ASDA HRM: Workforce Planning, Employee Relations, and Legislation

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices within ASDA, a multinational supermarket retail company. It explores the purpose and functions of HRM in workforce planning and resourcing, highlighting the importance of balancing employer and employee needs. The report evaluates the effectiveness of different recruitment and selection approaches, including internal and external methods, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. It further examines the benefits of various HRM practices, such as training and flexible organization systems, for both employers and employees, and assesses their impact on ASDA's profitability and productivity. The analysis extends to internal and external factors influencing HRM decision-making, with a focus on employee relations and employment legislation. Finally, the report illustrates the application of HRM practices in a work-related context, providing specific examples relevant to ASDA's operations.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
1

Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................3
Task 1:.............................................................................................................................................4
LO1 Explain the purpose and scope of Human Resource Management in terms of resourcing an
organization with talent and skills appropriate to fulfill business objectives..................................4
P1 Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing for the chosen organization............................................................................................4
P2 Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and selection for
the chosen organization...................................................................................................................6
LO2 Evaluate the effectiveness of the key elements of Human Resource Management in an
organization.....................................................................................................................................8
P3 Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within the chosen organization for both the
employer and employee...................................................................................................................8
P4 Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising the chosen
organizations profit and productivity.............................................................................................11
Task 2:...........................................................................................................................................12
LO3 Analyze internal and external factors that affect Human Resource Management decision-
making, including employment legislation....................................................................................12
P5 Analyze the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-
making. For the chosen organization.............................................................................................12
P6 Identify the key elements of employment legislation and the impact it has upon HRM
decision-making for the chosen organization................................................................................14
LO4 Apply Human Resource Management practices in a work-related context..........................17
P7 Illustrate the application of HRM practices in a work-related context, using specific examples
for the chosen scenario..................................................................................................................17
Conclusion:....................................................................................................................................18
Reference list:................................................................................................................................19
2

Introduction:
Human resource management of an organization is the department concerned with the
maintenance and management of the system and it employees. There are certain functions that
the human resource department of an organization. The principle function of the HR department
is maintenance of the benefits of the employees and staffs. All the issues and complain that the
employees report are addressed by the human resource department. Along with this the HR team
addresses the payrolls and other benefits like the health benefits, pension plans and other
agendas.
In this research project, we have considered ASDAUK; this multinational supermarket retail
company is renowned all around the world and is headquartered in the United Kingdom. The
human resource department of this organization focuses on an assortment of duties and
functions, which focuses on the environment within the system. The functions of the HR wing of
the company determine the overall business scenario of the company.
3

Task 1:
LO1 Explain the purpose and scope of Human Resource Management in terms of
resourcing an organization with talent and skills appropriate to fulfill business objectives
P1 Explain the purpose and the functions of HRM, applicable to workforce planning and
resourcing for the chosen organization.
Purposes of HRM
Human resource management is a system through which the human resource manager manages
the people in an organization (Stone et al., 2015). A successful human resource management in
an organization maintains the balance between the employers and the workforce. A large
organization has various departments and employees and the HR manager has to manage them.
There are various purposes of human resource management applicable to workforce planning
and resourcing
Hiring new talents from the market and retaining internal employees are the major purposes of
an HR manager in an organization. ASDA is one of the best retailers in the United Kingdom and
the HR manager in ASDA is responsible for the recruitment and selection of the new talents
from the market (Taylor et al., 2015). The HR manager recruits and selects new talents through
screening and interviewing. The HR manager promotes the internal employees in a higher post
and thus, retains them. The main purpose of the human resource department of ASDA is to
utilize the organizational resources and thus, develop the skills and competency of the employees
in the company. Thus, the HR manager of ASDA optimizes the productivity of the company
with the workforce of the company. The HR manager in the human resource department makes
the people in ASDA coordinated and thus, helps to meet the objectives of the company. The HR
manager also, by using various human, non-human resources and technologies, focuses on
enhancing the performance of the employees and thus, helps to achieve the organizational goals.
4

The other purpose of the HR manager in ASDA is to motivate employees to perform well and
develop their performance through various human resource practices.
Functions of HRM
The HR manager of ASDA considers the employees as resource of the company regarding
workforce planning and resourcing and thus, gains in the competitive market. The main
functions of the HR manager in ASDA is to align the human resources with the goals of the
company, to make the employees of the company satisfied in regard to their jobs, make change
or modifications wherever necessary in the company, recruits and selects new candidates in the
company and retains existing employees in the company. It is also the functions of the HR
manager in the HRM department to train both the existing and new employees to develop their
skills and competency. The HR manager understands the skills of each individual employee and
allocates their tasks to help them perform their tasks effectively (Swierz III et al, 2017). The HR
management of ASDA introduces the ethics related the employment. Business and employment
ethics are important to be understood for both the management staffs and the workforce. The
HR manager of ASDA, through the resourcing, hire and recruit new candidates from the market,
makes them trained and educates for both their career development and productivity of the
company.
In association with the workforce planning and resourcing in the company, the HR manager in
ASDA follows various HRM models to perform his or her activities. The best model of HRM
suggests that there should be a relationship between the organizational objectives and the
employees of ASDA. The best practice of HRM suggests that all the employees should be
motivated by the HR manager to meet the goals of the company on time. Irrespective of all the
HRM models, the HRM policies are always people focused.
5

