Each time you submit an assignment you must attach this statement as the cover page for both

the hard copy and the electronic version. If the statement is missing your work will not be marked.

Student Declaration I have read and understood NCC Educations Policy on Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism. I can confirm the following details: Programme/Qualification Name: Student ID/Registration number: Name: Centre Name: Module Name: Module Leader: Number of words: International Business 00124444 Darina Stefanova Fikova ESEI International Business School Human Resources Management Lluis Jimenez 3018

I confirm that this is my own work and that I have not plagiarized any part of it. I have also noted the assessment criteria and pass mark for assignments. Due Date: Student Signature: Submitted Date: 13/05/2011 Darina Fikova 13/05/2011

Darina Stefanova Fikova ID: 00124444 ESEI International Business School Human Resources Management May 13th, 2011

Table of Contents
Task 1: HRM policies Contribution4 Task 2: Employee Involvement Initiatives.5 Task 3: Leadership Styles...6 Task 4: Recruitment and Selection8 Task 5: Work-life Balance10 Task 6: Learning on-the Job11 Bibliography12

Task 1: HRM policies Contribution

As the new CEO of Autoclad, Ellie should be aware that the Human Resources management is a key component from the overall Organizational Management which she will be in charge of. The main HR policies consist of performance management, labor relations, recruitment, training and salaries of the workforce. The new CEO has to oversee how these policies reflect and contribute to the overall corporate strategy and culture of Autoclad. The general task of the HR department is to manage three relationships: the employee-work, the employee-employee, and the employee-company relationship. Therefore, Ellie can draw a conclusion that in all cases the employees are the most important part of a successful HRM. In fact, the main lesson that the newly appointed CEO should learn is that employees can act as a competitive advantage for Autoclad in many ways and it is a responsibility of HR managers to develop their full potential. For example, the HR department in Autoclad developed an apprenticeship program which trained its employees with the necessary skills. This program not only increased substantially the output of the employees, but also showed significant improvement in both profits and share prices in the automobile component manufacturer. Furthermore, Ellie should know that of the main drivers of organizational efficiency related to HR is the employee satisfaction. By correctly implementing their policies, the HR managers aim at achieving welfare-efficiency which in other words means to establish adequate working conditions which will lead to greater employee welfare and respectively higher productivity and better results. Ellies main priority concerning HRM has to be obtaining a balance between employee satisfaction and Autoclads efficiency.

Task 2: Employee Involvement Initiatives

Employee involvement initiatives can have at lead to five positive contributions not only in the human resource department, but in the organization of Autoclad in general. First of all, if the employees are more involved in the organization, the tension between the higher managerial levels and the workers will be partially relieved. If Autoclads employees have the chance to openly give suggestions to higher managers and even Ellie, they would feel that they have a voice in the companys practices and that their opinion counts, which will in turn will make them feel more comfortable in times of crisis. It is much more frustrating and stressful for them to find about the redundancy program when it is already in action, rather than to participate in negotiations with the HR department and state their opinion freely. A second positive influence on the organization would be that the exchange of information between managerial levels will improve the overall operational efficiency of Autoclad. Since employees are involved in all the company processes and they are part of them on a daily basis, the workers can be source of useful feedback for the upper managers. In other words, the work force can provide the managers with ideas on how to optimize internal operations which could lead to organizational changes for efficiency improvement. The third incentive for designing employee involvement initiatives is that if employees have opportunities to take part in the decision making for the organization and the communication flows freely, this will increase the level of trust and confidence between all members of the organization. In Autoclad, this would be a helpful improvement because it will strengthen the relationship between Ellie and her new employees and will reduce the possibility of future conflicts as a result of a lack of communication. Forth, higher employee involvement can improve the opportunities of organization-wide learning. If newly recruited workers have the chance to ask questions to upper managers and share their observations and doubts about Autoclad, it would be easier for them to understand, learn, and adopt the companys corporate culture. Newcomers to Autoclad will be able to perceive the shared values, beliefs and ways of doing things in a more thorough manner if they are more if the employee involvement initiative come into being. The fifth beneficial contribution of employee involvement in the organization is the expansion of the pool of new ideas regarding the companys projects. When employees have the freedom to give their opinions and discuss projects and product with their superiors freely, this can

lead to more creativity and innovation in the company which will be highly valued in a technologically-driven organization as Autoclad.

