Another example of the ways that HRM will streamline work is employee ID numbers; these will be assigned by the system immediately when an employee hired is entered into HRM systems. This will allow new employees to get email accounts and access other services more quickly.
The above examples illustrate improvements on the work process level. In addition, managers will have much more data available for reporting and workforce planning.
APPENDICE 2
The potential conflicts that can occur between different elements of HRM within Asda are:
- Payment of wages- in the UK, the highest earners are concentrated in the South compared to the north. So employees up North who do the same work, as employees down South will be paid less causing a payment conflict. Also, young workers are normally paid at lower rates than the adult workforce. In most cases, their pay will be a percentage of the adult rate. This can be resolved by paying them an equal amount no matter where they work. Some concern might be about the very high salaries which have been recently been paid to top managing directors of both private and public-sector organisations. An association has been formed to draw up a code of practice. It will ensure that pay levels are set by independent directors, that the firms make their policy public, and that directors are seen actually to be working for their money. Also, men still earn more money than women and low pay workers need to be paid more seeing as the minimum legal wage is £4.20 per hour. This can be done by motivation by giving them more responsibilities. Workers working in teams and going on training schemes so that they are more fluent in their area of work can implement these responsibilities.
- Facilities- if facilities like a crèche is not available then working mothers will find it hard to cope. They might have to take days off if their children are sick or the like and by doing this regularly will eventually have to leave their work. This will cause a change in the labour turnover, as the number of women working now is almost the same as men’s. This can be resolved by building a new area where kids who have working mothers within the firm are kept in the crèche under supervision. It would be the responsibility of the HR department to set this facility up, run it and be in charge of it.
- Contracts- a fixed contract can cause problems as it gives employees full or part-time work, which has both a definite start date and a definite end date. If later on the employee decides that he or she wants to move on and get another job as it has a higher wage or they think their job is too boring, they wouldn’t be able to leave as they have signed a contract for a leaving date. So the best thing to do is stick to a ‘permanent full-time employment’ contract or ‘temporary work’ contract.
- Conflict of interest- There are times when a member of a selection committee has a family relationship, well-known friendship or other form of relationship, positive or negative, with one or more of the applicants for a position. In these circumstances, if a member of the selection committee feels that he/she has a conflict of interest, then the committee member should inform the Presiding Member and other committee members prior to commencement of the shortlisting and interview processes. If the member feels the relationship may:
- Make it difficult for her/him to apply the merit principle, or
- Feels that her/his participation may compromise application of the merit principle then the committee should decide whether it is appropriate for the committee member to be part of the selection process. The committee from Human Resources may seek advice on this matter.
- Communication- one of the main functions of the HR department is to resolve conflicts between management and staff in order to create stability and ensure the smooth running of the business. However, in Asda, seeing as it is a large business, it is not possible for each employee to deal directly with management. Therefore, the employees usually elect a body, such as staff association or works council, to represent them. In Asda it is often the trade union which negotiates with the employer to improve working conditions and wages, on behalf of the employee. So the trade union has to be active in approaching the employer and if they are not , the employee could be dissatisfied.
These are the larger conflicts that can occur:
Interpersonal relation (Worker/Worker0
- Bullying- a worker might be bullied by another worker working on the same level due to the fact that they have a better job to do than them.
- Discrimination- there might be racism, ageism or sexism amongst workers.
- Demarcation- this is when there is confusion and clashes over job roles and responsibilities leaving workers clueless of their job roles. For example:
Demarcation Disputes
Conflict areas/points
due to poor ‘job design’
This can be used as a deliberate control mechanism based on the principal of ‘divide and rule’. So, for example, if the workers are arguing over what job/role belongs to them, the manager can come in like a hero and sort everything out, thus making him/her a worthy manager.
Company- Personnel Relations
When there is a conflict between Asda and its employees:
- Victimisation- a worker might feel they are being neglected by the company for example they are not being paid according to their contract or they are always being picked on when something goes wrong within the company and it wasn’t even their fault!
- Constructive Dismissal
- Hours of work- this needs to be looked at carefully because some people might always be given shifts that they can’t work according to. Also working overtime can lead to stress and frustration. This can lead to taking time off work.
- Shifts (organisation)- same as above.
- Health and Safety- if this is not ensured then there is a risk for workers working at Asda. It needs to look at things like RSI and other factors so that workers are working in a safe environment.
- Equipment, faults and shortage- electrics need to be checked from time to time. If they are not then, again, the workers are at risk from electric shocks. Also if supply is short then the business will not be booming leading to a loss in sales. If their isn’t the right equipment to work with, a lot of the business’s time could be lost as people will take a lot of time getting things done.
Management – Worker Relations
- Favouritism- when a manager has a favourite amongst the workers and so does things to please them like bonuses and promotions. This will lead to neglect and hatred amongst other workers.
- Personality clashes
- Career blockages- Managers might make sure that their workers don’t get jobs anywhere else
- Bullying- workers might be bullied by managers if they have not done the job properly and what was expected of them. This might make things worse and the worker might eventually leave, sick and tired of their manager.
