Understanding People in Organisations: Superbrand Report Analysis

This report analyzes people management practices within the UK-based retail company Superbrand, exploring key aspects such as scientific management principles, personality testing in recruitment, and comparisons between different job roles. It delves into the advantages and disadvantages of scientific management, the effectiveness of personality tests, and contrasts the characteristics of the grocery and nightshift teams. The report further examines relevant learning theories and approaches to training and development, identifying implementation problems and barriers to learning. It also compares leadership approaches used by different managers and discusses conflicts between part-time and full-time employees, providing insights into organizational dynamics and employee relations within Superbrand. The report concludes with a summary of findings and references.

Understanding People
In Organisation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Main Body ..............................................................................................................................1
Question 1 Principles of scientific management and advantages & disadvantages of this
approach .....................................................................................................................................1
Question 2 Personality testing in the recruitment process..........................................................2
Question 3 Compare the characteristics of the jobs carried out by the Grocery team and the
Nightshift workers.......................................................................................................................3
Question 4. Relevant learning theory and approaches to training and development,
implementation problems and barriers to learning......................................................................4
Question 5. Theoretical model of your choice, compare the leadership approach adopted by
the Checkout manager and the Grocery manager.......................................................................5
Question 6 Conflicts among part time and full time employees................................................6
CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................7
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................8
.........................................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
To understand the people in organisation is not an easy task because all persons are from
different background and they have different attitude towards their work. In this report chosen
organisation is Superbrand and it a UK based retail company which having 1000 stores. The aim
of organisation is to provide quality services through employee engagement. It covers the
following topics such as: principles of scientific management and its approaches, personality
testing in recruitment precess, impact of job satisfaction, approaches of training and
development. Apart from this it also discuss about leadership approaches and reasons of conflict
between part time and full time employees on the night shift.
Main Body
Question 1 Principles of scientific management and advantages & disadvantages of this approach
Principles of scientific management help to an organisation to manage their employees
effectively so that they can work as per the requirement of company. Super market can use the
scientific principles so that productivity of workers in Stockington store can be enhanced.
Principles of scientific management are as follows:
Development of science for each part of men's job: According to this principle work of
staffs can be evaluate and observed so that each activity of employees can be analysed by
organised. It replace the previous method which includes data collection, enquiry and analysis.
This principle can be applied in Stockington store so that Superbrand can observed the activities
of staffs and get to that how much time they are taking to perform their task.
Advantage: Decisions are taken on the basis of facts and figures which help in decision
making process (Bauman and et. al., 2012).
It helps to know the behaviour of workers that how they are performing their duties and roles.
Disadvantages: It is more time consuming process because management have to notice
and record the all activities of each employee.
Scientific selection, training & development of workers: According to this principle
Superbrand can scientifically plan the recruitment procedure for its employees. Specification can
be done on the basis of physical, mental and other requirement. Stockington store can hire and
trained the workers so that they make fit for their specific job. It helps to develops the skills of
staffs as a result staffs can achieve their targets on time.

Advantage: Workers can able to perform the job as per the requirements so that work
will accomplish timely and smoothly (ShoveWalker and Brown, 2014).
It helps to increase the efficiency of employees.
Harmony not discard: This principle suggests that there should be harmony among
employer and employee. This method can be used by Stockington store so that their staffs can
cooperates with the objectives of company and not focus on the individualism. As a result it
organisation can accomplish their targets.
Advantage:
Effective coordination between organisation and staffs can maximize the efficiency and
productivity of workers so Stockington store would able to achieve its objectives.
Disadvantage: It does not protect the rights employees because focus is only to
accomplish the targets of company and corporation does not think about the personal goal of
individuals. As a result staffs cannot perform its duties effectively.
Question 2 Personality testing in the recruitment process
Personality test is important in the organisation because it helps to an organisation to hire
most desirable candidates. In the recruitment process there should be personality testing process
can be applied by a company. It is the part of recruitment and corporations are using it in the
selection process of workers. This test provide help to find most suitable and skill fill persons
who can perform their task and duties as per the needs of organisation. It includes experience,
enthusiasm, skills, attitude and personality. This is important because of following reasons such
as:
 More focus on the team working.
 Jobs can be performed as per the needs of consumers.
 Increase the efficiency and productivity.
 Helps the company to achieve its objectives (Lewis, 2016).
Superbrand is facing problems to find the right people for the job because their skills
does not matching as per the requirement of corporation. Its strict performance targets and
scanning speed are influencing the personality of workers. Organisation is selecting the staffs
with right personalities to fit job description. Personality test does not work because it is based
on big five on line application process. Human resource manager analysed that regular team
briefings being conduct in the starting of each shift. Superbrand does not continue this

