Human Resource Management of Welsh Kitchens - Case Study Example

INTEGRATED CASE-STUDY -WELSH KITCHENS Introduction The purpose of this paper is to produce a paper to Rhys who is the acting CEO of Welsh Kitchens on the importance of the best fit approach suggested by the daughter Lauren who is concerned on the treatment of his employees while trying to expand or retain the business after his retirement. Part of the paper will contain how and why the CEO should restructure its human resource aspect with the city and when expanding in different locations. Moreover, as of the current status of Welsh Kitchen, this change will not only be necessary towards the HRM sector, but will also assist the company a lot in terms of strategic significance. Such things like quality and value will be achieved when the best HRM practice is adopted by the company. In achieving this, different HRM approaches will be critically examined to determine their success when applied to the management of people within the context of the kitchen. To achieve this paper will start by keenly study the concept of HRM (Legge, 2005). The definition of human resource has been described differently by several authors, but for the purposes of this paper we will describe human resource as strategic model of management towards the human elements working within an organization to achieve different set goals and objectives. Best fit approach The best fit approach advocates that different HR used by different organizations are only effective when they are implemented or linked to specific environment within an organizational set-up. This is because best fit approach examines the relationship existing between the strategy of business being used in an organization and the HRM practices put in place to govern them. However, best fit practice may have both positive and negative impacts for Welsh kitchen depending on how they are integrated with he HRM practices and an example is that some would tremendously improve the performance of the kitchen when the best fit approach is effective towards improving attitudes of different employees within the organization and may also lead to lower level of absenteeism and turn over. Likewise, the kitchen may also benefit from enhance quality and efficiency in all major sectors (Lant, 1999). Moreover, when the kitchens’ CEO decides to adopt the best fit approach in his company, he will be able to easily determine the relationship existing between sets of good HR practices and the desired organizational performance hence knowing which crucial areas of the employees to address to meet the desired results or performance in the company. They are also able to understand what resources to allocate to what department. Should additional man power be necessary, they can accurately do this allocation. Likewise, the different sets of practices identified through the use of best fit approach will be available to company in different forms and aspects as they usually take on the universal set of practices which the company will really find essential especially when pursuing its expansions plans. It enables the management to make plans and have the actual estimations for these expansions. They are also able to anticipate any risks that may emerge in future and take appropriate measures (Pfeffer, 1998). How, as much as the use of best fit approach may be beneficial to the kitchen when integrated or used within the company, the approach has not gone without criticism as many critics believe that the approach is always not similar with the social norms used to by the company. This fact may influence the way employees carry themselves as they have to act differently as their social way of life is very different from their professional one. Therefore, the company should also take a keen look at this because its use in the kitchen may hinder the applications of some legal requirements pertaining to the operations of the company. This is especially so because the approach lays emphasis majorly on cost reduction and not in other sectors of the organization. Likewise, the approach is also proactive in an organizational set up because it stresses on the competitive strategy than the changes which are taking place outside the organization (Liang Moreland & Argote,1995). Therefore, as much as the strategy may better satisfy the current needs of Welsh kitchen, the company should be particularly aware that the strategy works on the assumptions that one strategy is good for every sector or department within an organization and this may be dangerous because other sectors may be left unattended to in an organization. This will also be an additional task to the management as they will have to come up with different strategies for the different sectors. Should they have a planning team, ultimately, they will acquire additional cost to pay this task force that will be responsible for developing the necessary strategy (Cully, 1998). Moreover, the best fit model may also work towards the retention of different line managers hired by the company because the use of the approach gives keen consideration to delegation as an important aspect for the linking of different duties into the line managers’ work. This approach is beneficial especially to the management as it is motivational to the employees, they do understand their tasks and specializations and work towards the attainment of these goals. Work load is well disseminated according to competencies hence better production. There is no confusion in the allocation of tasks hence greater results. Moreover, the model promotes the development of HR policies and their formulation as party of the organizational plan and do not render them as other alternatives after the plan is prepared. Therefore, the approach also links different HR policies to the process of formulation of a business plan. In addition, in such issues like structuring of rewards for employees, Welsh kitchen will also benefit because the use of the best approach within their company will be able to show how different margins differ hence directing on how rewards should be structured with regards to pay as the motivator. The employees will work diligently having in mind the rewards for their hard work. This approach will always serve to motivate workers thus greater productivity. This is extremely important because today the workforce sector has become so much competitive in that productive works knows their worth within organizations and when not fairly or adequately rewarded looses confidence which in turn may reduce the value within the