Unilever: Job Analysis, HRM Strategies, and Job Design for Managers

This assignment analyzes a job posting at Unilever, focusing on the roles of an Assistant R&D Manager. The analysis covers the candidate's qualifications, the company's expectations, and the alignment with personal career goals. It then delves into HRM strategies, specifically selection methods, evaluating the use of application forms, online screening, interviews, group exercises, and aptitude tests. The assignment suggests a combination of CV collection, aptitude tests, group exercises, and interviews for candidate selection. Furthermore, the document discusses job design, emphasizing the importance of specifying job content, methods, and relationships to meet organizational, social, and personal needs. It highlights the importance of job location, salary, and type of employment in job advertisements to enhance employee motivation and reduce uncertainty. The assignment references several academic sources to support its claims and arguments.

BUSINESS MANAGMENT

Ans 1.
Company name Unilever
Job position Assistant R&D manager
Domain Clinical/statistics
Job description Researching and developing everyday
consumer products
Academic Qualifications At Least have a Master’s degree in Statistics
Work experience Minimum of 3 years of research experience in
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)
sector but people with less experience also to
be considered
Additional requirements Strong written and oral communication skills
The current job opening at Unilever matches my personal requirements in a job. As an individual
with limited work experience and having a masters degree in statistics makes this a dream job. I
have always wanted to wanted to use my knowledge in understanding the intricacies of the
consumer market and working at Unilever can help in making it possible. I am a master’s degree
fresher and would like to develop my professional skills (Kanyurhi and Bugandwa Mungu
Akonkwa, 2016). Since Unilever is a multinational company, there will be enough
responsibilities that will allow me to engage and collaborate with a global and multidisciplinary
team for designing and implementing statistical studies and data interpretation. Another personal
development goal is to be versatile problem solver and by working in an interdisciplinary team
will allow me to work on my communication skills as well as help me help grow as a statistician
and researcher.
Competency Demonstration
Extensive knowledge of statistical softwares I know how to use SAS
Data management, visual and statistical I can use linear modelling and randomisation

analysis methods
Applied statistics I can use the data to interpret actionable
insights which can help in problem solving
Ans 2.
As an HR manager the primary responsibility is to identify and retain talent which will help in
developing and growing the organisation. Hence it is necessary to select the appropriate selection
methods for candidate selection. Few of the commonly used selection methods that can be used
are use of application forms and curriculum vitae, undertaking online screening leading to
shortlisting desired candidates, conducting interviews, making candidates undergo group
exercises and taking aptitude tests. These are the most reliable selection methods that are
available to a HR representative. However, it is impossible for any HR manager to utilise every
available method for candidate selection as each of the method have their own pros and cons.
The most traditional approach is to accept application forms and CVs. However, most of such
forms are quite lengthy and do not have emphasis on important areas. Even though these forms
provide an extensive insight of the candidate, they miss out on several important requirements
like communication and ability to work as a team. Online screening is similar to application
forms where the candidate is selected on the basis of some cut off margins that have been already
set by the recruiting managers. However, these online screening allows the candidate to bluff
about their experience and knowledge which is troublesome. Interviews are best suited for
candidate selection as it allows the recruiter to directly engage with the interested candidate.
However, the judgement can be skewed due to recommendations and personal bias.
Conducting group exercises is very helpful in understanding whether an individual is able to
work in a group setting as it is very critical to work as a team (Mathieu, Neumann, Hare and
Babiak, 2014). However, it does not shed any light on individual abilities and efforts and people
slacking off can get selected behind the facade of teamwork. Aptitude tests help the recruiters to
understand the subject knowledge an individual possesses. However, it is not mandatory that an
individual having good aptitude scores will be necessarily good in other aspects like making
improvised decisions or communication. The selection methods to be used for the current job

opening are collecting CVs, conducting aptitude tests followed by group exercises and finally
taking interviews (Dillahunt, Lam, Lu and Wheeler, 2018).
The candidates will be selected on an overall performance in the different implemented methods.
Taking CVs will help in getting the necessary background information, conducting aptitude tests
will help to understand the depth of knowledge and problem solving skills of the candidates,
group exercises will help in evaluating ability to work in a team and interviewing will help in
judging communication skill as well as character of the candidate (Du Preez and Bendixen,
2015).
Ans 3.
Job designing is a vital component in HRM as it helps in specifying the contents, methods as
well as relationships of a job so as to satisfy the organisational requirements as well as the social
and personal requirements of the job holder. A well designed job will help in increasing the
involvement levels shown by employees which will boost the job satisfaction levels. It helps in
motivating individuals to work to the best of their capabilities and increases productivity as well
loyalty for the organisation in which they are recruited. It is necessary for the HRM to evaluate
the job design by conducting systematic studies as well as undertaking a detailed analysis of the
duties, requirements and responsibilities (Blanchard, 2017).
In the current context, it would had been better if the advertisement was able to inform the job
location as it will help candidates to make relocation decision. If the job location is very far away
from home, the individual might just lose the motivation to work as they will not be able to the
support their families by being physically present (Boukis and Gounaris, 2015). Another aspect
of the job advertisement which should not had been overlooked was the salary to be provided to
the selected candidates. Salary is the primary motivator for being employed and many candidates
may not be able to judge the value of the job if they are not provided with a comprehensive
overview of the salary package.
Last but not the least, the advertise should had mentioned the type of employability that the
organisation is offering that is whether the job is permanent or contract based. Uncertainty is the
biggest demotivator and when faced with uncertainty people stick to safety of their comfort zone.
They will not be willing to risk or take additional responsibilities because they are not sure if
they will remain employed in the long run (Zablah et al. 2016).

References
Blanchard, O., 2017. Designing labor market institutions. In Beyond transition (pp. 129-137).
Routledge.
Boukis, A. and Gounaris, S., 2015. Some Preliminary Evidence for the Effect of Employee
Satisfaction on Relational Switching Costs. In The Sustainable Global Marketplace (pp. 162-
164). Springer, Cham.
Dillahunt, T.R., Bose, N., Diwan, S. and Chen-Phang, A., 2016, June. Designing for
disadvantaged job seekers: Insights from early investigations. In Proceedings of the 2016 ACM
Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (pp. 905-910). ACM.
Dillahunt, T.R., Lam, J., Lu, A. and Wheeler, E., 2018, June. Designing Future Employment
Applications for Underserved Job Seekers: A Speed Dating Study. In Proceedings of the 2018
Designing Interactive Systems Conference (pp. 33-44). ACM.
Du Preez, R., and Bendixen, M. T. 2015. The impact of internal brand management on employee
job satisfaction, brand commitment and intention to stay. International Journal of Bank
Marketing, 33(1), 78-91
Kanyurhi, E.B. and Bugandwa Mungu Akonkwa, D., 2016. Internal marketing, employee job
satisfaction, and perceived organizational performance in microfinance institutions. International
Journal of Bank Marketing, 34(5), pp.773-796
Mathieu, C., Neumann, C.S., Hare, R.D. and Babiak, P., 2014. A dark side of leadership:
Corporate psychopathy and its influence on employee well-being and job satisfaction.
Personality and Individual Differences, 59, pp.83-88.
Zablah, A.R., Carlson, B.D., Donavan, D.T., Maxham III, J.G. and Brown, T.J., 2016. A cross-
lagged test of the association between customer satisfaction and employee job satisfaction in a
relational context. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(5), p.743.