Multinational Enterprise Tesco and the Interventions in Tackling War for Talents - Case Study Example

Insert university’s name} Multinational enterprise Tesco and the interventions in tackling war for talents Module leader Student name: ………………………………. Student ID: ……………………………………. Module: HRM Word count: 2504 Date due: January 9th, 2011 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Definition of terms 3 Multinational enterprises 3 Main discussion 3 Background information on Tesco 3 Tesco’s war for talents 4 Tesco international structure 4 Interventions employed by Tesco Company 5 Improvement of the corporate image 6 Recruitment and development 8 Indirect and direct intervention 9 Conclusion 10 List of references 12 Introduction Definition of terms In order to have a better understanding of this particular essay, it is important to define core terms used: War for talents: This is the drive to retain, develop and find individuals who have not only commitments but also competencies required for various jobs in addition to locating individuals who can get both purpose and meaning in their work for particular organizations (Anonymous, 2003, p. 25). Multinational enterprises According to Poulter (2005, p. 77) multinational enterprises are those firms which either controls or carry out business functions in two or more countries. Main discussion Background information on Tesco Tesco is a general merchandise and grocery company that operates on a global perspective and has its headquarters at Cheshunt in United Kingdom. Apart from Wal-Mart and Carrefour, Tesco is ranked as third largest retail company in the world. In addition to that, it is the leading grocery shop in the United Kingdom with approximately 14 other stores in regions such as North America, Europe and Asia. According to Poulter (2005, p. 71) Tesco was established in 1919 not as a retail shop but as a market stalls group. The founder of one of the largest company in the world is Sir Jack Cohen. However, the company’s name gained came to be known in 1924 as a result of Cohen purchasing tea shipment from a company called T.E. Stockwell after which he took the two initials of the name and combined it with of the first two letters of his second name and as a result he came up with the name of the company as TESCO. Tesco’s war for talents As a result of increased globalization, the current economy of the world has expanded greatly making companies to change their human resources strategies and Tesco has not been an exception. Nonetheless, according to Beardwell, et al, (2004, p. 61) it can be argued that the existing global environment has not only altered the manner in which business is carried out but also caused changes in human resources strategies employed by companies, the element of globalization in addition to the existing supply and demand gap. This is because of the need to compete with other organization for effective human resources and defining the role of every employee without creating conflict of interest in doing so. The strategies are further employed so that companies can easily be successful in war for talents (Rogers, 2004, p.12). Tesco international structure In regard to the international structure of Tesco, the company applies strategic business unit in all of its stores across the globe. This is done with an aim of increasing the extent of competition in the existing market. Poulter (2005, p. 34) argues that strategic business unit entails scope, size, services or product types, brand image, strategic foundation, geographical market and financial targets of a company. According to Harrison (2002, p. 31) Tesco as a company functions on a global perspective using strategic business units. These strategic business units are four with the core one being in the UK which is responsible for the operations of the grocery within the region. Then there is also the international unit which is responsible for taking care of all international holdings. In addition to that there is the non-food as a strategic business unit which is responsible for sales of home goods, electronics and other products which are not food. Lastly, there is the retailing service as the strategic business unit and it is responsible for the management of all the financial services of Tesco, its website and telecommunication services (Tesco, 2008). Tesco (2008) points out that the international group of the company functions in approximately 11 markets as a result of the company gaining entrance in the American market (Hawkins, 2004, p.14). The company has approximately 100 employees who serves approximately 15 million clients in all of its market thus making it necessary for the company to find ways of retaining its employees in addition to have their jobs being clearly outlined to them to increase efficiency and serve in the war for talents on a global perspective (Reid & Barrington,1997, p.78). The aforementioned international strategic business units employed by Tesco entails elements such as flexibility and domestic operations which include cultures, supply chains, people, process and customers among other aspects (Harrison, 2002, p. 21). Interventions employed by Tesco Company Harrison (2002, p. 67) points out that recent studies have indicated that all companies operating on an international perspective need to put into consideration three types of international human resource management activities in order to retain the employees in the global competitive market. The aforementioned sets include employing right strategies to attract right people, retaining the existing workforce in addition to ensuring that the existing workforce is developed and hence represent the element of successful handling of all the international operations in line with the global war for talents (Harrison 2002, p. 51). Improvement of the corporate image Tesco Company for a long time has had in place a good corporate image. According to Anonymous (2003, p. 25) the corporate