HRM in Marks & Spencer: Challenges, Job Analysis, and Appraisal

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) issues and challenges faced by Marks & Spencer. It begins with an introduction outlining the competitive environment and the importance of strategic HRM policies. The report then delves into specific issues such as employee productivity, rapid changes in the fashion industry, workplace diversity, and leadership management. It critically analyzes the HRM system, addressing challenges like the contingent workforce and technological advancements. Furthermore, the report explores job analysis, job descriptions, job specifications, and various performance appraisal methods used by HR managers, with a focus on the essay method employed at Marks & Spencer. The report also includes a sample job specification for an HR manager and emphasizes the importance of job descriptions and performance appraisals within the organization.

Issues in HRM Self and Peer
Assessment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1.1 Emerging issues and challenges of human resource management system:..........................1
1.b Critically analyse...................................................................................................................2
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................3
2.a Job description, Job specification and performance appraisal methods................................3
2.b................................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Human resource department faces challenges daily in running their department activities,
although creating the HR strategic polices and direction needs forward thinking as well as
progressive principles. The present report will analyse various challenges and issues faced by
human resource management in the present business environment. The report is in context to
Marks and Spencer, the various issues related to human resource management within the
organisation will be critically analysed in this report. The report will include a brief description
of job description, person specification and performance appraisal methods in order to evaluate
performance of a Human resource manager in Marks and Spencer.
1.1 Emerging issues and challenges of human resource management system:
In today's world where every organizations is facing increased competitive
environment and are more focused on the emerging issues and challenges they are facing.
Human resource management system of Marks & Spencer's, performed wide range of functions
like recruitment process, training process, development process many other task can be
performed by human resource management system. As the technology has been changing in all
field, their working culture system has also being changed. Discussing and planning strategies,
HRM issues facing the company in deciding to create business units and adopt structural change,
and the extent to which M&S needs to overhaul HRM and its core business. With M&S, rapid
organizational transformation is the main issue. Over the past few years, M&S introduced
several HR initiative that would provide state of the art staff training and thus engaging their
staff in better quality work. The management system of M&S, will manage the recruitment
process, implementing the strategies and enhancing the production level of company to over
come such challenges which the company is facing such as rapid Changes in the trends,
workplace diversity, leadership management, employee productivity, globalization, etc(Keegan
and et.al ,2018).
Following are some of the most common issues and challenges which the human resource
management of Marks & Spencer's are facing are:
1. Employee Productivity: Employee productivity plays a crucial role to maintain a status
in the market. If the employee management is not good in the company than the outcome
will be also affected. So M&S has adopted such strategy that would cultivate employee
trust and loyalty in all segments of the business so that they can better engaged in
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company operation. This company wide engagement means each employee understand
their role and responsibilities, they feel connected with all company and they understand
how their participation makes differences as a whole to company operations.
2. Rapid Changes: Rapid changes in the trends of fashion industries also has a great impact
on the company's human resource management (HRM) team. Adopting or applying these
trends in their clothing or accessories brand will increase there customers and also the
profit revenue.
3. Workplace Diversity: Workplace diversity plays a very important part in the company.
HR of the company is interacting with the employees from the very beginning of their job
so that they feel better and will work more hard for the upliftment of the company. A
good bonding or understanding between employees, management and HR will ensure a
natural customer centric environment in the company.
4. Leadership Management: Leadership management is the key to every successful
business. This applies for Mark & Spencer's also. A good leader will always help his
team to work harder and harder. They motivate the workers to do their best as much as
they can. If the employees feels that they are valued they will have higher commitment
towards their job and this is the main aim of the human resource management of Marks &
Spencer's company(Niea and et.al ,2018).
1.b Critically analyse
Human Resources management is an essential part of every organization and the
information has been available almost every areas such as information technology. Human
resource management performed wide range of functions like recruitment process, training
process, development process many other task can be performed by human resource
management. Human resource management used in IT related work and also used for almost
every field. In the organization faced so many issues and challenges in front of the management
like employees related issues because most of the cases the employee data should be used in non
traditional manner(Gutierrez and et.al, 2018).
There are some issues and challenges faced in human resource management system as follows:
5. Rapid changes: The management of the organization should be quickly changed for both
employee and organizational growth because the market should be changed very fast.
Human resource management team will provide the new opportunities that would be
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helpful for the employee. Marks and Spencer will find those candidates that who has a
good analytical skills that are both useful for organizational and employee. Technology
has been changed in all field and their working culture system been changed. It will
increase the capability of collecting a data or managing a data and It has been changed
the traditional method while new technologies are adopted and most of the information or
data fetched through the human resource management system.
