there is
development of trust and faith. The national concerns and issues directly impact on the practices
led by HRM of Marks & Spencer. For instance, the Pandemic that is COVID-19 affect globally
and has wider influence on the HRM practices of respective organisation. The organisation is
giving work to its employees at their location only in order to safeguard them from this virus.
Along with this, Marks and Spencer is focusing on analysing the culture of regions where it is
operating as it help them to develop policies in a way that meet with their culture in an effective
manner. The organisation is leaving no stone unturned for aligning their culture & capitalise on
the manner to enhance its market within the respective sector. With the help of this, the
organisation is able to maintain its performance and market share as well (Tairu, 2018).
Therefore, it is stated that Marks & Spencer HR practices influenced and guided by the national
as well as regional culture that further help in proper implementation of activities and operations
globally.
Describe suitable employment model and organisational levers used by the company to create
value.
Employment model are methods used by the corporation to recruit talented employees for
completing various operations conducted at the organisation. This involves identification and
implementation of specific recruitment approach for specific position at the organisation. M&S

uses competitive employment model to hire employees as full time or part time workers for the
organisation with salary usually above the minimum pay and provides each employee equal
benefits and rewards to maximise their productivity and enhance their participation in
organisational activities.
The HR division management at the respective organisation uses strategic hiring for
recruiting candidates under this approach (Song, Peng, Wang and Dong, 2018). This exercise
involves formation of strict guidelines and appropriate tests with precise measurement
techniques to select candidates for a particular position. This practice provides the organisation
skilful staff, increases the efficiency of their workforce, enhances healthy competitive spirit
between the employees and gives the organisation competitive edge over their opponents .
Supported employment model involves presence of some supportive structure from the
employer which helps the workers gain knowledge about effective ways of working on their job.
Supervisors, trainers, coaches are invited by the company to provide support to employees
which lack experience and don't have complete skills for the job . M&S hires motivational
leaders and training experts to develop skills in employees with disabilities which help them
thrive in the competitive environment. This practice improves the public image of the company
generates value in the form of positive consumer consensus regarding the company.
The HR department in this context, aims to enhance working environment of the
organisation according to the needs of the employees implements policies which help them grow
in their career and uses the leadership lever to encourage employees recruited through supported
employment . Effective leadership helped the organisation constructively manage the growth
such employees in the favour of the organisation (Hubner and Baum, 2018). Despite such efforts
the organisation is not able to employee many candidates through supported employment method
and relies on competitive employment model for attracting talented employees for the
organisation. This model requires huge financial investment for development and execution of
training programmes.
Utilizing Storey's distinguishing points between HRM and personnel management as a
standard , describe HRM or personnel management practices that are being conducted by
the firm in Asian market
The workforce present in British and Chinese market are vastly different. Chinese workers
require fair remuneration and unprejudiced working environment. They emphasise on receiving

adequate and equal payment among all the staff. The workers in Britain emphasise on following
rules and regulations of the firm and require positive working environment and transparent
company policies. HRM practices focus on ensuring well-being employees while personnel
management provides the staff of the firm motivational elements which increases their
productivity.
Benchmarks Human resource management Personnel management
Communication Human resource management involves
proper and direct flow of information
between all the employees of the
organisation to ensure smooth working of
various operations in the organisation.
M&S conducts various group based tasks
to increase effective communication
between employees and management in
China and implements appropriate
portals to ensure uninterrupted flow of
information between all the departments
of the company.
Personnel management practice
involves individualistic approach
towards communication with
employees. The communication
channels between employees are
indirect and include completing
paperwork and providing
employees required documents
about work culture ad traditions of
the organisation. This department
at Chinese market of M&S aims to
maintain it's performance level
and ensure the culture of the
Chinese citizens is followed.
Job design The HRM department of the respective
organisation in Chinese market
implements policies which encourage
employees to work in group and give
quality results by making a coordinated
effort with their team members.
This department at the Chinese
market of M&S divides various
functions between individuals and
does not initiate exercises that
build team work skills and aims to
build individual abilities of
employees.
Conflict
management
The HRM manager at Marks and
Spencer aims to eliminate conflict at
The personnel management
division resolves conflicts at the

