HR practices of
Marks&Spencer, Selfridges, Primark, and Sainsbury’s
|
Submitted to:
Professor Dr. M Mahmodul Hasan Faculty of Business Administration North South University |
Submitted by:
Group: Jeener Badsha
MBA Program
BUS-601
North South University
|
Submission Date: 10th December
2014
Letter of Transmittal
December 10, 2014
Dr.M.Mahmodul Hasan
Professor
School of Business
North South University
Subject: Report on HR practices of Marks&Spencer, Selfridges,
Primark,Sainsbury’s
Dear Sir,
With due respect and humble submission, we are the student of MBA program
and submitting our report on “HR practices of Marks&Spencer, Selfridges,
Primark, and Sainsbury”. It gives us immense pleasure to inform you that we
have completed our Report under your kind hearted supervision.
Now, we want to place our report and for this reason we want your Kind
approval. We hope our report will satisfy you.
Sincerely Yours,
Group Name: Jeener Badhsah
Signature
Md.Ashraful Mumin
ID: 1430795060
Md.Imtiaz Haidar
ID:
1430768660
Md.Rakibul Hossain Chowdhury ID: 1430538660
Md.Saiful Islam ID: 1321481660
School of Business
MBA Program
North South University
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We are
grateful to Dr. M. Mahmodul Hasan, Professor, MBA program of North South
University for providing us such an opportunity to do this term paper and hence
learn about the HR policy of four particular companies. We are deeply indebted
to you Sir for your valid suggestion, trend setting guidelines and sensible
advice.
Finally,
we thank to our parents and friends who gave us their moral support and help
for preparing this assignment.
Executive Summary
Human resource management (HRM) is a
subset of the study of management that focuses on how to attract, hire, train,
motivate, and maintain employees. Strong employees become a source of
competitive advantage in a global environment facing change in complex ways at
a rapid pace. As part of an organization, HRM must be prepared to deal with the
effects of these changes. This means understanding the implications of
globalization, technology changes, workforce diversity, labor shortages,
changing skill requirements, continuous improvement initiatives, the contingent
workforce, decentralized work sites, company mergers, offshore sourcing of
goods and services, and employee involvement. In this report we give the
description of four companies HR policy ,their selection process and how
technology affect them in their selection process, training program, paying
employee market value, decentralized their work site etc. We also describe in
this report how company is taking their recruitment test via online. Technology has had a positive effect on internal operations
for organizations, but it also has changed the way human resource manager’s
work. HRM professionals have become the primary source of information in many
organizations. Information can quickly and easily be communicated via company
Web sites and internets, e-mail, and messaging. Human Resource Information
Systems (HRIS) allow HRM professionals to better facilitate human resource
plans, make decisions faster, clearly define jobs, evaluate performance, and
provide cost effective benefits that employees want. Technology helps to
strengthen communications with both the external community and employees. In
this report we describe the mark &Spencer, Primark, Sainsbury, and
Selfridges, HR policy, their financial HR budget, their recruitment process,
and how they are using technology in their selection and recruitment process.
We found that to apply in the four companies’ job everyone needs to register in
their e-recruitment system. After registering they provide a reference number.
An applicant needs to sit for online assessment test. Then successful candidate
are called for interview. After successful completion of interview they offer
the job. Wherever you are you can apply in any job of the four companies if you
have qualification they want. They practice the equal employer opportunity.
They feel it's vital that their people are well rewarded. So when you say yes,
they’ll give an access to a highly competitive total reward package that’s
proven to attract, motivate and retain the best people. They’re constantly reviewing
the details of the package to make sure it’s got everything their people want
in a benefits scheme. The provide different types of benefits and rewards to
the employee beside the basic salary such as Pay, holidays, bonus,
pension, life insurance, discounts etc. In this report we also describe the
compensation policy of the four companies and compare and contrast it with each
other. Finally we give some suggestion and recommendation how they can improve
their HR practices.
Table of Content
Serial No.
|
Content
|
Page No.
|
1.
|
Definition of HRM
|
2
|
2.
|
HR practice of Marks & Spencer
|
|
HR Management in the
21st Century: Challenges for the Future
|
4
|
|
The Impact of
Information Technology on HR Management: Opportunities & Challenges
|
5
|
|
Recruitment &
Selection Process
|
7
|
|
Performance &
Reward Systems
|
8
|
|
Career Development
& Training & Development Program
|
13
|
|
Financial Budget of HR
|
15
|
|
Health & Safety
Issues & HR Ethics
|
17
|
|
Recommendation
|
18
|
|
3.
|
HR practice of Selfridges
|
|
HR Management in the
21st Century: Challenges for the Future
|
20
|
|
The Impact of
Information Technology on HR Management: Opportunities & Challenges
|
20
|
|
Recruitment &
Selection Process
|
21
|
|
Performance &
Reward Systems
|
22
|
|
Career Development
& Training & Development Program
|
23
|
|
Financial Budget of HR
|
23
|
|
Health & Safety
Issues & HR Ethics
|
24
|
|
Recommendation
|
25
|
|
4.
|
HR practice of Primark
|
|
HR Management in the
21st Century: Challenges for the Future
|
27
|
|
The Impact of
Information Technology on HR Management: Opportunities & Challenges
|
28
|
|
Recruitment &
Selection Process
|
31
|
|
Performance &
Reward Systems
|
32
|
|
Career Development
& Training & Development Program
|
33
|
|
Financial Budget of HR
|
34
|
|
Health & Safety
Issues & HR Ethics
|
35
|
|
Recommendation
|
36
|
|
5.
|
HR practice of Sainsbury
|
|
HR Management in the
21st Century: Challenges for the Future
|
38
|
|
The Impact of
Information Technology on HR Management: Opportunities & Challenges
|
38
|
|
Recruitment &
Selection Process
|
40
|
|
Performance &
Reward Systems
|
40
|
|
Career Development
& Training & Development Program
|
41
|
|
Financial Budget of HR
|
42
|
|
Health & Safety
Issues & HR Ethics
|
43
|
|
Recommendation
|
44
|
|
6.
|
Compare & Contrast HR practices
among Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, Primark & Sainsbury
|
45
|
7.
|
Conclusion
|
46
|
8.
|
References
|
47
|
Human
Resource Management (HRM):
The
policies and practices involved in carrying out the “people” or human resource
aspects of a management position, including recruiting, training, appraising,
and compensating employees, and of attending to their labor relations, health
& safety, and fairness concern.
Human
Resource Management is the process of acquiring, training, appraising and
compensating employees, and attending to their labor relations, health and
safety, and fairness concerns.
Marks and Spencer (also known as M&S;
colloquially known as Marks and Sparks, Marks's or, simply, Marks)
is a major British multinational retailer headquartered in the City of
Westminster, London. It specializes in the selling of clothing, home products
and luxury food products. M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and
Thomas Spencer in Leeds.
In 1998, the company became the first
British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion, although
subsequently it went into a sudden slump, which took the company, its
shareholders, who included hundreds of thousands of small investors, and nearly
all retail analysts and business journalists, by surprise. In November 2009, it
was announced that Marc Bolland, formerly of Morrisons, would take over as chief executive from
executive chairman Stuart Rose in early 2010; Rose remained in the role of
non-executive chairman until he was replaced by Robert Swannell in January
2011.
HR management in the 21st Century:
Challenges for the future
Almost everything in life, family issues, societal issues or political issues have affects on the way organizations perform and the way employees think and work. HRM is not just new improved personnel management. HRM is a strategic function be it recruitment o employee development. Every practice that HR is responsible for has long term implications. Almost every HR issue is planned considering future outcomes.
HR planning is a crucial activity for HR managers. The current economic crisis has put immense pressures on organizations to rethink their priorities and to cut costs and let go of many employees. Employees found their jobs, and in some cases, their livelihoods in danger almost overnight. Employees’ bargaining power decreases as supply of labor increases and so many employees’ arc working longer hours for fear of being made redundant. Thus, it is becoming increasingly blurred when work begins and where it ends unpredictably employee markets, tighter budgets, and a de motivated and dissatisfied workforce put strains on effective delivery of HRM.
The changing face of Britain through immigration has enabled a variety of ethnic and racial groups to contribute to British culture. However, this situation has also brought problems with it. Employees from ethnic minorities tend to have low levels of occupational attainment and development. Gender and race discrimination towards employees from ethnic minority groups arc on the increase. Although there are various government regulations and laws against discrimination, it is almost impossible to stop discrimination at work completely. HRM needs to take solid measures to combat racism and sexism.
These factors reflect on the success of
the recruitment and selection process. No matter how sophisticated and advanced
the culture, structure or technological systems of an organization. It is the
commitment of the employee and their well-being and development that ensures
success.
However, attracting and selecting the best candidates is neither an easy nor a cheap task. Recruitment and selection is a process where there are no one size fits all method and the process is subject to bias. Previous chapters have explained how manager’s decision making is heavily influenced by their values, beliefs, political and social views. It is a colossal task to become an organization where people will dream of working. There are many factors that will enable an organization to be a preferred place of work but the most important of all is the organizational culture. HR managers have a lot to do in order to develop a workforce and structure that enables a successful organization culture. It may not always be possible to manage organizational culture, but it is possible to manage equality and diversity.
Inequality and discrimination not only
occurs in recruitment and selection process but also in employee development.
It is not always possible to do so. Organizations arc responsible for providing
life-long learning (from recruitment to retirement) for their employees.
Learning and development should not be restricted only to skills, competencies
or knowledge; it should also cover career development.
