Business Strategies and Human Resource Strategies- HRM Solution Sample

QUESTION

 

Which Leadership capabilities/competencies are most essential for the future?

2000 words

 

 

ANSWER

 

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCES

Executive summary

The proper management of the skills of the employees by the HRM team enables the business to achieve their goals in a more effective manner. The HR of Volkswagen is efficient in the management of their employees. The regular skill enhancement programs that are adopted by the management team of Volkswagen, as well as the public sectors like BERR and DIUS enables the business to grow and make a profit in long run. Proper planning of performance management is essential for the company as it enables the Human Resource management to manage the employees in a proper systematic manner. It has been identified in this report that that the management team of Volkswagen makes sure that all the members of the company are working in an organised manner and are not subjected to any discrimination or biases.

Table of Contents

Introduction 

Task 1 

Introduction 

Business strategies and Human Resource strategies 

Integration 

Horizontal integration 

Vertical integration 

Theoretical basis and model 

PESTLE 

PORTERS 5 FORCE 

The Standard Causal Model of HRM 

The 8 box model 

Strategic perspective resource-based view, Best Fit, Best practice 

Strategic Best Fit / Universalist HR Model 

Strategic Best Practice/ Contingency HR Model 

Resource-based view (RBV) 

Strategic Performance management and Reward 

Designing a Performance Management System 

Conclusion 

Task 2 

Introduction 

Theoretical perception and nature of Employment relation 

Unitarism 

Pluralism 

Marxism 

Role of Actor in Employment Relationship 

Primary parties 

Secondary parties 

Third Parties 

Mechanism of Employee Voice and participation 

Representative participation 

Upwards problem-solving 

Conclusion 

Conclusion 

References 

Appendices 

Appendix 1: 8 Box Model 

Appendix 2: PESTEL 20

Introduction

The strategic management of the human resource is essential for a business to make a profit in the operating market. The effective management of the employees and extracting the best out of them is vital and needs proper allocation of a task to the employees they are best in. The theoretical explanation of the HRM practices shall be beneficial for the proper understanding of the strategies used by both private as well as public firms.

Task 1

Introduction

The use of correct strategies is essential for the business as it enables the firm to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their employees. The proper management of the skills of the employees by the HRM team enables the business to achieve their goals in a more effective manner. This task deals with the different theories and models related to the HRM practices with special reference to Volkswagen in UK.

Business strategies and Human Resource strategies

The business strategies and the strategies related to Human Resource are closely connected to each other as the change in the business strategies is sure to affect the Human resource of the Company. Volkswagen is one of the leading automobile companies that need proper management of their human resources. As opined by Albrecht et al. (2015, p.30), the employees need to be specified with proper work according to their ability and specialisation in order to execute the work better. The proper selection of the employees by the HR team of the business is beneficial for the company in order to achieve their aims and goal in the fixed interval of time.

Integration

Horizontal integration

Volkswagen is a leading automobile company are able to attract a large number of customers worldwide. As stated by Bailey et al. (2018, p.22), the introduction of new models and proper endorsement of the business has enabled the company to grow and maximise their profit. There are other public sectors like that of the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is also undertaking horizontal approaches as an integral part of the execution of their business. The maximisation of profit is beneficial for attracting the shareholders and investors towards the business. The effective management of the employees by the HR team enables the business of Volkswagen to work in an efficient manner to attract customers.

Vertical integration

The decision making is also an integral part of the management of the Human Resource. It is vital for Volkswagen to keep altering their marketing and management strategies with time to maintain their position in the market. As opined by Beer et al. (2015, p.430), the innovation in the technologies of the automobiles or introduction of proper marketing strategies. The public sector like that of the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills (DUIS) is also taking the huge initiative in the vertical integration of Human resource management. The proper management by the HR team of the employees ensures the business of Volkswagen to work systematically in order to attract the investors towards the business of Volkswagen.

