hr management assignment

Faculty Resources

Assignments.

The Human Resources Management course includes a series of openly licensed written assignments and discussions aligned to specific learning outcomes and chapters. If you import this course into your learning management system (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.), all of the assignments and discussions (listed in the table, below,) will automatically be loaded into your LMS assignment and discussion-board tools. They can be used as is, modified, combined with your own assignments, or removed altogether.

The assignments in this course align with the following scenario:

You are a college senior who has been selected to participate in a hybrid internship/onboarding program with an elite HR research and advisory firm. Your training consists of a combination of formal education—specifically, enrollment in this Human Resource Management course—and a rotation in support of the principals of the firm. In your rotations, you will synthesize what you’ve learned in the relevant modules to address firm or client issues, conducting additional research as necessary and developing draft deliverables as instructed by the principal consultant. The quality of your deliverables – that is, your ability to convert learning into practical insight – will largely determine whether, at the end of the internship period, you are offered a position with the firm or simply thanked for your participation.

You can view them below or throughout the course.

Rubric for Assignments

There is also a sample rubric to assist you in grading. Instructors may modify these guidelines or use their own.

Discussions

The following discussion assignments will also be preloaded (into the discussion-board tool) in your learning management system if you import the course. They can be used as is, modified, or removed. You can view them below or throughout the course.

Rubric for Discussion Posts

Answer keys for the discussion posts are available to faculty who adopt Waymaker, OHM, or Candela courses with paid support from Lumen Learning. This approach helps us protect the academic integrity of these materials by ensuring they are shared only with authorized and institution-affiliated faculty and staff.

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Browse Course Material

Course info, instructors.

• Prof. Diane Burton
• Prof. Paul Osterman

Departments

• Sloan School of Management

As Taught In

• Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management

Learning Resource Types

Strategic hr management, assignments, course schedule.

Session 1: The Strategic Importance of HR Case: Southwest Airlines: Using Human Resources for Competitive Advantage (A), Stanford Case #HR-1.

Reading: Pfeffer, Jeffrey. The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First . Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1998, chapters 1 and 2.

Assignment Questions

• What is Southwest’s competitive strategy? What are the sources of its success? How does it make money?
• What are the foundations of Southwest’s competitive advantage?
• How are these sources of competitive advantage produced and sustained by what the organization does and how it does it?
• To what extent are Southwest’s sources of advantage difficult to imitate and likely to persist over time?
• To what extent is Southwest’s success based on Herb Kelleher?
• How serious is the competitive threat? To what extent can United and/or Continental duplicate Southwest’s business model? Why or why not?

Session 2: Strategic Execution and Economic Value: Internal and External Alignment Case: Portman Hotel, HBS 9-489-104.

• What is Portman’s strategy for competing successfully in its chosen market?
• What behaviors, skills, and attitudes will it need from its people, particularly the personal valets, to execute its strategy?
• How do Portman’s human resource management practices (recruitment, selection, compensation, training, career development, performance appraisal, staffing and organizational design, management and supervision) help or hinder the development of the skills and behaviors listed in Question 2.
• Is Portman having problems? What are the symptoms? What are the causes of the problems Portman is experiencing?
• What should Portman do?
• How much should Portman be willing to invest to address its difficulties? Or alternatively, what is the successful implementation of Portman’s strategy worth? Some operating figures are given in the case. FYI: the capital costs of the hotel work out to $310,000 per room.

Session 3: Work Systems Cases: New United Motors Manufacturing, Inc (NUMMI), Stanford Case #HR-11.

Optional Reading: Rubinstein, Saul R., and Thomas A. Kochan. Learning from Saturn: Possibilities for Corporate Governance and Employee Relations . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University/ILR Press, 2001.

• What is motivating the workers at NUMMI?
• What are the design elements of the Toyota team-based manufacturing system?
• Why has General Motors had so much trouble learning from NUMMI and Saturn?
• Jamie Hresko is now running one of GM’s largest assembly plants. What advice would you give him for how he might introduce some of the NUMMI methods to this facility?

Session 4: The Role of the HR Function

Reading: Ulrich, Dave. Human Resource Champions: The Next Agenda for Adding Value and Delivering Results . Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1998, pp. 23-31 and 231-254.

Session 5: Self-Managed Teams Case: Slade Plating Department, HBS #9-496-018

Reading: Wageman, Ruth. “Critical Success Factors for Creating Superb Self-Managing Teams.” Organizational Dynamics . Summer 1997, pp. 49-61.

• How would you describe the culture of the Sarto group? Be specific. How has it evolved? What impact has it had on the effectiveness of the group?
• What are the determinants of social status and influence within the plating department? The Sarto group? The Clark group?
• What do you learn by analyzing the data provided in the exhibits? How does this influence your interpretations of what is going on?
• Why did management previously ignored the illegal “punch-out” system?
• What actions would you take if you were Porter? What are the risks associated with these actions?

Important supplemental information: The 1996 starting salary in the Plating Department was $8.00; Tony Sarto’s hourly wage was $12.00. The average wage for semi-skilled workers in the U.S. was $12.00. Firms similar to Slade in the Michigan area, such as suppliers to the auto industry, paid an average hourly wage of $14.70. United Auto Workers working at the ‘Big Three (General Motors, Chrysler and Ford), had starting salaries around $13.00 an hour and earned on average $19.00 an hour. The minimum wage in 1996 was $4.25, raised to $4.75 on October 1, 1996.

Session 6: Participation and Involvement Film: Breakdown at Eastern Airlines

Reading: Pfeffer, Jeffrey. “Can You Manage With Unions.” Chap. 8 in The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First . 2000, pp. 225-251.

Session 7: Training and Development Case: ServiceMaster Industries, Inc., HBS #9-388-064.

• What role have ServiceMaster’s values and goals played in the firm’s success?
• Why haven’t other companies successfully copied the ServiceMaster approach?
• How important are training and development in the ServiceMaster system? How does ServiceMaster socialize its employees? How does training and development affect the organization’s continued growth?
• Why has ServiceMaster been willing to spend the resources it has on training and development for a set of jobs that many might see as comparatively low-skilled and for positions that typically experience high turnover?
• There have been proposals (particularly by former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich) that the U.S. follow the lead of some other countries (e.g., France, Singapore) and mandate a certain level of training–for instance, as a percentage of the firm’s payroll. What do you think of this policy? Why and when might organizations spend less than a socially optimal amount on training? What else might be done if one believes that too little training and skill development are occurring in the economy?

Session 8: Culture Case: Morgan Stanley: Becoming a One-Firm Firm, HBS #9-400-043.

Reading: Kaplan, R. S., and D. P. Norton. “Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy.” California Management Review 39, no.1 (Fall 1996).

• What do you think of Mack’s strategy for increased integration? Is this compelling to you? Why or why not?
• Given his strategy, what do you think of his emphasis on revamping the performance management system? What are the pros and cons of implementing a new system of the type being discussed?
• If Mack is to be successful at changing the strategy and culture at Morgan Stanley, what other actions would you recommend he take? What other HR levers should he be thinking about using?
• Given your answer to question #3, what recommendations do you have for how he should proceed? How should he implement these changes?

Session 9: Performance Appraisal Case: The Firmwide 360 Performance Evaluation Process at Morgan Stanley, HBS #9-498053 and Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley (A), HBS #9-498-054.

• What is your assessment of Parson’s performance? Should he be promoted?
• Using the data in the case, please complete the Evaluation and Development Summary presented in Exhibit 3 of the Rob Parson (A) case.
• If you were Paul Nasr, how would you plan to conduct the performance appraisal conversation? What would your goals be? What issues would you raise and why, and how would you raise them?
• If you were Rob Parson, how would you conduct yourself in the performance evaluation meeting? What are your goals? Be prepared to role-play the appraisal conversation in class as either Nasr or Parson.

Cases to be distributed in class: Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley (B), HBS #9-498-055, (C), HBS #9-498-056, and (D), HBS #9-498-058.

Session 10: Diversity Case: The Case of the Part-time Partner.

Reading: Thomas, David A., and Robin J. Ely. “Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity.” Harvard Business Review (September-October 1996): 80-90.

• Would you vote to make Julie a partner? Why or why not?
• What are the pros and cons from the firm’s viewpoint and from the society’s viewpoint of this decision?
• What is your assessment of how the firm handled the situation?
• How might they have proceeded differently?

Session 11: Information Sharing Case: Jack Stack (A) and (B), HBS #9-993-009 and #9-993-010.

Reading: Case, John. “Opening the Books.” Harvard Business Review (March-April 1997): 118-127. (Reprint 97201)

• What does it take to succeed in the engine remanufacturing business? What are the critical skills and organizational competencies?
• What is it like to work in such a plant?
• What are the major risks of a leveraged buy-out such as this?
• What do you think of Stack’s ideas about management?
• What are the key elements of the program Stack put in place?
• Can this approach be used elsewhere? Under which circumstances would it be more (less) appropriate? How could it be implemented?

Session 12: Benefits Case: The SAS Institute: A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry, Stanford Case #HR-6.

