Human Resource Case Study
Human Resource Case Study
Human Resource Case Study
In a business organisation Human Resource practice and function are indeed crucial for
planned approach to managing people effectively for performance. Here are four major
practices and function:
Recruitment and Selection HR recruitment and selection practices generally are based
on the organization's mission and the workplace culture. Recruitment is the process of
captivating, screening, and selecting potential and qualified candidates based on
objective criteria for a particular job. The goal of this process is to attract the qualified
applicants and to encourage the unqualified applicants to opt themselves out.
Training and Development Training and development are the indispensable functions
of human resource management. These activities improve employees' job skills in their
current positions and equip them with skills and expertise for cross-functional work that
can increase their value to the organization.
Employment Security the First Human Resource best practice is employment security.
There is a social contract between the organization and its employees. The organization
asks employees to work, commit to the organization, and offer up their ideas. Job
security is an employee’s assurance or confidence that they will keep their current job
Question 2
Make a list of 4 legislatives, regulatory and industrial requirements that can be applied in the
context of human resource management.
Ans.
The field of human resources management is greatly influenced and shaped by the state and
federal laws governing employment issues. Indeed, regulations and laws govern all aspects of
human resource management—recruitment, placement, development, and compensation.
There are 4 legislatives regulatory which are indeed required in any industry:
Occupational Health and Safety Act 1989 Under this Act organisations have an
obligation to take all reasonably practicable steps to provide a safe working
environment for staff, volunteers and visitors to secure the health, safety and welfare of
employees at work and to protect persons at or near workplaces from risks to health or
safety arising out of the activities of employees at work apart from this to promote an
occupational environment for employees that is adapted to their health and safety needs.
Children and Young People Act 2008 The Act provides for the protection, care and
wellbeing of children and young people in the ACT. Included are requirements for
mandatory reporting of suspected abuse and non-accidental physical injury.
Human Right Act 2004 this is a law which recognises and describes the fundamental
civil and political rights that individuals have. It gives the Attorney General and Human
Rights Commissioner some powers to intervene in courts and tribunals where human
rights are concerned the purpose of the Act is to protect people’s civil and political
rights, and fundamental freedoms.
Question 3
HR personnel need to be aware of the labour market options/ common options for sourcing
labour supply. Explain what this means and what labour options might be available or required.
You might, for example, consider full- and part-time employment, contractors, consultants,
new graduates or trainees, casual, offshore or off-site workers etc.
Ans.
Sources of Recruitment mean hiring people from outside or from inside the organization. In
other words, seeking applicants from those who are external to the organization and internal
to the same
There are several methods for external recruiting as well as internal recruiting The firm must
carefully analyse the vacant positions and then use the method which best fulfils the
requirement. Following are the different types of both sources of recruitment:
External labour source
Media Advertisement: The advertisement is the most common and preferred source
of external recruiting. The ads in newspapers, professional journals, give a
comprehensive detail about the organization, type, and nature of job position, skills
required, qualification and experience expected, etc. This helps an individual to self-
evaluate himself against the job requirements and apply for the jobs which best suits
him.
Direct Recruitment: The direct recruitment also called as factory gate recruitment is
an important source of hiring, especially the unskilled workers or badly workers who
are paid on a daily-wage basis. Here, the company puts up a notice on a notice board
or on the factory gate regarding the jobs available, such that the applicant sees it and
apply for the job directly.
Transfers: Transfer involves shifting of persons from present jobs to other similar jobs.
These do not involve any change in rank, responsibility or prestige.
A transfer involves the shifting of an employee from one job to another without special
reference to change in responsibilities or compensation”. Usually transfer takes place
between jobs paying approximately the same salaries. A slight change in responsibilities,
duties and pay increase may also take place occasionally.
Question 4
Technological advances are constant. All organisations, regardless of size or of core business,
will utilise some form of technology. How is technological development likely to impact on
the HR function in a business? Consider this and discuss it.
Ans.
