The Role of HR Management in IKEA - Assignment Example

Question 1

Introduction

Within a framework of this part of the paper, I am going to determine the role HR department of IKEA plays in the overall process of the company’s development and growth. In order to do this, I will consider the attitude and perception this department in general and HR specialists in particular receive in the organization. Apart from it, I am going to consider the type of relationships between other employees and managers of IKEA with representatives of HR department. By doing this, it will become possible to determine whether this organization can be considered an example of those that use strategic human resource management as one of the tools of getting a competitive advantage or not.

The role of HR management in IKEA

Although the trend of strategic human resource management emerged only in the recent decades, still there were companies that had managed to apply this approach significantly earlier (The CIPD 2015). One of such companies is the world-known furniture brand IKEA. It is known that more than thirty years ago, the company’s CEO proclaimed that he wanted to work for a company in which the growth of each individual is considered as important as the growth of the company in general. By saying this, CEO David Hood managed to build the company with strategic human resource management, where the company’s HR strategy and its overall business objectives go hand in hand. Proceeding from this, it becomes clear that the roles of HR managers and the whole department of human resources are outstandingly important. The type of relationships with HR department in this company can be called symbiotic, which means that the department of HR works in a constant collaboration with the company’s management team to ensure a permanent understanding of the company’s business goals (The Human Capital 2014).

Obviously, the company treats its HR management team as something more than just a department working with human resources. The company’s attitude is different because IKEA’s top management considers this department rather as a strategic partner than just another department without which the company can still function.

Unlike in many other companies, in IKEA, the type of relationships between human resource management and top management of the company can be considered strategic, collaborative, and even can be called a partnership. The majority of companies started to realize the strategic role of HR departments only with an introduction of big data, but IKEA had managed to do this earlier, which made this company capable of overrunning its major competitors (Fallon 2014). There is no doubt that the current state of relationships between top management and HR department ensures that both business-centered goals and people-centered goals are met equally.

Conclusion

Although the company has already succeeded in building strategic relationships with HR department, still there is a room for certain improvements. For example, it is possible to suggest that instead of focusing on the development of each individual, HR department of IKEA might benefit from hiring and retaining those people who are most likely to benefit from working for this company both personally and professionally (Salaman, Storey and Billsberry 2005). By doing this, the company is likely to become able to cut costs associated with the human capital development and get the most dedicated and motivated employees at the same time.

Questions 2

Introduction

Considering that the today’s market is the one that instantly changes, growth, and develops, it might be extremely challenging for some companies to remain competitive and profitable under the circumstances. However, there is a chance that one single shift of turning HR department from yet another department into a strategic partner can significantly change the game for such companies. Within a framework of this section of the paper, I am going to discuss the role HR management can play during such stages of company’s development as downsizing or restructuring.

The role of HR departments in downsizing and restructuring processes

At the outset, there is a need to clearly define what exactly needs to be understood by the terms ‘downsizing’ and ‘restructuring’. As for the first term, it usually stands for ‘intentional reduction in the size of a workforce at all staffing levels, to survive a downturn, improve efficiencies, or become a more attractive candidate for acquisition or merger’ (Business Dictionary 2016). As for the second term, by it should be understood ‘the act of organizing a company, business, or system in a new way to make it operate more effective’ (Cambridge Dictionaries Online 2016).

Speaking of the role HR management can play and should play under the circumstance of the process of downsizing or restructuring, a number of different aspects of HR’s work should be taken into account. The first and foremost role HR should play is the role of communication tool. During the process of downsizing, the role of communication between top management and HR department cannot be overestimated. It is also necessary to point out that this communication needs to happen in both ways. On the one hand, the HR department’s role is to inform employees about the upcoming changes, and, on the other hand, its role is to inform top management about the workforce capabilities, and pros and cons of each and every employee in order to make sure that the most strategically beneficial employees are kept in the company. Second of all, the role of HR department under the circumstances is to educated employees about the fact that restructuring process is never a process composed of one single event. This is essential for keeping employees able to work and understand the changes happening around them in the workplace. The next thing HR departments are supposed to do during the process of downsizing is data collection. During the process of downsizing, HR management can mitigate problems as well as assist top management by the means of collecting data (Greendard 1993). It is also critically important for HR department to make sure that dismissed workers can leave the company with dignity (Sojka 2012, p. 146).

Speaking of the ways in which a human resource manager or HR department can strive to meet the objectives and needs of the company, such things as ensuring fairness and equity as well as a provision of accessible leadership are to be mentioned. In order to handle the process of downsizing in a fair and transparent ways, a lot of efforts and work from the side of HR management is expected. Only with a necessary amount of efforts put by HR team, the process of downsizing can be held with no or little problems.