Reading: Pfeffer, Jeffrey. “Six Dangerous Myths About Pay.” Harvard Business Review (May-June 1998): 109-119.

• What are the complementary elements of the SAS HR system that make the compensation system effective?
• Why has SAS been able to get away with a compensation system that seems to violate industry conventions?
• Could the SAS approach work in other high technology organizations?
• What would happen if VDS tried to emulate the SAS approach? Why?

Session 13: Compensation Systems Case: Visionary Design Systems, HBS #9-495-011.

• What is the basic philosophy and values of VDS?
• How would you characterize the VDS compensation (base, bonus, and stock) system? On what principles is it based?
• Why has VDS had problems with its Product Data Management effort? To what extent do you see incentive issues as important? What other issues are important?
• What should VDS do about the Product Data Management (PDM) problems?
• Would you make any changes to VDS’ compensation systems? What? Why?

Session 14: Pay for Performance Case: Performance Pay at Safelite Autoglass (A) HBS #9-800-291.

• What are the pros and cons of switching from wage rates to piece rate pay?
• Is Safelite a good candidate for switching from wage rates to piece rates?
• Should there be a guaranteed wage? If so, how should it be set?
• What are the likely consequences of a switch from wage to piece rates for turnover, recruitment, productivity, and product quality?

Session 15: Non-Profit Management Case: The John Snow Institute.

• How successful is JSI?
• How effective is their current human resource management system?
• What should Joel Lamstein do?

Session 16: Managing Service Workers Case: Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.: Rewarding Our People HBS #9-403-008.

• What were the challenges facing Gary Loveman when he took charge?
• What were the key changes he undertook?
• What were the consequences for employees?

Session 17: Alignment and Motivation Case: Nordstrom Department Store. Center for Human Resources, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Reading: Simons, Robert. “Control in an Age of Empowerment.” Harvard Business Review . Reprint #95211.

• How effective is Nordstom’s human resource management system? In what ways does it contribute to the firm’s success?
• Do you have any concerns about the practices described in the case?
• Would you change management systems at Nordstrom? Why? Which systems?

Session 18: Review & Wrap-up

Assignment Question

• Reflecting on the companies we have studied in this course, as well as your own work experience, what lessons do you draw about the respective roles that general managers and the HR function in organizations should play in the management of human resources?

Summary of Class Sessions and Assignment Due Dates ( PDF )

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10 Assignments For Human Resource Managers To Develop Future Skills

• By Simon Carvi
• No Comments

The Covid-19 pandemic has put tremendous pressure on organizations to change the way they operate: from sales and marketing, to finance and customer service. CEOs know that resilience and capacity to innovate are deeply rooted in the company’s human resources. 

To kickstart skilling efforts in the organization, what better place to start than to make sure the Human Resources department is properly equipped. Otherwise, who else should you empower to upskill the rest of your organization? As a matter of fact, the HR function is at the forefront of digital disruption. Your ability to build a skilled HR department is instrumental to make your organization future-ready. 

Remember that when it comes to training, individual Active Learning (classroom, eLearning, reading, etc.) accounts for roughly 10% of the job only! Around 20% of the learning journey to retain a skill is done through others (mentoring, peer interactions, etc.) and 70% by actually doing things! Of course the right blend depends on you and other parameters, such as your company’s business, industry and individual themselves.  

In this short article we will explore 10 SMART ways C-Level and Directors can make sure their HR Managers are being stretched in a good way, exploring projects that will strategically fit the company’s long-term growth and resilience to change. 

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

1. Present a digital transformation strategy to top management

Competency developed: Digital transformation.

Objective: Own the topic of digital transformation within your company. 

Explanation: Yes, strategy! Ultimately digital transformation is about people skills and the ability to evolve in a digital environment. HR managers should be at the center of the conversation to understand future needs, analyze current gaps, and design a plan.

Tips: Read the literature on the topic. Collect feedback from experts or peers leading the same topic within their organizations. WORK WITH IT. 

2. Create and present new dashboard to CHRO including key metrics and qualitative analysis

Competency developed: People Analytics.

Objective: Analyse your company’s HR performance and contribute to business success. 

Explanation: Has your company a clear vision of its HR performance? Take advantage of the latest HR systems and Business Intelligence tools available to connect the dots. Measure actionable indicators and present them to management.

Tips: Collect expectations from CHRO and top management. Does your company already have a dashboard in place? Start collecting feedback from the current dashboard and try to connect new data points to provide new insights Collaborate with IT to learn how to structure and visualize data!

3. Make 5-year manpower plan aligned to business targets and present to top management 

Competency developed: Strategic workforce planning.

Objective : Plan the Human side of your company strategy so it can meet its turnover, profitability, or sustainability targets.

Explanation : How workforce will be utilized in the future? How to attract and develop the necessary skills. You’ll need more than one meeting to produce such a plan.

Tips: Make sure you collect the most relevant business targets to get a clear vision of the 5-year objectives and gaps. Meet with business line manager, top management, and collect market data to validate assumptions.

4. Highlight company’s top 5 turnover reasons with action plan to top management. 

Competency developed: Business partnering.

Objective: Develop your HR Managers to become real Business partner.

Explanation: From back seat to the front seat. HR managers are not only responsible for collecting data, but also to strategize an action plan. 

Tips: This stretch assignment is better utilized during the yearly budgeting period where managers are expected to summarize data and action plans. 

5. Ask HR Manager to personally train all managers on how to make Individual development plans 

Competency developed: Career development planning .

Objective: Boost your organization career development culture and processes. 

Explanation: It is true that HR managers do not own the career development paths of all employees, Line Managers do. On the other hand, HR Managers are responsible for the talent management process , making sure high potential employees are identified and that provided career paths match the organization’s long-term goals. This assignment will boost the HR Manager’s influencing skills while putting employee retention clearly at the center of the conversation.

Tips: This stretch assignment is better implemented with different workshops 5-7 managers maximum. Ultimately, the HR Manager shall control the quality of each Individual Development Plan (IDP) formalized. It is possible to imagine one on one sessions with managers failing to pass the IDP quality control. 

6. Rethink your company’s benefit package and implement one innovative benefit in line with the new workplace reality 

Competency developed : Compensation & Benefits management.

Objective : Make your company compatible with 2020 new workplace expectations. 

Explanation : Disrupted times call for bold measures and flexibility has just become every employee’s number one priority. HR managers must be creative and offer to top management solutions that will guarantee performance while fitting the employee’s expectation of the new normal.

Tips : You do not need to think money when thinking benefit. A good place to start to ensure creativity would be to run a survey. For example, what does work from home implies for your employees, or top management? Try to know more about those changes, and how does the company can help. 

7. Apply reverse mentoring within your team during monthly one on one sessions 

Competency developed : People Management.

Objective : Become a more balanced leader, get a deeper understanding of the motivations of younger employees and get up-to-date with digital tools.

Explanation : The odds are your HR Manager is a bit older than the team he/she manages. Organize ways to collect constructive feedback about your leadership and use them to improve. Subordinates can offer a wealth of feedback and guidance (digital tools!).

Tips : Reverse mentoring is hard, but the benefits on leadership skills can be huge. Do come with an open mind. During the meeting, let subordinate talk most of the time. Receive their feedback with a smile and spare some time to study their deeper meaning. 

8. Redesign performance management system to make it a continuous process. 

Competency developed : Continuous performance management.

Objective : Retain and develop talents.

Explanation : Spoiler alert! Feedback is not a “twice-a-year” thing anymore and one should not wait 6 months to get a meaningful conversation about performance with its boss. To cope with new expectations of the workforce, it is critical companies rethink the way they manage and record employee’s performance. 

Advice : Implement a culture of feedback by enforcing regular one-on-ones once per month. Turn to automated dashboards to measure competency development progress, KPIs and deviations.

9. Link learning and development activities to OKRs and competencies listed in your performance management system 

Objective : Get ROI from learning activities offered to employees. 

Explanation : Whether your organization use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) or KPIs & competencies, make sure learning activities are linked with performance outputs. Follow up implementation on a monthly basis using one on ones. 

Advice : Diversify learning and apply the 70/20/10 approach: Active Learning, Social Learning and Stretch assignments. 

10. Implement monthly change management committees with top management

Objective : Put HR at the centre of change in your organization.

Explanation : HR Managers will not change organizations by themselves. They must collect voices from business line managers and must proceed to risk analysis before launching propositions. 

Advice : Change needs buy-in at the highest level. Get your CEO buy-in and offer him a seat at your committee. 

Do you agree with those suggestions? Do they sound challenging enough to develop long-term skills? Or at the contrary too difficult? Are you an HR Manager willing to develop future-proof skills or a CEO that want to impulse change in the organization? Let us know in the comments below. If you want to get more ideas to develop your teams, you can browse different development plans with 70/20/10 activities on  Huneety.com . New positions are added every week. 

This article has been written by our guest writer Simon Carvi who is an HR expert professional presenting over 7 years of experience gained through roles in Talent Acquisition and Employee Retention globally and in APAC. Simon is passionate about how people learn and the future of work. He helps organizations find practical ways to upskill their workforce as Huneety top learning contributors.

