All the sources from which information has been obtained for this assignment have been referenced as per Harvard Referencing format. The assignment should not contatin any contents including references cited from websites like: www.ukessays.com, www.studymode.com, www.slideshare.net, www.scribd.com.
I, Nasser Annasban hereby confirm that this assignment is my own work and not copied or plagiarized. It has not previously been submitted as part of any assessment for this qualification. All the sources, from which information has been obtained for this assignment, have been referenced as per Harvard Referencing format. I further confirm that I have read and understood the Westford School of Management rules and regulations about plagiarism and copying and agree to be bound by them.
Learning Outcomes and Assessment Feedback
Name of the Assessor Alan Lukose
Learning Outcomes Assessment Criteria (AC) Assessor Feedback
LO 1
Understand how the strategic
management of human resources
contributes to the achievement of
organisational objectives 1.1 Explain the importance of strategic human resource management in organisations
1.2 Assess the purpose of strategic human resource management activities in an organisation
1.3 Evaluate the contribution of strategic human resource management to the achievement of an organisation’s objectives
LO 2
Be able to develop human resource
plans for an organisation 2.1 Analyse the business factors that underpin human resource planning in an organisation
2.2 Assess the human resource requirements in a given situation
2.3 Develop a human resources plan for an organisation
2.4 Critically evaluate how a human resources plan can contribute to meeting an organisation’s objectives
LO3
Understand human resources policy requirements in an organisation 3.1 Explain the purpose of human resource management policies in organisations.
3.2 Analyse the impact of regulatory requirements on human resource policies in an organisation
LO4
Be able to examine human resources management in an organisation 4.1 Analyse the impact of an organizational structure on the management of human resources
4.2 Analyse the impact of an organizational culture on the management of human resources
4.3 Examine how the effectiveness of human resources management is monitored in an organisation
Overall Feedback on current work with emphasis on how the student can further improve in future.
General Guidelines
(Please read the instructions carefully)
1. Complete the title page with all necessary student details and ensure that the signature of the student is marked in the declaration form.
2. All assignments must be submitted as an electronic document in MS Word to the LMS (Use 12 Times New Roman script).
3. Assignment that is not submitted to the LMS by the prescribed deadline will be accepted ONLY under the REDO and RESIT submission policy of Westford.
4. You will PASS the full assignment task only if you achieve “AC Met” in each of the Assessment Criteria.
5. The results are declared only if the student has met the mandatory attendance requirement of 75% and/or a minimum of 50% under extenuating circumstances approved and ratified by the Academic Director. The student has to repeat the module (with additional fees applicable) if the attendance is below 50%.
6. The assignment should not contain any contents including references cited from websites like www.ukessays.com, www.studymode.com, www.slideshare.net , www.scribd.com.
7. Students can refer Wikipedia as a source of information, but the references cited in Wikipedia has to be mentioned.
8. Submit the assignment in a MS Word document with the file name being:
First Name Last Name_ abbreviation of the subject.
Example: John Smith_SHRM.
Quick reference Checklist for the Faculty/Instructor to accept/reject the assignment before evaluation:
1. Adherence to the deadline of submission date.
2. Original cover sheet and format retained.
3. Student information and signature intact.
4. Font style and size used as instructed.
5. Harvard Referencing System and Citations are strictly followed.
Assessment Task 1:
Based on the Article: Managing human resources remains challenge to growth (thenational.ae, 2015)
As the region’s economies exit the financial crisis and shift gears towards more inclusive and sustainable growth, the challenge of creating adequate knowledge and talent resources – and managing them – is becoming more obvious.
The international focus on the GCC has sharpened following the global economic downturn and the subsequent austerity measures put in place to wither its impact.
Resilient economies in the Gulf are seen as drivers of regional and, to a great extent global, recovery and expansion. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar show a strong appetite for growth and diversification. GDP last year for Saudi Arabia is expected to be Dh1.7 trillion (US$463 billion), and in the UAE, Dh1tn GDP. The new phase of growth is expected to create significant opportunities for local populations and companies.