Theoretical basis and model

PESTLE

Political

Economical

Social

Technological

Environmental

Legal

  • Stable political economy

  • A popular place of foreign direct investments

  • 17% corporate tax rate (Gov.UK (2019)

  • 5th largest economy

  • Inflation rate 0.3%

  • GDP rate is increasing by 1.4% (Gov.UK (2019)

  • 65.6 million population

  • 2.4% of the population above 85 years (Gov.UK (2019)

  • Technically advanced country

  • London is the hub of the technologies

  • Attract 28bn GBP from the technological sector

  • Environmental protection Act of 1990 (Gov.UK (2019)

  • Control of pollution Act 1974 (Gov.UK (2019
    )

  • Equality Act of 2010

  • The Employment Act 1996 (Gov.UK (2019)

Table 1: PESTLE analysis of UK

(Source: Influenced by Brewster, 2017, p.55)

The stable political condition and high GDP rate enable Volkswagen to manage their employers in a more organised manner to ensure for in the market. On the other hand, the acts associated with labour laws enable the employees to protest against the unjust practice against them within the firm [Refer to Appendix 2].

PORTERS 5 FORCE

Forces

Description

Bargaining power of suppliers

  • Low bargaining power

  • The company always switch to new suppliers

  • The company rewards the best supplier

Bargaining power of customers

  • Increasing in the bargaining power of the customers.

  • Safety of the customer is taken into account.

  • Marking is done to attract customers.

Threats of Substitute products

  • High competition

  • Various brand available

  • Preferences of the customers

Threats of new Entrance

  • Proper analysis of the market is needed.

  • A proper understanding of the business rules is vital.

  • Legal regulation makes it difficult to enter a new market.

Rivalry in the industry

  • Audi, Bentley, Porsche are the major rivals of the company.

Table 2: PORTERS 5 FORCE

(Source: Influenced by Cascio and Boudreau, 2016, p.110)

The Standard Causal Model of HRM

The model includes the concept of strategic and systematic management of the Human Resource of a company. Volkswagen is efficient in the management of their employees. The regular skill enhancement programs that are adopted by the management team of Volkswagen enable the business to grow and make a profit in long run (Collings and Szamosi, 2018, p.130). The model is also used by the public sector BERR for the effective management of their employees in serving the people better.

The 8 box model

The model aims to analysis both external as well as the internal situation of their business and guides the HR team of the company like that of Volkswagen to take up the correct decision. Decision making is a vital role played by the HR of any company. The model is also used by some public sector companies like that of DIUS [Refer to Appendix 1].

Strategic perspective resource-based view, Best Fit, Best practice

The adaptation of the proper strategies is essential for the business to manage their employees better. The Volkswagen needs proper allocation of the task to the employees and identifies their strengths to get the best out of them. Best view of the activities that are taking part in the organization is essential for the HR team to take up important decision regarding the business. As influenced by Demirkesen and Ozorhon (2017, p.1654), the public sectors also need proper strategic execution of their plans ensuring that they are able to execute they survive in the best possible manner. Best fit employees in the organisation need to be managed in a more systematic manner as they can help the company to do well in their field. The efficient selection of the employees of Volkswagen and allocating the service enables the employees to perform even better and server the company in a better way. Best Practice of the human resource management enables the business Volkswagen to manage their employees in a more organised and systematic manner.

Strategic Best Fit / Universalist HR Model

The HR team of Volkswagen makes sure that they provide the correct information to the employees to manage them in the best possible manner. As opined by Eriksson et al. (2015, p.60), the proper observation of the employees are the identification of the areas of their strength and plans to improve the area of theory weaknesses is the most important initiative that is taken up by the HR team of Volkswagen. As mentioned by Bailey et al. (2018, p.22), the effective communication practice among the employees enables the company to maintain a friendly working environment with a proper corporation with each other. The suggestion that the HR team executes is effective in both public as well as the private sector.

