Integration of Human Resource Management †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Integration of Human Resource Management. Answer: Introduction Human resource management is the most important function that an organization has to perform in order to ensure effective functioning (Brewster 2017). Employee engagement is an important part of the HR practices employed by the organizations to reduce the attrition rate and hence maintain organizational success (Tullar et al. 2016). The aim of this present report is to analyze the HR practices of a renowned company, Walmart that helps the readers understand the relevant peoples practices in the contemporary scene. The report will provide a brief overview of the company that will outline its growth, structure, mission and vision statement, its HR strength and so on. In addition, the report will elaborate the HR practices followed in the company and an overview of the employee engagement status evident. In the report, a structured plan of initiatives shall also be provided that will contain the reason for choosing the initiative, the purpose and the impact it will have on the HR practices. Walmart Inc. is a multinational retail corporation originated in the United States of America in the year 1969 (Corporate.walmart.com 2018). This is a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores and discount department stores. Sam Walton founded this company. As of 2018 January, the company has 11,718 stores including clubs in 28 different countries in the world (Statista.com 2018). In different countries, it operates under different names. It operates as Walmart in the USA, Asda in the United Kingdom, Best Price in India and Seiyu Group in Japan. Walmart has approximately 2.2 million employees working is different branches in the world. The organizational structure of Walmart determines the business activities of the company. The structure poses limit on the methods of addressing problems. The companys stricture has two features one is hierarchical and another is function-based. Except the CEO of the company, every employee of the organization has superior. Directives along with mandates are formed in the higher level of management. The employees work under different departments. All of these departments have different functions. Walmarts vision statement is To be the best retailer in the hearts and minds of consumers and employees. through this the company aims to achieve the top most position by serving their customer is the best possible way(Corporate.walmart.com 2018). Walmarts mission statement is Saving people money so they can live better.The company sells their products in the lowest price and saves money of their customers. HR strategy: The human resource strategies of Walmart addresses requirement need by using various recruitment sources as well as methods perfectly suited to the different positions in the company. Recruitment practices: the companys HRM uses both external and internal recruitment sources. In internal recruitment sources, it focuses on the current employees to fill the new positions or the vacant ones (Corporate.walmart.com 2018). The external recruitment sources have advantages in accessing the international labor market for addressing the human resource management objective of the company. It uses various types of internal recruitment processes such as- trainees, transfers and current employees. For external recruitments, it uses campuses, previous applicants and the respondents to job advertisements. Selection process: it entirely depends on the job position. Education, experience and interpersonal skills are the chief criteria of selection in the company. The HRM uses analytical and problem solving capabilities along with the conflict management skills for managerial or supervisorial position. Structured interviews are used for determining details such as the perspectives of the applicants (Corporate.walmart.com 2018). Personality tests as well as situational judgments are vital for judging whether the employee can cope up with the responsibility and the culture of the organization. Retention policies: like all other supermarket industries, Walmart suffers from employee turnover especially in the sales department. Therefore, it follows policies of non-financial recognition, bonuses, promotions, academic credit and training and development. The company has tied up with American Public University so that their employees can pursue a career for climbing up the corporate ladder. Evaluation of Walmarts HR practices At Walmart, HR planning happens at the higher level of management, which is the corporate HR department. However, it has to be mentioned that Walmart being a large organization, comprises an HR manager for each store. (Fee and McGrath-Champ 2017). Therefore, the stores in Walmart have a varied interpretation of the corporate HR practices. The actual HR planning at Walmart thus occurs at different phases of the organization. In order to forecast, the company utilizes advanced software products to computerize the process of evaluating changes within the workforce. To give an instance, the company receives data on its employees from the stores itself. After that, these data are processed and organized to explore the trends that reflect the companys HR strengths and practices. This system allows Walmart to forecast possible changes in the workforce in future like changes in each season or each region. Evaluating Walmarts HR practices