Human Resource Management Practices: A Report on Harrods' Strategies

This report provides a detailed analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices within Harrods, a private company established in 1849. It begins by outlining the purpose and functions of HRM, emphasizing its role in workforce resourcing and planning, and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of various recruitment and selection approaches. The report then examines different HRM practices applicable to both employees and employers, assessing their effectiveness in boosting organizational productivity. A critical evaluation of the application of these practices within the organizational context is also included. Furthermore, the report explores the significance of employee relations in influencing HRM decision-making, identifies key elements of employment legislation and their impact, and illustrates the application of HR practices in a work-related context, culminating in a concluding summary.

Human Resource Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
ACTIVITY- 1..................................................................................................................................1
The purpose and functions of HRM applicable to workforce resourcing and planning in the
organization .................................................................................................................................1
The strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to selection and recruitment..................3
ACTIVITY- 2..................................................................................................................................6
Different HRM practices within an organization for both the employee and employer.............6
Effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organizational productivity.........6
A critical evaluation of Application of HRM practices and application within an organizational
context..........................................................................................................................................7
ACTIVITY- 3..................................................................................................................................9
Importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-making..................9
Identify the key element of employment legislation and impact on decision-making..............10
Illustrate the application of HR practices in a work related context. ........................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Human Resource management refers to the strategic approach for the effective
management of the workforce in an organization. It is the process of recruiting, deploying and
hiring and management of the employees in the Company. The Project report is based on the
Harrods. It is the Private Company and established in the year 1849. It is founded by Charles
Henry Harrod. The headquarters of the firm is situated in the Kensington and Chelsea in London.
The study will cover the functions and purpose of HRM that are applicable in workforce
planning and resourcing in the organization. It will explain the weaknesses and strengths of
different approaches in recruitment and selection process. Assignment will discuss HRM
practices for both the employer and employee within an organization. Furthermore, it will
discuss the effectiveness of various HRM practices in terms of raising the productivity of the
organization.
Moreover, it will identify the key legislation of employment and its impact on HRM
decision making. It will demonstrate the application of HRM practices. Lastly, it will provide
conclusion.
ACTIVITY- 1
The purpose and functions of HRM applicable to workforce resourcing and planning in the
organization
Purpose of Human Resource Management
Human Resource Management is crucial from the growth perspective of Harrods. Thus,
the Human resource management purpose is to fulfil the staffing needs. Their purpose is to
satisfy the employees needs. The HRM is able to achieve this by focusing on the processes,
people and technology. Through focusing on the internal parts of the organization the employees
needs get fulfilled. HRM work is to align the human resources in order to achieve the business
goals of the company. The HR purpose identifies the employees needs to deliver the best
performance from the employees. Thus, this leads to increase the productivity of the Harrods.
HRM purpose is to target staffing and to do career development.
Functions of Human Resource Management
Operative functions -
 Recruitment – It is one of the most challenging assignment for the Human Resource
Manager of Harrods. It is responsibility of HR manager is to recruit the skilful level of
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employees in the company. They select the appropriate candidate for the vacant job in the
Company. Lots of function involved in the recruitment such as job posting, interviewing,
sourcing the candidates and salary negotiations in order to make job offer to new
recruited candidates,
 Training and development – It is the crucial for the employees to attain the training and
development program in the Harrods. The HR department is responsible for providing the
training to the new recruited employees in order to make them well versed with the
organizational working and culture (Mao, Alizadeh, Menacheand Kandula, 2016). From
the growth perspective it is crucial for the existing employees to take active part in the
training and development program which is held by the HR department in the
organization. The training is crucial as employees get learn more through this and their
chances of the promotion get increased.
 Compensation and Benefits – Harrods will be able to achieve its goal and objective if
its employees are satisfied. Thus, one of the way to satisfy the employees is to give them
compensation and benefits. The following benefits will boost the employee's morale as
they feel that their boss has given them a sense of appreciation. The compensatory
benefits can be given in form of working hour flexibility, Medical insurance, extented
leaves and educational reimbursement for the employees children.
Managerial Functions -
Planning – The planning function is very vital in terms. The procedures and polices of the
Harrods is helpful in achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. The first thing which
comes in mind is to foresee the vacancies. The supply and demand forecasting is being made in
planning process. Thus, there is need of HR manager as they are aware of the strategic goals and
job market of the company. The plan put emphasis on ascertaining the elimination of the
shortage of the Employees in the Company.
Organizing – Another important function of the organization is to design and develop the
structure of the company. Thus, the Human resource department of Harrods is responsible for
grouping the employees in order to perform various tasks of the organization on individual basis
(Human Resource Management (HRM): Definition & Functions, 2019). They are responsible for
allocating the responsibility and tasks of the organization to the employees. At the time of job
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offering they decide that which employee need to go in which department as per their capability
and abilities.