Career development is one of the key points in auract.ng and retaining employees. Ii is therefore significant to both employees, in terms of their individual progression, and also to the organization in terms of retaining a vital resource for competitive advantage. The impatience of a new psychological contract was highlighted. In order to gain employees trust, improve their commitment and motivation and prolong their stay in the organization. HR managers need to provide opportunities for them to develop their careers. Otherwise, it is very likely that employees will seek opportunities for development elsewhere.
As a conclusion:
Ø
Delineating the Corporate Culture
Ø
Being the Employer of Choice
Ø
Using Branding to Promote Culture
Ø
Winning the War for Talent
Ø
Recruiting and Retaining Over Time
Ø Leveraging an Indispensable Player: Technology
The impact of Information Technology on HR Management:
Opportunities:
Recruiting: Contacting a pool of qualified applicants is one of the
most critical aspects of recruiting, word of mouth, newspaper advertisements,
and college visits are often supplemented or replaced altogether by job
postings on the Internet. Posting jobs on company web sites, or through
specific job-search web sites such as careerbuilder.com and Monster.com, help
human resource managers reach a larger pool of potential job applicants and
assist in determining if an applicant possesses some of the basic technology
skills.
Employee Selection: Hiring good people is particularly challenging in
technology based organizations because they require a unique brand of technical
and professional skills. Employees must be smart and able to survive in the
demanding cultures of today’s dynamic organizations. In addition, many such
“qualified” individuals are in short supply and may be offered a number of
opportunities for employment. Once applicants have been identified, HRM must
carefully screen final candidates to ensure they fit well into the
organization’s culture. Many Internet tools make background searches of applicants
quick and easy. The realities of organizational life today may focus on an
informal, team-spirited workplace, one in which intense pressure to complete
projects quickly and on time is critical, and a 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a
week) work mentality dominates. HRM selection tools help to “select out” people
who aren’t team players, can’t handle ambiguity and stress, or are a poor fit
with company culture.
Four Seasons recruits employees who
convey a positive attitude, which to them is a better indicator of job success
and fit with company culture than experience.
Training and Development: Technology is also dramatically changing how human resource
managers orient, train, and develop employees and help them manage their
careers. The Internet has provided HRM opportunities to deliver Web based
training and development to employees on demand, whenever the employee has the
time to concentrate on the material. Four reasons have discovered the
advantages of delivering language training and management development classes
online.
Ethics and Employee Rights: Electronic surveillance of employees by employers is an issue that pits an organization’s desire for control
against an employee’s right to privacy. The development of increasingly
sophisticated surveillance software only adds to the ethical dilemma of how far
an organization should go in monitoring the behavior of employees who work on
computers (see Ethical Issues in HRM).
Motivating Knowledge Workers: What are some of the unique challenges in
motivating knowledge workers in organizations? Knowledge workers appear more
susceptible to distractions that can undermine their work effort and reduce
their productivity.
Paying Employees Market Value: It’s becoming more difficult today for organization to find
and retain technical and professional employees; many companies have
implemented an extensive list of attractive incentives and benefits rarely seen
by non- managerial employees in typical organizations: for instance, signing
bonuses, stock options, cars, free health club memberships, full-time on-site
concierges, and cell phone bill subsidies.
Communications: The rules of communication are being rewritten as
information technology creates more opportunities for communication. Employees
today can communicate with any individual directly without going through
channels. Instantly anytime, with anyone, anywhere these open communication
systems break down historical organizational communication pattern flows.
Decentralized Work Sites: For human resource managers, much of the challenge regarding
decentralized work sites revolves around training managers how to establish and
ensure appropriate work quality and on-time completion. Decentralized work
sites remove traditional “face time,” and managers’ need to “control” the work
must change.
Challenges:
Above all the opportunities are also a
challenge for Marks & Spencer.
A Legal Concern: Organizations that use technology—especially the Internet
and e-mail—must address the potential for harassment, bias, discrimination, and
offensive sexual behavior abuses. Evidence is increasing that many employees
fail to use the same constraints in electronic communications that they use in
traditional work settings. As one individual noted, human resource managers
“all know that they can’t hang up a pent house calendar in the workplace. They
all know that they can’t make a racist or sexist joke in the workplace.”
Misuse of Technology: Some employees can misuse the technology and wasting their
time which can be harmful for the company in a long run.
The
recruitment & selection process at Marks and Spencer
Marks
and Spencer is an international retail and food chain, with over 700 stores in
the UK. Jobs in Marks and Spencer are varied, ranging from retail, HR and head
office roles. The Marks and Spencer recruitment process takes job applications
via the website or phone.
The
Marks and Spencer recruitment process is as follows:
1)
Search through their website under the careers section for the job role you are
interested in according to the department as the company has a large range of
job roles available. The Marks and Spencer recruitment process is simple and
easy.
2)
The search will show all the job roles within the store across the various
branches in the UK. The Marks and
Spencer recruitment of employees is conducted through the Marks and Spencer
website or their hotline.
3)
Click on the job role with the most suitable location to you. The Marks and
Spencer recruitment process consists of an online application form. An FAQ page
is available before you apply to answer any potential queries.
4)
This will require you to create a login as a registered user. A confirmation
email will be sent to you to validate the account for the Marks and Spencer
recruitment process.
5)
Once you submit the application form, an email receipt will be sent to your
given email address. The Marks and Spencer recruitment process is easy to
track, you can revisit the site to track the progress of your application for a
job, and edit your personal details.
6)
The Marks and Spencer recruitment process takes into consideration if you have
any disability or learning difficulty, a number is provided to give assistance
to those individuals.
7)
Once you apply for a job through the Marks and Spencer recruitment process, you
cannot re-apply for a position within the next 6 months due to high demand. All
your application details are saved on a secured database for Marks and Spencer
recruitment to access when required.
Performance & Reward systems of
Marks & Spencer
Performance
management provides Marks and Spencer’s with needed information on their
employees. The information helps Marks and Spencer’s develop the skills of the
employees based on the information collected at the appraisal, it helps
recognize when training is needed. Performance management helps M&S by
improving their service by having able workers that
work to their full ability and by improving the relationship between workers
and the company.
Here
is Marks and Spencer's definition of performance management:
Performance
management is a joint process that involves both the supervisor and the
employee, who identify common goals, which are linked to the goals of the
organization. This process results with the establishment of written
performance exceptions later used as measures for feedback and performance
evaluation.
An
appraisal system is carried out every 12 months at Marks and Spencer's. An
appraisal system is when discussions are made with members of staff about what
is going well, what can be improved and how they would which to develop and
other suggestions from workers. These meetings are done by manager of M&S
for the employees and are confidential.
A
review plan is used at M&S to measure productivity. This form shows if the
workers have met the targets set at the meeting, for example is a person at
chashier as a set target to scan a certain number of products every hour the
review plan will show if it was complete. This is called scan rate operate
targets. Performance Management at Marks and Spencer’s referring to this data
to make sure targets is met, and that all the workers are doing well. If
targets are not met M&S can set out courses of action to fix the problem
for example giving the workers more training. This is the link between performance
management and training and development.
Motivational
Theories followed by M&S:
In
Marks and Spencer's they use motivational theories in order to motivate staff.
Here is the list of them below:
1. Maslow and the Hierarchy
of needs
Abraham
Maslow said that all motivation comes from a person's hierarchy of needs. A
person is motivated by his or her own needs. Maslow defined the needs in a
pyramid as he thought that once a person had fulfilled one level of needs, he
or she would try to move onto the next level, therefore giving them motivation.
Maslow proposed that the basic needs are the same for everybody and that they
could be fulfilled in a specific order like the diagram:
Also they follow:
Ø
Cognitive needs - knowledge, meaning, etc.
Ø
Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance,
form, etc.
Ø Transcendence needs - helping others to
achieve self actualization.
2. Douglas Macgregor -
Theory X and Theory Y
Macgregor
said that many managers generalized the people that worked for them. They would
put all of their employees into either a theory x category or a theory y
category and then manage their company using the appropriate management style.
3. Frederick Herzberg - Two
Factor theory
In
1957, Herzberg devised his ' motivation hygiene' theory which stated that two
groups of factors affect employee motivation. Herzberg said that certain
elements in a job motivate people to do better. He called these elements
'Satisfiers'. They include:
4. Frederic Taylor-
Scientific Management
Taylor
was born in 1856 and died in 1915. He worked as a factory superintendent in a
locomotive factory in the USA. From carrying out studies of how people worked
making axles, he concluded that:
Ø Employees were
successful in getting jobs there because they knew the managers, not because
they were good at the job.
Ø Employees did not work
hard enough for fear of their friends losing their job
Ø Employers paid their
employees as little as they could possibly get away with
Ø
Employees
were given little instruction of how to do their job and it was often done
badly. The amount and quality of products produced was very poor.
Taylor
said that his ideas would improve matters:
Ø Money was the only thing
that motivated employees to work hard. If the workers were paid per item made,
they would want to make more and would work harder.
Ø Trained managers should
run the company and supervise employees with firm but fair discipline
procedures.
Ø Employees must be
properly trained to do their job
Ø
Employee
should be properly and fairly selected for jobs through tests and interviews.
This is to make sure that the right person gets the job.
How
Marks and Spencer's performance management/training and development systems
have been influenced by the motivational theories:
M&S
use Maslow's theory by helping staff set and reach their goals at work, they
encourage their staff and praise them when they are doing well and staff also
receives rewards for good work. M&S use Herzberg’s two factor theory by
treated their employees well by giving them a good salary, good working
conditions and by giving them sick pays and pension’s schemes, they also give
their staff responsibilities to make them feel like there are important to the
company and motivate them. M&S use McGregor’s theory by having managers who
have trust in the workers and help them improve and do their best and also by
giving managers bonuses to motivate them. Marks and Spencer's also use Taylor’s
Scientific Management theory by paying its employees in order to work and by having
able managers control the staff.
