Marks & Spencer HRM Report: Practices, Benefits, and Profitability

This report provides a detailed analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices at Marks & Spencer (M&S), a multinational retail company. It explores the purpose and functions of HRM, including recruitment and selection, training and development, and their impact on organizational culture and employee productivity. The report discusses the strengths and weaknesses of recruitment approaches, such as social media applications and selection techniques like aptitude tests. It evaluates the benefits of HRM practices like reward management and training for both employees and the employer, emphasizing their role in increasing profitability and productivity. Furthermore, the importance of employee relations in influencing HRM decision-making and the impact of employment legislation are examined. The report illustrates various applications of HRM practices within M&S, highlighting their contribution to achieving organizational goals and maintaining a healthy work environment. This document is helpful for students seeking to understand real-world HRM applications and can be found with other study resources on Desklib.

HUMAN
RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Explain the purpose and functions of HRM. ........................................................................3
P2 Explain the strength and weakness of requirement & selection approaches in an
organisation. ...............................................................................................................................5
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................6
P3 Discuss the benefits of HRM practices for employees and employer...................................6
P4 Evaluate different HRM practices which increase profit and productivity of organisation.
.....................................................................................................................................................7
TASK 3 ...........................................................................................................................................8
P5 Importance of employee relation which influence decision making process of HRM. ........8
P6 Employment legislation and its impact on decision making of HRM. .................................8
TASK 4 ...........................................................................................................................................9
P7 Illustrate different application of HRM practices. ...............................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management refers to a management practice which helps organisation
in properly managing its human resource so that they work for the achievement of common goal
(Banfield and et. al. 2018). Growth and development of an organisation depends on its worker
efficiency and performance. HR refers to a person in an organisation which provide training to
employees and formulate different polices which increase worker's skill and knowledge. For this
report Marks & Spencer is taken into consideration. M&S is a multinational retail company
founded in 1884 with headquarter in London, U.K. It deals in selling home products, cloths and
food products. It has more than 1463 numbers of location all over the world and almost 80,000
employees are efficiently working with it (Marks & Spencer, 2021). This report includes various
HRM practices and strength and weakness of recruitment & selection process. Other than this
benefits of human resource management practices for employees and employers are discuss. It
also includes how employee relation influence HRM decision making.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
P1 Explain the purpose and functions of HRM.
Human resource management refers to a process of selecting a right candidate for a right
job and provide training and development programs which increase their productivity (Berman
and et. al. 2019). In context of Marks and Spencer its HR manager use different strategies and
policy which help in maintain good organisation culture. For success of selected company it's
important to manage all functions and purpose of HRM which are mention below:
Functions of HRM-
 Recruitment & Selection- It refers to an important function of human resource
management which helps organisation in hiring and selecting best candidate for
company. In context of selected firm, this function helps HR manager in identifying
requirement of employees in organisation and fulfil the requirement by selecting a skilled
and experienced employee. HR manager of selected company effectively perform this
function for achieving organisation objective. By selecting best candidate from the pool
of application it will reduce wastage of resources and increase profitability for
organisation. Recruitment & selection process helps HR in managing their workforce

planning. Workforce planning helps management in analysing requirement of employees
in organisation and managing the demand and supply of workers. Workforce planning
define the vacant job position and number of employees required which helps HR
manager to recruit and select employees according to job requirement. (Brewster and et.
al. 2018).
Role of HR manager- Main role of HR manager of selected company while performing this
function is to select a skilled employee for organisation.
Responsibility of HR manager- In context of selected firm, its HR manger is responsible for
attracting more and more candidate to apply for a vacant post in company. And selecting a right
candidate for a right job which add value for company.
 Training & Development- In terms of this it is an essential function of human resource
management which increase knowledge and skills of employees. Training means guiding
and instructing employees which increasing their knowledge and skills related to a
particular work. In context of Marks & Spencer, it HR manger provide different training
and development programmes to their employees. Which motivates them to do work with
their full efficiency and productivity. HR conduct many development activities which
helps employee in their future growth. Development means improve personality, attitude,
adaptability and leadership style of an employee. Workforce planning meet the demand
of employees working in an organisation. Now a day main demand of workers is to
increase their skills and knowledge. By analysing demand and needs of workers with the
help of workforce planning HR of selected firm meet their demand by providing training
to employees.
Role of HR manager- In terms of selected firm, main role of its HR manager is to prepare
different training and development activities for their workers.
Responsibility of HR manager- In context of selected firm, it HR manager has a responsibility
of increase skills and knowledge of their employees for increasing productivity for company.
HRM functions play an essential role in the successfully achieving the objective of
organisation. As training will help in enhancing the efficiency of workers to perform a particular
task while conducting development plan assist in enhancing the level of knowledge of
employees. Which help selected company in efficiently achieving the goal of business. On the

