Human resources competitive advantage

HR is one of the most important departments in any organisation because all the policies regarding recruitment go through HR. The company’s profit and loss are also linked with human resource management. For this reason the process of hiring the person for suitable position is also important because once the person is hired so its his/her responsibilites to do the job according to the need of the company in term of profitability and growth of business.Over the years Next Plc change its HR policy acording the needs and requirment of the business.New things being introduce which is good for business and at the same time benefit for staff.Before recesion and after recesion Next Plc is one of the company which is less effected because they done future planning for that this is why very less number of staff effect by this.

PROBLEM BACKGROUND

HRM became more important now while the economies slow down and the people lose their work in great numbers across the globe. How Human resource management can play its part in the recession with single direction to maintain the organization to run in a flexible manner to carry on the period of the recession. There are so many other things which top management can do, like concentrating on the cost-cutting in organization. HRM is most important factors which play a key role in organization during and after recession; HRM must help the senior executive during the time of recession. The recession provides an occasion to HRM and organizations with old policies of cancellation outside and presents some news and modern technical with the level raised to make their organizations better than before continuing to work when the economies are deceleration. The main point in the period of recession should be to reduce the cost, which is also one of the principal causes of the dismissal. HRM can play an important part while bringing back the cost in much process of recruitment to evaluate the employees. Each company and economy must suffer Asia, Japan, Europe, Middle East and United States as well. The problem emerges when the companies neglect the investment in human resource department, because without good HRM policy companies cannot survive for long period of time, when it has suddenly dealt with employees in bad situations. Without department of HRM, the great organizations cannot exist. HRM creates a balance between marketing different of request and provisioning and any other function which concentrates on producing the request. A very decent example to treat the recession can be given by maintaining Asia in the spirit; this is fact that a huge enormous number of work function in Asia but no firing or reduction took place so recessive. If we compare the function of HRM in Asia and across the global, the only thing which we can think of is this Asia produced the goods at low cost, which is the final objective of all organizations. In Asia 4-5 workers do the job for the same amount as compared to United States or Europe where 1 person carries out work for the same quantity. In Asia the cost is ineffective rather than of tiny room.

LITERATURE REVIEW

ABOUT NEXT

Principle Activities

Next is a UK based retailer offering exciting, beautifully designed, excellent quality clothing, footwear, accessories and home products. Next distributes through three main channels:

• Next Retail

• Next Directory

• Next International

In the UK total clothing market we are the second largest UK retailer by sales value (£)

Next Retail

• 517 stores in the UK and Ireland

• 298,000 transactions per day in store (average)

Next Directory

• Direct mail catalogue and transactional website

• 2.43 million Active customers

Next International

• 161 overseas franchise Next stores in 28 countries: Armenia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Macau, Malta, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and United Arab Emirates

• 23 Next overseas stores in 7 countries: China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Sweden

• Growing website capability outside the UK

Next Distribution

• Warehousing and distribution division

Other Group Businesses include:

Ventura

• Provides customer services management to clients wishing to outsource their customer contact administration and fulfilment activities

Next Sourcing Ltd (NSL)

• Designs, sources and buys Next branded products

Lipsy

• Designs and sells its own branded younger women’s fashion products through wholesale,

retail and internet channels

Next plc Approach

To encourage a successful business it is important we are able to create an environment that enables us to attract and retain the right people to work at every level throughout Next. Our people are a valuable asset to Next, and we are committed to providing a working

Environment in which our employees can develop to achieve their full potential and

Have opportunities for both professional and personal development.

Our priorities are to work to provide an environment where our employees are:

• Supported and respected

• Treated fairly and taken care of

• Listened to

• Motivated to achieve their full potential

Next has established policies for recruitment, training and development of employees, as we remain committed to investing time and resource to support, engage and motivate our employees to feel valued, be able to develop rewarding careers and want to stay with Next. As our business continues to develop, we understand that by retaining effective and committed employees we can continue to deliver excellent quality products and excellent service to our customers.