Directing – This function is being designed to give guidance and direction to the employees in
order to achieve the business goal of the Harrods. The Human resource department is responsible
for building friendly relations with the employees. For their career planning it is essential to
guide them in right direction. This is the responsibility of the HR manager to find the right needs
of the employees and direct as per that in order to increase the satisfaction level among them.
Controlling – This refers to evaluation of the activities as per the plan. The Human resource
department of the Harrods needs to examine the outcomes of the employee's performance which
are predetermined in the plan. Thus, they find the deviations and drawbacks which are lacking
behind in the last performance of the employees that can be corrected in their next performance.
Advisory Functions -
Top Management Advice – HR manager of Harrods has specialization about the HRM
functions, Thus, they are able to give advice to the top management about the formulation of
polices and procedures. They can recommend the top management about the appraisal of the
manpower.
Departmental Head Advice – The HR department of the Harrods is able to give advice to the
various departments of the company such as about Job description, Job design, appraisals and
recruitment.
The strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to selection and recruitment
The recruitment and selections plays important role for the success of the Harrods. It
starts with the various methods of the recruitment on their basis of the knowledge and experience
of the candidate. This is done for hiring the best talent for the vacant job in the organization. The
two types of recruitment method are discussed as follows -
Internal recruitment – The internal recruitment is being done through transfers and promotions.
The HR department identifies the employees potential who is working extraordinary for the
organization and on the basis of that they give promotion to the suitable employees who are
worth capable of it. This type of recruitment method is cost efficient and through this employee's
morale get boasted (Morschett, Schramm-Klein, and Zentes, 2015). This is helpful in saving the
training cost as the employees are already known with the culture and environment of Harrods.
They know what are their job responsibility and what they need to do in order to increase the
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profitability of the organization. Transfer is also helpful in giving some sort of relaxation as
employees get bored working in the same environment and with the same subordinates. By
change management they will be able to work at their optimum level.
Strengths
 The cost of internal recruitment is cheaper and it is quicker than the external (Fratričová
and Rudy, 2015).
 The employees are more familiar with the organization, and they know how to operate
the business.
 It is helpful for providing the opportunities.
 The HR manager of the organization knows that what are the strengths and weakness of
their staff and employees. They know existing employees more than the newly
recruited. Thus, they are able to give specific job role to the one who is worthy capable.
Weaknesses
 It limits the chances of the potential employees.
 The organization cannot gain more from the existing employees as no new idea is being
introduced,
 This may cause the resentment among the candidate who is not appointed.
External recruitment – The external recruitment is helpful in hiring the top talent in the
organization. The candidates are recruited form the outside. As HR department of Harrods needs
to trained their employees as to make new recruited candidate well versed with the job roles,
Thus, it involves time and cost.
Strengths
 The outside people are helpful for bringing the new idea in the organization.
 The external recruitment creates the larger pool of the people from which the best
candidate can be chosen.
 The people in external recruitment have wider range of experience.
Weaknesses
 It is longer and time-consuming process.
 It is way more expensive than the internal recruitment as this required high cost for doing
advertising and inviting the applicants.
 The selection process may not effective enough as the chances of rejection is high.
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Selection refers to choosing the best candidates from the all. This is complicated and
time-consuming process, The Selection process includes rejection as the candidate who are not
worthy or well enough for the vacant job position get rejected during this process. There are
various methods of Selection.
Using behavioural test - The employers develop some questions in order to ask the candidate in
the interview round. The questions which are asked by judging the behaviour is helpful in taking
the honest opinions from the respondent (Jensen, 2017). On the spot answers are helpful in
decision-making of the HR department. It is helpful in choosing the appropriate candidate among
the all.
Administering Skills tests – Some job profile in the Harrods requires the specific skills. Thus,
the HR department ensure that their prospect carries minimum level of the skills which are
required to perform a particular task. The selection process can be done in written and oral both
form. The HR department will recruit the candidate on the basis of conducting the written test.
Personality Test – This is the another way to interview the candidate based on their personalties.
The personality is being judged in order to identify whether it will succeed in the particular job
or not. For example, the person who is introvert and not capable enough to speak with the
strangers doesn't suit for the sales position (Saeed, Afsar and Afridi, 2019). The person whose
personality reflects the non- violence definitely not indulged with the conflicts and can be helpful
in resolving the conflicts in the organization. Thus, personality test can be helpful in driving the
organization at heights.
Panel interview – The Panel interview can be helpful in taking an interview at intense level. As
there is many people sited as interviewer and although they have different personalties
(Moutinho, and Vargas-Sanchez, eds., 2018). They are able to judge the candidate on the basis
of their body language, personality, tone and language skills. When one person sited in the panel
asked the questions to candidate, the another ones are able to judge them in terms of personality
and another factors such as confidence level. Thus, the best candidate is selected as panel has
conversation when the candidate leaves. Jointly they take decision which candidate would be
perfect for the vacant job.
