People Management Report for Arcadia Group: Issues and Solutions

This report delves into the multifaceted realm of people management, providing a comprehensive analysis of contemporary issues, essential skills, and effective HR processes. It begins with an introduction to Human Resources and its role in managing employees, including recruitment, training, and legal compliance. The report identifies key challenges faced by people managers, such as change management, diversity, and discrimination, offering solutions like Lewin's change model and the Equality Act 2010. It highlights crucial skills for successful people management, including motivation and leadership, and explores motivational theories such as Herzberg's two-factor theory and various leadership styles like transformational and democratic leadership. Furthermore, the report examines HR processes that support effective performance management, such as performance management reviews and 360-degree appraisals, and offers recommendations for improving employee performance, including team working, skill-based training, and reward management. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the importance of strategic people management in enhancing productivity and addressing organizational challenges. This report is contributed by a student and available on Desklib for academic support.

Introduction to People Management
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Table of Contents
Curriculum vitae and LinkedIn profile........................................................................................3
Self reflection for career development........................................................................................4
Career/professional development plan........................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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INTRODUCTION
Human Resource ( HR) is known as the department in a business that can be accountable
for all the things that are associated to the worker. It includes selecting, recruiting, training,
hiring , promoting ,paying as well as firing the employees. HR is also consider as a department
that can stays on the top of new legislation that are guiding how employees require to be treated
during working, hiring ,firing process and many more.
Managing people is not considered as an easy and quick task and managers face several issues
such as change within management because of such changes factors such as political ,
economical as well as climate changes, people manager needs to change strategies but lack of
training as well as awareness creates barriers within the performance as well as productivity.
Arcadia group (company)- Arcadia Group Ltd. (formerly Arcadia Group plc and, until
1997, Burton Group plc) is a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London,
England. It owns the high street clothing retailers Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss
Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, Wallis and the out of town chain Outfit, which sells lines from the
other group chains. At its peak, the group had more than 2,500 outlets in the UK, concessions in
UK department stores such as Debenhams and Selfridges, and several hundred franchises in
other countries.
Contemporary issues that line manager faces while managing people
Managing people is not an easy task as people manager have to face some problems. There are
some factors which need to be focused by people manager. Some contemporary issues related to
people management includes:
Management change: Change management and changes in some business environmental factor
is one of the main barriers. Due to changes in business environmental factors like economical
changes, political changes, climate changes and other, people manager requires changing some
strategies and ways of performing in management. But due to lack of training and awareness,
some employees resist to change as they have fear of reducing performance and productivity. So,
resistance of changes by employees create barriers in successful people management but by
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making use of effective change management model such as Lewin’s, Arcadia group can make
solve this problem (Webb, 2017).
Lewin’s change model can help company and employees in better understanding changes and
adapting them as it includes 3 stages such as:
Unfreeze: It is called preparation stage where leader and employer focus on open
communication with employees and makes them aware about importance of making changes. By
communicating they influence employees about requirement of making changes because the
main aim is to reduce employees’ resistance to change (Liao and Ai Lin Teo, 2018).
Change: It is the main crucial step in which change gets implemented. In this stage also,
employers require focusing on making use of effective leadership style and communication. By
providing training, employers and making use of leadership style, leader can make employees
sure that leaders will support and guide them in improving their performance (Lewin’s Change
Management Model, 2020).
Refreeze: It is the stage where changes are accepted by employees and leaders also make sure
that employees are performing functions in change and effective manner. Until change
management objectives are being achieved, employers keep guiding to employees.
Diversity: Discrimination is other main problem that can increase staff retention rate and can
also affect image of the company. There are some employees that bully and discriminate
employees on the basis of their gender, age, different culture and others. When employees of
local culture do not respect values of other culture and age group of people then it may affect
working environment and successful people management (Okolie, 2020). But there are some
policies that can help this Arcadia fashion group in making its environment with diversity such
as:
Equality act 2010: This law of equality act can protect employees against discrimination within
organization. Employees at workplace are not allowed to treat employees in unfair manner in the
basis of some personal characteristics such as : age, gender and others. By implementing this act
at workplace, Arcadia group can promote diversity at its workplace and can improve image in
the eyes of stakeholders (The Equality Act, 2020). It can also be said that this act can help people
manager in improving relation of employees, increasing sales, increasing staff retention and
better people management.
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Skills and knowledge require for becoming successful people manager
It s already stated that managing people is a critical task as people manager has to face several
problems. But by having some skills and knowledge, people manager can solve all problems and
can manage employees within organization in an effective manner. Some skills that are required
for people manager include:
Motivation: After recruiting employees within organization, it is important for people manager
to motivate them. Motivated employees are more likely to support companies and also stay with
the company for the long run. Ability of motivating employees can make people manager able to
become successful, increasing sales and increasing staff retention rate. By making use of
effective model of motivation, people manager of Arcadia group can decrease staff turnover rate
and can satisfy needs of employees such as:
Herzberg’s 2 factor theory: As per this model there are 2 factors. 1 type of factor satisfies
employees and second type of factor can dissatisfy employees.
Hygiene factors: It includes all those factors that can not satisfy or motivate employees but their
absence may lead to dissatisfaction. For reducing dissatisfaction, people manager requires
providing these to employees such as: salary, safety at workplace, security, working
environment. Absence of these factors can unhappy to employees so, it can be said that these
entire factor can make employees able to support company in meeting goals (Coccia, 2018).
Motivating factors: These factors play a vital role in motivating employees and can increase
staff retention rate. It includes: recognition, achievement, responsibility, advancement and
others. It boosts confidence of employees when they get all these factors.
