Management of human resource in any company has been a critical aspect since it is one of the factors that determine the competitive advantage that the company has. In most cases, human resource manager usually plays an important role by controlling the manner in which company recruits its employees, the allocation of resources, how employees will be trained, transactional processes and signing of contracts. In addition to this, the company needs to retain the top talent and which is the major task that human resource manager is supposed to undertake. HR is also the framework on which the company embraces changes and instill the same culture towards other employees to ensure that they are guided by the same mission. The study of human resource is important to any company so that it can develop personal management to strategic and efficient approach both to the management of the employees and the resources that enable the company to run. Human resource is also critical in determining how the work will be carried, at what speed and it must ensure that employees reach the required level of efficiency. This is achieved through the various management functions including planning, leading, controlling and organizing. This project examines human resource in BCB finance company and it will consider the objectives, change management and evaluation of human resource in the company. It is however prudent to have a brief overview of the company before delving into deeper details.
Any company with the aim of expanding its business or achieving a bigger share in the market must invest heavily in the resource management since this is the only way of ensuring that everything runs in the expected manner. As such, this project will give a case study of BCB finance company by examining how human resource has been conducting its operations. Keep (2014) asserts that BCB Financial Services Corporation offers a range of commercial as well as retail banking services to its customers (p.110). The company deals with personal and business clients by helping them on aspects such as business checking and savings account, residential mortgage, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans and trust and private banking services. Formerly BCB was a subsidiary of Heritage Bancorp. BCB incorporates human resource in its operations and due to this there are there are various objectives that the organization aims at meeting.
There are three major objectives of the human resource at BCB organization.
Human resource at BCB plays a great role of ensuring that the company has the best people to work at the organization. Internships is one of the aspects that HR at BCB focus on as it hires interns from various backgrounds who have been on the front line of generating new ideas that bring positive impact to the organization. In order to get the best among the applicants, HR identifies better recruitment channels, personal retention and effective selection methods (Cardy and Leonard, 2014 p.15). In addition to this, HR decides who, where, and what to recruit. However, Cummings and Worley (2014) state that during the process of recruitment there are factors that are considered, both internal and external (p.18). For instance, the HR may decide to pick among the employees of the organization and promote them depending on their previous performance. Reasons for going by this method is because present employees have the required skills, behavior, experience and they are conversant with the workplace environment. However, external influences may push HR at BCB to recruit from outside such as requirement from the law to have an expert in a certain area and when the company deems it best to bring some new force from a company with a good reputation.
Performance appraisal is characterized by monitoring the planning and development functions of the employees and it usually linked with financial rewards and sanctions. Human resource department at BCB has taken solely the role of motivating their employees. As such, employees are assessed twice a year to determine their personal development and individual input to the development the company is going through. Productivity of any financial company is critical since it determines how well the company is doing in the eyes of the public. BCB is interested in the affairs of its employees and therefore it seeks to determine challenges they face while undertaking their responsibilities (Guerci et al., 2015 p.330). In order to carry out an effective performance appraisal process, BCB considers both the internal and external factors. From internal perspective, the employee’s performance is evaluated based on whether he has been attaining his targets and his contribution in terms of ideas on how BCB can be the best financial service provider. However, there are external aspects such the evaluation from the customers on how they had been served and in terms of the products and services they have been getting from the employees.
Training is a prime opportunity that BCB considers in order to expand the knowledge base of all employees. Training at BCB is conducted depending on the need and it have had significant impacts on the performance of the employees. Crawford (2014) notes that employees can be trained on both internal and external factors that affect the operations of the company(p.10). From internal perspective,BCB employees have been trained on workplace safety and how they can maintain a healthy environment. This issue came up following claims that some people have been careless in the handling of power cables. External aspects are also considered for instance, employees have been trained on taking advantage of the technological development that is going by marketing the company on social networks and apps that have emerged.
The Bath Model
The Bath model was established by John Purcell in 2004 and the model is significant in linking people and performance with the purpose of helping HR manager to understand the behavior of the employees. According to Caroll, Brown and Buchholtz (2017), the model considers the relationship that exists between HR polices, performance factors, the input of the manager and the employee output (p.30). Basically the model helps the organization to build relationship between the top management and the subordinates. Some companies that successfully used this model are the NHS, Gerutha and Procorm Construction. However, the model has been extensively used in the SMEs such as the BCB company since it advocates for the investment into the employees by listing down their concerns so that they can focus towards a more established company. Bath model has helped BCB in determining the inputs of the employees and what they can do to improve these inputs. In his research on human resource in corporate environment Purce (2014) notes that Bath model has been used by multinational corporations such as the Apple Inc as it has been essential in determining relationship between the company and foreign countries (p.12). Therefore the model helps in establishment of policies that would be universal such as customer service.