Human Resource function includes activities such as recruiting, training, developing and
rewarding people in the organization. HRM must aim at achieving competitiveness in the
field of HR by providing constant educational and training programs for the personal and
professional development of the employees of the organization. Technology changes the way
HR departments contact employees, store files and analyse employee performance. Used
well, technology makes HR practices more efficient. When used poorly, it can get in the way
of managing the company's human resources. Good HR practices maximize the benefits and
minimize the problems. Before the internet and email, connecting with job seekers meant
phone, face time or a letter. In the 21st century, it's routine for companies to post openings
online, and require job seekers to apply through an online applicant tracking system. That
frees up a great deal of time that HR would have spent dealing with paper resumes or
personal calls. On the other hand It has been conventionally proved that Information and
Communication Technology (ICT), such as the Internet, mobile communication, new media,
and such in HR can greatly contribute to the fulfilment of personnel policies of the
organization.
Question 5
What is strategic planning; what are the basic requirements of a strategic plan; what is it
intended to achieve and why is it necessary?
Ans.
Strategic planning is an organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus
energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and stakeholders are
working toward common goals, The process also includes establishing the sequence in which
those goals should fall so that the organization is enabled to reach its stated vision.
More importantly strategic planning endows to achieve organisation goals faster it is set of
overall goals which not only provide a road map to help any business to grow even it lead any
firm to right direction. Also, Strategic objectives provide a shared sense of purpose, a shared
language to gauge progress. They also provide milestones to celebrate, once they have been
achieved. Hence this is a crucial part of any origination to stay in focus also important tool
for bringing your team together and motivating them to work in tandem.
There are many requirements of a strategic plan but I’m writing down 2 important one
2. Effective execution A successful strategic plan should include an “Action Plan” that
identifies WHAT must be done, by WHOM, by WHEN and HOW it will be
measured. This is the cumulative impact of the company's activities, and the most
important part of any plan. A clear vision coupled with aligned competencies and
opportunities is great and essential. However, without effective execution, all of that
becomes just dreams without realization.
Political Economical
• What are the political and regulatory • What is the impact of a change in the
constraints affecting operations or Australian and/or US dollar?
performance?
• When and how will inflation rates
• What current or pending consumer, change?
corporations and taxation laws will
• Will there be an increase in spending
impact the organisation?
power?
• What existing or pending workplace
• Are we in a recession? At what point
relations laws will affect the management
are we in the general business cycle?
of the workforce?
• What is happening in the global
• Will a new government bring change to
marketplace?
legislation?
Social Technological
State the future labour needs and skill requirements for the organisation and
identify potential options for sourcing labour
Ans.
Identifying business growth and areas where the business needs to scale down
operations should be the initial step when planning future workforce needs
Each planned business initiative will have corresponding staffing issues, as indicated
below:
Developing new products
Expanding the market
Moving into new markets
Improving distribution networks
Forecasting labour supply involves projecting the present workforce profile into the
future. The following methods can tell us what exactly we are looking for in employees:
Labour demand forecasting
Qualitative forecasting methods:
Delphi method
Nominal group technique
Statistical or mathematical forecasting methods:
Simple regression
Multiple linear
Productivity ratios
Staffing ratios
Ans.
HR
A,I A A A
Directors
HR
R.C R.C R.C R.C
Manager
HR team
C C A.C R
leader1
Leaders/
Area I I 1.C I
managers
HR team
C C C C
reader1
All roles for implementing the strategic HR plan must be clearly described, explained
and agreed to. This can be achieved by creating a matrix that defines roles, expectations
and levels of accountability. The following is an example of a responsibility matrix that
outlines key roles and responsibilities in a development plan. This matrix allows you to
clearly identify and communicate who is responsible for what part of the
implementation process:
• A: defines a responsibility for approving (they have ultimate accountability).
• R: defines a responsibility for reviewing material that will be distributed, which may
include reports, documents, workbooks or key information.
• C: defines a responsibility for creating or developing. This should only be the person
who is ultimately responsible, not people in the team who might participate in or
contribute to this.
• I: defines key people who provide input.
Develop the schedule: The schedule should include the activities required to
implement the HR strategies and services, with assignment of each activity to HR team
members
Plan for review and monitoring: It is essential that the implementation plan identifies
a regular time frame for reporting on progress, both of the implementation of the
strategic HR plan and of the HR strategies themselves.
