How Good Recruitment Practises Help the Organisation In Achieving a Competitive Advantage - Essay Example

?Introduction: Human Resource is a part of an organization that is highly involved in all the decisions made by all different departments of a company. A company's strong point is built upon the eminence of its employees. In isolation, HR is in performance and has become increasingly important in businesses today. The growing significance of attracting and retaining the utmost quality of employees is confirmed by the fact that HR has taken over important roles in the companies. Unsurprisingly, for such a forceful discipline, HR is progressing and being at the front position of these changes. Many firms are choosing to contract out parts of their HR department, though there is some apprehension at outsourcing such an interior function. Several large businesses are leading the way nonetheless, and have by now chosen this alternative. Though business practices and viewpoints undoubtedly change over time, the substance of the human resources function shows no sign of retreating. In an atmosphere where brilliant people are seen as the key to victory in business, their booming management and withholding will always be a pinnacle priority. The HR department can only maintain the best employees if it is crammed with quality people.  Clearly defined role of Human Resources in Recruitment process is very imperative for determining the accomplishment of the whole Recruitment Process. Taken as a whole, setting of the HR role in recruitment is straightforwardly connected to Recruitment Strategy and HR Strategy. The role of HR in Recruitment is very essential, as HRM works on the expansion of the employment process and makes the procedure organized for action on the market. As the job market gets largely competitive, the clearly distinct HR Role in Recruitment will be mounting speedily. HRM is not a job to demeanor all the interviews today; the main role of Human Resources, however, is to make the enrollment process more striking and competitive on the employment market. For this research, McDonald’s has been chosen as the subject for analysis. McDonald’s is the biggest food service company in the world. In 1993, twelve-monthly sales stood at 23 billion dollars. It is also one of the leading employers in the United States, with over half a million workers. The business has roughly 10,000 locations, which consist of the typical sit-in restaurants, drive through windows, and outpost sites. McDonald's supremacy in the fast-food industry is not expected to evaporate anytime soon. The Company is expanding ad infinitum, as in December 2000, McDonald’s and its franchises functioned over 28,700 restaurants wide reaching in 120 countries and terrain, serving food and drab to over 45 million citizens on a daily basis.  Literature Review As per the article ‘Recruitment and Selection’ (2010), it can be said that the recruitment and selection belongs to value added HR processes. The staffing is about the capability of the organization to resource new employees, keep the business in commission, and improve the superiority of the human capital working in the company. The excellence of the recruitment process is the most important driver for the contentment of managers with the services provided by Human Resources Department. The article states that the recruitment is a costly HR Process and it eats a fat percentage of the HR budget. Recruitment is a process of taking into service the outlay of hiring. The competitive HR administration always starts with the competitive enrollment process. The organization builds the competitive advantage with its human resources. The recruitment procedure has to settle on the best sources on the occupation market. The HR recruiters have to make use of the recruitment sources, and the manager has to make the correct and immediate hiring decisions. This is a necessary set-up of the ready-for-action recruitment method. In the world of globalization and liberated market, businesses are facing ever-increasing rivalry and consequently questions on how to guarantee continued existence and cutthroat competitive advantage. In meeting the peripheral pressures, actions such as mergers, strategic alliances, acquisitions, downsizing, and streamlining are widespread responses. Concisely, the fundamental part of these retorts constitutes the idea of using human resources (HR) more efficiently. According to Lengnick-Hall and Lengnick-Hall (1990), the perception of achieving competitive advantage through HRM is based on the underlying principle that competitive advantage is the real meaning of competitive approach. It takes in HR capabilities, resources, and decisions that authorize an organization to take advantage of an opportunity in the market place, and to avoid threats. Attracting and retaining individuals with the cleverness related to the central part competencies of the society are key HR behavior unswervingly applicable to organizational competence. A strategic HRM approach normally contains two core elements, which often crop up concurrently in organizations (Beer et al.1984; Brewster and Larsen, 1992; Budhwar, 2000). These rudiments are the deliberate integration of HRM facilitators of information sharing with the organizations’ trade policy, and the fruition of accountability for implementing HRM policies to line managers. When an organization’s business strategy gives emphasis to get the most out of the input of people through the use of soaring performance HRM practices (Huselid, 1995; Boxall and Purcell, 2000), the incorporation of HRM with planned scheduling is likely to result in the employees’ signifying higher levels of proficiency, dedication, and suppleness in the workplace (Guest, 1987; 1998). The topic of research focuses on recruitment practices in McDonalds. As explained by the CEO of McDonald on their website under the section “Our CSR Policy”, recruitment and selection symbolize activities that inspire human resource organization. The control they have on the entire organization is crucial because the profit can boost if it is performed through proficient criteria. At the same time, money can diminish when attention towards an imperative aspect is lost, and settling the right person in the right place requires deep-seated principles, which sway the progress of the organization in an affirmative way. According to Roberts (1999) recruitment and selection of staff proper to the current and future needs of the business is a significant winner factor, as usually the staff