- Racism/sexism/ageism- an employer might always pick on someone due to the fact that they might be of a different race, age or sex. If so it could lead to huge problems and could even lead to prosecution.
- Unnecessarily expectations- if a Manager asks a worker to do a task and says that it is an easy job, the worker might come back and say he found it hard and it took them quite a long time to finish it. This will be exploiting them. The workers standard will not be to that of the managers’ expectations. This can make the worker as well as the manager frustrated. If for example a worker was given to work on a brand new computer by his manager because his manager thought that was his area of expertise, it might not be because it will also be something new for the worker. This is probably due to the lack of training. Training costs money. If Asda don’t take money out to train its workers, then it will not be running efficiently because a good company is one that gives regular training. Training also costs time. The worker will have to take out time for training meaning that the worker will miss a couple of hours of work making the business run slow. This couple of hours might lead to a full days work. The worker might have to work over-time to finish off and this means that they would have to get paid more, etc.
So this is a cycle of this conflict, which might never seem to come to an end.
Interdepartmental Conflict
This is when different departments fight over each other. The main thing for this conflict is:
£’s FINANCE
=LIMITED
The departments that will have conflicts amongst themselves are:
- Design
- Production
- Sales teams/distribution
- Marketing
Each department asks for the ‘Lions share of the money’ and as a means to getting their way they will ‘rubbish’ their rivals by talking bad about them to give them a bad image. This is all done just to get their money and as the saying goes ‘Money is Power!’
Trade Unions
Trade unions are workers’ organisations whose role is to defend workers rights and negotiate on their behalf.
The functions of this include:
- Collective bargaining (Pay and Conditions)
- Dispute and conflict resolution
- Health and Safety
- Industrial relations
- Promotion of Training and Personnel Development (Career Paths)
They always look after workers interests and try to get the best deal possible.
In terms of conflict resolution, ideally agreements should be based on ‘Compromise and Consensus’. However sometimes this isn’t possible and negotiations collapse leading to ‘INDUSTRIAL ACTION’:
- E.g. strikes by the Trade Unions
- Lockouts by Managers
- And Work To Rule by Workers.
Flexible working patterns have advantages and disadvantages that impact not only on individuals but also on the business and the economy as a whole. Although flexible working practices and part-time working provide opportunities for people may otherwise be excluded from the workplace, individuals can feel insecure in such employment, particularly if they are constantly working on short-term contracts. There is also evidence that part-time or flexible workers receive less training than their full-time counterparts. In these circumstances individuals can feel their contribution is undervalued.
In turn, insecurities and frustrations experienced by part-time staff may affect their job satisfaction and, ultimately, their performance. This then impacts on the organisation, as it has to manage higher staff turnover rates.
One solution that may overcome this is that if we think of our lives as ‘inside-out doughnuts’, with a core in the middle (the essentials of life) and the bounded space on the outside as our opportunities, workers can achieve satisfaction in other areas of our lives, even if the workers jobs are unfulfilling.
APPENDICE 3
HRM plays a part in enabling Asda to improve its overall competitiveness in the market place. In the last decade of the twentieth century, we saw a transformation in the way companies like Asda started dealing with the people who were their employees. Instead of seeking to get the best out of people just for the sake of the business- i.e. to help it achieve its objectives- the new emphasis termed ‘Human Resource Management’ (HRM) was that people would only work their best for the company if the company gave priority to identifying and seeking to meet the personal needs and objectives of its employees. This distinction is very subtle- but it is an important distinction to understand.
A second important change in people management was a recognition that ‘people work’ was not just the responsibility of the ‘HR’ department. It is the responsibility of all managers in Asda- supported by HRM specialists. Increasingly, responsibility for recruitment, selection, appraisal and training is carried out by managers who work on an ongoing basis with employees rather than by a specialist in a centralised HRM function.
A third key change in people management was that HRM was given a great deal more status in Asda. Instead of being something carried on at lower levels of the business, HRM is now recognised as a key ‘strategic’ area of the business (i.e. one that needs to be given priority in organisational planning involving senior managers).
Asda has now moved away from ‘personnel management’ to the new ‘human resource management’.
The characteristics of HRM are as follows:
- A reduction in hierarchy and the blurring of distinction between management and non-management.
- Responsibility for people-management is devolved to line managers.
- Management and non-management are committed to common goals, and have an interest in the success of Asda.
- Line managers are responsible for the appraisal of staff development, personnel professionals may support through appraisal training for staff and staff managers.
- The increased emphasis on teams in Asda means that more people are involved in identifying goals and should therefore be more committed to them.
Overall, HRM plays a vital part in Asda and many other businesses alike. If it recruits the right people with the skills and experience needed for the job, the business will run smoothly but if it doesn’t then they will need to recruit some other people costing a lot of money for advertising, training, etc costing the business a high labour turnover rate. If it is to strive in the market place, not only does it need to meet the needs of the customers, but also of employees. If staff are motivated and incredibly fluent in their line of work, they would produce a quality service and production meaning that more people would want to shop at Asda.
