HRM Practices: A Report on Chocolate Presence and Microsoft

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes HRM practices at Chocolate Presence and Microsoft.

Human Resource Management
Student’s Name –
Student’s ID -
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1 - Purpose and Scope of HRM.........................................................................................4
a) Explains the purpose of the HR function and its importance to the organization, given its
current problems and future plans for further growth............................................................4
b) Explains the strengths and weaknesses of the current selection methods used by the
organization............................................................................................................................5
c) Evaluates at least 2 two potential improvements that could be made by Chocolate
Presence to enhance its selection process..............................................................................7
Task 2 – Application of HRM practices....................................................................................8
a) Create a person specification for the role...........................................................................8
b) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the current methods of advertising jobs in
the organization (internally within the organization and on the notice board outside the
main entrance)........................................................................................................................9
c) Explain where you would recommend the job advert for the Receptionist vacancy to be
placed and why.....................................................................................................................10
Task 3 – Evaluating the effectiveness of key elements of HRM.............................................12
a) Microsoft offer graduate training schemes and internships. Evaluate the benefits to both
the organisation and employees of such schemes................................................................12
b) Microsoft offers a range of flexible working arrangements for staff. Firstly, identify
some of these arrangements and then evaluate the benefits of offering these to both
Microsoft and its employees................................................................................................13
c) Evaluate how Microsoft motivates its workers through the way it designs its job roles. 13
Task 4 – Internal and External factors which affect the HRM decision-making.....................15
a) What is meant by the term employee engagement and why is employee engagement
such an important part in effective employee relations in Microsoft?.................................15
b) Critically evaluate the key approaches to engaging workers discussed in the Summit and
how these approaches improve communication in the workplace.......................................16
c) Identify the key elements of UK employment legislation, explaining how.....................16
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Conclusion................................................................................................................................18
Reference list............................................................................................................................19
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Introduction
Human resource management is a process that organises and manages all the organisational
functions. It refers to employment related proceedings in an effectual way. The HRM in the
organisation is responsibly managed by the HR manager who ensures the employee based
benefits, staffing and other compensation in the organisation with a designed workforce.
Human resource management is also referred as the formal system that devise the overall
process of the different department working within a company.
The assignment has followed different tasks to identify the different functions of a HR in
captivating the company that is constantly expanding across UK – “Chocolate Presence”. In
acknowledging the different recruitment and selection processes utilised by the company, the
task compares the different methods adopted by the company. In intriguing the different
terms concerning to employee performances, rewards and development factors influencing
the HR decision making has also been identified to acknowledge the overall context.
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Task 1 - Purpose and Scope of HRM
a) Explains the purpose of the HR function and its importance to the organization,
given its current problems and future plans for further growth.
Human resource function is referred to the areas utilised to define the overall organisational
systems of the workforce working within the organisation (Bailey et al., 2018). The major
purpose that has been identified is to mange, recruit and direct the people supporting the
organisational growth. The functions also include the responsibility to handle certain issues
affecting the performance management, employee motivations, organisational development
and wellness. The following functions have shown definite importance for the Chocolate
Presence in order to redeem the current issues and enhance the plans with effective growth.
 Employee relationships – Positive employee relationships is highly valued in every
organisation. It is essential to acknowledge that a unionised work environment and
force is considered valuable to increase the organisational growth and innovation. The
function of HR ensures the expertise approaches in the work environment. The
function ensures the organisational disciplines and strengthens the relationships with
the employees. It measures effective job satisfaction and employee engagement and
therefore solves the inner conflicts (Analoui, 2017).
 Recruitments – This is the main purpose handled by the HR as the function. It has
significantly shown the success to organisation that is to measure and fill the
determined positions shown vacancy within the company (Chocolate Presence). The
key role is to develop and ensure an effective employee workforce. Skilful labour or
employees enhance the overall functioning of the organisation.
 Employee compensation and benefits – It is the dual expertise approach that ensures
the employee relations and further shares the information to provide compensation
and benefits as determined by the company to its workforce. The HR management
handles such areas to set a valuable companionate structure and appraise various
competitive practices. The function ensure the coordinative activities including
retirement saving, health coverage and other negotiations (Nankervis et al., 2016).
