MG411: People Management - Contemporary Issues and Solutions Report

This report, focusing on people management, delves into crucial aspects such as leadership, employee retention, and performance management. It addresses contemporary issues faced by line managers, including training and development, and offers solutions based on established theories like the Social Learning Theory and Herzberg's Theory. The report highlights the essential knowledge, skills, and behaviors of effective people managers, emphasizing leadership and decision-making skills. Furthermore, it explores how HR processes, like performance management reviews and 360-degree appraisals, support management in evaluating and improving employee performance. The report concludes with recommendations for aligning business strategies with internal and external factors, utilizing tools for workforce analysis, and providing effective training and development to enhance employee capabilities and organizational success.

MG411 INTRODUCTION
TO PEOPLE
MANAGEMENT

Executive Summary
It has been summarized that the people management also plays key role in an organisation the
results are governed by that only which is the profitability and the growth. The project shall give
the various issues faced and also how they can be rectified. It will also talk about the traits
required by effective human resource management team.This will also underpin and support
management at the time of effective performance management in an effective manner.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................2
Heading 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................4
Heading 2: Contemporary issues faced by line management.....................................................4
Heading 3: Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour of Effective People Manager.............................5
Heading 4: HR process underpin and support management when it comes to effective
performance management...........................................................................................................7
Heading 5: Recommendations for Management and HR Processes...........................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

Heading 1: Introduction
This project shall highlight the concept of people management, how they are supposed to be
managed effectively to make them work, engage and grow in an organization. Its aim is to
acquire talent, optimize it and retain for the growth and development of the organization. It shall
be reflecting certain contemporary issues that are faced by the line mangers in handling this
process. The issues faced can be regarding the recruitment, training and development, managing
employee relations, retention and adapting them to the changing environment etc. It will also
discuss it with reference to companies and how they are managing such issues with the help of
theories designed. It will also focus on the required knowledge base, skills and the behaviour for
becoming an effective people manager (Alfes, 2018). Certain key skills can be leadership,
motivation, decision-making and the problem solving. Relevant examples of company shall be
taken to describe the theories that are used to manage these skills. The project also shows the role
of HR when it comes to supporting management for effective performance management. It shall
also recommend and suggest the ways to gain efficiency by the people's manager to facilitate
proper management within the company.
Heading 2: Contemporary issues faced by line management
There are some issues which are faced by the line management while they manage people of the
organisation. These issues can be namely maintaining relations with employee, developing
leadership, recruitment, selection, training and development, motivating them to adapt to the
changes in the environment and retaining them in the company. There are theories which can be
applied to resolve such problems.
1)Training and Development:- Training and development being an important function of
management ensures the improvisation in the performance of the workforce by sharpening of
their skills, concepts and efficiency. It is generally used by those companies where the operations
are highly skilled and resourceful. It provides instructions and the information which boosts the
operational efficiency of the company.
An example of an IT service company, ICC Group can be taken whose business is
complicated and tech savvy so proper training is to be provided to its employees. Such training
shall optimize the efforts and reduce wastages and associated costs. The ICC Group uses two of
the important theories to facilitate learning by the trainees.

 Social Learning Theory- ICC uses this theory where its trainees directly get trained by
observing their mentors. Such learning is through experiencing the behaviour and its
consequences and then applying the same behaviour to its activities. This theory is
basically about learning by observation and in an IT company it serves well as technical
things cannot be directly handed over. Goal Setting Theory- This theory is also used by ICC in which it defines fixed targets that
the trainee is to achieve and the rewards for doing so. Such goals motivate the employee
and so learning becomes easy.
2) Employee Retention:- This is another issue that is faced by the line managers. It is a big
challenge that is faced by the HR professionals to retain the productive employees. It is rather
efficient to retain the existing quality employees than to recruit, select, train and develop new
ones. So the people managers has to take strategic decisions in order to keep the employees
motivated and focused to maintain productivity of the organization.
Aldi, a supermarket chain faces the problem of employee retention because of lower
wages and overburdening of staff. Proper theories need to be applied so that the workforce is
motivated to stay back. Aldi to improve its current position has sought to work on some theories
to improve efficiency.
 Herzberg's Theory- It is a two factor based theory which helps in determining employee
retention rate. Aldi determines the motivator factors which govern satisfaction of the
employees and the hygiene factors leading to the dissatisfaction among the employees.
The motivators include recognition, awards, achievements and growth and development.
Whereas the hygiene factors includes the employee relationships, salary and the work
conditions. Job Embeddedness Theory- Aldi uses this theory to ensure that their staff has connections
which force them to stay rather than leave. When an employee feels fit for the job, having
proper knowledge and skills and connection with the community he or she shall not be
interested to leave the company.
Heading 3: Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour of Effective People Manager
An effective people manager shall possess proper knowledge, skills, behaviour that is essential to
manage the human resource in an organization. An effective manager shall be one who gives