Rewards
and benefits
At M&S they feel
it's vital that their people are well rewarded. So when you say yes to M&S,
they’ll give an access to a highly competitive total reward package that’s
proven to attract, motivate and retain the best people. They’re constantly
reviewing the details of the package to make sure it’s got everything their
people want in a benefits scheme, but the things be able to enjoy currently
include:
- Pay – They regularly check their salaries against other companies to make sure they’re competitive and keeping up with changes in the market. They’ll also review their basic pay every year, plus they offer extra performance rewards to recognize individual achievements.
- Employee discount –20% discount on all in-store and online purchases for their employees. Some exclusion does apply but there’s no limit on the amount of goods can buy with discount. What’s more, they’ll give a partner or family member who permanently lives with you the discount too!
- Holidays – Employees are entitled to a minimum of 28 days’ statutory holiday per year. Obviously, if work as part-time this will be pro-rated.
- Bonus – When they do well financially, they want their people to feel the benefit too. So they have a number of discretionary bonus schemes on offer that reward their employees for helping us to reach our goals.
- Pension – Nowadays, they’re all aware of how important it is to save for retirement. At M&S, they want to help employees along the way. This is why they offer an excellent Defined Contribution pension plan, where if employees contribute 3% of pay M&S will contribute 6%.
- Life Assurance – From day one, employee will receive life assurance cover to the value of two times his/her annual pensionable salary.
- Shares save – This is a fantastic way for employee to save and share in the future success of M&S. By joining one can save any amount between £5 and £250 each month for 3 years. At the end of 3 years he/she can get money back or buy shares at an exclusive 20% discounted price, which is set at the start of the scheme.
- Salary Sacrifice – Join one of their Salary Sacrifice schemes, covering childcare vouchers, holiday buying, car leasing and cycle to work and one could save money on tax and National Insurance.
- Discounts – It’s not just in-store where one can benefit from generous discounts. When one join, he/she can take advantage of over 1,500 special discounts covering holidays, leisure attractions and many more products and services.
- Heath & Wellbeing – At M&S one’s wellbeing is a big priority, and they want him/her to be the best he/she can be. That’s why they’ll offer discounted healthcare products and a wellbeing website with top tips and health guides, to keep fighting fit.
- Charity Volunteer Day – When one joins, he/she’ll have the opportunity to volunteer for one day at a charity of own choice.
Career Development & Training & Development Program
Experience is the best teacher, which is
why M&S likes to throw in at the deep end. Real responsibilities on real
projects, from day one (not really), but the learning’s aren't just one way:
they're eager to hear one’s fresh ideas, to have their ways challenged, in
order to grow the business.
Of course, it all starts with a
comprehensive introduction to M&S. During this time, one will get a basic
overview of business, along with all the information one needs about new role
and life with one of the nation's brightest brands.
On-the-job learning
They've plenty of learning opportunities
in store, which vary according to scheme. Learn while one earns, shouldering
real responsibilities with M&S team, as they tackle the ever-changing
issues of the day. One will be given a specific area of responsibility or a
project to manage own self fairly early on - say yes, it's a great chance
to shine.
Store attachments
Theory's all well and good, but few plans
survive contact with the customer. Through their store attachment
program one will get hands-on experience in one of stores. Depending
on one’s graduate program the attachment could be anything from one week up to
three months.
Corporate Learning Program
Their cutting-edge workshops will hone
their business abilities, ranging from skills foundation and competency
training to full-on project management.
Technical training
They're investing heavily in smarter
technology to achieve vision of becoming the world's most successful
multi-channel retailer. So they'll invest plenty of time with employees to
ensure they receive all the right technical training.
Role-specific training
They will support employee
throughout his/her career at M&S and, with role-specific
training, help them reach own goals.
Development reviews
Unlike many companies, M&S
performance management isn't just a case of us saying jump higher. We ensure
your achievements are recognized, feedback is heard and, of course, that one’s
career is progressing. After all, M&S only performs well when they all do.
They introduce a new
program named by “Plan A”
We’re a big business.
So that means we have equally big responsibilities. With this in mind, we
devised our Plan A initiative to help us become the world’s most sustainable
major retailer by 2015. It’s a fundamental part of M&S, and whether it is
the environment or society, we want to be involved and we want to make a
difference to people. This means working with our customers and suppliers to
review and improve the way we work.
Our ultimate goals are
to combat climate change, reduce waste, use sustainable raw materials, trade
ethically and help our customers to lead healthier lifestyles. We’ve identified
180 key commitments, created the unique Shopping experience and countless other
initiatives besides. All of which fits with our ethos of continuous improvement
and making things better.
We launched Plan A in
January 2007, setting out 100 commitments to achieve in 5 years. We've now
introduced Plan A 2020 which consists of 100 new, revised and existing
commitments, with the ultimate goal of becoming the world's most sustainable major retailer.
Through Plan A we are
working with our suppliers and employees to inspire our customers, be in touch
with the communities we depend on to succeed, innovate to improve things for
the better and act with integrity.
From Finance to HR and Management Information, we've a wealth of support roles for you to explore. Behind the scenes at our Castle Donington distribution centre there are several key teams bringing their expertise to our success. Just like in any other part of our business, strong financial management and accurate reporting is vital to our Logistics operations.
Our Management Information team ensures key stakeholders within Logistics are kept abreast of performance and key data. Then there’s people management – something that’s essential in an environment where there are so many colleagues working side by side. In addition to the above areas, our dedicated IT, Comms and Facilities functions provide invaluable support to our operations.
Finance
As you’d expect, this part of Logistics Support manages the integrity of financial accounts. It also audits our purchasing and payroll systems, as well as providing support in analytical reviews of financial performance. Careers in this part of Logistics are ideal for those with a good level of financial experience in an operational environment – particularly dealing with purchasing and payroll systems, along with balance sheets and budgets.HR
Our colleagues in HR ensure that all our employees are well-supported in their roles, and have all the resources they need to develop their career. You could be involved in anything from on-boarding new colleagues to organizing learning and development initiatives.The team includes HR Business Partners, Learning and Development Manager and HR Administrators. Whichever role you take on, you’ll be integral to helping our team performs at its very best.
Marks & Spencer snaps up John Lewis’s finance
chief
Helen Weir, who will
succeed Alan Stewart as Marks and Spencer’s finance director. Photograph:
Graeme Robertson for the Guardian
Marks & Spencer
has gone shopping at John Lewis for its new finance director, with Helen Weir
to join M&S next year.
She will succeed Alan
Stewart, who quit in the summer to join Tesco, but Weir’s appointment could
leave M&S without a finance chief for nearly a year while she completes a
six-month notice period.
Since July, Paul
Friston, executive assistant to the M&S chief executive, Marc Bolland, has
been performing the role on an interim basis and will continue to do so.
Weir is considered a
City heavyweight, having spent nearly a decade at the B&Q owner Kingfisher
in senior finance roles before becoming finance director at Lloyds Banking
Group in 2004. She led its retail division in 2008 but left in 2011 after
missing out on the top job to António Horta-Osório. She was later denied part
of her bonuses by the bank after the payment protection insurance misselling
scandal.
Bolland said he was
“delighted” with the appointment, adding: “She is extremely well qualified, and
brings a wealth of relevant financial, retail and consumer experience.”
M&S will pay Weir
a basic annual salary of £590,000 and she will be eligible to join its executive bonus
schemes. She has not been handed any shares but will receive a one-off payment
of £188,500 to compensate for a reduction in her pension contributions. M&S
said it might make a further payment to compensate her for missing out on the
annual partners’ bonus at John Lewis.
M&S cheered
investors this month by reporting its first increase in profits in four years
and lifting its dividend. Despite chalking up a 13th quarter of declining
clothing sales, the group managed to eke out a 2.3% increase in underlying
first-half profits to £268m, thanks to higher margins and lower costs.
Weir is an
interesting appointment for M&S as in recent years John Lewis has been
closing the sales gap with its larger rival. A decade ago, sales at John Lewis
Partnership, owner of the Waitrose chain, were just £5bn; at M&S they were
about £8bn. Today the UK turnover of both chains is in the region of £9bn.
Health & Safety Issues & HR Ethics
The Fire Health & Safety Committee - advises on fire,
health & safety policy, monitors its effectiveness and reviews key
performance measures on a quarterly basis. The committee receives updates
through the Fire, Health & Safety Officer Network Groups which meet
quarterly. Information from each location is exchanged with Fire, Health &
Safety Officers at Business Involvement Group Meetings. (BIG). Minutes are
published on My Store Workspace and should be displayed on the health &
safety notice board.
The Store/Site Manager - is accountable and
responsible for ensuring in conjunction with their Fire, Health & Safety
Officer that Company Health & Safety Policy is implemented. This includes:
ü
Suitable
Fire, Health & Safety induction and legislative update training for all
employees.
ü
The
prevention, reporting, and investigation of accidents.
ü
The
completion of store specific risk assessments and maintenance of known hazard
information.
Occupational Health
Services – provide advice and support to line
managers on managing the impact of work on health,
and health on work. Further health information is available through the People
Guide.
Business Involvement Groups (BIGs) - represent all employees in two way communication. They should discuss health &
safety policy, performance and implementation as an agenda
item at each meeting and update the business through the FHSO Networks.
Retail Finance and Operations - and its Trading, Safely and Legally Team are responsible for determining and monitoring risk assessments,
work practices and enforcement
measures.
Property Development and Facilities Management - are responsible for the provision of working areas, equipment and
materials that are safe and without risk to health. It also ensures that so far
as is reasonably practicable all contractors who work on our premises do so in
a manner that is without risk to our staff, customers or visitors.
