CIPD Assignment Front Sheet:

To be completed by candidate and attached to all submitted assignments

Centre name: Blackburn College

Candidate name: Kelly Porter
CIPD Membership/
53794885 Student number: 97015193
registration No:
Qualification title: CIPD Diploma
Managing and
coordinating the Human
Module title: Module Code: 5HRF
Resources Function

Word count: 3213 Extension granted: Y/N

Submission Date: 30/3/20 Revised due date:

Candidate declaration:

 I confirm that the work/evidence presented for assessment is my own unaided work.

 I have read the assessment regulations and understand that if I am found to have
‘copied’ from published work without acknowledgement, or from other candidate’s
work, this may be regarded as plagiarism which is an offence against the assessment
regulations and leads to failure in the relevant unit and formal disciplinary action.

 I agree to this work being subjected to scrutiny by textual analysis software if required.

 I understand that my work may be used for future academic/quality assurance

purposes in accordance with the provisions of Data Protection legislation.

 I understand that the work/evidence submitted for assessment may not be returned to
me and that I have retained a copy for my records.

 I understand that until such time as the assessment grade has been ratified through
internal and external quality assurance processes it is not final.

 I confirm that my work meets the word count guidelines for the assignment (+/-10%)
and, unless otherwise stated in the assignment, has been submitted as a Word
document to allow the word count to be verified by the assessor. I understand that data
tables, diagrams, reference lists/bibliography and linked appendices that underpin the
assessment are excluded from the wordcount.

30.3.20
K Porter
Signature: Date:
5HRF - Managing and coordinating the Human Resources Function

Q1 - give examples of the main organisational objectives that the HR function is

responsible for delivering and briefly explain how these have evolved/are evolving in
a contemporary organisation. Provide a brief justification for managing HR in a
professional, ethical and just manner -

Organisations use their HR function to deliver their strategy. They do this firstly by recruiting
the right staff in all roles. Next steps are talent planning and developing staff. This improves
employee relations and improves morale as they feel valued by being given the opportunity
to develop. [CITATION Geo19 \l 2057 ]

It is also important for HR to manage the performance and absenteeism for all staff. This
then enhances productivity as their staff are retrained on areas of focus and sick levels are
reduced.
They create a culture by having clear communication between them and staff, having a
structured feedback process in place that highlights both good and development areas.
HR in the 21st century has a very different objective to what was their first intention when
Quakers were introduced in organisations at the end of the 19th century.
Female welfare officers were introduced to try and bring equality and fairness in the
workplace for women. Their intention was to help and protect them whilst working in
industrial conditions. At that point they were only involved with women and children.
The First World War found the need to put unskilled women in skilled roles normally
expected for men due to the introduction of National Service in 1916. In 1918 when the
soldiers returned from War, organisations agreed to allow men and women to work
alongside each other in the skilled roles, however they would pay men a higher rate. This led
to female employees having an equal pay strike which they won. [ CITATION Ani14 \l 2057 ]
In the 20’s the UK was recovering from War and many industrial and factory roles were
introduced. During this time employment managers were brought in to handle disciplinary
processes and pay queries.
The 30’s saw high unemployment in the UK due to the recession which rose to 3.5 million.
[ CITATION Gar \l 2057 ]
Larger organisations chose to become more attractive to employees to try and attract, retain
and motivate staff.
The 2nd WW saw the introduction of ‘welfare and personnel work’ in all organisations due to
the need for men to go back to war and women to work in the factories making the military
weapons. The Government wanted enhanced productivity which resulted in increasing the
need for personnel management. The pressure for greater efficiency saw the working week
extend for War effort.
In the mid 40’s the Welfare state was brought into the UK with an introduction to the National
Health Service. Full time employment was reintroduced to rebuild cities and exportations.
The government recognised that when the put the pressure on organisations to perform
better they got the necessary results with help from the Personnel Managers implementing
the structure and rules in place
In the 1960’s personnel managers were slated for their lack inability to plan industrial relation
strategies and were unable to negotiate, however this was due to the lack of support and
prioritisation from management.
Personnel techniques were developed from late 1960’s to 70’s. Social sciences were used
around understanding motivation and behaviours. Reward packages were then introduced
The 80’s saw the introduction from the USA to Human Resource Management, which
focussed on employees, their commitment and what motivates them.
In the early days of personnel management/HR their strategies were more of a best practice
or one size fits all in organisations. It was more of a caring and supportive role for
employees. It has now adapted in a more favourable role towards the organisation. They do
use best practice to some extent but also have flexibility to cope with the ever changing
world of work and environments.

