Business Issues And The Context Of Human Resources Commerce Essay

Business Issues And The Context Of Human Resources Commerce EssayXX is a leading planetary wellnessc are conclave with the purpose to help commonwealth lead longer, healthier and happier lives. The geological formation does that by providing a broad range of health conduct run, support and advice to mountain through with(predicate)out their lives. With no shareholders and its global presence in 190 countires, the makeup is said to be a industry leader. thirty is a 60 years old organisation providing services like Health insurance and Wellbeing, Healthcare provision, Healthcare Analytics and Care Services.The organisations vision to be world leader in the health care sphere has been supported by the following notwithstandingtsListen to its customers, act quickly and profession on the whole(a)y. subsisting and Breathing organisations values monitored by HR on regular buns.Make a difference in peoples lives by offering all spunky quality and value added healthcareCreatin g diverse and salmagundi work force of highly proficient and knowledgeable employees and invest in their victimization inside the company via organised HR function.This report has been commissioned by the CEO of thirty.FINDINGS3.1 Forces shaping the HR agendaOur purpose is to help people live longer, healthier, happier lives and the 52,000 people we employ are at the heart of making this a reality. John Handley, HR Director, thirty InternationalIt is essential for thirty to have a strong and distinctive identity that resolvely seperates the organisation from another(prenominal)s in the field. Everyone in XXX has a part to rook in this and hence thats where the HR plays a vital role. Examples of External Forces that have shaped the HR agenda are Competition, Markets, Economic trends and the changing feeling of the Health Industry.Increasing expectations of the customers from the oraganisation and more competitors offering similar policies and products at lower rates, made XXX to look more further into the product designs and customer service heed, which resulted in hiring more talented and knowledgeable people skilled in their domain to issue the best customer service to the customers and partners. To make sure that the right fig of people are available to service the customers and are able to effectively deliver the right results to the costumers, HR department works in partnership with the management.They trenchant to depict the right surroundings for the people to learn, grow and develop them through Innovative Learning Approach and by recognising people for their contri furtherion to the organisations success. By commit into the right people, XXXs objective was to provide the best customer service through all channels to its members. HR proposed to offer its employees both an open environment and an intimate elaboration, encouraging fresh ideas and helping employees realise their true potential.To reflect their divergent chore needs, all the business units have a tailored HR department i.e.operational HR, organisational development, reward, HR systems, employee identification, and HR support. These units works exclusively to provide a direct, informed and tailored service to meet its unique needs.3.2 HRs contribution to Organisational EffectivenessCreating hawkish vantage through people. company HR Management works in partnership with the Management. All business units individual HR heads who reports to the HR Director. This is to make sure that all the departments on its own are delivering higher levels of exploit to the benefit of our customers and the bottom place. Individual HR in all these units put to death common bundle of processes which impacts on organisational execution.Recruitment of talent that matches XXXs values.Leadership and management practices/ competencies writ of execution managementSuccession planningRecognitionOrganisational climate and workplace environmentFacilitating effective change managementManagement development and trainingCareer development360 feedback toolsAll business units have their own Administration and Training departments. The Administration department looks after Payroll, HR Systems and Database Management to make sure thatall the employee details are correct, secure and as a result in them being treated fairly.All the employees are paid correctlyIt has its own Change Management team who deals with changes in processes and work culture.The Training department works in partnership with the business in all individual units to create appropriate, skilled and tailored training solutions to keep up with the changing business needs.3.3 HRs roles and functions in management social anatomical structuresXXX HR single-valued functionAdministration Training Departments are in for each one business units and have individual Change Management TeamsIS HROrganisational DevelopmentHR DirectorHR UK MembershipInternational HRGroup HRManagement DevelopmentCar e ServicesInformation Systems HRTraining DevelopmentGroup HR FunctionsReward RecognitionBusiness Technology TrainingIS Resource ManagementGroup Resource ManagementPensions BenefitsHR SystemsXXX One LifeHR inwardly XXX works as a strategic partner, hence plays a very consequential role in finance, operations and other business departments within the organisation. The main objective is to provide high returns on the businesss investment in its people. XXX does not follow any set models of HR but do relates with the Harvard model in some manner. It sees employees as resources. It emphasises on issues like involving people in decision making and developing an organisational culture based on trust and teamwork. It has shared goals for coordination and control and a flat structure to minimise status culture. It employs the multiple stakeholder model in which employees are seen as having interests along with other stakeholders, management, unions and government.The HR outlines four m ain policy areas which areHuman resource flows HR manages the flow of people within XXXs individual business units through enlisting and selection, through the organisation by placement, appraisal and promotion and lastly through out of the organisation by termination. It also makes sure at right add together of people are available at all the times according to the business needs.Reward Systems Even though each business unit