their firm by implementing policies
which look after needs of every
employee and give employees tasks
which require utilisation of their skills.
The department has implemented
policies in their Chinese subsidiaries
which encourage team work and allow
conflict resolution through collaborative
efforts.
workplace temporarily and don't
aim to erase the cause of conflicts
from their core. The personnel
management practices applied at
Chinese market of M&S reduce
conflicts without eliminating core
cause, which leads to conflict
occurrence after short period of
time.
Significance of local culture in recruitment and firing process and HRM practices during
expansion of company in international market
The culture of the location during international expansion of a company has a huge
impact on various HRM practices such as recruitment procedure, discharge process. M&S aims
to understand the cultural practices of smooth and successful expansion of their organisation.
Collection of relevant information about the culture of foreign area help a company formulate
HRM policies which establish the company in the foreign market and set a base for their future
growth.
The selection process of the company is affected by the local culture, M&S needs to invest in
gathering accurate information about the location in which they aim to establish their
organisation and formulate HR policies related to recruitment and hiring in a way which attract
the most talented candidates available (Riccucci, Naff and Hamidullah, 2019). The HR division
needs to modify their selection basis and progress measurement techniques after assessing
cultural and traditional stranded of talent and progress usually recognised in that particular
country.
The respective organisation needs formulate HRM strategies and policies according to
the government regulations of that perform various duties and responsibilities imposed by the
law of that location. This will help the company avoid any legal conflicts and secure their
reputation in the market. The organisation should alter their HRM policies for availing any
government subsidies and construct various CSR initiatives according to the cultural norms of
the country. This will give the company effective results from CSR programmes as they will

have significance within the minds of the consumer and help the company build emotional
relation with them.
The organisation should carefully investigate traditions and current cultural trends of that country
in order to formulate policies related to employee discharge and vacations because
unconventional discharge polices will alienate the employees from the organisation, reduce
employee engagement and satisfaction which will directly impact the overall organisational
output and consumer satisfaction. This will not only cost the company huge financial loss
but also tarnish organisation's reputation at international level. The organisation should invest in
training their employees about cultural sensitivity and aim to increase cultural diversity at the
managing positions of their organisation, so they can handle different viewpoints of culturally
different employees.
Examine the difference in context of employment laws when international human resource
management changes local business system
It is significant to gain insight that globalisation get impact with the change in rules &
regulations, laws and obligations. It is stated that an effective globalisation promotes the
functions of a business entity (Mitchell, B., 2018). The environment nature is dynamic and can
be change at anytime and for this, it is important for Marks and Spencer to prepare themselves
and develop effective strategies so that they can deal with the unknown circumstances and
happenings. There are different laws which impact changes to local business system: Intellectual property: It is analysed that organisation should registered its goods as well
as services and protect them by intellectual property rights. It help respective organisation
to protect themselves from any kind of fraud. It involve trademark, copyright, patent and
so on. Marks and Spencer is one of the renowned organisation and for them it is
significant to make use of all the intellectual property rights. Labour & employment law: Marks and Spencer is one of the renowned and big
organisation that gain success because of its talented and skilful employees. It is
significant for respective company to follow employee law in order to give benefit to its
staff members. Moreover, it is also important for the company to ensure that minimum
wage and working hours is appropriate for the employees.
 International trade compliances: It is determined that organisation should have the
knowledge about the international trade compliances which means that business entity

should follow all the compliances that has impact on the operations and structure of
company. Marks and Spencer is a multinational retail organisation which follow all the
international trade compliances as it trade its product in more than 14 countries. This help
organisation to implement all the activities and operations systematically at local,
national and international level and also decline the level of conflicts as well.
Recommendations
Employees plays a significant role in an organisation as they implement and perform
activities because of which there is attainment of higher growth and success as well. Some of the
recommendations for employers about human resource management practices to ensure increase
in performance is discuss below:
 Training and Development : It is suggested to the higher authorities and employers of
Marks and Spencer to provide training and development session to its employees as it
increase their capabilities, skills and competencies to perform activities and dealing with
them in a proper manner. In addition to this, it improve the efficiency and productivity of
employees that has positive influence on the profitability and revenue of organisation.
Moreover, it raise the confidence level of employees to provide quality service to
customer and deal with then in a proper manner that affect on performance efficiently and
effectively.
 Taking Feedback : The HRM department of Marks and Spencer can take continuous
feedback from its staff members as it help in gaining knowledge about the issues they
faced and about their level of performance. This assist respective organisation to fulfil the
requirements of employees which motivate them to work with full potential to attain
objectives of company with the set time period. Moreover, it can also make use of 360
degree feedback method as a performance management tool as it help in gaining insight
about performance of employees from others that leads to improvements and
enhancement of organisational performance.
 Employee satisfaction : One of the most important factor that is required in order to gain
success and proper implementation of activities is satisfaction of employees (Wang,
2019). It is analysed that Marks and Spencer provide both financial and non-financial
benefits to the employees as per their performance which motivate them to put efforts in
meeting with targets. In addition to this, its higher authorities ensure safety of its

employees and also focus on providing positive working culture to staff members that
leads to raise in productivity which in turn impact on organisational performance
positively.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it has been concluded that human resource management plays
vital role within an organisation as it help in enhancing the productivity of employees and
achievement of objectives timely. It is determined that there are various human resource
strategies that create value for organisation such as performance management, talent acquisition
and many more. It is analysed that national and regional culture impact on the human resource
management practices. Moreover, it is determined that there is difference in employment law
when a business entity is expanding towards the local system from internationally. For the
employers, it is significant to ensure enhancement of organisational performance that take place
by effectively using human resource management practices such as training & development,
performance management, employee satisfaction, compensation, employee engagement and
many more.

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