Human Resource Management Report: Aldi Case Study and HRM Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices, focusing on a case study of Aldi. The report begins with an introduction to HRM, outlining its purpose and functions within an organization. Task 1 delves into the core functions of HRM, including planning, training, organizing, directing, and controlling, and their impact on Aldi's operations. It also examines the strengths and weaknesses of various recruitment and selection approaches, such as internal, external, and third-party recruitment. Task 2 explores the benefits of HRM practices for both employers and employees, including meeting consumer requirements, retaining staff, workforce planning, and compensation strategies. The effectiveness of different HRM practices is also evaluated. Task 3 emphasizes the importance of employee relations in influencing HRM decision-making and highlights crucial factors of employment legislation and their impact on HRM decisions. Finally, Task 4 applies HRM practices in a work-related context. The report concludes with a summary of findings and provides references to support the analysis.

Human Resource
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Purpose and Functions of Human Resources Management.............................................1
P2. Strengths and Weaknesses of various approaches used for recruitment and selection....2
M1...........................................................................................................................................3
M2...........................................................................................................................................4
D1...........................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P3. Benefits of HRM practices for employers and employees...............................................4
P4. Effectiveness of various HRM practices..........................................................................5
M3 & D2. ...............................................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
P5. Importance of Employee relation in reference to impacting HRM decision making......6
P6. Crucial factors of employment legislation and their impact on the HRM decision making.7
M4 & D3.................................................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P7. Application of HRM practices in work related context...................................................8
M5...........................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The management of the human resource is called as human resource management. There
is a separate department in almost every company who perform certain activities to increase the
efficiency of the workforce. They play a key role in the development and growth of the business
and for this they hire new employees, train them and give certain appraisal or rewards. HR
managers make sure that the company has sufficient resources and they are used in better way.
They design and frame new strategies or policies through which the potential of the employees
can be used for the attaining the business goals and targets (Hendry, 2012). HR department
ensure that everything is going well in the company and any existing dispute is resolved without
taking much time as they know that this can hamper the growth of the organisation in negative
way. In this report where the case scenario of Aldi is taken to analysis the certain crucial aspects
of HRM in a firm.
TASK 1
P1. Purpose and Functions of Human Resources Management.
For any enterprise human resource management is the base as it has certain key roles and
responsibilities which they have to play for the betterment of the business. They are involved in
the planning, developing, managing and framing the policies in an organisation. All these things
are done so that mission and vision of the firm can be completed in the estimated time. Now a
days the success of the companies depends a lot on the working and functioning style of HR
department. They frame a path which all the employees have to follow in order to reach the
targets. There are various HRM functions which determine and evaluate over all company and
these are as follows:-
Planning: This is one of the first and crucial task which has to be performed by Human
resource department. It involves designing of the certain strategies and with this they plan to
increase the efficiency of the firm. When any planning is done by them they undertake the
analysis of all the micro and macro factors which are present in the business environment
(Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The reason behind this is that these factors continuously changes
and variation is common so it directly or indirectly impact the company. To adapt according to
the changes Aldi regularly need to carry out the planning process. It is the duty of the human
resource department to make sure that they plan things through keeping various factors in mind.
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A plan can only work if they are consists of certain strategies and approaches which has to be
adopted by the management through keeping all the aspects in mind and scenario.
Training and development: This is the main area in which HR management works, it is
essential for the organisation that there workers have to be efficient in the performance which
can help to the company to attain their targets. Different managers are working in the ALDI and
they helps to the HR managers to set a training program according to the needs of their targeted
employees which can help to the company to make a better change.
Organising: It is also one of the managerial function of human resource department and
they organise all the policies and strategies. The leaders are given the responsibility to distribute
or transfer various responsibilities to their staff so that their moral can be increased. With this
they will get a feeling that they have been valued at the workplace. As a result they will work
with full dedication and this will impacts the firms in positive way. Whatever plan has been
made by the management now it has to be implemented but for that all the resources available
with them should be checked and then all the workforce should be allotted with certain roles and
responsibilities. They should allot the tasks according to their interests and skills they have and if
they will do it according to it they can experience maximum output.
Directing: It is the function in which the manager who is working with Aldi gives
suggestions and guides their colleagues about the work which has to be done. They make them
aware about the ways and techniques which has to be adopted at the workplace (Boxall and
Purcell, 2011). As the HR department is not just restricted to determining organisational goals
but they also direct the business goals at the firm. Leaders motivates the employees so that moral
things can be obtained from them. The HR manager regularly organises certain programs and
events which increase the efficiency of the company because certain skills where the employees
lack will be given trained. They acknowledges the employees that what path they have to follow
in order to attain the business goals.