good growth opportunities to the staff, who shall provide rewards and recognition for the work
done, act as a good mentor by providing regular feedback and motivate to perform better in the
future (Armstrong, 2016). Managing human resource in an effective manner shall help the
company to grow and achieve required objectives.
1) Leadership:- It is an important personality trait in a people manger who should be one who
guides, motivates, makes the staff learn, develop their career trajectory, takes initiative, provides
with growth opportunities, leads to the fulfilling the goals etc. There are certain theories that the
management of companies have adapted to focus on leadership quality.
Compaq was a company that used to face issue with poor leadership in the management
of the company. The quality was missing and so proper initiative were not been taken which lead
to dissatisfied workforce in the company (Evans-Lacko and Knapp, 2018). Some of the
leadership theories that the company could have adopted are as follows:
 Great Man Theory of Leadership- This theory of leadership that leaders are born and not
made. Compaq also worked upon this theory considering one who has leadership
qualities are inborn and cannot be developed afterwards. So if they wish to improve
their management they shall acquire such mangers having inborn leader inside. Contingency theory of Leadership- Following this theory of leadership one gets to know
that the variables differ in every situation and so the style of leadership also differs
accordingly. So the leader itself has to decide the correct course of action.
2) Decision Making Skills:- These skills also tend to be very important in an organization
because it is important for a people's manager to have good decision-making skills. The skills
regarding what opportunities are to be provided, what rewards are to be given, how is an
employee to be motivated, how optimum work can be taken from the employee etc. The manager
must be capable in taking all such decisions so that it can be directed in the development of the
company.
Tesco Company has poor decision making and because of this they suffer by not able to retain
their market share. The management has to focus on making efficient decisions which support
the human resource and motivate them to work better for the company. There are certain theories
which help in making effective decisions such that the company is able to grow.

 Casual Decision Making Theory- This theory is based on the fact that the rational choice
is made out of the various available alternatives and so whatever the outcome of such
choice is shall be the consequence of the result.
 Game Theory- This is the other theory used for strategic decision making in which the
interaction is studied and so various cooperation and the conflicts of rationale decision
makers are used to make the right choice (Hoffman and Tadelis, 2018).
Heading 4: HR process underpin and support management when it comes to effective
performance management.
Performance management is the effective and valuable for company because through
employer have advantage to track performance of employees in effective manner. This creates
more effectiveness for business and for its growth prospects. Performance management is the
best trick to known about performance of employees in effective manner. It is the great corporate
tool where employer monitor and evaluate the performance of employees in respective manner.
This has great aim to create the best environment at the workplace in order to work in better
manner (DeNisi and Murphy, 2017). With the help of this management able to improve overall
performance of employees at the workplace. In order that here is taking good examples of
performance management review and 360 degree appraisal system. Explanation of both are as
follows:
Performance management review:
Performance management is the formal assessment where employer tracks the
performance of employees give feedback, offer opportunity and improve performance in
effective manner. This creates most effectiveness for management in order to work in better
manner. This creates the good values for employees to work in better manner. In that employer
can give easily track the performance of employees as well as gives reviews about their
performance in the respective manner (Cappelli and Tavis, 2016). Company manager have need
to analyze the performance of employee in order to improve performance of employee within the
better manner. With the help of this employer have idea to improve performance by knowing
about those skills which are weakness for performance.
360 degree appraisal:
The 360 degree feedback is the effective process through that feedback from an
employer, supervisor, subordinate and colleagues. In this process performance of employee will

