Understand how human resource management supports people and performance through workforce planning, recruitment, retention and employee relations.
Reading enables all People (RP)
R P is a non-profit and non-governmental organization (NGO) that teaches reading to financially disadvantaged children and teenagers. RP's mission statement is: "To educate those in need in order to foster social inclusion and change".
R P has 64 paid full-time staff and 350 part-time volunteers, mostly college students, who work in all areas of the city where R P is located. Volunteers do not work under contract. R P is experiencing communication problems. One young volunteer complained, "I often receive contradictory information. One person says one thing and another says something else". R P 's organizational structure is tall. There are several formal methods of communication present at R P, but most of the information passes through informal communication channels.
R P is planning to extend its literacy program to rural areas. The program will last five years. R P 's current sources of finance are insufficient to fund the new program. At present, R P is only financed by national businesses. Alice Lire, R P 's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has contacted the government for financial support. However, the state budget is limited and chances of government cooperation are low.
As part of its corporate social responsibility policy, McMikey, a multinational company that markets products to children, is willing to pay for the books for the program for two years. Alice is ready to accept the offer, but she would prefer McMikey to guarantee its support for five years. However, there is internal disagreement at McMikey. The Finance Manager believes that it would be too costly. However, the Marketing Manager argues that McMikey's brand image would be improved by a longterm association with R P 's literacy program.
Evaluate R P 's use of a very large number of part-time volunteers.
(e) Evaluate RP 's use of a very large number of part-time volunteers.
The use of a large number of part-time volunteers has a direct impact on R P 's finance. Using unpaid workers is a low cost and effective way for R P to complete the teaching tasks that may not otherwise be done due to a lack of time and resources. RP's savings in recruitment costs would be very important. With a large number of volunteers, R P will be able to cover most parts of the city; it will also allow the permanent staff to dedicate their time to plan new projects instead of doing direct teaching. In addition, volunteers are usually vocationally involved and supportive to the cause. It could be very valuable for R P 's working environment to have a large number of motivated volunteers.
However, a large number of volunteers can be time-consuming in terms of training; R P will have to provide them with adequate training if they want their programs to be successful. In addition, a large number of volunteers will be difficult to coordinate; communication problems may arise. As volunteers don't usually work under a contract they could leave unexpectedly and put at risk the continuity of the teaching programs.
All in all, a large number of volunteers can be difficult to manage, however, so far it seems to be the only realistic possibility for R P to actually reach its strategic objective.
Accept any other relevant evaluation.
Marks should be allocated according to the markbands on page 4.
The significance of changes in international labour mobility
Though the global population may grow from 7 billion in 2011 to 7.6 billion by 2020 , many countries will experience a decline in the number of working-age people. Already in Japan and Europe, each year more people retire from the workforce than young people enter it. By 2020, this problem will also affect Russia, Canada and China. Other countries such as India, Brazil and Indonesia have young populations and young workforces.
Unfortunately, many people lack the skills that employers need. A recent study found that 31 % of employers worldwide struggle to fill jobs requiring basic skills. 65 % of multinational companies have difficulty recruiting new employees with advanced skills. In emerging economies the problem is worse. Difficulties in meeting operational objectives of recruitment prevent many companies from meeting their strategic objectives.
Companies are responding by recruiting new employees from other countries. This practice is called "expanded recruitment". It has led to more international labour mobility, diverse workforces within companies, and diversity in global cities.
Supporters of expanded recruitment argue that the labour problem is demographic: the best solution is to make labour mobility easier. Furthermore, diversity both within companies and in society should improve international understanding and will increase creativity. Critics of expanded recruitment argue that it does not solve the real problem: many jobs require advanced skills, and most educational systems have not responded to those needs. Expanded recruitment has also created other issues for companies, such as problems in communication.
Expanded recruitment has also led to some anger in countries and local communities not accustomed to large immigrant populations.
Used with permission.]
Identify one opportunity and one constraint for companies caused by demographic change.
Possible opportunities include:
- To replace workers. Some companies, in countries with ageing populations might otherwise have great difficulty finding replacement employees, who can be recruited from countries with more young people.
- To lower costs of salaries or wages by replacing older workers with younger workers (who in many contexts will have lower salaries than retiring employees).
- To have "new blood," as younger employees with new innovative ideas join companies.
- To diversify the workforce, which leads to greater creativity.
- Homogenous workforces experience lesser misunderstanding and conflict in the workplace.
Possible constraints include:
- Cost of recruiting workers from other countries.
- The lack of experience of younger workers recruited from countries with large numbers of young people.
- Loss of experience, depth of knowledge, and wisdom about the company.
- Though homogenous workforces experience lesser misunderstanding and conflict in the workplace, such workplaces are less creative and innovative.
N.B. though the content of the question suggests an opportunity and constraint with respect to human resources, candidates may approach the question differently. Doing so is fine as long as the response is relevant and makes sense. For example, because of an ageing population, an opportunity may exist if the company revises its marketing mix and starts to target an older population.
Accept any other relevant opportunity or constraint.
Mark as 1+1. Award a maximum of [2].
Analyse one strategy that a global company could adopt for developing future human resources (you may refer to a global company that you have studied).
The major options for developing a plan for future human resources include those listed below.
- Analysing current employees supply (skill and number).
- Analyse number and skills of locally available labour (in the different local contexts where the company operates).
- Forecasting demand for employees based upon:
- estimates of mid and senior managers (the number of employees that will be needed)
- estimates of labour turnover
- past experiences
- the skills that will be needed
- worker productivity.
