Busmgt 761 Human Resource : Assessment Answer

2. Suppose you are the Human Resource Manager at Home Cozy, and the company wants you to recruit employees. (a) Propose FOUR factors to be considered in appointment (recruitment) processes so that the new staff contribute actively in the organisation. (b) Discuss employee and organisation improvements facilitated by induction processes. (c) Design a workplace learning programme for the organisation covering both induction and appointment processes.

3. Drawing from the case, illustrate five advantages of performance appraisal and reward plans and evaluate any TWO that would improve employee performance in this organisation.

4. The company has been adopting a 'Performance-based pay' as a reward system. Critically analyse this reward system and propose the other TWO most effective reward plans to improve employee performance. Provide justifications for your choices.

5. Suppose you are an HR manager of the organisation and you somehow sensed that Torn is leaving this organisation. Evaluate your succession planning strategy and justify that this strategy will be the best for the company.

6. Recommend one best motivational theory that you would apply to Saturday staff and one motivational theory that you would apply to flexible staff to improve their engagement and productivity? Justify your recommendations. 

7. Propose the two most effective types of organisational culture to support success in this organisation. Justify your choices. 

8. Identify and analyse ONE HR-related problem in this NZ based company and explain how you would manage this situation. 

9. Propose and Justify TWO effective communication strategies to engage stakeholders while managing this HR related problem identified in the Home Cozy case study. 

Answers:

Introduction

The human resource management (HRM) is the process of hiring and developing employees so that they can become important and valuable for the organization. The HRM comprises practices like job analyses, appointing the right people for the organization, orientation, training, providing benefits, deciding compensation, motivating employees, maintaining proper relations and more. It even procures, develops and maintains human resource and helps to attain individual, organizational and social objectives. This report comprises the human resource problem faced by the Home Cozy which is a mail-order shopping company based in New Zealand. It provides high value-added logistics with the assured speedy delivery system. The competitive advantage which represents a company different is its speed of delivery (Mone & London, 2018). The merchandises are delivered to the customers within the 48 hours. The report comprises the ways which contribute to the strategic direction. It includes the role of the human resource manager. Further, the advantages of the performance appraisal and reward plans have been described. The effective reward plans have been suggested. The succession planning strategy of the company has been evaluated. The motivational theories have been also applied to both Saturday and flexible staff. The types of organization culture have been suggested along with the identification of the HR problem. Finally, the effective communication strategies are applied in order to engage stakeholders.

The possible ways to contribute to the achievement of the strategic direction

The achievement of the strategic direction of the Home Cozy is possible with the following ways:

 Transparent communication: The communication is required to be transparent in the successful contribution towards the achievement of the strategic direction. The communication should be processed from bottom to top down for the successful strategic planning process. It should take place with communication at all levels of employees by informing about the strategic planning process to be taken place (Brewster, Houldsworth, Sparrow & Vernon, 2016). The input is provided in the strategic planning process through feedback surveys, meetings, focus groups and more.

Focus: The strategic direction focuses on the things that are likely to change about the business. The goals should be created and the objectives should be specific for attaining the goals. The specific goals are assisted by clear objectives and can be incorporated by the managers and employees. It offers every employee to focus on what they need.

Risk-taking innovation: The innovation requires trying something new. It is much safer to make changes in the things that have been done in the past. But in order to innovate on the large scale, it requires planning all kinds of ideas. For instance, wild ideas in the surveys should be taken seriously given to the employees (Mustafa, Lundmark & Ramos, 2016).

Employee engagement: The employees’ engagement is an important element. The employees are incredibly helpful when it comes to strategic direction. For instance, the inputs provided by the employees help senior-level employees to get insight into the challenges and day to day issues. It is essential to involve employees in the strategic planning and direction for the Home Cozy. It helps in executing strategies. The ethics have a role in the employees’ engagement as it contributes towards business goals (Albrecht, Bakker, Gruman, Macey & Saks, 2015). As a result, the employees feel motivated and work with efficiency and effectiveness. The human resource factors discussed above transparent communication, focus, risk-taking innovation, and employee engagement are helpful in achieving the strategic goal of the company.