be analyzed based on the opinion that is collected from the seniors, line manager, partners and
people manager (Knies, Leisink and Van De Schoot, 2020). This helps to employer of company
in order to analyze the performance of employee in the respective manner. This is effective
model which is helpful for managing to analyze the effective performance. This creates different
types of advantages like increases self awareness, leverage strength, uncover blind spot as well
as development of skills. Those are benefits which are created through the 360 degree
performance appraisal (Franco‐Santos and Otley, 2018). With the help of this, management have
benefited in order to promote their employees through increasing their self awareness in effective
manner. In respect to that management get feedback from their employees about employee work
at the workplace.
Those are the effective HR process which are underpinning the line manager at the time
of effective performance of employees. Through that employees are able to improve their
performance at the workplace by achieving goals and objectives of company. This is the very
effective and important part of the company to analyze employee performance in effective
manner. For that management can make the strategies to improve skills as well as give chance
for improve skills in effective manner.
Heading 5: Recommendations for Management and HR Processes
There are various suggestions for the managers to do the effective human resource management
for the smooth working of the organization:-
1) Aligning the business strategy with various internal and external factors- The strategies
formed at various levels must be aligned with the business environment of the company.
As because of change in environment the operations has to be changed accordingly.
2) Tools and techniques must be used to analyse the capacity of the workforce and
according to their performance should be efficiently rewarded.
3) Proper training and development must be provided to the employees so that they develop
confidence and are able to achieve targets provided to them as well as are able to fulfil
their personal goals (Liao and Ai Lin Teo, 2018).
4) Proper talent management strategies must be developed that are also aligned with the
business strategy of the company.

5) The management should be proactive taking initiatives and encouraging their human
resource to do the same to be ahead of their competitors and shall gain competitive
advantage (Martin and Siebert, 2016).
CONCLUSION
This project studies the concept of people management and the importance of the same in an
organization. It highlights the way it should be carried out in an organization to ensure
efficiency. Further it has also discussed the various challenges or issues that are faced by the
management while managing the human resource of the company. Employee retention, building
employee relations, motivating them, training and developing them to generate operational
efficiency are some issues faced by the line managers. It has also showed certain qualities that
must be there in the management that is they need to be knowledgeable, skill oriented and
intelligent to take proper decisions. Also it has reflected that HR also supports management for
improvisation in the performance. It has also showed the recommendations that can be taken by
the management to improve the decisions taken regarding the workforce of the company.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alfes, K., 2018. People management in volunteer organizations and charities. In HRM in
mission driven organizations (pp. 47-77). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Armstrong, M., 2016. How to manage people. Kogan Page Publishers.
Cappelli, P. and Tavis, A., 2016. The performance management revolution. Harvard Business
Review. 94(10). pp.58-67.
DeNisi, A.S. and Murphy, K.R., 2017. Performance appraisal and performance management:
100 years of progress?. Journal of Applied Psychology. 102(3). p.421.
Evans-Lacko, S. and Knapp, M., 2018. Is manager support related to workplace productivity for
people with depression: A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey from 15
countries. BMJ open. 8(6). p.e021795.
Franco‐Santos, M. and Otley, D., 2018. Reviewing and theorizing the unintended consequences
of performance management systems. International Journal of Management Reviews.
20(3). pp.696-730.
Hoffman, M. and Tadelis, S., 2018. People management skills, employee attrition, and manager
rewards: An empirical analysis (No. w24360). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Knies, E., Leisink, P. and Van De Schoot, R., 2020. People management: developing and testing
a measurement scale. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management. 31(6). pp.705-737.
Liao, L. and Ai Lin Teo, E., 2018. Organizational change perspective on people management in
BIM implementation in building projects. Journal of management in engineering. 34(3).
p.04018008.
Martin, G. and Siebert, S., 2016. Managing people and organizations in changing contexts.
Routledge.
Online
What is People Management?. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.hrtechnologist.com/articles/performance-management-hcm/what-is-
people-management/>
20 People Management Skills Every Manager Needs To Succeed. 2020. [Online]. Available
through: <https://getsling.com/blog/people-management-skills/>
About People Management Skills. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://smallbusiness.chron.com/people-management-skills-2985.html>