HRM Report: HRM Strategies, Practices, and Analysis for Mind Candy

This report provides a detailed analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices, focusing on the case study of Mind Candy, a small-sized firm. It begins by differentiating between personnel management and HRM, highlighting the advantages of HRM in aligning workforce performance with corporate strategy. The report then assesses how HRM functions contribute to Mind Candy's organizational goals, such as increasing sales and market share. It evaluates the roles and responsibilities of line HR managers, including employee engagement, performance appraisal, and discipline. Furthermore, the report explores the legal and regulatory aspects of setting up HRM, emphasizing the importance of the Employment Act and other relevant legislation. The need for Human Resource Planning (HRP) at Mind Candy is analyzed, emphasizing its role in balancing staffing shortages and surpluses. A comparison of recruitment and selection processes between Sony PLC and Mind Candy is presented, followed by an examination of the link between motivational theory and reward systems, with recommendations for improvement. Finally, the report covers the importance of job evaluation, various reward systems, performance appraisal methods, reasons for employee exits, differences in exit procedures between organizations, and the impact of the current regulatory and legal framework on employee redundancies and dismissals. The report concludes with a comprehensive overview of the key findings and recommendations for Mind Candy's HRM strategies.

HRM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Difference between personnel management and human resource management.........................3
Assessment of the functions of HRM contributing to organizational purposes..........................4
Evaluations of roles and responsibilities of line HR managers...................................................5
Legal and regulatory aspects while setting up HRM...................................................................6
Analysis of need of Human Resource Planning..........................................................................6
Comparison of recruitment and selection process.......................................................................6
Link between motivational theory and reward systems and recommendations for the
improvement................................................................................................................................8
Importance of job evaluation.......................................................................................................8
Evaluation of various reward system...........................................................................................9
Performance appraisal method.....................................................................................................9
Enumeration of reasons for employee exits from organization.................................................10
Difference in exit procedure by two organization.....................................................................11
Impact of current regulatory and legal framework on employee redundancies and dismissals 11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
2

INDEX OF TABLES
Table 1: Differences in Personnel And Human Resource Management.........................................4
Table 2: Selection Process...............................................................................................................7
3

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management (HRM) is a separate but interlinking function in an
organization which is designed to maximize the performance of employees in order to achieve
the strategic objectives of a firm. HRM is basically concerned with the management of
workforce in a company (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). This encompasses all the aspects related
to employees that are recruiting, selecting, remunerating, training, motivating, developing and
retaining of personnel. This report is mainly concerned with the HRM of Mind Candy which is a
small sized firm. This firm has a narrower scope of HRM. Further, this report will enable the
reader to get difference between personnel and human resource management. Further, this report
covers the process of recruiting and selecting employees (Beardwell and Claydon, 2007).
Moreover, discussion has been made on the motivation of employees in order to retain them in
the organization. Along with that, report describes mechanism for the cessation of employment.
TASK
Difference between personnel management and human resource management
Table 1: Differences in Personnel And Human Resource Management
Basis Personnel Management Human Resource Management
Meaning This is an aspect of management
which is mainly concerned with the
workforce and its relationship with
the organization (Dowling, 2008).
In this aspect, management is
focused about the most effective use
of manpower of a company in order
to achieve the organizational goals
and objectives .
Nature Personnel management remains
aloof from the core organizational
activities and performs the
functions independently.
Human resource management
remains integrated with the
corporate strategy and thus, takes
proactive approach for the alignment
of workforce towards the
achievement of organizational goals.
Approach This is a traditional form of HRM is a modern management style
4