The model states that the major function of HR is to offer support that employees require to undertake their duties. As such, HR offers a close working relationship among the employees but creating a peaceful and a serene working environment. In addition to this, HR ensures that employees are rewarded accordingly and satisfactorily since this consequently leads to improved performance (Taylor, Doherty and McGraw, 2015 p.52). The model has been an important aspect in the BCB company since it provides that HR team should effectively perform their tasks and provide framework on which other employees operate. This has been crucial in ensuring that there is not conflict especially in the compensation of the employees.
Both Bath and Dave Ullrich Model and of these models can be used in organizations and in other sectors – public, private and voluntary.
An example of a large organization would be the McDonalds Corporation. McDonalds way of operations is depicted by the Dave Ullrich Three Legged Stool of operators. One of the most important aspect considered in the McDonalds Cooperation is the balance of operations to ensure everything runs smoothly (Tooksoon, 2011 p.42). Another large private sector organization is the John Lewis Partnership (JLP). JLP adopts the Dave Ullrich Three Legged Stool approach.
This paper considers two theories namely Kurt Lewin’s model of change and Kotters theory of change.
One of the major theories of change is Kurt Lewin’s theory of change. The approach is a 3-step model that involves unfreezing, change and refreezing (Biech 2016, p.45). In the unfreezing stage, HR creates a sense of urgency that will make employees realize the need for change. This aspect has been taken seriously in BCB company since it understands that employees are indeed agents of change in any organization. While there are misunderstanding between the employees and their supervisors in most of the organization, HR at BCB has to a larger extent being to promote close working relationship in the organization. For instance, Albrecht et al., (2015)notes that clear communication is essential to make workers more willing to embrace the change (p.28). The change phase is where the actual modifications occur. It should be done quickly to prevent relapse among employees. Finally, the refreezing stage involves solidifying the change. At BCB, there are various aspects that are considered vital at this stage and they include evaluations, supervision, and adjustments. Brewster and Hegewisch (2017) assert that assessment of the change process requires the establishment of standards that will guide HR in determining the level of success in achieving the required alterations (p.9). For instance, a motor company may want to automate specific aspects of a business. It can develop metrics such as speed of performing tasks to determine the level of success that the business achieves after implementing the machines as a way to evaluate success. There are however merits and demerits of using the Kurt Lewin’s Model of Change as discussed below.
Advantages
Kurt Lewin’s Model of Change is crucial in instilling the culture of change among the employees at BCB and in other organizations that use the model. There are some benefits that come along with the model with one of them being that the model provides a framework to assess ideas contributed and check their relevance towards contributing to the development that the organization is going through(Nankervis et al., 2016 p.17). As such, it helps BCB company to brainstorm ideas from all its stakeholders on the best ways of improving the operation of the company. In addition, the evaluation helps in determining factors that can be considered in improving the operations of the company. Some of the qualitative aspects considered include, impact of relationship among employees to positive changes in the company.
Nevertheless, there are drawbacks of using the model since it very linear, being rational, goal and plan driven as noted by Benn, Edwards and Williams (2014) when they say that change may look easy on a paper but it becomes hard to implement and hence there is need to consider many factors (p.23).As such, BCB takes more time on its implementation and it may not lead to desired results since changes that come from this model may not consider the feelings and the attitudes of the employees and this may lead to serious consequences (Tooksoon, 2011 p.45). Sometimes at BCB, this is a limitation since the model requires full participation of the employees and this may not be achieved.
An good example of where Lewin 3 step model was adopted would be Nissan. Nissan implemented Lewin’s 3 step process to save its business from bankruptcy. In addition to this, Ghosn created an effective platform over which a change management was implemented in the company. The framework also included communication system that was used to ensure that every employees are incorporated in the change management.
Kotter’s theory of change management involves 8 steps that help organizations to achieve their change objective. It follows these steps: creating urgency for the change, forming a coalition, developing a mission, communicating the vision, empowering employees to begin actions on the vision, planning and establishing short-term wins, embracing improvements, and solidifying the changes Brewster, Chung and Sparrow (2016) assert that Kotter’s model requires the same careful approach used in Kurt Lewin’s model (p.12). The model is applied in BCB and there are some important aspects that are incorporated, for instance high-level planning is paramount and this is usually the responsibility of the senior management. Then all employees are incorporated through communication and they are made aware of their roles especially during the implementation phase. At BCB, employees are considered an important asset in the organization and supervisors spend a good amount of time in helping them understand why there is a need for change, what change is involved and how it will affect them. They must also be in a position that enables them to share their concerns in order for HR to address them.
