Detailed Report on Human Resource Management Practices at Sainsbury's

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices at Sainsbury's, a major UK supermarket chain. The report begins with an introduction to HRM, emphasizing its importance in organizational management and its various functions, including recruitment, training and development, and employee relations. The report examines the purpose and functions of HRM as applicable to workforce planning, and then proceeds to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of internal and external recruitment methods used by Sainsbury's. Furthermore, it outlines the benefits of HRM practices for both employers and employees, highlighting how effective HRM can raise productivity and profitability. The report also stresses the significance of employee relations and discusses key components of employment legislation and their impact on HRM decision-making. It concludes by applying HRM practices in a work-related context, summarizing the key findings and their implications for Sainsbury's success. The report uses academic resources such as books and journals to support its findings.

Human Resource
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Purpose & functions of HRM applicable to workforce planning..........................................1
P2 Strengths & weaknesses of recruitment and selection approach...........................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P3 Benefits of HRM practices for employer as well as employee..............................................3
P4 Effectiveness of HRM practices in raising productivity and profit of firm...........................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
P5 Importance of employee relation...........................................................................................6
P6 Key components of employment legislation and impact it has on HRM decision making...7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P7 Application of HRM practices in work related context.........................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Human Resource Management is one of the vital functions of an organisation. It is a
process by which company manage its personnel in effective way. There are various activities
included in HRM like recruitment, training & development, performance appraisal,
compensation, health and safety, provide positive workplace to employees & maintaining
healthy employment relations (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). Implementation of all such
activities assist in motivating employees. In the present assignment, chosen organisation is
Sainsbury's which is second largest supermarket chain of United Kingdom. The company is
established in 1869 and its headquarters are located in Holborn, London. This report covers
purposes and functions of HRM as well as strengths and weaknesses of recruitment approach. It
also includes various benefits and effectiveness of human resource management practices. Along
with this, significance of good employee relation and key elements of employment legislation are
defined. At last, application of HRM practices within workplace is included in this project.
TASK 1
P1 Purpose & functions of HRM applicable to workforce planning
HRM is an essential aspect which is concerned with recruitment and selection of skilled
manpower. It involves various activities that assists in increasing motivation of employees. Main
purpose of human resource management function is to anticipate workforce needs of
organisation and hire best suitable candidate who have excellent skills and good knowledge.
Training and development is also an important aspect of HRM that helps in accomplishment of
firm's objectives as it assist in developing potential among employees to perform their work
effectively. Manager are responsible for conducting and managing various activities within
company that facilitates in increasing participation of workforce.
In Sainsbury's, managers first determine manpower requirements of organisation and then
fulfil these by recruiting suitable candidate for vacant position. Selection of an individual is
based on their skills and qualifications which best meets the specified criteria. They also design
training programme so that, competencies of workers can be increase. This improves morale of
employees and enable them to work in more effective manner (Armstrong, 2014).
Functions of HRM:
There are various functions of human resource management from which 2 major
activities applicable to workforce planning which are defined below:
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Recruitment & Selection: It is one of the main function that is performed in every
business enterprise. In this process, managers forecast human resource needs of firm and design
proper plan for recruiting employees. For each job, a definite criteria is set & on the basis of that,
selection of individual is done. In Sainsbury's, manager invite application so that interested
people can apply for job. From large talent pool, best candidate is selected and hire within firm.
Selection of skilled employees ensures successful attainment of goals and objectives (Bratton
and Gold, 2017).
Training and development: It is also an important aspect of human resource management
in which managers identify skill needs of workforce and develop effective training programme.
It facilitates in increasing potential of employees by providing them proper knowledge regarding
their job task. Manager of Sainsbury's administer appropriate training session to their manpower
by which they get opportunity to improve their skills and knowledge. It aids them in performing
their roles in more effective and efficient manner.
P2 Strengths & weaknesses of recruitment and selection approach
Recruitment is a process by which firm select skilled and knowledgeable candidate who
have ability to achieve objectives of business. Human resource are the main part of organisation
that highly contributes in success of company. In Sainsbury's, internal and external recruitment
method is used for hiring candidate. By this, managers are able to select best candidate which
meets all the criteria of job. There are some strengths and weaknesses associated with these
approaches which are as follows:
Internal recruitment:
In this process, individuals are recruited internally from within the organisation. This
selection is based on performance and skills of existing employee. If manager of Sainsbury's find
them suitable, they hire them for vacant position. Promotion and termination are the ways by
which internal recruitment is done (Brewster, 2017).