Progress

Training and Development

Next offers a wide range of training and development opportunities for our employees across the business. We believe that offering the right learning and development opportunities will help to ensure our employees feel supported and equipped to carry out their role to the best of their ability to manage the needs and challenges of the business. Our employees are able to access a range of development tools or job specific training appropriate to their needs through the focused and integrated training teams in each area of the business, whether they work in Head Office, our Retail stores, Next Directory or our warehouses. Our integrated training teams ensure relevant and appropriate training and development is provided by supporting:

• Job role specific training covering the technical, operational and skills training required ensuring employees are able to perform their job effectively, and their knowledge and skills are up to date

• Individually tailored training to support both an employee’s individual needs and specific business requirements

• Training in areas such as health and safety, first aid and manual handling to ensure our employees work in a safe environment

Helping the long term unemployed:

Towards the end of last year, within our warehousing division we ran a trial project in collaboration with an organisation called Best Training. Best Training meet with many individuals every year, many of whom are finding it difficult to overcome the challenges of unemployment, or are finding it difficult to find a fulfilling job. We have partnered with Best Training, and working with one of our warehouse sites, we have been able to support and help 10 long term unemployed people to be able to return to employment. We are still in the trial period, but hope that the trial can be further extended to be able to provide employment and a recruitment solution across our warehousing facilities across South and West Yorkshire.

Listening to our employees

How we communicate with, consult, involve and listen to our employees is important to the business. Throughout the different divisions of the business we have democratically elected employee representatives who represent their colleagues views by sitting on employee forums (we have 1 representative per 50 employees).The elected representative attends meetings with senior managers and Board Directors at least twice a year. We believe these forums of two-way communication and consultation across the business enable and encourage open discussion on key business issues and matters that may affect them and the working environment.

Next has a recognition agreement with the Union of Shop, Distribution and Allied Workers (USDAW) in relation to our warehouse and distribution employees. This includes an agreement with the professional and managerial section of USDAW, called SATA, to represent our supervisory staff employed in this division of Next.

24Challenging HR

These are few steps which next has taken before the down fall or recession

Downsizing in term of staff and store

Change process of recruitment

Reduce in benefit

Reduce bonus

Sickness policy

Training and development

Red ring manager/reduce managers

Suggestion for facing negative challenges during recession

The senior executive should know the emergency plan. Make the session of meeting of reflexion with your senior executive and contribute in their strategic planning. A gel complete or partial of work, however, communicates to the labour the company that many continue to recruit the principal individuals even during difficult time. Review the performance evaluations of the employees to determine the principal people that the company cannot be allowed to lose. The flow of communicate should be starting from top in fall with this help of will by making the atmosphere supporting in the organization. Make to prepare for the individual and the group thus concerns there should be a session of adapted consultation, to maintain an atmosphere calm. Review all the policies, process and procedures of hour to make sure that they are useful and to contribute directly to the success of the company. Suppose that the company must of the personnel of dismissal make sure that there is no other occasion for them in other functions or divided organization. Advise the directors to occupy the process to control the change. ” The management must concentrate on the innovations during the recession because the role of the hour during the recession is to save the money with the organization. The direction expects that all functions of support bring the innovating ideas and solutions which will lead to a stronger organization, when the following era of growth comes.

Strategic Role of HRM during Recession:

HRM is a strategic approach to control the most valid capital of any organization, the majority of the important capitals of any organization are these individuals who contribute or function to achieve the goals of businesses defined by organizations. There are various limits which replaced HRM with the wire of time by controlling the people in an organization for example, the staff management etc

HRM is basically all about employing people, people of management, resources involutes, marinating and using the services according to work and conditions’ regulated by organization. There two manners of reducing the cost during the time of recession.

• To reduce the personnel

• To divide the responsibility among employees into the same cost.