other hand effective recruitment and selection function of HRM will help organization in hiring
best talent for company which assist in successfully achieving the objective of business.
Purpose of HRM- In context of selected firm, human resource management help organisation in
achieving it's goal and maintain a healthy environment in organisation. Various important
purpose of human resource management is mention below:
 Growth and development- Main purpose of human resource management is increase
efficiency and productivity of employees. Which assist organisation in enhancing their
profitability and productivity by successfully achieving organisational goal. In context of
selected firm its HR manger provide training to their employees which increase their
motivation level. Training and development programmes make them to do work with
their full productivity. Workforce planning helps organisation in identifying requirement
of workers in organisation and manage the demand of employees in an organisation in a
effective way, which increase company productivity. (Deyo, 2019).
 Manage organisation environment- For maintain a good reputation and brand image in
market it's important for organisation to maintain a healthy environment inside the
organisation. In context of selected firm, human resource management is working for
managing good environment which reduce labour turnover rate for company. A healthy
environment helps organisation to retain their employees for a long period of time. Which
add value for company and reduce cost of recruitment and training for new employees.
Workforce planning helps HR in analysing requirement of workers in an organisation and
compare it with the actual workforce working in company. Excess and less workforce
both are not good for organisation. Less workforce increase stress level of employee
which cause conflicts in organisation while extra workforce increase cost for company.
So workforce planning is very important for managing environment of organisation.
P2 Explain the strength and weakness of requirement & selection approaches in an organisation.
Recruitment- It refers to a process of attracting more and more candidates to apply for vacant
job in an organisation. Large number of application for a job helps HR manager to select the best
one from all of them. In context of Marks & Spencer, HR use various approaches which are
mention below:
Social media application: It refers to a computer based technology that helps in sharing facts,
ideas, thoughts and information through various networks. Some of the examples of social media

application are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snap-chat, LinkedIn and so on. It is the most
frequently used technique by HR manager of an organisation for attracting more and more
candidates towards company. In context of selected firm they use social media for searching
information related to candidates and inform candidates at a wider range about the vacant job
position in company. Marks & Spencer use various social media applications such as Instagram
and Twitter.
 Strength- With the help of this approach of recruitment process, selected company can
inform a large number of candidates related to a particular vacant job profile. It
savesaves time for organisation because at a single point of time company can attract
more candidates as compare to physical recruitment process (Kim 2019).
 Weakness- In terms of this technique its main weakness for company is that social
media needs requireto stay engaged & active. Social media is regularly changing and if
company does not update itself according to it, this may affect image of company.
Selection- It refers to a process of selecting a right person for a right job (Ko and Ma 2019). In
context of selected firm, its HR manager use different techniques for selecting a best candidate
for vacant post in company. Selecting a right person helps in increasing productivity and
efficiency of company. Technique of selection process are discussdiscussing below:
Aptitude & Profile test- In context of Marks & Spencer, this approach of human resource
management helphelps HR manager in identifying ability of a candidate for performing a
particular task. This approach includes numerical skills, problem solving and so on. This
technique is basically used for analysing strength and weaknesses of a candidate.
 Strength- In context of selected firm, aptitude & Profile test helps HR in analysing
ability of a candidate against a particular task.
 Weakness- Main weakness of this technique is that it’s not necessary if a candidate
successfully perform a task is also capable in achievement of organisation goal. As this
test is incompetent to test soft skills of an individual, therefore, these testes fail at this
criteria(Mitchell, 2018).

