Human Resource Management in Business Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management in Business Essay ‘Managing People’ Describe how your organisation obtains the co-operation of its employees through the contract of employment and employee involvement techniques. Employee Co-operation Contracts of employment An employment contract is a written legal document that lays out binding terms and conditions of employment between an employee and an employer. The employers in ZARA need to makw sure that their employees are aware of what rights and responsibilities they have as workers in ZARA. This contract also includes: The salary rate that is going to be paid to the employees. When they will be getting their salaries What deductions are going to be made from their salaries like income tax. Contractual entitlements These are outlines within the contract so the employee and employer both know what is expected of each other when working in an organization. Things like pay might include the salary amount that has to be given by the employer to the employee and when it is supposed to be paid. Holiday pays might also be included in this depending on what kind of job it is. These contractual entitlements also include the number of hours that the employee has to work, this also includes over time. Type of employment of the employee will be comprised in the entitlement. This can either be temporary or fixed employment. The employees working in ZARA also need to be aware of these contractual entitlements so that that they know what to expect from the employers and vice versa. Firms set some disciplinary rules in the place that they are going to be working in and need to be followed at all times. Employees need to make sure that they follow the rules the employers have set for them until they are working for that firm. Pension benefits are also given to the employee after they leave the organization. These pensions are paid to the employees month after month, the amount is discussed before hand and depending on the employee’s income history and as well as their age and how long they have served in the firm. Employee and employer rights Employers in Zara need to make sure that they are following the laws of all employee rights in their state. There are some employee rights that need to be followed. Some of these are: All employees need to make sure that they are getting paid the equal sum of money. Employees need to make sure that they aren’t doing any illegal work or something that would be a subject of discrimination. Employers in the firm need to make sure that the employees are not dismissed for an unfair reason. Employees also should be provided with maternity and paternity pay. To receive redundancy pay is basically a sum of money which is given by an employer to an employee who has been made redundant. Payment is done based on the employee’s rate of pay and length of service. Employees should make sure that they receive an annual leave from their employers within a year’s time without consequences. Employees should be paid at least a minimum wage in the firm. Type of employment contract: Permanent: this is one of the most common types of employment contracts that businesses follow. This employment contract includes things like the amount of pay and terms and conditions which are accepted by both the employee and employer. This type of contract lasts one year and is renewed after each year on employment. Temporary-companies use this contract because it saves them a lot of money and time. This type of contact lasts for only a short period of time. Full time- This is when an employee is asked to work more than 35 hours a week, but it depends on the job description. For example: a sales man in ZARA works from day till night for a long period of time. Part time- This is when an employee works for a little amount of hours instead of the whole day. For example: there are to employees doing the same job, one works in the night shift and the other in the day shift. Casual- when a firm is in need of employees, they tend to use this kind of employment contract. This has an advantage and as well as a disadvantage for  the employees as they might have less work to do compared to the other employees but they might not know when they are getting their next job. Zara uses full time employment contracts with their staff. Disciplinary procedures Disciplinary procedures are a set way for an employer to deal with disciplinary issues. They should include a disciplinary hearing where you’re given a chance to explain your side of the story. Grievance procedures This is a problem that could occur between the employee and employer, it is a complaint that they could have against each other for something that either of them has done wrong. Union Membership This is when a group of staff or workers is formed into a labor union. These unions play a big role in the firm as they can talk about issues between each other. An example is when there is a problem with the staffs pay amount of even the working conditions. Codes of behavior This is basically a set of conventional principles that are considered binding on the employer/employee. This is mainly about what is acceptable behavior in the firm. Employee involvement techniques Companies might use these techniques in order to get the staff more involved in decisions being made for the organization. This may also motivate the staff as they would feel they are also part of the firm and not just ordinary staff working there. Membership of work groups Firm’s employers might have groups of employees where all the workers work together. This can be advantageous as the workers might have more ideas in the group. There are different types of work groups in firms, For example: Board groups and work councils Quality Circles Intra-organizational groups Suggestion