Human Resource Management Practices at Tesco PLC: A Case Study

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes Tesco's HRM practices.

MADALINA-- HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (DGC)
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
1. Define HRM and explain the purpose of HRM in an organization.........................................4
2. Identify and list from your reading about HRM, the various functions of HRM in an
organization.................................................................................................................................4
3. Select 2 from your above list and explain them in detail........................................................5
4. Identify various approaches of recruitment and selection.......................................................5
5. Select 2 approaches among each of recruitment and selection and explain them in detail
highlighting the strengths and weaknesses..................................................................................6
6. You are to select an organisation and identify various HRM practices in that organisation
and list them.................................................................................................................................7
7. Select more than one practice and explain the benefits for both the employer and employee
providing appropriate examples for each type within an organisational context........................7
8. Now give details of how your selected practices will benefit your selected organisation in
terms of profit and productivity. Justify your answers with examples........................................8
Task 2.............................................................................................................................................10
1. What are employee relations?................................................................................................10
2. In detail explain with examples its importance in HRM decision making............................10
3. You are to identify and list various employment legislations that are key for an organisation.
...................................................................................................................................................11
4. Explain how these will have an impact on HRM decision making. Discuss the pros and cons
of each of the above discussed legislations...............................................................................12
What are employee relations?....................................................................................................14
You are to identify and list various employment legislations that are key for an organisation.14
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................15
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1. Select a business organisation and give an introduction.......................................................15
2. Identify two vacancies in your selected organisation............................................................15
3. Create job specification and person specification for your selected job vacancies...............15
4. Mention what recruitment and selection methods will be appropriate for those vacancies and
support your justification using theory with appropriate referencing.......................................18
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................20
Reference List................................................................................................................................21
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Introduction
Human resource is one of the most important departments in an organization. It is liable for
making up the workforce or labour force in an organization or company. It responsible for
dealing with the people and their issues, that is, compensation, benefits, recruitment, on
boarding, training and development of the employees and managing the performance of the
employees in an organization. The human resource department in an organization that makes
sure that the organization is growing and developing. The human resource department of an
organization is also termed as talent management. It ensures that the employees are motivated to
give their best in the organization.
In this assignment, the purpose of human resource management has been explained along with
the different approaches of recruitment that are practised. The organization that has been
considered in this assignment is TESCO. The importance of making decision in the human
resource department has been described along with the best method of selection and recruitment
that can benefit TESCO has been elaborated.
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Task 1
1. Define HRM and explain the purpose of HRM in an organization.
Human resource management signifies the management of people in an efficient way. It aids the
organization to have a competitive advantage over other organizations and aims to motivate the
employees in a way such that they perform their best. The human resource department of an
organization is responsible for its overall development by managing its employees effectively.
Management of employees in an organization involves recruitment or hiring people, firing the
employees, training, and development of the employees (Brewster et al., 2016).
The human resource department has a huge set of responsibilities namely, filling the vacancies
by hiring the right candidate for the right position, rewarding, or compensating the employees
based on their performance and designing or devising the tasks or work. The main aim of the
human resource department is to increase the productivity of the organization by encouraging or
motivating the employees to perform better. The other function of the human resource
department is to provide a good working environment to the employees and ensure their safety as
well as wellness.
2. Identify and list from your reading about HRM, the various functions of HRM in an
organization
The human resource department of an organization is responsible for delegating several
functions related to an organization. The various functions that the human resource department
of an organization practices are:
Recruitment: The human resource department of an organization is responsible for filling the
vacancies and recruiting the best-suited candidate for a particular position. It is the human
resource department in an organization that designs the job role for a particular post or position
in an organization (Tung, 2016). The human resource department also decides the transfer or
promotion of the employees in an organization.
Compensation: The payment of salary or wages to the employees is the responsibility of the
human resource department. Rewarding or compensating the employees based on their
performance is an important function of the human resource department (Berman et al., 2019).
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Benefits: The human resource department of the organization administers the benefits that the
employees get from the organization he or she is working in. The benefits can be like, health or
dental insurance and retirement plan.
Performance Appraisal: The human resource department is in-charge for creating performance
appraisals of the employees in the organization. It makes sure that the employees of the
organization understand the process properly and that the deadlines are met. It makes sure that
the best employees are rewarded.