Task 3: Leadership Styles

Two of the leadership styles which Goleman describes are reflected by the founding brothers and Ellie respectively. Firstly, when considering Tomas and Michael, the leadership style that most accurately applies to their management practices in Autoclad is the Affiliate leadership style. When forming the company, Michael and Tomas, were driven by their passion for racing automobiles and both took up directorship positions. The two brothers were happy to share the role, as value participation and harmony. The Affiliate leadership style is generally characterized by creating harmony and strong connections between the people in the organization (Value Based Management, 2011). By doing this, Michael and Tomas, have been building trust and confidence among the workforce for over than 40 years, resulting in loyal and dedicated employees. The Affiliate leader is more emotionally driven as in the case of Michael and Tomas who started the business triggered by their mutual interest in racing automobiles, rather than as a business plan. Therefore, one can think of Autoclad as a family company where the emphasis is put on the people and their emotional well-being. Ellie, from the other hand, fits is the profile of the Visionary leader. She is a very competent and forceful personality and her leadership style can be described as visionary and fast-paced. The Visionary leadership style is used when the organization is facing a change is direction and a new vision (Value Based Management, 2011). Ellie considers that a change is Autoclad is needed due to the economic crisis and downturn in demand and she does want to be proactive in response to external events. Therefore, Ellies goal is to move the people of Autoclad to a state where the main focus of the company is around quality, technical expertise, and profit. According to Lubna Haq, a consultant at Hay Group, visionary leadership is about being clear about what you want to do and getting people to buy into it (The Times, 2008) . Although this type of leadership tends to have a strong positive effect on the organization, Ellie has to overcome the challenges in the communication of her vision to the employees of Autoclad. As the workforce in Autoclad has been a subject to the affiliate leadership of the two brothers throughout the companys history, the transition to Ellies new ways of conduct causes certain challenges and conflicts between her and the employees. The people is Autoclad are used to the family and harmonic environment in the times of Michael and Simon, so the new CEO first of all has to present clearly but at the same time smoothly her vision and motivate her employees to struggle forwards and embrace the new values. 6

An advisable approach for Ellie to undertake is to focus first on reducing the hygiene factors that affect motivation. According to Frederick Herzberg there are two types of factors that have an impact on the employees attitudes towards their job: hygiene factors (leading to dissatisfaction) and motivational factors (leading to satisfaction) (NetMBA, 2010). Therefore, Ellie would want to first try and decrease the factors causing dissatisfaction before she starts implementing motivational techniques. Autoclads company policy, the level of supervision, and the relationships between employees and superiors could act as a source of dissatisfaction for the auto parts manufacturers workers (NetMBA, 2011). In this case, Ellies new redundancy policy may not only anger current employees, but also create a feeling of threat over the security of their workplaces. As stated in the scenario, employees in Autoclad react to Ellies ideas with dismay and anger and some have demanded her resignation which leads to the conclusion that the new CEO is facing serious challenges in her relationship with the workers. Thus, it is advisable that the chief executive officer works on establishing better understanding and cooperation between herself and the workforce in order to reduce the conflicts and to start building a strong and durable relationship based on trust and mutual compromises. Once the hygiene factors are removed or at least decreased

Task 4: Recruitment and Selection

Prior to initiating a definite recruitment and selection plan, Ellie would want to take into consideration some options that may help her fill in vacancies without having to hire new employees or promote current ones. As Autoclad is a manufacturing company and probably involves an extensive use of machines, it might be advisable for the managers to try an mechanize some process, i.e. introduce more machinery in the places of humans which will reduce the need for recruitment. Furthermore, Ellie might attempt to reorganize the work of employees so that the tasks of previous workers are distributed amongst currently employed people. If the vacant positions are at a lower organizational level, the HR department may subcontract workers or introduce part-time jobs which will also lead to a significant economic relief. On the other hand if these preliminary techniques are not sufficient, then Ellie and her HR department would need to apply a recruitment and selection technique. The first important step in the process would be to plan the technique in such a way that it would align with Autoclads corporate strategy. As stated in the scenario, the core competencies of the company are highly technical in nature and it has put a lot of investment into developing its workforce and core competencies. Therefore, Ellie should bear in mind that this investment should continue when recruiting new employees in order to make sure that the candidates will have the adequate for a company of Autoclads status. The degree of training required for the new employees would also be of great significance because additional training will result in the need of further investment. The next step that should be undertaken by the HR department is to design suitable job descriptions for the vacant positions. The more detailed the job descriptions are, the less would be the probability of recruiting candidates not suitable for the job. Candidates will be aware of the knowledge there are required to have and the tasks they will have to perform and this would act as a filter which would help the HR manager to make the right selection choices. There are various sources of recruitment that can applied for amplifying Autoclads pool of talent, but the most appropriate of them would be to first try to try and promote current employees to higher positions. This option is recommended because the employees would already be a part of the corporate culture and would not need training or induction. Additionally, due to the specificity of the companys operations, employees with certain experience and knowledge of this particular business will be highly valuable for the organization. Additionally, as the current relationship 8

between Ellie and the workers is not in its best stage, the recruitment and promotion of existing employees will increase the overall motivation of the workforce and create an air of alacrity in the organization. A second recommendable approach to attracting new candidates would be to use online and offline media such as job portals and/or newspapers where external people could apply for the positions. This would provide the HR with a broader scope of choices and increase the pool of new ideas that would be brought by recently recruited workers. Once the recruitment of the candidates is finalized, the HR department of Autoclad would have to select the most appropriate potential employees for the job at hand. A thorough revision of all applications and CVs would be the first logical step, and once the initial filtering has been made it is highly advisable to conduct various interviews with the candidates. In depth personal interviews can reveal a lot of information to the HR department about the attitude, personality and degree of dedication and interest towards the position of the future employees. However, although fundamental for the selection process, interview may not suffice for the selection of Autoclads new employees. It is possible that the HR department has to apply certain personality assessment tools which could help for defining the best candidates. One of the most famous and widely used tools in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which is a personality test which categorizes people in four main categories based on how they direct their energy, how their perceive the outside world, what kind of judgment do they have and whether they act based on their judgment or on their perception (Personality Pathways, 2011). By using the MBTI, the HR could come up with a deeper understanding of the candidates personality and make a selection with greater facility.

