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The relationship between an organisation’s human resources activities and its business objectives.

Paper Type: Free Essay Subject: Business
Wordcount: 5441 words Published: 1st Jan 2015

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Executive Summary

There are three different aspects being mentioned in the main question including the HRM, Business objectives and their relationships. Human Resourceis one of the major aspects that contributes to the business objectives and simplify its features. In the business world it has been seen that the employees and the employer are the basic wheels of any organisation which contributes to the fulfilment of the company’s portfolio. This research will highlight that how the HRM is considered as the backbone of the business environment and it will be checked that employee relations and the company’s objectives are part of company’s main features. Since the research will highlight some of the case studies techniques and methods to accomplish objectives by HRM, in this case the whole context will be studied in a way that how different criteria are checked by the companies to meet the need of business and management, to link Human Resource strategies to the business goals and to find means to Human resource which is value added to the business. For this purpose some examples of companies and businesses will be studies.

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Chapter One “Introduction”

There has been a system of relationship between different aspects when it comes to the world of businesses. Since the business world and its workings are globalised all around the world so it needs to carry on with it some special effects in which the Human resource department is one of them. Organisations that succeed in their goals and objectives have a compact and aligned Human resource section and departments. Human Resource Management is defined as ‘a set of policies designed to maximise organisational integration, employee commitment, flexibility and the quality of work’ (Guest, 1987). System Prosperity is based on the notion that Human Resource Practices often complement each other, so that the adoption of one HRM practise is only effective when it is adopted in combination of one or more supporting work practices (Ickniowski & Shaw, 1999). So in this regards it can be stated that the Human Resource Management and the companies’ objectives are bilateral to each other and for the success of business the Human Resource Activity must coincide with their tasks with the business. High profiled international Special Retailers such as “McDonalds, Benetton, 7-Eleven and IKEA” are familiar to a growing number of consumers in more and more countries worldwide. If a proper look is made on these companies then it would come to know that their HR activities and their business goals are coinciding with each other. “People are at the heart of all organisations, and people management is widely regarded as the route to business success (Business Management, 2011)”. So this suggests that the peoples’ involvement in the business affect it the most. If a look is made on the huge companies like Vodafone then their HR strategy will reveal the best solution for the business. This research will highlight that how the HR practices in the company of Vodafone make the company stronger and the way and means to achieve the goal is easier to go from that path being adopted by the Vodafone. Since in every country and economy the HR strategies are differ in many respects but their ultimate and legitimate goal is to provide boom to the business goals and objectives. The need of the hour for any company is to achieve the goal at the right time with proper management and the HR section reveals it at maximum. The HR section involves the employees and employers relation. It is a wide context but the correlation of this management allows companies to grow more precise to their goals. If the HR overall perspective is watch then it will come to know that it is a summation of all strategies, and development (See appendix A for HR business Plan).

1.1 Research Approach

The research approach will be made on the Human Resource facts and figures on the company of Vodafone. Since this company has huge prospects in the UK Stock Market and is working in a huge business prospects, so its HR section and the company’s objectives will be checked accordingly. “Vodafone made the UK’s first mobile call at a few minutes past midnight on 1 January 1985. Within fifteen years, the network was the largest company in Europe and the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. By the turn of the century, almost every second UK citizen had a mobile – and a third of them were connected to Vodafone” (Vodafone, 2011). So the history of the company says it all. This research on Vodafone HR management will work on the Vodafone practices with its Human Resource and the connection between the HR and Company’s objectives. In this way a secondary research will be adopted to check the Vodafone hiring and firing and other prospects for HR strategy and how they win the market with HR techniques.

1.2 Research Objective

The Main objectives of this research will include that how the Vodafone has gathered so much familiarity in the business in a short time. How it has developed a relation with its Human Resource Management, and how different issues are being sorted out in the HR and Business context. The research objectives will also reveal that what kind of relationship does the businesses and organisations should build with their department of employees in order to attain the maximum level of solutions to its problems. This research will have the main objective of devise the way in which other companies would work as well as the Vodafone Plc. is working right now. The re-engineering technique will be resulted from the Vodafone strategy and the recommendations will be made accordingly. Moreover, the objectives of this research will also highlight that different issues sometime creates the chaos between the employers and employees and how the companies sort out these issues. How the Vodafone Hires and Fires and on what grounds they propose the job to their employee and what they expect.

