Human Resource Management Report: John Lewis & Partners

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the human resource management (HRM) practices at John Lewis & Partners, a major player in the global retail industry. The report begins by outlining the company's purpose, objectives, and strategies, followed by an internal and external SWOT analysis to identify factors affecting its performance. It delves into the impact of technology on HRM over the next five years, proposes effective HR strategies to address identified issues, and suggests key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of these strategies. The analysis covers critical aspects such as training and development, employee engagement, technological advancements, and the alignment of HRM with the company's overall business goals, providing valuable insights into the company's operational challenges and future prospects.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human Resource Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Question 1:.................................................................................................................................4
Purpose and Objectives of the Company:..............................................................................4
Strategies:...............................................................................................................................5
SWOT Analysis:....................................................................................................................6
Question 2: Impact of Technology.............................................................................................8
Question 3: Strategies for Challenge management....................................................................9
Question 4: Key Performance Indicators.................................................................................11
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................12
References:...............................................................................................................................13

2HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Introduction:
The significance of the human resource management in the modern world of business
is increasing in a notable manner and that is pretty prominent with the fact that the majority
of the organizations operating across various industries, are putting strong emphasis on the
incorporation of the scientific management inside the organizations. The retail industry is
observed to be one of the few industries that are affected by the business competition in the
most prominent manner. The business competition in the mentioned industry forces the
organizations towards the undertaking of different strategies for the effective management of
competition and under such situation, the cost control and the effective usage of the resources
is seen to be crucial for the success of the companies in managing the detrimental impact of
the business competition (Alfeset al. 2013). However, the ineffective management of the
resources from the part of the senior management of the company has the possibility of
creating considerable amount of challenges for the company in conducting a sustainable
business.
The paper analyses the business operations of one such organization operating in the
global retail industry named as John Lewis & Partners which is observed to face the necessity
of conducting a significant restructuring in their human resource management policies for the
improvement of their human resource management. The paper provides a significant analysis
regarding the internal factors that are affecting the human resource management of the
company and at the same time, the paper also shares light to the external factors that are able
to influence the human resource management of the company. With a precise focus on the
impurities in the human resource management technique of the company, the paper provides
a set of important strategies for the improvement of the human resource management inside
the organization. Other than this, the paper provides a brief idea regarding impact of the

3HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
technological up gradation that is expected to take place in the next 5 years on the human
resource management of the company. Other than this, the paper includes some of the
important key performance indicators for the evaluation of the success of the company in
improving the human resource management of the company.
Question 1:
Purpose and Objectives of the Company:
John Lewis & Partners is one of the renowned names of the global retail industry and
is operating in the mentioned industry from the year 1864 (Johnlewis.com 2019). As the
name suggests, the founder of the organization was John Lewis and the organization is
currently headquartered in London. The organization is observed to have approximately 51
stores across the various cities of United Kingdom and the business operations of the
company is largely limited within the nation.
Considering the purpose of the company, the organization has the capability to
provide their customers with the optimum quality fast moving consumable goods. Along with
that, the company has the expertise of producing classy clothing and fashion products,
accessories along with the electronic goods (Johnlewis.com 2019).
Considering the objective of the company, it is evident that the organization has the
capability to conduct a continuously improved business for the generation of the optimum
customer value. The core values of the company’s business operations are observed to be the
customer centricity, the mutual support along with the urge of continuously improving.
Hence, the business alignment of the company with the mentioned core values place the
organization in perfect position for the achievement of a way of business management which
focuses on leading effectively, acting collectively, providing the consistent support,

4HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
motivating others and taking of all set of stakeholders in a passionate manner (Johnlewis.com
2019).
Strategies:
With a precise focus on the business operations of the company, it is evident that the
organization is one of the recognized upmarket fashion retail stores operating in United
Kingdom. One of the fundamental strategies of the company is seen to be their tie up with
different brands for providing a wide range of quality fashion products to the customers of
the organization. The company has the expertise of offering their products along with the
products of different brands which plays a crucial role in gaining the ability to serve a wide
range of customers (Wallina and Spry 2016). Along with this, the company’s ability in
managing such diversified product offerings has the potential to influence the purchase
intention of the customers as that will certainly increase the ease of the customers in finding
out the products that they require. Hence the formation of a strong brand portfolio is one of
the significant strategies of the company.
Other than this, the unique and exclusive pricing strategy of the company is
considered as one of the significant strategies, capable of providing the much required
competitive advantage to the selected organization. The company is seen to be largely
focused in fair pricing and has a tendency of providing the products to their customers at
competitive prices (Zhang, Chiang and Liang 2014). However, the company is observed to
have no intention in compromising with the quality of the products and is keen to maintain
the customer value. The company is seen to be significantly efficient in meeting the prices of
their competitor organizations and that is pretty prominent with the formation of a team that
effectively monitors the pricing of same sort of products offered by the competitor
organizations on day to day basis. Hence, the strengths of the company in applying
competitive pricing are significantly evident.

5HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
SWOT Analysis:
With a precise look back at the 2017 business statistics of the company, it is visible
that the company is able to employ more than 38100 numbers of employees (Johnlewis.com
2019). The diversified skills and competencies of the employees of the company provide
considerable amount of competitive advantage to the company in delivering the optimum
quality products and services to their customers.
One of the significant strength of the company is the urge of the employees in leaning
and developing their fashion retail skills which are necessary for sustainable business
operations in the company.
Other than this, the senior management of the company in association with the human
resource department of the company is able to make sure that the different backgrounds of
the employees and the work culture are effectively aligned with the business and operational
strategy of the company through the formation of an effective code of conduct (Paauwe,
Guest and Wright 2013). The code of conduct of the company plays a significant role in
educating the employees of the company regarding the appropriate workplace behaviour,
diversity and existing policies in support of the equal opportunity.
Considering the weakness, the company’s incapability in increasing the effectiveness
of the training and developmental activities has the potential to provide a tough time to the
human resource managers of the company.
Along with this, the company has the necessity to manage their wage and work time
characteristics in accordance to the industry standards as that becomes important for the
company in developing a better relationship with the employees of the company. In addition
to this, the monitoring of the various governmental agencies such as Department of Work and

6HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Pensions and Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the wage and work
time characteristics for a precise follow up on the company’s ability in implementing the
guidelines framed by the government becomes crucial for the company to manage. The
incapability of the company in managing the effective implementation of these guidelines
such as Labour and Employment legislation, Workplace Safety Act and the Fair Trading Act
has the capability to provide a significant reputational damage to the company.
However, the company is seen to be partially competent in managing the aspects of
human resource management such as the procedures related to the workplace safety, health
and wellbeing of the employees of the company, the importance of ethical practices inside the
organization along with the fair trading, importance of maintaining the confidentiality of
information, responsibilities of the employees in avoiding the conflict of interest, effective
management of the company resources and the maintenance of the privacy (Paauwe and
Farndale 2017).
With a precise focus on the opportunities, it is evident that the company has the
capability to reform their training and developmental activities for the improvement of the
skills and competencies of the employees of the company (Paauwe and Farndale 2017). The
improvement of the training and developmental activities of the company has the necessity to
cover the important aspects such as the technological advancement and the improvement of
the skills of the employees in managing the artificial intelligence.
Other than this, the company has the possibility of improving the existing policies
regarding the aspects such as the workplace safety, health and wellbeing of the employees of
the company, the importance of ethical practices inside the organization along with the fair
trading, importance of maintaining the confidentiality of information, responsibilities of the
employees in avoiding the conflict of interest, effective management of the company

7HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
resources and the maintenance of the privacy. This will certainly add the value to the human
resource management of the company and along with that, these improvement will be crucial
in motivating the employees of the company.
Though the absenteeism is not a major issue in the company, however, the
inappropriate formation of the wage and work time characteristics can be considered as
incompetent in motivating the employees in being away from contributing to the increment of
the absenteeism rate of the company. Apart from this, the lack of effectiveness of the training
and developmental activities of the company in improving the skills of the employees has the
capability to create job dissatisfaction amongst the employees of the company and that can be
a major threat for the company in retaining their employees for a longer period of time.
Question 2: Impact of Technology
With a precise focus on the human resource management of the company, it is evident
that the incorporation of the technology has the potential to improve the effectiveness of the
training and developmental activities of the company. It is understandable that the repetitive
occurrences of the training and developmental activities has the possibility of increasing the
consumption of the resources and time for the company. Under such situation, the company
has the scope to designing an efficient web based platform for educating their employees
regarding the fashion retail skills. Walmart, being one of the market leaders of the retail
industry, is able to successfully launch such an efficient platform in the form of Live Better U
program in association with Guild Education for their employees (Corporate.walmart.com
2019).
Apart from this, the availability of the strong communication skills of the employees
of fashion retail industry is seen to be a major requirement for the companies operating in the
industry. The awareness regarding the fashion products and the modern trends of the industry

8HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
are considered to be crucial in effectively communicating the style statement and the type of
clothing that suits the customers in the best possible manner. Hence, in order to reach that
position where the customers will prefer the inputs of the employees regarding the sort of
products that they will purchase, the availability of the strong knowledge regarding the
fashion retail and clothing becomes important. Under such situation, the company has the
capability to develop an online video game which will include various questions regarding
the important fashion retail skills. The participation in playing the video game will be crucial
for the employees in learning the fashion retail skills and every employee will be provided
with a discount card at the completion of all the stages of the game. Walmart had a significant
success with the formation of such a video game named as Spark City
(Corporate.walmart.com 2019).
Considering the artificial intelligence and the technological advancement, it is
expected that the company will design effective training activities for improving the
competencies of the employees in handling the RFID scanners, digitalised portals along with
the basic training regarding the operational procedures of the machineries expected to be
installed in the company for the purpose of the manufacturing and design of the products in
future (Shrm.org 2019).
Question 3: Strategies for Challenge management
With a precise look back at the discussion, it is evident that one of the major point of
concern for the human resource managers of the company is the ineffective training and
developmental activities and under such situation, the management of the company is
expected to invest on the infrastructural development of the company for providing the much
required scope to the employees in improving their fashion retail skills (Cipd.co.uk. 2019).
The company is expected to incorporate the application of the technology for creating

9HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
diversified training activities where the employees will be able to learn the trade from the
web based platforms. Along with that, the concept of the video game for educating the
employees of the company regarding the fashion retail skills will be significant in reducing
the impact of job dissatisfaction amongst the employees of the company. In addition to this,
the training module in the form of the web based platform will provide the much required
flexibility to the employees of the company in learning the necessary technical skills.
Apart from this, the company has the necessity to improve their wage and work time
characteristics with precise focus on the industry standards and the government regulations to
improve their corporate image and the reputation as an efficient employer (Maqueira, Bruque
and Uhrin 2019). This will be crucial for the company in attracting larger number of skilled
and experienced candidates.
Along with this, the company is required to improve their workplace health safety
policies for convincing the employees regarding the initiatives that the company is inclined
towards taking for the improvement of the health and safety of the employees (Tansley
2011). Along with this, the company is expected to introduce whistle blower protection
policies for making sure that the cases of the unethical business practices are taken care in an
efficient manner. At the same time, the company is expected to improve their corporate
governance policies for promoting the much required ethical practices inside the company
(Thunnissen 2016). Both the strategies will be crucial for the employees of the company as
the ethical business practice from the part of the employees of the company will contribute in
improving the professional image of the employees. On the other hand, the formulation of the
workplace health and safety related procedure has the potential to act as a “motivator” in
accordance to the Herzberg two factor theory (Yusoff, Kian and Idris 2013).

10HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Other than this, the human resource management department of the company is
expected to come up with an efficient policy regarding the conflict of interest where the
employees will be asked to show no existence of their involvement in conflict of interest. In
addition to this, the company is expected to provide the required guidelines to the employees
for the effective management of the privacy regarding the various product development and
the application of the machineries inside the company.
Apart from this, the company is expected to improve their rewarding plan for
retaining their talented employees. With a precise focus on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the
initiatives of the company in meeting the physiological needs of the employees is considered
to be one of the crucial motivators for the employees of the company and under such
situation, it becomes important for the human resource management department of the
company to effectively identify the needs of the employees and form an appropriate
rewarding plan with the inclusion of the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards (Jerome 2013).
Question 4: Key Performance Indicators
With a precise understanding of the strategies framed for the improvement of the
human resource management inside the organization, one of the important performance
indicator for the company will be the decrease of 3% in the employee turnover rate of the
company.
Along with that, the success factor of the newly framed human resource strategies are
expected to be evaluated on the basis of the participation of the employees in the training
activities. As the newly developed human resource strategies of the company places the
organization in perfect position to the employees of the company for providing the scope in
achieving the proactive learning, the participation of 75% of the total employees will be an
important success factor for the newly framed human resource strategies.

11HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Other than this, the company is expected to conduct a survey amongst the employees
of the company regarding their reaction on the newly developed rewarding plan of the
company. This will evaluate the success of the company and the new rewarding plan of the
company is expected to be considered as success if 60% of the total workforce is happy with
it.
Along with this, the company is expected to evaluate their newly framed wage and
work time characteristics with the governmental guidelines and the variation of 10% is
expected to be considered as success for the company.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, the company is observed to be one of the most efficient fashion
retail organizations in providing optimum quality products to their customers. However, the
ineffective human resource management inside the organization is expected to be major
concern for the company and under such situation, the proactive management of the issues
related to the workplace safety, health and wellbeing of the employees of the company, fair
trading, inappropriate training activities along with wage and work time characteristics will
certainly improve the effectiveness of the company in managing their human resource.