Analysis of Nestle's HR Strategies for International Business Success

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This project analyzes Nestle's HR strategies.

Managing a Successful Business Project
“Approaches taken by Nestle to improve training, recruitment, and selection of employees to
meet international requirements”
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Table of Contents
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
LO 2...............................................................................................................................................12
LO 3...............................................................................................................................................16
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................24
Appendix........................................................................................................................................27
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LO 1
P1 Devise project aims and objectives for the chosen topic
Introduction
With the emergence of globalisation, popular companies are developing new strategies to build
new business models and enter new markets. Managing human resources effectively is also
required to fulfil international business requirements. Companies need to improve training,
recruitment, and selection of employees to prepare human resources for facing challenges posed
by the internal marketplace. The project shall identify the approaches taken by multinational
companies for improving training, recruitment, and selection of employees to meet international
requirements by taking the example of Nestle. Nestle is a Swiss food and drink company and
regarded as the largest food company by revenues. It operates its business in 189 countries and
employs more than 339,000 people (Nestle.com, 2019). The report shall create a project plan
including the aim and objectives. It shall determine and analyse data through some research
techniques to answer the research questions and reach conclusion.
Aim
The aim of the project is to find out the approaches taken by Nestle to improve training,
recruitment, and selection of employees to meet international requirements.
Objectives
The objectives established based on the project aim are as follows.
 To study the overview of recruitment, selection and training process
 To identify the current approaches taken by Nestle to improve training, recruitment, and
selection of employees to meet international requirements
 To recommend advanced processes to improve training, recruitment, and selection of
employees to meet international requirements
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P2 Produce a project management plan that covers aspects of cost, scope, time, quality,
communication, risk, and resources
M1 Produce a comprehensive project management plan, milestone schedule and project
schedule for monitoring and completing the aims and objectives of the project.
Cost Calculation
The total budget required for completing the project is as shown in the below table.
Project activities Time Cost per each hour (in
£)
Total cost (in
£)
Resource allocation 7 hours 4.5 31.5
42
Reviewing Literature 12
hours
3.5
225
Developing project management
plan
15
hours
15
50
Software and equipment cost 5 hours 10 80
Data collection 16 hours 5 60
Risk evaluation 5 hours 12 144
Correction and final documentation 12 hours 12 31.5
Total budget =632.5
Table 1: Cost Calculation
(Source: Created by the learner)
Scope Determination
Project scope is an integral part of the project management plan that documents specific project
deliverables (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017). It is of two types that are as follows.
i) Included scope
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It includes the tasks, items, circumstances, and actions that are included in the project work. The
project shall produce outcomes that show how multinational companies improve the training,
recruitment, and selection of employees in order to meet international requirements. Primary data
on the research problem is a scope included in this project. With the progression of the project,
the audience can know the ways through which Nestle can improve these functions for meeting
international requirements. The methodology to be adopted in the project is a quantitative survey
along with a qualitative interview.
ii) Excluded Scope
It includes the actions, items, and tasks that are not included within project activities (Heagney,
2016). The project does not include the scope for thematic analysis of secondary research
method. The project is company specific for which the research shall not suggest any
improvements for other multinational companies in terms of training, selection, and recruitment.
Limitation
Project limitations are the constraints that may limit the project from being accomplished
(Harrison and Lock, 2017). The constraints of the project on Nestle are time and cost. The time
decided for the achievement of the project outcomes is eight weeks. It is difficult and challenging
for covering all aspects of the project management plan and collecting data from a particular
population within this limited period. This may have some influences on the quality and findings
of the project. Insufficient financial resources have posed a constraint or limitation, as the project
has been done with limited sample size. Data has been interpreted with limited software. Some
articles on recruitment, training, and selection have not covered due to unavailability of the
desired budget. Project management software could have been used to create the work
breakdown structure and Gantt chart, if the researcher has required funds to utilise.
