Human Resources Management and Organizational Strategies in the London Bridge Hotel - Case Study Example

Discuss in what ways two of the following areas of HRM: Recruitment and Selection Training and Development, might support the strategies used by thehotel industry to ensure their business success – London Bridge Hotel 1. Introduction Under the influence of globalization firms in all industrial sectors need to identify the policies that could help to the increase of these firms’ competitiveness towards their rivals. Human resources is an organizational sector of key importance for firms of all sizes; however, the effects of this sector on organizational strategies seem to be differentiated across firms of different operational and structural characteristics. Current paper focuses on the examination of two specific aspects of human resources management: Recruitment/ Selection and Training/ Development. Reference is made specifically to the potential support of the above schemes to the strategies developed by firms in the hotel industry. The case of the London Bridge Hotel is used as an indicative example of such interaction. It is concluded that the specific HR management schemes are able to support organizational strategies in the hotel industry but it would be necessary for certain issues to be taken into consideration – related to the demands of the relevant job positions. Similar assumptions can be developed in regard to the London Bridge Hotel. The above firm has not yet developed an integrate HR management framework; the introduction of appropriate Recruitment/ Selection and Training/ Development in the particular organization could help to the increase of the firm’s competitiveness under the terms that the relevant policies would be aligned with the organization’s characteristics and the market conditions. 2. Human Resources management and organizational strategies in the hotel industry – the case of London Bridge Hotel The development of effective HR management policies in the hotel industry is usually depended on the readiness of each organization to take the measures required for the completion of the relevant plans. In this context, the success of HR management schemes in firms operating in the hotel industry is not standardized. However, the use of appropriate theoretical frameworks when developing these schemes can potentially increase their effectiveness. This fact is made clear through the issues discussed below; the use of appropriate HR management theories can increase the level of effectiveness of HR plans in most industrial sectors; in the hotel industry, a similar phenomenon can be observed – as proved through the literature presented below. On the other hand, the introduction of appropriate Recruitment/ Selection and Training/ Development schemes in hotels of various sizes could lead to the increase of organizational competitiveness – as explained through the case of London Bridge Hotel. 2.1 How does Recruitment and Selection support the strategies of firms in the hotel industry? The recruitment and selection policies developed in modern organizations are primarily depended on the characteristics of each particular organization. This issue is highlighted in the study of Compton et al. (2009) where it is noted that the number of employees required in each organization is depended on the level of development of the particular organization – referring to the phase of growth of the organization (Compton et al., 2009, p.9); it is in the same context that the type of job contracts (permanent, temporary, part-time) signed across the organization are decided. From another point of view, Pecora et al. (2009) support that the recruitment process can be characterized as a public relations activity; if failures are made by the employer/ agency during the specific process, then the reputation of the firm/ agency may be put in risk (Pecora et al., 2009, p.81). Specifically regarding the influence of Recruitment and Selection (R&S) on the organizational strategies it is noted that this influence is based on the following fact: since each strategic plan requires specific employee behaviour and values, the key priority of R&S would be to identify the employees that have these characteristics – in order to support the development of organizational strategies (Millmore et al., 2007, p.294). It should be taken into consideration that in firms of small size – like the London Bridge Hotel – the flexibility in the dismissal of employees – at least compared to the large firms – leads to the following problem: high skilled employees avoid entering these firms being afraid of an unfair dismissal (Tansky et al., 2006, p.228) – a problem that could be effectively resolved through e-recruitment (Wuttke, 2009, p.6). 2.1.1 How could Recruitment and Selection support the strategies of London Bridge Hotel? The examination of the firm’s website proved that the specific organization has not developed an integrate HR management framework. Recruitment and selection could help the firm to increase its competitiveness through the following initiatives: a) establishment of a series of criteria for potential employees; the values and the behaviour of candidates should be taken into consideration – in the context of the study of Millmore et al. (2007) b) expansion of – existing – trial period of 3 months (see organizational website) to 6 months; 3 months are considered as short period in order for the continuation of a job contract to be decided, c) development of cooperation with agencies that activate in this sector; in this way, the employees identified would best suit to the organization’s needs, d) the Selection/ Recruitment process should be arranged in such way that the reputation of the organization would not be put in risk (Pecora et al., 2009), e) the number of employees hired and the types of job contracts signed should be related to the current size of the organization (Compton et al., 2009). Through the above principles, the effectiveness of the firm’s Recruitment and Selection process would be improved – leading to the increase of employees’ performance and the following increase of organizational competitiveness. 