To attain and sustain such growth, robust, qualified human capital and knowledge resources, and the proper management of both, is needed. There is no serious dearth of qualified people in the region judging by the increasing number of GCC graduates passing out of local and foreign universities and technical training programmes, as well as the influx of the foreign workforce and companies helping to construct and operate various industries. With almost half of the population in the GCC estimated to be below the age of 20 such investment is inevitable. But, at the same time, governments and policymakers in the region are baffled as to why this investment is not bringing the desired outcomes in terms of the overall human capital performance and sustained economic output.
That brings us to the most serious challenge facing human capital development in the region: inadequate management of knowledge and talent among organisations in the region. Talent management refers to the processes for identifying, assessing, acquiring, developing, deploying and retaining employees who are critical to an organisation’s success.
There is widespread acknowledgement that finding the right framework to recruit, retain and manage human capital resources remains one of the toughest challenges to growth and continuity for organisations and governments in the GCC. With its vast financial and infrastructural resources and reserves of international expertise, the GCC has ample raw material and capabilities to groom and manage talent.
So given such favourable circumstances, what prevents organisations and governments in the region from effective assessment, monitoring and management of talent.
One of the studies contributed to examine this issue showed insufficient opportunities to integrate talent fully in organisations, resistance to different ideas and opinions, over-reliance on strict seniority and hierarchy, gaps between expertise and job content and between knowledge and authority, and poor placement of graduates as the major challenges hindering knowledge and talent management.
Taking the time to reflect on and think strategically about how people and organisations interact and how the human resources capital is managed and motivated is crucial. This requires a thorough understanding of the broader challenges, which are organisation culture, knowledge management and talent management.
With knowledge emerging as the key differentiator between the successful, highly competitive economies and those that are merely “surviving” , knowledge management should be a top priority for the fast-growing countries in the region aiming to position themselves as knowledge economies.
There are abundant reserves of knowledge within GCC organisations as the region has been a hotbed of commercial and industrial activities that need specialisation and expertise; oil and gas exploration, aviation and export processing, to name a few.
However, much of the knowledge and expertise within GCC organisations lies with their expatriate workforce. This accumulated knowledge is often untapped and thus lost once those expatriates leave the region.
Read the following questions and prepare a Report.
1. Explain the importance of SHRM in any organisation by justifying with an example. (AC: 1.1 Explain the importance of strategic human resource management in organizations).
2. Based on the Article given above, it states explicitly that “There is widespread acknowledgement that finding the right framework to recruit, retain and manage human capital resources remains one of the toughest challenges to growth and continuity for organisations and governments in the GCC”.
(a) Choose an organization of your choice, preferably the organization where you are working (or) worked (or) familiar with in the GCC region. Understand the chosen organization’s objectives and understand the working procedures of the organizations related to the HR management. Give out clearly the chosen organisation’s goals and objectives.
(b) State the SHRM activities pertaining to recruitment, retention and management of important human capital resources in the chosen organisation and assess the purpose of such SHRM activities in the organisation.
(c) Finally, evaluate the contribution of SHRM of the organisation, towards achieving and meeting the chosen organisational objectives and goals. (AC 1.2: Assess the purpose of strategic human resource management activities in an organization) and (AC: 1.3 Evaluate the contribution of strategic human resource management to the achievement of an organization’s objectives).
Assessment Task 2 (Scenario)
Answer the following questions given below relating to your chosen organisation in the Task 1.
1. Analyse the business factors that underpin human resource planning in terms of recruitment, retention, training and development in your chosen organisation.
Assess the human resource requirements in a given situation (recession or expansion or diversification or divestment or downsizing or layoff or retrenchment, or any other situation) in the chosen organization. (AC: 2.1Analyse the business factors that underpin human resource planning in an organization and AC: 2.2 Assess the human resource requirements in a given situation).
2. Based on the objectives of the chosen organisation, develop a human resource plan for recruitment, retention, training and development in your chosen organisation.