Strengths:
 Internal recruitment process saves money of firm as it consumes less cost and time.
 Major advantage of using this method is that it increase loyalty of workforce towards
company and develops a sense of satisfaction among them. Existing employees get motivated and work in more effective manner towards achieving
objectives of company.
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Weaknesses:
 One of the main weakness is that it restricts entry of fresh blood within firm.
 It creates lack of creativity & innovation within firm as existing employees perform their
duties with same skills.
 It sometimes creates a feeling of dissatisfaction among collogues and other team
members.
External recruitment:
It is the process in which applications are invited and candidates are hired from outside
the firm for vacant job position (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley, 2016). Managers of
Sainsbury's design an advertisement in which all the information regarding vacant job position
are included. Best suitable candidate who meet all specified criteria is selected and hire within
organisation. Main purpose of using external recruitment is to get highly skilled and
knowledgable individual.
Strengths:
 Major advantage of external recruitment is that managers have choice to select & hire
best candidate from huge pool of applicants.
 Fresh blood is enter within firm with more skills and knowledge required for job position. Entry of fresh blood brings creativity and innovation within organisation which provides
competitive edge to company over their rivals.
Weaknesses:
 It is an expensive process as it consumes high cost and more time.
 Sometimes, existing employees get demotivated from the entry of new candidate.
 It takes a lot of time and money to train new employees.
TASK 2
P3 Benefits of HRM practices for employer as well as employee
Human resource management includes various practices which are beneficial for both, an
employer as well as employee (Meglio, King and Risberg, 2015). Application of those assists in
performing operations and functions in more effective manner. These practices provides benefits
to both employer and employee of Sainsbury's and helps them in running operations smoothly &
efficiently. Benefits of HRM practices are defined below:
Benefits to employer:
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Assists managers in decision making: HRM practices facilitates managers in taking
effective decisions regarding plans and policies of company. It ensures proper working within
firm which leads it towards high growth & success. These practices also enables managers in
taking decisions related to various activities of business. By the assistance of these practices,
Sainsbury's manager frame policies regarding benefits of employees.
Create healthy work surroundings: HRM practices supports managers in developing
such strategies and policies that brings ethical work environment within company (Purce, 2014).
A healthy work environment is created by effective implementation of these policies which
helps in attaining objectives and targets of of Sainsbury's. Positive environment creates sense of
satisfaction among workforce as they feel motivated and encourage to work in more effective
manner.
Benefits to employee:
Improves performance of personnel: There are many practices comes under human
resource management which provides various benefits to employees. Application of these
practices at workplace facilitates in improving performance of manpower. It increase morale of
employees and they are encourage to work in more better manner. It also assist in maintaining
healthy surroundings which creates a sense of satisfaction among workers.
Fulfil manpower needs: Implementation of human resource management practices helps
in catering various needs of workers related to health & safety, training and development,
compensation, proper wages, healthy work environment etc. All such practices helps in
protecting interest of manpower and provides them several benefits by fulfil their needs. These
practices keep high morale of employees and enables them to work effectively (Riley, 2014).
P4 Effectiveness of HRM practices in raising productivity and profit of firm
HRM practices proves to be very effective in terms of raising profit & productivity of
company. These practices facilitates in improving satisfaction among workforce. By the
assistance of these practices, manager design effective plans and policies as well as develop
various strategies that facilitates in proper execution of these. It provides directions to manager
regarding their future course of action. Proper implementation of these plans and policies help
firm in attaining its business objectives. It increase morale of employees and they are encourage
to work towards common goal. This brings coordination and cooperation among all the members
who are working in various departments.
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These practices promotes healthy working environment within organisation which
ultimately increase satisfaction level of personnel. If they feel satisfied, a positive working
environment keep maintain and workers feel happy. HRM practices facilitates manager in taking
effective and right decisions. These decisions helps in improving operations of firm which leads
it towards high profitability and profit (Schermerhorn and et. al., 2014). In Sainsbury's, managers
are required to formulate appropriate training programme so that skills of workers can be
improved and they are enable to work in more better way. Effective training provides an
opportunity to human resource to increase their knowledge and learn new skills that assists in
their future career growth. It provides them ability to do their assigned work in proper way and
contributes in growth and success of company.