Chapter Two “Information Gathering / Literature Review”

If the past history is watched then it would come to know that in different times and different places the HR techniques have been adopted according to the situation needed. I.e. it is a common phenomenon that when a business is running well and all its objectives are made clearly and made possible them employers and employees have a good relation. It must be noted that those companies where employees are not given the proper and formidable benefits cause issues to the employers. It has also been seen that companies also propose benefits and rewards to its employees when the objectives are being made accordingly by the organisation. Fomburn et al (1984) has suggested that it favours the employees. “Employees will be happier with the reward and the work they will do will be at its best. The reward can be in the form of profit related or sometimes on the social basis”. In 1984 Beer et al (1984). gave a new idea named as the Harvard Model and HR cycle which shows the individual HRM functions to other HRM practices. According to this model six basic components are being focussed. Situational Factors, Stakeholders Interest, HRM policy choices, HR outcomes, Long term Consequences, Feedback loop through which the outcomes flow directly into the organisation and the stakeholders.  (See figure 2.1 for Harvard Model for HRM).

So this suggests that HRM is a cycle in the business and to provide it more effectiveness the managers need to develop relation for the employees. There are some of the contexts which have been discussed by authors and scholars about the HR management and the business running and they have also devised the ways to achieve the organisational goal by using HR strategy.

2.1 Selection of Employees

Companies have to recruit their staff time to time. For this procedure they need to select the candidates which can provide maximum benefit to the business and whose intellectual power makes the business solutions possible. Ilfield Directory (2011) suggested twelve qualities that an employee should have and what employers want. These are “Positive attitude, Communication skills, computer skills, Strong Work Ethics, Honesty and Integrity, Punctuality, flexibility and adaptability, Analytical and problem solving skills, interpersonal skills, Team work skills, Motivation skill and Loyalty” (Ilfield Directory, 2011). This shows that employers have a high expectation with the selected candidate. The selection of candidate also proposes some other important aspects as the About.com (2011) suggested “The goal of recruitment and staffing is to identify the smartest, most versatile employees you can find. Retention of your best employees starts with your effective recruitment and staffing process, strategies, policies and procedures”. Therefore, business performance is importantly determined by the effectiveness of the management in securing corporation from its workplace, suppliers and customers (Wilkinson, 1997). The employment of Small and medium enterprises can be checked by asking firms whether they used quality management, quality circles, job rotations, and performance related pay to improve their competitiveness. In the similar case to that there are different multinational companies who have strict procedures to hire the candidate and their selection for the job is made after many processes. In Multinational companies the role of HR is considered as the first step for the prosperity of organisations and the firms. Since the multinational choose the best from the market to be selected for the job so there is a transformation model which states that every year recruitment is made and the jobs are being given to the fresh graduates. (see Fig 2.2 for transformation of HR Model).

The above model 2.2 specifies dome of the main features for the HR strategy by the multinational firms. Bath Consultancy Group has developed the HR Transformation model to help understand the kinds of contribution, which HR is making to the business. “To be a Strategic Partner, HR leaders need to be engaging others on the future issues and opportunities, which face the business” (Bath Consultancy Group, 2011). They need to be facilitating the process and raising the challenge of how to deal with these. The model also suggests that to shift the contribution of the function the HR Leaders need to be broadening the conversation around the future ways of meeting the core needs which are in line with the brand proposition of the business unit. So the selection of the employees is made by checking all the criteria’s of the firm and organisation. The Multinational companies group states that When we consider the management of human capital in organisations, the MNC is arguably an important rule maker (Streeck and Thelen, 2005; Djelic and Quack, 2003) promoting norms deemed to be consistent with high performance. So for them the employees are their asset and they care for them. Theoretical developments on MNC strategy and structure have tended to be dominated by US-based research (e.g. Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1990) and as a consequence the strategy and structures of the MNC are often seen as universally important mechanisms in establishing and diffusing operating norms (Kostova, 1999).

2.2 Ability and Trust on Candidates

It has also been watched that the companies check their selected employees to be trust worthy and do they have ability to cope up with different circumstances and situations. In this way the companies make different strategies and the employees are passed through them. This allows the companies to rely on their employees as they pass the tests. The definition of performance underlying the measures used in the vast majority of studies has also been a matter of debate over the last ten years, (Bennet et al, 2006 & de Nisi, 2000). So to meet the organisational requirement and the objectives it is very important for the managers to check the trust on the selected employees and their ability as well as an individual as well as in the team. This will allow the managers to ease their work so that there would be no sense of dishonesty. According to the Bankrate.com (2011) there are eight ways to increase the employee’s honesty. They are as follows.