- Developing a program for internal recruitment.
- Developing training programs.
- Developing a program for external recruitment:
- local
- national o international.
Accept other relevant options.
Candidates should discuss at least one of the options above in some depth or discuss two in lesser depth. To receive more than [3], candidates must show balance. In this context, balance means the strengths and limitations of the approach adopted.
Though, in practice, most global companies are going to rely on some combination of all of the approaches, some companies try very hard to be known in the market for certain types of human resources.
- For most of its history NationsBank (now Bank of America) was famous for recruiting internally for mid-level and senior positions. As a result, many talented people wanted to work there because they knew they would have opportunities to be promoted, gain more responsibility, and make more money. A drawback to this approach is that sometimes promoted employees could not perform in their new roles, whereas an externally recruited senior person might have fared better.
- Qatar Airways very consciously recruits externally and globally. The airline is trying to be a global company, and wants its employees to be from around the world. A drawback to this approach is that it is expensive, many problems of language and communication can occur, and diverse workforces sometimes can have conflicts based upon cultural differences.
- Very large companies with huge workforces, like ExxonMobil, Walmart, and large auto manufacturers often forecast demand for future employees using all of the techniques noted above. Because they have such huge numbers of employees, statistical modelling and quantitative analysis can work with a high degree of reliability. However, no company can know the future, and all of the methods used for forecasting future employees can fail because of changes in the company's fortunes, unexpected political factors, and changing technologies.
Accept any other relevant analysis.
Marks should be allocated according to the markbands on page 3.
Discuss the significance of changes in international labour mobility.
The significance of changes in international labour mobility include:
- More workers/people are able to find work that matches their skill set and ability.
- More companies are able to fill positions with appropriate personnel.
- Managers and shareholders may welcome immigrant workers, who fill crucial voids.
- People may resent immigrants taking jobs.
- Young emigrants moving for work lose contact with their home cultures.
- Many rural areas are losing young people who move to cities in search of work.
- Workplaces and cities are becoming diverse, which fosters creativity.
- Diversity increases the likelihood of cultural conflict.
- Emigrant workers often find economic opportunity.
- Emigrant workers are often separated from their families and often lack political rights in the country to which the move.
Accept other relevant implications of changes in labour mobility.
A [7] response would consider at least two positive outcomes of changes in labour mobility and two negative or challenging outcomes of changes in labour mobility and have a conclusion or judgment. If less than two positives or less than two negatives, award a maximum of [5]. If the candidate discusses two or more positive outcomes of changes in labour mobility and two or more negative or challenging outcomes of changes in labour mobility, but does not have a conclusion or judgment, award a maximum of [4].
Marks should be allocated according to the markbands on page 4.
PU is considering new lecturer working patterns: compulsory IT training, working at home three days a week, shorter vacations with higher basic pay, and performance-related pay. PU is also considering a joint venture with Country B, whose government would provide facilities and local staff. PU would design courses and materials, train staff, monitor academic standards and undertake market research, receiving an annual government payment and a fee for each student who completes a degree. The decision must consider PU's not-for-profit mission, reputation, academic quality, student demand, staff morale, the costs of training and monitoring, Country B's facilities and market, financial returns and risks of managing an overseas campus.
The trustees of P U have made proposals to introduce new working patterns for lecturers:
- Compulsory training in IT use for teaching, including online teaching and creating libraries of online resources.
- Contracts that require all lecturers to work at home three days a week. There would be a schedule of who is on site on each day.
- Vacations reduced in length to enable sufficient face-to-face contact with all students. Lecturers would receive a compensatory increase in basic pay.
- Introduction of performance-related pay (PRP).
P U is considering a joint venture with Country B's government. Country B is performing well economically and is planning to expand its university sector. The trustees of P∪ believe that the university has a sufficiently strong reputation that the government of Country B will be interested in P U opening a campus there.
Country B's government would provide the facilities and recruit local lecturers and other staff to work at the university. P U would be responsible for all the other costs that it incurs setting up the campus.
PU would:
- design degree courses, syllabuses and course materials
- train all staff
- monitor the progress of each course to ensure that academic standards are good enough to award degrees.
In addition, PU would undertake all market research needed for planning and monitoring new courses, including primary research into the market for university courses.
PU would receive an annual payment from the government of Country B and a fee for each student that successfully completes a degree course.
Explain one impact on P∪ and one impact on P∪ 's lecturers of the new working patterns.
Impact on P U :
- Home working: How to monitor? Maybe more available facilities? Costs of extra equipment for home?
- Reduced vacations: Facilities better used. Possible increase in costs, though may help with sustainability.
Impact on P U 's lecturers:
- Work at home for 3 days a week. How feasible? What facilities? Less travelling, more time available.
- Reductions in vacations: Unlikely to be welcomed by lecturers; less motivation? Leading to higher staff turnover?
The new working patterns are about home working and reduced vacations. Training may be considered as it is explicitly linked to the new working patterns, e.g. about the fact that lecturers need specific training to adapt to the new working patterns.
N.B. PRP is a type of financial reward, not a working pattern (candidates' knowledge of PRP has already been assessed through question Q4a).
N.B. candidates may also explain the impacts as "long-term impact" versus "short-term impact", or "positive impact" versus "negative impact", or "financial impact" versus "HR impact" - all these approaches are valid, as long as they are about the new working patterns.
Mark as a [2] + [2].
Award [1] for an appropriate impact on PU's lecturers and an additional [1] for application. Award [1] for an appropriate impact on PU and an additional [1] for application. Maximum award overall: [4].