Running Head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 1
HumanResource Management
HumanResource Management
1.1)The organization selected for this assignment is MacDonald’s. Theorganization adopts human resources management in its operations. Thehuman resource management is the latest version of personnelmanagement. Although the two forms of management are closely relatedin meaning, some differences differentiate the two. Personnelmanagement is an earlier or a traditional approach in theadministration of people within organizations. Human resourcesmanagement is modern in its approach as it manages the people whilefocusing on their strengths in the organization.
Humanresources management concentrates on the acquisition and developmentof knowledge and skills, while maintaining and motivating the humanresources(King, 2000).Personnel management, on the other hand, focuses on the personneladministration, employee relations, and labor as a strategy ofmanagement.
Thehuman resource management assumes that people are a significant andvaluable resource for accomplishing the desired output. Personnelmanagement, on the other hand, assumes that the employees are inputsfor performing the desired output.
Inpersonnel management, the decisions are made by the top management,according to the rules and regulations of the organization(King, 2000).On the other hand, in the human resource management, the decisionsare collective, and the input of the employee is considered.Therefore, the employees, authority, decentralization and competitiveenvironment are a vital consideration in decision making in humanresources management.
1.2)The human resources management is all about managing the people andas such it ensures that an organization has the right skills,knowledge and competencies to enhance the goals of the organization(King, 2000).The human resources development provides that the human resources ofthe organization are well trained and developed to overcome thechallenges of the company. The human resources management ensuresthat there is efficient coordination within the organization toensure that people with the right skills are placed in the rightpositions to enhance productivity and therefore achieve the goals ofthe organization.
1.3)HRM related tasks at the MacDonald’s have profoundly transformedover time (Kleiman,2004). The current HR manager does more consultation rather than directing.The line manager is more of a facilitator rather than a director ofthe department. In the recent past, the role of the line manager wasto issue directives while the current manager acts as a coordinatorof the various departments to ensure that they function in harmony toenhance the goals of the organization. The current line managervalues the opinions of the employees and consults widely beforereaching major decisions. The manager also provides room forcreativity and innovation, making the insight of the employees quitevaluable in the management process. The development is different fromthe past when the employee was treated like an empty vessel that hadto be instructed on what to do.
1.4)Some of the areas that HRM resources management in my organizationhas to grapple with is the provision of equal opportunity. Therequirement has a lot of impact in the HRM as it ensures that themanagement is perceived to provide opportunities for all withoutdiscrimination of any kind. The management always consults to ensurethat it sticks to the policy of an all –inclusiveneness in therecruitment of the human resource(french, & rumbles, 2010).The practice is meant to ensure that the company reflects the policyof nondiscrimination on the basis of religion, race and sexualityamong other discrimination forms. Another legal concern of the HRM atthe MacDonald’s is the issue of sexual harassment. The HRM handlesthe matter with the sensitivity it deserves to ensure that all theemployees are protected according to law. The management recognizesthe sensitive nature of the issue and therefore has clear guidelinesconcerning the issue. There is a clear communication channel tohandle any emerging matter related to sexual harassment as a way ofdemonstrating the seriousness of the matter.
2.1)It is important for MacDonald’s to carry out planning of the HRM.It is imperative to point out that the people in the company arealways on the move due to several factors. As a result, the HRMshould always be prepared for any eventuality which includes but notlimited to the death of an employee, retirement or sickness. Themeasures are taken to ensure that the absence of an employee does nothamper the operations of the organization. The planning is alsocrucial to take care of future replacements, and considers otheremerging issues such as technological changes. Therefore, the plan isaimed at ensuring that the organization runs smoothly in the event ofa disruption informed by an exit of an employee (Bosch,Mayhew, & Gautié, 2010).
2.2)One of the stages involved in the HRM planning process is theanalyzing of organizational objectives to ensure that right manpoweris available to respond appropriately to the goals of the company.One of the greatest functions of the HRM is to align the purposes ofthe organization with the manpower, and therefore, the managersuphold the planning with the seriousness it deserves. Inventory ofthe existing human resources to take stock of the available skills todetermine the areas of strengths and weaknesses, is a strategy toinform any interventions. Forecasting the demand and supply of thehuman resources is crucial to identify areas of training that shouldbe focused while discarding development in areas that are saturatedin the market. The strategy ensures that resources are directed toareas where they are most required to minimize wastage. Monitoring,control, and feedback is an important stage as it empowers the HRM todevelop updated reports on the skills available in the organization,and how to compensate or to retain particular human resources. Thefeedback mechanisms ensure that HRM has ideas on perceptions andopinions so that it determines the areas of improvement as a way toenhance the objectives of the organization.