The first manner that HRM identifies employees for the dismissal diverts its responsibilities towards the staff that will be left in the organization. The reduction cost which is treated by reducing a great number of staff could be made without reducing a great number of employers, yes but a thing is important to be considered which equality is. For example, if a person does a particular work for £1000 per month then the work is to distribute that the same amount among two workers. HRM can establish and identify these events which are useless. At the period of the recession main focus should be to reduce cost, in the recession, there is a cycle which carries out finally the organizations and the customers. When the economies become slow the purchasing power of the customers reduced, production cost, recruiting, being exerted, financing increases etc HRM functions order recruitment at the low possible cost, formation, evaluation, reward, and much of other things which are finally responsible for such a success during the time of the recession when other economies in the world suffer to survive in one way or other. Thus HRM can play an important part during the time of recession for organizations to bring this change and to neutralize this cost which brings finally the period of recession and makes goods expensive and out of the extension of the customers.

International Human Resource Management

The management of international human resources helps to include/understand the international and comparative factors (such as the national legislation of culture) that shape up human resources management. It provides us perspicacity in the role of the functions of corporation of hour and their contribution to the marketing strategy and the functional knowledge of constructions of the principal developments in the management of expat and other forms of international management, because the organizations move towards the total condition of service, the total management of knowledge and the international associations.

PURPOSE OF STUDY

The main motive of this study is to examine the issue of strategic policies of HR effects the business growth in term of profitability and in term of growth of business. So other organisations follow the foot steps of Next plc and make effective HRM policy in future.

IMPORTANCE OF STUDY

This study influences if there was a reciprocal between employee commitment and loyalty, role of HRM, credibility of the HR department.

Reasons behind why HRM department need to work in more strategic way? The company need to change or review HRM policy within organisation and Working for the good will of the company in terms of customers and staff.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

To research about the HRM I have chosen some research questions and I listed it down. To find out the answers for this question I need to take some surveys regarding to this topic.

To prove that HR plays vital role for the success of any business

To understand the reasons which have forced HRM departments to work in a more strategic way?

Time period in which HRM should have to review the polices if the company or organisation?

Good HR policies do not only look for Goodwill of the company in sense of keeping the customers but they also provide staff benefits in long term relations with employees.

METHODOLODGY

Research design

Management and organisational strategy

Job title

Store manager

Assistant store manager

Sale consultant

Agree/Strongly agree

I believe the organisation

will achieve its aims

I am aware of what

management is trying

to achieve

This organisation has a clear corporate strategy

Management cares about the needs and morale of employees

Employee commitment and loyalty

Job title

I recommend this

organisation to my friends as a great place to work

For me this is the

best of all possible

organisations for

which to work

I am proud to tell

others that I am part of this organisation

Agree/Not Agree

Sale consultant

Stockroom consultant

Temporary staff

Credibility of the HR department

Job title

The HR department is competent at its job

The HR department

plays an important role in the success of the organisation

The HR department has a clear overall strategy guiding its activities

The HR department

is a waste of the organisation’s resources

Agree/not Agree

Store manger

Assistant manager

Sale consultant

Stockroom consultant

Instrumentation

Instrumentation – it gives a way to analyse and research about the topic. It will help me to gather the data or information about the topic. The main instruments which will be used is,

Primary Data

Secondary Data

Primary data – like survey methods, one to one interaction and interviewing the staff regarding the HRM policy.

Secondary data – like articles, journals, scholarly journals, and other web researches.

Therefore once all the primary and secondary data’s are collected, then it will be reciprocally analysed.

Data collection:

To my research analysis I have planned to collect the data through Survey methods.

EXPECTED RESULTS

With help of the data’s I retrieved from this analysis and I can expect that “The business needs have not been fully satisfied with the HRM issues”. Hence this research may help the top management and staff.

.

TIME LINE

In this research I have used a certain format of timeline method to collect the data’s, to analyse my research paper. With this time line I can access the full data from some resources like Survey methods, journals, and Websites.

Time line table:

Weeks

Topics

Week 1and 2

Collect the data’s and information on my research.

Week 3

Introduction and problem background

About my topic.

Week 4

Literatures review about my topic and develop the research questions.

Week 5and 6

Methodology

Research design

Data processing and analysis

Week 7 and 8

Survey the questionnaires from the resources

Week 9 and 10

Analyse and summarize the Solution, Conclusion and References.