MGBBT2HRM Human Resource Management
MGBBT2HRM Human Resource Management
Introduction
Human resource management is associated with the management of employees through focusing on their recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and appraisal and deploying employees. The HR department of an organisation is not only entrusted with constituting growth and development of the employees, but also with aligning the performance of the employees with aims and objectives of the firm. The crux of human resource management rests on turning employees into assets of the firm.
Human resource management works closely with other business areas including customer relationship management, marketing, production and manufacturing, and marketing through steering skills and knowledge among the employees so as to provide better products and services to the customers.
The purpose of the current study is to shed light on functions and approaches to human resource management including employee recruitment, selection and induction, talent management, planning, career management, employment law, employee rights, e learning concepts, knowledge management and staff retention that are crucial in competitive advantage of firms.
HRM function in organisations
In the 21st century, one of the key HRM functions include job design and analysis. The evolution of this hrm function has taken place through focusing on being more skill based. In the opinion of Mokomane and Potgieter (2020), job analysis and design is associated with conducting analysis to underpin the key skills and educational requirements needed for a job and creating job description accordingly. The implementation of this hr function in the tourism sector is focused towards interpersonal and customer relationship management skills of the workforce. Moreover, the application of this HRM function in the tourism sector is also focused towards the inclusion of diversity management skills and knowledge of the employees as the tourism sector is embedded with tourists from local and international fields as part of which cultural literacy and diversity management techniques are key in HR management.
The second function of human resource management in contemporary firms is employee hiring and selection. As stated by Zhao and Tu (2021), the focus of human resource management is to hire the key employees so that skill gaps could be mitigated and there is adequate talent within the firm. Henceforth, the hr managers conduct a range of screening and analytical techniques to ensure that the skills of the applicants are assessed accurately and align with the skills mentioned in job description. For instance, the selection and hiring process within the tourism sector would take place by focusing on the extent to which the candidates are able to work with diverse cultured people and also provide highly efficient services to the customers. As influenced by Hamouche (2023), the instance of JW Marriott could be provided in this context that has focused on conducting group discussions and one on one interviews for selection and hiring of the candidates.
One of the core functions of HRM in contemporary organisations is employee training and development as part of employee management programs. As mentioned by Yong et al. (2020), the field of employee management and training and program has evolved to a huge extent as in the earlier days the focus was on controlling and directing the employees. However, the contemporary firms as well as the tourism sector have focused on integrating modern leadership roles and practices to ensure high motivation among the employees. The tourism sector is one of the leading sectors with high resentment and work related stress among the employees. As studied by Ozkeser (2019), the UK tourism sector shows stress of more than 65% of the workforce. In this context, the implementation of motivational strategies has been key to organisational goals. Hr managers are also entrusted with assessing and deciding whether to provide monetary or non monetary motivational factors to the employees. For instance, the leaders and HR managers of Accor hotels have focused on inspiring the team members as part of which charismatic leadership styles and strategies have been implemented to constantly motivate the employees to nurture towards excellence (Yong et al. 2020).
Approaches to understanding HRM and the link between HRM and organisation performance
One of the key theories of human resource management is organisational life cycle theory that sheds light on the lifecycle of employees in an organisation between the stages of recruitment and selection, training and development, and retirement. As mentioned by Anwar and Abdullah (2021), this theory sheds light on the rise and fall of employees in organisations. The application of this theory to organisational performance entails the implementation of employee assessment techniques, feedback, training and development and employee appraisal techniques. Moreover, there are also career development programs focused towards constituting career excellence of the employees so as to constitute their growth and development. The provision of training and development programs for the employees leads to better knowledge of their organisational goals and objectives. Moreover, Marriott has recently launched programs for employee development known as Executive Development Program that focuses on the implementation of career development programs for employees by focusing on exposure to exceutives and having knowledge of the goals that employees need to focus on during their performance (Peccei and Van De Voorde, 2019). This is one of the significant ways in which HRM functions contribute to organisational growth through enhanced performance.
The Fombrun Model of human resource management is also one of the key models that focused on strategic control, organizational structure and human resource management systems. As commented by Azizi et al. (2021), the Fombrun Model focuses on leadership and establishment of professional teams to constitute growth and development of the workforce. As such, through this model the emphasis is put on integrating a highly effective and knowledgeable leadership style to motivate and influence the employees in a positive way. This model is focused towards four general procedures of human resource management including recruitment, review, rewards and employee development. Henceforth, one of the key factors focused on by this model by employee development is implementation of rewards and motivational strategies for employees to constitute their growth. As influenced by Vrontis et al. (2022), the instance of Hyatt hotel in this context showcases that they receive discounts and coupons during their stay in any of the Hyatt hotels and also on spa services that contribute to their satisfaction and retention within the hotel chain.