The Fire, Health & Safety Officer (FHSO) - assists the Store Manager in promoting and improving the FHS culture in stores, ensuring a
consistently safe, secure and healthy environment for all staff through
workplace assessment, training and monitoring. In addition, supports your Plan
A Champion and Goals.
All employees must be aware of their individual
responsibility – for maintaining the health & safety of
themselves and all those affected by their actions at work. If an employee has
any concerns about their health & safety they should speak to:
• The Store / Site Manager / Line Manager
• The Store / Site Fire, Health & Safety Officer
• Any member of your Business Involvement Group
• The Head Office Fire, Health & Safety Team
Recommendation
Marks & Spencer is very good in their overall procedure of
recruitment, selection, training & allover HR practices. I found most great
organization & most great working environment provided my Marks &
Spencer.
Selfridges is one of the world's finest departmental
stores that dominate the west end of Oxford Street, London, United Kingdom. Selfridges, also known as Selfridge
& Co. is a chain of high-end departmental stores in the United Kingdom. The
flagship store on London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the
United Kingdom after Harrods and was opened on March 15th, 1909. The shop has
six floors offering ten acres of shopping space, eleven places to eat. From
high fashion wardrobe co-ordination to wedding lists, it has every shop you'll
ever need. Recently, Selfridges opened three more stores around United Kingdom.
Selfridges & Co. stores are known for architectural innovation and
excellence, and are tourist destinations in their own right. Selfridges
provides customers to liberate and give them the freedom to shop the pleasure
of foods, drinks, rare sensual delights, with music and the scent of perfume in
the air. Selfridges caters to the elite class in the market.
Tradition for unique
displays and unusual exhibitions continues to this day and is a major reason to
visit the store. Selfridges believes in ever changing innovative window
displays, which always attracts immense interest. Scores of excellent luxury
and designer clothes retailers, a superb Food Hall, and a number of first class
restaurants all under one roof make Selfridges.
Selfridges is not just a departmental store, it’s an icon.
This kind of concept is very much desirable in Toronto. Selfridges attract
customers looking for designer and luxury brands, whereas
at the same time it is a tourist attraction like Harrods in London, United
Kingdom.
HR Management in the 21st
century: Challenges for the Future
Human
resources are a term used to describe the individuals who comprise the
workforce of an organization. The use of the term 'human resources' by organizations
to describe the workforce capacity available to devote to the achievement of
its strategies has drawn upon concepts developed in Organizational Psychology.
The modern business cannot effectively operate
in the business world if the human force is not well equipped with the latest
technology and techniques. This is the responsibility of the human force
manager to properly train the work force and to see what is the basic need for
the human force to achieve the competitive advantages of business in the 21st
century. Great debates on this topic going on for several years and no doubts
human is an important part of any organization but due to rapid changes in the
business world, globalization, change in customer taste and habits, new
techniques of production, human in the organization now facing different kind
of problems to cope this situation.
Before we go further, let’s
look at some of the things that managers tell the employees make their jobs
more difficult and that they can’t directly
control. Every time that employee survey managers in any industry, in
any department, about managing others, they bring up the following issues as
among the most important and most difficult things that they deal with:
1. Productivity— Productivity is the amount of output that an organization gets per unit of input, with
human input usually expressed in terms of units of time.
2. Job satisfaction—a feeling of well-being and acceptance of
one’s place in the organization
3. Turnover—permanent loss of workers from the organization
(People who quit would be considered voluntary turnover, while people
who were fired would be involuntary turnover.)
4.
Absenteeism—temporary absence of employees from the workplace.
5. Recession— a recession is a business cycle contraction. It is a general slowdown in economic activity
6.
Offshoring — the process of moving jobs out of one country in to
another country.
7.
Mergers—joining ownership of two companies. The number of mergers in
recent years has steadily increased worldwide and presents new challenges to HR
professionals.
The
Impact of Information Technology on HR Management: Opportunities and Challenges
Technology has had a
positive effect on internal operations for organizations, but it also has
changed the way human resource manager’s work. HRM professionals have become
the primary source of information in many organizations. Information can
quickly and easily be communicated via company Web sites and intranets, e-mail,
and messaging. Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) allow HRM
professionals to better facilitate human resource plans, make decisions faster,
clearly define jobs, evaluate performance, and provide
cost effective benefits that employees want. Technology helps to strengthen
communications with both the external community and employees.
Recruitment
& Selection Process
Great companies first got the right
people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the
right seats – and then they figured out where to drive it.
Recruitment is not about filling jobs that are currently vacant – it is about
making a continuous, long-term investment to build a high quality workforce
capable of accomplishing the organization’s mission now and in the future.Recruitment
is a critical management function that all levels of the organization need to
be involved in planning and implementation.
Before an organization begin recruiting
applicants, it should consider the most likely source of the type of employee it
needs. Some companies try to develop new sources, while most only tackle the
existing sources they have. These sources accordingly, may be termed as
internal and external.
Internal Recruitment:
As a conscious focus of the organization to
nurture high potential talents by providing them suitable career growth
opportunities within the organization, efforts would always be made to fill in
specific vacancies from its existing human resource pool and this is known as
internal sources.
External Recruitment:
External recruitment is the assessment
of an available pool of job candidates, other than existing staff, to see if
there are any sufficiently skilled or qualified to fill and perform existing
job vacancies. It is the process of searching outside of the current employee
pool to fill open positions in an organization.
Selection process
Selection activities follow a standard
pattern, beginning with an initial screening interview and concluding with the
final employment decision. The selection process typically consists of eight
steps.
Performance
and Reward systems:
As if working for a world famous department store wasn’t enough, one can also look forward to a whole host of great benefits. These include:
- Generous holiday entitlement (which increases the longer someone stay with Selfridges)
- Extremely generous discount throughout the whole store
- Contributory pension scheme
- Life cover
- Long service awards
- Performance related incentive
Career
Development and Training & Development Program:
If you’re keen, committed and ambitious to learn and develop in retailing, then Selfridges can offer you one of the most positive and supportive environments in which to build your career.
Selfridges’s
Learning and Development team works with all business areas to ensure that
everyone is given the full opportunity and encouragement for their talents to
flourish. Their activities are the key to maintaining Selfridges’s customer
service standards at a constant peak.
They
want from an employee to get the most out of his/her role because they want to
make the most of his/her abilities. And as well as three months' induction and
continuous on-the-job training, one can also take advantage of a broad range of
programs and workshops, designed to help him develop his particular sales,
management or technical skills.
All
Sales Associates enjoy weekly training sessions, focused on delivering
excellent customer service. As a Manager, one can explore one’s potential
through a range of development workshops, designed to build world-class
leadership skills. Furthermore, if his role requires a professional
qualification, the authority will be happy to talk to him about financial
support.
At
Selfridges, your career is what you make it. Selfridges strongly believe that
every day their reputation rests on their employees shoulders. So if someone
has the talent, they can guarantee that they will offer his/her the opportunity
to develop.
Financial Budget of HR
HR Budget is a systematic accumulation of
financial data that helps in to project the amount of finances required to
support a company’s mission or goals is known as budgeting. The same holds true
for the HR department of any organization and thus, referred to as ‘HR budget’.
A lot of commercial organizations use one of the following two ways to create a budget for their HR department:
- Zero-based budgeting – Each and every item that makes it to the HR budget should be evaluated prior to their inclusion. So, the process of creating an HR budget flags off with a clean slate that increases its chances of getting the final nod from the concerned people.
- Incremental budgeting - Keeping the present budget in mind, a fresh budget is prepared after making due adjustments. These adjustments can be upwards or downwards with respect to each item included in the budget on the basis of their expected ROI.
Information is required to prepare an HR budget:
- Expected annual turnover of the company.
- Projected cost increment for employee benefits.
- Number of employees slated to increase in the next financial year.
- Plans for fresh programs or benefits.
- Real cost to the company in the present fiscal year.
- Various other alterations in the company policy, its strategy, rules and regulations that may, in turn, affect the company’s cash flow.
Health and safety are important
issues in all workplaces and as such, organizations are required to comply with
health and safety regulations and acts.
Health
and safety is usually regulated by provincial or territorial legislation,
unless yours organization falls under federal jurisdiction. While all
provinces and territories have not similar legislation, there are differences
among them. It is very important to visit province or territory’s health and
safety website for information that is relevant to organization.
|
One
need to consult health and safety legislation on a variety of issues, including
but not limited to:
- Refusal to work because of unsafe conditions
- Violence in the workplace
- Dangerous equipment/material
- Emergency procedures
- Lifting heavy objects
- First aid skills requirements
- And others
Recommendation
Some recommendations for Selfridges
are:
Ø
Periodical
staff/management meetings including collective team-feedback -rather than
individual one- would be a big plus.
Ø
Very
poor cross-department communication, concession partners treated poorly, long
hours that change with little notice, poor work life balance are some common
cons that need to be concentrated and the authority should take necessary steps
to prevent these.
Ø
Adequate
training for every staff is mandatory as it is related with selling luxury goods.
Ø
There
should be an equal opportunity for every employee and the workplace has to be
favorable with them.
Ø
Listening
to own staff and learning from them are other important prerequisites for
Selfridges.
Ø
The
integrity and honesty from the authority is a must.
Ø
Long
working hours is another drawback for Selfridges which needs to be solved
efficiently.
Ø
Because
of its tremendous goodwill, it can create more market segmentation rather than
just holding with the one and only Retailing.
Further expansion and success in Ireland dictated the move to the United Kingdom, and, in 1971, it opened a large store in Belfast City Centre before opening four out of town stores in England in 1973.
In October 2011, Primark opened its first concession model. Primark is now stocked in Selfridge’s department stores in Trafford Centre, Manchester, The Bull Ring, Birmingham and Oxford Street, London and now King's Lynn, Norfolk.
