Managing Human Resources in J.Sainsbury - Case Study Example

MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES IN J. SAINSBURY Introduction Human Resource department has increasingly gained recognition as one of the most important department in the operation of any organization. It has been given the sole duty of dealing with the welfare of the employees in an organization. Therefore it acts as link between the organization workforce and the management. Employees become one of the most important assets of an organization. Having a qualified and competitive workforce can help and organization cut an edge in the market. They help an organization to form a competitive edge in which may be difficult for competitors to have. Therefore the function of the human resource department then becomes central to the operation of any organization. The department is given the role of hiring, supervising and organizing training and development of the workforce. Therefore it is important to the management and development of the workforce. (Beer, 1995) In order to function properly, human resource department comes with particular policies and strategic plans that act as guidelines on how the organization is going to function. These policies and guidelines helps the organization to function properly in light of various workforce need for the organization. In order to ensure that these polices meets the needs for the organization and of the workforce, strategic human resource management (SHRM) has become the cornerstone for planning any human resource activities in an organization. Therefore SHRM has become the central focus to the operation of the human resource. SHRM implies the organized way in which the human resource department and in this case the whole organization comes up with strategies to manage the workforce. It involves taking into consideration a number of perspectives which are important of the operation of the department as a whole. Departing from the earlier HRM practices, SHRM integrates new ways of dealing with issue like selection, training, appraisal and reward which in general reflects the functions for the HR department. The plan that is put forward by the HR department is also implied in the whole organization and it is adopted in the overall growth strategy. It is a broader perspective of the HR department and its functions. (Truss, 2004) Background of Sainsbury J. Sainsbury plc. is one of the leading food retail in the UK and has been able to establish interest in non-food and financial services. It was established in 1869 by John James and Mary Ann Sainsubring and it has been declared Britain longest standing major food retailing chain. It was established with a mission for making the company the first choice for consumers for quality goods, delivering of products and outstanding qualities which are cost effective. The shareholding is a mixed of individual with 42% shares, Bank and nominees with 56% and insurance companies with 2% of the shares. The group is made up of service chain supermarket called Sainsbury's supermarket, Bells stores, Jacksons Stores, and Sainsbury Banks. The corporation employs more the 145,000 people in all its operations. The company has been in the market for along time and has built a business empire based on its principle of ensuring that they give their customers the best butter in the world and at the affordable price. It has aimed at cutting in niche in the market by becoming the leading consumer first choice for food, delivering of outstanding quality products at the most competitive price in the market. The company has been taking various steps towards ensuring that it satisfies its customers in terms of meeting their demands through delivery of high quality goods and through ensuring that it pays attention to the matters of the environment. The company is best known for various productions in the market. Sainsbury has been know not only as a leading supermarket retailers in the UK but is also knows for other holdings. It operates Shaw's supermarkets Inc, Sainsbury Bank, J Sainsbury Developments Ltd, and Sainsbury's Property Company apart from operating the supermarkets chains. Therefore its main area of specialization is in supermarket and grocery goods, retailing banking services, and retail development services. The company has a strong believe in brands that gives the consumer value for their money. Therefore it has been concentrating on giving consumer quality products which matches the value for their money. However it has integrated brand from other companies in its retail stores. SHRM at Sainsbury In light of the human resource management in the company there have been various strategies that have been taken into consideration in dealing with the problems of managing the workforce. The company has come up with a plan that is well integrated in its overall growth strategy which is aimed at improving the functioning of the workforce. In this regard the management for the workforce in the company has been taken as an overall function of the whole company and therefore any strategy that is taken is made in the light of ensuring optimal performance of the workforce. The company has a large workforce of more that 145,000 people. This includes 60% who are part-time and 40% who are full time employees. It has been able to respond to the gender needs of the workforce since more that 62% of the workforces are women. The company has tried to integrate various perspectives of SHRM in its overall growth strategy and in the management of the workforce. Starting from recruiting to the way it carries out training and development, the company has been taking into consideration importance of the workforce in the overall operation. (Sainsbury, 2008b) In recruiting the workforce, the company ensures that it plays the rule of an equal opportunity employer. In this case it ensures that it has put in place a recruitment strategy that targets the competent workforce in the market. The company has a policy in place that ensures that there is need to have a range of employees in its workforce who act as the representatives of the wider community. In the recruitment the company has put in place an Equality and Diversity Policy which ensure that there is provision of employment opportunity for all people. In this case the company has put in place a sterling group which is led the Board Director in advising the HR department about its employment policy. The company is credit with having played a crucial role in the Business in the community Race for Opportunity survey which was conducted in 2001. In reinforcing the issue of equality, the company has put in place the Employer Forum on Disability. Under this forum the company has been providing employment opportunities and other support services including Learning Consortium which are all aimed at helping talented but disabled people to move to higher levels of