You can reach him on Li n kedIN :

Simon Carvi

Simon Carvi is an HR expert professional presenting over 7 years of experience gained through roles in Talent Acquisition an Employee Retention globally and in APAC. Simon is passionate about how people learn and future of work. He helps organizations find practical ways to upskill their workforce as Huneety top learning contributor.

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Human resource management (HRM)

• Human Capital Management
• Human Resource Management

It’s often said that people are an organization’s greatest resource. Yet, until fairly recently, human resource  management was not considered as critical to success as other business operations, like marketing, finance or sales. This notion has been largely altered by new technology, globalized markets and changes in organizational hierarchies. Today, business leaders place great emphasis on hiring the right people and keeping them engaged.

What is human resource management?

Human resource management involves creating personnel policies and procedures that support business objectives and strategic plans. Central to this mission is fostering a culture that reflects core values and empowers employees to be as productive as possible.

What are the functions of human resource management?

HR functions can vary depending on industry, businesses size and the types of workers employed. In most cases, the primary objectives are to acquire and cultivate talent and improve communication and cooperation among workforce members. Other key human resource management functions include:

• Job analysis Determining the skills and experience necessary to perform a job well may make it easier to hire the right people, determine appropriate compensation and create training programs.
• Workforce operations Creating health and safety policies, responding to employee grievances, working with labor unions, etc., can help support regulatory compliance.
• Performance measurement Evaluating performance is important because it not only fosters employee growth through constructive feedback, but also serves as a guide for raises, promotions and dismissals.
• Incentive programs Recognizing achievements and rewarding high performers with bonuses and other perks is a proven way of motivating employees to take ownership of business objectives.
• Professional development From orientation to advanced educational programs, employee training serves to improve productivity, reduce turnover and minimize supervisory needs.

HCM Buyer’s Guide: Evaluating integrated HCM solutions

What are the responsibilities of human resource management.

HR professionals generally are tasked with creating and administering programs that improve workplace efficiency and employer-employee relationships. Within this broad assignment are several different, but critical responsibilities, such as:

• Staffing Staffing a business or an individual department requires a number of key steps. Hiring managers must first determine how many new employees the budget can support, then find and interview qualified candidates, and finally, make selections and negotiate compensation.
• Developing workplace policies If it’s determined that a new or revised policy is needed, HR professionals typically consult with executives and other managers, write the supporting documentation and communicate it to employees. Policies may cover vacations, dress codes, disciplinary actions and other types of workplace protocol.
• Administering pay and benefits In order to attract and retain talent, compensation must meet industry standards and be comparable to what other employees in similar roles are being paid. Creating such a fair pay system requires careful consideration of an employee’s years of service with the business, experience level, education and skills.
• Retaining talent Compensation isn’t the only thing that retains talented employees. HR managers may need to proactively address issues with workplace environments, organizational culture and relationships between employees and supervisors.
• Training employees When employees develop new skills, they tend to be more productive and satisfied with their job. Some of the training programs typically run by HR departments include team-building activities, policy and ethics education, and on-the-job instruction and skills, e.g. how to run a machine or computer program.
• Complying with regulations Laws that affect the workplace – whether they’re related to discrimination, health care or wages and hours  – are constantly evolving. HR professionals are required to keep up with these changes and notify the rest of the organization in support of compliance.
• Maintaining safety Safety in the workplace means protecting not just the physical health of employees, but also their private information. To minimize workers’ compensation claims and data breaches, HR must implement security measures and ensure that all federal, state and union standards are met.

Human resource management and small business

While human resource management is important to all businesses, the stakes may be higher for smaller organizations. For example, one incompetent employee in an office of 10 people can be much more detrimental than one in a workforce numbering in the thousands. To improve their people processes, small business owners generally can:

• Assess current operations to determine if new hires are needed or if existing employees and production methods can be utilized more effectively.
• Take an active role in the recruitment process and write job descriptions that match prospective talent to business needs.
• Create an employee handbook or an official document that clearly outlines company policies.
• Provide continuing education opportunities as needed by the particular industry.
• Maintain a work environment where employees are treated fairly and can be productive.

HRM systems and software

Faced with rising numbers of contract-based workers and increasingly complex regulations, HR professionals have turned to HRM software to help them keep pace with changing workforce environments and people management needs. This technology is available with a variety of options to suit businesses of any size. Basic systems may offer recruitment services , payroll and benefits , while more robust solutions tend to include talent management, international compliance support  and advanced analytics.

Why use a human resource management system (HRMS)?

HRMS are designed to meet the core needs of HR and turn basic administrative functions into critical enablers of business value. With the aid of these people-centric, data powered solutions, HR managers may be able to:

• Improve their hiring processes
• Manage people more effectively
• Optimize workforce productivity
• Engage and retain employees
• Eliminate costly redundancies
• Make data-driven decisions
• Maintain regulatory compliance

How to choose a human resources management solution

Finding the right solution often requires a strategic evaluation process, such as the following:

• Identify what the organization would like to accomplish, change or improve and how technology can help achieve those goals.
• Ensure that the HRMS can keep pace with the rapidly changing regulatory and statutory requirements in all applicable jurisdictions (local, state, federal, international, etc.).
• Prioritize security and know exactly how sensitive data will be stored, transferred and backed up.
• Look for implementation models with a change management strategy  that will get the HRMS up and running efficiently.
• Address stakeholder questions, concerns and objections to drive widespread HRMS support.
• Ask about service plans to manage the hundreds of post-payroll tasks necessary for compliance .
• Inquire into the vendor’s financial history and investments in innovation.
• Get outside-in perspective by looking at peer reviews, industry analyst feedback and product demos.

Examples of HRM software

Business leaders and HR professionals who are looking for software to help them accomplish more with less resources generally have three options available to them:

• Human resource information systems (HRIS) – perform core HR functions , like applicant tracking, payroll and benefits administration
• Human resource management systems (HRMS) – offer the benefits of HRIS, plus talent management services
• Human capital management (HCM) solutions – provide a broad suite of HR capabilities, including global payroll and compliance support and in-depth analytics

Why choose ADP for your human resource management needs?

ADP’s HR management solutions automate and streamline key needs so that HR professionals can focus more time on their people and less on paperwork. We offer basic and customized packages with some of the following features:

• Powerful workforce reporting that turns data into a trusted source of decision-making
• Preconfigured new hire templates for a simplified onboarding process
• Self-service and mobile apps so time-sensitive tasks can be performed quickly
• Industry-recognized security to help safeguard sensitive information

Learn more about ADP Workforce Now® HR Management →

Frequently asked questions about HRM

What is human resource management and its functions.

Human resource management is the strategic approach to nurturing and supporting employees and ensuring a positive workplace environment. Its functions vary across different businesses and industries, but typically include recruitment, compensation and benefits, training and development, and employee relations.

What are the three major roles of human resources management?

The job of an HR manager can be broken out into three major roles:

• Administrator Running payroll , writing job descriptions, creating workplace policies and procuring benefits packages are typical of HR administration.
• Change manager HR professionals must monitor regulations and communicate policy or procedural changes with employees to help support compliance.
• Personnel manager Managing people entails resolving conflicts, overseeing training and development, and fostering employee engagement.

What are the five main areas of HR?

HR professionals perform many activities in the pursuit of employee well-being and organizational stability, but their responsibilities generally lie within five main areas:

• Recruitment and staffing – identifying talent gaps, acquiring applicants, arbitrating contracts, maintaining ethical hiring practices
• Compensation and benefits – determining pay scales, approving raises, negotiating benefits packages
• Training and development – onboarding new hires, making educational opportunities available
• Compliance and safety – monitoring legislative changes, implementing safety measures, processing workers’ compensation claims
• Employee relations – resolving employee conflicts, addressing harassment or abuse allegations, working with union leaders

What are seven functions of HR?

Over the years, HR has evolved from a personnel department engaged largely in administration to a strategic partner that works closely with management teams on organizational development. It’s seven key functions today include:

• Strategic planning
• Recruitment
• Training and development
• Compensation and benefits
• Policy creation
• Employee and labor relations
• Risk management

What is HR compliance?

HR compliance means keeping an organization from violating the growing number of employment laws enacted by federal, state and local governments. This responsibility requires HR professionals to monitor and understand regulatory requirements, enforce policies, classify workers correctly, practice fair hiring practices and provide a safe work environment, among other tasks.

This guide is intended to be used as a starting point in analyzing an employer’s HR obligations and is not a comprehensive resource of requirements. It offers practical information concerning the subject matter and is provided with the understanding that ADP is not rendering legal or tax advice or other professional services.

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Note: upload the soft copy of your assignment in Moodle for plagiarism checks first finalizing your submission Human resource management has never had so much significance in today's dynamic and competitive business environment than in the last decade. It has been acknowledged by

Slobodan Camilovic

Abstract: In the process of organizational adaptation to environmental demands, primarily through the anticipated outputs, human resources play a key role. The procuring of necessary human resources, their working commitment and development, are the basic assignments of the management of human resources. The appliance of a contemporary concept of management of human resources, based on theoretical and practical cognizance of successful organizations, contributes to a successful execution of these and other assignments. In order to develop such a concept it is necessary to provide, in addition to the relevant basics, a whole chain of professional and managerial activities.