3. Select 2 from your above list and explain them in detail.
The human resource department of an organization is one of the most vital departments. The
overall organization structure or the working environment is taken care of by the human resource
department. The two major functions of the human resource department have been explained
below:
Recruitment: The human resource department fills the vacancies that exist in an organization. It
announces or creates advertisement for the post that is to be filled in an organization. It identifies
the duties or the responsibilities that have to be delegated by the employees eligible for a
particular position. It also liable for terminating the employees in cases the laws or violated or
the codes of conduct of the organization is not followed (Jabbour et al.,2016).
Compensation: The human resource department is responsible for compensating the employees
based on their performance. The performance of the employees are strictly monitored and
measured by the human resource department and they are rewarded or compensated based on
their performance. The human resource department assesses the policies effectively and it makes
sure that the organization complies with the laws formulated by the government.
4. Identify various approaches of recruitment and selection.
Recruitment and selection is a huge responsibility that the human resource department of an
organization delegates. It is a huge process and the department has to be very careful while
delegating this function since mistakes cannot be entertained in this process as it might lead the
organization to incur huge loss. The various approaches that are practiced in the process of
recruitment and selection are:
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Internal Recruitment: In this process, the human resource department recruits the right
candidate through internal job postings or promotion, transfers, or reemployment of ex-
employees. Internal sources are used for the purpose of recruitment and selection. It enhances the
productivity of the employees by motivating them. It saves time, money and the effort that an
organization has to put on external recruitment.
External Recruitment: In this process, the candidates are selected from outside the company. It
involves investment of time and money. It includes advertisements through e-mails, newspapers,
etc. The other way is to recruit through employment agencies, that is, the agencies that supply
workforce to organizations that need. It also recruits from educational institutions, that is,
campus recruitment (Brueller et al., 2018). They recruit fresh graduates from colleges in order to
fill the vacancies that exist in an organization.
5. Select 2 approaches among each of recruitment and selection and explain them in detail
highlighting the strengths and weaknesses.
The various approaches that an organization follows for the recruitment of right candidates have
both pros and cons. The advantages and disadvantages that each of the recruitment process
possess has been explained below:
Internal Recruitment:
Advantages:
 Saves time as well as money
 Motivates or encourages the employees to perform better
 The productivity of the employees as well as the organization increases
Disadvantages:
 It limits the pool of applicants or candidates
 It might result in creating an inflexible culture in the organization
 It creates a gap in existing labour force in the organization
External Recruitment:
Advantages:
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 It fosters innovation in the organization
 It boosts the competitive spirit in the organization (Meyer and Xin, 2018)
 It leads to the reduction of internal politics in the organization
Disadvantages:
 It requires the investment of huge amount of time and money
 There are high chances that unsuitable applicants are invited for recruitment
 It might lower the confidence of the existing employees as they might feel that their
chances of promotion has been reduced
6. You are to select an organisation and identify various HRM practices in that
organisation and list them.
TESCO is one of the leading organizations in the retail industry based in the United Kingdom. It
ranks third in the world in the retail industry in terms of gross revenues. It is a well-known
organization and has branches in other countries as well. The human resource department of
TESCO believes that in order to lead, innovation, empathy, collaboration, resilience and
responsiveness are the key components. The functions that the human resource department of
TESCO practices are:
 To help or motivate the employees of the organization to perform their best
 Organize training programs for the employees such that they can grow and develop their
career (Tescolotuscareers.com, 2019)
 To incorporate leadership skills in every employee of the organization
 Recruit the best-suited candidates for filling the vacancies in the organization
 Maintain strong and healthy relationship with the employees and encourage teamwork
7. Select more than one practice and explain the benefits for both the employer and
employee providing appropriate examples for each type within an organisational context.
The human resource department of an organization practices various functions. Each function
that is practised by an organization affects both the employees and the employers in several
ways. The benefits that each function has on the employers and the employees have been
explained below:
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Recruitment and selection
Affect on the employer (Benefits)
 The human resource department fills the vacancy or the shortage of workforce in an
organization (Nolan and Garavan, 2016).
 It aids the organization such that it can operate smoothly without any obstruction.
Affect on the employee (Benefits)
 It gives the fresher to kick-start their career (in case, fresh graduates are hired).
 It motivates or encourages the employees to perform better (in case of internal
recruitment like promotion).
