HRM Strategies of Cadbury Schweppes - Case Study Example

Table of Contents 1.0. Introduction 02 2.0. Effectiveness of HRM 02 2.1. Organisational and HRM Strategies 02 2.2. Human Resource Planning 03 2.3. Recruitment, Selection and Retirement 04 2.4. Training and Development 05 2.5. Management of Performance 06 2.6. HR Workplace Issues 08 3.0. Conclusion 09 4.0. References 10 1.0. Introduction Cadbury Schweppes is a worldwide renowned company famous for its confectionary products making it a great power in the market. Being such a huge producer makes it reliant on a strong workforce to manufacture products which are able to meet the expectations of the large customer base. It has been evaluated that the company employs more than 50 thousand employees worldwide and HR being the backbone of the enterprise. With the changing business environment such as technology, employment legislation, economic changes, etc and the strategic changes of the organisation like the adoption of TQM and team-working, greater customer focus, etc. lead to the growth of a strategic human resource management approach for Cadbury (UAC. 2015). This assignment throws light upon the different aspects of human resource management which the company has focussed upon right from the beginning and where the owners of the company always felt that there should something of interest for the employees who spend a major part of their life or working time in the industry. The different issues of strategic HRM along with the inner factors like training and development, recruitment and selection, performance management and appraisal have been discussed in details. 2.0. Effectiveness of HRM 2.1. Organisational and HRM Strategies The organisational strategies help a firm to determine its long-term vision and goals and helps in accomplishment of the same. It helps the company to understand where it currently stands, where it wants to be and what is needed to attain the same. Strategic HRM helps blending of strategic planning with human resource planning towards achievement of organisational goals. The company can generate capital and technology, but it becomes very difficult to rightly strategise and motivate the employees towards facing any difficult situation and upcoming challenges (Dessler, 2005). When working hand-in-hand, they both add towards improving productivity, job satisfaction, employee commitment and overall organisational performance and profitability. Cadbury manages its human resources with such approach that it aims to identify the core competence of its people and use those resources with each individual’s capability for the creation of competitive advantage for the organisation to stay at the leading position against its competitors. Cadbury looks to optimum business performance from the available human resources with the use of a four dimensional strategic human resource management approach which are strategic integration, commitment of the employees to the organisation, structural flexibility and best quality goods and services (Bansal and Bansal, 2014). A proper blend of the organisational and HRM strategies helps Cadbury is attaining maximum output and high satisfied and self devoted employees who automatically help in the achievement of organisational goals of the company. The strategies of the company strongly focus on the well-being of its employees under the unique work culture and some special programs that the company has launched like ‘Managing for Value.’ The nature of relationship between the employer and employees promotes a united culture within the organisation. With the organisational strategy of the company laying emphasis of the HRM strategies has worked very well for the company providing it with maximum utility. 2.2. Human Resource Planning Workplace transformation and nature of work has changed over the centuries with the changing factors of technology, globalisation and others. The changing workplace transformation and nature of work also includes how the employees work together (Leopold, Harris and Watson, 2004). Some transformations that have taken place are in the form of reduction of hierarchical structure, breakdown of boundaries and move towards team-based organisational structure, new management perspective and continuous changes in the cycles of reflection and reorganisation. Globalisation, technology and work force expectations have been the major reasons in the changing of nature of work and workplace over the decades (Patel, 2015). These changes have resulted in firms to adapt to their human resource planning process to be competitive and in consonance with the changing business world. The changing nature of work in Cadbury and any other organisation take place due to reasons like globalisation, technology and work force expectations. Globalisation, a business reality, along with the advancing technology has resulted in connecting different organisations across the globe and increase in the number of distributed teams working globally. This working pattern of diverse teams provides a powerful insight to issues and people gain new and different perspectives. Technology has offered a 24*7 connectivity enabling connectivity even being at different locations (Leopold, Harris and Watson, 2004). The treatment of employees has changes as per the expectations of the workforce and Cadbury and also in general has adapted a few socially responsible approaches which include the following: Greater levels of consultations that makes involvement of employees in the decision-making process. Cadbury has indulged in feedback from its employees as solution for its matters and problem-solving making them feel a part of the process. Appropriate levels of remuneration and rewards are also to be offered to keep the workforce interested. Cadbury has engaged in the process of benchmarking its level of pays against other companies to keep the level of competitiveness. The employees are also offered shares of the company at reduced prices. Training and development programs are regularised for better ability of the employees to perform and motivate them for work. Safety at work is ensured with the creation of healthy and safe working environment. Prevention from any form of harassment in the workplace. With certain changes in the planning process, policies and practices, job design, global economy and demographics has enabled Cadbury to achieve its strategic objectives. 