Gihan Yatawatte

Md. Ali Ahsan, PhD

James Sample-Marble

AMJAD ALI IKRAM

Dian Damayanti

Zameer Mohamed

The process of hiring and developing employees so that they become more valuable to the organization. Human Resource Management includes conducting job analyses, planning personnel needs, recruiting the right people for the job, orienting and training, managing wages and salaries, providing benefits and incentives, evaluating performance, resolving disputes, and communicating with all employees at all levels. Examples of core qualities of HR management are extensive knowledge of the industry, leadership, and effective negotiation skills. Formerly called personnel management.

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Human Resources Management Assignment

Introduction

In an organization, employees are the ones who are responsible for carrying out work activities involved in operational process. It is the key job of managers and HR professionals to organize the employees in order to bring effectiveness in their performances. This can be done only if the employees are viewed as invaluable assets and not just machines. Considering employees as assets is an integral part of modern HRM and human capital management.

In the absence of good human resources, an organization cannot build a good team of working professionals. HRM’s prime functions comprise of recruiting, training, performance appraisals, employee relation , cultivating workplace communication, workplace safety etc. HRM advices the management how employees can be managed strategically as business resources.

1.1. Differentiate between personnel management and human resource management giving examples in two suitable organizations

1.2. Assess how human resource management functions help your chosen organization in achieving its purpose

The HRM functions practised at Harrods helps in achieving the organizational purposes by effectively distributing and controlling the various managerial and operational activities. This effectiveness of the functions can be assessed as:

Human Resource Planning: The HRM functions include identifying and assessing the current manpower inventory and forecasting future need for coping with purposes of Harrods and demands in market. According to this Harrods plan and organise activities such as recruitment, promotion and transfers etc to fill the requirements.  (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Recruitment and Selection: after the skill shortage is identified, a recruitment and selection function is carried out by HRM where internal as well as external prospects are analysed. An alignment of responsibilities needed in proposed vacancy and skills required is made which helps to match the best talent in the fitting position to achieve outcomes for Harrods. Also when skills and needs are aligned then it ensures satisfaction and retention of talent resources saving cost for Harrods.

Reward Management: compensation management at Harrods is linked to performance of employees and is provided to value their contribution at work. These include pay packages, benefits such as insurance, medical, travel allowances etc. These contribute to achieve employee’s motivation and involvement at work to increase their productiveness. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Payroll Administration: it is the HRM function to determine the job analysis and salary, benefits, tax deduction, leaves etc linked to employees. This helps to maintain proper administration of employees in Harrods with adequate reward management. 

Performance Management: it includes monitoring, recording and assessing employee’s performance by observation, peer review, meetings etc against set parameters of Harrods. Those who are performers are apprised with incentives, higher responsibilities, promotion etc while those who lack are given training and mentoring to improve.

Training: this HRM function is provided for skill development of employees to cope with environment changes and new demands such as technology, customer trends. This helps to empower and build employee in Harrods to improve their productiveness.

Employee Relationship: this function of HRM helps to maintain strong working with leading people style between management and employees of Harrods to support innovative and integrative culture, cohesive teams and participation by maintaining fair policies, treatment and working conditions within Harrods. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

1.3. Evaluate the role and responsibilities of line managers in your organization and how it supports human resource management functions

The line managers at Harrods are assigned with various roles and responsibilities to manage the core level teams, monitor and control them to achieve the set organizational objectives. They support various HRM functions to delegate and supervise team activities. These are:

Routine work management: line managers at Harrods are responsible for performance management of team for which they plan regular activities, work coordination, observe and identify problems, suggest solutions and monitor everyday functions so that teams can achieve objectives.

Mentoring and Support: the line managers support employees in Harrods to fulfil their roles for which they provide assistance, technical and skill knowledge etc. If an employee has specific need then line managers also provide training by identifying problems and then designing solution. (Farndale, Scullion and Sparrow, 2010)

Delegation: line managers assess individual skills of employees and then delegate responsibilities to achieve best outcome from optimum use of talent management at Harrods. They also maintain flexibility at work by maintaining flexi work schedules, duty rosters etc.

Monitoring and performance management: line managers at Harrods monitor employees to record and observe individual performance at work. This helps to identify achieved levels and expected outcomes and then design rewards to appraise employee’s performance. Subsequently, it also helps to identify training needs of employees who are lacking and then supporting their development activities to motivate and deal with task management.  (Farndale, Scullion and Sparrow, 2010)

1.4. Analyze how legal and regulatory framework impact on human resource management

To maintain effective goal fulfilment, performance and reputation of organization, certain laws and regulatory framework are maintained which helps to achieve effective outcomes and impacts positively on organizational policies. Some of the legal frameworks that are maintained in Harrods for effective employee and work management are:

Equality Act 2010: at Harrods anti-discrimination laws are practised to ensure fair treatment and equality of work for all irrespective of employee’s race, religion, age, gender, disability, nationality etc. Thus diversity of workforce is maintained at Harrods and equality is ensured based on merit.

National Minimum wage ACT 1998: this law helps to ensure fair treatment and compensation management at Harrods depending on nature of work and performance. It states that an employee above 21 years is entitled to minimum wage of 6.50 pounds daily working on an average of 8 hrs irrespective of gender.  (Harzing and Pinnington, 2010)

Employment ACT 2008: this law ensures a structured payment, policies and entitled benefits for employees working in Harrods. Example, an employee is entitled to standardised pay, insurance, child care leaves, work time flexibility etc to ensure safety and job security.

Working time directive 1998: this law ensures that employee at Harrods are eligible to get 28 days paid leave annually, work 8 hours/day. Employers cannot force employees to work beyond working time and beyond 40 hours/week an employee is entitled to receive overtime payments.

Trade union and Labour Relation ACT 1992: this law states that strikes are legal if announced to observe trade disputes. Thus, in Harrods efforts are deliberately made to ensure strong employee relationship to avoid trade disputes and maintain a smooth running of organization.

Work and Families ACT 2006:   this law states that in case of emergencies or illness an employee can avail 12 weeks paid leave annually and in case of maternity employees can avail 18 weeks of paid leave.

Data Protection ACT 1998: this law states that any company information, trade secret and personal information of employees or client is subjected to be confidential information to be used for purpose of trade only by Harrods. These cannot be disclosed to any employees and any attempt of misconduct is treated as offence without consent or authoritative rights.  (Harzing and Pinnington, 2010)

2.1 Analyzing the reasons for human resource planning 

Human Resource Planning is the function that determines current inventory of employees within an organization and forecasts future manpower needs to meet its established objectives. It also maintains the match between employee’s skills and job role so that employee’s expectations and desired outcomes are achieved smoothly.  (Choi and Ruona, 2010)

Some of the reasons for Human Resource Planning are :

Forecasting need for manpower: as changes in labour market varies with retirement, termination, transfer, cessation or employee turnover, there arises need to predict future manpower need with changes in demand.

Uncertainty management: to manage sudden breakthroughs or uncertainty situations such as machinery breakdown, emergency, strikes etc human resource planning is maintained so that employee’s concerns are heard and dealt properly without any mismanagement. 

Change Management: Human resource planning is required to tackle change management such as changes in labour market, new technology, market demands, customer changes or policy changes. HRP identifies and assess the changes and formulates plan to cope with them such as recruitment of new employees, training for development etc to manage changes efficiently. (Choi and Ruona, 2010)

Skill Management of employees: human resource planning identifies current skills and abilities of employees so that they can be developed in shortcoming areas to tackle changes or new challenges at work efficiently to improve their performance and productiveness. HRP designs Training and Skill Enrichment programmes to ensure skill development of employees.

Maintains balance of manpower: to meet with supply and demand of labour according to market changes and maintain the operational cost of organization without any deficit HRP ensures that a balanced flow of manpower is maintained through need assessment, hiring, promotion, transfers etc.     

Employee Management: Human resource planning identifies and assesses the skills and performances of employees against set parameters to design structures of appraisals, salary revisions, promotions, rewards etc that helps to meet employee expectations and acts as motivational factor for their contributed efforts. (Choi and Ruona, 2010)

Budget Planning: human resource planning analyses the costs maintained against training, recruitment, operational functions etc and then formulates a budget for organizational planning.

2.2 Outlining the stages involved in planning human resource requirements

Human Resource Planning has three primary stages:

Forecasting: Human resource planning identifies the shortage or surplus of labour and changes in labour market by matching the current employee inventory and predicting future need. For this requirement of manpower HRP analyses the skill gap and the objectives to be achieved by determining shortage or surplus of labour due to transfer, promotion, resignation, staff turnover etc. After this is determined forecast of future manpower needs, strategic changes and development is planned to cope with change management and achieve organizational purposes. This change in labour market can also arise due to uncertainty of market factors like economy, politics, technology etc which influences manpower changes. (Goetsch and Davis, 2014)

Goal setting and Strategic planning: in this stage, human resource planning assesses the set objectives of organization and then assesses the skill requirement that has to be input to achieve those. After this is done, HRP plans recruitment, training and development, budget allocation etc to decide on organizational planning.