It is important for organisations to ensure that their HR acts in a professional, ethical and just
manner. By doing so they can enhance their reputation with employees, suppliers and
customers. According to the guardian [ CITATION Jen15 \l 2057 ] 42% of the UK’s workforce
want to work for a company that has good ethics in place.
Just by being a professional and ethical business you will attract more people to apply and
stay, increase productivity and improve reputation. (695)

Question 2
Give a brief summary of two different ways HR objectives can be delivered in
organisations
Analyse how the HR function varies between organisations in different sectors and
different sizes

HR has many objectives that help to achieve the organisational strategy. One of their main
objectives is to retain staff. TO achieve this they not only need to focus on recruiting the
correct person in the post, and they need to think about the bigger picture. This includes
having the right rewards package in place that will attract the applicants. They need to be
aware of their competitors in their industry and what they offer. According to research into
Generation Z, they look for regular coaching and feedback from their manager and ultimately
would like to progress into a managerial role through coaching and support. The promotions
are expected within 6-12 months of them being in their role.
[ CITATION Bro19 \l 2057 ]As Generation Z will complete a quarter of the global workforce
this year, the HR department needs to be ready to facilitate their wants and become an
attractive employer to them. They need to have a robust talent plan in place so they are
easily able to identify those who are capable and looking for progression.
Just focussing on getting the right person in the role isn't enough to ensure the employee is
retained to the organisation.
Over recent years the HR function has evolved massively and new delivery models put in
place. In the past the traditional approach for HR would be to concentrate on recruitment
and selection, talent planning/learning and development, employee relations and even
payroll. This workload is normally picked up by one HR generalist and is/was found in small
to medium sized organisations.
Larger organisations tend to segregate these responsibilities and have specialist roles in the
HR function with several employees supporting the workload.
Many organisations see HR as a valuable asset supporting the management team, some
organisations see HR as a cost to the business and do not understand the value it adds to
an organisation. Sometimes these organisations outsource the HR role and even consider
using this service from abroad. This dilutes the effectiveness of the role in the organisation
and fails to establish relationships with employees and management.

2.2
HR has the same goals throughout different organisations despite what sectors they are part
of or the organisational sizes. The main differences are usually found in how they achieve
those goals.
One of the main roles the HR department in all organisations are responsible for meeting
organisational objectives through the people the organisation employs, irrespective if the
organisation is large or small.
HR must be aware that the employees they recruit and manage must be encouraged to work
towards the organisational goals and strategy. This is established through regular coaching,
feedback and support. It is helpful to achieve this goal by being transparent with employees
to enable them to understand what the organisation is looking for, and being encouraged to
come forward with innovative ideas that may help achieve their goals easier.
Depending on the size of the organisation will depend on what resources they have available
to them.
A larger organisation will have a bigger organisational structure. They have access to more
employees filling many different roles at various levels. This includes a varied management
team and potentially more specialised team in HR. The bigger the organisation the bigger
the HR team. Roles can vary within HR from business partner, manager, generalist,
recruiter, advisor & assistant. Potentially a larger organisation could have all of these in the
HR department.
A smaller organisation does not need many employees for the role, nor do they have access
to them. This means the HR department could potentially be just one person overseeing all
the above responsibilities and sometimes even covering roles outside of HR to help with
workloads and keeping costs down.
Bigger organisations have the luxury of appointing an employee who is an expert in each
field supporting the HR function overall. They could have one person in payroll, another in
admin and another in rewards and benefits and so on. The bigger organisations have much
more support in place purely down to how many employees they have which in turn would
normally have an easier workload with it being split over several team members rather than
one person doing it all
Another big difference between large and small companies is their budget. Normally the
larger organisations would have a bigger budget for advertising recruitment, training and
development and rewards. They are able to reach out to a wider audience when they
advertise roles and attract more candidates to apply due to what remuneration and rewards
are on offer.
A small budget can hinder smaller organisations so it is important the employee in HR is
creative with how they spend their budget on these areas. Time constraints also impact
smaller businesses when it comes to recruitment, it is important that when new employees
are appointed, the correct person is given the role due to HR potentially not having the
budget or time to recruit again. They also need to consider that high attrition can negatively
impact the organisations reputation in the community and put new applicants off.
[ CITATION Joh19 \l 2057 ]