6. Contingent workforce: These issues are related includes part-time work, work from
home employee so that they are not attached with the employee and organisation. Marks
and Spencer give a lot of challenges to the employee and they finding the talented
employee who has ability and technical knowledge to explore the world. Human
resources' management should increase the efficiency level of the company. It will collect
the data and also stored the performance of employee(Moutinho and et.al ,2018).
7. Leadership Management: It is the most important challenges faced for human resource
management because leadership quality can be moved from the potential leaders of the
organization. Management will manage the recruitment process, implementing the
strategies and enhancing the production level of company.
8. Employee Productivity: Human resource management will always focus on maintaining
the high productivity level. Management would focus on the company profit with
minimum cost of production. Some time, faced many challenges task and the result will
not receive according to the organization.
TASK 2
2.a Job description, Job specification and performance appraisal methods
Job analysis is primary technique in human resource management, in this way a human
resource manager try to synthesis, collect and implicate the data or information available with
regards to the employee workforce in concern A human resource manager has to take on job
analysis to choose the right man and assign him the right job.
There are mainly two objectives of job analysis -
 Job description
 Job specification
The important information collected through job analysis is -
1. Size or Nature of organisational structure
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2. Nature of jobs needed
3. Various types or kinds of people to fit that particular structure
4. The link of the job with other jobs
5. Types of academic background and qualifications needed for the job
6. Provision of physical condition to support the practices of the job such as human resource
manager should be effective in selecting right candidates for a job or good in resolving
conflicts among the employees.
Job description
It is an organised real statement consisting job contents in the form of responsibilities and
duties of a specific job. The preparation of job description is very essential just before a vacancy
is advertised. It briefly describes the type and nature of job. This kind of document is descriptive
in nature and also includes all the information and facts with regards to a specific job for
example -
 Designation or title of location and job in the concern
 The nature of operations and duties needed to be preformed in the job
 Nature of responsibility – authority relationships
 Important qualifications that are needed for that job
 Relations of that job with other job in the organisation
 The provisions of working and physical condition or the workplace environment needed
regarding performance of the job.
Advantages of job description
1. It assists in selection and recruitment process
2. It helps the managers or supervisors to assign work to the subordinates so that he can
monitor and guide their performance,
3. It helps in planing related to manpower
4. It also useful in performance appraisal
5. It is helpful in evaluation of job in order to decide remuneration rate for a job
6. It assists in developing training programs
Job or Person Specification
The job specification is a statement that describes minimum human abilities or qualities
acceptable to perform a job roles or responsibilities(Masum and et.al,2018). A Job specification
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converts the job description in a human qualifications so that a job can be performed properly.
Job specification assist to hire a right person for a right job or position. A job specification
includes the following contents -
1. Designation and job title
2. Qualifications and education needed for that particular destination
3. Physical and other attributes related to the job
4. Mental and physical health
5. Abilities and special attributes
6. Dependability and maturity
Advantages of Job specification
 It assists in preliminary screening within the selection process
 It also helps in proving due justification to each and every job
 It helps to design development and training programs for the employees
 It helps managers in monitoring and counselling of the employees
Performance appraisal methods for Human resource managers
There are various performance appraisal methods which can be used for human resource
managers, these methods are as described below -
 Rating scales – Rating scales includes various numerical scales presenting job regarding
performance criteria for example initiative, output, dependability, attitude etc.
 Forces choice method – The series of statement of attributes of employee in the form of
yes or no based questions in developed(Haneda and et.al, 2018).
 Critical incident's method – This method focuses on critical behaviours of employee
which make all the changes and differences in the performance of the employees.
 Essay method – In this approach the individual responsible for the ratings writes down
the employee's description in brief in wide range of categories such as existing
capabilities, promotability of employees and qualification of performing jobs(Olson and
et.al, 2018).
2.b
Job specification for Human resource manager
1. 5 – 6 years of involvement in a place of HR supervisor in a similar segment.
2. Involvement in overseeing and dealing with a particular and expert staff.
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3. Involvement in various sections and territories will be preference and expansion to the
HR parts.
Required Knowledge and Skills.
 Powerful composed verbal and correspondences abilities.
 Collaboration strategies and abilities
 Capability to enhance and upgrade the benefit and efficiency through various human
asset hypotheses and strategies.