Critically evaluate the HR Plan, to identify its contribution towards meeting the chosen organisational objectives. (AC: 2.3Develop a human resources plan for an organization and AC: 2.4Critically evaluate how a human resources plan can contribute to meeting an organisation’s objectives).
3. Explain the purpose of having human resource management policies in your chosen organisation (you can concentrate on recruitment policy, selection policy, retention policy, training and development policy, leave policy, career growth and promotion policy, compensation and benefits policy). (A.C 3.1 Explain the purpose of human resource management policies in organizations).
4. Choose a minimum of three or more major regulatory requirements which are influencing your chosen organisation’s HR policies, and analyse the impact of these regulatory requirements on your organisation’s human resource policies. (A.C 3.2 Analyse the impact of regulatory requirements on human resource policies in an organization).
5. Organisational culture has a major impact on management of human resources in an organisation.
Choose a minimum of three or more major cultural factors which are prevalent in your chosen organisation and analyse their impact on the management of human resources in any of the three following functional areas: – Team Work, Employee Engagement, Adaptability, Responsibility/Accountability, Decision Making, Productivity, Transparency). (A.C. 4.2 Analyse the impact of an organizational culture on the management of human resources).
6. How would you like to improve the effectiveness of human resources management in your chosen organisation? Make few recommendations with justification. (A.C. 4.4 Make justified recommendations to improve the effectiveness of human resources management in an organization)
Assessment Task 3 (Case Study)
Syngenta
To fulfil its mission effectively, a business needs to operate within a structure best suited to its purposes. Traditionally large businesses divide the organisation up into functional areas. Syngenta’s functions include research and development, global supply (including manufacturing), human resources (HR), sales and marketing, finance, and Information Systems (IS).
Within any organisation there are likely to be several layers of authority. The number of levels depends upon whether the business has a hierarchical or flat structure. A hierarchical structure has many layers of management, each with a narrow span of control. Instructions feed downwards from one level of management to those below. Feedback comes from the lower levels upwards. The reporting system from the top of the hierarchy to the bottom is known as the chain of command. A hierarchical structure enables tight control. It offers clear opportunities for promotion and may reduce stress levels in both managers and employees. Everybody knows their place in the hierarchy.
However, communication can be a problem in hierarchical organisations. Without effective management, it can take a long time for information to pass up and down the chain of command. Staff may not be fully empowered. Rather than being able to use their initiative, employees may need to seek approval for every action from higher levels of managements. This not only can cause delay but also be bad for employee morale, reducing their motivation to work.
A flat line structure is one where there are few layers of management. Each manager has a wide span of control. This means a manager has responsibility for many people or tasks. Delegation is necessary for tasks to be carried out effectively. This structure gives employees more responsibility for their work. Communication is also faster up and down the layers. This enables problems to be solved more quickly.
The organisation chart shows a typical hierarchical structure in a commercial organisation. There are four functional areas. The accounts department has three layers of hierarchy: a director, a manager and three assistants. The accounts manager therefore has a span of control of three, as he or she directly supervises three assistants.
Syngenta is committed to empowering its staff and a hierarchical structure is not suited to its innovative style. Like many large businesses working in both national and international markets, Syngenta has adopted a matrix structure.
A matrix structure is often referred to as the project team structure. In this approach, team leaders manage specific tasks and projects. Each team will consist of members from different departments, each with their own specialisms and expertise related to the project. It takes employees out of their usual functional areas to work with other employees with different expertise and specialisms. This ensures the project has all the skills it needs to achieve its target. It also means the employees may benefit from each other’s abilities.
Some teams are only formed for a short period of time. They disband when their projects have been completed and the team members are redeployed on other projects. Other teams have a longer or sometimes permanent remit. The matrix structure is not an alternative to functional management but works alongside it. Syngenta’s project teams all support one or more of its business strategies.
1. Analyse organisational structure impact on management of human resources in Syngenta. (A.C 4.1 Analyse the impact of an organizational structure on the management of human resources)
2. Examine how the effectiveness of human resources management can be monitored in a company like Syngenta. (A.C. 4.3 Examine how the effectiveness of human resources management is monitored in an organization).