has reissue Reward System in place, it serves a common purpose to attract, motivate and keep employees happy within the organisation.Employee Influence populate being the heart of the organisation, their views and concerns are given equal importance as of stakeholders and customers.Work Systems With the ever changing business needs and the medical checkup climate, XXX makes sure that the information and technology utilize within the organisation provides the best outcomes.The HR function in all the business units currently concentrates on achieving the four Cs of the model.Commitment, Congruence, Competence, Cost Effectiveness.The XXXs hr structure also somehow resembles the Ulrichs hr model as all the business units do individually have their own separate departments to deal with change, strategies and administration.3.4 Business ethical motive and AccountabilityXXX follows a code of professional ethics which are based on the principles that determine the fashion employees behave and Brand personalisedity that describes the way employees are suppose to perceive.Brand Values pity we genuinely care about peoples health and wellbeing. We exist for no other reason.Respectful We respect peoples individuality, seclusion and dignity and try to respond to their individual needs. respectable We are committed to acting responsibly and in the best interests of people and the environments.Enabling We empower people with our knowledge and experience to help them choose the to the highest degree appropriate solutions.Dedicated We ar e dedicated to providing a professional, reassuring service and seek oppurtunities to go the otiose mile to exceed peoples expectations.Accountable We are accountable for the quality, efficiency and value of our services, and act in the best interests of our customers.Brand Personality WarmHumanCaringUnderstandingApproachableHealth Care ExpertGlobal OutlookBUPA EmployeeIndividual Business units do have their own code of conducts in line with the group values. For example, the training and development department in all units have professional code of conduct from the Institute of Management Consultants which covers ethics as Integrity, Independence, objectivity and Responsbility to the profession. All the core values and ethics are explained on the XXXs intranet which is available for all the employees across the organisation. It clearly mentions how employees are expected to act in relation back to the various policies like Treating Customers Fairly, Health and Safety at work, D ata Matters, Security Matters Policy and Data Protection PolicyAs a global healthcare company, XXX deals with the personal details, medical data and financial records of millions of people around the world. Protecting that information is essential is a key responsibility for all of us. XXX Chief ExecutiveXXX as a major healthcare services provider, plays a very serious role in designing and delivering medical procedures and policies. It works closely with NHS and makes sure that all the treatments offered to the members in their centres are within the medical guidelines applied by NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence). XXX has its media policy, Risk Management and Fraud Protection policies.XXX has its own Corporate Responsbility and Sustainability Policy under which it is made sure that healthcare expertise is used in the way that is good for business and communities. It covers many areas including employee giving support and volunteering, community health and wellness partnerships, addressing and minimising our impact on environment and affiliations with like-minded businesses and organisations (e.g Nuffield Health Centres, Physio Centres, right treatment centres, etc.) XXX is an active partner with Life Education which supports youth health and drug education designs and with Can Too to raise funds for recuperate Cancer. The Group HR provides support, encouragement and motivation to its employees to participate in various activities conducted to fulfil its corporate responsibility. Employees are expected to actively promote these services plot having interactions with the customers at all the times.4.1 HRs role in strategy formulation and interpretationAll organisations will at some point need to focus on the activities and actions that it will undertake to meet its long term aims and objectives. XXXs vision taking care of the lives in our hands is at the heart of all strategies that are be after and practiced within the organi sation. The two main objectives helping HR to form strategies within the organisation areManagement capability Through validated processes and development, this objective is met by XXX recruiting, containing and developing managers the meet the business challenges of today and future. It involves different strategies designed around Recruitment, Core competencies, Performance Management, Succession Planning, XXX One Life, temper Surveys, Change Management, Management Development, Career Development, 360 feedback tools and Customisable Questionnaire.Enabling systems and processes This objective is met by developing and maintaining a performance-oriented culture. It includes Induction and Measures of Success.Business priorities are cascaded through the different levels of the organisation through a process whereby they become increasingly more detailed and focused. They trigger departmental objectives which are translated into team objectives and in turn provide the foundation for personal objectives which are based on SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound) targets that are to be met on consistent basis. These objectives are discussed, set and measured as part of the performance management plan of all employees depending on their roles and business units.XXX does not fit into any particular model of relationship between the HRM and the Business Strategies but it does work on the theories based within these models.In the best fit model (Schuler and Jackson example), employees are seen as key in the implementation of the stated organisational strategy and the HR strategy is designed to fit with this. XXXs individual departments propose strategies to be implemented via management surrounding functions, systems and processes within the department which enable the serviceable strategy to be achieved. This is then responded by the HR by defining the strategy