a) Explains the purpose of the HR function and its importance to the organization, given its current problems and future plans for further growth.

PART 1 –

The Purpose and Scope of HRM and Recruitment and Selection & the Application of HRM practices in the workplace

Case scenario

‘Chocolate Presence’ is a rapidly expanding organization based in North Yorkshire, which provides tailormade chocolate based greetings cards and presents across the UK. The business comprises a chocolate production team, a finance and marketing team and a packaging and distribution section. There is also a small team of staff who design and create the more specialist gift orders. The owner of the business is a master chocolatier, who, whilst excellent at creating innovative chocolate flavours and inspired designs, has no experience of employing an ever increasing workforce. As the organization has grown staff turnover has increased and feedback from long standing customers indicates that the quality of some items is not as high as it used to be.

 The organization is based in an area of high unemployment and so the number of applicants for production or administration vacancies is very high. In order to help the owner and the workshop manager to shortlist applicants they have created their own assessment test on English comprehension and maths which applicants complete on line or in person. They have a fixed pass mark of 50% for both of these tests. Those that achieve the pass mark then have their references checked before being called for interview. The interview is really an informal chat, which takes around 15 minutes. There have recently been some complaints from applicants about the fairness of the test and a number of new recruits have failed their probationary period.

The owner has recruited you as a Human Resource Officer to ensure that the organization recruits and retains the best workers to enable further growth.

Task 1 – (LO1) (Approximately 1000 words)

Compile a report with a critical view which:

a) Explains the purpose of the HR function and its importance to the organization, given its current problems and future plans for further growth.

b) Explains the strengths and weaknesses of the current selection methods used by the organization.

c) Evaluates at least 2 two potential improvements that could be made by Chocolate Presence to enhance its selection process.

Task 2 – Application (LO 4) (Approximately 1000 words)

In the past, job vacancies have been circulated internally, to existing staff and their friends/family, within Chocolate Presence and on the physical vacancy noticeboards on the external wall of the main site entrance. You feel that this is insufficient and intend to change this with the first vacancy that you need to fill - a Receptionist for the organization. Using the job description provided in Appendix 1 you should:

a) Create a person specification for the role 

b) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the current methods of advertising jobs in the organization (internally within the organization and on the noticeboard outside the main entrance).

c) Explain where you would recommend the job advert for the Receptionist vacancy to be placed and why.

PART 2 - Employee performance, development and reward & Factors that influence HR decision making

Task 3 (LO2) (Approximately 1000 words)

Microsoft prides itself in having a culture which encourages personal growth and development opportunities, whilst providing a range of benefits and rewards to its employees. Combined, this results in an organisation that “creates things to change the world” (Microsoft, 2018). Use the following links, along with additional research on Microsoft: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/ur-lp-united-kingdom Provide a summary report which addresses the following points:

a) Microsoft offer graduate training schemes and internships. Evaluate the benefits to both the organisation and employees of such schemes.

b) Microsoft offers a range of flexible working arrangements for staff. Firstly, identify some of these arrangements and then evaluate the benefits of offering these to both Microsoft and its employees.

c) Evaluate how Microsoft motivates its workers through the way it designs its job roles

Task 4 (LO3 ) (Approximately 1000 words)

Microsoft held an employee engagement summit earlier this year, with the involvement of 6 large organizations, outlining their approach and success of engaging staff. Using this information (via the link: https://resources.techcommunity.microsoft.com/employee-engagement-summit-2018/) and by carrying out additional research, address the following questions, providing your answer in the form of a briefing sheet on the importance of employee engagement.

a) What is meant by the term employee engagement and why is employee engagement such an important part in effective employee relations in Microsoft?

b) Critically evaluate the key approaches to engaging workers discussed in the Summit and how these approaches improve communication in the workplace.

c) Identify the key elements of UK employment legislation, explaining how they influence HR decision making such as recruitment, training and development and reward.