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Human Resource Management

Assessment 1 – Unit 1

Carter Cleaning Company Case Study

- Mohamed Thariq
HND Business- 2010
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Carter Cleaning Company Case Study


_________________________________________________________________________

Contents:

Page
Section A
Question 1 _____________________________________ 2
Question 2______________________________________ 5

Section B
Question 1______________________________________ 6
Question 2______________________________________ 8

Conclusion ___________________________________________ 10

Reference ___________________________________________ 10

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Introduction
An organization's human resource management strategy should maximize
return on investment in the organization's human capital and minimize all
financial risk. Human Resources seeks to achieve this by aligning the supply
of skilled and qualified individuals and the capabilities of the current
workforce, with the organization's ongoing and future business plans and
requirements to maximize return on investment in capital and secure future
survival and success.
In ensuring that all purpose are achieved, the human resource function
purpose in this context is to implement the organization’s human resource
requirements effectively but also pragmatically, taking account of legal,
ethical and as far as is practical in a manner that retains the support and
respect of the workforce.

Section A, Question 1.

Make a list of five specific HR problems Carter Cleaning Company


will have to grapple with.

Human Resource Management is one of the key activities of any


organization. Hiring the right person for a job is essential. So, to ensure
longevity of an employee, efficient management of human resources is vital.
A well-managed HR ultimately leads to an improvement in performance of an
organization.

If human resources are managed ineffectively, then:

 Teams may not function appropriately


 Individuals may be placed in positions that do not maximize or utilize their
skills
 The culture of the business is not shared
 Communication and decision making can be affected and mistakes occur

Carter cleaning company DOES NOT have the following HR functions

1. Proper recruitment, selection, and resourcing plan


2. Management of employee relations
3. Compensation, rewards, and benefits management

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4. Service Rules & Acknowledgements
5. Training and development of employees

1. Proper recruitment, selection, and resourcing plan

As the organization expands and introduces new services it is vital to have a HR


resource plan to identify HR needs by the organization to active its organizational
aims and objectives this can be achieved by:

 Reviewing and evaluating existing structures


 Designing outsourcing plans
 Developing new work processes job sharing, splitting and other various work
patterns
 Planning internal and external recruitment as need arises

2. Management of employee relations

To develop an effective organization we should have regard for the well being of the
individual and enable them to make the best contribution to its success. This will
enable the organization to manage employee contracts, pay and conditions,
discipline, absence, health and safety issues.
Also able to ensure compliance with company policy & procedures, working
time/condition and discrimination related problems.

3. Compensation, rewards, and benefits management

An organization should always treat its employees fairly and reward those who
perform well; this will contribute to the oval Job satisfaction, staff motivation and
royalty. Happy employees mean happy customers.

“Aggregate studies have found that between 40 and 80 percent of customer


satisfaction and loyalty is determined by the customer-employee relationship,
according to a white paper by the Corporate Leadership Council. Companies from
Sears to PNC Bank to Nortel have found that when they address employee
happiness issues, they see their customer satisfaction and loyalty figures jump. Just
how much a matter of some debate, but there is are clear signs of a correlation.
Sears analyzed data from 800 stores and found that a 5 percent increase in
employee satisfaction drove a 1.3 percent increase in customer satisfaction, in turn
bringing a 0.5 percent increase in revenue growth, according to a study published
in the Harvard Business Review” – http://www.executivetravelmagazine.com
(viewed on 03 October 2010)

4. Service Rules & Acknowledgements

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Proper service rules needs to be address to maintain and enhance the quality of
service as the company expands hence a disciplined and professional work
environment can be maintained. Also the organization can follow industry standard
rules and regulations to get certified from other specialist firms.

5. Training and development of employees

The company can improve the performance of individuals and groups in the
organization and to enhance knowledge and skill levels of employees to
benefit organizations performance. Training and development encompasses
three main activities: training, education, and development, this can be done
by various training & development programs.

At present Carter Cleaning Company doesn’t have a HR department to look into


above issues, this can lead to
 Lower productivity levels
 Poor quality products and services
 High levels of complaints from customers
 Loss of customers with subsequently lower revenues
 Higher costs
 Higher staff turnover
 Poor industrial relations

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If a HR department is setup then both the organization and its employees can
benefit and meet their respective goals.

