Introduction
The Selfridges story is a store characterized by high delivering team of human resource hence resulting to improved performance. This has set the company as a big success making it grow steadily and secure a good market share (Miles and Carols 122).
This paper will address the role of line managers in Selfridge’s stores, aspect of individual performance in the organization, employees’ involvement and briefly handle the aspect of assessment centers.
Role of line managers in human resource management
The function of the human resource department has been viewed as an important element in the progress and realization of strategic organization’s plan. This has been fueled by the ever growing competitive pressure, as Selfridges store is forced to adapt and favorably respond to home and global competition, retarded growth and declining markets opportunities.
This kind of market situation calls for efficient communication of the relevance of HR across the stores and a review of the responsibility of line managers in facilitating implementation of HR policies. If human resource department is to function normally, then personnel in the department must give it away.
The shifting of responsibilities can be viewed as the extent to which HRM practioners move roles to line managers rather than human resource specialists.
By redistributing responsibility for HR aspects, line managers are presented with a chance to participate in the day-to-day people administration decision-making, as the HR specialists work towards getting closer configuration of the stores systems and processes with business objectives. This is done as attention is paid to macro environmental changes. In self ridges these role rearrangements have been met with lots of controversy.
The argument is that this reassignment has caused worse complexity in HR systems and technology and further disorders have been witnessed in the HR processes and precincts. In real practice, the redistribution of HR functions has caused more difficulties in allocating new roles; withstanding resistance to change; and addressing the issue of gaps and resource inadequacy (Currie and Procter 11).
Managing individual performance
Fair treatment and good salaries are concerns that most individuals harbor. Most workers are concerned about being treated equitably and paid good remuneration. These issues can only be addressed by crystal clear and equitable individual performance management systems that give all employees an opportunity to turn their efforts into rewards that are equivalent.
Increasingly, Selfridges store is finding that also and has major concern about harmonizing their work in the organization and their other non work responsibilities (Angle and Perry 12). This calls for coming up with policies and practices that give an easy platform for employees to do well in all of their other responsibilities so as to address employees concerns.
Selfridge store should therefore seek to have an individual performance management system that emphasizes the work output and accepts differences among employees concerning workload. In this case, scheduling may improve employees’ ability to successfully perform a number of other roles (Kochan, Katz and McKersie 453).
On the other hand, strict number of working time and the program of work can create time pressure that makes it impossible to carry out non work roles.
Most employers put their funds in business for financial reasons. Their expectations can only be addressed if Selfridge’s stores human resource department reviews the cost-effectiveness of its performance management programme. This means that the HR department should review their performance management programmes to measure their economic feasibility.
The employer, in most cases has interest in the long-run existence of the company. This means that temporary cost implications and short-term performance improvements cannot be the core driver performance management practices (Miles and Carols 654).
Good performance practices give high levels of sustainable individual performance. This goes a long way to minimize negative behaviors from the employees such as absenteeism and high staff turnover which add to higher labor costs in the long run.
How compatible are employer and employee interests in relation to flexibility
Flexibility addresses the potential of the employee and the employer to manage change and creativity and to respond well to market requirements (Cunningham and Hyman 20). This calls for a HRM policy which respond favorably to change at all levels of the Selfridges store.
A model that is not too bureaucratic, stiff and following preset hierarchy, with the absence of rigid job boundaries and with practical flexibility, such as flexible skills and ability to move from one role to another, should be embraced. When this is done, employees are likely to show greater level of organizational commitment, high trust and high levels of inherent motivation (Baird and Ian 57).
To achieve flexibility, Selfridges can embrace staff training, work organization; multiple skills and elimination narrow job classifications.
Employees involvement
Staff involvement is more relevant with the current context where the success of the process of adapting to change requires a higher level of both individual and group involvement (Bert and Bernard 122).
Selfridges store is committed and is building coalitions and group of committed employees who feel a big sense of combined involvement and contribution to the decision making process of the company. Moreover, employees should be involved in decision making process so that the divergence of interests between those of the enterprise and the employee can be minimized.
Assessment centers
A major characteristic of assessment test is validity. Research studies have shown that the criterion-related validity of assessment centers, remain the same in all jobs, time, and employment scenarios (Buyens and De Vos 89). Assessment centers are seen as important tools to encompass the interpersonally oriented dimensions of staff in stores, particularly the Selfridges stores.
Works Cited
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Baird, Leonard, and Ian Meshoulam. “Managing the Two Fits of Strategic Human Resource Management.” Academy of Management Review 13. 1 (1988): 25-26. Print.
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Buyens, Dan, and De Vos Aron. “Perceptions of the Value of the HR Function.” Human Resource Management Journal 11. 3 (2001): 70-89. Print.
Currie, Gideon, and Procter Simon. “Exploring the Relationship between HR and Middle Managers.” Personnel Review 11. 3 (2001): 53-69. Print.
Cunningham, Ian, and Hyman Jacob. “Transforming the HR Vision into Reality: The Role of Line Managers and Supervisors in Implementing Change.” Employee Relations 17. 8 (2001): 5-20. Print.
Kochan, Katz, and McKersie Mark. The transformation of American industrial relations. New York: Basic Books, 1986. Print.
Miles, Eliot, and Carols Snow. “Designing Human Resource Systems” Journal of Management Studies 4 (1987): 2-8. Print.