P2 Explain the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to recruitment and
selection for the chosen organization
There are two types of basic recruitment and selection processes and they are the internal and
external recruitment and selection processes. The HR manager in ASDA follows these two
recruitment processes.
Internal recruitment and selection process: In an Internal recruitment process in ASDA, the
HR manager uses the internal sources to fill a vacancy with an existing employee of the
company. Through this internal system, an employee is promoted to the higher post with a high
salary and better benefits in the company. The strengths of this internal system are the following:
Strengths
 The internal recruitment process is much easier and less-time consuming to follow. It is
more cost- efficient as no advertisement and screening cost is involved in this system.
The HR manager does not need to arrange and advertize for the right candidates
(Humburg and Van der Velden, 2015).
 The HR manager already knows an internal candidate well, his skills and capabilities. He
can promote a candidate at the right position, as he knows how the candidate can
perform.
 Promoting a staff internally is a good practice to motivate him through a reward. In this
way, the HR manager of ASDA can recognize the hardworking capacity of a particular
employee. The employee becomes satisfied after getting reward and he is retained in the
company (Downey et al., 2015).
 The existing employees get familiar with the culture of the company and his motivation
thus, increases him to perform well in the company. With the enriched culture, the brand
image of ASDA has enriched in the minds of the customers.
Weaknesses:
6

 Through the internal recruitment and selection process, no new idea comes in the
organization. The existing employees often think that they will get the senior post after a
senior person will leave his or her post. Thus, productivity decreases.
 A new vacancy will be created within ASDA when an existing employee is promoted to a
senior post.
 It is not possible to promote every employee at the same time in ASDA. When one
employee is promoted to a particular post, the other employee may be offended thinking
that they are overlooked for the promotion or they may think that there is a partiality
regarding the promotion.
External recruitment and selection process: Through the external recruitment process, the HR
manager in ASDA searches new candidates in the market to fill vacant position in the company.
The HR manager hires candidates from the external market through advertisement, screening and
interview (Sarker, 2018). The strengths and weaknesses of external recruitment process are the
following:
Strengths
 This system brings new talent in ASDA as new candidates from outside market come in
the company. The new talents help innovation and creativity in company’s products and
services (Davis et al., 2016).
 The chances of resentment among the internal employees are less in this system.
 External system of recruitment is a source of new vacancies to the new candidates who
want to change their company.
 Many new candidates are invited and can be tasted through interview and screening.
Weaknesses
 The external process of recruitment is a costly process of recruitment as it includes the
cost of advertisement, screening and interview. The HR manager of ASDA should
consider this.
 The external process is a lengthy process.
 Sometimes, the candidates from outside market may not be skilled and competent. In
such a case, the company suffers.
7

 The HR manager of ASDA cannot be sure that a candidate from outside market can cope
with the culture of ASDA.
LO2 Evaluate the effectiveness of the key elements of Human Resource Management in an
organization
P3 Explain the benefits of different HRM practices within the chosen organization for both
the employer and employee.
There are many benefits of different HRM practices within the chosen organization for both the
employer and employees of ASDA. The benefits are the following:
HRM
practices
Details of benefits Employer’s benefit Employees’ benefits
Recruitment
and
selection
process
The HR manager of ASDA
resorts to the internal
recruitment policy when
there is a vacancy of higher
level like managerial post. In
such a case, HR manager of
the company thinks that it is
better promote an internal
candidate to an internal
higher position of the
company. The HR manager
resorts to the external
recruitment process when
there is a vacancy in a junior
post like storekeeper,
accounts clerk and some
others. Through these two
The employers of ASDA
can retain their
employees on long-term
basis in a cost effective
way and thus, the
employees provide the
growth and development
of the company. The
external recruitment
process fetches
innovation in the
organization and thus, it
helps the productivity in
the business of the
company.
The recruitment and
selection process of
ASDA, be it internal
or external are
beneficial to the
employees of ASDA
as both the systems
provide them
development and
progress in their
career. Through the
internal recruitment,
high employee
retention is
maintained in the
company, which
makes the employees
8