can and do make or break the organization, and hence it is essential for any organization’s development. The aim of employment and selection is to attain workers at a minimum cost, considering the rank and superiority of employees compulsory to satisfy the human resources needs of the business (Armstrong, 1996; Roberts, 1999); however the organization will not succeed if competent and willing people are not brought to the creation of such a construction. The same phenomenon is practiced at McDonalds across the world. The article ‘Recruitment and Selection at McDonalds’ (2011) talks about the time McDonald’s had a terrible reputation on the subject of career opportunities it presented, but today it is faced with the issue of refining people’s opinion towards employment. At McDonald’s the employment is based on entry-level positions, in particular for workers that have worked before in restaurants; accordingly, most of the people who are operational at McDonald’s for a long span of time will be encouraged to be recruited on a higher level. A candidate that comes from outside the organization is unlikely to be recruited at an administration position, because McDonald’s policies and training programs anticipate recruiting and hiring its own people. Normally students see McDonald’s as an employment chance because they can work in their spare time after graduation, and continue to work their way up in the company with compensation such as understanding and information. The employees could reach the manager level or even further than this position. The starting point in trying to opt for new employees or reshuffle employees inside of the organization consists of reviewing the underway work situation. This calls for an absolute insight of all the positions in the organization and a level of the employees’ presentation’s evaluation. The recruitment process at McDonalds To recruit first-class applicants, McDonald’s mulls over the understanding, dexterity, requirements and other personal uniqueness that is required for a position. In the job description, all these are specified in advance and the hard work of the organization is targeted to the selection of suitable candidates. In that way, the chances for an effectual staffing are notably elevated. The job description and candidate specifications trigger the service advert. When writing recruitment ads, the subdivision of human resources at McDonald’s determine the position features in a way that can be a magnet for potential candidates. The framework of the employment ad includes some steps such as: representing the organization with its plans and activities in the form of concise references; providing passable job information; delineation of detailed skills, facts, ability and individual personality the job holder must possess; stating the main terms and circumstances of service; spelling out how and to whom employ applications should be submitted. A big dependability in employees’ assortment process is carried out by the human resources management department because there are a few steps in the collection process such as preface interview, selection tests, employment interview, orientation and background analysis, corporeal examination, job offer and service contract that are to dealt with by the HR. To be part of the organization’s environment, the candidates can decide to either submit an application online on the McDonald’s website or go in person to the company and hand in the CV. When applying online for a job the candidate needs to record and have an explanation in order to fill some steps as individual information, learning, experience, employment account, availability, references and additional information. S/he has to answer some questions regarding traits and some edgy circumstances s/he may deal with at work; thus McDonald’s finds out few more details about the applicant. (Recruitment and Selection, 2011) If the conclusion of the application form is affirmative, the recruiter for an interview will invite the candidate with the manager. At the same time, the candidate’s references are checked at the source such as the preceding employers. The manager has to persuade himself about the trustworthiness of the information written in the candidate’s CV and request form, and conducts an intact set of questions regarding studies, education, and know-how. The applicant needs to make an impact on the manager with his outlook and optimistic view on things. As a last level of selection process, the candidate has to answer an online factual examination regarding the cooking safety and cleanliness. If s/he passes the online assessment, it is asked of them to sign the contract. Human resources department at McDonald's has acknowledged that the 90-day employee turnover rate was 40 to 45 percent in 2004 down from 50 percent in 2001. The overall staff turnover rate also went down from 150 percent in 2003 to 90 percent in 2004 (Wright, McMahan, 1992). Moscoso (2000) claims that job understanding or job information may be a probable reasonable variable of the selection methods. So is the case of McDonald’s recruitment process in which the candidates with good quality knowledge or long-term practice in a particular work react auspiciously to prearranged interviews because they are better equipped for such a method, hence, giving McDonald a competitive edge over others. Kroeck and Magnusen (1997) examined the candidates and the interviewer feedback towards videoconference job interviews and found a strong preference for methods about confronting each other in meetings sided by the candidate and recruiter, which is yet another factor contributing to the competitiveness of the restaurant. Gilliland (1993) and Schmitt and Gililliland (1992) highlight the task played by the insight of impartiality in the applicant manner and concluded that thoughts of inequality lead to downbeat attitudes towards the collection process. Ployhart and Ryan (1998) have conducted a laboratory mock-up to look into the applicants’ sensitivity of fairness. The data collected gives an idea about that the result of selection as a determinant of discernment of fairness. In other words a consequence that is favorable to the candidates is recognized as reasonable and sound, while an unfavorable result or handling is perceived as unmerited. Therefore, the impression of fairness or unfairness is strongly interrelated with individual interests. As for this factor, McDonalds is one of the leading restaurants in the world; and it clearly shows that McDonalds has very fair recruitment