Managing and Co-ordinating the Human Resources Function

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Question 1

Analyse how the HR function varies between organisations. Include a comparison of HR

delivery in different sectors and organisations of different sizes.

HR functions vary because of the different organisational characteristics that play significant
roles in accomplishing organisational goals and objectives. The organisational flexibility and
complexity may determine the characteristics and functions and duties carried out in the
different organisational settings. HR delivers its functions depending on the different
organisational characteristics, which are also influenced by the sector of business operations
and the organisational size.

The evaluation of the Ulrich three-legged model effectively delivers HR functions in large
organisations such as NHS (CIPD, 2015). National Health Service Trust is a big organisation
operating in different locations in the UK. The organisation aims to deliver healthcare services
and support to the people in the local communities. They assist in ensuring that the people
receive the best medical attention they can. Being a large organisation operating different trusts,
the NHS may consider using the Ulrich model, which differentiates HR functions into shared
services, business partnership, and HR as a centre of excellence. The extensive information at
NHS is divided among the three elements in the model to enhance the effective delivery of the
HR functions. The Ulrich model is effective in complex organisations with a workload of data
that needs to be examined before making certain decisions to impact the organisation and the
employees. NHS is a public organisation and is different from Tesco, a large organisation but
operating privately. In such a company, HR may deliver its functions using the same Ulrich
model. In both public and private sectors, businesses may partner with other businesses to
enhance the effective delivery of HR functions.

In smaller organisations, the business partnership becomes an effective method of delivering

HR functions. Small organisations may focus on considering the services of an HR generalist
who engages in all HR responsibilities and functions in the organisation. The generalist
assumes that the right actions support the organisation towards championing a better working
life for all. HR may also deliver its function through outsourcing (George, 2020). This is where
an organisation seeks to acquire services from professionals who have specialised in a
particular HR function. This happens mainly among the charity organisations where the
organisation rarely engages in recruiting professionals for all functions in the organisation.
Outsourcing in charity organisations is effective because the organisation is flexible, and
decisions made by the specialists can easily influence the organisational mission and goals.

Question 2

a) Provide three examples of organisational objectives that the HR function is

responsible for delivering and briefly explain how these have evolved.

The organisational objectives that HR function delivers are meant to create a working
environment where people matter, work matters, and professionalism. This is according to the
CIPD's expectations of professionals to enhance the effective delivery of HR functions to
achieve organisational objectives. Some of the objectives delivered by HR include;

Performance management

HR professionals are required to motivate employees to ensure that they become good
performers. According to Gifford (2021), motivation is a people management aspect that
increases levels of employee engagement. This, in turn, promotes organisational performance
through the highly motivated and engaged workforce. HR professionals have to ensure that they
develop a good work index where performance is consistent. This is achieved when the
professionals develop good relationships with the employees to support them through the work
challenges. Highly motivated workers are more satisfied in their workplaces. They also become
committed to the organisation, thus recording improved overall individual and organisational
performance. In developing a high-performance work system, HR professionals should look into
the elements contributing to employee high performances. These include decentralised
decision-making, information sharing, job security, performance-based pay, employee training,
and reduced status barrier (Caldwell and Floyd, 2014).

Employee relations

The HR function in an organisation is responsible for delivering the employee relations

objective. Suff (2021) considers employee relations to be the relationships developed between
employers and employees. It focuses on both individual and collective relationships that support
the accomplishment of organisational goals. Employee relations is an objective that, when
accomplished, enhances the development of positive workplace culture. Employee relations
improve employee well-being and create better work experiences and outcomes to support the
overall business objectives. HR professionals in delivering the employee relations objectives
should work with trade unions to ensure that the rights of the employees are respected and
legal laws followed to create good workplace relationships. HR takes responsibility for
supporting professionals by evaluating the legal laws and regulations that support the
workplace. When HR professionals follow the law, they relate well with the employees to handle
discipline, discrimination, harassment, and redundancy.