TASK 2
P3 Discuss the benefits of HRM practices for employees and employer.
Human resource management practices refers to the polices which are required to
perform the routines of employees in an organisation. It includes employee staffing, performance
management, compensation management, staff development, involvement of employees in
decision making and so on. In context of selected firm, its HR use different HRM practices
which are mention below:
Reward management- In context of M&S, its HR manager formulate and implement an
effective policy related to providing equal benefits and reward. Which motivates their workers to
work with their full efficiency and achieve organisational goal. HR provide a fairefair
compensation to their employees based on their work performance which reduce disputes and
maintain organisation culture.
 Benefits to employees: In relevance of selected company, they formulate aan
appropriate policy related to compensation and reward management. Marks & Spencer
provide both monetary and non- monetary benefits such as bonus, high salary, profit
sharing, job security and training opportunities which motivates them to do work with
their full efficiency and productivity (Morgeson and et. al. 2019).
 Benefits to employer: In relevance of selected firm, reward management helps HR in
motivating their employees by providing various monetary and non -monetary benefits to
them. It will increase efficiency and productivity of employees which helps in
achievement of company goal.
Training & development- It helps selected company in enhancing skills and knowledge of their
employees. Training provide direction and guidance to employees related to a particular task.
While development activity helps employee in their future growth.
 Benefits to employees: This practice of HRM increase skills & knowledge of employees
which helps in their future growth. In context of company, its HR manager use this
approach for enhancing efficiency of their workers (Napathorn and Kuruvilla 2018).
 Benefits to employer: In context of company this practice of HRM help selected firm in
achievement of its goal and increase productivity & profitability of company.

P4 Evaluate different HRM practices which increase profit and productivity of organisation.
Human resource management refers to different practices, policies and systems which
influence behaviour, attitude, and performance of employees. Main objective of HRM practices
is to enhance performance of both employees and organisation. From above discussion it can be
evaluated that various HRM practices used by selected firm help organisation in increasing its
profitability and productivity. Reward management practice of HRM motivates employees to
do work with their full efficiency, which increase productivity and revenue for organisation.
Training & development is another HRM practice which is used by HR of selected company, it
provide direction and guidance related to a particular task to employees which increase
employees skills and knowledge. Marks & Spencer conducts different development programs
which increase employee’s attitude, behaviour, and personality and so on. Training &
development programmes helps employee in their future growth and motivates them towards
achievement of company goal. This practice of HRM increase efficiency and productivity of
employees reduce wastage for company resources and increase productivity and revenue for
selected business.
TASK 3
P5 Importance of employee relation which influence decision making process of HRM.
Employee relation refers to ana management activity which helps organisation in
maintaining a good relation between all members of an organisation (Riccucci and et. al. 2019).
In relevance of Marks & Spencer, its HR manger use different policies and strategies for
reducing conflicts and disputes between employee and employer, which helps organisation in
maintain a good relation between members and organisation culture also. Various importance of
employee relation which influence HRM decision making are discuss below:
 Productivity- Productivity of an organisation is based on the performance level of all
departments. Conflicts and disputes between different department influence productivity
of company. In relevance of selected firm, its HR manger timely resolve all conflicts in
an organisation which create a healthy environment in an organisation. Good relation
between employee & employer increase productivity of company (Singh and El-Kassar
2019).