management. (Sainsbury, 2008d) In order to have a competitive workforce the company has been carrying out various strategies which are all aimed at motivating the employees. The save-as-you-earn scheme that has been availed for all supermarket staff gives the employees a chance to have a share in the company. The employees are offered shares fro the company at a 20% discount. The company has also put in place the profit sharing scheme which allows the employee to have shares or cash. About 50% of the company shares are owned by the staffs who are currently working in the company or who have retirement from the company. This ensures that employee work for the company like if it is their own entity. Under a staff discount scheme that has been put in place in the company, employee are entitle to a 10% discount on the products that they buy from the company. This ensures that they are the first customers of choice for the company. For those employees who have worked for a long time in the company, they are usually awarded for the service they have given to the company. In order o motivate them further the company has put in place a performance-related pay and bonus scheme which is advance for the middle and senior managers. The company has emphasized on the importance of having good relationship between the managers and the employees. In this case line managers relate well with the workers and they give most of their time to service and direct the employees. Flexibility model SHRM is all labor flexibility. It is all about how an organization can be able to adapt to the changing work place need. In the course of human resource management we have already indicated that a strategic plan is the most important tool that is put in place in order to enhance good management of the workforce. A strategic plan just acts as a guideline but it doest not give the outcome for the process. It is a road map to help an organization achieve the desired outcome. In the course of carrying out the plan there is a probability that there will be a drift on the way. There is always a possibility for draft in strategy which comes due to the changes that are taking place in and outside the organization. (Marlow, 2006) That is the reason why organization needs to come up with strategic model through which they can be able to monitor changes that are taking place and find an appropriate way to go around these changes. This means that there is need to have a degree of flexibility in the HR strategies that are being implemented by the organization. The flexibility model in an organization is geared towards ensuring that the energies in the organist are directed towards encouraging risk taking, flexibility, communication, empowerment of individual and groups and putting in place other attitudes and behaving which enables the department to function as required. This means that there has to be a room that will enable the adoption or changing of the existing strategies as they are being implemented. Flexibility model in the SHRM practice is beneficial not only to the human resource department but it also helps the organization to create a flexibility workplace culture. Studies that have been carried out shows that creation of flexible workplace has been linked with decrease in work-related impairment and on the overall it has shown improved job committed in the long range strategies. It has been shown to be a good business that has been helping organist to come up with proper strategies that helps them to service the changes that are taking place in the global environment. Flexibility model involves putting in place mechanisms that ensure that the organization will be able to adapt to the changing environment in all the SHRM practices. This is reflected in practices like putting in place flexed time and part time options for the workforce, putting in place flexible dealing in the work, flexibility employment schemes and other practices. (Legge, 1995) Sainsbury has been able to put in place various models that are geared towards ensuring that there is flexible working atmosphere in the workplace. This has been reflected in it overall human resource strategy and also in its growth strategy. The company has adopted the model of flexibility in its entirety and has integrated it well in the growth strategy. This has been reflected by a number of policies that the company has put in place. The HR department in the company has come up with different flexible working model. As we stated above the company has full time and part time employee. In the course of the employment the company provides employees with flexible way of employment as one can change from full time to part-time in case there is space for the change. This flexibility is upheld with the notion that the company avoids losing the experienced workforce that it has nurture for more years for the reason that one wants to have flexible working hours. The company has also provided employees with flexible contract for the retail employees. In this case employees are allowed to sign contracts which are subject of renewal to the will of the workforce. In case one wants to renew the contract under new terms, there is usually a place for negotiation. The company has also come up with flexibly home working plan especially for the skilled employees like the accountant who can go with their workload and work at home. In this regard the company has been providing employees with all the required equipment in order to make it efficient e.g. personal laptops. The company also has put in place enhanced maternity leave to its women workforce. With the largest percentage of is workforce composed of females, the company has found it necessary to ensure that it provide paid maternity leave for them. It has also put in place paternity leave in order to give men a time to take care of their wives. It also has special leaves which are meant for personal development of for caring responsibilities. This flexibility has been advantageous to the workforce due to the fact they have found more freedom in the workplace. They have been able to work fro the organizing with a higher degree of freedom and flexibility. For the organization it has helped the human resource department to retain the best workforce in the company. It has also helped to improve the relationship between employees and the organization. But on the other hand it has a negative implication on the budget of the organization as it h as been spending more in enhancing this flexibility. Policy of equal opportunity employment One of the most important policy that have been considered in the recruitment exercises for the organization sit has been the issue of equal opportunity for all the workforce. In this case the organization has been upholding the policy of provision of employment for all people regardless of other gender, age, race, disability, and other factors that have been used in perpetrating