The third model of human resource management considered in this section is the Warwick model that focuses on internal and external factors in which an organization operates. As opined by Peccei and Van De Voorde (2019), the outer context refers to economy, labour market and government regulations influencing business and human resource management functions. Additionally, the inner context refers to culture, structure and leadership factors. The consideration of leadership style is one of the key factors considered in contemporary firms in terms of human resource practices and employee management. This is because autocratic leadership often leads to resentment and frustration among the employees. On the other hand, transformational or transactional leadership leads to the high motivational level of the employees as part of which they develop loyalty and positive attitude towards the firm. As inspired by Azizi et al. (2021), the instance of Holiday Inn could be provided in this context where there is inclusion of matrix organisational structure to steer collaboration and communication between the members so that human resource management could have better visibility of the organisational functions and implement employee development strategies accordingly.
HRM function can manage employee recruitment
In the field of human resource management, recruitment is defined as the identification, attraction, hiring and selection of employees. Henceforth, as studied by Pan et al. (2022), recruitment is defined as that human resource management function where the skill gaps in an organisation are filled through conducting interviews and group discussion sessions. Recruitment is one of the primary job roles and responsibilities of human resource management and is highly impacted by size and financial stability of a firm.
There are many steps and procedures involved in a recruitment plan including identification of hiring needs, devising a recruitment plan, writing a job description, advertising the position and assessment of the applicant. In the first step, the HR manager is entrusted with identifying the needs of recruitment as part of which job analysis is done to highlight the key skills and knowledge required for the specific job role or position. Following that, the job description is created that is showcased to the people through an effective advertising procedure. The selection of the specific advertising channels is also an important factor in this regard where the focus is to reach a maximum number of people within a specified period (Acikgoz et al. 2019). After that, the CV of the applicants are assessed and group discussions and interviews are held with them to evaluate their skills and extent to which their skills align with the concerned job role. Following this procedure, the recruitment procedure involves shortlisting of candidates after which their screening and background checks are conducted. There is also a decision taken regarding the selection of the final candidate for the specific job role.
As inspired by Mokomane and Potgieter (2020), the way in which human resource management makes decisions related to employee recruitment is by deciding the type of recruitment to be employed among the many. There are various types of recruitment procedures including internal recruitment, retained recruitment, contingency recruitment, staffing recruitment, outplacement recruitment and reverse recruitment. Taking the instance of Hilton hotels into consideration, it could be witnessed that internal recruitment is implemented for appointment of staff in higher positions such as executives or leadership. There are advantages and disadvantages of the aforementioned recruitment procedures such as internal recruiting is beneficial for gaining best skills. However, it also detaches external people from opportunities of gaining employment. Retained recruitment is beneficial for employee retention; however, there is a risk of inadequate skill retention in firms through this recruitment technique.
HRM function can manage employee selection and induction
In the context of human resource management, employee selection is defined as the process through which an interview of candidates is conducted with the aim of selecting the most suitable candidate for a specific job role. There are several criteria considered during the employee selection procedure. In the opinion of Schneider and Sting (2020), the selection process of human resource management involves identification and shortlisting of candidates based on their skills and education and the extent to which they adhere to the job description and criteria requirement. The selection procedure shall be highly subjective based on the sector or industry. As such, in the context of the tourism sector, the selection procedure involves the extent to which the employees are equipped with tourism related aspects and communicating with the tourists from varied cultural backgrounds.
There are different types of selection procedures involved; one of which is interview. As mentioned by Feagan et al. (2021), interview is the most potential form of staff selection procedure where a direct communication is established with the candidate to understand their mentality, behavioral cues and soft skills. Other than that, ability tests and psychometric tests are also conducted on candidates as part of the selection procedure. These tests and assessments are helpful for identifying the behaviours, traits and characteristics of the candidates and analyse the extent to which they align with the job specifications and requirements. Moreover, as identified by Alsharhan et al. (2021), in the tourism sector, employee selection procedure involves subjecting them to real life incidents of dealing and interacting with tourists or visitors and providing them with complex situations to understand their problem solving and decision making skills. Personality tests and aptitude tests are significant and highly popular in the tourism sector to understand the customer relationship management skills of the employees. As such, JW Marriott is witnessed to implement personality tests and aptitude tests during employee screening procedures to ensure high quality services for the guests. On the other hand, references are applied by Qantas Airways to be assured of certain skills and knowledge of the candidates that guide the selection procedure. Along with that, cognitive strengths test is also one of the selection procedures implemented in the tourism sector. As influenced by Sun et al. (2023), the advantage of cognitive tests during selection procedure is helpful for assessing the ability of the candidates to process new information, problem solving and decision making skills. Cognitive strength test is a new method integrated in the tourism sector to analyse the risk taking and management skills of the candidates on the basis of which the selection of candidates is done.