personality testing process because its employees are not satisfied with it. As a result
performance of staffs are decreasing and its affect the productivity of corporation because the
sales of store is reducing. As a result its impact on the employee pay bonus, new offers which
create discrepancies. Incentivise are based on the sales of store if it is reducing than they does not
able to get bonus. Workers also think that their ideas are not listened and valued so they are least
satisfied with the behaviour of company (Love and Kim, 2014).
As a result Superbrand is struggling to find right people for the job and it can ignore
personality test because it is not fruitful for the organisation. Management of corporation is also
influenced by this because lack of coordination.
Question 3 Compare the characteristics of the jobs carried out by the Grocery team and the
Nightshift workers
Grocery department of Superbrand has consist of small members of team. Their members
can easily persuade his team to move the shifts around to cover holidays and they had minimum
absence to deal with checkout department. This department mainly covers five areas which are
bakery, chilled foods, frozen foods, vegetable and fruits, they also preserved goods. Where as
night shift team is consist of few number of workers and they are responsible for replenishing the
shelves from the late night delivery before the store opens in the morning. It has also five full
time staffs who are supported by the part time workers. Members work whole night in stores so
that in the morning their team mates does not face difficulties to arrange the goods (Brown,
2013).
Grocery department of Superbrand had won award for better quality services to
consumers. When corporation is facing the problem with the amount of out of date inventory and
they have to throw the goods as a wastage. This whole activity is observed by Human manager
so it called buzz groups where it drew together various persons of the team. HR manager suggest
that half an hour every day all team mates can check for inventory reaching its sell by date. As a
result problem would be solve. It shows that workers are satisfy with job that's why put their
maximum efforts to resolve the issue in company. Night shift manager behave friendly with its
staffs and laid back approach to managing their team. It impact on the employees and they feel
comfortable as a result they are being satisfy with the job what they are performing.
Nightshift manager can improve the work attitudes of workers on his team by motivation and
proper guidance. Those staffs who are not performing well than training should be given so that

they can work as per the requirement of department as well as organisation. Proper training helps
the workers to accomplish their targets on time as a result feel motivated to perform effectively
and it can the attitude of them. They feel positive and energetic so that they can complete the
work in good and smoother manner.
Question 4. Relevant learning theory and approaches to training and development,
implementation problems and barriers to learning
Training is refers as the process of grooming and enhanced the skills which are required
by a persons to perform its roles and duties in the organisation. It makes the work smoother and
effective (Training. 2018).Through training efficiency can be maximize which leads to the
higher productivity in company. As a result corporation can achieve its goals and objectives.
This is short term process and it is given to perform a specific job. Where as development
includes the overall growth of an employees and it is not related to a particular job. Through this
overall skills, knowledge, ability and capability can be enhanced. There are two approach of
training and development which are describe as below:
Traditional approach: According to this approach companies does not believe in
training because they think it is costly and time consuming process. They believe that managers
are born not made. But now it is changing and management is focusing to give training to its
workers (Viner and et. al., 2011).
Modern approach: In modern approach company thinks that it is essential so that skills
can be improve of the staffs. It is the responsibility of human resource manager to provide
training to its employees so that their capabilities can be maximize which leads to development
of workers. Superbrand can use this modern approach so that it can effectively manage its all
stores in United Kingdom. Their are many ways to provide training and development such as: on
the job, in this method training is provided to the persons while they have perform their roles and
duties so that they can learn through working. Off the job, in this method training is given by
corporation through seminar, workshop and special secession related to it.
Before introduce a new stock monitoring system. Superbrand can arrange training and
development secession in which they learn to the staffs that how employees can use new hand
scanners to collect data on the shop floor, download the scanner data to the system. And how
they can interpret the report details to manage inventory. Organisation should arrange practical
training session so that staffs can easily understand that how they can use new stock monitoring