discriminating in the work place. With 62% of the workforce being women, the organization has really upheld the principle of providing equal employment opportunity for all people. The company policy on employment has been based on commitment to provide workplaces in which al staff are valued, respected and are able to contribute to the company. It has been looking at employing a workforce that recognizes the diversity for the customers and the fellow workers as well. It is through the above policies that the company understands that all the employees can work without fear of dissemination, harassment or any other form of bullying. All the workers, job applicant, customers and suppliers have to be treaded fairly regardless to there race, colors nationality or ethic background. They should not be discrimination based on any from of religious belief, sexual orientation, infection with HIV/Aids, membership or non membership to any trade unions, age, differing pattern of work like part time or full time and other factors. The company has put up this equal employment policy with the steering board which is led a Board of Director given the mandate to oversee the upholding of the policy. (Sainsbury, 2008c) The above policy has been formulated in light with various legislations that has been put in place in the UK and other countries. It has been based on legislation like equal pay Act, Ant Discrimination Act, Disability Act, and others. Since the policies of the company are based on these acts, a change in the act would also lead to a change in the policies of the company. Human Resource Practices There are various human resource practices in the company which are all aimed at ensureing that the company become more responsive to the needs for the workforce. In this case these can be considered as routine practices which pertain to the operation of the human resource department. On performance management, has put in place performance related management. The employees are therefore paid based on what they have performed. The company has also bee putting in place various activities which are aimed at motivate the workforce. For example the save-as-you-earn scheme for the supermarket staff gives the employees a chance to have a share in the company. The employees are offered shares fro the company at a 20% discount. (Sainsbury, 2008a) The company has also put in place the profit sharing scheme which allows the employee to have shares or cash. About 50% of the company shares are owned by the current and former staff of the company. Under a staff discount scheme that has been put in place in the company, employee are entitle to a 10% discount on the products that they buy from the company. This ensures that they are the first customers of choice for the company. For those employees who have worked for a long time in the company, they are usually awarded for the service they have given to the company. In order to enhance health and safety for the workforce, the company has been putting in place various measure that are aimed at ensuring there is minimization of risk of injury and disease in the work place. The company has been providing working equipments to minimize the risks of harm in the workplace. It has also hang evacuation procedures on the wall in case of fires. From time to time, the company has been carrying out test trials on evacuation in events of fires or any other danger. The human resource department has been taking measure to ensure that the welfare of the employees is looked after. There are representative of employees from various departments in the organization who acts as the main link between the workforce and the human resource department. The employees are given the permission to join trade unions if they want. Effect of globalization on human resource planning in the organization One of the most recent factors that have been influencing the planning of human resource policies in many organizations has been the wave of globalization that has been taking place in the world. In this sense there has been an increased standardized world practice on human resource practices which has influenced the way organization plan their human resource practices. In particular there has been the globalization of human resource practices all over the world. The organization has been putting in place measures that are aimed at ensuring that it responds to the issue of globalization of human resources practices as they have been emerging. In this regard, the organization has been modifying its policies, plans and approaches to various issue of human resource management. For example, the increase demand for equal gender representing in the workplace has seen the organization increase more women in its workforce. This has been one of the trends that have been taking place in the market. There has also been in issues of increased diversity in the workplace. There has been increase movement of labor and capital across borders. Increase globalization has been reflected in polarisziotn of the labor market culture due to increase movement of people from one place to the other. In order to ensure that there is cohesion in the workforce, the organization has put in place measures which are aimed at ensuring that there is management of diversity in the workplace. In the recruitment the organization has been upholding the same policy of employee diverse culture in order to serve diverse nature of customer. (Fombrun and Devanna, 1994) Therefore the organization has been taking steps that are aimed at responding more to the global demand in the workforce. With the company having opened its wings and now operating in many countries outside the UK, it ahs not other options rather than embrace the diverse nature of het market in its workforce. References Beer, M. (1995). Humans Resource management. New York: Free Press Fombrun, C. J. & Devanna, M. (1994). Strategic Human Resource Management. New York: Wiley Legge, K. (1995). Human Resource management: Rhetoric and Realities. Basingtoke: Macmillan Marlow, S. (2006). Human Resource management Review. Harvard Business School Sainsbury, (2008a), How are employee motivated' Retrieved from http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/sainsbury/sains17.htmon 21st May 2008 Sainsbury, (2008b), How Large is their workforce and how is it structured' Retrieved from http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/sainsbury/sains16.htmon 21st May 2008 Sainsbury, (2008c), Do they have equal opportunity policy' Retrieved from http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/sainsbury/sains15.htm on 21st May 2008 Sainsbury, (2008d), What sort of people work for them firm' Retrieved from http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/sainsbury/sains14.htm on 21st May 2008 Truss, C. (2004). Strategic Human Resource management. Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 5 Read More