Role of the Human Resource Manager in the recruitment of employees

The human resource manager at Home Cozy wants to recruit employees. in order to recruit employees, the managers required to consider:

Factors to be considered in the recruitment process

Experience: The experience is an important factor to be considered in the recruitment process. The proven track record of the success of a person is a positive factor for the company. The company will always prefer to choose a candidate with experience than one without it.

Hard skills: The hard skills are easy to define skills which are learned by the applicants in the university or past jobs. It is not possible to do job training without acquiring the right skills (Yamazaki & Yoon, 2016).

Soft skills: The soft skills are essential along with hard skills. The soft skills are not measurable and are often taken as personality traits. For instance, communication skills, work ethic and more. If a person has only hard skills but not possess any soft skills then that person cannot contribute hundred percent efforts.

Education and credentials: The education background has an important role in potential employees. The degrees and education should be checked which is a complement for the Home Cozy.

The improvement facilitated by the induction processes

The employee and organization improvements facilitated by the induction process have a role in bringing new employees on the board and improving efficiency and productivity for the organization (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). The induction process plays an important role in reducing the amount of time taken by the employees to get up to the speed and contribution towards the organization. There are various technologies which can streamline and automate the induction process to ensure consistency and time savings. The e-learning programme which is a technological trend helps to guide new employees about the history and culture of the company, its scope, structure, products, services, policies, and procedures. The online inductions also allow employees to gain information at their own place (Marchington, Wilkinson, Donnelly & Kynighou, 2016).

A workplace learning programme

The effective workplace learning program helps to attain two goals, meeting the needs of the organization and improving abilities of the employees. These goals are possible to attain with the help of effective induction and appointment process. A workplace learning programme should consist of programmes like a learning management system (LMS) and development of the learning paths.The implementation of the (LMS) is effective for the company as it determines the individual needs and accessing resources to close knowledge gaps (Koster & Wittek, 2016). The development of the learning paths for each employee helps in focusing on the professional development of the employees. The data is also helpful in getting better results to set clear performance metrics.

Advantages of the performance appraisal and reward plans

The performance appraisal is the evaluation done on the employees in regard to their job performance over a certain period of time. It is a system which provides financial compensation based on the individual or group performance. The advantages of the performance appraisal are:

Improves performance: The performance appraisal mainly focuses on improving employee’s performance. It helps in analyzing and evaluating the opportunity factors such as social process and technology.

Employee development: The performance appraisal helps in determining who is in need of training as it offers information regarding strength, potentials, and weaknesses of the employees.

Career growth: The performance appraisal works as a tool for the employee’s career planning and development. It also assists in preparing a SWOT analysis of each employee.

Promotion: The appraisals help the management in determining which employee is to be promoted, transferred or rewarded (Wiegmann & Shappell, 2017).

Employee retention: The reward plans maps out the alleged paths for the complete career of an employee. When the employees are hired by the small businesses on the basis of a total rewards program, the business can realize at which bonuses, pay raises, increased vacation and benefits occur during the individual’s career path (Pestonjee, Gupta & Delery, 2015).

Out of the advantages of the performance appraisal and reward plans discussed above employee retention and career growth can improve employee’s performance in the Home Cozy (Al-Emadi, Schwabenland & Wei, 2015). The career development aims at maximizing the employee resource utilization and it is possible with the help of the performance appraisal and reward plans. The career development as a source of performance appraisal offers the opportunity to evaluate progress toward goals (Kim & Holzer, 2016). The appraisal can even be used by the self-assessment of the employees. The performance appraisal should be done on the scheduled intervals in order to retain employees. The high-performance employees should be rewarded to spur towards improved performance.