  1. Say upfront that you expect honesty. Some employers emphasize that by having an honesty test when an applicant applies.
  2. Ask the employees about their family members and friends from whom they can be in touched for his integrity and honesty.
  3. Verbally layout the rules to employees and keep the written copy posted on a particular place.
  4. Let there be consequences. The first time an employee break the rule give him a warning.
  5. Don’t deceptive yourself. Give clear message in the advertisement
  6. Don’t bend the rules for family members. It is hard that you yourself take the ash out for your spouse from the till machine and stop your employee for doing so.
  7. Don’t allow the customers to be dishonest either.
  8. Value honesty and praise employees who support and keep integrity and honesty.

2.3 Selection of HR Practices:

HR practices are different in different companies. To increase the business profits and to attain the business objectives there are huge firm who applies HR practices to raise the employees, their selection, managing employees and to get the best available employee from the labour market. Several studies have shown that the systemic consideration of practices suggests a greater impact over different performance indicators than the analysis of individuals, isolated HR practices. MacDuffie (1995) showed that firm performance at the establishment level was better explained by the internally set of consistent practices rather than individual ones. So the internal experiences by the managers are more effective in all forms. The selection of HR practices is different in different conditions. Some firms have tight factor of selecting employees and some firms select employees on the basis of their experiences and the abilities they have in the form of their certificates and degrees. A research was made by Sheila M. Rioux, Ph.D., Paul R. Bernthal, Ph.D., and Richard S. Wellins, Ph.D. (2008) on the Globalisation of Human resource Practices and they have found that different organisation have different responses on “What are the Best Practices for HR” the most common responses they got were.

“Developing a long-term HR plan to ensure alignment of HR strategies/objectives with corporate objectives. Create centralized reporting relationships around the globe. Standardized assessment, development, and compensation practices. To Introduce practices to regions around the globe and allowed the HR function in each region the autonomy to do [its] job. Created global policies/processes for data management, performance management, compensation, education, and development. Tied regional accountability to performance management. Shared HR best practices used in certain locations with all other locations. Developed an HR mission statement” (Sheila M., Paul R., and Richard S, 2008).

So this suggests that there is an intermediation between Human resource management and the organisation performance. (See figure 2.3)

Chapter Three “Methodology”

As it has been seen above in chapter Two, that there had been huge amount of studies been made on the HR practices and the employee selection. In this case the organisational objectives must be kept in mind. If the organisation of the need that is Vodafone is watched then the literature shown in chapter two must be in consideration. For the Vodafone company if the organisational objectives are seen then following outcomes will be there. So there can be three hypotheses that can be adopted to check the methodology and the results implemented on the organisational performance. This hypothesis will illustrate that which one makes the best proportion on the organisational aims and objectives and moreover, it will also be seen that which are the factors that actually concludes to the improvement in organisation performance. Vodafone will be the key company and since it is ruling the stock market so its HR practices are the main features of its success. Let us see the overall centre of Vodafone in which its HR Department stays. (See figure 3.1)

The above structure states that CEO is the head in Vodafone Company and the company is centralised around the world. With other departments the Human Resource Department is also one of the important one for them. For Vodafone they rate the HR and the employees as the Human capital. Human capital refers to the knowledge and skills of a firm entire workforce. From the perspective of Human capital employees are viewed as a capital resource requiring continuous investment.

So the three hypotheses will be checked.

H1. Is there an association between greater intensity degree of individual HR practices and individual performance, in Vodafone?

H2. Is the HR motivational techniques laid the Vodafone as the best operating company in the market?

H3. “Individual Performance and Motivational practices” which matters most?.

Chapter Four “Hypothesis Testing”

From chapter three there are three hypotheses that came at the front. This hypothesis will be checked one by one so that company’s HR practices and the organisation objectives relationship will be checked.

4.1 Checking H1:

The H1 propose that individual performance and the HR practices of Vodafone on the individuals of the company. In this context the Vodafone HR practices are of vital interest. According to the Vodafone (2011). It has been found that the HR practices of Vodafone are not that easy for the employees. From the recruitment perspective, the company hires the best people and individuals in the market, and the employees are being paid the huge amounts as their wages in order to keep them. This cause the Vodafone. Plc to grow its business in a better condition. The best programme they have developed is their training and Development. According to Vodafone (2011). “We provide training and development opportunities to help our employees gain new skills and experiences, and encourage them to reach their full potential.” This results in the company’s objectives to be fulfilled in a more better and precise manner. There are some other perspectives as well on which the company operates.

4.1.1 Performance Dialogues:

The employees of Vodafone complete an annual performance dialogue. Dialogue with their line manager, enabling them to review their performance annually and set clear goals and development plans for the year ahead. The process ensures our people can make a clear connection between their goals and Vodafone’s business objectives. So with the help of this the company cause their employees to learn more and more in all regards and allow their employees full support from them to get the best knowledge and use for the company.