Human resource play important role in successful accomplishment of goals and
objectives of company. This can only be attained by increasing productivity of business as well
as employees. It is also important for organisations to provide healthy and safe work
environment to their personnel. This will increase their motivation level and they feel satisfied.
Their morale increases and they perform their duties in more effective manner. This will directly
impact on productivity and performance of company. It helps in increasing profits and revenues
of firm. In order to increase profitability of firm, managers need to evaluate performance of
employees on regular basis. Measurement of performance helps in improving productivity of
company.
Effective practices of human resource management enables manager of Sainsbury's in
developing good compensation plans. If employees get fair wages then this will increase their
motivation level (Sheehan and et. al., 2014). They work happily and perform their duties in more
proper manner. It increase performance and productivity of company which is beneficial in
increasing profits. So, from the above mentioned description, it can be said that practices of
human resource management are very effective for Sainsbury's in terms of increasing its profit
and productivity.
TASK 3
P5 Importance of employee relation
Relationship between management and workforce which they share within organisation is
termed as employee relation. It is very important that a good relationship should keep maintain
among all the employees of firm so that, a healthy environment is created. Good employee
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relations contributes in growth and success of company. So, it is required by administrator of
Sainsbury's to maintain good relation among employer and employee. It ensures satisfaction of
workers and in improving performance of firm. It will also help increasing engagement of
employees in firm's activities (Role of Managers in Employee Relationship, 2018). This will
increase coordination among workers and they are enable to freely interact with each and share
their views. Opinions of employees helps managers in taking effective decisions. All this aids in
attaining objectives of company by increasing profits of firm. There are several benefits of
maintaining good relations between employer and employee which are as follows:
 Healthy employee relation improves motivation of workforce and they are encourage to
work in more effective way and perform their duties well.
 Employees are engaged more in activities of firm which aids in increasing cooperation
and coordination between them. They understand each other and work collectively
towards attainment of goals.
 It improves communication process. Employees can freely interact with management and
share their opinions and views. These helps in taking effective decisions.
 If employee relations are good then it will lead firm towards high growth and get
sustainability in market for longer period of time.
 It helps in successful attainment of objectives and goals of company in an effective and
efficient manner (Sheehan, 2014).
There are some conditions which should be created by Sainsbury's to maintain good relation.
These are defined below:
 Effective communication system should be developed by firm so that misunderstandings
can be eliminated and a proper information can be communicated.
 It is very important for manager of Sainsbury's to treat all its workforce in equal manner
and render them equal growth opportunities.
 It is required by company to take feedback from their workforce on regular basis so that
if necessary or required, improvements can be made.
P6 Key components of employment legislation and impact it has on HRM decision making
Various legislations are made by government which are necessary to be adopt and
implement by firms. These legislations defined about various duties and responsibilities of
employer towards their employee (Shen, 2016). It helps in defining relation between
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management and workers as well as also depicts about responsibilities of personnel towards
workplace. Important components of employment legislation are defined below:
Anti discrimination act: This act states about discrimination that takes place within firm.
As per this act, it is necessary for employer to treat their workers in equal manner with same
respect & dignity. Discrimination on the basis of age, religion, colour, beliefs, education, culture
etc. must not be done at workplace. It will put negative impact on performance of firm as well as
its employees. So, manager of Sainsbury's are require to render equal opportunities to their all
workforce so that they feel happy. It is necessary to ensure that there is no discrimination takes
place within company.
Employment right act: Under this act, it is required by managers to render all the basic
facilities and rights to employees at workplace. Manager of Sainsbury's needs to ensure that
workers should be provided with healthy and safe workplace, minimum wages, no
discrimination, equal opportunities etc. It is the responsibility of manager to provide their
manpower with all such rights.
Equal pay act: This act depicts about the salaries and wages that employees get for the
work they have done. Employers are required to administer equal pay to all employees who work
at same level. It boost up morale of employees which in turn enhance productivity of
Sainsbury's.
Employee relation act: Manpower is an important resource of every business enterprise
that highly contributes in its success (Shields and et. al., 2015). According to this legislation, it is
the responsibility of management to develop healthy relation with workers. Manager of
Sainsbury's done this by providing equal growth opportunities as well as treating them equally
and providing them good work surroundings so that they are able to work in an effective manner.
Working time directive act: This act states about working hours of employees at
workplace. It is essential for every individual to work for minimum 8 hours daily according to
this legislation. It renders legal existence to workforce of his employment.