Controlling: HR manager at Aldi inspect and analyse all the operations which are
performed by the company at regular interval. In this they evaluate the results on the basis of
certain criteria and try to know that what all targets are achieved which were part of their
strategies. There might be certain activities in the organisation which can hamper the growth of
the firm in negative so it is their duty to make sure that all the things happen in their guidance
and control the uneven activities.
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These are certain functions of human resource department which has to be carried out in
proper way as it is important for their future growth and expansion. All the functions are directly
related to the working of employees in Aldi.
P2. Strengths and Weaknesses of various approaches used for recruitment and selection.
Recruitment is the process in which the certain candidates who has come to get a job is
analysed on certain grounds and if they pass in those tests they are hired buy the company. It is
the role of HR department to carry out the the process of recruitment and selection as it is one
one of the most crucial function of the human resource management (Daley, 2012). With this
process they try to fill the vacancy or the job position which was lying vacant. The concept with
this is that Aldi needs certain workforce who can work for them so that they can achieve the
targets. Aldi has various options available to them for recruiting employees and that are as
follows:-
Internal Recruitment:
It is one of the approach of recruitment in which the existing employees of the firm are given
preference to fill the vacant lying position. They inspect and analyse the employees past
performance to promote him for the new responsibility in the company.
Strengths: There are lots of advantages which are attached to this approach. If Aldi will
be going for this then they does not need to spent much on this. At the same time it also does not
take much time. The biggest benefit of this is that those people who will be promoted is well
versed with the Aldi's working culture and the core values followed by them. This way they will
not take much time in adjusting to the new role.
Weaknesses: There is lack of employees who can perform various roles in Aldi. They
cannot do multi task as they are not much qualified for the position. If Aldi go with this approach
every time then it will not get new unique and creative employees.
External Recruitment:
When there is need of the new employees in the company most of them will go for the fresh
faces. In this HR department opens the opportunities for the external candidates and this they do
through the announcement through various advertisements at job portals or newspapers (Bratton
and Gold, 2012).
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Strengths: They will able to test a lot of people who have different ideas and skills. So
this way they will get more innovative employees. They are fresh so their self esteem and moral
both will be high.
Weaknesses: This approach consumes a lot of time as it is long process and at the same
time is also expensive. The newly hired candidate might not cope up with the organisational
culture and environment.
Third Party Recruitment:
There are firms where HR department is not there or either they don't have that capacity to hire
new people so in such cases they take the help of the third party or the consultancy firms. They
give them their requirements and according to they hire employees.
Strengths: The firm does have to make any extra effort to find suitable staff.
Weaknesses: The biggest drawbacks of this is that the organisation cannot make any
direct contact with the candidates who are applying for the job.
M1.
Various functions of HRM has capability to achieve the business goals of the
organisation as they are designed so that it can easily be flexible in handling various situation
arising for the company. To do various function only those employee will be selected who has
certain skills so that things can be done with more efficiency.
M2.
Company can select any of the recruitment approach and to know which will be more
beneficial for them they can analysis the job description. According to the need and requirement
of the employee they can take any one the approach. If there is requirement of large number of
staff they can go for their party recruitment as they are not capable of this.
D1.
Every approach as some strengths and weakness depending upon the situation in which it
is applied. For example; During the crises situation Aldi are facing the scarcity of the employee
but at the same time they need a experienced member as quick as possible so they will go for
internal recruitment.
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TASK 2
P3. Benefits of HRM practices for employers and employees.
Human resource management has its own significance in making sure that business
activities are performed well. With this, Aldi has certain benefits as through it they can frame
relevant strategies which will help them in attaining the goals which they have decided. They
show the path to the employees so that they can find it easier to work more efficiently. If human
resource department delivers better services then it will benefit both the employers and
employees.
Meeting Consumer Requirements: Through framing appropriate policies HR managers
at Aldi can easily acknowledge various kinds of needs and demands of the customers. If leaders
want to understand the trends in the market they have to make sure that the HR practices gives a
clear insight about the market (Budhwar and Debrah, 2013). If Aldi will be aware about the
requirements of the clients they can deliver quality products and services.
Retaining People: At workplace of Aldi the biggest issue they are facing is of the
employee retaining. In this scenario HRM will try to put certain activities which will be motivate
the staff to continue their services for the company. They introduce the appraisal and rewards
system.