HR management in the 21st Century: Challenges for the
future:
As we enter the twenty-first century,
experts continue to validate that it is the human asset, not the fixed asset
that will make the difference for successful organizations. While it has
historically been HR’s job to “own” those assets, the overall enterprise must
take a more active role in the workforce experience. HR must continue to gain
ground as the chief people strategist by providing attraction and retention
techniques that create an employer of-choice environment. Simultaneously HR
must demonstrate a measurable ROI on human capital.
Future Challenge:
Being the Employer of Choice
Becoming and remaining an employer of
choice is the top-ranking HR-related challenge organizations face today.
Establishing employer-of-choice status is HR’s responsibility, and
if HR does this well, all other practices become subordinate to this
goal. The most important objective on the people side of the business
is establishing a place where individuals want to work and remain working. HR
should be concerned with providing potential, current
and even past employees with this environment.
Delineating the Corporate Culture
Corporate culture is a dramatic force
behind every employer of choice. Unique to each organization, culture has many
drivers, such as the organization’s leadership or the product or service
produced. At the very least, HR should be the designated keeper of the corporate culture. At its best, HR can be instrumental
in creating or maintaining a culture that is truly great. HR must first clearly
identify the kind of culture the company should have, then define that culture
for the workplace and support the environment that emerges. An identifiable
culture attracts employees, gives them a sense of purpose and offers a basis
for participation in decision-making.
Using Branding to Promote Culture
Branding promotes culture. In the past
branding was assigned to public relations or marketing, but it is indeed an HR
function because of its power to attract and retain employees. Working together
with marketing, HR must develop a compelling brand image for the workforce.
Staying Attuned to Changing Demographics .The workforce has changed and will
continue to do so. Employers of choice recognize and understand the dynamics of
the “new workforce,” where for the first time four distinct groups of workers
labor together under one virtual roof. The over-50 baby-boomers lend themselves
to loyalty and sacrifice, those in their 40’s believe hard work will take them
to the top, 30-somethings seek a balance between work and home, and new workers
in their 20’s are realists wired for technology. However, today’s employees are
even now experiencing a metamorphosis. The role of women and other minorities
is expanding, median age is increasing and there is a rise in the contingent
workforce.
Winning the War for Talent
An employer of choice has already come
a long way toward winning the war for talent, which is another significant HR
challenge. There is no truce in this war, regardless of economic conditions.
Recruiting and Retaining Over Time
Given suitably competitive offerings
with respect to compensation, culture is an organization’s number one
recruitment and retention tool. In an employer-of-choice environment, it is not
necessary to pay top dollar if other key factors are in place.
Understanding the Workforce
Statistics show that the size of the
workforce is diminishing —when the economy comes back, there will be fewer
candidates from which to choose. Although there is an economic slowdown now, in
the next 10 years demand will outstrip the supply. During a downturn, if
companies that are not hiring eliminate their focus on recruitment, they can
miss golden opportunities to secure the high performers who might be
instrumental in the future.
Leveraging an Indispensable Player:
Technology
Meeting today’s HR challenges would be
impossible without technology, a critical practice in and of itself. Most
people want to work for companies that have good technology. For example,
college graduates accustomed to using the internet for their work, research,
thesis, and case studies expect the latest technology on the job. Given the
widespread availability of technology, a company lacking in this component will
not qualify as an employer of choice for the emerging workforce.
The Impact of Information
Technology on HR Management: opportunities and challenge
Technology has had a positive effect on
internal operations for organizations, but it also has changed the way human
resource manager’s work. HRM professionals have become the primary source of
information in many organizations. Information can quickly and easily be
communicated via company Web sites and intranets, e-mail, and messaging. Human
Resource Information Systems (HRIS) allow HRM professionals to better
facilitate human resource plans, make decisions faster, clearly define jobs,
evaluate performance, and provide cost effective benefits that employees want.
Technology helps to strengthen communications with both the external community
and employees. How? Let’s look at some specific examples.
Recruiting Contacting a pool of qualified applicants is one of the
most critical aspects of recruiting. Word of mouth, newspaper advertisements,
and college visits are often supplemented or replaced altogether by job
postings on the Internet. Posting jobs on company web sites, or through
specific job-search web sites such as careerbuilder.com and Monster.com, help
human resource managers reach a larger pool of potential job applicants and
assist in determining if an applicant possesses some of the basic technology
skills. Additionally, rather than ask for a paper copy of a résumé, many
organizations such as primark are asking applicants to submit an electronic
résumé—one that can be quickly scanned for “relevance” to the job in question.
Employee Selection Hiring good people is particularly challenging in
technology based organizations because they require a unique brand of technical
and professional skills. Employees must be smart and able to survive in the
demanding cultures of today’s dynamic organizations. In addition, many such
“qualified” individuals are in short supply and may be offered a number of
opportunities for employment. Once applicants have been identified, HRM must
carefully screen final candidates to ensure they fit well into the
organization’s culture. Many Internet tools make background searches of
applicants quick and easy. The realities of organizational life today may focus
on an informal, team-spirited workplace, one in which intense pressure to
complete projects quickly and on time is critical, and a 24/7 (24 hours a day,
7 days a week) work mentality dominates. HRM selection tools help to “select
out” people who aren’t team players, can’t handle ambiguity and stress, or are
a poor fit with company culture.
Four Seasons recruits employees who
convey a positive attitude, which to them is a better indicator of job success
and fit with company culture than experience.
Training and Development Technology is also dramatically changing how human resource
managers orient, train, and develop employees and help them manage their
careers. The Internet has provided HRM opportunities to deliver Web based
training and development to employees on demand, whenever the employee has the
time to concentrate on the material. Four reasons have discovered the
advantages of delivering language training and management development classes
online. Teleconferencing technology allows employees to train and collaborate
in groups regardless of their location. Organizations that rely heavily on technology find
an increased need for training. Online training and teleconferencing also allow
HR departments to deliver cost effective training that help stretch the HR
budget.
Ethics and Employee Rights Electronic surveillance of employees by employers is an
issue that pits an organization’s desire for control against an employee’s
right to privacy. The development of increasingly sophisticated surveillance
software only adds to the ethical dilemma of how far an organization should go
in monitoring the behavior of employees who work on computers (see Ethical
Issues in HRM). Today, most businesses surveyed by the American Management
Association indicate that they monitor employees.
Motivating Knowledge Workers What are some of the unique challenges in
motivating knowledge workers in organizations? Knowledge workers appear more
susceptible to distractions that can undermine their work effort and reduce
their productivity. Employers often believe they must monitor what employees
are doing because employees are hired to work, not to surf the Web checking
stock prices, placing bets at online casinos, or shopping for presents for family
or friends. “Cyber Monday,” or the Monday after Thanksgiving, as a day to do
personal holiday shopping while at work may not be supported by recent sales
figures, but recreational on-the-job Web surfing has been said to cost a
billion dollars in wasted computer resources and billions more in lost work
productivity annually. That’s a significant cost to businesses in time and
money.
Paying Employees Market Value It’s becoming more difficult today for organizations to find
and retain technical and professional employees. Many companies have
implemented an extensive list of attractive incentives and benefits rarely seen
by non- managerial employees in typical organizations: for instance, signing
bonuses, stock options, cars, free health club memberships, full-time on-site
concierges, and cell phone bill subsidies. These incentives may benefit their
recipients, but they have downsides. One is the perception of inequity if they
are not offered to all employees. The other is the increasing problem created by
offering stock options as a benefit to employees. While they look good when a
firm is growing and the stock market is performing favorably on the company’s
future, stock options can reduce employee motivation when market conditions
reduce the value of the stock.
Communications
The rules of communication are being rewritten as information technology
creates more opportunities for communication. Employees today can communicate
with any individual directly without going through channels. Instantly anytime,
with anyone, anywhere these open communication systems break down historical
organizational communication pattern flows. They also redefine how meetings,
negotiations, supervision, and water-cooler talk are conducted. For instance,
virtual meetings allow people in geographically dispersed locations to meet
regularly. Moreover, it’s now easier for employees in Baltimore and Singapore
to covertly share company gossip than for off-line employees who work two
cubicles apart.
Decentralized Work Sites For human resource managers, much of the challenge regarding
decentralized work sites revolves around training managers how to establish and
ensure appropriate work quality and on-time completion. Decentralized work
sites remove traditional “face time,” and managers’ need to “control” the work
must change. Instead, greater employee involvement will allow workers the
discretion to make decisions that affect them. For instance, although a due
date is established for the work assigned to employees, managers must recognize
that off-site employees (or telecommuters) will work at their own pace. Instead
of focusing work efforts over an eight-hour period, the individual may work two
hours here, three hours at another time, and another three late at night. The
emphasis, then, will be on the final product, not on the means by which it is
accomplished. Working from home may also require HRM to rethink its
compensation policy. Will it pay workers by the hour, on a salary basis, or by
the job performed? More than likely, jobs such as claims processing that can be
easily quantified and standardized will earn pay for actual work done.
Skill Levels What are the skill implications of this vast spread of
technology? For one, employees’ job skill requirements will increase. Workers
will need the ability to read and comprehend software and hardware manuals,
technical journals, and detailed reports. Another implication is that
technology tends to level the competitive playing field. It provides
organizations, no matter their size or market power, with the ability to
innovate, bring products to market rapidly, and respond to customer requests.
Remember that Globalization allows individuals to compete worldwide in
purchasing or providing services. Many companies have found that services in technology,
programming, radiology, and financial analysis can be provided by skilled
employees in India as easily as an employee in the United States.