2.3. Recruitment, Selection and Retirement Recruitment and selection takes place during the hiring of employees and they play an important role in the determination of the amount and criteria of the people being hired. This makes the selection of best amongst the best from the employees to be interviewed. Failure is executing the recruitment and selection task correctly may result in inefficient job performance and for the same reason selection of the right person for the right job is very vital (Stone, 2008). Recruitment involves the process of searching for candidates for job employments and stimulating them for applying for the job. Selection is a series followed step by step where candidates are screened and the most suitable person is chosen for the job. For example Cadbury has hired Bob Stack as the HR director as he has a strong background in HR which shall be very beneficial for the organisation in overcoming situation arising out of employee needs. This shall also help Cadbury in working with and towards a result oriented attitude and also protecting employee rights. With Cadbury transforming their objective towards becoming a result focused organisation makes recruitment and selection being done employing individuals with result focus criteria. The company also sought towards the leadership skills and aggressive behaviour of Mike Tyson and appointed him in the board of directors. The process of recruitment and selection are determined by some internal and external sources which are depicted in the chart below: EXTERNAL FACTORS INTERNAL FACTORS Direct Recruitment Transfer Media Advertisement Promotion Employment Agencies Past Employee Management Consultation Recommendation Retirement is more of a decision taken by the employees themselves when they think they have sufficient wealth and also their health is good. But in some cases where they are made to feel that they are not wanted, needed or valued which involves the HR department into the process (Spinks and Moore, 2007). The ethos and culture, of Cadbury, of working as one team is across geographic is followed globally. Having a diverse and evolving global workforce makes Cadbury face a few serious challenges and worked on the same and identified them as the key drivers. Improvement in the quality of induction training through clear consistent messages, linking of resources like the intranet for extra information on policies and processes, being in an engaging format, etc. were a part of the key drivers. The company also introduced newly promoted managers to play a role in performance management and development planning. They also induced new working environment and set the employees within the organisation (Edgar and Geare, 2005). Thus, with appraisal and other recruitment and selection strategies and structures the company has brought about certain changes in the workplace environment with the use of the HRM strategies towards the achievement of organisational goals. 2.4. Training and Development For the betterment of the organisation and improvement of the employees training and development becomes necessary. Training and development aids in organisational development and makes decision making and problem solving more effective as it helps in understanding and carrying out of organisational policies. It helps in development of leadership skills, provides motivation, builds loyalty, improves attitudes and other aspects that the managers tend to deploy (Montana and Charnov, 2000). Some of the objectives and advantages of training and development are discussed below: Optimum utilisation of human resource: Extracting the best of the employees can be done through training and development as it helps in optimising the available human resources and transform the employees for future needs to attain organisational and individual goals. Development of human resources: Training and developments assists in providing opportunities and broad structure for the development of human resources both technically and skilfully. It also provides the employees with personal growth and boosts their morale. Developing skills of employees: With training and development comes increase in job knowledge and skills of the employees as every level of the work process. It increases their personal intellectual and personality. Attainment of individual and organisational objectives: The primary objective of training and development is to make availability of skilled and willing workforce for the organisation which helps is attainment of individual and fulfilment of organisational goals. Apart from the above mentioned it also helps in improving the productivity, team spirit, quality, work environment, image, health and safety, etc. Cadbury has offered a variety of program and one such is called ‘Growing our People’ which looks to unlock the potential of the employees and motivate them for improved performances. They also have implemented the Managing for Value program which helps the employees of Cadbury to understand the objectives of Cadbury towards becoming a profit driven organisation. With training and development also rises the requirement of management development programs for the identification and improvement of management potentials. With the need for improving the employees also arises the need for bringing development in the management as the management is also required to know exactly what new advancements and technological up-gradations have come which are required to be implemented and maintain a healthy competitive advantage for Cadbury (Singh, 2012). The company also needs to time to time assess what and how much has been implemented and both the negative and positive effects of it on the work environment and production of the company. There is a need for setting of assessment centres to facilitate the same and provide the management and the employees to keep their word so as to maintain development and raise the performance level of the company. 2.5. Management of Performance Management of performance includes evaluation of performance and appraisal as per the performance. It is a tool in strategic HRM for the evaluation of the overall performance of the employees. Review of the actual performance and taking corrective action in the right direction becomes necessary through this process of performance management (Sims, 2002). The performance of an employee is something that can be observed and measured as his resultant behaviour on any task. It can also be referred to as the contribution that an individual needs to make in the accomplishment of any particular task. The performance of an employee can be measured through the combination of quantity, quality, time and cost. The assessment of performance and feedback of the same becomes more important as an employee is totally unaware of his actions. Performance appraisal thus helps in evaluation of the personality, performance and potential of the employees and other group members and can be both formal and informal (Morton, Newall and Sparkes, 2001). The application of performance appraisal has certain objectives and the