Evaluating HRM Practices: A Case Study of Arcadia Group's Performance

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices within the Arcadia Group, a multinational retailing company. The study delves into the core functions of HRM, including recruitment, selection, and employee relations, highlighting their purpose and impact on organizational performance. The report examines the pros and cons of various recruitment and selection approaches, evaluating their effectiveness in attracting and retaining talent. It also explores the benefits of effective HRM practices for both employers and employees, such as promoting positive behavior, building a flexible workplace, and fostering a motivated workforce. Furthermore, the report assesses the importance of employee relations and the role of employment legislation in creating a healthy working environment. The analysis includes a discussion of the Minimum Wages Act and the Health and Safety Act, emphasizing their significance in shaping HRM strategies and ensuring compliance. The report concludes by evaluating the overall effectiveness of HRM practices in Arcadia Group, offering insights into how these practices contribute to the company's competitive advantage and overall success.

Improving HRM
practices in Arcadia
group

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................1
P1 Purpose and functions of HRM .............................................................................................1
P2 Pros and Cons of recruitment and selection approaches .......................................................2
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................3
P3 Benefits of HRM practices ....................................................................................................3
P4 Evaluate the effectiveness of human resource practices .......................................................5
TASK 3 ...........................................................................................................................................5
P5 Importance of employee relation ..........................................................................................5
P6 Elements of employment legislation .....................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERNCE ....................................................................................................................................8
.........................................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Human Resource Management is the process through which employees can be managed
in a structured manner as it involves the functions of recruitment, selection, placement,
induction, training and development, compensation, benefits etc. Along with this, one of the
primal objective of HRM is to acquire, develop and retain best talent within an organisation
(Banfield, Kay and Royles, 2018). This report is based upon Arcadia Group, a multinational
retailing company which is established in the year of 2002. It is headquarter at London, UK and
deals into clothing, accessories and shoes with more than 2500 outlets and hundred franchises
across the globe. This study involves goal and function of HRM, recruitment and selection
approaches, advantages of human resource practices. Finally, various employment legislation
relation to HR in order to make best strategic decision.
TASK 1
P1 Purpose and functions of HRM
It is is highly concentrating department in every enterprise as it as it directly link with an
increasing productivity of an organisation by effective utilisation of employees. Moreover, it
plays an integral role in managing personnel and workplace culture by providing encouragement
and motivation to employees which leads them to generate high level of satisfaction and
enhanced profitability ratio. In regard of Arcadia Group, this business functions helps its
employer to build a positive relationship with every departments which add value to subordinates
as well as improves company's brand image. Some of the purpose of human resource
management in Arcadia Group are as follows:
Promote working culture:It signifies that creating a better working condition which
keeps every manpower positive and energetic towards the achievement of organisational goals.
Along with this, HRM takes an initiative to recognise personnel effort in public by honouring
them with prizes or certificates which encourage Arcadia Group's subordinates to put their full
contribution to accomplish company's vision within prescribed limit that improves overall
performance of firm within an industry (Bratton and Gold, 2017).
Engage employees: It is another aim of human resource function to boost manpower's
morale and motivate them for put their full effort in order to achieve company's pre determined

goal. Moreover, it enable Arcadia Group to render enormous platform to employees growth and
development that enlarge firm's volume of sales and profit margin.
However, it perform two set of function which is managerial and operational and each of
them contains specific activities to act. Some of the functions which Arcadia Group implies in
their business function is given below:
Directing: It involves various activities like communication, leadership and motivation as
well as provide proper guidance to employees so that they can accomplish their task in an
effective and efficient way. Furthermore, it helps Arcadia Group to maintain the group morale as
well as motivating subordinates to strive for better performance.
Compensation: It one of the key element for personnel motivation and satisfaction with
enterprise working environment. However, it assist Arcadia Group to provide fair and better
reward to their employees which lead them to attain high level of productivity and proficiency
rate in a marketplace.
Thus, HRM is an important aspect for Arcadia Group as it help them to generate healthy
working condition that motivate subordinates to work enthusiastically and enhance company's
profit margin in a better manner.
P2 Pros and Cons of recruitment and selection approaches
In a competitive world, hiring a talented or skilled candidate for an organisation becomes
a huge challenging factor for every manager or leader of a company. Hence, it is an integral role
in business function as it enable the company to recruit a suitable personnel from the available
pool of applicants and based on that select a right candidate and place them in an appropriate job
profile for enhancing Arcadia Group's proficiency in an innovative way (Brewster, 2017).
However, there are few approaches for recruitment and selection, and each of them contains its
own strength and weakness which is described below:
Recruitment
It is the procedure of searching personnel for employment and stimulating them to apply
for jobs in an organisations. Some of the ways which Arcadia Groups applies within their
business operation is given below:
Publication: It is the standard practice to communicate regarding available job in an open
forum such as company's website. This allows the public to see all relevant and acquirable