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ACTIVITY- 2
Different HRM practices within an organization for both the employee and employer
The HRM practices plays crucial role in the success of the organization. It is helpful in
giving competitive advantage to Harrods. The HRM practices directly influence the performance
of the Employees. Various HRM practices which are used in Harrods are as follows -
Conflict resolution – It is crucial for Harrods to resolve conflicts between the employees. The
HR manager tries to study the reason of the conflict in depth and use various measures in order
to resolve it. It is helpful in maintaining the better relationships with the employees. Thus, the
employee's satisfaction level get increased.
Training and development – The training is given to the employees by the employer as to make
them well versed with the Harrods company roles. Training is crucial as it increases the chances
of the promotion (Wehrmeyer, 2017). The employees get to learn new skills and get a chance to
develop their inherit skills. Through getting promotion in the organization, the employee's
satisfaction get increased in the Company.
Monetary rewards – The compensatory benefits are helpful for boosting morale of the
employees in the company. The employer gives timely benefits to their employees for building
healthier relations with them. It includes bonuses, fringe benefits and salary increments. As the
employees feels motivated they stared working at their optimum level (Stone and Deadrick,
2015). Therefore, the productivity of Harrods get increased.
Performance Appraisal – The Employees get performance appraisal as they outperform in the
organization. This can be in form of promotion and transfer (Pindek, Kessler and Spector, 2017).
The employees get promoted when they do something outstanding in the Harrods. Through this
the employee's satisfaction in the organization get increased.
Effectiveness of different HRM practices in terms of raising organizational productivity
HRM practices are helpful in controlling the performance of Harrods. It is helpful in
improving the overall productivity of the organization. The effectiveness of various HRM
practices are discussed as follows -
 Encourage positive behaviour – The employees feels encouraged as there is conducive
working environment in Harrods. The HRM practices motivates them to be more
productive. As HR manager work is to resolve the conflicts at the workplace. Thus, if the
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culture of the company stay away from the disputes and conflicts (Shen and Benson,
2016). The employees will be able to work at their optimum level.
 Developed employees – The HRM practices are helpful in encouraging the employees of
Harriods and helps them to add value to the company. As the HR manager gives training
to the employees. Thus, the employees get a chance to share their knowledge with the
newly recruited employees. Therefore, in this way the organizational productivity get
increased.
 Helpful in building flexible workplace – As the HR department of the Harrods takes
decision regards to the job rotation of the employees. Thus, the employees locations
keeps on changing from one field to another in the organization. Therefore, they are able
to do multitasking. They get a chance to have knowledge of diverse fields. Thus, the
employees are able to work in adverse circumstance and can be helpful for increasing the
probability of the organization.
 Motivates workers – The HR manager of Harrods gives timely compensatory benefits to
their employees. It includes the bonuses, medical insurance, salary increments. Thus, the
employees feels that they are appreciated for the work which they have performed.
Eventually the overall working of the employees get improved as they feel motivated
(Nankervis, Baird and Shields, 2016). Therefore, the effective performance of the
employees turns into higher profitability.
 Effective direction setting and execution – The HR manager plays crucial role in
recruiting the top talent in the organization. Hence, the appropriate managers are chosen
for the company who are able to give right direction to the employees about the work.
They guide and provide direction to the employees which helps the employees to work at
their optimum level. Thus, in this way the Harrods profitability and productivity get
increased.
A critical evaluation of Application of HRM practices and application within an organizational
context
As per the view of John and Taylor, 2016, it is stated that Recruitment and selection are
the key activity of the Human resource department. Choosing the appropriate candidate for the
vacant job is essential to drive the organization towards the success. Managing the manpower is
the responsibility of the HR department if the required number of employees are not hired for the
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vacant job role the organization will not be able to accomplish tasks on timely basis. For
example, the HR department of Harrods select appropriate candidate for the vacant job role in
order to enhance the productivity of the company.
According to Wilton, 2016, it is stated that giving training to the employees can be
helpful in improving the organizational performance. The existing employees get to learn
additional skills in the organization through taking training secession whereas the newly
recruited employees get well versed with their job role in the organization. Therefore, training is
essential for the employees whether they are existing or newly recruited. For example, Harrods
provide training to their employees in order to increase the performance of their employees.
Training also increase the chances for the existing employees to get promoted. As they learn new
skills in training session of the company they are able to handle the job role which they will get
after promoted. Thus, this is helpful in increasing the productivity of the organization.