culture of the company is one of the strategies employed by companies in determining their successes or failures. This is due to the fact that the corporate culture or image is responsible for determining the degree of flexibility, acceptability of change and company’s innovation and thus enable companies to successfully win war for talents on a global perspective. In regard to this Harrison (2002, p. 111) came up with a corporate model which is four layered. The model included core ideologies, cultural history, core values and cultural artifacts which assist in describing and quantifying the corporate cultures of organizations and Tesco is not an exception. Therefore, the corporate culture of Tesco company can be describe using statements drawn from its corporate responsibilities which clearly gives description of its key values, important ideologies in addition to elements of cultural artifacts. One of the interventions employed by Tesco is to improve its corporate image on a global perspective. Based on the study carried out by Harrison (2002, p. 113) existing and future employees view the reputation of a company as one of the core reason why the company is in a position to retain their employees for considerably long period of time (Anonymous, 2003, p. 45). A number of studies have highlighted a number of factors which impact on a company’s reputation. The studies have not only focused on analyzing the influential factors on organizational level but also at personal level that have effect on the potential applicants to most of the multinational enterprises (Harrison, 2002, p.78) Due to the fact that Tesco is a representation of a large company that have a stable financial status in addition to dealing in different types of products, the organization level of this particular company can be regarded as negligible (Rogers, 2004, p.56). Nonetheless, contrasting with the other competing companies, at the individual level Tesco needs to improve aspects such as individual cooperation with the fellow workers, enjoying work and availability of them advancing their chances so that it can retain, attract and develop its workforce. Moreover, according to a research carried out by Harrison (2002, p. 39) on Tesco company, there is visibility of problems existing at the individual level. According to if there are elements whereby individuals feel that they are not stimulated, not involved in important decision making processes, feel that they are overworked, then the corporate culture of the company need to be redefined. Hence due to the fact that the aforementioned elements are evident in the strategic management of Tesco company there is need for the company to fix its existing corporate culture before the company employs the same as a tool for attracting employees and developing and retaining the existing ones (Paauwe & Boselie, 2003, p.41). Therefore, in regard to the outlined elements, it is not only the future applicants, who will be negatively impacted on by corporate image of the company but also a decline in employees’ motivation in addition to lack of engagement. According to Poulter (2005, p. 77) engagement of employees is likely to impact positively on the employees’ attitude towards the company. Moreover, Harrison (2002, p. 45) added that both the relationship and the corporate image plays a crucial role in organizations that intellectual capital is a crucial part of the competitive advantage of the company. In addition to that, it is important to point out that Tesco’s human resource managers no longer depend on current attractiveness but rather concentrates on enhancing not only their corporate image but also perception of the same (Hawkins, 1994, p. 51). Hence, the recommended actions that should be undertaken by the company in realizing the same include: enhancing the existing image brands, making strong the relations between and with the employees, and defining a corporate image for the company (Harrison, 2002, p. 90). Nonetheless, it is essential to mention elements of criticism at this stage of discussion. One of the criticisms is that aspects of human resource management are limited to certain activities when it comes to aspects of corporate image. Additionally, the same always rely on achievements of other departments. For instance, advertisement for new vacancies within the company in addition to films portraying corporate image are one of the recommendable steps that companies such as Tesco should adopt (Poulter, 2005, p. 77). However, high the success of the same highly depends on departments such as marketing. Nonetheless, due to the fact that corporate image cannot win war for talents for Tesco company if It does not work hand in hand with other factors it is essential that the company consider other factors. Hence in the preceding paragraphs other important interventions are discussed. Recruitment and development Apart from the corporate image of Tesco, recruitment and development is another essential intervention that plays an important role in determining a company’s successful retention of talents. According to Harrison (2002, p. 77) employees disengagement in addition to high rate turnover has proven to be very expensive for companies. Therefore, in order to address the aforementioned problems Keep (1989, p. 34) suggests that there is need for companies to come up with recruitment and development principles that comprise of employees engagement in conversions that involve organizations goals and visions. Moreover, the company should carry out stay interviews by offering people with the opportunity not only to grow but also stretch their talents as the company continues to grow. Hence the human resource managers of Tesco Company should aim at implementing a number of recruitment and development programs. In line with this Poulter (2005, p. 54) points out that companies should emphasize on putting in place internal opportunities for the purpose of employee development. Consequently, the