Section A, Question 2

What would you do first if you were Jennifer?


In order to achieve organizational objectives effectively Human resource
planning is very important. Organizations that do not plan for the future have
fewer opportunities to survive the competition ahead This organization in this
case study has no “HR” department

HR Planning involves gathering of information, making objectives, and


making decisions to enable the organization achieve its objectives.

1. How many staff does the Organization have?


2. What type of employees as far as skills and abilities does the
Company have?
3. How should the Organization best utilize the available resources?
4. How can the Company keep its employees?
5. Are we making use of the available talent we have in the
Organization, and have enough provision for the future?

Hence initially a HR Practice needs to be introduce to the organization to


have Guidance, advice, service control/auditing, planning/auditing, strategy,
business partnership and internal consultancy this can be achieved by
introducing :

Job descriptions, selection tools, mode of selection, background checks,


Internal and external recruitment policies. Templates of appointment letter,
offer letter and reference forms.
Determine the compliance issues - wages and hours of work, leaves of
absence/leaves, harassment, and others.
Policies and procedures manuals
Employee files- Application for Employment form or resume, any insurance
forms that the employee may have signed, and performance appraisals.
Recordkeeping - confidential records, other forms to be maintained.
Employee relations - labor agreements, disciplinary procedures, employee
recognition, providing personal problem solving, counseling to individual
employees
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When above procedures are applied and followed the issues that are
currently faced by Carter Cleaning Company can be rectified.

Section B, Question 1

Explain the difference between “Personnel Management”


and “Human Resource” management.
Personnel management is more administrative in nature, dealing with
payroll, complying with employment law, and handling related tasks. Human
resources, on the other hand is responsible for managing a workforce as one
of the primary resources that contributes to the success of an organization.

When a difference between personnel management and human resources is


recognized, human resources can be described as much broader in scope
than personnel management. Human resources is said to incorporate and
develop personnel management tasks, while seeking to create and develop
teams of workers for the benefit of the organization. A primary goal of
human resources is to enable employees to work to a maximum level of
efficiency.

Personnel management can include administrative tasks that are both


traditional and routine. It can be described as reactive, providing a response
to demands and concerns as they are presented. By contrast, human
resources involve ongoing strategies to manage and develop an
organization's workforce. It is proactive, as it involves the continuous
development of functions and policies for the purposes of improving a
company's workforce.

Personnel management is often considered an independent function of an


organization. Human resource management, on the other hand, tends to be
an integral part of overall company function. Personnel management is
typically the sole responsibility of an organization's personnel department.
With human resources, all of an organization's managers are often involved
in some manner, and a chief goal may be to have managers of various
departments develop the skills necessary to handle personnel-related tasks.

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 PM is traditional, routine, maintenance-oriented, administrative


function whereas HRD is continuous, on-going development
function aimed at improving human processes.
 PM is an independent function with independent sub-functions.
HRD follows the systems thinking approach. It is not considered
in isolation from the larger organization and must take into
account the linkages and interfaces.
 PM is reactive, responding to demands as and when they arise.
HRD is proactive, anticipating, planning and advancing
continuously.
 PM is the exclusive responsibility of the personnel department.
HRD is a concern for all managers in the organization and aims
at developing the capabilities of all line managers to carry out
the personnel functions.
 The scope of PM is relatively narrow with a focus on
administering people. The scope of HRD views the organization
as a whole and lays emphasis on building a dynamic culture.
 Important motivators in PM are compensation, rewards, job
simplification and so on. HRD considers work groups, challenges
and creativity on the job as motivators.

 In PM improved satisfaction is considered to be the cause for


improved performance but in HRD it is the other way round
(performance is the cause and satisfaction is the result).