 Outcome- For success of a company in market itsit’s important to produce good quality
products for their customers. Conflicts between employees and employer influence
efficiency of workers which influence outcome of organisation. In context of selected
firm, its operational management helps in reducing wastage of resources and produce a
good quality productsa good quality product for customers. It helphelps in resolving all
conflicts arises at the time of production.
P6 Employment legislation and its impact on decision making of HRM.
Employment legislation refers to a process which includes all laws and regulation related
to employee working in an organisation (Shahreki and et. al. 2019). It includes human right act,
labour relation, compensation, pay equity, working hours, employment standards and so on. In
context of Marks & Spencer some of employment laws are mention below:
 Discrimination act 2010- It refers to an act of parliament of United Kingdom which
legally protects people from discrimination or any unfair practices in the workpiece. This
act is based on various factors such as religion, age, colour, gender and so on. In
relevance of selected company, while taking any decision its HR manager ensure that
their decision does not affect feeling and emotions of their employees. They regularly
check their working environment and ensure that no unfair practice is conducted inside
organisation. HR of Marks & Spencer is responsible for taking correct decision if any
discrimination activity is found in organisation in addition to this they also provide
compensation and relief to those employees who face any kind of discrimination
(Discrimination Act, 2010, 2021) .
 Working hourshours regulation act 1998- This act is also known as working time
directive act. It defines that employee in an organisation is not working for more than 48
hours in a week. According to this law its necessary for organisation to provide a
minimum rest period to their employees in their daily working hours.work In context of
selected firm, they plan their working hours according to this act. They make effective
decisions and policies related to working hours of their workers. If some employee is
working more than its working hours than he revives extra pay from company (Working
hours regulation act 1998, 2021)

TASK 4
P7 Illustrate different application of HRM practices.
Job specification: It refers to a written statement offered by the company which includes
information related to vacant job profile (Tewart and Brown 2019). It includes different
information such as qualification, special requirement, communication skills and experience. In
relevance of chosen company, this practice of HRM helps organisation in attracting candidates
towards company and select a best candidate for that vacant post.
Job specification
Organisation: Marks & Spencer
Job Designation: Marketing manager
Job purpose: Create brand awareness related to company products and increase market area for
company.
Roles and responsibilities:
 Manage all activities related to product
 timely introduce different strategies related to promotion of products
 Prepare creative advertisement for company products
 manage team members, financial performance and customer's satisfaction
Required skills & experience:
 BBA and MBA certificate from well-known college
 Internship certificate from any reputed company
 Knowledge of current market trends
 Good communication and managerial skills
Job offer letter- It refers to a formal document sent by company to the selected
candidate for vacant job profile. In context of selected company they use this HRM tool for
informing candidate that they have been selected for a particular job. It includes detail
informational related to employment, date of joining, terms and condition for employee and so
on.
Offer Letter
Organisation name Marks & Spencer
Job position Marketing manager

Location Landon, UK
Reporting person Head of departments manager
Roles and responsibilities  Have a great knowledge of all
marketing concepts and theories.
 Properly managing team members,
financial performance and customers
satisfaction.
 Make different strategies for effectively
promoting products.
Working Duration 9:30am to 5:00 pm
Accommodations for employees Healthy environment and positive culture of
organisation motivates employees to work for
achievement of goal.
Job offer letter
Job Title Marketing manager
Job Description Responsible for effectively managing the
marketing operations of business.
Starting Date 01/05/2021
Work Schedule 9:30 am to 5 pm
Reporting Structure CEO of company
Salary $14,000
Paid time off 2 sick leaves are allowed in a month
Employee benefit Retirement plan and medical insurance
Person specification
Particular Person specification Desirable criteria
Personal characteristics  Able to adopt

challenges
 Confident
 Managing team
members
Qualification  MBA in marketing
 Digital marketing
certificate
Qualification in Masters of
business & administration in
marketing from any reputed
college
Experience  Required a minimum
experience of 5 years
and able to work under
pressure.
Skills  Management skills
 computers skills
 Professional towards
work
From above discussion it can be analysed that job specification and job offer letter helps HR
manager in proper decision making. These tools of human resource management are beneficial
for both company and employee. This written confirmation helps employee and employer to
better understand the conditions for job (Traeger and Alfes,2019).
CONCLUSION
From above discussion on different aspects of human resource management it can be
concluded that for effectively running different operations of company HRM is very important. It
works for enhancing skills and knowledge of their workers which enhance efficiency and
productivity of organisation. Recruitment and selection process helps organisation in hiring &
selecting best candidates for a particular job. Different practices of HRM such as training &
development, fair compensation, healthy environment and so on increase productivity of
employees. After analysing employee relation in this report it can be concluded that for growth