A Legal Concern Organizations that use technology—especially the Internet
and e-mail—must address the potential for harassment, bias, discrimination, and
offensive sexual behavior abuses. Evidence is increasing that many employees
fail to use the same constraints in electronic communications that they use in
traditional work settings. As one individual noted, human resource managers
“all know that they can’t hang up a pent house calendar in the workplace. They
all know that they can’t make a racist or sexist joke in the workplace.”
Recruitment &
Selection Process of Primark Stores:
Primark Stores has a multi-dimensional
recruitment and selection process a few years ago and job vacancies were
advertised through multiple ways, including in store postings, Job Centre
advertisement and advertisement of vacancies over the internet. Although we
know that Primark Stores has not been focused more on internet related issues
in the past and there was no other way available for the people a part from
going to job centre’s and Primark Stores
itself asking about the vacancies.
With the current passage of success,
Primark Stores has made the recruitment process more transparent and easier to access. Primark Stores have
now got an Online- Recruitment System and vacancies are displayed onto the
website immediately.
After initial registration, candidates
are asked to answer a set of question related to customer services and other
issues related to the retail industry. On the successful completion of these
questions, candidates are issued an application reference number for further
processing of their application, if they were successful during this phase of
application.
 Registration
with E Recruitment system |
Fill an application Form
|
|
|
Recruitment Process for Retail
Operatives:
The current recruitment process of
Primark Stores consists of the following key stages. Candidate needs to fill an
online application form to get register with the online recruitment system. At
next stage, candidate needs to answer a set of online questions regarding the
customer services and retail business environment. On Successful completion of
this stage, candidates are invited for a personal interview. A job is offered
after a successful completion of assessment centre and going through a rigorous
activity of group tasks and presentation.
Recruitment for Management Positions:
Same methodology of online applications
applies for management positions as well.
Ø Job vacancies are advertised through Primark’s Recruitment
website.
Ø Candidates are presented with a set of online questions
regarding the management of business or real life issues.
Ø On successful completion of questionnaires, candidate is
issued an application reference number and is invited for a Panel Interview.
Ø This interview session can be a panel interview or one – to
– one interview and candidate is tested on the basis of his education,
expertise and communication skills.
Candidate’s ability to handle different difficult situations is also
analyzed.
Ø On successful completion of interview session, candidate is
invited to attend an assessment centre and this is the stage where candidate
has to go through group tasks, presentations and this gives HR team a complete
idea about the suitability of the candidate for a particular job role.
Rewards & Benefits:
Primark Stores rewards its staff
through different ways. In house promotions is a major source of
Motivation for staff, staff is also
provided opportunities of training at various Stores of Primark.
Ø Salaries are competitive and subject to annual review.
Ø Other benefits include:
Ø Structured training and development programs
Ø Promotional opportunities for everyone
Ø Contributory pension scheme
Ø Childcare Voucher scheme
Ø Competitive annual leave entitlement
Ø Health insurance (dependant on the role/level/function)
Ø Bonus scheme (dependant on the role/level/function)
Ø Flexi-time scheme for certain head office functions
Ø Variety of shift patterns available to suit your lifestyle
Ø A competitive Salary and 28 days paid holidays are given to
permanent staff members.
Training and Development:
Providing first class training to every
staff member is a top priority of Primark Stores Ltd. Staff members are
providing opportunities for career growth through different in-house promotions
and training activities. Primark Stores Ltd has always paid immense amount of
attention towards the development & training of staff. Primark Stores Ltd
is providing valuable information on ethical trading to its staff and workers
related to its suppliers. Primark has been quite active in raising
awareness on child labor issues in these countries and has always
promoted the values of ethical trading. This ethical training staffs is the
focus of problem solving issues with the suppliers. The role of
suppliers is equally important at the same time and Primark Ltd has got more
training programs for the suppliers and its own key staff members who
can get involved more actively with supplier in solving these on daily
basis. Primark’s staff is given extensive awareness on issues relating
to all areas of business and staff members are provided further
specialized training from time to time, in order to help them do their work in
an effective manner.
Support for New Starters: As mentioned earlier that Primark considers training very
important as part of future development of its staff. A thorough induction day is conducted for
every new staff member giving him / her opportunity to know about the
business and working environment. At the
same time Staff members are familiarized with health & safety
issues, fire hazards, emergency evacuation procedures and basic customer
services skills. Personal Experience of Working at Primark I myself have
the experience of working with Primark Stores and i was provided a good
induction session on my first day . It was a thorough induction session
covering all aspects of business and other issues related to the business. I
was provided a very good customer services training and that helped me a lot
during my job with Primark Stores.
Developments
The human resource development does not
own HR development alone it must be owned by the organization as a whole, HR
development strategy should focus on the organizations strategy and it should
be used to identify the skills and competencies required. – Handy(1988).
Competencies, competence
Competencies refer to behavior –
Whiddett and Hollyfore (1999).The competence in an employee means the special
or specific characteristic of an employee who with effective or excellent
performance in the job he does. – Boyatzis (1982) Behavioral competencies are
appreciated as important method in the HR process but issues with it are
backward and not forward looking, and are limiting and misleading some time if
it is used alone. – Hayes et.al (2000).
Learning and development:
While doing his work employee will
learn things from the experienced managers and he understands how to deal with
things in his work – Kolb et al. (1984). Honey and Mumford (1989) described
four stages in the learning they are activity, reflectors, theory building, and
pragmatists. The people who are trying something out without a preparation,
they are eager to do role play tasks and easy to take risk on their work in
other words people having a go are called as Activists. Reflectors are the
people who have keen eye on analyzing what happened and why and they are good
in listening and observing. Theorists are those whose strength is in building a
concept or theory on their analysis. Their learning will start by reading a
referred topic. Pragmatists are those who are very keen to use whatever they
learn and how it will work out when they apply it in real situation. They will
plan everything before they get into act.
Career
development
Career development is first concern for
all the employees who are in whatever position they are, and they will update them self in both skills and
general knowledge to overcome career setbacks. Most of the organization in this
modern world will advice there , support, and encourage in individual career
planning and management by giving them he career grids, feedbacks,
opportunities for employee career exploration. Primark use this as a image for
their organization.
Financial Budget of HR:
George
Weston, CEO of Associated British Foods.
George Weston, the boss of Primark owner
Associated British Foods, has banked a 23% pay rise to £7.15m thanks to bonuses
linked to the food and fashion group’s achievements in previous years.
Weston’s basic salary rose to £973,000,
up 2.6% on the previous year in line with the rest of the company’s employees,
but his take-home pay was lifted by an increase in the value of long-term
incentives to £4.8m from £3.1m in 2013, according to the company’s annual report published on
Thursday. Weston also received £15,000 in other benefits, £457,000 towards his
pension and an £894,000 annual bonus.
Finance director John Bason, the group’s
only other executive director, also saw his pay jump 21% to £4.8m thanks to a
£3.2m long-term bonus. Both received all the possible bonus shares allocated to
them in 2011 under the long-term scheme after ABF achieved earnings per share
growth of more than 12% in the three years to 2014.
For the year ahead, Weston’s basic salary
will rise above £1m for the first time. A short-term bonus of up to 150% of
base salary and a long-term bonus of up to 200% of salary could again take his
total pay to more than £5m including benefits such as a company car and private
medical insurance.
The company said in the annual report:
“We are satisfied that pay outcomes for the financial year 2013/14 reflect overall
business performance.”
It said that with the exception of its
sugar business underlying operating profit increased in all divisions,
particularly in agriculture and Primark, which it said was “well positioned to
maintain its growth momentum.”
It added that the performance resulted in
a short-term incentive payment slightly above the mid-level of what was
possible.
Health and Safety Issues:
The
issue of worker safety has always been a priority for Primark and forms an important part of our factory inspections. In some countries where awareness of workplace safety (particularly fire safety) is limited, our local teams provide training and awareness programs for factory managers and workers. In
Bangladesh, we also work with industry experts, other retailers, and international organizations to ensure the factories we use are structurally safe and meet international safety standards. We are a member of the Bangladesh Accord on Building &
Fire Safety, and were the first
UK retailer to sign the Accord. Over 150 retailers are now members, along with trade unions and worker rights
organizations.
Our program
Our fire safety programs for suppliers
in Bangladesh have been in place since 2010. It includes dedicated fire safety
inspections, and training for suppliers and workers. In 2012 we launched a new
initiative to create a set of practical fire safety guides. Health and safety
experts, worker rights organizations, our suppliers, and a former senior member
of the Bangladesh Fire Service, are working with us to create the guides. Following
the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in April 2013, we began a program of
structural building surveys. The surveys are conducted to the highest
international standards by an expert team of structural and civil engineers
from a specialist engineering and architectural firm.
HR Ethics:
Legal requirements are very important
as part o the HR Planning process and HR team ensures that they are fulfilling
all legal requirement during the recruitment & selection process. Staffs
members are informed about different legal sides of the business and how
legally Primark protects its employees in case of any incident or injury during
work. These all things are very important and should be reviewed on a regular
basis as they not only ensure the safety of the employees but at the same time
keeps the organization on a right track which maximizes its chances of business
growth.
Recommendation:
Organizational Culture and Primark’s
role in development of its staff as a learning organization is quite good. As
we know that an effective HR Strategy is helpful in achieving the overall goal
of the organization, Primark stores made its people are real valuable asset and
utilized this resource in an effective manner. The success Primark is having today is because of its Business Strategy which was
very well backed with Organizational and HR Strategy .The recruitment and selection
procedure of Primark Stores. Their training procedure and their focus on staff
development is well developed. In my view change in the recruitment
procedure has been quite positive but a delay in different recruitment
activities is an issue of major concern and it should be sorted out. As we know that people are the major assets of Primark
stores and these induction practices ensure that people know about their
responsibilities as part of the company and how to deal with situations arising
during the course of work. Legal side is very important and staff should be
familiarized with the basics of HR and employment law and health & safety
at work. These things not only protect employees during work but at the same
time, it protects the employers from getting involved in lengthy legal
proceedings in case of an incident.