2.3)One of the recruitment and the selection process is the internalsourcing, which involves advertising of the available positions tothe employees in the organization. The internal selection ensuresthat the process is fast, and little or no revenue is used in theprocess. The external supply is a process whereby the organizationsturn to the individuals outside the company to fill any existingpositions. To achieve the objectives, the company advertises throughthe various media such as the print and electronic to attract therequired skills. The process is expensive and time-consuming(Hendry, 2012).
2.4)The internal selection technique is very useful as it provides thehuman resources managers with opportunities to recruit from thepersons that they have already worked with in the past and henceknow the weaknesses and strengths of the individuals(Rutherford, Buller, & McMullen, 2003).The process takes a short time to complete and it is possible to fillthe position immediately since the skills are within theorganization. However, the process is limited in that there may be alack some specific skills within the organization, compelling the HRMto do with what is available. The external recruitment technique,though tedious and expensive, provides the HRM with a broad range ofskills and competencies. The managers are also able to identifyskills that could be required in the future through the variouscontacts made at the point of recruitment.
3.1)The link between reward system and Maslow’s hierarchy of needstheory, is that, in the reward system of managing the employee ismotivated due to the fairness and equity demonstrated in thecompensation(Rutherford, Buller, & McMullen, 2003).The workers are paid depending on their value to the organizationwhich implies that different values are attached to differentemployees based on their contributions to the team. In the Maslowhierarchy of needs motivation theory, the motivation is hierarchicalin the sense that only after needs at a lower level have been met isthe employee motivated to aspire to move to the next level of needs.It is crucial to say that the employees have different degrees ofmotivation at each level, and hence do not move up the hierarchy atthe same time. Therefore, just like the reward management rewardspeople differently based on their performance, the employees underthe Maslow’s hierarchy theory are differently motivated hence toclimb the hierarchy at different rates.
3.2)Job evaluation is an organized process for defining the relativevalue or size of employment in an organization with an objective toestablish internal relativities(Rutherford, Buller, & McMullen, 2003).It provides the groundwork for determining an equitable grade and paystructure the jobs are classified while the management of the tasksis determined. The job evaluation process is an extensive process andfollows a systematic approach. In the initial stages, the managementmakes it clear to the employees on the reason and significance of theprogram. The targeted group is fixed. All the staff and HRM expertsare included. The organization then selects jobs from each departmenttargeted for evaluation, and the selected job is then evaluated indepth by the evaluating group. The evaluating unit, then selects amethod for the job assessment. In that case, two approaches could befollowed. The methods are analytical and non-analytical ranking. Theother factors that determine the pay are the size of the organizationand seniority of the position held. Large companies are known to paymore as they have a stronger financial base than smallerorganizations. The senior the position an individual holds in theorganization the higher the wages and vice versa. Skills andexperiences are also important factors in the determination of thepay. Skilled workers are usually more experienced and hence earn morethan less skilled workers(Boxall, Purcell, & Wright, 2008).The industry sector is also an important consideration in thedetermination of remuneration. Some industries pay more than others.For example, the finance industry is known to offer higher salariesthan the hospitality industry. The health sector pays more thaneducation sectors and so forth. The profitability of theorganizations is also significant in the determination ofremuneration. It would be pointless to demand high salaries fromcompanies known to make permanent losses while it makes economicsense to pay higher wages to employees in the organizations that makehigh profits. Loss-making organizations go for years beforeincreasing wages to their employees only because the companies cannotsustain high salaries. In such organizations, employees would beunjustified to ask for increments. The performance of an employee isalso an important factor in the determination of the salaries. Highperforming employees tend to earn more and are also justified intheir demand for higher wages. On the other hand poorly performingemployees receive less as they add little value to the organizations.
3.3Thereward systems are very efficient at the MacDonald’s. The employeesare compensated differently based on their values of the organization(Tang et al, 2001).The values of the individuals are determined by the experiences andskills coupled with other factors such as diligence and commitment.Employees who are valued by the organization tend to be morecommitted as they are aware of the fact that each of their effortsare recognized and hence compensated. The result is that workers inthe entire organization are dedicated and take their responsibilitiesvery seriously. The workers feel valued and in turn develop a senseof ownership to the company, creating a harmonious environment forthe achievement of the set objectives.