 Training and development – It is also referred as the major function of the human
resource management. To provide right training and development support to the
workforce is necessary to be undertaken as the tool of success. The function provides
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extensive orientation of training in order to ensure the staff ability to perform and
transmit the determined culture of the company. This factor ensures performance
management approach that is required to outperform innovatively in the different
departments present within the company.
 Job Safety – This is also considered as an important function that ensures skilful
employees retained in the company. Job safety is a key that every employee seeks in
an organisation. Therefore, to withstand the expectations the HR management play a
crucial role in providing a safer environment. Such functions obligate the positive
workforce and environment.
 Labour Law Compliance - Both the employment and labour laws are critically
handled by the HR management. In order to minimise and retain the non-compliances
in the workplace labour law compliance are considered as the necessary factor to
enable a positive work environment and less work issues (Chung, 2015).
b) Explains the strengths and weaknesses of the current selection methods used by the
organization.
Chocolate Presence has shown an approach to recruit and select effective employees in the
organisation, admiring production and administration vacancy as the core aspect. Therefore
to gain and shortlist the efficient employees for the determined position the company has
shown the recruitment process with a assessment test, mandatory education qualification
review, referrals and an informal interview (Taylor et al., 2015). The recruitment process has
shown certain fairness issues hence showing certain strengths and weaknesses that have been
determined below.
Particulars Strengths Weakness
Assessment Test  It reduces the overall
operational costs in finding
the candidates required for
the job
 It also plays a role to allow
an informed decision in
regards to the training
opportunities.
 It is also an effective way to
ensure less likely approach
 The test sometimes show
biased approach and is costly
to rate and administer.
 It also leads a manual
assessing of responses that also
increases the time
consumptions for the results.
 The results sometimes be
subjective for manual grading
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to differ by race or gender
participating in the
recruitment process
process.
 Maths and English are the
primary way to check but not
fair to talents with low
mandatory grades as specified
by the company.
Referrals  The company can vouch
with high-quality candidates
 The monetary bonus works
as a crowd puller.
 It has been referred as the
best alternative for different
recruitment channels.
 It also suited for the
specialised positions
 The process employment
retention rates show much
higher approaches
 It raises the risk to get
alienated from the other
employees or staffs.
 The process leads the charge of
discrimination within the
environment.
 It raises the consequences such
as lack of ideas and innovation.
 It also shows disillusionment
of determined referral
program.
Interview  It leads to better
understanding of the
participants or candidates
than with a structured or
formal interview
 It is more comfortable and
flexible in nature
 It is an interactive and valid
way to acknowledge the
candidates
 It positively breaks the
communication gap in
between the candidate and
interviewer
 It ensures a good hope to the
 Time consuming in nature
 Informal interview often raise
the chances to lead the
candidates get diverted from
the entire process of interview.
 It sometimes shows less
suitability for certain
candidates.
 It leads the risk to speak about
certain confidential matters in
during the interview process.
 It at times creates the negative
opinion about the company.
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participants in understanding
the organisation atmosphere.
 It can attract the candidate
towards the company.
Table 1: Strengths and weakness of current recruitment process
(Source: Created by the learner)
c) Evaluates at least 2 two potential improvements that could be made by Chocolate
Presence to enhance its selection process.
In indulgent to the current or present selection and recruitment process there are certain
potential improvements that can be undertaken by the company – Chocolate Presence. In
order to enhance the overall process following two potential processes is determined
necessary for the organisation (Wilton, 2016).
 To leverage the social media platforms – Utilisation of social media platform in this
moving age can help the human resource management to reach the talents. In order to
minimise unnecessary candidates participating the recruitment process, the corporate
career boards and the online job boards can expose the current vacancies while creating
better engagement in the process.
 Investing on professional recruiter agency – The company can invest on the agencies
that ensure the skilful candidate pool towards the company. The agencies cut down the
responsibility in taking the interviews rather shifting the overall accountability to
professional recruitment agency. This new approach ensures the company to cut down
the overall investment and ensure time saving approaches.
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Task 2 – Application of HRM practices
a) Create a person specification for the role
Chocolate Presence
Job Description
Person Specification
Job Title Receptionist
Department Administration
Reporting to Administration Manager
Qualification  Bachelor - Business Administration
 Masters - Business Administration (Optional)
 Computer-based skills
Purpose of the JOB  It is to provide a welcome and professional welcome experience
for the visitors and clients in the premises
 To answer the incoming calls and enquiries efficiently
Experience 1 – 5 years
Computer knowledge Efficient computer skills such as to operate the - MS Word, MS
Excel, Tally, and others
Communication
skills
Supportive and communicative skills are decidedly considered with
a strong hold on local and English communication
Reference The Preference is given decisively if the performing candidate is
referred by our existing employee of Chocolate Presence.
