The HR Management, Coursework Example

Introduction

The existence of formal structures and the development of better leadership lead to organizational success. I am an HR Specialist with ten years of experience. I have been employed by Red Heel to serve as an HR Business Partner due to my expertise. The primary function that will be pursued in the organization is developing a strategic approach used by human resource management. During the first meeting, the agenda was based on Red Heel’s problems. Identification of challenges helps in decision-making processes. I believe that Red Heel should adopt a systematic approach that will improve organizational performance. Posthumus, Bozer, and Santora (2016, p.431) assert that success is achievable through cooperation or coordination of different stakeholders. Leadership roles include the management of teams to achieve the organization’s mission. Feasible plans, desirable outcomes are conceivable through decision-making processes made across cultures, personalities, and desires within an organization.

Evaluation of the Company’s Formal Structure and Recommendation of Changes

Formal Structure

Kurniawan et al. (2017, p.1) maintain that formal organizational structures involve authority, control of processes, communication, and workflow. Red Heel is a company that has ventured in fashion to deliver shoes that are stylistic but affordable. Indeed, this is a family-owned business whose leadership stresses values such as honesty and loyalty. Due to the maintenance of professionalism, Red Heel has been awarded as the best online shoe shop. This indicates that the organization’s leadership has helped to devise feasible and acceptable plans. On the company’s website, customers can access information about teams and available services. This has generated a pleasant experience for individuals who are shopping for shoes. An organization’s leadership that makes sound decisions links ends and means to achieve success (Appelbaum et al., 2017, p.7). This has been proved in Red Heel, which has enthusiastic teams ready to deal with demands and tackle customer complaints.

However, the sales volume in Red Heel has decreased due to the coronavirus pandemic. Consequential decisions have dire implications for an organization. Despite efforts done by Red Heel to market their products, customer services have been disrupted, leading to losses. For instance, sales dropped by 90% between February and May despite extensive marketing campaigns on social media platforms. This has been attributed to inefficiency on the website that has resulted in delays. In 2019, Red Heel recorded an enormous sales volume. The two sisters that own the organization have remained the sole decision-makers. However, one of them is yet to begin maternity leave. This means that one leader will be involved in making changes to ensure that further losses are not incurred during the coronavirus pandemic. Influential leaders apply practical means to implement plans and ensure that complex operations are executed with ease (Bondarenko et al., 2017, p.22).

Recommended Changes

From the evaluation done on Red Heel’s formal structure, I established various disrupted operations issues. For instance, the increased workload has led to delays in dealing with customer demands or complaints. Individuals need to understand how to function as teams to achieve goals. The workforce in Red Heel has faced challenges as extensive advertisements have increased the customer base. The organization’s leadership should recruit more individuals to serve different functions. For instance, a particular team should deal with complaints, while the remaining members of the workforce will deal with orders and delivery. Unprepared or disorganized individuals are unlikely to deal with customer demands. I believe that the workforce in Red Heel should be organized to ensure a smooth flow of activities. A leader must develop advanced skills to lead teams at tactical or operational levels without disrupting processes (Lynch and Mors, 2019, p.256).

Another issue noted in Red Heel’s formal structure is that there is no team spirit. Operations are executed at a faster rate when team members are coordinated. In Red Heel, employees’ morale has been affected as they have been publicly blamed. According to the sisters that run the organization, the workforce had broken the secure relationship that used to exist with DHL Express. This was the primary courier service used to deliver orders made by customers on the company’s website. I have gained expertise during the ten years used in serving as an HR Specialist. I believe that leadership competency will lead to organizational success. The two sisters should restore team spirit by solving conflicts. This will boost morale and increase the probability of the delivery of appropriate services. Prospective leaders are committed to developing plans which are used to achieve organizational triumph (Whittle, and Myrick, 2016, p.176).

Assessment of Organizational Culture and Recommended Changes

Organizational Culture

Bowers, Hall, and Srinivasan (2017, p.2) state that a well-established organizational culture enhances stability, aggressiveness, and orientation around teams rather than individuals. In Red Heel, individual approaches are used to approach clients. The primary customers are women who purchase shoes from the store. However, the organizational culture at Red Heel has disrupted business operations. Teams have not operated effectively due to the principles observed in the company. Although the owners’ expectations before the coronavirus pandemic were to expand operations from Poland to other European countries, this goal is unachievable due to the organization’s values and practices. Disputes have hindered the improvement of performance. Authentic behaviors expressed by the workforce will lead to improved performance. A dysfunctional organization culture brings out obstacles that impede successful operations (Kawiana et al., 2018, p.36).