All the above mentioned legislations should be adopted and implemented by managers of
Sainsbury's so that proper working takes place within organisation. All these legislations affects
decision making of human resource management (Tang and et. al., 2015). It helps manager of
Sainsbury's in formulating effective policies regarding employees. Proper execution of these
assists in promoting positive work surroundings which in turn increase motivation of employees.
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TASK 4
P7 Application of HRM practices in work related context
Sainsbury's is the second largest supermarket chain in United Kingdom. Many times,
firm face a lot of challenges in terms of decreased productivity, lack of manpower etc. In such
situations, manager of Sainsbury's needs to apply range of human resource management
practices so that these issues can be resolved in effective manner. Various HRM practices
includes:
Manpower planning: Proper planning should be done by manager of Sainsbury's before
hiring employees within organisation. They need to determine manpower needs of firm and hire
right number of employees accordingly. Selection of employees is done on the basis of skills and
qualifications of individual.
Training and development: For increasing skills of employees, it is important to provide
them appropriate training. It enables workforce to perform their duties in well manner and attain
objectives of company (Wilton, 2016).
Job specification:- It is a document that consist of all the information about roles and
responsibilities that an individual needs to perform in their job profile.
JOB SPECIFICATION
Organisation: Sainsbury's
Job title: Assistant Human resource manager
Qualification:- MBA or PGDM in human resource management
Essential Criteria:
 Have ability to deal with every situation in effective manner.
 Ensure coordination as well as cooperation among all team members
 Adequate knowledge of management theories and approaches.
Desirable Criteria:
 Require 5 years of experience
 Good personality & physique
CURRICULUM VITAE
Curriculum Vitae
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Name:- ABC
Address:- Holborn, London
Phone No:- 647389293020
Profile summary:-
Require MBA professional with specialization in HR and have an experience of 5 years to
become the part of organisation.
Specialisation:
 Recruitment & training programme
 Decent management of conflicts & disputes
Educational Qualification:-
 BCA
 MBA
Declaration:
I hereby declare that all the information provided is true and best in my knowledge.
Date:
Place:
CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report, it has been concluded that human resource
management is a vital function that assists in managing personnel within firm. There are two
major functions of HRM in context of workplace planning. These functions includes recruitment
& selection as well as training and development. Apart from these, there are various other
functions included in it such as performance appraisal, compensation, orientation, induction,
health & safety etc. All such activities are managed and controlled by manager. These help in
increasing motivation of workers which in turn improves productivity of firm. Training and
development of workforce is very important aspect which needs to be considered by every firm
so that employees can get opportunity to increase their potential of performing tasks. Several key
legislations related to human resource management are necessarily be adopted and implemented
by company. These defines rights and duties of employer as well as employee.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014.Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Armstrong, P., 2014. Limits and possibilities for HRM in an age of management
accountancy.New Perspectives On Human Resource Management op. cit. at, pp.154-
166.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017.Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C., 2017. The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy.
InPolicy and practice in European human resource management(pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Brewster, C., Mayrhofer, W. and Morley, M. eds., 2016.New challenges for European resource
management. Springer.
Meglio, O., King, D. R. and Risberg, A., 2015. Improving acquisition outcomes with contextual
ambidexterity.Human Resource Management.54(S1).
Purce, J., 2014. The impact of corporate strategy on human resource management.New
Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals).67.
Riley, M., 2014.Human resource management in the hospitality and tourism industry. Routledge.
Schermerhorn, J. and et. al., 2014.Management: Foundations and Applications (2nd Asia-Pacific
Edition). John Wiley & Sons.
Sheehan, C. and et. al., 2014. HR professional role tensions: Perceptions and responses of the top
management team.Human Resource Management.53(1). pp.115-130.
Sheehan, M., 2014. Human resource management and performance: Evidence from small and
medium-sized firms.International Small Business Journal.32(5). pp.545-570.
Shen, J., 2016. Principles and applications of multilevel modeling in human resource
management research.Human Resource Management.55(6). pp.951-965.
Shields, J. and et. al., 2015.Managing Employee Performance & Reward: Concepts, Practices,
Strategies. Cambridge University Press.
Tang, G. and et. al., 2015. How effective human resource management promotes corporate
entrepreneurship: evidence from China.The International Journal of Human Resource
Management.26(12). pp.1586-1601.
Wilton, N., 2016.An introduction to human resource management. Sage.
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