4.1.2 Development Board:

An annual development board is discussed between the employees of the company in order to develop their key skills and the organisational techniques. It is the duty of line managers to rate their potential according to their work and potential. In this regards the information from the employee test is used to evaluate them and discussed on development board.

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4.1.3 Inspire Leadership Development:

Inspire is a global programme designed to identify and develop high potential employees and accelerate their progression into leadership roles. Participants take part in a three-month international rotation and receive commercial training and personalised leadership development through Imperial College, Oxford Said Business School and the Hay Group. So this helps the employees and the leaders to cope up with different situations.

4.1.4 Promoting Career with in Vodafone:

This method suggests that the company is centralised. Showing that there are different departments and sub-departments within a company where an employee is promoted. In this case the company do not lose its employee rather use it to other prospects as well. This cause the company to grow better as the experience is used as the best tool. So the hiring is possible in the pre existing free vacancy places.

4.2 Checking H2:

The hypothesis number two suggests that what are the motivational techniques that the Vodafone suggest in order to gain the organisation objectives? In this regards, there are also different methods and promotions made by the company in order to attain the maximum output from the company.

4.2.1 Equal Opportunities and Diversity:

This method relates that for the motivational purpose the equal opportunity method is adopted. Thus the company states that “We have a strategy to improve diversity and inclusion across the Group. It aims to ensure Vodafone’s workforce reflects its diverse customer base, and that the company has an inclusive working environment that embraces the benefits diversity brings.” (Vodafone HR, 2011). The motivational strategy of the company relates its best workings in all regards and the hypothesis two has caused the company to motivate its employees through different methods.

4.2.2 Rewards and Compensations:

In the whole structure of the Vodafone the company provides the rewards and compensations to all the employees whose work comes out to be the best for the business. In all sections i.e. IT, Management, Administration, Development and all other departments the rewards are made if the employee has caused profits as well as promotions to the company’s portfolio.

4.2.3 Cultural Diversity:

With operations worldwide, Vodafone is not only multinational but multicultural. “We encourage our managers to gain experience working in different countries and almost half our senior managers have international experience. International rotation is a key part of our Inspire programme for employees with high potential”. The statement suggest that the rotation policy is there by the company to its employees which reflects that there cultural diversity prevails. In this regards, within the name of the company an employee is moved between different places for the experience and the company pays for him to be working as an expatriate (Guest, 1997).

4.3 Checking H3:

The H3 is a combining relationship between H1 and H2, which suggest that individual power of the employee and the company’s motivational objectives keeps the employee to intact with the organisation. Moreover, it allows the employee to work better for the company in all regards. The company’s movement of employee within its different groups relates that they provide motivation to the employee as well as they provide individual power as well. In this case there is a relationship between the organisation’s objectives and its HR policy. This also relates that company’s method in adopting the technique for the employees is a huge initiative to pay for them. Since the company knows that in competitive market for the mobiles customers are more demanding in terms of price, quality, design variety and promptness of delivery? So in this way, the company promotes its employee to stay and remain with the company so that its business remains flourished and all the prospects becomes there for the company to get the best in the business. The company’s motivational policy by rewards and compensations has caused its employees to be in contact with the company. So there is a race between the employees to do the best and set the best goals for the company (see section 4.1 and 4.2).

An important aspect of leveraging a firm’s knowledge is for retiring employees to convey their knowledge to successor employees ( Hitt, R. Duane , Robert, 2005). Increasingly the Vodafone is putting its formal programmes into place, through which knowledge from human capital that is retiring is successfully transferred to Human Capital that is the firm’s future. So the company is focussing on the learning prospects so that more and more employees learn the ways in which the company operates so it will be easy for them to adopt the conditions of the company in which the job is being done. Thus, effective strategic leaders re-organise the importance of learning from success and from failure. This suggests that company’s portfolio also includes the learning from failure strategy which is one of the best strategies to be adopted in order to gain the market importance. In this stance, the re-engineering technique is being adopted by the company, which states that learn time by time from different prospects and especially the other areas are of vital importance.