Workforce Planning: They can align the needs and priorities of the firm with those of
workforce to make sure that they meet the all the service and production requirements and
organisational objectives.
Compensation: In Aldi HR department should take care that all the employees who have
suffered any loss at the workplace should be given certain amount as compensation to their
employees (Wang and Noe,2010). The employees should also receive the salary which was
promised to give them by the company. When they will be getting wages on time they will be
working in more better way.
Worker's Safety: They should regularly inspect the workplace and look for the prone
areas where chances of accident is more. Other than this they can also take the help of the
workers in knowing what are the issues related to the health and safety they are facing (Berman
and et. al., 2012). According to the responses they should make the chances and they should
organise training sessions so that they can be trained to use the equipments.
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P4. Effectiveness of various HRM practices.
To gain the competitive advantage and increase the profitability Aldi is giving their full
efforts to improve the HRM practices. They are engaging their employees, giving them training
and empowering them to take certain decision at their own place (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung,
2016). Other than this they also analysed the importance of compensation and rewards and are
trying to introduce in the company. They know that the key to success is the employees so they
need to be managed in better way. HR practices are linked with different outcomes like the
productivity, quality, turnover, market value and profits. They need to set coordination with
these assets and human resource they have and both are depended on each other. With this they
are targeting the low term goals. They need to ensure that whatever skills their employees have is
directed in way that they yields positive results (Storey, 2014). If they have to experience the
financial growth they need to do operations including hiring, selecting, safety, training and
communication in far more better way.
Whatever policies is framed by them should be totally emphasising on the profitability
and productivity. The most important task of the HR department will be analysing the all the
department and take surveys so that they can easily identify any wrong activity. Whatever
disputes which are arising at the workplace will be resolved quickly with this process
(Meredith Belbin, 2011). On the other hand HR managers at Aldi should also be flexible in
handling any crisis and should be ready with the next plan which has to be executed. With proper
inspection they can know how much workforce is required at the stores Aldi to cater the
consumers.
M3 & D2.
With the HR practices a company can gain competitive advantage if they are exercised in
better way. These practices and applications make sure that the human resources are properly
managed and used in better way so that maximum output can be obtained from this. For
example; at the workplace of Aldi employees are facing difficult in operating a new machines so
after the inspection from the HR department they came to know that employees need training to
operate it.
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TASK 3
P5. Importance of Employee relation in reference to impacting HRM decision making.
Organisations existing in the business environment runs with the relation shared between
employees and employers. Employees working in the company is like assets for the firm so
maintaining a better relationship between them is quite important. To attain the goals Aldi need
to ensure that they maintain a healthy relation with their personnel. If they becomes successful
then they will experience high productivity and profitability (Guest, 2011). This happens
because the workers are happy from the employers so they put more efforts in the work. Healthy
relationship comes from the positive environment so it is the HR department who ensure that all
thing are well between the employees and employers. They try to motivate the employees
through better salary, rewards, entertaining activities and also try to bring a platform where they
can easily communicate with them (McWilliams and Siegel, 2011). The employees who
are party of such big company feel motivated as they are valued in the organisation. That is one
of the reason that today Aldi is one of the biggest brand in Europe. But at different times there
comes certain situations when the relation between both of them came into crises and affected
the decision making of HRM.
At times workers does not work as per the guidelines given to them by employers so with
this they violate certain core values of Aldi. Not performing up to the expected level and bad
behaviour is the two things which will impact the growth of the sanitisation. Management here
can fire the employee or give them a legal that if they will be repeating this act then certain
consequences they might face.
On the other side workers who are working with Aldi needs that they should be given
better working condition which is free from any risks. HR personnel also make sure that the
employees are part of the decision making so that their grievances can be addressed at a common
platform. Other than this with the incentives there moral can be raised (Wright and
McMahan, 2011). To know the problems of each and every employee they will be starting a
feedback system where even the lowest rank person can give their suggestions. When such
things are not practised it reduces the moral of the staff and they feel frustrated. Communication
becomes problem now they don't have reach to the top directors and the management will not
able to solve the issue. They should conduct organisational audit on regular basis to know the
actual condition the employees are facing and should pass it on to the board of directors
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P6. Crucial factors of employment legislation and their impact on the HRM decision making.