Adoption of the effective reward plans by the company

The performance-based pay systems offer financial compensation based on the individual or group performance. The reward plans are used by the Home Cozy to reward performance and motivate employees. The rewards identified by the company are bonuses, promotion, pay, traveling expenses, working on special assignments and so on. Under this system, the company starts recruit from an initial training grade and then progress through and eighth-grade pay scale as per the individual performance (Jacobs, Belschak & Den Hartog, 2014). The company also assigns different jobs to the employees for the functional flexibility and the employees can receive higher grade payment. For instance, when the grade-8 picker packs at the speed of a grade-3 packer, then the worker will be still paid at the top rate.

The most effective reward plans which can be used by the Home Cozy to improve employee performance can be benefits and recognition. The benefits are the type of extrinsic reward which can be offered to the employees in order to improve their performance (Brewster, Mayrhofer & Morley, 2016).The compensation includes salary, overtime, profit sharing, commissions, and bonuses. It comprises items like retirement plans, health insurance, use of a car, expenses for meal and travel along with the entertainment allowance. The benefits provided by the company motivate employees to perform well and encourage staying for a long time in the company (Helmreich & Merritt, 2017).

The recognition is another reward plan which can be used by the Home Cozy. It serves reward by acknowledging the accomplishment of the employees. This award is more like ‘wall of fame’ for the employees who meets and exceeds the conventional goals. The ‘employee of the month’ is the award which can be given by the company as a part of the recognition. The goals set for the recognition can be short term, long term or combination of both(Nyberg, Moliterno, Hale Jr, & Lepak, 2014). The rewards can even be in the physical form as a certificate of contribution or it can be intangible like a day of paid leave. The recognition works well as long as it is consistent and fair.

Evaluation of the succession planning strategy

The evaluation of the succession planning strategy assists in identifying the areas of the strength and weakness in the workplace and the succession planning efforts. It assists in developing the strategies which mitigate potential risks and ensures comprehensive workforce plan. It also integrates processes like talent management and employees retention. The strong strategic planning is critical to the success of the company. The succession planning strategy of the Home Cozy is planned effectively, identifies the top performers and high potentials, communicates the plan and its value and focuses on pooling the talent (Harrison & Lock, 2017). The mentoring programmes are successful for the Home Cozy. It offers structured opportunities to the employees to learn from the experienced members of the company. The program facilitates leadership development by matching capable mentees with mentors. It offers guidance and expertise to the appropriate succession candidates. This program improves employee retention by providing guidance and support to the talented employees needed to navigate and integrate with the company’s culture. The mentoring program is best for the company if it is used with the technology (Cheng, 2014). The succession planning with strategy has become important in addressing the challenges faced in the succession planning. The mentoring software can reorganize the procedure of candidate identification and selection by tracking development progress. It is helpful in collecting feedback from the mentors regarding the potential candidates. The employees can be positioned appropriately with the help of the right software (Wehrmeyer, 2017). Hence well-developed staff and employers can only plan success in succession.

Recommendation of the motivational theories applied to Saturday staff and flexible staff

The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory can be recommended to the Saturday staff to improve employee’s engagement and productivity. As per this theory, employees have a pyramid hierarchy of needs that satisfies them from bottom to top. The Maslow’s theory covers belonging to a social circle to pursue talent through self-actualization. The pyramid of the needs can be divided into two categories, deficiency needs, and growth needs (Ployhart, Nyberg, Reilly & Maltarich, 2014). The deficiency needs include physiological and safety whereas growth needs include belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization. If the deficiency needs are not fulfilled then the person feel deficit and it suppresses the development. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be specifically applied to the Saturday staff to ensure deficiency needs are met which means proper wages (Al Ariss, Cascio & Paauwe, 2014). It also implies creating an environment which develops employees to their fullest potential. As per this theory, job insecurity blocks an individual from higher growth needs. There are physiological, security, belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization needs which can be fulfilled in order to engage employees for a long time and enhance productivity.

The motivational theory suitable for flexible staff is ERG theory. As per this theory, the needs of the human can be divided into three sets:

Existence needs: The existence needs include all the material and the physiological desires like the basic needs needed to survive.

Relatedness needs: It comprehends social and external esteem, relationships with significant co-workers and employees. It also means to be recognized and feel secure as a part of the group.