Learning and development

Learning and development is an organisational objective delivered by HR to create a culture of

employee growth and development. Learning and development (L&D) in the workplace enhance
employee skills, competencies and knowledge. L&D is essential in creating a workforce that
champions better working life and delivery of organisational goals and objectives. HR is fully
involved in identifying employee learning needs, designing the learning and development
activities, and delivering learning to support skills development. Learning increases employee
value and is considered an objective that focuses on promoting organisational growth and
success. Organisations such as Google consider the need to develop an L&D culture, where
employees continue to learn and develop their skills. Employees use the available technology to
identify learning opportunities and take advantage of the platforms available to increase their
knowledge. Delivering the L&D objective supports the development of relationships between HR
and other organisational stakeholders.

b) HR objectives can be delivered in many ways. Explain two significant methods

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is the process where HR acquires services from different specialised professionals
to deliver the identified HR objectives. George (2020) explains the significance of outsourcing
and seeks to identify why HR opts for this method in delivering HR objectives. People
professionals in organisations ensure that they arrange with specialists to work together to
deliver the objectives. HR professionals must have insight and information on how they should
work with the outsourced experts to deliver objectives and relate positively to the organisation.
The advantages of outsourcing are that the method is effective and efficient because the
personnel involved are highly qualified and experienced. The method reduces costs for the
management, and it saves time. For example, when organisations want to hire candidates for
new positions in the organisation. HR may consider outsourcing recruitment and selection
specialists, saving time and cost of hiring the candidates. The disadvantages of outsourcing are
that organisations get to control their work and business functions when they assign
responsibilities to other people. Some of the outsourced workforces may not relate to the
organisational values, limiting them from carrying out the best services in support of the
organisation. In some cases, outsourcing is considered to be a long-term contract or
relationship with the organisation. The challenge associated with this is that the contract may
limit the organisation from managing its people and operations in the future.

Business Partnership

A business partnership is a method that requires HR to develop a relationship with other

businesses to promote the capabilities of the people and organisation. The method is standard
among small businesses and works to ensure that people capabilities are developed to support
the organisation and achieve the objectives set (O’Halloran and Haden, 2020). The success of
the business partnership is determined by the positive contributions made by all businesses
towards the achievement of expected goals. Advantages of business partnering include
improved credibility in delivering business objectives, saves on the costs of delivering the
objectives because each business contributes equally to the process, and increases business
connections. Disadvantages are that business partnerships take time before they get to trust
and be open to each other. Communication is sometimes negatively affected when more than
one business is involved in delivering the organisational objectives.

Question 3

Evaluate the business case for managing HR in a professional, ethical and just manner

Professionally managing HR is crucial as it supports championing a better workforce in an

organisation. This is evidence from the CIPD Professional Map, which differentiates between
the core knowledge, core behaviours and specialist knowledge areas that HR professionals
should relate to. The map acts as a guideline to support HR through their professionalism and
careers. It is meant to ensure that organisations benefit from the HR support provided most
professionally. Managing HR in an ethical manner is a requirement needed to help
professionals make right and moral decisions. Being ethical means following the standards and
guidelines that determine what is right and what should be considered to impact people and
organisation positively. Ethical professionals manage organisation issues and dilemmas that
may affect their involvement in work. According to the CIPD Code of Ethics, the professionals’
decisions concerning employee disciplinary procedures, harassment, bullying and discrimination
should be ethical (CIPD, 2020). The outcomes should create a significant impact on the
organisation. Professionals, when acting ethically, should be stewards and seek to follow the
organisational policies and guidelines that support organisation stakeholders.
Managing professionals in a just manner mean taking action to ensure that professionals follow
the legal rules that protect the workforce. This means that actions taken should bring about
justice and concentrate on issues that respect people and the law. Employees are protected by
the law, which is an issue that professionals should not take for granted. The significance of this
is that before making any final decision on different issues impacting people and organisation,
professionals have to be keen to ensure that they follow all regulations. For example, an
employee may complain of being sexually harassed in the workplace. People professionals
dealing with such a case act ethically by being fair and ensuring that the issue is discussed and
a solution developed. The issue should not be avoided, and professionals should face it head-
on to create fairness. To be, professionals should look into the legal guidelines that have been
stipulated by the organisation and the Constitution on matters relating to employment law. An
example is the Equality Act 2010 that protects the employee against discrimination and
harassment based on any characteristic. Following this law and other laws and policies on the
same issue should be a critical aspect of managing professionals ethically and just manner.