company. Being able to determine high margin of pay as a motivator and knowing what the reward them with in order to motivate them to give their best in increasing value is the key to most successful companies both locally and internationally. An example is that the Welsh kitchen may decide to use the best fit approach accordance to certain variables like pay and performance. Good performers may be attracted and motivated by the large differences existing in their pay structures as compared to poor performers (Lave, 1993). Conclusion In conclusion, the use of best fit approach by Welsh Kitchen is a resourceful tool because it offers the company a powerful tool for shaping human management processes. In today’s organizations, employees are crucial resources as they are the ones who ensure that the goals and objectives of the organization are met and within the specified period. The employees can also be the downfall of the business should they not be well taken care of. When employees are not accurately treated by the management then such things like reduction of value and profits of an organization occurs and in these cases the organization is considered to have failed the process of operation. This happens when your man power is demoralized and lack motivation to work. This consequently will lead to dissatisfaction of the customers in need of the service rendered to them. The business will be less popular and the reputation of the business will be damaged. This may be permanent or building such image all over again can be tasky and very costly hence it becomes much easier to do damage control earlier than later to ensure the organization stays competitive in the dynamic market. The case study above illustrates how different elements of the best fit practices can be applied in an organization to achieve performance across different geographies and sectors. As seen, the use of the best fit approach is advantageous to the company as it ensures that different HR policies are integrated with various policies to ensure that a lot is achieved especially when it comes to the management of people within the organization. Recommendation To succeed amidst competition while also catering for the different needs of employees, Welsh Kitchens can apply the best fit approach by integrating their strategies to the HRM practices. This will ensure that the HRM system in use at the company are effective with the type of strategies they have hence they will be achieve various objectives and goals they put in place like for example ensuring that Rhys dreams of treating his employees in an ethical way are achieved while other courses like expansion and value are also maintained or increased. The HRM system therefore used by the company will ensure that the company solves various operational problems it encounters while also handling the problem of competitive strategy which is always a common problem for most companies or organizations especially in this new century (Survey (WERS 2004). Secondly, Welsh Kitchens can ensure that use the best fit approach to compete effectively in the market by ensuring that they identify those HR practices that considered best fit for the different strategies they intend on using in the market. The first example is that when the company is planning on beating a competition through the use of low cost on the products they are producing, the company should ensure that the HR policies they have adopted are fixed and clearly identifies such aspects like the job description required from an employees or that the policies narrowly define employees job or careers paths which can be used to encourage specialization. Using the best fit approach, the company will easily identify the behaviour of their employees as they will be characterised through such traits like being relatively repetitive and predictable and the activities performed to be independent. This will make it easy for the company to determine their output as they will be able to determine their employees’ contributions hence taking actions to either reward or encourage their employees to counties delivering quality within the company. Likewise, the company can also use the best fit practice to obtain new market niche for their operations or products. This is because the use of best fit approach will enable to identify effective policies to use to obtain the desired results. A good example is the company will be able to determine those jobs which require interaction and coordination among groups of employees within the company hence allowing them to structure performance appraisals which are more likely to reflect longer terms and groups’ achievements. Likewise, the use of the best fit approach will allow the company to identify jobs which require them to allow their employees to acquire new skills hence leading to creative behaviour and longer term focus on their operations. Best fit approach can also allow the HR to develop a code of ethics that govern the behaviour of employees in the business and how they relate to each other. These codes of ethics can also clearly spell out the disciplinary action for certain behaviours. Such measures ensure that employees respect one another and the organization (McGahan & Porter, 1997). Thirdly, Welsh Kitchens will be able to apply the best fit practices for the training purposes of its employees. This is because the approach will aim towards increasing the capabilities of employees, technical and business knowledge. The training will target to nurture and harness the various skills already possessed by the employees to benefit the organisation. It will also ensure that the employees are trained in accordance to the specific requirement of the organisation. This ultimately will guarantee greater productivity. A good example is that the company may decide to conduct a training program for its sales team to equip them with strategies which they may use in the marketing of the products produced by the company. This will be very resourceful for the company as it will be able to support and maintain superior efficiencies from their employees hence meeting such objectives like providing quality and competing in the market for market shares. Likewise, when the company use best fit approach in training its employees then it also handles the competitors present in the market as the employees may learn new things which are not clear to the employees on the other company therefore having a competitive edge over its competitors in the market. The end result of this is that the company will increase value in all its significant