development actions may be made up of individualized seminars, master programs in addition to mutual career development with Tesco Company. Consequently, increased employee dedication, reduced turnover, and increased knowledge is likely to result into positive results in the war of talents (Rogers, 2004, p. 13). Additionally, the aforementioned should only be used in an organizational environment that is attractive in nature. This includes take into consideration actions such as improving the working environment within Tesco Company and putting in place elements of social support (Nixon, 2004, p. 118). Finally, recruitment and development within the Tesco Company is likely to result into ability of the organization not only to attract but also to motivate and retain employees (Poulter, 2005, p. 77). Indirect and direct intervention Another essential intervention tool to tackle the war for talents is altering the compensation policy of the Tesco Company. Due to the fact that there is need for the company to retain its talented workforce and at the same time manage the cost, it is important that the company adapts an effective reward system (Nixon, 2004, p. 16). Moreover, Tesco Company can easily put in place a compensation policy that is based on three major building blocks: this include segregation of the workforce and customers segmentation in order to ensure maximum use of the existing resources in order to ensure efficiency of the business. In regard to this, it is important for Tesco to put in place indirect and direct incentive programs for its employees (Poulter , 2005, p. 77). However, drawn from the operational perspective, excellent working environment, work life that is balanced in nature is likely to motivate employees and prevent boredom. Nevertheless, it is essential to provide some criticism in regard to the same. According to Paauwe & Boselie (2003, P. 112) when it comes to the aspect of compensation, it is essential for a company to embrace innovation as competing companies can easily adapt the same. In this particular essay it is clear that the intervention program focus on attracting, retaining and developing new employees. Conclusion The ongoing elements of demographic alterations, globalization and supply-demand gap have impacted on the modern human resource management of Tesco Company. One of the aspects tackled by the company is on the global war for talents that most companies experience in the 21st century (Paauwe & Boselie, 2003. P. 112). Therefore, for Tesco for successfully retain, attract and develop workers talent it need to put in place talent management program. However, the company concentrating in improving its corporate image is one of the essential interventions programs that the company should put in place to attract, retains and develop its working force. This is due to the fact that the reputation of the company is important in not only attracting but also retaining human resources within Tesco Company (Rogers, 2004, p. 117). This is because company’s reputation an essential impact on the current and the future employees of the company and this will assist Tesco Company to be ahead of its competitors. As a result of this, it is the key intervention policy for Tesco Company. Nonetheless the human resource management of Tesco Company relies on other departments in addition to upgrading the corporate image of the company (Nixon, 2004, p. 56). Another essential intervention program discussed in the essay is the need to improve recruitment and development in order to attract and retain existing workforce. Thus, the company providing elements of development and recruitment such as providing further training and enabling its workforce to further their education (Guest, 1999, p. 37). Lastly, it is essential for the Tesco Company to improve their compensation policy on the basis of direct and indirect compensation can assist Tesco Company to successfully handle the war of talents on a global perspective. Nonetheless, this particular intervention policy can be easily copied and adapted by other competing companies (Anonymous, 2003, p. 45) From the aforementioned intervention elements, it can be concluded that, there is likelihood of Tesco Company having a greater hand in war for talents as compared to other companies operating in the same line of production (Garrick, 1999, p. 17). Nonetheless, it is important to note that talent management can be considered as a war in which no particular company can win and own. List of references Anonymous (2003). Human resources deliver Tesco’s bright Future Human Resource Management International Digest, Bradford: Jul/Aug 2003 Vol.7, Iss. 4 Beardwell, I. et al, (2004) (4th Edition) Human Resource Management a Contemporary Approach. Prentice Hall, Harlow. Garrick (1999). Informal Learning in the Workplace: unmasking human resource development, Routledge Press, London. Guest, D (1999). Human Resource Management–The Workers’ Verdict Human Resource Management Journal, London, 1999.Vol.9, Iss. 3; Harrison, R (2002). (3rd Edition). Learning and Development: CIPD Publishing, London Hawkins, P. (1994), The changing view of learning in Burgoyne, J., Pedler, M. and Boydell, T., Towards the Learning Company: Concepts and Practices, McGraw Hill, London. Keep, E. (1989). Corporate training: the vital component?’ New Perspectives on Human Resource Management, Routledge Press. London. Nixon, B. (2004). Creating a cultural revolution: the 21st century challenge for HRD Training Journal, Ely: Oct 2004 Paauwe, J & Boselie, P. (2003) Challenging ‘Strategic HRM’ And The Relevance Of The Institutional Setting. Human Resource Management Journal 2003.Vol.13, Poulter, S. (2005). 2billion Tesco, Daily Mail. London (UK): Apr 13th 2005 Reid, M. and Barrington, H. (1997). (5th edition) Training Interventions: Managing Employee Development IPD Publishing, London. Rogers, S. (2004). Power To The People Managers People Management, London: Sep 2004. Vol. 10 Read More