Leadership: Leadership is one of the main pillars of success of organization because it is
responsible for motivating, leading and changing behaviour of employees. Leadership plays a
vital role. Success of employees and company depends upon the style that is being taken by
leaders (Koohang, Paliszkiewicz and Goluchowski, 2017). Leadership style is being used by
leader of Arcadia group as per the current situation of the company that can motivate employees
and make them feel valued. There are several styles of leadership that can help people manager
of this retailer in becoming successful and managing employees such as:
Transformational: It is an effective style that can also help leaders in managing people and
motivating them. In this style, leaders work with team and support them in performing tasks in
an effective manner. They inspire employees and help them out in accomplishing goals. They
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also help them out in developing career. It makes employees feel valued and motivated an makes
them loyal towards company.
Democratic: It is one of the effective styles of leadership. In this style of leadership, leader
provides opportunity to employees in decision making process. Employees give reviews and
share their suggestions in making decision effective (Fiaz, Su and Saqib, 2017). When leaders
give this opportunity to employees then it makes them feel valued and they are more likely to
support company in meeting their goals. It is also known as participative leadership and it can
help leaders in managing employees and getting work done.
HR processes that support management in effective performance management (500)
Performance management review- It is considered as a formal assessment where a manager
analysis the performance of the employees , recognises the strength as well as weakness and set
goals regarding future aspect and at the same time offers feedback . Performance reviews are
also known as performance analysis or performance appraisals. Within the past, several firms are
conducted annual performance reviews for their whole workforce and thus more and more firms
are moving to a rapid feedback performance reviews together. When done the right performance
reviews can aids the workers understands that what they are doing are well or not and if nit then
how they can improves. Also how their work aligns with larger firm goals as well as what is
expected to them in future reference. Managers of abc uses such performance reviews more
effectively as they can easily identify the high performing staff member, right issues before they
communicate expectations, foster employee engagement and boosts growth as well as
development. This can boosts workers to make notes before each and every performance review.
They should makes the topic where they want to analysis strength, weakness and goals. Workers
of abc able to share concrete e
360 degree appraisal-360 degree feedback- it is a method of performance management in which
the manager take overall feedback of employees. In this there are various criteria which is used
such as behavior, performance, discipline, etc and then they are measured with set goals and
objectives (Webb, 2017). Besides that, manager take feedback from other employees as well by
asking them various questions. Along with that, the questions are asked to different people as
well such as co workers, team leader, customer, etc regarding eemployee performance. This
makes things easy to analyse overall performance. It's used mostly as a development tool
because it provides information about a subject's work competencies, behaviour and working
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relationships (Coccia, 2018). Thus, it enables in finding out competency, skills, knowledge, etc
of employees and areas in which it requires improvement
Recommendations
There are certain recommendations which can be followed by company in order to
analyse performance and then take decision. They are as follows
Team working- here, company can form various and diversified teams. they will include
individuals of different culture and they will work together to achieve common goal. This will
encourage to work in team to achieve goals. Besides that, it will create a positive culture as well.
Skill based training it is also a practice that can be applied. in this they can provide training to
employees on basis of their skills and abilities. So, that their performance will be enhanced as
well and it will increase overall organization efficiency.
Reward management this must be followed in which overall employee performance is evaluated
and rewards are given to them. it will help in encouraging employees and increasing their
efficiency. Here, HR management of firm should set some criteria and standards on basis of
which performance is measured.
So, these are some recommendations which can be followed in order to enhance employee
performance and efficiency. It will enable in bringing some changes as well in HRM practices.
CONCLUSION
From the above it had been concluded that Managing people needs to change
strategies the performance as well as productivity. Report focuses on the Management change
climate changes. They have fear of reducing performance create barriers in successful people
management is one of the main barriers. Lewin’s change model can help in better understanding
changes, Unfreeze focus on open communication influence employees. Change focusing on
making use of effective leadership style within them in improving and make employees
Diversity on the basis of their gender, age, different culture. Equality act 2010. Arcadia group
can decrease staff turnover Motivated employees are more likely to support companies. Report
also focused on Leadership depends upon the style as Arcadia group that can motivate
employees and make them feel valued. Transformational help leaders in managing people
in an effective manner..Democratic provides opportunity to the employees in decision making
process also known as participative leadership. Report also focused on Performance management
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review analysis the performance of the employees , recognises the strength as well as weakness
and set can boosts workers to make notes before each and every performance review.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Coccia, M., 2018. Motivation and theory of self-determination: Some management implications
in organizations. Journal of Economics Bibliography. 5(4). pp.223-230.
Fiaz, M., Su, Q. and Saqib, A., 2017. Leadership styles and employees' motivation: Perspective
from an emerging economy. The Journal of Developing Areas. 51(4). pp.143-156.
Koohang, A., Paliszkiewicz, J. and Goluchowski, J., 2017. The impact of leadership on trust,
knowledge management, and organizational performance. Industrial Management & Data
Systems.
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.
Okolie, U.C., 2020. Effect of diversity management on human resource management:
Recruitment and selection in focus. Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic
Series. 20(2). pp.63-86.
Webb, S.P., 2017. Knowledge management: Linchpin of change. Routledge.
Online
Lewin’s Change Management Model. 2020. [Online]. Available through < https://online.visual-
paradigm.com/knowledge/business-design/understand-lewins-change-management-
model/>
The Equality Act. 2020. [Online]. Available through < https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-
advice/work-learning/discrimination-rights/the-equality-act/>
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