The ruling party in the countries comes out with certain codes of ethics which plays a
crucial role for the enterprise. These legislations are related to the labour relation, wages and
retention. The management of Aldi should take care that they follow the provision included in
them and this way they can also see the difference in the decision making of HRM. Through
following this better practices can be done and they will not face any hurdle in functioning their
tasks. Following are the certain laws and regulations which will help Aldi in increasing their
productivity and profitability:-
Anti Discrimination: At the work place lost of employee experience some sort of
discrimination. There are chances that they may face discrimination on the basis of colour,
gender, religion and their nationality (Jiang and et. al., 2012). All the above is mentioned
in the 7th clause of civil rights act of 1964. There are lots of employees who are part of their
stores so they should ensure they should monitor and find out that no one is facing such
discrimination.
Salary and Working Hours: Aldi ensure that all their staff gets a proper salary so that
adopt the model of hierarchy in deciding who will get what salary. They looks for the position on
which the person is working and what kind of work is allotted to them are some of the criteria for
the wages. The person who is an experienced staff gets more salary. All the acts of Fair Labour
Standards are also followed which sets a minimum wages which is compulsory to be given. The
wages are revised after the certain period and they should also consider the working hours of the
employees in this. Employee working more than 40 hours will be entitled for the over time.
Leave Provisions:
In the leaves act it is stated that any employee who is part of the organisation can get 12
weeks holidays in a year. Any person who is not well or his health condition is not proper so they
can take leaves according to it. Whatever is the leave account should be explained to the
employees by HR department.
Medical and Disability: There might be workers who are facing some kind of disability
due to the natural causes. So there are lots of chances that they might not face some sort of
discrimination and other people might not behave properly (Renwick, Redman and
Maguire, 2013). When he will face such thing he might get frustrated and this will make him
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depressing directly impacting his life. So HR department should take certain steps to stop such
activities and those who are involved in this should be terminated.
M4 & D3.
Through following employment legislation relationship between employees and
management can be improvement. It is the duty of the management to make sure that there is no
violation of any law and no employee are harassed at the workplace because if such thing
happens then Aldi may face any legal suit. When the legal proceeding will take place their sales
may go down thus decrease in the profitability. So it is the duty of the HR department to ensure
that there is proper communication between the employees and the management so that a
coordination between them can be maintained.
TASK 4
P7. Application of HRM practices in work related context.
Aldi is trying to expand their business through increasing their resources, so for this they
also need top hire more employees who have certain skills. At the initial level they should frame
strategy for the recruitment process. They can develop job description after analysing the
vacancy so that they can know what kind of employee would be suitable for this post. They
approach newspaper, Aldi's official website and other job portal for the listing or announcement
of the vacancy (Kehoe and Wright, 2013). After that they will gets lots of application and
from the pool of those the best one will be selected. The owner of the application will be called
for the interview and those who passes the test or interview will be selected.
Anytime there might be requirement of the workforce in any department of Aldi so the
concerned authority should make HR manager aware about it. He then will try to fill the vacant
lying positions and will perform various responsibilities that are as follows:-
 Those who has been selected will be trained so that they can adapt into the working
environment of the Aldi. He will try to make them familiar about the culture which is
followed by them.
 Through motivation they will try to increase the effectiveness and effectiveness of the
current employees and this will give Aldi long terms benefits. Motivation can be in the
form of rewards, incentives and bonus (Mellahi and Collings, 2010).
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Such things assist Aldi in gaining competitive advantage over their rivals and reach their targets
in set time.
M5.
Those companies who has skilled labour are always on the positive side as they know
how to deal with different situation. Management at Aldi make sure that candidates whom they
are selecting posses certain skills and to groom them further a initial training is provided. With
this the employees are made familiar with the work environment at Aldi. If they will be trained
they might become flexible in doing work more accurately and creatively.
CONCLUSION
From the above points it has been analysed that for the success of any business
organisation HRM practices need to aligned in a way that it produce better results. If ALDI
focuses on their working of the HRM they can increase their profit margins in the market. Each
and every employee of the organisation should be given equal opportunities and treatment as this
brings a healthy relation between the employees and employers.
REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Armstrong, M and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Berman, E. M and et. al., 2012. Human resource management in public service: Paradoxes,
processes, and problems. Sage.
Boxall, P and Purcell, J., 2011. Strategy and human resource management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Bratton, J and Gold, J., 2012. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Budhwar, P. S and Debrah, Y.A. eds., 2013. Human resource management in developing
countries. Routledge.
Daley, D. M., 2012. Strategic human resource management. Public Personnel Management.
pp.120-125.
Guest, D.E., 2011. Human resource management and performance: still searching for some
answers. Human resource management journal. 21(1). pp.3-13.
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