sectors while also achieving such things like expansions plans amongst others (Beer et al, 1984). Fourthly, the company should also apply the best fit approach in structuring the reward system within their company. A good example is that the company may decide to employ highly compensated piece of work system which is linked on the basis of individual performance of its employees. This will imply that pay reward for employees working at the company will be performance based on multitude work related factors. Therefore, the new structure of the reward system introduced by the company should only be able to compensate their employees for achieving various task and commitments given to them through remuneration. Therefore, while it strives to take care of its employees needs the reward structure designed based on the best fit practice will ensure that the employees gives their best towards the company as they will want their effort recognised and rewarded by the company. A good example is that when the reward structure is designed along the payment system of the company, employees will see the company’s commitment and hence will be forced to deliver productivity and quality while the company enjoys the benefit of cut costs in the process of production. Profits will also be realised as productivity will increase hence the company will not endure any baggage financially rewarding it’s performing employees (Liang, Moreland & Argote,1995). Fifthly, Welsh Kitchens should use the best fit approach in ensuring employees participation in different sectors or field. This the company may achieve by introducing the open –door policy or encouraging communication between the employees and different officials or managers on different topics regarding the company. The company can use their approach to introduce a flat level of communication or horizontal communication where the employees consider themselves equals to such persons like managers hence making the communication process easier and leading to responsibilities in all sectors as every one will ensure that nothing goes wrong within the company as they know they are equals. This encourages easier exchange of ideas across the different sectors. This process also ensures quick decision making as employees can easily communicate and come up with an understanding as they are on the same level. This lateral communication also guarantees instantaneous feedback as consultation is much easier (Guest et al, 2000). Sixthly, Welsh Kitchens should ensure that they use accurately their best fit practices ion selection processes. Since employees are the drivers of success in any organization, it is therefore critical for a growing company like Welsh Kitchens to selectively pick their employees. Selection should be made on competencies and higher levels of performance. The application of the best fit approach in selective employment attracts skills which are extremely essential and useful in the existence of the company in terms of growth, profits and expansion. When the company uses this method in choosing the types of employees to include in their system, then they are assured of value in their operation because the approach allows for the selection of employees who can connect to the required standards of ethics and quality standards. A good example is that when selecting their new employees, Welsh Kitchens may decide to put their employees on work probation for a specified time period to enable them prove their dedication towards work or skills acquired from their education programmes. When the accompany achieves the process of selection successfully, then it is assured of such things like quality, employees commitment, task completion and above all increase and growth to the company as the employees will be skilled hence will meet the stated objectives or goals. This approach ensures that employees are result oriented and at the same time are comfortable in their respective fields (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Bibliography Legge, K. (2005). Human resource management: rhetorics and realities. New York, N.Y., Palgrave Macmillan. Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrongs Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. London, Kogan Page. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1658904. Guest D., Michie J., Sheehan M., Conway N. And Metochi M. Effective People Management: Initial findings of the Future of Work study. London, CIPD. 2000b. Pfeffer J. The Human Equation: Building profits by putting people first. Boston, Harvard Business School Press. 1998. Purcell J., Kinnie N., Hutchinson S., Rayton B. And Swart J. Understanding the People and Performance Link: Unlocking the black box. London, CIPD. 2003. Ramsay H., Scholarios D. And Harley B. ‘Employees and high-performance work systems: testing inside the black box’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2000. pp501–531. West M., Borrill C., Dawson J., Scully J., Carter M., Anelay S., Patterson M. And Waring J.‘The link between the management of employees and patient mortality in acute hospitals’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 13, No. 8, 2002. pp1299–1310. Beer M, Spector B, Lawrence PR, Quinn Mills D and Walton R (1984) Managing Human Assets. New York: Free Press. Cully M, O’Reilly A, Millward N, Forth J,Woodland S, Dix G and Bryson A (1998) The Workplace Employee Relations Survey: First Findings(WERS 1998). London: Routledge. Kersley B, Alpin C, Forth J, Bryson A, Bewley H, Dix G and Oxenbridge S (2005) Inside the Workplace: First Findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey(WERS 2004). London: DTIR oethlisberger FJ and Dickson WJ (1939) Management and the Worker. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Lant, T. (1999). A situated learning perspective on the emergence of knowledge and identity incognitive communities. In J. Porac & M. Vantresca (Eds.),Advances in management cognitionand organizational information processing. (Vol. 6, pp. 171–194).Stamford, CT: JAI Press. Lave, J. (1993). Situated learning in communities of practice. In L. B. Resnick, J. M. Levine, &S. D. Teasley (Eds.),Perspectives on socially shared cognition(pp. 63–82). Washington, DC:American Psychological Association. Liang, D. W., Moreland, R. L., & Argote, L. (1995). Group versus individual training and groupperformance: The mediating role of transitive memory.Personality and Social PsychologyBulletin,21, 384–393. McGahan, A. M., & Porter, M. E. (1997). How much does industry matter, really? Strategic Management Journal,18,15–30. Read More