Program implementation and evaluation: in this stage, HRP implements the strategic human resource planning that is determined to achieve the goals sets. For this human inventory is assessed and if there is need of recruitment then it is planned. Also if there is need of skill development then training is planned for development of special skills in existing employee. Further budget is allocated after monitoring and assessing all costs included and finally a decision is made for implementation. Next, implementation is followed by evaluation to identify the success and loopholes of planning so that corrective measures can be done to achieve desired outcomes.  (Goetsch and Davis, 2014)

2.3 Compare the current recruitment and selection process in the organization with another organization you recommending

The recruitment and selection process in our organization consist of two rounds:

• Telephonic interview: In this round potential candidate are asked basic questions regarding aspirations of life, individual description, prior experience etc to assess the general intelligence and emotional quotient of applicants. The shortlisted candidates are called for Face-to-Face interview.
• Face-to-Face interview: in this round the applicants are interviewed by senior managers who assess the competency level, technical know-how etc. This is followed by psychometric assessment where applicant’s core strengths, stability, attitude etc are assessed through verbal questions or stimulation exercises. The candidates are then tested on their aptitude before the final selection is made. (Snape and Redman, 2010)

The R&S process in Harrods consist of four rounds:

Application to jobs: the vacancy for potential jobs is announced in Harrods both in their stores and on their company portals. The applicants have to fill the online application where they need to answer few competency questions which are based on general topics, teamwork, customer service etc which helps to assess intelligence and eligibility of applicants.

Personality test: the shortlisted applicants are asked to take personality test where assessment of personal traits such as behaviour, aptitude, honesty, dedication, suitability to the job role is checked. 

On job evaluation: the candidates who clear personality test are invited to Harrods store to perform real tasks or simulation exercises on various fields depending upon nature of job role such as handling customers, taking orders, preparing bills, complaint handling, store management etc. The candidates are then assessed on their scores, practical skills and aptitude to logical understanding.

Final interview: the candidates who are selected in evaluation test are invited for final face-to-face interview with operation manager where their technical expertise is assessed. The final selection is made in this phase and the candidate who is finalised is offered joining letter within 10 days to join Harrods. (Snape and Redman, 2010)

2.4 Evaluate the effectiveness is the organization recruitment and selection techniques with another organization you recommending

The recruitment and selection technique being followed in our organization maintains a simple process where telephonic screening is done to assess the communication and agility of applicants. It also helps to evaluate the listening ability of candidates. Finally, the face-to-face interaction helps to assess the expertise and competency of candidates. Thus this dual filter process applied in our organization helps to identify best fit for specific nature of job but it lacks proper human resource planning structure which helps to align right person for right task. (Ferguson and Reio Jr, 2010)

On the other hand, Harrods recruitment and selection technique is more structured to measure practical abilities, behaviour, attitude and personality of candidates. The application process helps to screen the applicants based on eligibility and thus eliminates surplus applications which are not suitable for job role. Then the personality test helps to examine personal traits and behaviour which followed by evaluation test helps to evaluate situation handling of candidates base on real practices on job. This helps to examine decision making and promptness of candidates to perform routine activities. Lastly the final interview call helps to examine conceptual knowledge and suitability of candidates to Harrods culture. Thus Harrods recruitment technique is more prominent to examine minutely the best of talent who can be more adaptive to various changes or challenges of industry as it includes more detailed elimination process to reach to right candidate who can hold the reputation and value of Harrods for long term. (Ferguson and Reio Jr, 2010)

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3.1 Assess the link between motivational theory and reward at Virgin Media or your chosen organization

Virgin Media has motivation instilled in its genes. The employees are spread all over the world and work in coordination because of effective teamwork. Virgin recognizes the importance and need of motivation that is prevalent amid the employees for achieving the objectives of an organization and thereby, Virgin provides a constant support to the desirable behaviours at work by the advantage of offering two bonus schemes. (Pearsall, Christian and Ellis, 2010)

There are various motivational theories but at Virgin, one can see the application of Maslow’s theory of motivation where five levels of needs are been emphasized. The first and basic need of an employee is the fulfilment of Physiological needs such as food, shelter, clothes etc. and the second stage covers the safety needs such as job security, integrity etc. The third stage of need is belonging needs which includes of friendship, family, recognition etc. and the fourth need is the esteem need such as sense of achievement, self respect, etc. The final stage is of the self-actualisation need where it is assumed that an employee has attained its maximal potential.

One can relate the physiological needs of an employee by providing various motivational benefits such with competitive wages, health benefits, educational support etc. as these are the very basic needs which must be fulfilled. Other motivational benefits for example training programmes, life insurance etc. can be linked to an employee’s safety needs. The need of belongingness at Virgin can be related to the workplace relations with co-workers and superiors, pay hike, discount lunch etc.  further determining employees loyalty towards the company. By offering benefits like appraisals, paid vacation, stock purchase plan, bonus schemes etc. Virgin cultivates a sense of achievement within the employees which can be linked to the esteem needs.  Motivational theory also stresses on establishing secure environment where employees’ contributions are recognized in the form of rewards. At Virgin Media, employees are furnished with both facilities and flexibilities thereby, fulfilling the norm of providing a safe and secure working atmosphere. In addition, reward in the forms of promotions and incentives are offered. Rewarding is not just an encouragement for a certain employee but is a motivation for the underperformers to work more hard. Winning a reward can be linked to the need of self-actualisation. (Pearsall, Christian and Ellis, 2010)

3.2 Evaluate the process of job evaluation and other factors determining pay at Virgin Media or your chosen organization

Gaining Acceptance: ahead of performing job evaluation, Virgin’s management must get a clear picture regarding to expectations, aims and objectives of all the positions eventually conveying it to the employees. (Snell and Bohlander, 2010)

Creating Job Evaluation Committee: the committee must comprise of the HR department, senior line managers, management and stakeholders like union leaders

Finding Jobs to be evaluated: at Virgin, all the positions available are evaluated except the jobs in IT department

Analysing and Preparing the Job Description: preparing the JD is the key role of the committee formed at Virgin. Every job is evaluated according to the management’s mandate which is further broken down in regard to the requirements, roles and responsibilities, optimal candidate details, allowance etc.

Selecting the method of evaluation: the best method for evaluating a job is comparing with competitors. Moreover, the evaluation can also be done by outsourced professional agencies or by observing the current market rates

Classifying Jobs: at Virgin, jobs are classified by bringing in together similar JDs and pay structures.

Installing the Program: at Virgin, this exercise is conducted through surveys, which is practiced as an annual routine and is further updated annually

Reviewing Periodically: it also is an annual exercise done for updating and modifying the existing pay structure

At Virgin Media, factors like seniority, experience, value added and employee motivation determine the pay. The pay range of the senior employees is different at Virgin. One can see that the pay scale of employees with a minimum 10 years of experience changes and their invaluable contributions are acknowledged and recognized. Furthermore, the pay structure of all employees are been altered repeatedly. The HR Manager in consultation with the management designs special pay packages for certain employees who are capable of playing multiple job roles. Moreover, the pay structure is designed by considering factors such as bringing change in workplace, inputs, employee’s prospective growth, their versatility towards changes, new roles, zest for taking risks etc. are the factors determining pay, which eventually is evaluated by the line managers and HR department. (Snell and Bohlander, 2010)

3.3 Assess in different contexts how effective is the reward systems at Virgin Media or your chosen organization

Reward systems and its effectiveness in Virgin Media It has been observed that the reward system at Virgin has been categorized into two key sections namely financial and non-financial

Financial rewards

Non- Financial rewards

Effectiveness of rewards in Virgin Media

The key purpose behind initiating a reward system is to recognize and acknowledge the employees contributions in driving the business towards its desirable goals. Virgin provides its employees with monthly incentives added in the pay for reaching the given targets and ensures that hardworking employees are praised at work so that feel motivated and inspire the others. Virgin encourages healthy competition amid the employees for winning the rewards as it not only is related to a monetary value but also is a matter of pride for the employee. An employee, who is promoted for undertaking higher responsibilities, is also considered as reward and the employees feel promotion as a recognition which they are seeking to achieve. (Gittell, Seidner and Wimbush, 2010)

 3.4 Examine the methods Virgin Media or your chosen organization use to monitor employee performance

Methods of monitoring employee performances at Virgin

Set clear policies on time and productivity: it is important to plan the tasks to be allotted in advance eventually providing employees with direction and an idea of the performance standards expected from them. (De Jong and Elfring, 2010)

Regular check-ins and reporting needs: it is important to ensure that check-ins and reports are not demanding but rather should be encouraging for both employees and management bringing them together on the same page. Moreover, evaluation of the work described in a report or while check-in must be done

Apprehending motivational levels: can be done with the surveys where employees can voice their opinions and concerns.