Table 2: Person specification
(Source: Created by the learner)
Chocolate Presence
Email id - [e-mail]
Job Profile: Receptionist
Job description:
Booking meetings
Greeting and meeting clients
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Arranging couriers
Answering forwarded calls
Distributing and sorting various post
Maintaining relations with the visitors and with other deliveries
To maintain stocks for client
Taking reasonable duties as assigned by Administrative Manager
Venue: Chocolate Presence Seminar room (Till 02nd february 2019)
Reporting time: 10:00 AM
Table 3: Job description
(Source: Created by the learner)
b) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the current methods of advertising jobs
in the organization (internally within the organization and on the notice board outside
the main entrance).
In taking the current method of internal advertisement and acknowledging the advertisement
on the notice board within the organisation, Chocolate Presence has limited the approach and
has shown the traditional way of recruitment advertisement. However, in taking this as the
concern, the major advantages and disadvantages that have been followed by have been
identified below (Baum et al., 2016).
Advantages –
 It has reduced the time to hire – The internal advertisement and recruitment leads
the company to gain the candidates that have already shown the participation in the
workplace or nature. Conversely, it reduces the time that is required to engage and
find the candidates. It is also easier to assess employees because they are the pre-
screened candidates for the work culture to fit. The track records are easily accessible
and do not requires full interviews.
 Cost is less – Internal recruitment and advertisement are much cheaper than of the
external recruitment process. The use of e-mails and a notice board advertisement has
shown little time investment and printing cost that is very cost effective in terms of
external approaches.
 Shortened on boarding times – It is essential for the employees or individuals to get
adjusted in the vacancy roles. Thus, internal advertisement and hiring are quicker to
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onboard the candidates. Such advertisement ensures the candidates those who are
already known to the context or content of new roles.
 In strengthening the employee engagement – Promotion through internal
advertisement increases the value between the employees working in Chocolate
Presence. It provides more opportunities enables advanced careers to let the working
employees to position themselves to higher levels.
Disadvantages –
 It leaves a gap in the existing workforce – It jumbles the positions and leaves a gap
to the older position. Such internal advertisement limits the talents and disrupts the
overall business operations.
 Limited pool – The limitation has shown the smaller reach of the message and
increases the biased way to recruit the people. It lacks the credibility and fairness to
gain more talented and efficient workers in the organisation (Weiner et al., 2017).
 Lack of innovation – The opportunity provided through internal advertisement and
recruitment reduces the chances of getting new skills and innovative personalities in
the business. This also leads the competitors to gain a step forward in respect to the
company utilising internal advertisement only.
 Inflexible culture – hiring from the internal advertisement results in stagnant culture
and creates the problems to the leadership positions where the respective employees
might require advocacy to improvements and changes.
c) Explain where you would recommend the job advert for the Receptionist vacancy to
be placed and why.
In consideration to the current job advert process adopted by Chocolate Presence (that is the
internal advert). The following are the recommendations provided to overcome the issues or
disadvantages occurred due to the selected process (Carter-Harris et al., 2016).
Recommendation 1 – To utilise a balanced and mixed internal and external recruitment
process:
If the company wants to fill or recruit the position or vacancy required (Receptionist), it is
important to decide the use of internal and external recruitment platforms appropriately. In
understanding the recruitment, it is essential to attract skilful and efficient employee in the
organisation. Therefore, the use of social media and traditional media platforms is considered
important in order to poll the candidates from different sources for Chocolate Presence.
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Recommendation 2 – Utilising Online Job Portals:
In understanding the growing age and the way to connect the mass, it has been realised that it
has become different with changing technologies. People now are more connected and
engaged with the social media platforms. The use of internet has been increased in the recent
generation. It has also influenced the online job portals to work on behalf of the companies
and to attract the candidates as per the requirement. This only costs the subscription charges
and the rest is worked efficiently to spread the message in the determined market. Such usage
will enable Chocolate Presence to recruit most efficient receptionist in the workplace.
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