to meet organisational needs.In the Resource based approach, the focus is to sus tain competitive advantage through development of human capital rather than aligning human resources to current strategic goals. XXX invests in regular development of its employees within the organisation to make sure that they are updated with all the knowledge required to perform their job well and so to add value to the company.4.2 Business and HR StrategiesEach business within XXX evaluates its current position, its market and competitor environement and identifies its key strategies and plans in its annual 3 Strategic Year Plan (explained in 5.3). They work together in order to achieve common objectives of the organisation. Two of these most important objectives to be achieved in XXX areCost maneuver To utilise the resources in the most productive and effective way.To recruit and retain effective and skilled staffMore training and development options to the existing employees to perform various rolesFlexible working patterns according to the business needsAuthorising treatmen ts that are medically appropriate and within clinical guidelines only, leaving a small dwell for exceptional casesCovering as many as health-care workers to work within XXX limits to make sure that the customers are happy with the policiesCompetion to regularly update the products and services offered within the health and care sector.To provide best customer service on levels of the businessTo design and offer most flexible and tailored policies to the members.To retain customers by offering alternative treatment options and longer support services.HRs role in meeting this objectives has been analyised through SWOT/STEEPLE which looks at the innate strengths and weaknesses and the outside oppurtunities and threats. Below is the combined SWOT Analysis for XXXStrenghts No Shareholders this enables all the profits to be utilised to provide recrudesce customer service and products to the members.People highly skilled and mix work force which knowledge of various sectors and produ cts. Team of qualified health care consultants and providers. Customer-focus work cultureTechnology well-nigh advanced technology in the health care sector relating to the processes and procedures for medical treatments. Guidance on health issues online and on the phone.Operations Working with various organisations and health groups to provide the best health care to everyone.Weeknesses No Shareholders If profits margins not gained, not enough money to invest back into the businessPeople mix work force and long-serving staff who are resistant to change. People lacking knowledge of all the departments as specialising in one specific area.Operations because of the high turn-over of the staff, no standard operating procedures. Regular changes to keep up with the changing demands of the business.Cost-control Staff redundancies in many business units resulting in low moral within the organisation and heavy work load on the rest of the workforce.Oppurtunities Partnership with vario us organisations within the healthcare sector.As a lead health care service provider, had access to higher numbers of consultants and medically trained peopleWorks closely with NHS, hence very influential when it comes to decisions relating medical treatments and funding for accredited experimental treatmentsInternational presence to make sure hole-and-corner(a) healthcare is available and provided to people around the world.Threats Competition from other insurance providers who offer private health insurances on lower rates.Outsourcing of many business units which lacks communication and information transformation in a quick and appropriate manner.Higher medical be which makes the premiums of the policies go higher every year.Increased customer demands to cover more experimental treatments and drugs because of globalisation.4.3 Vertical and Horizontal IntegrationXXX works with NHS and other health-care providers to provide better health care services. The Vertical Integration is practiced within XXX as many of the services are offered via other providers who specialises in Travel, property Care and Conservative treatment. This does serves the purpose to achieve the organisation to provide more treatment options to its customers which results in more appropriate and affordable policies been given to its customers. The option of been treated via NHS or Privately is always available for the customers leaving room for them to choose the most appropriate and time-saving option.The horizontal integration is defined within XXX as all the HR functions are inter-related and inter-connected to each-other. This is achieved by a business units specially looking for skilled employees in customer service, information technology, nursing and administration sector which leads to internal recruitment or resourcing, further leading to development, performance management, rewards and recognition and employee relations.5.1 HRs role in Business PlanningThe Global expansion of XXX in the current times have resulted in fine-tuning of the policies and functions throughout the organisation to ensure that required support is provided to drive XXX forward. This has created a demanding and fast changing environment to work in. XXX expect high standards from every one of its team members and in return offer the opportunity to enhance their career with one of the most biggest and most successful brands in private healthcare.HR being the part of the Organisation Development team within the Group functions, has a very broad role to play to achieve the organisations one common goal. It works to make sure that all business units within XXX had right level of people with right level of skills are available to effectively deliver results to its customers at all times. Introduction to flexible working hours, change in employment contracts, inter-departmental transfers to become the business needs, more systems and procedures to work with resulted in introduction to t he change management team within HR of all business units. The things that caused XXX to go through change areChallenges of growth within global market i.e increasing cost of medical treatments and more experimental treatments introduced within UK marketTechnological changes i.e different technologies to work with to make sure that all processes and procedures are up to date