Educational programs Vitae
Name of the worker – XYZ
Address-56, second road, UK
Telephone number – 000
Group taking care of, successful correspondence and workforce administration abilities
of Human asset administrator for a long time in Sainsbury. Execution driven and objective
situated Human asset director with noteworthy enrolling, and learning of work and corporate
laws. I am an imaginative and inventive scholar with a snappy basic leadership capacities.
Qualification
 Secondary school from - The American School in London
 Graduation in lone ranger of Management
 MBA in Human asset administration
Key aptitudes -
 Enlistment and choice abilities
 Brisk Problem solver
 Great and viable correspondence
Interview preparation
 Research about the business association.
 Looking at claim aptitudes and capabilities for the activity necessities.
 Getting ready reactions.
 Planing the clothing.
 What to convey should be arranged.
 Non-verbal correspondence ought to be focused.
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 Following up.
Appraisal method used in Marks and Spencer
Appraisal methods or system are usually mismanaged and misunderstood, these methods
are central both to performance management and human resource management. Understanding
the objectives, roles purpose and benefits is essential to each and every employer. Effective
understanding and preparation is needed if the process of appraisal is to be relevant, worthwhile
and successful. The Marks and Spencer uses essay method for performance appraisal effectively.
Importance of job description and appraisal
In this context, Job draw make an ideal protrusive point in classification meetings
because they are easily apprehended by employer. They supply a model from which an appraisal
representation can be preconditioned by piece of cloth the sphere that the staff social unit should
have consummated. Marks and Spencer organisation is focus on Job depict word from the basis
of carrying into action and demeanour standards that are centred on commercial enterprise
objectives. On the other hand, classification scheme that is based upon job draw is likely to be
anti monopoly than one that is supported on personal component such as measurement.
Staff administrative unit and trade unions are by and large keen on categorization
processes to promote change of state and improvement but, unless they believe that the basis of
the classification is just, they won’t buy in to the scheme. Marks and Spencer organisation says
that grouping function will alteration and that it’s not e'er practical to better job draw in every
case. Nevertheless, should make the elbow grease wherever affirm-able to keep job exposit up to
date and the appraisal group meeting gives you the perfect opportunity to discuss them with your
worker. On the other side, job statement makes it much unanalysed to place training necessarily
for the approaching(Cascio and et.al, 2018).
By assessing actual job public presentation against necessitate set out in the occupation
verbal description, can create an improvement plan that is applicable to each worker and to the
institution business concern verifiable. The cognitive process of guarantee carrying into act
direction is effective begins with a common apprehension of what Marks and Spencer is difficult
to achieve. This implementation human action the organization's military mission in such a
manner that social unit members can associate it to their character.
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Conclusion
In the above report concluded the issues faced by Human Resources Manager in
managing the human resources in the organization and identifying the emerging issued in human
resource management. This report also concluded critical challenges faced by human resources'
manger in selection of the employees and the cost of recruitment is also concluded. Critical
description of Job, person specialization and performance appraisal method is evaluated in this
context. The performance and the role of marketing manager and Finance managers also
concluded. Various methods of selection process is also concluded in this assessment. Effective
training programs for improving and advancing the skills of employees is also come to
understood in the above reports. In the above assessment came to understand about the
recruitment, selection and appraisal processes. The various duties and managerial roles in Human
Resources Management is concluded in this report.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cascio, W., 2018. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill Education.
Olson, E.M. And et.al, 2018. The application of human resource management policies within
the marketing organization: The impact on business and marketing strategy
implementation. Industrial Marketing Management. 69. pp.62-73.
Moutinho, L. and Vargas-Sanchez, A. eds., 2018. Strategic Management in Tourism, CABI
Tourism Texts. Cabi.
Nie, D. and et.al, 2018. Effects of responsible human resource management practices on female
employees’ turnover intentions. Business Ethics: A European Review. 27(1). pp.29-41.
Keegan, A., Ringhofer, C. and Huemann, M., 2018. Human resource management and project
based organizing: Fertile ground, missed opportunities and prospects for closer
connections. International Journal of Project Management. 36(1). pp.121-133.
Gutierrez-Gutierrez. and et.al, 2018. The role of human resource-related quality management
practices in new product development: A dynamic capability perspective. International
Journal of Operations & Production Management. 38(1). pp.43-66.
Masum, A.K. and et.al, 2018. Intelligent Human Resource Information System (i-HRIS): A
Holistic Decision Support Framework for HR Excellence. INTERNATIONAL ARAB
JOURNAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 15(1). pp.121-130.
Haneda, S. and Ito, K., 2018. Organizational and human resource management and innovation:
Which management practices are linked to product and/or process innovation?. Research
Policy. 47(1). pp.194-208.
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