Question 3
Give a short explanation of at least two major theories of change management and
illustrate how they can be used and evaluated
Over the past many years there have been many different theories around change
management and how it impacts organisations. [ CITATION Bel15 \l 2057 ]Lewin - 1950’s
Kubler Ross - 1969

Organisations need to embrace change but it is very difficult when employees do not want
change. However without change organisational would not grow. Without growth they
become stale, uncompetitive and at risk of collapse.
Different theories on change have been identified to help understand how change impacts
organisations and how opposition is overcome.

Lewin’s definition of behaviour in this model is “a dynamic balance of forces working in

opposing directions.” [ CITATION Pet16 \l 2057 ]

Lewin developed his model for change over three steps: unfreezing, changing and
refreezing. It simply identifies and understands the change process. The model suggests
that a change is needed (unfreeze), then changing to the new behaviour (change), set in
place the new behaviour as the norm. [ CITATION Bel15 \l 2057 ]
This model identifies the allies who support the change and those against or resist it. The
task of HR, is to try and persuade those resistant to change to change their mind. Work on
those. Work out who are the most influential employees and bring them on board to help
promote the change. They will bring their influencers with them.

When Lewin released his model, in that decade, change wasn't a regular occurrence. Britain
didn't plan that other countries would evolve and start exporting and be a big threat to their
exports.

Kubler Ross’s model was identified in 1969. The model was initially introduced when people
were diagnosed with a terminal illness, and identified five different stages of grief they would
experience. It was then suggested that the model could also be applied to any ‘dramatic life
changing situations’

The five stages are

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

The change curve model is helpful in organisations as it identifies and helps others to
understand how other employees in the organisation are dealing with change and also
understands why colleagues react in the way they have.

Both of these models can be used in organisations when it identifies a need for change, this
could be any aspect of the organisation to bring in line with achieving organisational goals.
Change management theories help to apply structure to lead the organisation in to where it
needs or wants to be.

Change models can be too predictable, planned. The change can be without emotion when
the instruction is given from the top down.

Quite often external forces impact organisations, such as legislation, or government changes
that the organisation has no control over, these can be anything from raw material prices
and their availability, exchange rates or increases to national minimum wage. The
organisation has to react to that and be prepared.

Question 4

Your CEO has asked for a report on the contribution of the HR function to the
business. In preparation of the report give a brief summary of the criteria and
methods available for use in evaluating the HR functions contribution
Older methods how businesses measured HR’s contribution included

Labour turnover - Monitoring attrition in the business is key to HR to identify where they are
possibly going wrong and why people want to leave. If organisations use exit interviews they
are able to keep a record of why the employee has resigned and are able to put a plan in
place to try and prevent it happening again.

Keeping agency costs down - If the organisation has low attrition then it is less likely to
need agency staff, however if the business is expanding it may be necessary to use agency
whilst running a recruitment drive
Attendance management - Monitoring absences and identifying trends in absences is
another key role for HR. Having a clear absence management policy in place helps to be
consistent with cases.