Strategic Best Practice/ Contingency HR Model

The model deals with the strategies made by the HR team for the betterment of the business. The business needs to adopt certain strategies in the process of the execution of their business (Cascio and Boudreau, 2016, p.110). The strategies that are adopted by the management of Volkswagen are the marketing strategies, operational strategies as well as the sales strategies.

Resource-based view (RBV)

Resource places a vital role in the proper management of the entire employees of a particular company. The organization of skill enhancement programs from time to time is possible only with the proper availability of the resource to the company. The main source of the resource of the firm Volkswagen is from their shareholders and investors (Beer et al. 2015, p.430). The investment that is done by the investors a portion of it is utilised in the management programs of the employees of Volkswagen. The resource is also essential for the public sector companies and they also depend on the investors for meeting their demands regarding employment management like that in Department of communities and Local Government.

Strategic Performance management and Reward

The encouragement of the employees is necessary to motivate them to serve the company with the same efficiency and accuracy. Appreciating or rewarding the employees is effective for the businesses to bring enthusiasm within the employees and encourage them to work in a more effective manner.

As mentioned by Bailey et al. (2018, p.22), the rewarding practice can, however, create a feeling of enmity between the employees and disturb the working environment for the place. The HR of Volkswagen makes sure that they are motivating their employees in a proper manner without hurting the sentiment of any other employees.

Designing a Performance Management System

Proper planning of performance management is essential for the company as it enables the Human Resource management to manage the employees in a proper systematic manner. As opined by Eriksson et al. (2015, p.60), identification of the proper background of the employees, practising of effective communication practice, as well as identification of strength and weaknesses of the employees, is necessary.

Conclusion

Hence, it can be concluded that the Human Resource team place a very important role in both public as well as private sector. The proper implication of the theories and models related to the management of the Human Resource enables the company to manage their employees better. The identification of key strengths of the employees by the management team of Volkswagen enables them to allocate the best possible task to the employees and motivate them for the betterment of the business in the long run.

Task 2

Introduction

The efficient running of the business is only possible with the help of an effective relationship with the employees. It is essential for the business to treat their employees as their family and try to solve the issues that are faced by them in the process of execution of the business. It is essential that the business and the management team needs to be very specific towards the action taken by employees and them for the benefit of the firm. This task deals with the relationship of the employees with the management team as well as the business of Volkswagen.

Theoretical perception and nature of Employment relation

Unitarism

This is a very effective model of HRM practice. According to this model all the members of the firm work with a single motive. The selection and motive of employees are vital for the business. The difficult task that the HR of Volkswagen has to do is to convince the employees to take us the selected objective and work in a more systematic and organised manner for the betterment of the business. As stated by Mittal (2016, p.55), the single motive organization in the business is very difficult in both private as well as public sector. The business of Volkswagen aims to maintain its position in the market maximise their profit. The HR management team of Volkswagen make sure that all the employees working within the organisation are motivated to contribute in the best possible manner for the business. The establishment of the friendly relationship with that of the employees enables the business to understand the nature and behaving pattern of the employees which makes it easier for the HR to motivate the employees in the best possible manner.

Pluralism

The proper distribution of power is also an important factor in both public as well as private companies. It is vital for the business firm of Volkswagen to make sure that they divide the work in the best and effective manner. The different departments in the business which includes the management sectors, operational sector, marketing and the sales sectors need proper management. The model is efficiently used by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulation Reform (BERR) in the proper division of the task among the employees to execute the work in an organised and systematic manner (Gov.uk, 2019). It is essential that the division of the task among the employees is done with proper identification of their key strengths and weaknesses. The proper identification of the background of the employees helps the HR team to identify the strong points of the employees and allocate them in the correct service in which they are more confident and efficient.