processes, both the employer
and the employees enjoy
benefits.
skilled. Through
external recruitment
process, the outside
candidates get
opportunity to enter
ASDA.
Training
and
development
Training program arranged
by the HR manager in ASDA
provides continuous skills
and knowledge to the
employees of ASDA. Both
the employers and employees
of ASDA enjoy benefits in
their career (Nuechterlein et
al., 2016).
The managers and the
other staffs at higher
level can take training
and acquire knowledge
regarding the products
and services of the
company. The pioneers
of the company can make
the staffs trained and
skilled and thus, ensures
the productivity of the
company
Through training
programs, the
employees can gain
knowledge and skills
and these skills help
them to have
opportunities for both
ASDA and other
companies as well in
the market.
A flexible
organization
The recruitment and selection
systems fetch flexibility to
the organization and as a
result both the employers and
the employees have
functional flexibility in the
company. These practices
are beneficial to both the
employer and the employees
From the aspect of the
employer, being a
flexible company to its
employees, ASDA has
always been the best
company to its
employees.
Employees always
expect a flexible
organization. A
flexible policy is
beneficial to the
employees of ASDA
as they cope with any
change in the
organization and they
are eligible to get
higher benefits form
the company.
Payment Reward system is an The rewarding system is Reward system is a
9

and reward
system of
HR
effective method in a
company to motivate
employees through various
monetary and non-monetary
rewards based on their
performance in the company.
The HR manager of ASDA
motivates employees through
this reward system
beneficial to the
employers of ASDA
because it provides the
company a bargaining
power among a number
of employees. This
system helps the
employees to be
motivated to perform the
best. Thus, the
employers can achieve
the best.
great benefit to the
employees of ASDA
because through these
monetary and non-
monetary rewards,
employees of ASDA
get the actual price of
their performance
from their employer
(Stone et al., 2015).
Workplace
culture
The recruitment and selection
through the HR practice in
ASDA involves a specific
work culture of the company.
Specific responsibilities are
assigned to particular
employees according to their
job performance.
The employers of ASDA
gain a sustainable culture
of the company through
the recruitment and
selection processes of the
company.
Through the enriched
culture of ASDA, the
employees get a
chance to participate
in the valuable
decision-making in
the company. Thus,
through enriched
culture, their
knowledge and culture
enhances and their
mistakes are reduced.
Performanc
e
managemen
t of the
company
The HR manager of ASDA
makes the performance
management program in the
company through appraisal
and rewarding to the
employees according to their
work performance (Mone and
The performance
management program is
beneficial to the
employers of ASDA as
they can identify skilled
and competent employees
from among a large
Performance
management program
is beneficial to the
employees of ASDA
because through this
system, they can
identify their
10

London, 2018). number of employees and
engage then to the right
post.
weaknesses and areas
of improvements.
Table 1: HRM practices and benefits
Source: (Created by learner)
P4 Evaluate the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising the chosen
organizations profit and productivity
The following are the evaluation of the effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of
rising ASDA’s profit and productivity:
 The internal recruitment and selection process has helped the pioneers of ASDA to retain
their employees and create the productivity. The external recruitment policy has fetched
fresh talents that has innovated new retail food and non-food products and services. The
customers’ needs are fulfilled leading to the profitability of the company.
 Through learning and development programs, the managers of ASDA have made the
employees skilled and have retained them in the company for a long time. Thus, the
sustainability of the employees has enriched the culture of the company leading to its
productivity.
 The flexibility of ASDA through the HRM policies has enriched the culture of the
company. Through the flexibility of the organization, ASDA has become the best
company to its employees. It has increased the brand image of the company (Way et al.,
2018).
 The appraisal system and the reward system have made the employees of ASDA skilled
and competent through motivation. The employer on the one hand has retained the skilled
employees through rewarding according to the performance of the employees and the
employees on the other hand, have been satisfied to be apprised and rewarded by the
company. Thus, the company has gained profitability through the appraisal and reward
system (Chadwick et al., 2015).
11

Task 2:
LO3 Analyze internal and external factors that affect Human Resource Management
decision-making, including employment legislation
P5 Analyze the importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-
making. For the chosen organization
Employment relations can be defined as the endeavor that an organization presents in order to
have a transparent and just relationship approach towards its employees. Every organization
needs to implement strategies and ideas by which the correlation and association between the
management and the subordinates and employees in order to have a stable business process and
the efficiency of the functions can be maintained. Employment legislation is the specified laws
and legislations that the government presents which primarily focus on the parameters affecting
employees. These laws and legislations affect the overall business process and the parameters
affecting the welfare and wellbeing of the employees (Cascio 2018).
In any business, organization there needs to be a transparent outline and structure by which the
business processes are controlled. Strategic decision making process is mandatory in order to
achieve the presented goals and objectives. Better relationship with the employees will boost the
business process and if an organization decides to involve the employees for business decisions
then there is an opportunity for the organization to flourish.
12