Recommended Changes

The challenge affecting Red Heel is a dysfunctional organizational culture. According to Ilham (2018, p.51), the impact of values or norms is punctuality or improved performance as employees are valued. Red Heel should adopt a culture where employees are supported and not blamed in case of mistakes. Challenges affect performance, but preparedness and guidance from leaders will enable the workforce to eliminate obstacles. Red Heel will avoid difficult times by prioritizing a supportive culture. This involves making business changes and adopting the right environment where employees will remain dedicated and innovative. Yaseen, Ali, and Asrar-ul-Haq (2018, p.45) maintains that teams are likely to be demoralized when they are less valued. An indication of employee satisfaction is increased efficiency or output.  Demoralized employees are likely to resign and consider other opportunities. A dysfunctional organization culture does not attract talents (Jardon and Martínez-Cobas, 2019, p.3491).

Furthermore, Red Heel’s owners should enhance appropriate organizational behavior. The methods used in the company have led to increased customer complaints due to poor services. According to Kassim, Baharuddin, and Khalib, 2018, p.270), leadership should encourage innovation and recommend actions that will increase employee satisfaction and improve organizational performance. The leaders should get along with the workers as secure relationships lead to increased performance. During the coronavirus pandemic, sales have increased due to extensive advertisements on social media platforms. However, customer complaints have increased due to the dissatisfaction of the services offered in the organization. Red Heel owners should ensure that the company’s culture should be placed at the front or center to enhance an incredible growth. Workers should not feel isolated, which will lead to the breakdown of productivity (Warrick, 2017, p.396).

Evaluation of recruitment Process and Design of a Process that Suits the Company

Selection and Recruitment Process

In Red Heel, there is no clear strategy or plan on when employees are recruited. The significance of selecting and employing new employees is to fill vacant positions available in the organization (Acikgoz, 2019, p.2). Since employees are rarely recruited in Red Heel, the workforce has been forced to handle an increase in workload. This has harmed productivity as customer services have been poorly delivered. The owners have not analyzed the job requirements and shortlist candidates that meet the criteria. A severe consequence of a flawed hiring system includes lost productivity. Red Heel has not invested resources in the hiring process. Although a higher output has been seen due to extensive advertisement, customers have received low services. Hiring mistakes should be eliminated by ensuring that the best candidates are shortlisted (Acikgoz, 2019, p.2). The overall performance of a team is improved as hired individuals increase the staff morale.

Design of the Process that Suits the Company’s Needs and Strategic Plans

The HR team in Red Heel needs to follow different recommendations to increase efficiency during the hiring process. According to Alansaari, Yusoff, and Ismail (2019, p.171), poor recruitment decisions will lead to underperforming organizations. Red Heel must set things right by hiring new personnel. This will increase the number of teams dedicated to providing a more comprehensive range of services to customers. However, hiring mistakes must be eliminated as unsuitable employees will lead to low productivity (Roth et al., 2016, p.271). Problems such as missing deadlines or ignorance of mission statements must be identified and solved. This arises when teams are demoralized as the work environment adversely impacts them. Losses are incurred when the workforce is not dedicated to the delivery of the right services to customers. Owners will be necessitated to handle pressures from customers as business procedures were ineptly handled. Strategy development and screening will lead to successful recruitment processes of the right candidates without interruptions (Karam et al., 2020, p.113585).

Furthermore, the two sisters that own Red Heel should consider using a recruitment agency to eliminate the risks of bringing new employees on board.  Landers and Schmidt (2016, p.344) suggest that new employees are gained through advertisements, setting interview dates, and carrying out the recruitment process, which leads to the identification of suitable candidates. Red Heel owners should consider planning the recruitment process to increase the number of teams that will handle business operations. They are the sole decision-makers and must ensure that organizational objectives are achievable. The significance of using an agency in the hiring process is that qualified and experienced candidates are recruited. Job specifications are specified to ensure that individuals with the right skills required for the job are shortlisted. The HR management attracts potential candidates from a pool of candidates through a structured recruitment plan (Campion, Campion, and Campion, 2019, p.1089).

Conclusion

In summation, leaders should remain philanthropic, guide teams, and adopt the right organizational culture. Feasible plans, desirable outcomes are achievable through decision-making processes that are made across cultures, personalities, and desires within an organization. Customers can obtain information about the teams and the resources available on the Red Heel website. This has given customers who are buying shoes a great experience. Successful leaders use realistic means for making preparations and ensuring that complicated activities are carried out with ease. In Red Heel, the increased workload has contributed to delays in coping with customers’ demands or grievances. Mistakes that are done at the workplace damages communication among teams and impact the productivity level; strategy formulation and preparation can result in efficiency or uninterrupted recruitment processes of the right candidates.