Employee Engagement activities
Affect on the employer (Benefits)
 Builds a good relation between the employees and the management of the organization
 Aids the organization to provide a good working environment to the employees such that
the productivity of the organization increases
Affect on the employee (Benefits)
 It encourages coordination among the employees thereby aiding the employees to
increase their productivity
 It creates a trust factor between the employees and the organization, which motivates the
staffs to perform better.
8. Now give details of how your selected practices will benefit your selected organisation in
terms of profit and productivity. Justify your answers with examples.
Compensation, recruitment and employee engagement activities aid an organization to improve
its practices in several ways. The effects of the above activities in an organization have been
described below:
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Recruitment: As the vacancies are filled in an organization, it aids the company to allocate the
tasks among the employees in a proper way and aid the organization to meet its objectives
effectively thereby increasing its profitability (Gatewood et al., 2015).
Compensation: It motivates the employees to perform better thereby increasing their
productivity, which in turn increases the productivity of the organization.
Employee Engagement: Employee engagement activities aid to build healthy relationship
among the employees and aid to create a strong relationship between the employees and the
organization. It aids to increase the productivity of the employees thus the profitability of the
organization increases.
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Task 2
1. What are employee relations?
Employee relations signify the effort of an organization to manage or organize relationships
between the management or employers and the workforce. It ensures that every employee in the
organization is treated equally or fair without practising biasness. This makes sure that the
employees of the organization are dedicated to the work they do and are loyal to the company
(Snell et al.,2015). The main purpose of employee relations is to strengthen the relation or the
bonding among the employees and between the employers and the employees. It aims to identify
and resolve the issues that arise in an organization due to disputes or mismatch of mentalities of
the employees.
It also makes sure that the employees are satisfied with the job they are doing and that their
morals are high such that they do not lose confidence. It supports the employees and tries to
empathise with their situation such that they do not get demoralised and can rely in the
organization. It aids the human resource department to manage the performance of the
employees, that is, to monitor the performance of the employees and reward them accordingly
(Nankervis et al., 2017). It involves the implementation of policies as well as rules concerning
the performance, interest, conduct and discipline of the employees or the staffs. It aids to
increase the productivity of the organization.
2. In detail explain with examples its importance in HRM decision making.
Employee relations play a vital role in the process of making decisions in an organization. Based
on the status of relation that the employees have with the management of the organization, it aids
the human resource department to monitor the performance of the workforce and reward or
compensate them accordingly. It assists the human resource department to understand the needs
of the labour force of the organization and take appropriate steps such that the needs can be met.
It helps the organization to empathise with the employees and take apt measures so that the
employees are satisfied with the work they are doing. It stimulates positivity in the organization
and aids to improve the morale of the employees (Brewster et al., 2016). It boosts the confidence
of the employees thereby resulting in an improved performance of the employees.
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Along with the above functions, it encourages teamwork in the organization such that creativity
or innovation is boosted in the organization. It also increases the productivity of the organization.
In case, the performance of the employees does not meet the standards it is the human resource
department takes apt decisions and devises new strategies such that the performance of the
employees can be improved (Stone and Deadrick, 2015). Therefore, the relationship that the
employers have with the employees plays a crucial role in the decision making process of the
human resource department as in case a dispute arises between them, it is the human resource
department that takes apt steps to resolve the dispute and maintain a good ambience in the
organization.
3. You are to identify and list various employment legislations that are key for an
organisation.
Several employment laws and legislations govern the activities practised by the human resource
department in an organization. The employment laws in the United Kingdom that governs or
supervises the functioning of the human resource department in the organization based in the
country have been described below:
Recruitment: The human resource department cannot practice discrimination while recruiting or
hiring employees in their respective organization. The must not practice biasness and must give
chance to every individual irrespective of their caste, colour, creed, gender, race or geographic
location. They cannot practice discrimination based on the disability of a person and must give
chance to every individual of the country (who has the permit to work) and finally select the best
candidate for the position (CIPD co.uk, 2019).
Terms and Condition of employment: This signifies the professional relationship between the
employers (organization) and the staffs. The terms and conditions of employment include
contracts of employment, written declaration of particulars and notice period. It also includes the
views of the employees and the employers on the contracts of zero hours.
Employee and workers: In the United Kingdom, the employees have different rights of
employment in each category or section. There is a third category as well namely self-employed.
There are several patterns of work as well namely, fixed-term, temporary contracts and fixed-
term.
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