Marxism

The theory of Marxism is related to social segregation. The division of the working force into capitalist and the labour class. It is, however, a primitive theory which is not applicable in today’s context. The business of Volkswagen believed in maintaining friendly environmental conditions in the company. All the employees are given equal importance and no employee is subjected to biases. The company strictly followed all the employment acts enforced by the government of the UK. As opined by Keynes (2018, p.19), employees of all the sectors are given equal importance and thus ensures that all the demand of the employees are heard and the management team taken up the correct initiative regarding it is taken up by the company. The public sectors like that of BEER and DIUS also do not believe in segregation of the employees on the basis of their position in the form. All the employees are given equal treatment ensuring the efficient running of the firm in a systematic manner.

Role of Actor in Employment Relationship

Actors play an efficient role in the management of the employees and maintaining an effective relationship with that of the employees and with the different parties associated with the business. It is important to note that the business needs an efficient actor to motivate the employees to work in an organised and coordinated manner for the proper execution of the services within the firm. The relationship of the employees among them self as well as among the employees and their managers is essential. As opined by Uysal (2016, p.445), the actor aims to understand the behaviour of the employees and motivate them in the best possible manner to establish an efficient relationship with the upper hierarchy.

Primary parties

The maintenance of an efficient and effective relationship with that of the employees is vital for the owners of Volkswagen. The entire workforce is divided into numerous small departments and the owner is keen about the proper analysis of the work that is conducted by the employees. The owner makes sure that the management team is trained in a systematic manner of maintaining the employees in an organised manner. There are many public firms in the UK where there is no specific owner and the business is a runner with the proper corporation of the government (Gov.uk, 2019). The owners of any company are the head of the hierarchy and his behaviour towards the members present in the lower hierarchy shows the values and morals of the business. The owner of Volkswagen makes sure that all the employees of the company are working with proper coordination with each other.

Secondary parties

The second party in business management are the teams of managers. The management team of Volkswagen makes sure that all the members of the company are working in an organised manner. As mentioned by Mittal (2016, p.55), the company has its branches throughout the world needs proper coordination among its employees. The use of common English language among the employees reduced the barriers to effective communication. In the case of the public sectors like that of the BERR, the management team is the most important authors that look after the entire working process of all the employees. As opined by Babalola et al. (2018, p.2050), Keeping proper record of the employees and ensuring them stable working conditions are an important task for the management team. The management team plays an effective role in conveying the instruction taken up by the members of primary parties.

Third Parties

The investors and the shareholders of the business belong to the third party. The members of the third party do not influence indirectly towards the decision making of the business but take up initiatives that affect the decision of the company indirectly. The management team of Volkswagen aims to maintain a good relationship with that of the employees to execute the production, sales and management of the business in an organised manner. As stated by Countouris (2016, p.25), the effective execution of the services of the business will help the company to attract more shareholders and investors. The main source of resource for the business like Volkswagen, DCLG and BERR come from the shareholders and investors. It is essential for the business to make the third party members satisfied.

Mechanism of Employee Voice and participation

Employees of the firm are considered to be an important factor in the process of decision making.

Representative participation

The employees with the same dream team up together and forms association and demand for their rights or demands from the higher authorities. As opined by Keynes (2018, p.15), the collective voicing of the employees is effective for the business. The labour union is a common way to voice the demand of the employees in the Volkswagen.

Upwards problem-solving

The upward problem solving included the solving of the employment-related issues by the management team. The management team of Volkswagen keeps the proper record of the employees in an organised manner making sure that there is no issue or confusion in the mind of the people. It has been identified that the issues related to a conflict with the other employees or that with the leave and wage need proper analysis by the management team. The proper understanding of the issue and the situation the management team of Volkswagen take corrective measure to solve the problem without hurting the sentiments of any employees (Volkswagen.ch, 2019).

Conclusion

Hence, it can be concluded that maintaining a proper relationship is essential for the organisation. The business may it private like that of Volkswagen or public like that of the BEER and DIUS needs to maintain an effective relationship with their employees (Gov.uk, 2019). It is important to identify the business needs an efficient actor to motivate the employees to work in the company in a coordinated manner for the execution of the services systematically.