Time
The time required for project completion is eight weeks. The entire project has been divided into
small tasks like developing objectives, conducting a literature review, data collection,
interpretation and project submission. Each task has been allocated with a particular time. It is
necessary to accomplish each task within their projected time for obtaining desired outcomes.
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Quality
Project quality management means the activities designed for project work determine the quality
of deliverables (Gido et al., 2014). The project deliverables are the effective approaches for
improvements in recruitment, training, and selection for employees that shall fulfil international
requirements. If the deliverables align with the project goals, the quality tends to be achieved. In
order to maintain quality, the project has ensured the application of research methods and
adherence to project standard. The coherence between outcomes and objectives shall verify the
quality. Additionally, the accuracy and relevance of primary data shall enhance shall increase the
quality.
Communication
Project communication enables the project owner to communicate with the audience. It helps in
information sharing in each step of the project work. The communication plan is as designed in
the below section.
Deliverable
information
Recipients Delivery methods Schedule Responsible
persons
Aim and
objectives
establishment
Project supervisor Direct meeting Once Project supervisor
Project
management plan
Project supervisor Direct meeting/
Email
As needed Project team
members
Primary data Employees of
Nestle
Direct meeting/
Email
As needed Project supervisor
Final project
report
Project supervisor Email Once Project team
members
Table 2: Communication Plan
(Source: Created by the learner)
Risk
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Project risks may create obstacles in producing outcomes consistently in accordance with project
specifications. The risk register for the project is as follows.
Risk
description
Influence if it
occurs
Likelihood Person
responsible
for managing
the risk
Severity Mitigating
actions
Cost
estimation
Moderate Moderate Project
supervisor
Moderate The cost
estimation
should be
done by
identifying
the most
relevant
activities
and
resources
required
for the
project.
Incomplete
sub-tasks
High High Project
supervisor
High The project
supervisor
should
oversee the
tasks and
demand for
reports in
regular
interval.
Inadequate
data
High Moderate Team member High The project
team
member
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should
collect data
from each
respondent
of the
sample
population.
Table 3: Risk analysis
(Source: Created by the learner)
Resources
The resources utilised for this project are software, equipment, human resources, electricity,
funds, and others. Human resources have helped in managing the activities and allocating other
resources in the project work. Financial resources have helped in purchasing software and
stationeries, designing questionnaire, collecting data and recording them. Material goods
associated with the proposed project work are technical infrastructure, hardware, stationeries,
and others.
P3 Produce a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide timeframes and
stages for completion
Tasks Start
Date
Durati
on
End
Date
First meeting with project supervisor for developing aim
and objectives
2/11/201
9
7 2/18/20
19
Literature Review 2/18/201
9
7 2/25/20
19
Research Methodology and a second meeting with the
project supervisor
2/25/201
9
7 3/4/201
9
Data Collection 3/4/2019 14 3/18/20
19
Meeting with the project supervisor 3/11/201
9
7 3/18/20
19
Data Analysis, findings, discussion, and presentation 3/18/201
9
14 4/1/201
9
Final meeting with the project supervisor and collection of 3/25/201 7 4/1/201
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feedback 9 9
Final correction and project submission 4/1/2019 6 4/7/201
9
Table 4: Work breakdown structure
(Source: Created by the learner)
First meeting with project supervisor for developing aim and objectives
Literature Review
Research Methodology and second meeting with project supervisor
Data Collection
Meeting with project supervisor
Data Analysis, findings, discussion and presentation
Final meeting with project supervisor and collection of feedback
Final correction and project submission
2/11 2/21 3/3 3/13 3/23 4/2 4/12
Figure 1: Gantt chart
(Source: Created by the learner)
Literature Review
The literature that shall be reviewed for the project includes recruitment, selection, and training.
Recruitment
According to Wilton (2016), recruitment is the process of attracting, selecting and appointing
candidates for fulfilling job positions. It sources potential candidates with required abilities and
attitude that are necessary for the accomplishment of organisational objectives. Recruitment
process involves identification of job vacancies, analysis of job requirements, and review of
applications and selection of suitable candidates. Organisations recruit employees from external
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sources like job portal, campus interview, and others or internal sources like employee referral
program, promotion and others.