Chapter Five “Hypothesis Analysis”

From the perspective of chapter four there are some of the important features that came at the front. The company’s policy is either practical or theoretical depends on whether it is working on theoretical prospect or just the pre-adjusted practical prospects. If the three hypotheses are checked in the theoretical nature then it following factors will come at the front. The Appendix (A) suggests that HR for any business objectives contains all the perspective in it which is required to run a proper business. In this context there are three patterns which should be followed i.e. the Structural HR, Recruitment Procedures, and the development analysis. These three includes the section of the organisation, Business and the individuals units. “In order to be able to predict success in your organisation in the best possible way we use the best documented and most effective methods available” (Assessio, 2011). From the three hypotheses in chapter four it has also been seen that different rewards and compensations are the key to success for the company to make its employees the best one in the business. The Microsoft Business Companies (2009) suggests that motivating employees is needed for the better work and with that the rewards should also be there to strengthen the company’s employees.

According to the strategic Reward solutions (2011). The reward to the employees causes their commitment in the work and makes the quality of work better and more development opportunities. (See figure 5.1)

The above model depicts that Reward Strategysits at the heart of all reward activity. It is essential to ensure your people understand and appreciate their package in its entirety, not just the cash elements. When you deliver all of the elements ofTotal Reward, employees will experience increased satisfaction with the package, increased engagement with your business and its objectives and ultimately, as can be proven by research in a number of blue chip organisations, improved customer service and higher levels of business performance (Strategic Business Solutions, 2011). CIPD’s annual “Reward Management Survey” has shown that a remarkably small number of organisations actually have a clearly defined Reward Strategy.

So the three hypotheses being tested above fit the best in the business world where HR contains the maximum importance in the business world. It has been checked through practice and the theoretical prospects.

Chapter Six “Conclusion”

From the above perspective being seen in different chapters from one to five there can be drawn a conclusion on the relationship between the organisations’ HR and the company objectives. It should be illustrate here that which HR terminologies could develop the organisation in all performances. This includes the hiring and firing, recruitment, selection, employee relations, rewards and compensations and standardisations and adaptations of the HR policies. Most of these being discussed above and a following conclusion can be drawn.

– From the European studies it has been found that above 58% of the success factors to implement learning organisations depends on human factors. These human factors include the major as the skills that what the skills an employee has must be given that task. So the human factor which has been discussed in all hypotheses contains the vital role in the organisation portfolio. Since it has been addressed with the name of Human capital then it must be noted that the Human capital is the capital that the employee and the employer combines and make. And in other words this human capital is actually the organisation objective. The Vodafone Company is being checked in this regards, and the conclusion suggests that Vodafone Company is working in all o the three hypothesis and all its workings are the result of the organisation impact on the employee relations and the employee roles. Different systems have been utilised by the Vodafone as the re-engineering and the rewards process. These parameters help the company to adopt better results and help the Vodafone to make its place up beyond the horizons.

– In another context in chapter one the Guest (1997) and the Fomburn et al (1984) analysis is checked on the basis of their assumptions. After the comparison of both the analysis it can be drawn that all the important aspects suggested by both models are the key features for the company’s objectives, and this continues in every passing year and generation. In the case of Vodafone the both models have their particular value and they suggest important aspects for the company to grow from the point of dusk to the level of dawn.

– The third and the most vital impact being seen is the introduction of the reward and the compensation plan by the Vodafone. Since the company is having a huge amount of employees working in different sections and its reward strategy time by time relates that the employees should be intact with the company and there should be no worry to the company on the trust and the selection procedure of the recruitment (See chapter two section 2.1, 2.2). So the art of increasing revenue for the firm and the company’s management analysis keeps its above board and that is why today the Vodafone Plc. is at the top n stock exchange. This also illustrates the importance of work environment being provided if rewards are being organised. It creates a competition between the employees allows the company to get the best in the business through the best by the workers.

– Sometime it’s also happens that different companies form the alliance and make strategies against the top rated companies. In this way, the lone company has to devise different methods in order to keep itself on a stable position and to retain its presence in the market. From the hypothesis made above the employer and the employee distance has been maintained but there is one more stance that can be adjusted in that which is the advertisement by the company’s employees. Still in the competitive environment the companies use the method of collision. I.e. making agreement not to reduce prices, but in actual with the passage of time go against this phenomena. So the idea is to get away with the collusion and try to adopt the own strategies in order to win the market which would be allowed by the companies objectives and its employee management.

From different chapters including the literature and the methodology section it can now be reported that the major work and the contribution by the Human Resource Department in the Vodafone has made a huge impact in keeping its value inside the market and for this reason the company is operating at the best level in all its regards. From here it is also concluded that all other companies which are in competition with the Vodafone must also learn through the process of re-engineering in order to keep them at a good place. Strategies should be made according to the condition and there should be no strategy that could harm the HR or its relation with the company’s objectives. As done by Vodafone, i.e. to keep its secrecy it moves the employees from different

 

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