Conclusion

Hence, it can be concluded that the HR team of both private and public sector plays an efficient role in the management of the employees in an organised and coordinated manner. The strategies that are adopted by the management of Volkswagen are the marketing strategies; operational strategies, as well as the sales strategies, are effective. The management team of Volkswagen makes sure that all the members of the company are working in an organised manner in a stable working environment and having a friendly relation with their hierarchies.

References

Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. and Saks, A.M., (2015). Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), pp.7-35.

Babalola, M.T., Stouten, J., Euwema, M.C. and Ovadje, F., (2018). The relation between ethical leadership and workplace conflicts: The mediating role of employee resolution efficacy. Journal of Management, 44(5), pp.2037-2063.

Bailey, C., Mankin, D., Kelliher, C. and Garavan, T., (2018). Strategic human resource management. UK: Oxford University Press.

Beer, M., Boselie, P. and Brewster, C., (2015). Back to the future: Implications for the field of HRM of the multistakeholder perspective proposed 30 years ago. Human Resource Management, 54(3), pp.427-438.

Brewster, C., (2017). The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy. Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Abingdon: Routledge.

Brewster, C., Chung, C. and Sparrow, P., (2016). Globalizing human resource management. Abingdon: Routledge.

Cascio, W.F. and Boudreau, J.W., (2016). The search for global competence: From international HR to talent management. Journal of World Business, 51(1), pp.103-114.

Collings, D.G., Wood, G.T. and Szamosi, L.T., (2018). Human resource management: A critical approach. In Human Resource Management (pp. 1-23).Abingdon: Routledge.

Countouris, N., (2016). The changing law of the employment relationship: comparative analyses in the European context. Abingdon: Routledge.

Demirkesen, S. and Ozorhon, B., (2017). Impact of integration management on construction project management performance. International Journal of Project Management, 35(8), pp.1639-1654.

Eriksson, K., Johanson, J., Majkgård, A. and Sharma, D.D., (2015). Experiential knowledge and cost in the internationalization process. In Knowledge, Networks and Power (pp. 41-63). UK: Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Gov.uk (2019), Department-for-Business-Enterprise-and-Regulatory-Reform Available at /https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-enterprise-and-regulatory-reform [Accessed on 12.2.19]

Gov.uk (2019), Equality Act Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance [Accessed on 12.1.109]

Keynes, J.M., (2018). The general theory of employment, interest, and money. Berlin: Springer.

Mittal, V., (2016). Avoiding the Trap of Spurious Loyalty: Lessons from Wells Fargo and Volkswagen.

Morozova, M.V., Kust, T.S., Sokolova, E.Y., Osipova, S.I., Gafurova, N.V., Vaganova, V.I., Ovchinnikov, V.A. and Agavelyan, R.O., (2016). The management of youth employment in a lifelong engineering education system. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6(2S), pp.247-252.

Uysal, G., (2016). Theory and professionals: Impact of HRM on the economy. Uysal, G.(2016). Theory and Professionals: Impact of HRM on Economy. Journal of Modern Accounting an Auditing, 12(8), pp.443-446.

Volkswagen.ch (2019) Volkswagen Available at https://www.volkswagen.ch/de.html [Accessed on 12.2.19]

Appendices

Appendix 1: 8 Box Model

(Source: https://omc5825sv9k3qyi3q2ord7gk-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Standard-Causaul-Model-for-Human-Resources.png)

Appendix 2: PESTEL

(Source: https://l.imgt.es/resource-preview-imgs/05e6492d-bf4e-4908-b364-4622d85da8ac%2Fimages.crop_244x183_16%2C0.preview.jpg?profile=max500x190)

Looking for best Human Resource Assignment Help. Whatsapp us at +16469488918 or chat with our chat representative showing on lower right corner or order from here. You can also take help from our Live Assignment helper for any exam or live assignment related assi