Advantages
Just like Lewin 3 step model, there are several benefits that Kotter’s 8-Step model brings into BCB company. First, the steps to be followed in the Kotter’s model are easy to follow and to understand and hence they can be easily implemented (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang, 2014 p.40). Secondly, the model is flexible and hence it can be used by various projects carried out in the organization. Lastly, the model not only focus on the success of the organization but also on the success of the employees.
Disadvantages
Nevertheless, there are demerits of using the Kotter’s 8 Model which have posed challenges in its implementation in BCB company. First, the model should be followed strictly else, the organization wont get the results anticipated. Secondly, McCalman, Paton and Siebert (2015) assert that the model leaves no for collaboration and hence the top management are expected to dictate what need to be done(p.21) This means that the employees are supposed to obey orders that come from their seniors and this can lead to frustrations among employees if the stages of grief and individual needs are not taken into consideration.
Use of the model
Other companies that use Kotter’s 8 Model is Marks and Spencers due to declining sales. The changes involved changes in product lines, completing a SWOT analysis to identify new and innovative products, changed spending on extra curricular activities, application of short term wins, removing barriers for short term goals, introduced new styles in fashion products, changed the inner environment of M&S to get more modern techniques and styles into the organization. Key stakeholders were engaged and embraced. (Reiche et al., 2016 p.45). In addition to this M&S, since 2010, has seen some turbulent times and declining sales returning to blight their books. Some people have, however, blamed this on a tightening market / economy meaning people are shopping elsewhere to find cheaper products given they have less disposable income.
Ethics in HR is also essential. According to Bratton and Gold (2017), ethics refers to the moral principles that drive people’s conduct. They further note that HR is concerned with employee issues, such as remuneration, well being, development and health and safety (p.56). HR ethics is to ensure they provide the right working environment for their employees. Behaving according to the expectations of workers can be a motivating factor as it assures them of a company that cares for them. It shows them the willingness to respond to their problems. In turn, the workers are also willing to give their best to the business. As a result, productivity at the workplace improves enabling a business to drive their objectives.
HR should be professional to ensure proper governance and obedience to established rules and regulations in companies.At BCB, there have been few cases of ethical issues and this have been attributed to the seminars that have been conducted to ensure that respect is upheld among the employees. However, there are aspects that Brandenburg et.al (2014) asserts that HR should focus on in order to improve ethics in BCB (p.305). The further note that HR should write down behaviors that any employee will be expected to observe and they should sign before they are recruited into the company. This will ensure that there all employees will be expected to conduct themselves in a certain manner. Considering Gerutha, there have been concerns that some of the leaders are discriminating against some employees which have adversely affected the reputation and the performance of the company with respect to others(Tan and Nasurdin, 2011 p.155). With regard to this, leaders should serve as examples for the rest of the employees and when they should preach and uphold high standards of ethics that can be emulated by the employees. Considering Procorm Construction, one of the ways of promoting the culture of ethics is by establishing policies that hold employees accountable and imposing fines on those that are caught with unsavory behaviors.
Evaluation of Human resource can be done using Key Performance Indicators that basically measure the performance of a certain activity. The purpose is to ensure that employees remain focused on the tasks they are required to undertake. As discussed below, there are three major objectives of HR at BCB and as a means of ensuring that HR achieves these objectives, the following are the KPI that should be applied for each objective.
One of the effective KPI of recruitment and selection as the role of HR is retention of talents since it shows job stability in the company. This KPI allows the HR is to learn about the attitude of the employees towards the organization. If the company retains more talent, it implies that HR is doing great job (Marchington et al., 2016 p.56). Otherwise, HR will need to look at various aspects such as remuneration or labor climate. The KPI is also effective in preventing the company from spending more money of recruiting new individuals because high staff turnover means high costs of operations.
Return on Investment can be used as the KPI for performance appraisal process. BCB needs to know whether its employees are effective and whether they are contributing to the progress of the company, this can be done by checking on the RoI. In addition to this, sales are also an important KPI though this should include all departments such as marketing to determine the number of new customers to the organization.
For this objective, an effective KPI that can be used in BCB is the average time to achieve goals. There is no organization that sets goals to be achieved in infinity time. In order to determine the effectiveness of the training, the time taken to accomplish certain tasks and goals should be recorded since training helps the employees in becoming effective in terms of the use of resources and time management.
References
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Benn, S., Edwards, M. and Williams, T., 2014. Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge.
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Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
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