practices making it competitive and cutthroat. The data about employee application is collected through questionnaires and a source of secondary data, further divided into internal source and external source. Internal Data resource includes both HR strategy and Company Statistics, and External Data resource includes collection of data through online journals and other official sources and records. All data is then analyzed by using MS Excel as it gives a competitive advantage of time. Later on this data is interpreted through different kinds of tables, graphs, figures, diagrams and charts. HR polices are one of the most confidential strategies of a business that can make or break a firm. It was an impossible task to take charge of the recruitment and selection process of McDonald’s due to its confidentiality and inaccessibility (Wherther, Devis, 2004). Research Findings, Data Analysis and Discussion: A human resource management (HRM) department with information and communication technology (ICTs) is meaning to strengthen a significantly evident concept, frequently referred to as e-HRM. Computerizing HR tasks and practices is converting the conventional manual HR tasks, into competent, fast-response activities that allow the company to anticipate and proceed from ecological shifts to generate a much required competitive advantage (Marler, 2006; Watson Wyatt, 2002).  Research has inspected the connection between human resource management (HRM) and SCM presentation. Evidence points out that the progression of SCM resulted from the incorporation of developed and marketing processes. Such integration has focused performance dimension of SCM practices first and foremost on McDonald’s operational issues, such as reserve competence and cost reduction, and advertising issues, such as client service. The characteristic of the expansion of interior human resources as a revenue to augment SCM practices has yet to be studied in a formal way (Boxall, 1996). On the other hand, past research into the best practices of pioneering firms has pointed toward the fact that such an attempt may, in fact, brighten the likelihood of a firm maximizing its SCM recital. The most important purpose of training and development division at McDonalds is to make sure the user-friendliness of a skilled and eager workforce for the organization. Into a bargain to that, there are four other objectives: Individual, Organizational, Functional, and Societal. Individual objectives help workers in attaining their personal goals, which augment the personal input to an organization (Erica, Michelle, Candy, Kalai and Penny, n.d.). Organizational objectives lend a hand to the organization with their chief intention by bringing individual effectiveness. Functional objectives, however, keep up the department’s input at a level appropriate to the organization’s needs. Last but not the least; societal objectives make certain that the company is morally accountable to the needs and challenges of the social order (Bhagi, 2011). The fundamental aim of training at McDonalds is to help the organization achieve its purpose of gaining competitiveness through HR practices by adding together value to its input resource it employs. Training for McDonalds is investing to enable them to perform better and empower them to make the best use of their expected abilities. The objectives of training are to: Build up the competences of employees and pick up their performance; Help people to cultivate within the business in to a level that it is possible for the organization to meet its potential human resource needs from inside; Reduce the knowledge time for human resources starting in new jobs on scheduled time, transfers or sponsorship, and make certain that they be converted into fully experienced as quickly and cost-effectively as feasible. Conclusion: Effective recruitment and selection process can give an association a competitive edge over its competitors by saving both time and expenditure. McDonalds recruits most part of its employees from outside source especially from Newspaper ads that cost them less (Antron, 2011). However, some recommendations must be made in order to help them attain a better competitive edge: McDonalds should go for online job advertisements, programs in educational institutions to attract qualified part-time workers. It should take into account different factors like cost of living, taxation, family requirements etc. in recruiting people. An orientation session should be organized at the start to give employees a clear picture of the organization and what it expects out of them (Selby, C, 2011). Recruitment policy should be exercised and focused on recruiting the best potential people and must ensure that each employee is treated equally with same dignity and respect; it should encourage employees to achieve self-actualization. Briefly it can be concluded that HRM and a company’s ability to attain competitive advantage are strappingly co-related. In today’s highly globalized world it is difficult for an organization to stay at the forefront and pull off a competitive advantage (Huselid, 1995). The capability to attract the talent, select the finest budding and advancement of skills, stirring innovation and retaining the treasured employees will be the key levers for firm’s triumph. Organizations having good HRM managers and using good HRM strategies are prepared for action advantage. Companies practicing good SHRM, EHRM, TQM, Performance evaluation, use good sense of balance scorecard etc are meant to prosper. Additionally, the drive on sustainable competitive advantage is highest for strategic HRM, which includes member of staff teams, guidance, giving out rewards, acknowledgment, and promotion prospect. Companies using strategic HRM intelligently will be able to do better than the competitors because such companies come up with good employment and selection processes. Everything without a doubt is one way or another allied to the HRM department companies. Questionnaire: Employee Motivation is the biggest factor to attain good quality performance. Agree or Disagree? Selection of the final employee should be done based on knowledge, skill, experience or qualification. In your opinion, apart from recruitment practices, what other factors can help achieve McDonald competitive advantage? Recruitment and selection practices can make a company or break a company. Agree or Disagree. Give a reason. To what extent Recruitment Practices in achieving competitive advantage is helpful. 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