Conclusion

Proceeding from all said above, it becomes clear that such business processes as downsizing or restructuring are sometimes inevitable for companies, and the role of HR management during these periods cannot be overestimated. It is up to HR department to ensure that the processes are done in a fair and most reasonable way.

Question 3

Introduction

Taking into account that we live in a constantly changing and rapidly developing world, it appears to be natural that the business environment changes and develops just as fast. Proceeding from this, it becomes clear that in order to remain profitable and competitive, companies should be ready for adapting to changes and initiating changes themselves. Hence, the goal of this section of the paper is to define the role of HR departments in change management process and identify the key elements of work of HR associated with this type of management.

The role of HR departments in change management

Speaking of how HR managers can help the organization prepare its employees for unexpected changes, it should be said that it is up to HR department to organize leadership and working mobility training, to make employees ready to meet changes and new working policies reasonably. HR departments should work in a way that each employee feel free and glad to refer to the department for an advice or support (Jochmann 2012).

Since HR department is the major mediator between top management and other employees, it becomes clear that in the moments of organizational change, HR managers should take a responsibility of making these changes easier to adapt for all the staff. In order to do this, HR departments can take at least four major steps. First of all, it is up to HR managers to understand to what extent are employees and organization in general ready for an implementation of change. Second of all, HR professionals can put efforts in order to set the groundwork for the upcoming process of change. Third of all, it is possible for HR department to monitor the success of change implementation and report on problems if there are any. Fourth of all, HR managers should be ready to answer the questions of employees regarding the necessity of change, its possible outcomes and advantages associated with it (Cornell HR Review 2013).

One of the examples of how the change had been successfully adapted to the organization of my choice is the one related to electricity saving in IKEA. There was a moment in the organization when it decided to be extremely concerned about the economy of resources and electricity saving policies. As a result, employees were forced to get concerned about switching the lights off every time they leave their rooms and making sure that no source is wasted. Of course, this change was not very comfortable for employees. However, due to a decent work of HR department, the reasons and necessity of change were well-explained to employees, so their attitude to the change was adequate and full of understanding.

Conclusion

In my opinion, the best thing that can be done today in terms of HR management is to start conducting regular training for employees in order to explain to them as well as prepare them for working in a constantly changing working environment, so no need for hard work in each particular case of unexpected change would arise.

Question 4

Introduction

When it comes to organizational changes, it is necessary to take into account that there are two sides of any change. The first side is represented by the person standing behind that change. This person is also called change agent. The second side, in its turn, is the one represented by those affected by the change (Powell and Posner 2006). It is the second part of people who usually get resistant to organizational changes and might make it harder to implement them. The goal of this part of the paper is to consider the best practices of dealing with a resistance to change in the workplace.

How to deal with change resistance in organizations

Obviously, when it comes to organizational changes, one of the best ways to deal with them is by the means of effective communication. As it has been mentioned earlier in this paper, the best tool of communication is HR department. Hence, it is up to HR manager or the whole HR department to find the most appropriate tools and methods of communicating the need for change.

If I had to deal with managers who are resistant to change, I would try to communicate with them better and explain the necessity of each change and would also state how they can benefit from those changes. By doing this, I would ensure their understanding and support and would make it easier for the top management to implement the intended changes.

If I were responsible for communicating recommendations for reorganization or downsizing, I would choose to follow the strategy proposed by Self and Schrader. First of all, I would try to compose the message in a way to ensure the employees in the necessity of the upcoming change. It is important for employees to understand that the change that is going to happen is inevitable in order to keep the organization functioning. Second of all, I would work hard to make sure that the message delivered by the top management is focused on the appropriateness of change. There are always different ways of dealing with the same problem, and it is a task of the highest priority to ensure that employees understand the choice of change and agree with it. Third of all, it is necessary to make sure that the message about change directly or indirectly states about who should support this change. This factor is vital because without it employees can hardly understand what is expected of them in association with the upcoming change. Fourth of all, it is necessary to make sure that the change message clearly explains the methods and ways to implement change successfully. This aspect is essential to gain support and understanding of employees. As for the last component, it is necessary for a change message to answer the question 'what is in this change for each employee in particular' (Self and Schraeder 2009).

Conclusion

To make a conclusion, I have to say that dealing with change resistance is not an easy task but still it becomes possible to complete if particular steps are taken. It is necessary to make sure that all employees and managers of a company understand the necessity of change, agree with the chosen approach to making a change and understand what is there for them within a framework of this change. As soon as it is done, there will be no or at least significantly fewer problems associated with change initiation and implementation.

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