As opined by Bryson (2013), five practices including recruitment planning, strategy
development, searching, screening, and evaluation ensure successful recruitment process without
any interruptions. The purpose of the recruitment process within organisations is to empower
talent pools to apply for required positions, recruit individuals that are fit into business activities,
and evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment techniques. Nestle attracts a workforce with high
calibre and potential necessary for the accomplishment of current and future objectives. As
opined by Li (2015), the recruitment processes used by Nestle are company recruitment through
the website, campus recruitment, network recruitment, project introduction, internal promotion,
external recruitment, and direct applicants.
Selection
As demonstrated by Gatewood et al., (2015), the selection is defined as the process of choosing
suitable candidates and weeding out unsuitable candidates for vacant positions. According to
Costen (2012), the selection process comprises of several steps such as preliminary interview,
receiving applications, screening applicants, conducting employment tests and interview,
checking references and selecting final candidates. The purpose of the selection process is to
pick up suitable candidates those can meet the organisational requirements at their best.
Organisations obtain and assess information about applicants in terms of educational
background, work experience, and others. Selection helps organisations in saving training and
operating cost by hiring qualified candidates as required by a particular position. However, it is a
lengthy process to carry out and require much investment. According to Li (2015), the HR
managers of Nestle follow all stages of selection to get candidates fitted to vacant positions.
They generate a sample of candidates, who know the firm very well and possess knowledge
about business operations.
Training
As opined by Talbot (2016), training is the practice of increasing skills and knowledge of
employees for performing a particular job. It is useful for employees, as it can bring them into a
level where they can do their tasks effectively, correctly and conscientiously. According to
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Larsen (2017), the purpose of training is to make employees adapt with the business world of
automation, computerisation, and mechanisation. With technological up gradation, modern
inventions, and diversification, business activities have become complex. In order to cope up
with business complexities, it is essential to provide employees with training. Training is
essential for enhancing individual skills and increasing employee job satisfaction. It enables
organisations to reach key objectives and stay competitive. The sole purpose of an employee
training programme is to ensure that employees have their essential interpersonal, technical and
other skills to operate and manage tasks smoothly. According to Pfitzer et al., (2013), Nestle
believes in keeping its employees equipped with vital skills in order to ensure that they perform
well in the workplace through training on corporate business principles and interpersonal skills.
Literature Gap
The literature includes the overview of recruitment, training, and selection. However, it has not
explained the benefits of these three functions due to lack of focus on articles and books on an
in-depth analysis of training, recruitment, and selection. It has not emphasised on articles that
provide approaches used by multinational companies for improving recruitment and selection to
meet international recruitments.
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LO 2
P4 Carry out small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research
methods appropriate for meeting project aims and objectives
In order to carry out the small scale research on the proposed topic and research hypotheses,
mixed research methods have been opted. The particular research methods include qualitative
and quantitative research approaches. With the combination of research approaches, the entire
research study shall be backed with appropriate findings through survey and interviews. In order
to conduct the quantitative research approach, survey shall be carried out among 50 respondents
that are actually the employees working within the premises of Nestle. Interview shall be carried
out among two managers of Nestle in order to incorporate qualitative findings for the particular
research study. In order to implement the mixed research methods, Positivism research
philosophy has been adopted among Realism, Interpretivism, and Pragmatism research
philosophies, so that the researcher is able to interpret the factual data collected from survey and
interview.
Quantitative Findings
Q1. Mention your age?
Preferences Frequency of
responses
Number of responses Total number of
responses
20-25 years 24 12 50
26-34 years 36 18 50
35-50 years 28 14 50
51 years and above 12 6 50
Table 5: Age measurement
Q2. How far are satisfied with the recruitment, training and development activities
provided within the premises of Nestle?
Preferences Frequency of
responses
Number of responses Total number of
responses
12