2.2 How does Training and Development support the strategies of firms in the hotel industry? In order for Training and Development to respond to the needs of the hotel industry they have to be able to respond to the industry’s needs; the development of a specific training and development model would help organizations in this industry to introduce effective T&D schemes. Swanson et al. (2009) note that a common T&D need to have the following five phases: Analyze-Propose-Create-Implement and Access (Swanson et al., 2009, p.233). On the other hand, Mathis et al. (2007) note that in order for T&D to benefit the organization it is necessary that the following policies are followed: a) employees with unique skills are attracted, b) these employees are provided with extensive T&D support and c) they are adequately compensated so that they continue their cooperation with the organization (Mathis et al, 2007, p.38). Moreover, Cummings et al. (2008) note that ‘T&D should be distinguished from career development’ (Cummings et al., 2008, p.466); the former aims to offer to the employee the skills required for the development of specific organizational tasks, the latter offers to the employee the skills necessary for acquiring the job position most preferred (Cummings et al., 2008, p.466). As for the cost involved, when T&D is necessary for the achievement of organizational goals, then the investment on T&D should be increased (Swart et al., 2005, p.103). It is made clear that T&D can support the strategies of firms in the hotel industry if the above terms are met; in any case, available resources should be taken into consideration – along with the organizational needs – for the development of specific T&D plans. 2.2.1 How could Training and Development support the strategies of London Bridge Hotel? Training and development could help London Bridge Hotel to improve its performance through the following ways: a) innovation across the firm would be increased, b) the increase of the skills of employees would lead to the increase of their productivity, c) organizational plans would be completed more successfully. The firm could seek for relevant governmental schemes – hospitality industry is usually highly supported by the government as being one of the key sectors of the British economy (Boella et al., 2005, p.119). Existing theoretical models on T&D – like the one of Swanson et al. (2009) or that of Mathis et al. (2007), presented above – could be used by the organization in order to ensure the effectiveness of the chosen T&D scheme. The view of Hoque (2000, p.30) that employee commitment should be kept high would be also important for the success of the firm’s T&D policy. 3. Conclusion The use of Recruitment/ Selection and Training/ Development in the hospitality industry can help to the increase of the industry’s performance; however, the ability of managers to adopt the appropriate R&S and T&D schemes is differentiated. On the other hand, the characteristics and the needs of these policies are not standardized – as explained above. In many cases, HR practitioners fail in understanding the actual organizational needs (Tesone et al., 2009, p.119), a fact that can adversely affect their firms’ HR practices. However, such schemes are necessary for the increase of organizational competitiveness – as proved through the literature developed above. In practice, the implementation of these schemes has to be based on specific criteria taking into consideration the firm’s size, its level of growth and its available resources – as indicated in the case of London Bridge Hotel. References Boella, M., Goss-Turner, S. (2005). Human resource management in the hospitality industry: an introductory guide. Butterworth-Heinemann Compton, R., Nankervis, A. (2009). Effective recruitment & selection practices. CCH Australia Limited Cummings, T., Worley, C. (2008). Organization development & change. Cengage Learning Hoque, K. (2000). Human resource management in the hotel industry: strategy, innovation and performance. Routledge London Bridge Hotel (2010) Vacancies, online, available from < http://www.londonbridgehotel.com/Vacancies.html> Mathis, R., Jackson, J. (2007). Human Resource Management. Cengage Learning Millmore, M., Saunders, M., Lewis, P. (2007). Strategic human resource management: contemporary issues. Pearson Education Nickson, D. (2007). Human resource management for the hospitality and tourism industries. Butterworth-Heinemann Pecora, P., Cherin, D., Bruce, E. (2009). Strategic Supervision: A Brief Guide for Managing Social Service Organizations. SAGE Swanson, R., Holton, E. (2009). Foundations of Human Resource Development. Berrett-Koehler Publishers Swart, J., Mann, C., Brown, S., Price, A. (2005) Human resource development: strategy and tactics. Butterworth-Heinemann Tansky, J., Heneman, R. (2006). Human resource strategies for the high growth entrepreneurial firm. IAP Tesone, D., Pizam, A. (2009). Principles of Management for the Hospitality Industry. Butterworth-Heinemann Wuttle, F. (2009). E-Recruitment Vs. Traditional Recruitment: A Descriptive Analysis. GRIN Verlag Read More