Question 4

Provide a short description of at least two significant theories of change management.

Briefly describe an example of change in the organisation and apply one of the theories,
including some evaluation of the process, outcome and impact.

Change management is the way an organisation uses to prepare, support and guide the
process of implementing change within the organisation. Adopting organisational change is a
constant process that customers influence need and market demand. It can be challenging
during the adoption process. The effect of failing to manage it well can lead to failure to achieve
the set goals and objectives, loss of position in the market, and employee turnover hindering
organisational growth (Mostert and Kem, 2021). Therefore, it is crucial to learn the skills and
techniques essential in supporting the change management process for a successful
organisational change. HR professionals' role is to ensure organisational change is effectively
implemented, ensuring employees voice, clear communication, organisations development
objectives, structure and change process are addressed during the change process. Various
theories provide different approaches to organisational change.
Kurt Lewin’s theory

According to Kurt Lewin(Lewin's theory), change is a process that involves creating awareness
that change is a necessity, moving towards the change with the necessary behaviour and
adopting it as a norm. Kurt Lewin (1950s) change model involves three definitive steps that are
essential to achieve an effective change management process. These steps are; unfreezing the
present, transition from the current and refreezing. Lewin's change management theory gives a
clear overview of the uncertainties and change resistance that are more likely to be encountered
at all staff levels in an organisation. It provides organisational change approaches that aim to
provide guidelines in initiating change, going through the transition process and ensuring that
changes are accepted and effectively practised. This model emphasises that if any of the steps
are not followed accordingly, the changes are short-lived hence not practical. It is possible to
implement and activate change; however, According to Burnes (2020), an organisation must be
ready to undo the present permanently, eliminating any possible thing that can trigger it after the
change. This model has ensured it has maintained its importance to the present. Significant
changes in this theory come on with the speed of implementation, which has drastically
increased. This model is mainly designed for intentional changes and not the unplanned or
responses to forced circumstances. The chances of it being implemented in forced
circumstances are unplanned is only when we had anticipated that that change might happen at
a particular stage. These unplanned but anticipated situations are such as weather change-
related issues. These are changes that have a probability of happening, and unfreezing the
current is undoubtedly unplanned, and there is no chance of going back to the normal; hence
freezing occurs. Most effective changes come when a plan to change is initiated by an
organisation that intends to solve particular workplace challenges.

Kotter’s change management

John Kotter introduced the change model (Kotter's 8 Step Change Model) after realising that
only 30% of organisational changes are successfully achieved. The purpose was to improve
organisational ability to implement and successfully adapt to change (Rajan and Ganesan,
2017). He found out that significant changes in organisations do not consistently achieve the
desired results, but this can be solved if the 8 eight steps are carefully followed and
implementing change becomes easy. An organisation can therefore avoid failure. These steps
are; creating urgency on the need to change and making employees aware of it. The second
step is forming a powerful team of employees from different departments with different job
positions and titles that can take over the changes that an organisation wants to implement. The
third stage is creating a clear vision for change to help everyone understand the objectives of an
organisation. The fourth stage is communicating the vision to the employees and giving them a
chance to air their views and concerns to achieve their support and acceptance. The fifth stage
is removing obstacles that can hinder the vision by involving employees in a dialogue to
understand who objecting to the change and trying to incorporate their ideas for a smooth and
successful change implementation process. The sixth stage is creating short term wins to
motivate the employees and give them a clear vision of what is taking place. The seventh stage
is consolidating improvements and declaring that change is being achieved after multiple
successes, and finally, the last stage is anchoring the change in corporate culture. This model
purposes of increasing each individual's ability to improve and succeed in the goals and
objectives. John Kotter's 8 step change model is motivated both the management board and
the organisation since it is elementary and has a simple step-by-step process that provides a
clear description of everything needed in every step of the change process. It also gives
emphasis that is based on employees' well-being and commitment which is the critical
resolution and project success according to this model. This model is so powerful that it gives
employees a chance to raise their views, increasing trust and agitation; however, this change
model is not perfect, just like any other model (Galli, 2019).