system. It helps the work easy and smoother as a result efficiency would maximize. Inventory
can be manage effectively in store. Superbrand should apply cognitive learning theory which
help the control experiments. This learning would achieved by thinking about the perceived
relationship among expectations, events and individual objectives. According to this through
learning and thinking about how to find solution of a problem and behave according to situation.
It helps the organisation to maximize the learning through training and development programme.
So Superbrand should provide training to its workers so that they can learn about the use of new
inventory monitoring system. There are various problems and barriers to learning which are
describe as follows:
Mental and physical condition: It can be a barrier in learning if employees does not
mentally or physically fit. Reasons of it are as follows: stress, depression or pain. Store
development team can select those workers who are proper fit.
Environment: Environment of company is matters a lot to the learning. It includes type
of workplace, management, organisational culture etc. If it is not supportive than learning
process can be restricted. Environment should be good which motivates the staffs to work better.
Lack of confidence: Confidence is very important to learn something and due to lack of
motivation a person cannot learn the new things. Store development team can motivates its
workers so that confidence can be maximize (Shove and Brown, 2014).
Fear of failure: Fear of failure can restrict the learning and it demotivate a person to try
something new. Store development team should guide the staffs so that they feel confident.
Lack of motivation: Due to the lack of motivation a person can not perform and learn
the new things and it restrict the individuals to gain knowledge. Proper leadership technique
should be use so that employees feel influenced and motivated.
Question 5. Theoretical model of your choice, compare the leadership approach adopted by the
Checkout manager and the Grocery manager
A model gives the instructions to perform a task in specific manner. Superbrand can use
SWOT model in its organisation. It helps the company to analyse its strength, weakness,
opportunities and threats. So it develops the insight into a person so that it can take effective
decisions which help to corporation to achieve success and growth. Checkout manager and
grocery manager is using leadership approach as per their suitability and convenience. Checkout
manager is using autocratic leadership approach because it does not gives value to the opinion of

employees. Grocery manager is using participative leadership approach and it take suggestion
from its workers if a problem has arise (Liberman, 2017).
Strength: Checkout department has consist of more number of workers so that it is the
strength for it because it can generates more revenue. Worker can be done fast and smooth
manner. Strength of grocery department is that covers the five are which are: bakery, fruit,
vegetable, frozen and chilled food. It one particular area is not earning much profits then it does
not much affect the whole company because it has four more alternatives through which it can
earn profits.
Weakness: Employees of checkout department is not satisfy with it because this store
does not give importance and to the ideas and values. So workers cannot put their maximum
efforts to achieve the organisational goal and objectives. Grocery department does not able to
manage the inventory in store and its stock get out of date. As a result is profits are reducing
because it have to throw its waste inventory.
Opportunities: Checkout department can invokes its workers in decision making so that
they feel store is giving importance to its ideas. Grocery department can manage its inventory so
that its wastage can be reduce and which leads to the more profits.
Threat: Checkout department is hiring employees on the basis of personality test which
reduce the productivity because staffs does not have those required skills. It can hamper the
productivity of its department. Grocery department does not able to maintain the inventory so it
is minimise the profit and it goes on continuous than this department cannot survive for a long
time (Webb, 2013).
Question 6 Conflicts among part time and full time employees
The issues that could be the causing between the part time and full time employees on the
night shift in case of Super Brand Ltd.
Assessments by the employees may be aberrant: the employees working full time for
long periods are better able to cop up with the other employees who do not starts such work,
producing producing the so called “healthy shift worker effect” the assessment of health effects
may be expected to be obstinate. This may be the issue of conflicts between the workers of full
time job and the workers of part time job in night shift of super Brand.
Conflicts due to less efforts and skills: The cost, efforts and skills pertain in collection
of data/ information are very high and the full time worker can manage it but the workers of part

time job mostly use less efforts to complete the particular task, it sometimes results in burden of
workload on full time worker and spoiling the performance of full time worker as in case if the
part time and full time worker and part time worker both are working together.
Assigned work, not according to employment contract: Employees could be forced to
work which they do not want to do and which is not according to the employment contract. The
full time employees are able to exert pressure on the part time employees for the non-contracted
work specific hours. Employees may not be able to resist this pressure to different degrees. Then
it results in conflicts between them and may be with management (Campbell and Oliver, 2013).
In order to solve these issues of conflicts the manager can adopt the following measures which
are beneficial for the healthy and good working environment. The measures are mentioned
below.
 The manager must provide the appropriate training to both full time worker and the part
time worker accordance with their working criteria and the training must in form of 'On
the job' training this will be helpful in reduction of workload from the full time workers
in night shifts and beneficial for the cop up of both type of workers with each other.
 The manager or the full time employee must provide the workplace and work task
according to the terms and conditions mentioned in employment contract or accordance
with the job profile for which the company hired the part time workers.
 The company like Super brand, must provide the safety measures to the temporary
workers if they are working in danger zone in night shifts. As in night shifts it may be
issue of conflicts between the full time job employee and part time job employee.
CONCLUSION
As from the above report, it has been concluded that it is essential for an organisation to
understand the persons so that it can take effective decision and maximize efficiency. Superbrand
can use scientific management principles so that coordination and management can be improve.
Company can select workers on the basis of the skills and knowledge so that work can be done in
effective manner. Corporation should provide training so that staffs can perform according to the
needs of company. Effective leadership approach can motivates the employees to accomplish the
goal of organisation.

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Training. 2018. [Online] Available Through:
<http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/human-resource-development/training-meaning-definition-
and-types-of-training/32374>