3.4)The organization has several methods that it uses to monitor theperformance of the employees. Managers check in frequently withoutnotice, and the strategy has been very effective. The technique hasalso developed strong working relations between the managers andstaff. They have developed a rapport which is crucial in the workingenvironment(Rutherford, Buller, & McMullen, 2003).Checking in the team members keeps the managers updated and cananticipate problems as they are familiar with each stage of the workprocess. The checking in technique has also ensured that the teammembers wasted no time trying to seek an audience with the managersas they are regularly updated in the entire processes. The stand-upmeeting technique is also regularly in the organization. Suchmeetings are called where the staff members exchange informationabout the different areas of operations that requires the attentionof everyone. The company holds such meetings twice a week and hasbeen considering generating organizational responsibility among theteam(King, 2000).The techniques have worked wonders in the business as promises madeat the meeting rarely fail to be met. Another technique regularlyused by the organization is the customer`s feedback. The companyengages in regular surveys to seek the insight of the customers as away to get positive comments on the performance of the employees. Theadvancement of the technologies has provided various avenues to getthe feedback from the consumers. They provide feedback informationthrough the social networks such as Facebook and Twitter(King, 2000).The customers also give feedback through questionnaires done throughemails and has provided an avenue for unique monitoring mechanismsfor employees’ performance.
Themanagement could make an improvement of the performance by making useof the whiteboards. Whiteboards that display the goals andachievements of the employees are some of the top tools known tomonitor the performance of the employees. The boards are ofparticular importance when measurable aims and results are underconsideration. The whiteboards show the number of operations madeeach day, which is a good way to monitor the progress of theemployees. The employees are continually reminded of their goals andalso ensure that all the staff members have the same expectations.
4.1)Employment could cease due to retirement. Once an employee reachesthe retirement age, they have no choice other than to let go.Usually, the departure dates are known as mostly they are determinedby the age of the employee and hence it does not come as a surpriseto the said employee. It is therefore anticipated and the worker ispsychologically prepared. The end of a fixed-term contract would alsobring the employment to an end. Such contracts usually specify thedate when the contract ceases and is therefore well anticipated justlike the retirement(Rutherford, Buller, & McMullen, 2003).The job could also come to an end through a forced resignation, apractice popularly known as constructive dismissal. There could be abreach of contract by the employee and therefore compels the employerto force them to quit the organization. The company could also berestructured with an aim to make changes to the conditions of theemployment, forcing the employee to stop working. The employer couldalso make the employee work on unfavorable and risky conditionshence the employee opts to quit the position.
4.2) An exit procedure used by MacDonald’s is the exit interview.Whenever an employee is leaving the company, a meeting is scheduledwith the management to provide the employee with an avenue to givefeedback on their perceptions about the enterprise. If an employeeresigns, they are asked to give reasons for their actions as a way ofproviding feedback to the company. Their view is imperative and takenquite seriously by the corporation(Rutherford, Buller, & McMullen, 2003).At the coca-cola international, a written reference is one of theexit strategies used if requested by employees who have served theorganization for at least two months. The written text indicates theterms of service, date of employment and the length of time that theemployee has served in the organization. Return of property isanother strategy used by the employees. Before the final date ofemployment, the employee is requested to return all items such askeys, data, files, and even cash to the concerned departments so thatthey are cleared before they collect their dues. The procedureensures that all the items held in trust by the employee revert tothe company before such employee exits or terminates the relationshipwith the enterprise(Newell, 2005).
4.3)Sexual harassment has had a significant impact in the cessation ofemployment at the MacDonald’s. About three male workers have hadtheir contracts with the company terminated due the legislation. Thepolicy of the company is explicit and does not condone sexualharassment behaviors. The company collaborates with the governmentagencies to ensure that necessary interventions are conducted toensure that the law is followed. Any individual who commits suchoffenses is fired and handed over to the authorities for necessaryinvestigation and prosecution. The affirmative action has also had animpact on the employment cessation at the company. The organizationhas in the past been forced to halt some contracts of individuals sothat it can accommodate individuals from the minority groups such aspeople with disability, gays, and lesbians as a way of remainingfaithful to the policy of equal opportunity for all.
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