Staff induction is a procedure implemented in contemporary organisations followed by the employee selection procedure that involves providing guidance and tour of the firm. As stated by Akroyd and Kober (2020), staff induction also involves provision of key company related information and the way in which work is done. In the tourism sector, staff induction is associated with exposing them to deal with new tourists and visitors so that they gain understanding and knowledge of the working procedures and policies. As mentioned by Sun et al. (2023), staff induction also helps in ensuring consistency for all the new employees so that they work collaboratively and in conjunction with the company goals and visions. There is also betterment in performance and productivity of the employees as they get acquainted with the company culture and working procedure. Employee retention is also one of the key benefits associated with staff induction as it helps employees fit into their surroundings as part of which they enjoy a smooth transition into the organisational working procedure.
Human resource planning, performance management, talent management and career management
Human resource planning is associated with determination of the future human resource practices and requirements and making plans accordingly. It is a form of risk management and strategic approach where there is analysis of the possible environmental factors in future on the basis of which decisions are made. Moreover, human resource planning also involves consideration of the objectives of the firm to fulfill those through proper employee management and development techniques. There are plenty of advantages of human resource planning and one of the benefits includes anticipating and adapting to change. Considering the tourism sector, the dynamic nature of the sector and its environment is witnessed and there is a constant need for strategic implementation to keep the tourists satisfied with the company work procedure and service quality. As influenced by Iis et al. (2022), human resource planning involves assessing the skills and knowledge of the employees and also addressing skill gaps. There is also identification and analysis of the technological advancements as part of which human resource planning involves development of training programs to enhance technological skills of the employees. As such, the hotel chain of the UK is focused towards the implementation of the latest technological tools such as artificial intelligence, IoT, machine learning and other tools. The constant development of these technologies is resulting in the knowledge requirement and development of the employees and this is one of the key areas of human resource planning. As studied by Sugiarti (2022), the benefit of human resource planning also includes strategic workforce alignment by aligning the performance and skills of the employees with current and future organisational objectives. In this regard, the benefit of human resource planning is also witnessed in efficient talent acquisition. This is done through identification of the areas for development on the basis of which streamlining of the recruitment efforts is done. As part of this, selection and recruitment of employees is also done by attracting the right qualification, experience and cultural fit.
Performance management is an integral factor of human resource management and is defined as an ongoing process through which the skill development needs and gaps are communicated with the employees. Performance management also involves communication of the key job roles and responsibilities with employees and sharing feedback with them to highlight their performance and skill gaps. In addition to that, Niati et al. (2021) have stated that performance management is associated with the implementation of motivational techniques and strategies for the employees to keep them satisfied and motivated.
Some of the components of performance management include feedback, goal setting, development and improvement, communication, succession planning, coaching and mentoring, and performance improvement planning. As suggested by Stambulova et al. (2021), feedback is done on a quarterly, half yearly or annual basis through which the performance of the employees is reviewed. The EDP plan is implemented by Marriott as part of which feedback is provided to employees on a quarterly basis so that the employees become familiar with their performance strengths or performance issues. There are also goals set on the basis of performance issues of the employees. As inspired by Sugiarti (2022), the implementation of Transaction cost theory of human resource management suggests that there is a contract between employers and employees regarding the working procedure. This binds the employees to work in compliance with the organisational policies and procedures. Performance management helps in allowing the employees to adhere to the organisational contract so that they align with organisational goals and requirements. The implementation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory suggests that there are plenty of motivational requirements of employees such as adequate remuneration, job security, positive work culture, recognition and competitive advantage of the firms. Therefore, as mentioned by Aguinis (2019), employee motivation is also a key component of performance management where employees are rewarded and provided with incentive in compliance with their efficient performance.
Talent management involves the process of talent acquisition in firms so that there is availability of adequate talent in the company in compliance with organisational requirements. As studied by Niati et al. (2019), the different approaches of talent management are workforce planning, talent acquisition, onboarding, career development, career planning, performance management and continuous improvement.
Career management is defined as investing in resources so that the future organisational goals and career goals of the candidate are accomplished. In the tourism sector, career management helps in aligning the performance of employees with changes in the hotel and airline sector so that employees gain excellence in their skills and strive towards excellence. According to Sugiarti (2022), career management is beneficial in engagement of the employees through steering motivation and satisfaction in them. It also helps in enhancing productivity of the employees as part of which they gain more satisfaction in the organisation. The relationship between the employer and employees gets enhanced through career management programs that helps in betterment of overall organisational performance.
Employment relations, employee engagement, basic principles of employment law, employee rights at work and why they should be appropriately managed by organisations
Employee relationship is defined as the strife of firms to maintain positive relationships between employees. This is beneficial for creating a positive workplace environment and culture. As mentioned by Duggan et al. (2020), the different ways in which employee relation is maintained in organizations is through steering employee loyalty, reducing turnover, employee engagement, and positive workplace culture.