As per the view of Reiche, Stahl and Oddou, eds., 2016 it is stated that reward
management is helpful in increasing the morale of the employees in the organization. The reward
schemes are important for retaining and attarcting employees in the organization. For example,
the Harrods gives timely incentives and bonuses to their employees who outperformed in the
organization. Thus, the employees started working from their full potential. Thus, this eventually
helpful in increasing the profitability of Harrods,
According to Stewart and Brown, 2019, it is stated that Performance appraisal is the way
to encourage the employees to work more productive in the firm. The HR manager of the
organization gives the sense of appreciation to their employees by evaluating the employee's
performance. There role is to discuss the performance of the employees and give them honest
feedbacks about their performance. For example, the HR department of the Harrods gives
Employees appraisals in order to appreciate them if they outperformed in the organization. They
give them promotion if they find that employee is worth capable. Thus, the employee's morale
get boosted, Therefore, this is helpful in improving the productivity of the organization.
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ACTIVITY- 3
Importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision-making
Employee relationships is the most important for organization because it helps to increase
the productivity of the firm. Thus, It is the fundamental concept its described the relationship of
employees that helps to achieve the organization goal. These methods help to describe the nature
of relationship between organization and employees by the helps to qualitative and quantitative
analysis (Banfield, Kay and Royles 2018). It includes, development of team, retaining of worker
and satisfaction.
Importance of employee relations in an organization are as follows :
High employees' satisfaction — Satisfied employees of Harrods feel connection with the firm
as they produce highly qualitative product which helps to firm productivity. Thus, satisfied
employees are motivated towards the work they make the product according to the needs of
customer. Therefore, while making the product according to the requirement of customer it helps
to attract the customer towards the product. So high satisfaction is helps to better decision-
making. Therefore, employee satisfaction is the essential element of every firm, and unsatisfied
employees have lack enthusiasm as they not enhance their knowledge and it creates negative
impact.
Higher retention and lower Turnover — In this, management treats employee fairly and
effective manner. Recruitments and training program is costly and take much time so when firm
maintain the good relationship and provide motivation through rewards facilities it helps to
reduce the expenses of recruitment and training (Huemann, Keegan and Turner, 2018).
Therefore, employees relation is helps to Harrods in retaining top employees and reducing
turnover rates by ensuring that members is satisfied. Thus, to maintain the relationship with
employees it helps to management in decision-making of recruitment and training programme.
High productivity and profitability — Highly satisfies employees is make the best product and
work fast they hard work with their jobs and achieve the desired goal of the firm. Therefore,
when employees of Harrods fees satisfied they make better product and satisfied the customers.
Thus, good relationship is change the decision-making power of employees as they enhance
motivation through award programs. Thus, employee produce more effective product and helps
to increase the productivity, when productivity is increase it directly impacts on the profitablity
of the firm.
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Less absenteeism — This is another importance of employee relation when firm provide the
better work balance at work place it helps to reduce the level of absenteeism. Thus, the decision
of HR management is that they provide the flexible hours and reduce the work load and also
conduct the one on oner meetings. Thus, it helps to Harrods, issue of absenteeism is reduced by
employee recognition (Stewart and Brown, 2019).
Loyalty of employees is increased — Through better understanding with employees and
provide the opportunity to employees it helps to increase the loyalty of employees. Thus,
Harrods HR staffs is Offer competitive and fair compensation, Remove unnecessary uncertainty,
Shape team values through involvement etc. Therefore, this all activities is improves the loyalty
of employees it helps to reduce the employee turnover.
Better Customer service and quality — This is another importance of employee engagements.
Thus, employees are highly motivated they serve the best services to the customer as it helps to
increase the customer base. Therefore, customer are likely to be well served because employee
relation of the Harrods work harder and make efficient product which satisfied the customer
easily. Thus, The decision of HR staffs is depended on the employee engagement, employees are
care deeply about their jobs, and thus, the customer of Microsoft well.
Identify the key element of employment legislation and impact on decision-making.
Equity act 2010 — This law which protects the human rights of individual from unfair
treatments and decision and also promotes a fair decisions and equal rights of individual. Thus,
in this law firm provides the equal opportunity to employees that firm not compare the men or
women. Thus, Harrods follow this law in the business to satisfy the employee that firm always
provide the equal opportunity to the employees, therefore, by following this law it helps to
enhance the employee loyalty towards the work and goal of the firm. The Equality Act would
provide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key
areas of life such as employment housing, credit, education, public spaces and service, federal
funded programme and jury service (Chelladurai and Kerwin. 2018).
Health and safety act 1974 — This act is protects the employees by providing the health and
safety benefits at work place. This low protects the people against the risk. The HR departments
of Harrods is provided the health and safety benefits to the employee. Firm make sure that they
provide the medical benefits, Rest room and canteen facility so, employees are motivated
towards the benefits. The HR department of Harrods is provided the bests training facility like
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