Sainsbury's is the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.4%. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company became the largest grocery retailer in 1922, pioneered self-service retailing in the UK, and had its heyday during the 1980s. In 1995, Tesco overtook Sainsbury's to become the market leader, and Asda became the second largest in 2003, demoting Sainsbury's to third place. The holding company, J Sainsbury plc, is split into three divisions, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, Sainsbury's Convenience Stores Ltd (Sainsbury's Local), and Sainsbury's Bank. The group's head office is in the Sainsbury's Store Support Centre in Holborn Circus, City of London. The group also has interests in property.
As of May 2011, the largest Sainsbury family shareholders are Lord Sainsbury of Turville with 4.99%, with Judith Portrait the trustee of various Sainsbury settlements and charitable trusts holding 3.92%. The largest overall shareholder is the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, the Qatar Investment Authority, who holds 25.999% of the company.
HR
management in the 21st century: challenges for the future
There
are many factors contributing to HR managers functions of the Sainsbury and
these activities are constantly changing. The most of the challenges and issues
which are being faced by the HR of Sainsbury in 21st century
are workforce diversity, Organizational
effectiveness, change management, globalization, leadership development, E-
commerce, technology, health and safety, learning and development, recruitment
and skill labor, succession planning, compensation, retention of the employees,
multicultural work force, retrenchment
of the employees, change in the demand of the government, ethical consideration
of the organization which may directly or indirectly affect the organization
competitive advantages. In this modern business world, markets have become more
challenge where both the domestic and foreign competitors try to capture as
maximum market shares as possible. However, they have no value without the
human resource because knowledgeable and skill workforce facilitates a company
that will make competitive advantage over other. Therefore, all the HR Managers
make several strategies to develop and retain such human resource because human
resource is the resource which makes an organization successful in the field of
globalization. The human resource functions of the Sainsbury in the 21st
century are human resource planning, job Analysis design, recruitment and
selection, orientation and induction, training and development,
promotion/transfer/termination, compensation and remuneration, motivation,
welfare, health and safety, industrial relation and maintenance & equal
employment. In order to manage such diverse human resources effectively,
business organization adopt and make the policies and practices according to
the culture and environment. HRM needs to customize this change by ensuring
that the organization has the right people with sufficient knowledge, desire
skill and abilities to build such culture in the organization which effectively
contribute and enable the organization towards change.
The
impact of information technology on HR management: opportunities and challenges
Information systems play an important role in planning
and management of human resources in the Sainsbury. The new opportunity and
challenge of HRM of Sainsbury is the technology. The ways and methods of living
and work have been changed by the modern technology. The information technology
has changed everything. It covers all the information and ideas which will be
beneficial for the organization. The way to develop and retain human resources
is to create such an environment which compete them to stay in the organization
and it is a main challenge for HRM. The
trading activities can be done by the electronic commerce through internet.
Internet is now the new business era. It has changed customer’s expectations
and needs about convenience, speed, price and services. Knowledgeable workers
make on-line businesses. Now, such on-line business has become a challenge for
HRM and the HR managers make several strategies to control on-line business. HR
managers also try hire & develop human resources who have the ability to
attract, motivate, retain, and to serve as maximum customers as possible. Information
technology (IT) can assist the HR department to do their jobs. These include
systems for e-recruitment, online short listing of applicants, online
performance management and appraisals, e-learning, online psychometric testing,
as well as IT systems to help with payroll, employment data, recruitment
administration, references and pre-employment checks. Sainsbury use HR shared
service centers where they bring many of the HR services together and use
technology such as email, a company intranet or telephones to provide HR
information in order to deal with HR queries and provide expert advice for
people working at various locations. Sainsbury uses the web 2.0 to more involve
the employees and it has approaches to recruitment and selection, and learning
and talent development. By these way, Sainsbury not only control or reduce
costs through using IT but also get better quality information, better
decision-making and with the latest developments, increased involvement and
engagement of the workforce. Increasing use of IT gives the Sainsbury
a
much greater amount of information that is available on which to base decisions
and plan for the future. Sainsbury is now using teleconferencing and networking
to make people no longer have to be in the same place to hold a meeting or to
work in the same building. People are often able to learn at their desks or via
their smart phone by the E-learning process in the Sainsbury. Sainsbury’s
information system serves as an important
personnel administration operational hub including employee record keeping,
budget control, compensation, benefits management, and government reporting. This computer technology
enables Sainsbury’s to combine human resources into a single database that can
be used to support multiple personnel and managerial functions. Sainsbury has
built a human resources information system (HRIS) that is the integration of
software, hardware, support functions and system policies and procedures into
an automated process designed to support the strategic and operational
activities of the human resources department and managers throughout the
organization. An
HRIS database maintains an inventory of people, job skills, and positions and
its system draws on these inventories for transaction processing, reporting,
and tracking. The HRIS provides a foundation for a set of analytical tools that
assist managers in establishing objectives and in evaluation the performance of
the organization's human resources programs. This HRIS will not only provide
timely, efficient, thorough and accurate personnel information and analysis but
also it provides an effective match of the needs, skills, and interests of the
human resources department staff with other users and departments. By the use
of modern information technology, Sainsbury will assist managers in planning
and evaluating human resources programs which will combine the goals and
objectives. A well-designed information technology of the Sainsbury will serve
both the strategic and operation functions in the management of human resources.
Recruitment
& Selection process:
Recruitment: Sainsbury offers large numbers of job opportunities that
are available in different stores. They look for people with good customer
skills and job is available in clerical, stockroom and technical. Flexible
contract, term time contracts and dual contracts offer colleagues to work on
hours basic. Job opportunities are advertised on in-store job board, in local
newspaper and at job centre plus. When Sainsbury open new supermarkets and
local and central stores in many towns that creates job vacancies in advance,
Sainsbury recruit staff two or more months before in order to allow staff
training. Sainsbury offers recruitment for graduates. Sainsbury recruit around
100 graduates’ colleagues every year and more than 70 works within stores.
Graduates recruitment is conducted through online at Sainsbury graduate
recruitment website. Graduates are trained in all aspect of store management
under trainee management scheme. Under this training period, they will work in
all areas of store and later doing their jobs under manager supervision.
Sainsbury offers part time jobs for the students these jobs are organized at a
local level. Students work in different department during their particular period of time and gain work experience.
Selection
Process:
1. The first
method that Sainsbury’s use to collect curriculum vitae’s (C.V) and letter of
Applicant.
2. Then, Sainsbury
will shortlist candidate. This process is done by recruitment manager. This
shortlist of candidate is done to meet the requirement of the company that they
are looking for, right person for the right job.
3. Then Sainsbury
conducts Interview stage. Interview is the main stage of selecting applicants.
A number of planned question are designed to discover candidates knowledge. An
interview allows candidates to represent their skills and knowledge for the
selection. It will get to know for the interviewer who is good at paper and
those who have communications skills.
4. Suitable person who best suit
according to the company requirements will be selected for the job.
Performance
& Reward Systems:
Reward System: Sainsbury considers employee reward is a strategic issue.
It plays a key role in realization of the Sainsbury’s business objectives in
terms of being able to attract the right talent employees to the organization
for competitive, retain their services and further develop these talents into
vital assets for the organization. In this competitive industry, employees are
likely to leave or move from one Competitor Company to another company in
search of better reward package or remuneration. Sainsbury rewards employees
for their value that is created at work. Sainsbury offers rewards employees to
help motivate employees and to gain their commitment to the organization’s
goals and objectives. Sainsbury offers the financial and the non-financial
rewards to develop a positive employer- employee relationship and further boost
the psychological contract of employee.
Performance management system: Sainsbury has created a single, common performance
management system to unite goal setting, performance appraisal, and development
for ensuring employee’s performance that will support the company’s strategic
aims. By this Performance management, Sainsbury measures the employee’s
training, set the standards, performance appraisal, and feedback relative to
how the employee’s performance should be and is contributing to achieving the
company’s goals. Sainsbury’s achieve the performance of its employees
effectively so as to remain competitive in the market. Sainsbury use various
methods to know how well individual employees are doing their responsibility
and to know how well the managers are able to carrying out the employees.
Sainsbury conducts Performance monitoring. It offers information which is of
value for identifying future training or promotion opportunities and it also identify
the areas where inadequate skills or knowledge could be judged as a threat to
an employee’s efficiency. Managers of the Sainsbury control organization and individual level through development by planning objectives
and targets, performance value creation, perceiving actual performance, compare
actual performance with standards and adjusting mistakes and taking any
necessary corrective action. Sainsbury frequently measure the goals of
management in which the performance of the individual against objectives and
targets which have been fixed by managers and employees. The manager at
Sainsbury’s presents the corporate objectives. The individuals and team
member’s state how the things can be achieved what they feel.
Career
development and Training & Development Program
Training: At the beginning of the Sainsbury’s training period, all
new employees are gained a general overview of the organization and clear
understanding of their rights and responsibilities. a general introductory
training program is given to the trainees during the first eight week of their
employment period. Under this training program, introduction and overview of
the company are given to the trainees on the day one. During introduction
period of training, a series of modular workbooks is provided to the trainee
and the trainees are required to complete the modular workbooks. Then,
intensive program of training will be offered for the new employees.. Intensive
program of training will give various knowledge about the safe working practice,
food safety, law, store security and customer care; all trainees are assessed
through the preliminary training. The progressed of the training are their
performance indicates whether or not they will be offered permanent employment.