Example of change

The Covid-19 pandemic is an aspect that brought about significant changes to business
operations. For example, in the travel and tourism industry, the organisations faced challenges
that they had to adapt to for continuity in business operations. The Airline Emirates had to
change work strategies after the pandemic, which affected the workforce and changed the
organisation culture. The Lewin change theory effectively ensures that the workforce had to
change their everyday business operations in the first unfreezing stage by incorporating the new
regulations from World Health Organisation and the government. The customers had to adapt to
the changes to ensure that they adapt to the new regulations and nature of business. HR
professionals are highly involved in the second stage, where change takes place. HR provides
support to the workforce to ensure that their well-being is looked into. The third stage is
refreezing, where employers and employees adapt to the new work environment after changes
have been introduced to the organisation.

Question 5
You are planning to produce an evidential report highlighting the HR function's
contribution to the organisation success and development. Provide a summary of the
criteria and organisational data that could be included and how it would be analysed

Different tools and methods are used to measure HR contribution to organisational success.
These tools effectively support HR professionals evaluate their functions and practices to
support the organisation and the people. HR uses a range of data to support their contribution,
as this determines the kinds of decisions made in the organisation. To effectively acknowledge
the use of the different methods, two different types of information would be considered, and
these include Key Performance Indicators and engagement surveys.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure outcomes based on organisational values and the
organisations' targets to record required organisational performance. Ying, Tookey and Seadon
(2018) explain the significance of using indicators to support the delivery of different objectives
by HR. this is important as it helps measure some of the invisible attributes that might not have
been realised by HR or other professionals and business stakeholders. An example of
organisational objectives measured using KPIs is the leadership and development objective that
HR delivers to enhance employee personal and professional growth. The method measures
whether the L&D programs were successfully implemented, seeks to determine whether
employees benefitted from the learning programs, and helps HR track performance progress.
The learning and development data helps determine whether HR has delivered its objective
most appropriately. The data is analysed by identifying the number of people who have gone
through training, the available training programs for the different professionals in the workplace,
and the significant outcomes realised on employee behaviour change and commitment to the
organisation. Employees, in most cases, commit to organisations that provide a platform for
personal and career growth. Therefore, HR has to take responsibility to ensure that they support
employees through the learning process, thus creating personal, professional, and
organisational success.

An engagement survey is a method that seeks to find out whether the employees feel satisfied
and engaged in their workplace. According to DA (2018), engagement surveys help HR
understand the attitudes and perceptions of the employees, and the information is sufficient in
determining the strategies and decisions to be made to support organisational success. HR
professionals ask the employees questions and use their responses to determine whether the
level of engagement has gone down or improved. Engagement data determine the decision-
making process in the organisation. The engagement data used for planning helps HR engage
in strategic decision making by considering the options effective in changing the employees'
moods and intentions to the organisation. HR contribution in the planning process looks into
engagement data to help determine the values brought about by high employee engagement
levels. Through this data, HR can determine how well the employees are willing to commit to the
organisation and thus improve the planning process towards delivering organisational success.
Analysing engagement data is a practice that should be done with the support of the
organisational managers. HR and management work together to identify gaps from the survey
and seek out the actions they should take to promote improved engagement in the workplace.

Question 6

a) Read the article provided: It identifies and evaluates research evidence linking HR
practices with positive organisational outcomes. Briefly summarise the findings and
evaluate their validity, reliability and persuasiveness.