employment and creates an environment of open competition for Arcadia Group's vacant
positions.
Strength Weakness
 It handles high volumes of applications
in a consistent way and can speed up
the recruitment cycle and contour
administration (Brewster, Brookes and
Gollan, 2015).
 It becomes discriminatory for those
individuals who are not computer
literate and sometime restricts them
potential candidates to apply for
specific job.
Selection
It is an activity of choosing right personnel among large number of applicants in order to
explore an organisation performance and brand image within an industry. Hence, few methods
which Arcadia Group implies in selecting manpower for their company are as follows:
Psychological Testing: This process is used to measure person's capabilities and
behavioural style by analysing their body language , gestures, personality etc. in order to fill the
vacant job position in an establishment.
Advantages Disadvantages
 It provide valuable insights of applied
candidates to recruiters or mangers
which helps them to make best decision
making for the growth of company's
proficiency.
 To carry out this process, it impose
huge amount of cost to conduct, for
using re- usable materials, training
administration and more.
Hence, these process helps Arcadia Group to hire or select suitable candidate for their
organisation in order to obtain maximisation of profit with an optimum utilisation resources.
TASK 2
P3 Benefits of HRM practices
In Arcadia, there are number of HRM practices undertaken to make sure that
organisational objectives are fulfilled. Extensive training, selective hiring and contingent

compensation and rewards are some of the practices focused in Arcadia. There is a system of
personnel management which combine the goal of individual with objectives of an organisation
and forms the development action. They take decisions regarding pay roll, performance
appraisal, job evaluation, labour law compliance, training administration, job recruitment,
maintaining fair work environment, planning growth and related task. It provide various benefit
to both employer and employee which are described below-
Benefit to Employer-
 Promotion Positive Behaviour – The HRM practices forms positive working
environment and increases productivity and keep employee happy through providing
rewards for desire behaviour of employee. In Arcadia there is a proper formulation of
performance evaluation and reward management system which ensures that productivity
of the employees improves (Friedman, 2017).
 Building a Flexible workplace – Flexibility is required for diverse workforce working in
an organisation. It includes flexible work environment, work schedules, communication
formats and work assignment. Arcadia has formed various strategy to form a flexible
environment under which employees can work according to their schedule and
convenience which ultimately leads to round the clock working and positive work
culture. This flexibility in working practices leads to retention of employees and higher
productivity.
Benefit to employee-
 Motivated workforce – Managers help employee to feel competent and make them
positively work of the company which makes employee to feel motivated. In Arcadia
there is a proper conflict management system it makes employee feel that they also
belong with organisation and they work for it more effectively and feel motivated.
Additionally HRM practices relating to employee training and appraisal assure that they
are fairly rewarded for the work done by them (Harrison and Lock, 2017).
 Holistic Development Employees – The HRM practices increases the workers
knowledge and enhance their skill by providing proper training and guidance. In Arcadia
talent management is used to develop the talent of employees which enhances their level
of performance and enhanced workers skill increases the morale of employee and make
them feel confident. The employees are provided with an opportunity to achieve