Growth needs: It is the most important aspect for the company. It includes internal esteem and self-actualization, it obliges a person to do creative and productive effects on him and the atmosphere. This also comprises desires to be creative and productive in order to compete for meaningful tasks. The problem faced by the flexible staff can be easily resolved by providing more reliable options (Stavrou & Ierodiakonou, 2016).

Types of the organizational culture

Home Cozy can make use of these two types of organizational cultures to support success in the company:

Adhocracy culture: The adhocracy culture is created on the basis of energy and creativity. The employees in such type of organizational culture are encouraged to take risks and the leaders are viewed as innovators or entrepreneurs. The focus is given on doing things first. It is a dynamic and creative working environment. The organization is held together with the emphasis on the individual ingenuity and freedom and held together by experimentation. The core values of the organization rely on the change and swiftness. The long-term goal of this type of organizational culture is to grow and generate new resources (Deery & Jago, 2015). The availability of the new services is seen as a success which is beneficial for the Home Cozy. It promotes individual initiative along with freedom.

Hierarchy culture: This culture is based on the two things structure and control. The work environment is considered formal in this structure with the strict institutional procedures for guidance. The leadership here is based on organized coordination and monitoring. It develops culture emphasized on the efficiency and predictability. The values comprise consistency and equality. Formal rules and policies both are kept together in the hierarchy organization culture. The long-term goals such as stability and results are paired with the efficient and smooth implementation of the tasks (Rosen, Kacmar, Harris, Gavin & Hochwarter, 2017). The personnel management here guarantees work and predictability.

Identification and analysis of the HR related problem

The HR related problem faced in the Home Cozy is recruitment and retention of the staff. over the last two decades, the company is recruiting temporary staff with the relative ease. Also, the problem of the recruitment and retention is constrained to the temporary and the Saturday staff. The problems identified with these two groups are different. The Saturday staff leaves the organization within a month or even weeks (Sanders & Lin, 2016). The problem with the Saturday staff is not recruitment but wastage, time and effort, and money linked with the training recruits who leave the organization within a short period of time. The flexible staff dislikes the notice period which is given to them for the no availability of work in the organization. Both of these situations can be managed by offering good pay and incentives to the employees. The Saturday staff can be easily retained for a long time by offering higher pay scale. Such employees enhance the productivity of the company as these employees are more satisfied with the working conditions. The flexible staff can be attained by offering productivity-based incentives. Such an incentive program can overcome the issues faced by the staff. The collaboration with the employers gives recognition to the employees (Farndale, Brewster & Poutsma, 2014).

Effective communication strategies to engage stakeholders

The communication strategies to engage stakeholders can be:

Transparent information: The information should be made available to the stakeholders in a transparent manner. The information made accessible in the transparent form helps in engaging customers. it is a time taking the process to know the intentions and role of the stakeholders which can affect the information available (Shappell, Detwiler, Holcomb, Hackworth, Boquet, & Wiegmann, 2017). Home Cozy can easily provide transparent information along with facing its HR issues.

Feedback to the stakeholders: The stakeholders should be provided with feedback on the regular basis to show how their interest and problems are being resolved. It can help Home Cozy to enhance its performance and generate interest of the stakeholders. The follow-up actions can actually improve the image of the company in the market place (Gupta & Shaw, 2014).

Conclusion

This report concludes that the Human Resource manager has an important role in the factors to be considered for the recruitment process, employee and organization improvements and in the workplace learning programme. The performance appraisal and reward plans are capable of employing and retaining staff in the organization. The succession planning strategy has been critically evaluated and the mentoring programme is best for the company. The motivations theories have been recommended for the Saturday and flexible staff. The organizational cultures like Adhocracy culture and Hierarchy culture are suitable when it comes to adapt in the organization. The HR problem faced by the Home Cozy has been cleared out. The suggested communication strategies are capable enough to engage stakeholders in the organization.  Home Cozy can easily improve the organization performance and retain employees for the long time by adopting the above measures. The performance appraisal and reward plans huge roles in retaining employees. It works like motivation to them. As a result the organization can enhance its productivity.

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