Engage stakeholders: The organisation and the HR department will have a number of
key stakeholders with a vested interest in the implementation of the strategic HR plan.
Senior management, the board and those concerned with the finances of the
organisation will be interested in the costs of the implementation and delivery of the
HR strategies
Effective engagement should include.
• identifying the relevant stakeholders
• Communication tailored to meet the needs of each stakeholder
• guiding expectations
• seeking and acting on feedback
• understanding stakeholder roles, interests and their importance to the change
program.
Implement the plan with support from others: Effective communication means that
the manager, employees and other key stakeholders understand why it is important for
the organisation to adopt a strategic HR plan and how the plan will support the
organisation's overall performance in the future
3. Develop the human resources strategic plan which covers the following items:
Determine strategic directions, objectives and targets
Identify the HR training and development services that will need to be delivered
to achieve the HR strategic objectives
Ans. Since entry level, low-skill jobs are usually easier to fill than positions for
skilled employees, training existing staff to meet future needs is a valuable
strategy. These employees can then be monitored to identify suitable candidates
for training and development to move into more skilled positions. These
individuals may be identified at the initial recruitment phase or through their
work appraisals.
To build effective relationships that encourage and promote partnerships with
line managers, HR managers need to ensure that line managers have appropriate
training and development options, the tools they need to manage their teams,
and the support and respect of HR in listening and acting on their feedback and
ideas
For many employers, a common human resource strategic objective is to ensure
the organization’s workforce is capable of meeting future staffing needs. To
achieve this goal, human resources staff and line managers generally work
together in assessing current workforce skills and qualifications. This helps
determine the best course of action for human resources activities such as
succession planning. Succession planning identifies employees who show
promise and aptitude. It then provides them with the training and development
they need for transitioning into higher-level positions or more responsible roles
within the company This process of identifying and training internal personnel
to fill vacancies is also called succession planning.
Ans.The various models that are used to estimate the benefits of the training
program are as under.
Ans The implementation of the strategic HR plan is a change process that should
be treated in the same way as any change in the organisation
Work with others to see that the strategic human resource plan is implemented
Monitor and review the plan
Adapt the plan should circumstances change
Evaluate and review performance against plan objectives
Prepare a budget for training and development services (projection, actual and
contingency)
Ans. Training budgets typically define how money can be allocated for training
development and delivery for an organization. Financing training activities
requires analyzing needs, making decisions and monitoring results. Based on
your assumptions and projections, create a training budget for a set period of
time, such as a year.
Meet with Heads to find out what organizational goals and problems exist in
your company. This helps you effectively lay out budget priorities for the year.
Develop a plan that identifies the projects that align to strategic goals,
mandatory events and review cycles for any development efforts. Assign roles
and responsibilities to ensure training and development request approvals occur
in a systematic way.
Avoid the temptation to rely on last year's budget as indication of the current
year's needs. Examine today's situation before concluding the training and
development projects should reflect the same needs and expenditures.
Centralize your training budget to maximize the impact. Allowing individual
departments to contract with training vendors can be inefficient and costly.
Focus your training budget on achieving business goals and career development.
Reserve funding for employee benefit programs such as degree assistance as
well as workshops and seminars run by industry organizations provided as a
reward and recognition for exemplary employees. Developing talent internally
for executive leadership functions makes managing your training budget a
strategic necessity.
Coordinate with product and service groups within your company to ensure you
align strategically. Be ready to support any new products with trained support
personnel.
Get input from managers in your company. Educate them on what's available
and coordinate efforts. Utilize cost-effective alternatives (such as distance
learning sessions delivered using web conferencing software) to reduce training
delivery costs.
Determine your training statistics such as average cost per training, annual
expenditure per employee and average amount spent on total training
expenditures and compare your figures with industry standards such as the
Corporate Learning Factbook. Adjust your budget and spending to align to other
companies in your industry.
According the 2017 State of the Industry report from the Association for Talent
Development, organizations spend an average of $1,273 per employee for direct
learning expenditures
Determine how the plan will be monitored and reviewed, and how amendments
will be made if issues arise, for example ABC would like to decrease staff