schemes This helps the employee’s involvement in the organization. Employers make sure that he staff feels like they are part of the firm and that their ideas and suggestions matter. Staffs ideas sometimes make big changes in the organization and benefit them in many ways. To motivate the employees more, the employers give them rewards and prizes to keep them thinking about more and more ideas to improve the company, by doing this, it will motivate employees to work better and harder. How Zara obtains Employee Corporation? The rules, regulations and rights are followed by both the employees and employers in ZARA. ZARA has also explained the disciplinary procedures to the employees and as well as their employers. Employees are involved in the decision makings of ZARA and they are taken into consideration. Working together in work groups also takes place in ZARA. Finally, suggestion schemes are mainly monitored by the firm as this gives each and every employee a chance to share their ideas for ZARA. Devolved authority and responsibility Getting the employees more involved in the firms decision making enables the employees to do better work and be motivated to do it with their maximum capabilities. But this can also be a disadvantage because: The employees would want extra pay if their ideas work and take place in the firm. Employees might get stressed out as they would have more work load on their heads. Open communications This is when there is two way communications in the firm between the employees and the employers. Formal This is when formal communication between the employers and employees happen. For example: the employers are discussing business matters by the use of  presentations or letters or even emails. Informal This kind of communication happens in an informal way between the staff and the employers. An example of this is: when the staff are chatting with their employers when going home, does not necessarily have to be about business but can be just about other matters. Top down This happens when any information about the firm is given from the top (owners or employers) to the bottom (managers and staff). An example of this is: when an important change comes to the business and the information is carried from the owners to the managers. Bottom up This is the opposite of top down, and information is given from the staff and managers to the top owners of the firm. Lateral This is communication which is done between the employees of the business but with those who are at the same level but different sections of the company. Types of communications Communication is basically the transferring of a message from the sender to the receiver, who understands the message. There are 3 ways of communication and these are: Verbal Verbal communication can be face to face talks, telephone calls, video conferencing, meetings, etc. There are both advantages and disadvantages of verbal communication. One advantage is that information is given out quicker. There is also a high chance where the feedbacks is given immediately and not have to wait for it where as in when a meeting is happening the employers are not sure that all the employees are listening or has understood all the information. This could be of an disadvantage for both the employee and the employer. Written Written communication is a type of communication method and may include memos, letters, reports, emails, etc. When communication is written, it can become of evidence in the future if needed. For example: emails that are  sent between the employee and employer can be kept for the future if any problem occur in the future. This type of communication can also be a disadvantage because the same message can be sent to a large number of people at once and all those people might not read the message immediately and therefore a feedback or reply may be given late. Visual Visual communication can be a form of Charts, firms, posters, etc. This kind of communication can be an advantage as this might be a catch to the eye. The disadvantage of this is there might be no feedback immediately and this kind of communication is not used in all firms because the employees might not understand diagrams and charts. These types of communications are used in ZARA. The employees in ZARA would use verbal communication as it is the easiest method and since they deal in customers, it would train them to become more confident when talking face to face and on the phone. Organizational Culture (ethos, values, mission) Organizational culture refers to the values, practices and behaviors that make up a unique and social environment within an organization. This can be expressed in a number of ways, including the ethos of the firm. An ethos is a code of conduct that a firm basically has. This might be set out in a published set of values or a mission statement so that employees, customers and other stakeholder are aware of what the firm believes in and feels is important. National accreditation (Investors in People (IPP) This type of structure is mostly used in businesses so that all the employees in the firm can be involved with the schemes. Investors in people are one of the well-known awards and also known as (IIP). This can be achieved when employees are able to invest on one of the biggest assets- people . This has mainly 3 rules: 1. Plan, which basically means developing strategies to improve performance. 2. Do, which means taking action to improve the performance. 3. Review, which need to be evaluated and used to improve performance too. Charter Mark and International Standards Organization (ISO)) This is a national award which has helped public service firms, For example: public  schools and hospitals, to keep developing and improving their quality of service for customers and this can also be done to involve employees in decision making.