Task 5: Work-Life Balance

In the transition period that Autoclad is facing, the HR department has to think of ways to decrease the tension between the employees and the higher managerial levels. More importantly, by approving of adequate HR policies, Ellie will demonstrate that although with a different leadership approach, she is willing to work for the well-being and satisfaction of Autoclads employees. One of the tactics considered is establishing a better work/life balance for the workforce. They are various practices that can be applied for the implementation of this HR policy. The department in charge can work on more flexible timetables for its employees by suggesting a shift system, half-time jobs, or even compensation for uncomfortable working hours. A feasible technique would be to conduct an internal research among the employees of Autoclad, examining that working hours and in which days of the weeks are most suitable for each of them. The collected data may be then organized in a database, and by using software applications and datamining, the HR department could come up will a schedule that summarizes the distribution of working hours and the shift that employees will take. Additionally, family-friendly policies may be helpful for establishing an improved work/time balance. In this case it would be suitable not only to provide employees with more time for their families, but also to organize specific events for establishing a better connection between the professional and personal life of the employees such as company picnics where employees could gather together with their relatives. There are several benefits as well as barriers that can occur with the work/life balance practices. First, of all the good working conditions and flexibility are two of the relational extrinsic rewards that increase employee motivation. If employees have more time to enjoy themselves outside of the office, this will make them less stressed at the work place and increase their performance. Additionally, Autoclads workforce response to the organizational changes that will take place with Ellies management will not be so negative if they believe that the company is trying to improve their working conditions. However, the work/life balance policy may also face some barriers. First of all, if Ellie approves of the previously described suggestions, she will not act according to her leadership style and will become more affiliate than visionary which may have a negative effect of the performance of Autoclad. Additionally, as in all organizations it would be unfeasible to create a schedule that will suite every single employee. Therefore, it may be possible that some of the employees have their preferences satisfied while others do not, and this may even increase the internal tension in the company.

10

Task 6: Learning on-the Job

There are five on-the job learning methods that could be appropriate for Autoclad. First, coaching would a suitable method because the line mangers of Autoclad could help employees to overcome difficulties and this method is built of a close relationship between the coach and the trainee (Torrington et al, 2008). Such relationships are needed in Autoclad to relieve the pressure between superiors and workers, and additionally will increase the degree of employee involvement because with the coaching method, the employee takes the final decision in the problem or project at hand. A second appropriate method would be learning by peer relationships which could be used for introducing newly recruited employees to the company, a source of peer-to-peer feedback and also emotional support (Torrington et al, 2008).. Such a method will strengthen Autoclads culture and improve the working environment by establishing durable relationships between employees. Learning contracts could also be useful for Autoclad because this on-the job learning method because the employee would have to a sign a formal agreement of dedication to achieve a certain goal (Torrington et al, 2008). As Ellies is a visionary leader, such a technique will enhance her leadership style because employees will work for common organizational goals in coordination with the new vision and direction that Autoclad is leaded to by the CEO. Furthermore, with the application of learning logs would help employees reflect and evaluate events and activities that they have been a part of Torrington et al, 2008). These reflections could act as a valuable source of information for Autoclad as the managers who read them could see from the workers point of view how the positive results were achieve and what problems were there in the process of performing the activity or completing the project. The managers will therefore be able to think of ways to improve the future process and avoid the possible problems and drawbacks. Finally, the method of self-development groups could be of fundamental importance for Autoclad, as in these groups the employees will be able to discuss organizational and individual issues in the company (Torrington et al, 2008). This will in turn generate some ideas of how to deal with these issues and how to each employee could improve individually and within the organization as well. As Autoclad is in a period of transition and internal conflict, such self-development groups will help participants evaluate the situation and think of ways to improve the status quo, and additionally will reduce stress levels because the workers will have to share their emotions and observations with each other. 11

Bibliography
Chynoweth, C. (January 24th, 2008) A new take on the big picture, The Times: The Sunday Times http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/senior_executive/article3237655.ec e, [accessed on 06/05/2011] NetMBA: Herzberg Motivation-Hygiene Theory (Two-factor Theory), 2011http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/herzberg/, [accessed on 06/05/2011] Personality Pathways: Myers Briggs Test What is your Myers-Briggs Personality Type? , 2011 http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html, [accessed on 24/04/2011] Torrington, D. Hall, L. and Taylor, S. (2008) Human Resource Management. Seventh Edition. Prentice Hall, London Value Based Management: Leadership Styles Goleman, 2011 http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_goleman_leadership_styles.html, [accessed 06/05/2011]

12