In linking HR practices with organisational outcomes, Burke seeks to identify the values of
business stakeholders in supporting the set organisational goals. The author seeks to identify
the value given to people by investing in them and the competency of organisational decision-
makers in building people competencies. When organisations invest in people, they bring about
both tangible and intangible values, promoting positive organisational outcomes. The HR
practice in developing leaders determine the kind of decisions made to support the organisation.
Investing in people creates an increased level of people committed to the organisation. The
future of the people professionals is being created today through the investments that
organisations make in people, which impacts the organisational outcomes in the present day
and the future. In the current digital world, technology has become part of business, contributing
significantly to the increased impacts of globalisation on organisational outcomes. HR
professionals should keep up with the change to ensure that they create an innovative business
platform and strive for improved organisational performance. The achievement of these issues
contributes significantly to better organisational governance, which is critical to organisational
success. Burke asserts that with good governance, organisations are well-managed, and this
enhances improved organisational performance. This clearly shows a link between HR practices
and the positive outcomes realised from improved organisational performance. Kianto, Sáenz
and Aramburu (2017) explain HR role in evaluating the different policies and procedures that
help link their practices to outcomes that support organisational growth and progress.
The article is valid because it provides insight on how to create value through human capital.
The author, a well-recognised publisher and a CIPD Analytics Adviser, has provided information
that I completely agree with, especially relating to the issue of investing in human capital. The
author has provided broad explanations to help determine why creating people value in the
organisation is a critical aspect to developing positive organisational outcomes. The document
is beneficial to people professionals, organisational leaders, managers, and employees. The
article helps these stakeholders understand why it is imperative to factor in people in the
business planning process, and at the same time, help acknowledge the need to invest in
human capital for improved performance. The article should be referred to other professionals
involved in planning on different business issues. This will help them gain knowledge on the
importance of creating value for the organisation through people.

b) Explain how high-performance working and investment in human capital can impact
organisational success and performance. Does the article support this?

High-performance working is the practice in organisations where leaders and employers focus
on creating a culture where excellence is prioritised. When people excel, they become higher
performers and create high levels of organisational success. Human capital is the employees'
knowledge, skills, competence, and experiences, which create value for the organisation. It is
considered an intangible asset in the organisation, increasing people's potential to commit to the
organisation and support organisational value. Investing in human capital determines the quality
of decisions made within the organisation (Burke). The higher the investment in people, the
higher the productivity in the business and the higher the performance realised in an
organisation. According to Subramony et al. (2018), leaders take responsibility for developing
skills that help them work well with other organisational stakeholders for better organisational
results. Caldwell and Floyd (2014) have identified the different elements that support high-
performance work systems in the organisation. They include decentralised decision making,
which is an element that involves all people in the decision-making process. The second is job
security, which when employees are assured of it, they become fully committed to the
organisation. The third is performance-based pay or compensation, which is considered a
motivating factor to improved performance. Fourth is sharing of information to engage all
employees in all business aspects. Fifth is selective hiring, where HR gets involved in hiring the
right people with the right skills, at the right time and at the correct costs to meet the
organisational needs. Sixth is training, which is relevant in promoting the skills and knowledge
among the employees. The seventh and last element is the reduced status barrier, which helps
create good relations between the employers and employees.

HR, while investing in human capital and promoting high-performance work systems, should
strive to compare the best fit and best practice approaches to impact organisational success
and performance. The best-fit approach identifies with the activities, policies, procedures,
processes, and performance measures that match organisational values. The best practice
approach identifies the universality of all business elements that support improved
organisational performance. Best practices should be unique to the organisation to enhance
organisational competitiveness. It is sometimes challenging to link high performance working to
human capital and organisational performance because of the different organisational views and
limits that affect the organisational credibility and ability to perform.
References:

Burke, E. People and the creation of value: Why organisations need to up their game on
understanding, measuring and leveraging human capital. Valuing your Talent

Burnes, B. (2020) The origins of Lewin’s three-step model of change. The Journal of Applied
Behavioural Science, 56(1), 32-59.

Caldwell, C. and Floyd, L.A. (2014) High-performance work systems: Building commitment to
increase profitability. Graziadio Business Review, 17(3), 1-12.

CIPD (2015) Changing HR operating models, available from

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/strategy/hr/operating-models#gref

CIPD (2020) Code of Professional Conduct, available from

file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/code-of-professional-conduct-april-2020_tcm18-
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DA, LH (2018) How to design and administer effective staff satisfaction and engagement
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Galli, B.J. (2019) Comparison of Change Management Models: Similarities, Differences, and
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George, S. (2020) HR Outsourcing, available from

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/people/hr/outsourcing-factsheet

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Mostert, R. and Kern, J. (2021) Organizational Culture Change: Process to Sustainably Improve
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