improvement on personal and professional grounds ensuring skill and career
development.
P4 Evaluate the effectiveness of human resource practices
This element plays a vital role as it gives competitive advantage to an enterprise. Along
with this, it is a process of bringing people and organisation together so that the goals of each re
met in an efficacious and efficient manner. However, Arcadia Group has got its formalized HR
practices bundles which has direct impact on the employees performance and productivity. It
generates various benefits like flexible job platform, cross training, team work etc. which lead
firm to explore their proficiency ratio (Lu, Zhu and Bao, 2015). Hence, some of the effectiveness
of HR practices in Arcadia Group business function is described below:
Enhancing employees performance: This practice enable company's manager to
encourage or support their personnel to put their full contribution towards the acquirement of
business goals or vision which leads Arcadia Group to improves their overall performance as
well as attaining high level of productivity and profitability ratio (Alfes and et. al., 2013).
Generating flexible workplace: HRM tools helps an establishment to adapt new business
opportunity and expand their operation to various geographical region which benefits them with
managing diverse culture. Along with this, it provides enormous platform to Arcadia Group's
employees which maximise company's proficiency and add value to brand image within a
marketplace.
Thus, HR practices has a great and positive influence over Arcadia Group's overall
performance as it enable them to build a better relationship with employees that explore firm
sales growth and profit margin in an impressive and productive way (Marchington and et. al.,
2016).
TASK 3
P5 Importance of employee relation
In present scenario of organisation culture, manpower relation are considered as the
pillars of an enterprise with potential skills in their fields in order to accomplish pre determined
vision or objective in a productive way. It includes maintaining a work environment that satisfies
the needs of individual employees and management by improving personnel morale, building

company culture, conveying expectation. Hence, the benefits of employee relation within
Arcadia Group is described below:
Reduces Conflicts: When an working environment is efficient and friendly the extent of
dispute within the workplace is decreases. Along with this, less conflict results in Arcadia
Group's employees being able concentrate on tasks at hand and they are therefore more
productive.
Increased morale: A better or healthy relationship helps Arcadia's personnel to get more
motivation and satisfaction with working culture that assist them to take participate in business
activities in order to expand an organisation proficiency ratio (Mosakowski, 2017).
Hence, employee relation is an integral part of Arcadia Group which helps them to
enlarge their sales growth and develop its potentiality to acquire profitability.
P6 Elements of employment legislation
It is an activity or procedure which monitors and directs company's operation and
functions in order to create an impressive or productive employment atmosphere which leads
them to achieve increased level of productivity and profit margin (The employment act. 2019).
Hence, there are few legislation or laws which help Arcadia Group to develop a healthy working
culture, that explained below:
Minimum Wages Act, 1998: The key element of this legislation is to provide fair and
better pay-off to employees working in an organised sector. However, it helps Arcadia Group's
manager to recognise its workforce effort and helps them to make best strategic decision to
render them best reward which generate high level of satisfaction and boost personnel morale.
Health and Safety Act, 1974: This is the primary piece of legislation which governs
workplace health and safety in UK. Hence, it assist Arcadia Group to provide adequate training
to staff as well as adapt all modern or best equipments for company which ensures increase in
sales growth and proficiency in an effective manner.
Thus, these employment legislation enable Arcadia Group to render high level of
employee satisfaction which results in enhancing company's profit margin as well as aid them to
protect the welfare of workforce in a better manner (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez, eds., 2018).

CONCLUSION
From the preceding report, it has been summarised that human resource management is
an important part of a firm as it help them to manage and monitor the business operation or
function in an innovative and creative style. Along with this, a best recruitment process enable
firm to hire all suitable and relevant personnel which provide their full effort in order to improve
overall performance of company. Moreover, employee relation enhance working environment of
an organisation and bring high level of satisfaction which add value to firm as well as enlarge
brand image. Apart from this, HR practices benefits employer and employee as well as allow
them to implement fair decision in order to expand enterprise productivity. Moreover, various
employment was enable company to maintain a disciplined working atmosphere for acquiring a
positive perception from personnel that rises firm profit margin in an innovative and creative
style.

REFERNCE
Books and journals
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Chelladurai, P. and Kerwin, S., 2017. Human resource management in sport and recreation.
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The employment act. 2019. [online] Available
through<https://cartwrightking.co.uk/areas-of-practice/Employment/employee-rights/>/.