Reflective Journal: Australian Workforce Diversity and HRM Practices

This reflective journal explores the dynamics of human resource management (HRM) and workforce diversity within Australian companies, drawing upon the author's internship experiences at Woolworths, Australia Post, and Vodafone Australia. The journal delves into the challenges of managing diverse teams, addressing issues such as bias, lack of inclusion, and the importance of implementing diversity training to foster a positive work environment. It also analyzes the significance of work-life balance and its impact on employee satisfaction and organizational performance, using the experiences at Australian Post as a case study. Furthermore, the journal examines the state of HRM in Australia, highlighting the link between employee satisfaction and company performance. Through observations at Vodafone and Uber, the author illustrates how HRM practices, including employee benefits, fair treatment, and addressing workplace biases, can significantly impact a company's brand image and its ability to attract and retain employees. The journal concludes by emphasizing the importance of strategic HRM practices to achieve competitive advantages.

Running head: REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
Table of Contents
Journal one: Managing workforce diversity and balance in Australian companies........................2
Journal two: The state of Human Resource Management in Australia...........................................4
References........................................................................................................................................7

2REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
Journal one: Managing workforce diversity and balance in Australian companies
With the advent of globalization, a diverse workplace has not become a common aspect
in any business enterprise. A business enterprise is expected to hire efficient people based on
their competency and not on their background. However, this is not the case in all organizations.
Certain organizations face problems with respect to managing their workforce and inculcating
diversity in the organization (Grant 2016). This problem may take place with respect to the
employees who may resist change and would not like to indulge in corporate relationships with
people who tend to belong to a different culture or it might come down from the top management
who do not share similar values in the subject. For this reason, the company might not be able to
manage with a diverse workforce. Secondly, in regard to maintaining a work life balance, it can
be described as an initiative which is taken by the organization to help the employees in
maintaining a life outside the work as well. In the given sections, I will be sharing my
experiences and views based on the given topic.
In order to get a brief experience of the corporate world, I have interned at various places.
Some of these companies include a sales job at Woolworths, Interning at Australia Post among
certain others. While I was interning, I came through various experiences in the respective
organization which further strengthened my base on the given topic chosen and helped me to
understand the real face of it.
During my internship experience at Woolworths, I worked at one of the branches in a
sales team. My duty was to see to it that the given section of the store attained maximum sales
and that all the customers visiting the given aisle of the section found what they wanted and was
satisfied with their experience (Alfes et al. 2013). After a week, I observed that the given team I

3REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
was allotted to worked very well, but there existing a problem with respect to the way the team
behaved with respect to the different cultured people present in the group. Our group had
different members belonging to vast cultures. However, three out of them belonged to the same
one and tried to gang up against the others. As I was interning in the given store, I personally did
not face such a problem but the others working in the firm, placed problem as they were often
mistreated with and not involved in the team hurdles.
The management present in the store, was somehow biased towards the given group, and
did not take any strict action against them (Purce 2014). The ones who were being mistreated
had often tried to complain as they were facing inconvenience in regard to the behavior which
was being shown to them. They were not being involved in team hurdles and they were not being
shared lunch with. I believe although the organization had set defined policies with respect to
diversity management and inculcating the positive environment at workplace, however the
managers were not concerned with this and were not following these laws which were not
correct. To improve the condition in the organization, I believe that the managers should have
indulged in diversity management and training policies which would have taught all employees
that diversity is good for the organization and that engaging in a diverse culture, is good for the
organization (Chelladurai and Kerwin 2017). If these were implemented, the company could
have performed even better.
I would like to analyze another incident another experience while I was interning at the
Australian Post. For some time now, the Australian Post has been facing certain problems and
the employees have been pressurized to work beyond their shift hours so that they are able to
contribute effectively towards the long term development of the organization (Mok, Sparks and
Kadampully 2013). As the technology has advanced, the sales of the company have dropped

4REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
considerably. Hence, the management is trying to put a pressure on the workforce to go an extra
mile and contribute towards the well being of the firm. This involved having meetings beyond
the shift hour. Many workers and employees often complained of facing inconvenience and that
they were unable to carry out their normal tasks which they usually did earlier.
When a group of employees go together to discuss the given issue with the managers,
they got upset about it and did not pay heed. This is where they went wrong and according to me,
they should have actually thought about it. This is because; the employees were frustrated and
contributed even less to the well being of the firm (Alfes et al. 2013). A good workforce can be
maintained and contribution can be enough when the workers are satisfied with their job and this
satisfaction is directly related with the work life balance which needs to be maintained. In my
views, the organization should have tried and implemented a proper scheme and maintained a
good balance which would have then helped the organization to prosper further. The given
behavior affected the organization negatively and some of the employees resigned which was
harmful for the organization in general.
Journal two: The state of Human Resource Management in Australia
It has become a common belief these days that there exists a strong link between the
human resource in an organization and the performance of the firm. It is believed that human
resource management in providing a competitive advantage to the firm and helping it as a
strategic partner to strive towards success and inculcate an organization culture which brings
together human resource policies and organizational objectives (McDermot et al. 2013). In the

5REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
given journal I will be analyzing the state of HRM in Australian companies today and study with
respect to personal experience whether the organizations are using their human resource
strategically for the long term benefit of the firm or not.
When I was interning at the Vodafone Australia, I experienced an environment which
was a great booster towards the importance of the human resource of the firm. The different
departments followed a motto of employee satisfaction whereby the organization gave equal
importance to the employees as well in the same manner that they would have given to the
customers (Krajcsák and Gyökér 2013). They believe that if the employees are satisfied, they
tend to perform well and thus, the customers are served well automatically. During my
experience there, I observed that the firm offered all kinds of benefits to the different employees
who range from a good salary package, after work services, medical benefits and other good
incentives. Furthermore the work environment is very positive which further boosts the
employees to work well. According to my analysis, this has had a profound impact on the
organization’s performance and the firm has been able to attract a larger market share due to the
employee`s consistent efforts.
However, this is not true in case of all the organizations and there exists certain
organizations that are unable to form a link between the human resource aspect of the
organization and the performance (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). They fail to stress upon the well
being of employees of the organization which in turn has a negative impact on the performance
of the organizations.
While working with the global taxi brand at Uber, I observed that the company did not
have proper plans for their workforce. I was associated with the service department of the firm

6REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
and I witnessed that the company lagged proper facilities with regard to the benefits that should
be provided to the different employees (Marchington et al. 2017). Furthermore, the employees
were treated in a biased manner, which further causes a hostile environment in the organization. I
believe that, there is a direct link between employee satisfaction and their performance. The
company is unable to satisfy their employees which in turn is resulting in negative aspects for
their firm`s brand image as well. According to me, the firm should indulge in a sound Human
Resource strategy so as to improve their operations and this shall lead to better results for the
firm. I observed that the organization had a sexist culture (Bratton and Gold 2017). During my
stay an employee was facing problem with another co-worker but no action was taking against
him because, he was supposedly a good performer. This greatly disappointed the female co-
worker and her performance dropped immediately. Hence, this was a classic case of how a bad
human resource development could drastically have a negative impact on the performance of the
employee which would then affect the organization’s image drastically.
Therefore, according to my analysis it could be stated that, the relationship and the strong
link between human resource practices in the organization and the service which they are able to
provide to the customers. After analyzing the practices of various companies in Australia, it
could be observed that the performance varies widely and due to this the image of the companies
are quite different. I believe a firm should inculcate in genuine Human Resource Practices in
order to achieve competitive advantages.

7REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
References
Alfes, K., Shantz, A.D., Truss, C. and Soane, E.C., 2013. The link between perceived human
resource management practices, engagement and employee behaviour: a moderated mediation
model. The international journal of human resource management, 24(2), pp.330-351.
Alfes, K., Truss, C., Soane, E.C., Rees, C. and Gatenby, M., 2013. The relationship between line
manager behavior, perceived HRM practices, and individual performance: Examining the
mediating role of engagement. Human resource management, 52(6), pp.839-859.
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Cascio, W., 2018. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill Education.
Chelladurai, P. and Kerwin, S., 2017. Human resource management in sport and recreation.
Human Kinetics.
Grant, R.M., 2016. Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley & Sons.
Krajcsák, Z. and Gyökér, I., 2013. How to increase workplace commitment?. Periodica
Polytechnica. Social and Management Sciences, 21(1), p.39.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R. and Kynighou, A., 2016. Human resource
management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.

8REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
McDermott, A.M., Conway, E., Rousseau, D.M. and Flood, P.C., 2013. Promoting effective
psychological contracts through leadership: The missing link between HR strategy and
performance. Human Resource Management, 52(2), pp.289-310.
Mok, C., Sparks, B. and Kadampully, J., 2013. Service quality management in hospitality,
tourism, and leisure. Routledge.
Purce, J., 2014. The impact of corporate strategy on human resource management. New
Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals), 67.