Staff development: Sainsbury provide right opportunity to everyone to develop
their skills and knowledge so that they perform well in their jobs. All
employees in the Sainsbury’s have a performance development analysis to discuss
their career development with their managers, measure their progress or
training needs at least once a year. Sainsbury has a have career development
committee’s team in each area of business for evaluation of training and
development and plan for the future. Sainsbury use various types of training approaches
such as course, workshops, mentoring, qualification, self-development books and
videos. Sainsbury offers senior management training. Sainsbury conducts senior
management training to meet the business and individual needs. Senior
management capabilities, knowledge and skills can develop through promotion,
external recruitment and training. Sainsbury offers training courses to achieve
specific benefits and training needs that are restructured. Sainsbury improve quality
and service and therefore productivity can be raised through running training
and development. Training and development will increase the individual
motivation and creates flexibility around the workforce. Sainsbury can create
growth of skills of employees, creates healthy work environment, financial gain
through higher efficiency in process and innovation of products and strategies,
organizational development, team spirit and improve organizational culture,
improve quality- work-life and quality of work, improve motivation, leadership quality,
loyalty and better attitudes through the training and development.
Financial budget of HR:
Employee Costs
Employee costs for the Group during the year
amounted to:
|
2014(£m)
|
2013(£m)
|
Wages and salaries, including bonus and termination benefits
|
2150
|
2051
|
Social security costs
|
141
|
133
|
Pension costs – defined contribution schemes
|
77
|
44
|
Pension costs – defined benefit schemes
|
34
|
59
|
Share-based payments expense
|
33
|
33
|
Total
|
2435
|
2320
|
Source: Sainsbury’s annual report of 2014
Health & Safety Issues and HR Ethics:
The HR of Sainsbury has a safety policy. Safety policy is a
legal requirement and the policy signifies the health and safety of employees.
The actions of the key
members of staff are responsible for
carrying out the policy. The policy will
include arrangements of training and instruction and company’s rules and
emergency. This safety policy will be signed by the senior manger and it is revised regularly to be kept up
to date. The main unique for the HR of Sainsbury is that it has own codes of
practice. This codes of practice states what employees should do in an event of an emergency such as a
fire, bomb scare etc. It says how to contact a first-aider, where a medical
room is, calling a doctor and so on.
Sainsbury’s HR has a health and safety
office in all their stores. These
offices have the responsibility for all health and safety policies and training. This office also
responsible for giving advice and suggestions to store managers about their
responsibilities for healthy and safety and
make sure that all employees working in stores are informed about them. This is
the health and safety laws in the Sainsbury. Laws
require all store managers and employees who work there to comply with the health and safety legislation. Human resources of
Sainsbury record all accidents in an
accident book to see where
improvements need to be made. HR of Sainsbury also conducts training session
for their staffs for health and safety jobs which include roles being health and safety officers,
safety committee meeting holders
etc. Customers are also accounted
into the health and safety acts for
Sainsbury’s HR such as Sainsbury provides wheelchair access, lifts, helpers
etc for disability needs, Sainsbury
regularly car parks for trolleys causing hazards, etc, Sainsbury keep clear
customer fire exit at all times, Sainsbury provides shelves for all stacks at
the lowest, put warning signs that can be always visible and heard, Sainsbury
banned smoking, drinking and eating in all stores, Sainsbury keep substances
and solvents in unreachable areas for children’s
safety (3rd or 4th level shelves) and Sainsbury check toilets every half an
hour for staffs and customers. Sainsbury provides an environmental health
officer who will inspect a store. If they
find any problems or unsatisfactory working practices, they will give the store manager an improvement notice,
which means that store has a specific time to rectify any problems
they. If the store is so poor, the
office will give it a prohibition notice which means that the store manager must shut the store down. The store
manager can appeal if they think the
discussion is unfair but if they lose
the appeal and fail to put matters right, Sainsbury’s HR can be fined a huge amount of money. Sainsbury’s HR display
details of health and safety laws in a viewable place for everyone to see whether they could be
breaching the health and safety requirement.
Recommendation:
The HR department of Sainsbury
controls the workforce and main challenge is to keeping them happy. Rivals may
look for Sainsbury’s existing employees by offering them better pay and
promotion. The HRM department at Sainsbury’s should be more alert of this
problem and may offer their employees more pay and promotion in order to keep
existing employees.HRM needs to ensures that Sainsbury maintains the right
employees quality and quantity workers. HRM department at Sainsbury’s should
have to plan in advanced. If a manager is leaving in near future, then advance
planning for recruitment, interviewing and selection will be important in order
to safeguard department from getting suffer a member of staff leaving. The HRM
of the Sainsbury should analyze labor turnover rate and absenteeism rate. High
absenteeism can cause lack of commitment, poor motivation and poor management
by the HRM. Since
most of the organizations are competing globally for their best reputation, the
HR mangers should take responsibility to train all the young workers to provide
them best rewards. As a result, they will show their commitment and loyalty.
Since technology has changed each and everything with great extent, modern
technology should be introduced and purchased by the organization. HRM of the
Sainsbury should implement proper training for the manager in worldwide to cope
with the issues of globalization. Human resource manager should develop such a
HR system which consistent with other organization elements such as
organization strategies, goals and organization style, and organization
planning. HR of Sainsbury must develop the ability to compete in the
international market and should make broad strategies which help to adjust
employees in global organization. Organizational culture should be like to
shape their behavior and beliefs to observe what is imperative. The HR of
Sainsbury should develop sound organizational structure with strong
interpersonal skill to employees to address the issues and challenges like work
force diversity, leadership development, change management, organizational
effectiveness, Globalization, E- Commerce, succession planning and compensation
etc, which can be best management by HR manager when they will work with HR
practices such as rigid recruitment and selection policy, division of jobs,
empowerment, encouraging diversity in the workplace, training and development
of the work force, fostering innovation, proper assigning of duties and
responsibilities, managing knowledge and other functions.
Compare and Contrast HR Practices among
There are some significant facets among
Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, Primark and Sainsbury’s as all of them are
famous colossal retailer and were founded in England. Marks & Spencer
specializes in the selling of clothing, home products and luxury food products.
Selfridges is a chain of high end department stores which is the second largest
shop in the UK. Primark is a clothing retailer and is a subsidiary of
international food, ingredients and retail shop Associated British Foods (AFB).
Sainsbury’s is another giant retailing industry and operates with around 21
million customer transactions every day. The above companies started their
business with more or less same period of time of early nineties except the
Primark which established its business in 1969.
The pace of
technological improvement and the speed of global communications mean more and
faster change now than ever before. This trend, therefore, requires managers to
react swiftly to adjust strategies which fit the changing business environment.
Unfortunately, M&S seemed to have done this poorly, as analysts commented:
M&S ignored the changes in the marketplace while its competitors quickly
reacted to changes. Poor organizational structure, autocratic style of
leadership and lack of good employee –management relationship might be
responsible for this. On the other hand, Primark has recently experienced rapid
growth with its dynamic leadership through careful selection of locations in
prime sites in the right towns. Primark does not rip off its customers and presents
excellent example of its motto which states “look good, pay less”. Primark
paid $200 compensation and emergency aid to the victims of Rana plaza building
collapse in Bangladesh, a move which was welcomed by Oxfam, and
committed to review the structural integrity of buildings making its clothes. Contrarily, Selfridges is highly known for its luxury products
and of course for its innovative architectural stores. The original London
store and the Trafford store are noted for architectural innovation and
excellence. On the contrary, long working hours, poor
work life balance, corruption at higher level are some worst part of Selfridges
that needs to be solved comparing with other three organization. However,
Sainsbury’s business is both influencing and benefiting from new and
interrelated customer choices. It is exploring a range of new opportunities
beyond its core business, looking to grow value based on the trust customers
have in Sainsbury’s.
Conclusion
The most important work by the HR is to develop sound
organizational structure with strong interpersonal skill to employees and also
to train employees by introducing them the concept of globalize human resource
management to perform better in the global organization’s context. The HR
manager has a responsibility to manage all the issues and challenges like work
force diversity, leadership development, change management, organizational
effectiveness, globalization, e- commerce, succession planning and compensation
etc, when they will work with HR
practices, such as rigid recruitment and selection policy, division of jobs,
empowerment, encouraging diversity in the workplace, training and development
of the work force, fostering innovation, proper assigning of duties and
responsibilities, managing knowledge and other functions as are shown. When the HR of four companies like Marks
& Spencer, Primark, Sainsbury and Selfridge works enthusiastically with all
modern HR practices, competitive advantages can be accomplished, organization
efficiency can be enhanced, and the organization will be sustained to survive
long time against competitors. The fundamental
role of HRM for the four company like Marks & Spencer, Primark, Sainsbury and
Selfridge should be strengthen the
organization's capability and maximize everyone's potential right
across the business. They should focus employee development strategy which is
associated to convey the business goals. In every organization, proper
recruitment and selection plays a major role to select right person for the
right job. The new technology will give the way on how employers recruit and
select staff. The four companies like Marks & Spencer, Primark, Sainsbury and
Selfridge should use the process of talent acquisition
to discover the sources of manpower to meet necessities of the staffing
program. These companies should always conduct training and development
strategy to improve the employee skills and knowledge so that they perform
their responsibility effectively. The companies can employ diversity at
workplace to motivate all employees to perform to their highest ability
resulting in higher productivity and profit. Performance management is very
essential for these companies to meet business strategy needs.
References:
§ Human Resources Management- (Author:
Gray Dessler)
§ Fundamentals of Human Resources
Management-(Author: David A. DeCenzo & Stephen P. Robbins)
§ Fundamentals of Human Resources
Management-(Author: David A. DeCenzo & Stephen P. Robbins)