The difference can be better shown in the following table:

Personnel Management Human Resource


Management
It means management of people It means management of employee
employed skills, Abilities, Knowledge, Talent,
Aptitude etc..
Employees are treated as economic Employees are treated as economic
man his servicers are exchange for social and psychological man
wagers and salary
Employees are treated as commodity, Employees are treated as resources
which can be used and purchased.
It is cost centered therefore It is profit centered therefore
management tries to control the cost investment in resources for future
utility purpose

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Employees are used for organization In HRM employees are used for
befits mutual benefits
Personnel function is treated as It is treated as upper level
auxiliary function i.e. no separate management forms strategic
function or department it is treated function, i.e. proper strategies
as routine work

Section B, Question 2

Trace the historical development of the field of Human


Resource Management
Human resources are an organization's greatest assets because without
them, everyday business functions such as managing cash flow, making
business transactions, communicating through all forms of media, and
dealing with customers could not be completed. Human resources and the
potential they possess are key drivers for an organization’s success. With
globalization and technological advances, today's organizations are
continuously changing. Thus, organizational change impacts not only the
business but also its employees. In order to maximize organizational
effectiveness, human potentials, individuals' capabilities, time, and talents
must be managed and developed. Hence, the practice of human resource
management (HRM) works to ensure that employees are able to meet the
organization's goals.

Many definitions for HRM have been proposed by scholars from a short and
simple definition to a lengthy and comprehensive description. In short, HRM
is best understood as the “process of managing human talents to achieve
organization’s objective”. The process of managing human talents is said to
include the process of recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits,
labor and industrial relations and also the management of employees’ safety
and health in organizations.

HISTORY AND EMERGENCE OF HRM

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The history of HRM is said to have started in England in the early 1800s
during the craftsmen and apprenticeship era and further developed with the
arrival of the industrial revolution in the late 1800s. In the 19th century,
Frederick W. Taylor suggested that a combination of scientific management
and industrial psychology of workers should be introduced. In this case, it
was proposed that workers should be managed not only from the job and its
efficiencies but the psychology and maximum wellbeing of the workers.
Moreover, with the drastic changes in technology, the growth of
organizations, the rise of unions and government concern and interventions
resulted in the development of personnel departments in the 1920s. At this
point, personnel administrators were called ‘welfare secretaries’ (Ivancevich,
2007). Some scholars argued that HRM is said to have started from the term
‘Personnel Management’ (PM). The term ‘PM’ emerges after the World War in
1945 as an approach by personnel practitioners to separate and distinguish
themselves from other managerial functions and making the cont...

Personnel function into a professional managerial function. Traditionally, the


function of PM is claimed to ‘hire and fire’ personnel in organizations other
than salary payments and training. But there were many criticisms and
concerns of ambiguity expressed about the purpose and role of PM to HRM
(Tyson, 1985) in that management planned HRM activities, and did not just
respond reactively to different circumstances and situations, but in some
cases, to demands of trade unions. In part to reflect these, none outline
approaches to the management of employees in the mid 1980s. Therefore,
the term HRM gradually tended to replace the term PM (Lloyd and Rawlinson,
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1992). However, writers argued that the term HRM has no appreciable
difference from PM as they are both concerned with the function of
obtaining, organizing, and motivating human resources required by
organizations. At the same time writers are defining the terms HRM and PM
in many different ways (Beer and Spector, 1985).

The rebranding for the term PM to HRM was argued as due to the
evolvement and changes in the world of management and therefore a new
term would seem appropriate to take new ideas, concepts and philosophies
of human resources (Noon, 1992, Armstrong, 2000). Indeed, some writers
commented that there are ‘little differences’ between PM and HRM and it has
been criticized as pouring ‘old wine into new bottle’ with a different label
(Legge, 2005). Whether HRM was considered to be different to personnel
management – there is a continued debate on the meaning and practice of
HRM as opposed to that of PM (Marchington & Wilkinson, 2002; Legge,
2005).

Conclusion:

The role of the HR Department must parallel the needs of the changing
organization. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient,
quick to change directions, and customer-centered. Within this environment, the HR
professional must learn how to manage effectively through planning, organizing,
leading and controlling the human resource and be knowledgeable of emerging
trends in training and employee development.

Reference:

The Journal of International Social Research Volume 2 / 9 fall 2009


Tripathi. P. C. (2002). Human Resources Development
Edexcel BTEC National Diploma in Human Resources Management, Part A
page 39).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resource_management
http://ro.uow.edu.au/artspapers/26/
http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/hrpract/hrtrends/pmhist.htm
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http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/hrpract/general/_hrfunctn.htm
http://www.bized.co.uk/learn/business/hrm/structures/index.htm

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