Red Heel’s owners should ensure that the business’s culture is put at the front or center to promote prosperity. Challenges impact results, but leaders’ preparedness and direction will encourage the workforce to eliminate barriers. If they are less respected, teams are likely to be agitated. Increased productivity or performance is an indicator of worker satisfaction. As stable relationships lead to improved efficiency, the leaders should get along with the staff. By ensuring that the best applicants are shortlisted for openings, recruitment errors can be avoided. Secar? (2016, p.103) maintains that as hired employees raise the workers’ morale, a team’s overall success is increased. Through hiring new staff, Red Heel will correct the situation. Bad decisions on recruiting will lead to underperforming companies. Therefore, the staff should not feel alienated as this can lead to productivity breakdown.

References

Acikgoz, Y., 2019. Employee recruitment and job search: Towards a multi-level integration. Human resource management review, 29(1), pp.1-13.

Alansaari, O., Yusoff, R., and Ismail, F., 2019. The mediating effect of employee commitment on recruitment process towards organizational performance in UAE organizations. Management Science Letters, 9(1), pp.169-182.

Appelbaum, S.H., Calla, R., Desautels, D., and Hasan, L., 2017. The challenges of organizational agility (part 1). Industrial and Commercial Training.

Bondarenko, T.G., Isaeva, E.A., Orekhov, S.A., and Soltakhanov, A.U., 2017. Optimization of the company’s strategic management system in the context of economic instability.

Bowers, M.R., Hall, J.R. and Srinivasan, M.M., 2017. Organizational culture and leadership style: The missing combination for selecting the right leader for effective crisis management. Business Horizons, 60(4), pp.551-563.

Campion, M.C., Campion, E.D., and Campion, M.A., 2019. Using practice employment tests to improve recruitment and personnel selection outcomes for organizations and job seekers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(9), p.1089.

Ilham, R., 2018. The impact of organizational culture and leadership style on job satisfaction and employee performance. Journal of Advanced Management Science, 6(1), pp.50-53.

Jardon, C.M., and Martínez-Cobas, X., 2019. Leadership and organizational culture in the sustainability of subsistence small businesses: an intellectual capital-based view. Sustainability, 11(12), p.3491.

Karam, S., Nagahi, M., Dayarathna, V.L., Ma, J., Jaradat, R., and Hamilton, M., 2020. Integrating Systems Thinking Skills with Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Technology to Recruit Employee Candidates. Expert Systems with Applications, p.113585.

Kassim, N.A., Baharuddin, K., and Khalib, L.H., 2018. Organizational Culture and Leadership as Factors of Organizational Learning Capabilities. DEVELOPMENT, 7(3).

Kawiana, I.G.P., Dewi, L.K.C., Martini, L.K.B., and Suardana, I.B.R., 2018. The influence of organizational culture, employee satisfaction, personality, and organizational commitment towards employee performance. International research journal of management, IT and social sciences, 5(3), pp.35-45.

Kurniawan, R., Zailani, S.H., Iranmanesh, M., and Rajagopal, P., 2017. The effects of vulnerability mitigation strategies on supply chain effectiveness: risk culture as moderator. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal.

Landers, RN, and Schmidt, G.B., 2016. Social media in employee selection and recruitment: Current knowledge, unanswered questions, and future directions. Social media in employee selection and recruitment (pp. 343-367). Springer, Cham.

Lynch, S.E., and Mors, ML, 2019. Strategy implementation and organizational change: How formal reorganization affects professional networks: long Range Planning, 52(2), pp.255-270.

Posthumus, J., Bozer, G., and Santora, J.C., 2016. Implicit assumptions in high potentials recruitment. European Journal of Training and Development.

Roth, P.L., Bobko, P., Van Iddekinge, C.H. and Thatcher, J.B., 2016. Social media in employee-selection-related decisions: A research agenda for uncharted territory. Journal of Management, 42(1), pp.269-298.

Secar?, C.G., 2016. Recruition and selection of human resources at EDP group. Lucr?ri ?tiin?ifice Management Agricol, 18(2), p.103.

Warrick, D.D., 2017. What leaders need to know about organizational culture. Business Horizons, 60(3), pp.395-404.

Whittle, R., and Myrick, C.B., 2016. Enterprise business architecture: The formal link between strategy and results. CRC Press.

Yaseen, S., Ali, H.Y. and Asrar-ul-Haq, M., 2018. Impact of Organizational Culture and Leadership Style on Employee Commitment towards Change in Higher Education Institutions of Pakistan. Paradigms, 12(1), pp.44-53.