also reveal that the company has many negative practices. It has been accused of discriminating against women. Apart from this, other negative practices at Walmart include: Lower pay to employees than industry standards Lack of logical reasoning for dress code for employees (Forbes.com 2018) Widespread manipulation of stock inventory These negative practices have resulted in frequent protests against the company in the past and recent years as well. The Black Friday protests, court cases, litigations and so on from workers across the Walmart stores (Money.cnn.com 2018). Overview of current state of employee engagement Employee engagement refers to the relationship between the employees and an organization. when an employee is enthusiastic about his or her role within the organization and is completely committed to it, that employee could be stated to be an engaged employee (Bailey et al. 2017). Thus, it is clear that organizations have to ensure a working environment that encourages employee engagement. Saks and Gruman (2014) argue that employee engagement has always been a debatable topic with no solid definition proposed over the years. The authors further state that there is a lack of proper definition and clear consensus amongst scholars regarding the term. However, for the purpose of this study, the above-mentioned definition shall be applied. Walmart, as one of the biggest companies in the world is aware of the importance of employee engagement and thus it has applied effective employee engagement strategies. The company has invested heavily on its store workers over the last few years by increasing bonuses and providing extra training. Further, the company has spent over 2.5 billion dollars on raising the starting wage of the thousands of employees. These strategies of employee engagement have resulted in the remarkable customer service scores that continued for 79 straight weeks (Fortune.com, 2018). Structured plan of initiatives The self-determination theory states that when the three innate psychological needs competence, autonomy and relatedness of an individual are fulfilled, it leads to increased motivation, happiness and productivity (Bidee et al. 2013). This theory is ideal for employee engagement, as it would ensure complete dedication of the employee. Further, the respect model developed by Paul Marciano states that employee engagement comes when employees are given RESPECT where (Davis 2014) R Recognition E Empowerment S Supportive feedback P Partnering E Expectations C Consideration T Trust The following initiative plan has been prepared based on the said theories. Initiative Reason for choosing Impact Survey of the staff It would yield authentic and resourceful data on employee satisfaction A genuine feedback from the survey would allow the company to initiate proper strategies Introducing engagement as measurement of service This initiative would make the employees work with more enthusiasm The influence will most likely be visible from the rate of attrition Develop employee strengths When employee strength develops through added training, it boosts company production Direct impact on production of the company Recommendations After analyzing the overall working of the organization, it can be seen that although it is yet to employ the best HR practices, it is well on track with employee engagement strategies. However, certain areas are there where Walmart could improve upon in order to make sure that it is ahead in the race. Some recommendations for the company may be given as follows: It can be recommended that the company should give more priority to the global retail market and the employees there. It is further recommended that it should work on an emotional level apart from employing hi-tech software products to scrutinize employee presence and performance. The company should focus more on expanding to other markets especially to the Asian market as the scope there is plenty. It is also recommended that the employee engagement strategies should be made flexible to adjust with changing needs and challenges facing employees. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be stated that Walmart has probably one of the most effective HR strategies in the current scene. It is adept in making smart moves to enhance employee engagement. However, the company has some drawbacks when it comes to HR practices applied by it, which is evident from the numerous controversies it faced over the years. The report provided an analysis of the HR strategies and practices employed at Walmart in order to make the readers understand these terms and their functions within an organization. Further, the report also gave a general overview of employee engagement, its meaning and the ambiguity associated with its definition. In addition, it also presented a structure plan of the initiatives that the company in question could use in order to boost its employee engagement. The report further provided useful recommendations that the company could follow in order to be more efficient in the competitive market when it comes to HR strategy and practice. References Bailey, C., Madden, A., Alfes, K., Fletcher, L. (2017). The meaning, antecedents and outcomes of employee engagement: A narrative synthesis. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 31-53. Bidee, J., Vantilborgh, T., Pepermans, R., Huybrechts, G., Willems, J., Jegers, M. and Hofmans, J., 2013. 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