according to the changing demands of the businessCustomer Pressure i.e. customers looking for more options and better services at lower costsThe HRs involvement in various aspects of change was identified asRestructuring the recruitment and resourcing policiesAdvising team managers in skills available within the organisation, career development and transfer oppurtunities.Assessing the impact of change in one department on another part of the organisation.Making sure that the communication is clear and consistent within all departments of all business units within the organisations.Helping its to cope with change , performance management and motivation.5.2 Environmental PlanningIt is very important for XXX to scan through the environment and consider all the present and future forces affecting the direction and goals of the organisation. Environment Planning involves external factors like trends and markets and internal factors like infrastructure and personnel. The STEEPLE analysis for XXX shows all the forces affecting organisational changeSocialTechnologyEconomicEnvironmentPoliticalLegalEthicalLifestyle changes of the customers involved with the companyEnergy costs and usageInflation ratesNatural resroucesRegulations related to private healthcareEmployment LawsReputationLiving conditions of its employees and customers related to the businessChanges in IT new systems and processesConsumer confidence within the companys products and servicesStrong Environmental policySafety regulationsConsumer ProtectionBusiness EthicsIncome dispersal within the communityNew inventions and software devel opmentsMedical costsRecyclingTrade policies/ globalisationTrade UnionsClient Confidentiality5.3 Measures of Effectiveness What gets measured, gets attention and gets done. Tom PetersXXX has its own business priorities. To keep them accountable and focused on their key objectives, all businesses in XXX go through an annual process of tantrum their major priorities for the coming year. These are agreed in annual meetings, together with the key financial targets and from the basis of what the business will be measured on the following year. This is a similar process as Performance Management in employees.The organisation has The 3 year Strategic Plan (3YP) which describes the direction the Group as a whole and the individual business units will take over the next 3 years. This plan is completed every year and is an important part of XXXs strategy and planning processes. Group HR delivers this plan to different business units which is then cascaded to its employees. The context of eac h business is then evaluated on the basis of three important management tools.The Annual Operating Plan It sets the detailed financial targets for the year for each individual department including HR. (sets targets for sales, costs, profits, etc)The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each individual in each business units. Thess are set of key operational, customer, strategic and people performance metrics.The Business priorties The change acceptance rate of all individuals within the organisation.All these tools are available on organisations intranet for the convenience of all its employees. Performances of the employees are measured with the Brand values and behaviours been achieved, delivered and maintained. These are maintanined within the organisaiton as Performance Review and once completed along with the Development Plans are then sent to their respective HRs administration department who works closely with the training and development team to provide immediate attentio n to key issues. This process of measuring the human capital and oraganisations data provides a clearer picture within the working culture of the organisation. So, in this way, management, training and development team and HR administration works together to manage people and policies to achieve set business objectives.CONCLUSIONSXXXs vision to provide the best healthcare options in the world to every individual possible is a long term goal to be achieved along with the changing face of the medical sector and economic trends. It provides value-added products and services to its customers on the possible grounds making sure that the increasing private health insurance cost does not put the customer off from using the private healthcare. It needs policies and procedures to be updated all the time to match the technology offered within the market. XXXs diverse network of organisational structure which is divided in separate business units gives an opportunity to the organisation to loo k into greater details and specialise in its area of expertise. HR within XXX perform within its own business units providing tailored services to its people which makes its more approachable and easier for it to stay in touch with the business requirements. International HR looking after all the aspects of border control, trade rules and regulations, etc contributes highly to the organisation to go through globalisation. The Group HR looks after all the functions of the organisational development and Rewards recognition which is kept separate from the administration department to give it more time and resources to look into organisational strategies and planning and run smoothly. Though it looks like a complex structure, it does result the organisation to perform and deliver its objectives on consistent basis. People being the heart of the business, the organisations investment in its resources is incredibly valued.RECOMMENDATIONSLeadership Development Employees within the organ isation to go through planned management traingin to deliver consistent business results. HR to be more influential in individuals growth through a leadership development programme. This should discussed and put in place in the next 3YP meeting.More uniformed structure of Training and Development Stuctured and uniform induction program for all employees delivered by HR. Learning and Development team then to look into more specialised training of its employees. This should be auctioned immediately with ongoing continuous overture plan.Adaption of Competency Framework Even though employees are evaluated on the brand values and behaviours, a competency based mapping should be followed in the performance development plans. This will help to achieve higher levels of organisational and employee effectiveness.