More modern ways of the assessment of HR function

More creativity from the workforce - giving autonomy to employees to manage their role
and workloads helps to increase creativity. In 2004 Google gave their employees 20% of
their time to work on projects they feel would benefit the company. During this time they
created Gmail and google maps. [ CITATION Sti18 \l 2057 ]
Recruiting people in the organisation that are more likely to develop and be flexible -
HR needs to be aware of the organisational goals when recruiting and which cohort they
need to focus on during recruitment drives. When recruiting they need to remember the
bigger picture when questioning to see who would be a good candidate to progress in to
more senior roles in the future [ CITATION McL19 \l 2057 ]
A Workforce that can adapt and welcome change - Organisations need to change to
keep competitive and stay relevant. Having a more flexible workforce that accepts change is
a massive benefit to organisations, as they are able to make the change more successful or
fail. Co-operative employees can sell the change to their colleagues more than
management, they are able to identify opportunities and challenges that potentially were
overlooked. [ CITATION And \l 2057 ]Ethical approach to HR management - HR has a
huge focus on developing organisations in an ethical way. This is very attractive to the
millennials as they are the age range that want to work for ethical organisations. This could
be introduced in various different ways in the organisation such as having a diverse
workforce. Giving employees a work life balance and offering equality of opportunities -
[ CITATION Gra19 \l 2057 ]

Question 5
In consultation with your tutor, select an article that identifies and evaluates research
evidence linking HR practices with positive organisational outcomes. Briefly
summarise the findings and state how convincing you find these to be. Conclude by
explaining how high performance working and investment in human capital can
impact on organisational practice

I chose an article called High involvement Work Practices and employee engagement by
Sowath Rana.
The paper compares the relationship between High Involvement Work Practices (HIWp’s)
and employee engagement.
The writer explains HIWP’s fall into four areas

Power - Autonomy given to employees. This empowers them to make decisions for
themselves on how they would complete their roles day to day and make decisions that are
‘important to their performance’ as well as allowing employees to contribute to decision
making overall. Kahn (1990) claims that when employees feel valued and more worthwhile in
an organisation, especially when they are not overlooked for their contribution, they become
more engaged at work.
Crawford (2014) maintained Hackman’s and Oldham’s (1975) theory that when
organisations give autonomy to employees they are given ‘a sense of ownership and control
over work outcomes‘

Information - Information is given to employees and is more transparent

Reward - Good performing employees are rewarded
Knowledge - Employees are full able to perform well due to training, support and
development. The environment is more transparent. Important decisions are shared with
employees and reasons behind change is justified. They keep employees informed which
enables them to understand how their actions can impact their performance. Managers are
able to build strong supportive relationships with employees using open communication.

Reward - Employees being rewarded for their performance. Fairlie (2011) wrote that both
intrinsic and extrinsic rewards were linked with employee engagement. By offering
employees with a competitive rewards package will help to retain them longer term and
become more skilled in their role, ultimately being more productive and engaged as a result

Knowledge - Giving employees enough coaching and support in the job. Organisations
must provide regular coaching to improve employee knowledge of their role and the wider
organisation. This area links in with the power section. Without knowledge of the role
employees are unable to make informed decisions and potentially get things wrong. Without
the right knowledge they would not be able to make the right decisions.
Shuck et al. (2014) found when employees participated in leadership development and
further training opportunities it significantly impacted their ‘cognitive, behavioural and
emotional engagement levels’

The writer highlights her research into engagement in organisations and how it increases
productivity. Many studies into this theory have shown that employees do tend to perform
better when they are more engaged rather than when just money alone is thrown at them to
perform better.
Despite these studies and organisations attempts to increase engagement & productivity,
the report identifies that more employees are disengaged in the workplace despite a new
focus to improve engagement through HIWP’s.
The idea of HIWP’s in an organisation is to enable employees to have all skills necessary to
perform effectively. Have all the information available to them to ensure all decisions they
make are correct and effective, the authority to make effective decisions alongside great
rewards and incentives to drive performance which meet organisational goals.

I do agree with the report to some extent, as in my own personal experience I have worked
better in this kind of environment. My performance increased and I felt more motivated to go
to work and do a good job, in comparison to when I was micromanaged by a previous
manager who constantly watched my every move and questioned every decision I made.
This resulted in my confidence being knocked and worn down, as I was constantly second
guessing myself. When I got the opportunity to move away from that manager and run my
own site I flourished and it wasn't unnoticed by higher management. I felt empowered to do
my role, I was confident due to my knowledge of the role, had easy access to information if
and when needed and was able to make decisions on my own workload and confident on
decisions I made.
Although I do agree with the report due to my personal experience, it seems the research is
limited in the subject. The paper claims to ‘address a very important gap in literature’. It also
highlights lack of extensive research in the topic and suggests further writing on different
kinds of organisations.