Virgin Media can adopt a trimester appraisal system in order to evaluate the employees’ performances further enabling the management in cutting down the costs of the process of evaluation. Tom Mockridge, CEO, Virgin Media has stated that the company’s current process of performance evaluation is too costly when compared with the outcomes and thereby, for reducing the burden a plan must be made for implementing the structure. Practice of a trimester appraisal system is very effective for Virgin as it allows the employees to keep a track on their performances thrice in a year enabling them to avail the opportunities to improve and work attentively around the year. (De Jong and Elfring, 2010)

4.1 Identify the reasons for termination of Faisal’s employment contract with The Chicken Master and generally explain other reasons for cessation of employment

The owner of Chicken Master, Bob Jones takes into consideration multiple reasons ahead of terminating an employee further allowing the restaurant to keep its position safe. Ahead of terminating an employee, Bob Jones ensures that it has enough evidences and valid reason to proving that the action was legitimate in case the employee drags Chicken Master to the tribunal. Moreover, Bob gets involved on a personal level in every activity whether it is recruitment or termination, to ensure that any kind of reprehensible practice is not exercised in the restaurant and that all the processes are executed in adherence to the employment laws of UK. (Guest, Isaksson and De Witte, 2010)

Faisal, the restaurant manager at Chicken Master was laid off because of his bad behaviour and performance at work. Faisal although having 15 years of work experience in a restaurant failed in maintaining cleanliness in the restaurant’s kitchen and never stocked the store which raised problems while serving the customers. Moreover, he would often take out the restaurant’s equipment for his personal use without the knowledge of Bob, which was a violation of the policies mentioned in the employee handbook which he signed while joining. On investigating Bob found that Faisal would regularly watch pornography, emailing his wife and helping his daughter with her homework, even designing his own restaurant which was misbehaviour and violation of the restaurant’s policies. All these factors eventually lead to his termination on the grounds of unethical behaviour at work. (Guest, Isaksson and De Witte, 2010)

Reasons for cessation of employment

Shrinking Budget: continuous low profits or lack of funds from shareholders gives rise to situations where an organization becomes helpless in maintain the employees and are forced to lay off employees for maximizing their budgets.

Attendance: although employers understand the need of taking a time off citing illness, relatives death, holidays etc. an employee who is habituated in remaining continuously absent at work is subjected of getting terminated as it negatively influences on the company’s overall productivity, profits and morale. (Castilla and Benard, 2010)

Performance: employees with poor performances such as failure in achieving the given targets, missing deadlines, negligence at work etc. despite of multiple opportunities of improving themselves can face termination

Attitude and Behaviour: an organization expects the employees of maintaining a certain standard of respect at workplace with employer, co-workers, vendors and customers. Behaviours like misbehaving with customers, stealing office accessories or leaking secret information, maligning company’s name, drug and alcohol abuse etc. might result into employees’ termination. (Castilla and Benard, 2010)

4.2 Describe the employment exit procedures used by The Chicken Master and another organization of your choice

Employment exit procedure of NHS

Employment exit procedure of Chicken Master:  Chicken Master’s employment exit procedure is quick and is eventually is related with the overall growth of the business while a financial crunch. Termination linked to employees’ performance is low and can be related to training, growth opportunities and the reward structure. Employees are given a minimum of 2 months time to look out other job and often at times gives references or when a background check is processed, the Bob gives a positive respond. In case an employee resigns, an interview is organized where the employee gives valid reasons behind the decisions. However, in case an employee is terminated on the grounds of unacceptable behaviour a fast processing is employed without indulging into many formalities. (Kramer, 2010)

4.3 Consider the impact of the legal and regulatory framework on employment cessation arrangements with an organization such as The Chicken Master if Faisal’s claim was proven to be true

There can be a considerable effect on Chicken Master while managing and adhering to the legal and regulatory framework during employment cessation as it is mandatory to adhere to the regulations. One can evaluate the employment cessation with the help of various prospects like annual and sustainability report of the restaurant. On the basis of the study, one can say that the restaurant has been particular with its employment cessation arrangements which might be considered as a sterile exercise by its competitors but Bob ensures that there is zero impact on the restaurant’s performance in terms of costs resulted because of non compliance of the regulatory framework for employment cessation. Comprehensively, the employment cessation arrangements at Chicken Master are steady at large under the legal and regulatory frameworks. It has been observed that Bobs has adopted numerous measures for ensuring that employees’ growth and productivity remain unaffected and are in accordance to the job requirements.  Moreover, Chicken Master has never attempted of overseeing the employment laws and its related provisions. (Rubery, 2010)

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At the end, we conclude that the HRM is very important to be practiced in an organization for achieving a long-term success. The report highlights any organization overcomes the various challenges it faces while executing the policies and strategies of HRM. The report also analyzes the importance and role played by HRM as an organization keeps growing in terms of size. The execution of HRM is a planned process, which tends to evolve over a period of time can be analyzed through various aspects like personnel management, recruitment and selection process, reward system, employees motivation and employment termination and cessation. HRM ensures that an organization employs a proactive approach at work further resulting into an improved workforce planning and utilization along with an enhanced opportunities of growth for the employees.

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Anderson, D. and Anderson, L.A., 2010. Beyond change management: How to achieve breakthrough results through conscious change leadership. John Wiley & Sons. Choi, M. and Ruona, W.E., 2010. Individual readiness for organizational change and its implications for human resource and organization development. Human Resource Development Review, p.1534484310384957. Castilla, E.J. and Benard, S., 2010. The paradox of meritocracy in organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 55(4), pp.543-676. De Jong, B.A. and Elfring, T., 2010. How does trust affect the performance of ongoing teams? The mediating role of reflexivity, monitoring, and effort. Academy of Management Journal, 53(3), pp.535-549. Farndale, E., Scullion, H. and Sparrow, P., 2010. The role of the corporate HR function in global talent management. Journal of World Business, 45(2), pp.161-168. Ferguson, K.L. and Reio Jr, T.G., 2010. Human resource management systems and firm performance. Journal of Management Development, 29(5), pp.471-494. Gittell, J.H., Seidner, R. and Wimbush, J., 2010. A relational model of how high-performance work systems work. Organization science, 21(2), pp.490-506. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Guest, D.E., Isaksson, K. and De Witte, H., 2010. Employment  legal contract , psychological contracts, and employee well-being: an international study. Oxford University Press.

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Managing International Assignments

International assignment management is one of the hardest areas for HR professionals to master—and one of the most costly. The expense of a three-year international assignment can cost millions, yet many organizations fail to get it right. Despite their significant investments in international assignments, companies still report a 42 percent failure rate in these assignments. 1

With so much at risk, global organizations must invest in upfront and ongoing programs that will make international assignments successful. Selecting the right person, preparing the expatriate (expat) and the family, measuring the employee's performance from afar, and repatriating the individual at the end of an assignment require a well-planned, well-managed program. Knowing what to expect from start to finish as well as having some tools to work with can help minimize the risk.

Business Case

As more companies expand globally, they are also increasing international assignments and relying on expatriates to manage their global operations. According to KPMG's 2021 Global Assignment Policies and Practices Survey, all responding multinational organizations offered long-term assignments (typically one to five years), 88 percent offered short-term assignments (typically defined as less than 12 months), and 69 percent offered permanent transfer/indefinite length.

Managing tax and tax compliance, cost containment and managing exceptions remain the three principal challenges in long-term assignment management according to a 2020 Mercer report. 2

Identifying the Need for International Assignment

Typical reasons for an international assignment include the following:

• Filling a need in an existing operation.
• Transferring technology or knowledge to a worksite (or to a client's worksite).
• Developing an individual's career through challenging tasks in an international setting.
• Analyzing the market to see whether the company's products or services will attract clients and users.
• Launching a new product or service.

The goal of the international assignment will determine the assignment's length and help identify potential candidates. See Structuring Expatriate Assignments and the Value of Secondment and Develop Future Leaders with Rotational Programs .

Selection Process

Determining the purpose and goals for an international assignment will help guide the selection process. A technical person may be best suited for transferring technology, whereas a sales executive may be most effective launching a new product or service.

Traditionally, organizations have relied on technical, job-related skills as the main criteria for selecting candidates for overseas assignments, but assessing global mindset is equally, if not more, important for successful assignments. This is especially true given that international assignments are increasingly key components of leadership and employee development.

To a great extent, the success of every expatriate in achieving the company's goals in the host country hinges on that person's ability to influence individuals, groups and organizations that have a different cultural perspective.

Interviews with senior executives from various industries, sponsored by the Worldwide ERC Foundation, reveal that in the compressed time frame of an international assignment, expatriates have little opportunity to learn as they go, so they must be prepared before they arrive. Therefore, employers must ensure that the screening process for potential expatriates includes an assessment of their global mindset.