completion of the process in the desired direction adds towards certain advantages to the organisation which is further discussed. The objectives of performance appraisal are as follows: The promotion process gets based upon competence and performance. Assessment of training and development needs can be ascertained. The system of regular pay scales and pay rise can be fixed upon. To provide the employees a knowhow of their current position in the organsiation as per their performance level. Its helps to improve communication and build trust. To get a review of weather the HR programmes like selection, training and transfers have been effective or not. The above stated objectives together with the developmental and organisational objectives provide certain competitive advantages to the firm. The advantages are in the form of strategy and behaviour, improvement of performance, correct decision-making, ensuring legal compliance, minimising job dissatisfaction, etc (Dessler, 2005). Cadbury has boosted staff performance by shifting its focus from individual appraisals to pay based on business results. Linking pay with program has resulted in assessing performance through measuring the profit that each unit of business is making after subtraction of cost from the total revenue generated (Personnel Today, 2000). With the management of performance and through performance appraisal and the feedback and corrections that Cadbury takes in the direction of performance improvement of its employees has added to the enhancement of overall organisational performance and improved management. 2.6. HR Workplace Issue Workplace issues are very common in today’s workplace and no organisation is free from the threats of workplace issues. Every individual in a workplace has the right towards healthy and safe workplace which is free from harassment, bullying and discrimination. Some of the most common issues in workplace disputes are as follows: Failure in meeting the right and obligations of the workplace. Ignoring or not having policies and procedures. Inconsistent treatment of employees by other employees or employer. Policy of preferential or exclusive treatment. Unhealthy dispute resolving procedure. Cultural differences. Bringing changes in unwritten workplace practices without prior consultation or discussion (Fair Work Commission. 2015). Cadbury leads the world when the matter of people management comes to question. The culture of the company is to bring a balance between work and life and it has always put its people first. Cadbury has not undergone any big or serious HR workplace issues as the management, under the Cadbury brothers, always cared for the employees who worked in their units. Cadbury Company built swimming baths near the factory to promote cleanliness and better healthy and fit employees. Also providing material for dress for free for the first time and then at subsidised rates thereafter, for female workers, added to the benefits of better and clean work environment. On instances when the female workers were feeling left out of the company matters as compared to the male workers, the management took steps to build union for both the section of workers with some strong say in the company matters. This sent strong signals to the entire company that the female workers were equally important and that their opinion was equally valuable for the company. The solution to the problem of female workers being underrated was very well executed with a strong plan by the management of Cadbury as there was no strong presence of union in that phase and the Cadbury brothers sought to a way that was very new and promising. Adding up to the same they could have bettered it with the involvement or presence of female workers into the senior authorities at a stage much earlier than what they did after finding solutions to this problem (Bansal and Bansal, 2014). 3.0. Conclusion The assignment has highlighted the organisational and HRM strategies of the company as to how the HRM performs to meet the organisation goals and optimum utility. Further the HR planning process looks into achievement of strategic objectives through proper planning and policy making. Recruitment and selection, training and development and managing of performance through appraisal and correction also focus dip into the matters of HRM. Further the stand that the organisation has taken in respect of its workers has been an example for the global companies itself and it still looks towards more satisfied employees and better customer satisfaction and profit making. 4.0. References Bansal, B. and Bansal, A. 2014. Approaches of Cadbury Schweppes Company to manage its human resources and business strategies. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications. Vol 4(10). Dessler, G 2005. Human Resource Management, 10th edn, Prentice Hall. Edgar, F. and Geare, A. 2005. "HRM practice and employee attitudes: different measures - different results", Personnel Review, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 534-49. Fair Work Commission. 2015. Resolving issues, disputes and dismissals. Retrieved on 10/09/15 https://www.fwc.gov.au/resolving-issues-disputes-and-dismissals/workplace-issues-disputes Leopold, J., Harris, L. and Watson, T. 2004. 'The Strategic Managing of Human Resources.’ Montana, J.P. and Charnov, B.H. 2000. "Training and Development". Management. Barron's Educational Series. pp. 225. Morton, C, Newall, A and Sparkes, J. 2001. Leading HR: delivering competitive advantage, CIPD Publishing. Patel, S. 2015. Workplace Transformation and the Changing Nature of Work. Retrieved on 10/09/15 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/workplace-transformation-changing-nature-work-sagar-patel Personnel Today. 2000. Cadbury’s puts appraisals low on priority list. Retrieved on 29/08/15 http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/cadburys-puts-appraisals-low-on-priority-list/ Singh, H. 2012. Training and Development: A Prominent Determinant for Improving HR Productivity. International Conference on Management and Education Innovation. Vol(37) Sims, R.R. 2002. Organisational success through effective human resources management, Greenwood Publishing Group. Stone, R.J. 2008. Human Resource Management, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia. Spinks, N. and Moore, C. 2007. The Changing Workforce, Workplace and Nature of Work: Implications for Health Human Resource Management. Nursing Leadership, 20(3). Retrieved on 28/08/15 http://www.longwoods.com/content/19286 UAC. 2015. Cadburys Approach To Managing Its Human Resources Management Essay. Retrieved on 28/08/15 http://www.uniassignment.com/essay-samples/management/cadburys-approach-to-managing-its-human-resources-management-essay.php Read More