management. (Haines, Jalette and Larose, 2010).
Decision Making In this aspect of management,
decision making process is slow
because there is no direct
communication which delays
decision making.
In this, HR manager directly
communicates with the employees
and this way, decision making is
done at faster pace.
Job Design In this, job design is done on the
basis of division of labor (Noe,
2010).
In this, job design is done on the
basis of team work.
As per the analysis of HR consultant for Mind Candy Ltd., it has been concluded that HR
management is preferred over personnel management. It is because this function is concerned
with all the aspects of human resource and it aligns the performance of workforce with the
corporate strategy. Further, this is also a modern management style and it is suitable in the
competitive era (Peterson and et.al., 2008). Moreover, in this kind of management, decision
making is done at faster pace which will be beneficial for the organization to take efficient
decisions and achieve goals in a lesser time period. Along with that, group working is done
effectively which helps in achieving the shared goals.
Assessment of the functions of HRM contributing to organizational purposes
Generally, organizational purposes of Mind Candy are to make higher number of sales of
their products, increase profits, get high market share, develop its company to become medium
or large sized organization etc. Further, it also has goals of popularizing its brand name and
expansion of business. For that purpose, objectives should be stated in a specific manner. These
goals and purposes are only achieved by the HR functions (Olaniyan and Ojo, 2008). Thus, it can
be said that HRM contributes in the achievement of organizational purposes.
5

Moreover, HR usually functions in align with the corporate strategy in which they make
the workforce to perform the task in as per the the corporate strategy or corporate goals. For this
purpose, HR manager analyses job description and accordingly, they recruit and select skilled
employees which can manage the job well that helps in achieving the organizational goals.
Further, they develop their skills by providing effective training (Storey, 2007). Management
provides training so that workforce can get more employment opportunities. HR manager utilizes
their skills and compensates them for their contribution. Thus, it can be said that these functions
of HR contribute to achieve the organizational purposes.
Evaluations of roles and responsibilities of line HR managers
It is generally known that HR manager is pervasive at all the levels of organization.
However, in companies like Mind Candy where flat structure prevails, HR manager itself is a
line manager (Aladwan, 2014). Such type of manager basically interacts with every employee
and resolves their queries on hand. Along with this, line manager is responsible to a top
management thus, in this firm line manager is responsible towards the CEO of Mind Candy.
Moreover, roles and responsibilities of line HR manager of Mind Candy have been described
below:
 Employee Engagement: Line manager in organization engages their employees in order
to get the work done by them in an effective and efficient manner. Further, they also
engage employees in different activities such as providing training and development,
motivating them, allowing them to take decisions, arranging recreational activities for
them etc. This is how line manager performs the role related with engaging employees
(Darrag and et. al., 2010).
 Performance Appraisal: It is the duty of line manager to do performance appraisal of
each and every employee so that their progress can be tracked. Further, if employees are
not performing as per the standard norms then they are provided with the training by the
HR manager to develop skills among them (Hernandez, 2009). Moreover, it is the
responsibility of line manager to report senior management about the appraisal of each
employee.
 Disciplining Employees: It is very important to make employees to behave in a
disciplined manner. This responsibility is performed by HR line manager because t the
6

expected behaviour is informed to the people in the organization in both expressed and
implied terms and the behaviour is observed by line managers.
Legal and regulatory aspects while setting up HRM
There are several legal and regulatory mechanism which are obliged while implementing
the HR functions at Mind Candy. Employment Act 2000 allow the HR manager to recruit the
people by following proper provisions of this law. Further, the Sex Determination Act 1975
enables the manager to not carry such activities which do the gender discrimination (Innocenti,
Profili and Sammarra, 2013). Along with that, Equality Pay Act 1970 also imposes the fact that
every candidate should be remunerated equally as per their job profile and position.
By implementing these legal aspects in Mind Candy, some of the changes has to be
made. There are mainly males candidates than female candidate. Thus, company has to follow
the the law of sex determination and this way they have to hire female candidate as well.
However, in this sector there are less female who have such skills but due tot he legal
framework, they need to hire more employees. Also the company has to provide excellent
working condition as per the employment law which leads to incurment of extra expenditure on
the infrastructure which will lead to the reduction of profitability (Lewis, 2003).
Analysis of need of Human Resource Planning
Human resource planning refers to as the ongoing process of systematic planning in order
to achieve the optimum utilization of the most important asset of an organization that is human
resources. The major objective of this process is to ensure that candidate is selected which best
suits the job profile while avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses. After the analysis of
situations at Mind Candy, it has been assessed that human resource planning is highly important
at this small sized firm. It is because, this helps in maintaining the balance between shortages and
surpluses of employees (Human Resource Management, 2016). Moreover, it assist in identifying
the recruitment needs and help in coping up with fluctuations in staffing. This also aids the HR
manager to do succession planning and career planning. Along with that, this helps the HR
manager to do the proper and appropriate utilization of workforce so that wastage of resources
does not get and this way cost of production will reduce. Thus, it can be concluded that human
resource planning is highly beneficial in the Mind Candy and this firm needs the HRP.
7