Employee engagement is also a core factor of hrm and is defined as the extent to which employees feel passionate about their jobs. As opined by Malik (2022), it is also defined as commitment of employees to perform organisational tasks diligently and putting effort into their work to constitute success and competitive advantage of their organisation. As such, employee engagement is high in leading hotel chains such as Hilton, Premier Inn, JW Marriott resulting in competitive advantage and easy brand recognition due to superior service quality provided by the employees.
Employment laws makes it mandatory for HRM to follow equal and fair organisational policies for maintaining a positive workplace culture. According to Lopez-Cabrales and Valle-Cabrera (2020), the principles of employment law include prevention of discrimination at the workplace, promoting a healthy and safe work environment and also maintaining a minimum wage standard in the firms. As such, the minimum wage in Accor hotels is £20063 on an annual basis that is indicative of the adherence of the hotel to Minimum Wage standards of UK (Lansbury and Bamber, 2020).
There are plenty of rights of employees in organisations including remuneration, employee harassment and discrimination guidelines, gratuity, health and safety, maternity and paternity leave, workplace safety, and rights during probation. Moreover, employees are also subjected to minimum and maximum hours of work in the organisation after which they shall be entitled to extra pay for extra hours of work (Malik, 2022). The management of these factors is essential in firms to ensure that there is curbing the legal and regulatory risks for the firms. As such, in alignment with employment right laws, JW Marriott ensures to provide a safe, fair and equal workplace to the employees.
Concept of learning, e-learning, knowledge management, staff retention and their impact on organisational performance
In human resource management, learning is a continuous improvement procedure contributing to professional development of employees. As commented by Alsharhan et al. (2021), e learning is a technologically integrated method in hrm focused towards integration of technological platforms in the learning and development procedure of the firms. E-learning is a more cost effective method of learning as compared to traditional learning approaches.
The concept of knowledge management rests on collecting and storing information and knowledge in the workforce by HR managers. According to Al-Jedaiah (2020), knowledge management helps in constituting knowledge development of the employees in accordance with organisational requirements. Therefore, this is beneficial for HR managers and leaders to preserve employee knowledge even if they leave the organisation. In the tourism sector, the role of knowledge management is to provide easy access to the employees to knowledge and information and ensuring up-to-date knowledge. This also helps in ensuring specialised knowledge of the workforce such as any advanced tool or technology. The HR managers and leaders at Premier Inn hotels focus on integrating key technological tools and analysing the skill requirement for those. The hotel also focuses on implementation of different knowledge categories as part of the knowledge management procedure. According to Abass et al. (2021), the knowledge categories include task specific knowledge, tacit knowledge and customer related knowledge.
Employee retention is defined as skills and abilities of an organisation to prevent employee turnover through implementation of proper employee management and motivational techniques. As opined by Hantoobi et al. (2021), it is highly important for organisations to prevent high employee turnover rate and constitute employee retention to maintain a positive work culture and also constituting cost effectiveness of the human resource practices. Employee retention also leads to competitive advantage of firms to provide growth opportunities to the employees. There is much betterment in organisational performance of firms through employee retention programs. High employee retention in firms is indicative of employee management and motivational strategies as a result of which there is much satisfaction and high morale among the workforce. Therefore, the employees are able to work efficiently and with high loyalty towards organisational growth and development. As observed by Alsharhan et al. (2021), employee retention rate in Accor hotels is 74% that is indicative of highly efficient employee management strategies by the hotel chain. The impact of this on organisational performance is witnessed in terms of cost effective human resource practices and also integrating a highly productive workforce leading to visitors’ satisfaction.
Conclusions
There is also evolution and development witnessed in the field of employee training and development. In the 21st century, employee training and development has been highly customised and personalised as per the existing skills and knowledge and skill gaps of the employees. HR strategies help in easy accomplishment of the organisational goals and objectives as part of teamwork and effective communication coupled with decision making. The way in which employee motivation and rewards contribute to positive organisational performance is through nurturing and instilling a positive perception on the employees as part of which they develop loyalty and dedication towards organisational success and excellence. Through the implementation of Warwick model, it could be stated that the implementation of human resource management functions rests on a number of external and internal functions such as employment laws and regulations and leaders and management structures.
The focus of human resource management as part of staff induction is to not only make them knowledgeable but also make them feel comfortable and confident. There are plenty of advantages and benefits associated with staff induction; the primary of which is to make the employees acquainted with company culture. The tourism sector is highly dynamic and occurrence of covid19 has imposed plenty of challenges for the sector. For this cognitive tests are applied as part of the staff induction program. goal setting, feedback, succession planning, communication, coaching and mentoring, and continuous improvement are key performance management approaches. Learning and e-learning are knowledge management techniques implemented by firms.
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