The research points to three major attributes of successful expatriates:

• Intellectual capital. Knowledge, skills, understanding and cognitive complexity.
• Psychological capital. The ability to function successfully in the host country through internal acceptance of different cultures and a strong desire to learn from new experiences.
• Social capital. The ability to build trusting relationships with local stakeholders, whether they are employees, supply chain partners or customers.

According to Global HR Consultant Caroline Kersten, it is generally understood that global leadership differs significantly from domestic leadership and that, as a result, expatriates need to be equipped with competencies that will help them succeed in an international environment. Commonly accepted global leadership competencies, for both male and female global leaders, include cultural awareness, open-mindedness and flexibility.

In particular, expatriates need to possess a number of vital characteristics to perform successfully on assignment. Among the necessary traits are the following:

• Confidence and self-reliance: independence; perseverance; work ethic.
• Flexibility and problem-solving skills: resilience; adaptability; ability to deal with ambiguity.
• Tolerance and interpersonal skills: social sensitivity; observational capability; listening skills; communication skills.
• Skill at handling and initiating change: personal drivers and anchors; willingness to take risks.

Trends in international assignment show an increase in the younger generation's interest and placement in global assignments. Experts also call for a need to increase female expatriates due to the expected leadership shortage and the value employers find in mixed gender leadership teams. See Viewpoint: How to Break Through the 'Mobility Ceiling' .

Employers can elicit relevant information on assignment successes and challenges by means of targeted interview questions with career expatriates, such as the following:

• How many expatriate assignments have you completed?
• What are the main reasons why you chose to accept your previous expatriate assignments?
• What difficulties did you experience adjusting to previous international assignments? How did you overcome them?
• On your last assignment, what factors made your adjustment to the new environment easier?
• What experiences made interacting with the locals easier?
• Please describe what success or failure means to you when referring to an expatriate assignment.
• Was the success or failure of your assignments measured by your employers? If so, how did they measure it?
• During your last international assignment, do you recall when you realized your situation was a success or a failure? How did you come to that determination?
• Why do you wish to be assigned an international position?

Securing Visas

Once an individual is chosen for an assignment, the organization needs to move quickly to secure the necessary visas. Requirements and processing times vary by country. Employers should start by contacting the host country's consulate or embassy for information on visa requirements. See Websites of U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Missions .

Following is a list of generic visa types that may be required depending on the nature of business to be conducted in a particular country:

• A work permit authorizes paid employment in a country.
• A work visa authorizes entry into a country to take up paid employment.
• A dependent visa permits family members to accompany or join employees in the country of assignment.
• A multiple-entry visa permits multiple entries into a country.

Preparing for the Assignment

An international assignment agreement that outlines the specifics of the assignment and documents agreement by the employer and the expatriate is necessary. Topics typically covered include:

• Location of the assignment.
• Length of the assignment, including renewal and trial periods, if offered.
• Costs paid by the company (e.g., assignment preparation costs, moving costs for household goods, airfare, housing, school costs, transportation costs while in country, home country visits and security).
• Base salary and any incentives or allowances offered.
• Employee's responsibilities and goals.
• Employment taxes.
• Steps to take in the event the assignment is not working for either the employee or the employer.
• Repatriation.
• Safety and security measures (e.g., emergency evacuation procedures, hazards).

Expatriates may find the reality of foreign housing very different from expectations, particularly in host locations considered to be hardship assignments. Expats will find—depending on the degree of difficulty, hardship or danger—that housing options can range from spacious accommodations in a luxury apartment building to company compounds with dogs and armed guards. See Workers Deal with Affordable Housing Shortages in Dubai and Cairo .

Expats may also have to contend with more mundane housing challenges, such as shortages of suitable housing, faulty structures and unreliable utility services. Analyses of local conditions are available from a variety of sources. For example, Mercer produces Location Evaluation Reports, available for a fee, that evaluate levels of hardship for 14 factors, including housing, in more than 135 locations.

Although many employers acknowledge the necessity for thorough preparation, they often associate this element solely with the assignee, forgetting the other key parties involved in an assignment such as the employee's family, work team and manager.

The expatriate

Consider these points in relation to the assignee:

• Does the employee have a solid grasp of the job to be done and the goals established for that position?
• Does the employee understand the compensation and benefits package?
• Has the employee had access to cultural training and language instruction, no matter how similar the host culture may be?
• Is the employee receiving relocation assistance in connection with the physical move?
• Is there a contact person to whom the employee can go not only in an emergency but also to avoid becoming "out of sight, out of mind"?
• If necessary to accomplish the assigned job duties, has the employee undergone training to get up to speed?
• Has the assignee undergone an assessment of readiness?

To help the expatriate succeed, organizations are advised to invest in cross-cultural training before the relocation. The benefits of receiving such training are that it: 3

• Prepares the individual/family mentally for the move.
• Removes some of the unknown.
• Increases self-awareness and cross-cultural understanding.
• Provides the opportunity to address questions and anxieties in a supportive environment.
• Motivates and excites.
• Reduces stress and provides coping strategies.
• Eases the settling-in process.
• Reduces the chances of relocation failure.

See Helping Expatriate Employees Deal with Culture Shock .

As society has shifted from single- to dual-income households, the priorities of potential expatriates have evolved, as have the policies organizations use to entice employees to assignment locations. In the past, from the candidate's point of view, compensation was the most significant component of the expatriate package. Today more emphasis is on enabling an expatriate's spouse to work. Partner dissatisfaction is a significant contributor to assignment failure. See UAE: Expat Husbands Get New Work Opportunities .

When it comes to international relocation, most organizations deal with children as an afterthought. Factoring employees' children into the relocation equation is key to a successful assignment. Studies show that transferee children who have a difficult time adjusting to the assignment contribute to early returns and unsuccessful completion of international assignments, just as maladjusted spouses do. From school selection to training to repatriation, HR can do a number of things to smooth the transition for children.

Both partners and children must be prepared for relocation abroad. Employers should consider the following:

• Have they been included in discussions about the host location and what they can expect? Foreign context and culture may be more difficult for accompanying family because they will not be participating in the "more secure" environment of the worksite. Does the family have suitable personal characteristics to successfully address the rigors of an international life?
• In addition to dual-career issues, other common concerns include aging parents left behind in the home country and special needs for a child's education. Has the company allowed a forum for the family to discuss these concerns?

The work team

Whether the new expatriate will supervise the existing work team, be a peer, replace a local national or fill a newly created position, has the existing work team been briefed? Plans for a formal introduction of the new expatriate should reflect local culture and may require more research and planning as well as input from the local work team.

The manager/team leader

Questions organization need to consider include the following: Does the manager have the employee's file on hand (e.g., regarding increases, performance evaluations, promotions and problems)? Have the manager and employee engaged in in-depth conversations about the job, the manager's expectations and the employee's expectations?

Mentors play an important role in enhancing a high-performing employee's productivity and in guiding his or her career. In a traditional mentoring relationship, a junior executive has ongoing face-to-face meetings with a senior executive at the corporation to learn the ropes, set goals and gain advice on how to better perform his or her job.

Before technological advances, mentoring programs were limited to those leaders who had the time and experience within the organization's walls to impart advice to a few select people worth that investment. Technology has eliminated those constraints. Today, maintaining a long-distance mentoring relationship through e-mail, telephone and videoconferencing is much easier. And that technology means an employer is not confined to its corporate halls when considering mentor-mentee matches.

The organization

If the company is starting to send more employees abroad, it has to reassess its administrative capabilities. Can existing systems handle complicated tasks, such as currency exchanges and split payrolls, not to mention the additional financial burden of paying allowances, incentives and so on? Often, international assignment leads to outsourcing for global expertise. Payroll, tax, employment law, contractual obligations, among others, warrant an investment in sound professional advice.

Employment Laws

Four major U.S. employment laws have some application abroad for U.S. citizens working in U.S.-based multinationals:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Title VII, the ADEA and the ADA are the more far-reaching among these, covering all U.S. citizens who are either:

• Employed outside the United States by a U.S. firm.
• Employed outside the United States by a company under the control of a U.S. firm.

USERRA's extraterritoriality applies to veterans and reservists working overseas for the federal government or a firm under U.S. control. See Do laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act apply to U.S. citizens working in several other countries?

Employers must also be certain to comply with both local employment law in the countries in which they manage assignments and requirements for corporate presence in those countries. See Where can I find international employment law and culture information?

Compensation

Companies take one of the following approaches to establish base salaries for expatriates:

• The home-country-based approach. The objective of a home-based compensation program is to equalize the employee to a standard of living enjoyed in his or her home country. Under this commonly used approach, the employee's base salary is broken down into four general categories: taxes, housing, goods and services, and discretionary income.
• The host-country-based approach. With this approach, the expatriate employee's compensation is based on local national rates. Many companies continue to cover the employee in its defined contribution or defined benefit pension schemes and provide housing allowances.
• The headquarters-based approach. This approach assumes that all assignees, regardless of location, are in one country (i.e., a U.S. company pays all assignees a U.S.-based salary, regardless of geography).
• Balance sheet approach. In this scenario, the compensation is calculated using the home-country-based approach with all allowances, deductions and reimbursements. After the net salary has been determined, it is then converted to the host country's currency. Since one of the primary goals of an international compensation management program is to maintain the expatriate's current standard of living, developing an equitable and functional compensation plan that combines balance and flexibility is extremely challenging for multinational companies. To this end, many companies adopt a balance sheet approach. This approach guarantees that employees in international assignments maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in their home country. A worksheet lists the costs of major expenses in the home and host countries, and any differences are used to increase or decrease the compensation to keep it in balance.