Comparison of recruitment and selection process
Table 2: Selection Process
Sony PLC Mind Candy
Receiving applications: In Sony, HRM firstly
focuses on receiving of application as per the
objectives of selection process.
Preliminary Interview: There are process of
taking preliminary interview of candidates such
as group discussion etc.
Analysis of Interview outcome: After taking
preliminary interview, organization examine the
outcome of interview by identifying which
candidates are applicable for next process of
selection (Bartel, 2015).
Employment tests: The selected candidates
should have to give employment test in a form
of written test for the job.
Personal Interview: After the test analysis,
selected candidates are sent for the personal
interview where they are asked related to their
job profiles and field related questions.
Reference check: After passing employment
test, the selected skilled candidates will go
through reference check by the company to
verify their educational qualifications and other
skills.
Physical examination & Final selection: After
that candidates medical check-up should be done
and after going through all process and getting
Receiving applications: In Mind Candy also
HRM focuses on receiving the application in
accordance with the objectives of selection
process.
Employment interview: After receiving the
application, candidates are called for personal
interview with HR manager.
Reference check: those candidates who get
selected have to undergo for the process of
reference check where management verify
their qualification as well as personal details.
Final selection: Following the above process
and getting chosen by HR department,
company will offer the job letter to that
candidates (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).
8

selected in it then company give job letter to the
chosen skilled candidates (Beardwell and
Claydon, 2007).
Thus, it is clear that Sony PLC has more effective recruitment and selection process than
Mind Candy which is a small sized firm. Thus, the processes of two firms are effective or not
that can be assessed using several ways. Firstly, Sony and Candy Mind will see the attrition rate
of employees (Dowling, 2008). If it is higher than management is not hiring effective and
dedicated candidates. Furthermore, if the company's performance is getting increase than it can
be interpreted that selection process if highly effective that is why company has recruited highly
efficient employees.
Link between motivational theory and reward systems and recommendations for the
improvement
Motivation can be described as the driving force which boost up the energy level among
the employees so that they can perform well to achieve the organizational level. There are
several motivational theory which have been propounded by philosopher. Some of the theories
are Maslow's need hierarchy where one needs get satisfy then employee get motivated to achieve
subsequent needs, McGregor's two factor theory in which two factors motivate the employees.
Thus, these factors and need satisfactors can be described as a rewards (Haines, Jalette and
Larose, 2010). Employees at top position are motivated through rewards only. Through this they
satisfy the higher needs of Maslow's hierarchy. Furthermore, these rewards help in motivating
the the employees so that they work towards the achievement of organizational goals. This way
motivational theory is linked with rewards.
It is recommended that in order to improve the workforce performance, rewards should
be in a form of monetary incentives that are bonuses and fringe benefits that should be given at
lower or operational level in order to motivate the employees. However, rewards must be in a
non-monetary form at higher levels that is promotions and recognition which helps them to
satisfy their higher needs (Noe, 2010).
9

Importance of job evaluation
There are various importance of job evaluation which should be understood by the
organization. Job evaluation basically refers to as the systematic way which help in determining
the value of a job in relation to other jobs in a firm. There are various importance of job
evaluation which are enumerated below: Helps in Determining Pay Structure: This is a consistent and rational process which aids
in determining the wages and salary structure of all the levels of an organization. It is
because through this value of a particular job is determined and this wages and pay
structure can be determined. At the time of selection of employee, pay scale of a position
can be informed (Peterson and et.al., 2008).
 Maintains Harmonious Relation: This helps in maintaining harmonious relationship
between labor and management. This is because, job evaluation let the management to
eliminate the wage inequalities within the organization (Storey, 2007). This will lead to
the reduction of conflict on the basis of wage payment and this way performance will not
get hampered.
Evaluation of various reward system
Reward basically refers to as the prize or thing given to the employee in return to their
best performance provided to the organization. Along with the monthly pay, company should
provide timely rewards to motivate their employees. This way company can boost the morale of
their staff members so that efficient performance can be done by them (Darrag and et. al., 2010).
Further, there are several types of reward which are provided to the workforce. One is intrinsic
reward system which includes job enrichment, recognition, responsibilities and challenges.
Whereas, there are extrinsic reward system which includes good working condition, healthy and
safe environment, fringe benefits, etc. Moreover, intrinsic rewards are provided in Sony
company in order to motivate the higher authority of the company and extrinsic reward to the
operational level and labor section. Further, there are monetary and non-monetary rewards
system which includes recognition, promotions, bonuses, holiday trips, etc. These system is
followed in Hotel Marriott for motivating their employees (Lewis, 2003). In Mind Candy,
monetary rewards are provided to the employees because of the flat structure no promotion can
be done. Monetary rewards are good for operational level and labor section employees.
10

However, this does not prove to be effective for top management. Top management needs
promotion and recognition in order to satisfy their higher level needs.
Performance appraisal method
Presently, simple rating method is followed in Mind Candy organization based on some
parameters. This provides management the result of performance of employees on few aspects.
Thus, company cannot get determine the accurate potential of employees and also in which area
he/she is lacking (Bartel, 2015). For this aspects company must adopt some other methods of
appraisals that is 360 degree appraisals where management should observe the employees from
360 degree angle. They must take feedback from peer groups, supervisors, customers, helpers,
etc. This way complete appraisal of an employee can be done. Secondly, MBO is also one of the
effective method to test the performance of a staff member. This way company can assess the
effectiveness of an employee.
Enumeration of reasons for employee exits from organization
Employee leaves the organization for several reasons and some of the reasons are as
follows: Limited Career or Promotion Opportunities: This is the major reason given by the
employee while leaving the organization. They thinks that staying in the same
organization limits their growth opportunity (Noe, 2010).
 Less Challenging Job: Employees get lethargic by doing same nature of job for long
time. They does not find it challenging anymore. Ultimately they exit from the company. Relations with the Boss/Supervisor/co-worker: Sometimes relationship of an employee
with their boss or co-worker is not good than it also become a serious reason to leave the
organization.
 Remuneration and Working Hours: When employee does not get appropriate salary in
return of the work provided to them that time they does not feel satisfied (Storey, 2007).
Moreover, when the working hours are not constant due to which they leave the
organization.
I order to overcome such issues, manger at Mind Candy must change their structure.
They should change it to hierarchical structure so that career opportunities get increases.
Furthermore, the diversification can also be done in order to make the job highly challenging.
11

Along with that, company should offer appropriate salary package in order to reduce the attrition
rate. Also firm must fix the working hours so that company can reduce the employee turnover
(Hernandez, 2009).
Difference in exit procedure by two organization
In the company like Sony where large number employees are employed, at that company
exit interview is followed by several steps such as personal interview with an employee is taken
by all departmental heads where they ask about the issues which they are facing, management
ask to hike the salary, lastly they try to influence the employee to stay in the organization as they
will provide them good opportunities (Dowling, 2008). Along with that they require the
employee to fill the exit form and take suggestions from them about the improvement of
organizational system.
However, in Mind Candy, exit interview is consist of only one round and their they ask
questions about the issues. Further, they did not take any suggestions from them and also they do
not influence them to stay due to the lack of experience. This is how exit interview duffers from
Sony to Mind Candy (Peterson and et.al., 2008).
It is highly important to have exit interview in the organization because through this
reasons for leaving can be known and this way company can focus on those issues and try to
overcome them.
Impact of current regulatory and legal framework on employee redundancies and dismissals
The UK labor law protects the employees against the irrelevant dismissals. If the
company is doing the cessation of employment than it has to give notice (1 month prior to the
cessation) to the employee which states the valid reason for dismissals. Further, employer has to
take care about the Employment Rights Act 1999 where dismissals has been listed. Further, the
Equality Act 2010 also impacts the dismissals (Aladwan, 2014). If the employer is dismissing the
employees without any valid reason than on the basis of these acts, employee can sue the
organization which will adversely affect the reputation and brand image of an organization.
Further, if the dismissal is done due to redundancies than they have to give 1 month notice which
will create difficulty for the company to do management. Moreover, these laws protects the
interest of employees so it impacts in positive manner on the organization because unnecessary
or due to rivalry, management cannot cease the employee (Lewis, 2003).
12