Some companies also allow expatriates to split payment of their salaries between the host country's and the home country's currencies. The expatriate receives money in the host country's currency for expenses but keeps a percentage of it in the home country currency to safeguard against wild currency fluctuations in either country.

As for handling expatriates taxes, organizations usually take one of four approaches:

• The employee is responsible for his or her own taxes.
• The employer determines tax reimbursement on a case-by-case basis.
• The employer pays the difference between taxes paid in the United States and the host country.
• The employer withholds U.S. taxes and pays foreign taxes.

To prevent an expatriate employee from suffering excess taxation of income by both the U.S. and host countries, many multinational companies implement either a tax equalization or a tax reduction policy for employees on international assignments. Additionally, the United States has entered into  bilateral international social security agreements  with numerous countries, referred to as "totalization agreements," which allow for an exemption of the social security tax in either the home or host country for defined periods of time.

A more thorough discussion of compensation and tax practices for employees on international assignment can be found in SHRM's Designing Global Compensation Systems toolkit.

How do we handle taxes for expatriates?

Can employers pay employees in other countries on the corporate home-country payroll?

Measuring Expatriates' Performance

Failed international assignments can be extremely costly to an organization. There is no universal approach to measuring an expatriate's performance given that specifics related to the job, country, culture and other variables will need to be considered. Employers must identify and communicate clear job expectations and performance indicators very early on in the assignment. A consistent and detailed assessment of an expatriate employee's performance, as well as appraisal of the operation as a whole, is critical to the success of an international assignment. Issues such as the criteria for and timing of performance reviews, raises and bonuses should be discussed and agreed on before the employees are selected and placed on international assignments.

Employees on foreign assignments face a number of issues that domestic employees do not. According to a 2020 Mercer report 4 , difficulty adjusting to the host country, poor candidate selection and spouse or partner's unhappiness are the top three reasons international assignments fail. Obviously, retention of international assignees poses a significant challenge to employers.

Upon completion of an international assignment, retaining the employee in the home country workplace is also challenging. Unfortunately, many employers fail to track retention data of repatriated employees and could benefit from collecting this information and making adjustments to reduce the turnover of employees returning to their home country.

Safety and Security

When faced with accident, injury, sudden illness, a disease outbreak or politically unstable conditions in which personal safety is at risk, expatriate employees and their dependents may require evacuation to the home country or to a third location. To be prepared, HR should have an evacuation plan in place that the expatriate can share with friends, extended family and colleagues both at home and abroad. See Viewpoint: Optimizing Global Mobility's Emergency Response Plans .

Many companies ban travel outside the country in the following circumstances:

• When a travel advisory is issued by the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, International SOS or a government agency.
• When a widespread outbreak of a specific disease occurs or if the risk is deemed too high for employees and their well-being is in jeopardy.
• If the country is undergoing civil unrest or war or if an act of terrorism has occurred.
• If local management makes the decision.
• If the employee makes the decision.

Once employees are in place, the decision to evacuate assignees and dependents from a host location is contingent on local conditions and input from either internal sources (local managers, headquarters staff, HR and the assignee) or external sources (an external security or medical firm) or both. In some cases, each host country has its own set of evacuation procedures.

Decision-makers should consider all available and credible advice and initially transport dependents and nonessential personnel out of the host country by the most expeditious form of travel.

Navigating International Crises

How can an organization ensure the safety and security of expatriates and other employees in high-risk areas?

The Disaster Assistance Improvement Program (DAIP)

Repatriation

Ideally, the repatriation process begins before the expatriate leaves his or her home country and continues throughout the international assignment by addressing the following issues.

Career planning. Many managers are responsible for resolving difficult problems abroad and expect that a well-done job will result in promotion on return, regardless of whether the employer had made such a promise. This possibly unfounded assumption can be avoided by straightforward career planning that should occur in advance of the employee's accepting the international assignment. Employees need to know what impact the expatriate assignment will have on their overall advancement in the home office and that the international assignment fits in their career path.

Mentoring. The expatriate should be assigned a home-office mentor. Mentors are responsible for keeping expatriates informed on developments within the company, for keeping the expatriates' names in circulation in the office (to help avoid the out-of-sight, out-of-mind phenomenon) and for seeing to it that expatriates are included in important meetings. Mentors can also assist the expatriate in identifying how the overseas experience can best be used on return. Optimum results are achieved when the mentor role is part of the mentor's formal job duties.

Communication. An effective global communication plan will help expatriates feel connected to the home office and will alert them to changes that occur while they are away. The Internet, e-mail and intranets are inexpensive and easy ways to bring expatriates into the loop and virtual meeting software is readily available for all employers to engage with global employees. In addition, organizations should encourage home-office employees to keep in touch with peers on overseas assignments. Employee newsletters that feature global news and expatriate assignments are also encouraged.

Home visits. Most companies provide expatriates with trips home. Although such trips are intended primarily for personal visits, scheduling time for the expatriate to visit the home office is an effective method of increasing the expatriate's visibility. Having expatriates attend a few important meetings or make a presentation on their international assignment is also a good way to keep them informed and connected.

Preparation to return home. The expatriate should receive plenty of advance notice (some experts recommend up to one year) of when the international assignment will end. This notice will allow the employee time to prepare the family and to prepare for a new position in the home office. Once the employee is notified of the assignment's end, the HR department should begin working with the expatriate to identify suitable positions in the home office. The expatriate should provide the HR department with an updated resume that reflects the duties of the overseas assignment. The employee's overall career plan should be included in discussions with the HR professional.

Interviews. In addition to home leave, organizations may need to provide trips for the employee to interview with prospective managers. The face-to-face interview will allow the expatriate to elaborate on skills and responsibilities obtained while overseas and will help the prospective manager determine if the employee is a good fit. Finding the right position for the expatriate is crucial to retaining the employee. Repatriates who feel that their new skills and knowledge are underutilized may grow frustrated and leave the employer.

Ongoing recognition of contributions. An employer can recognize and appreciate the repatriates' efforts in several ways, including the following:

• Hosting a reception for repatriates to help them reconnect and meet new personnel.
• Soliciting repatriates' help in preparing other employees for expatriation.
• Asking repatriates to deliver a presentation or prepare a report on their overseas assignment.
• Including repatriates on a global task force and asking them for a global perspective on business issues.

Measuring ROI on expatriate assignments can be cumbersome and imprecise. The investment costs of international assignments can vary dramatically and can be difficult to determine. The largest expatriate costs include overall remuneration, housing, cost-of-living allowances (which sometimes include private schooling costs for children) and physical relocation (the movement to the host country of the employee, the employee's possessions and, often, the employee's family).

But wide variations exist in housing expenses. For example, housing costs are sky-high in Tokyo and London, whereas Australia's housing costs are moderate. Another significant cost of expatriate assignments involves smoothing out differences in pay and benefits between one country and another. Such cost differences can be steep and can vary based on factors such as exchange rates (which can be quite volatile) and international tax concerns (which can be extremely complex).

Once an organization has determined the costs of a particular assignment, the second part of the ROI challenge is calculating the return. Although it is relatively straightforward to quantify the value of fixing a production line in Puerto Rico or of implementing an enterprise software application in Asia, the challenge of quantifying the value of providing future executives with cross-cultural perspectives and international leadership experience can be intimidating.

Once an organization determines the key drivers of its expatriate program, HR can begin to define objectives and assess return that can be useful in guiding employees and in making decisions about the costs they incur as expatriates. Different objectives require different levels and lengths of tracking. Leadership development involves a much longer-term value proposition and should include a thorough repatriation plan. By contrast, the ROI of an international assignment that plugs a skills gap is not negatively affected if the expatriate bolts after successfully completing the engagement.

Additional Resources

International Assignment Management: Expatriate Policy and Procedure

Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline

1Mulkeen, D. (2017, February 20). How to reduce the risk of international assignment failure. Communicaid. Retrieved from https://www.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/blog/reducing-risk-international-assignment-failure/

2Mercer. (2020). Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices. Retrieved from https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/international-assignments-survey .

3Dickmann, M., & Baruch, Y. (2011). Global careers. New York: Routledge.

4Mercer. (2020). Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices. Retrieved from https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/international-assignments-survey

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Managing and Performing

Managerial decision-making, the history of management, external and internal organizational environments and corporate culture, ethics, corporate responsibility, and sustainability, international management, entrepreneurship, strategic analysis: understanding a firm’s competitive environment, the strategic management process: achieving and sustaining competitive advantage, organizational structure and change, human resource management, diversity in organizations, work motivation for performance, managing teams, managerial communication, organizational planning and controlling, management of technology and innovation.

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