HRMT2237 - Human Resource Management of Merrill Lynch Firm

TASK 1

P1. Functions and purposes of HRM.

Human resource management aims to build favourable, respectful and healthy environment at work location for each personnel. It helps in the development of creative ability, personality and skills of employees to enhance caliberity to work. (Boon and Raven, 2012).  

Functions and activities of HRM:

Various HRM functions are applicable on employee resourcing addition to workforce planning that aids in goal accomplishments. Various HRM functions along with activities used at Merrill Lynch Firm are:

Training and development: On-boarding training programs are organised for new employees where as ongoing training with development are provided to existing personnels that helps in performing operations or activities in dynamic or uncertain situations. Merrill Lynch Firm managers delivers such programs so that workforce accepts challenges and performs best work.

Compensation: This function is related to determining competitive, equitable with adequate compensation to personnels for their contribution towards business targets. Employees of Merrill Lynch Firm are compensated with monetary together with non-monetary rewards.

Advising to upmost management: Human resource management also provides their valuable advises concerned with formulation, implementations and assessment of personnel procedures and policies to top authorities of the firm. They gives advices associated with maintaining effective relations addition to high employee morale.  

Models of HRM:

Hard Models: Treating employees as resource is characterised as hard HRM models. It is task-oriented which stresses rational and strategic aspects while planning addition to managing resources (Chang, Gong and Peng, 2012). Using the model, Merrill Lynch Firm plans headcount together with controlling tasks or operations that human resources performs. Managers understands workforce needs and plans recruitments programmes with planning through hard approaches.

Soft model: Considering employees as crucial and key assets is termed to soft HRM model. It emphasizes personnel as well as their directions, commitment, self regulated behaviour as well as trust. Using it, Merrill Lynch Firm encourages participation, empowerment addition to workforce rights at the time of managing resources. Integration of practices or programmes with organisational goals is done through soft approaches.  

Workforce planning:

It is concept that helps in identifying existing and future needs of personnels together with exploring cost effective methods in order to recruit addition to retaining key individuals. At Merrill Lynch Firm, management follows proper and appropriate procedures such as planning staffing levels and at same time ensuring availability of suitable addition to competent staff level. 

Labour market:

Labour market is location wherein superiors interacts with labours. Within the market, superiors complete hiring activities and labours complete best satisfying jobs. Labour market types are as follows;

Organised labour market: It includes public employment exchanges. It is abstract in nature. Merrill Lynch Firm within such labour market, provides training and development activities to the manpower through their own efforts.

Unorganized labour market: Within such labour market, contract labours and casual employment labours are found. They have high mobility level. Selected firm do not devise any job within such labour market for their employees.  

The labour market trends are:

Industry 4.0: With fourth industrial revolution: There was usher out of huge jobs. There are various jobs that are increasing with computers (Trends in Labour market. 2019). In the context to Merrill Lynch Firm, drastic reductions are experienced in record sales of stock.

Huge opportunities, Limited skills: In the present era, for employment seekers huge opportunities are available as labour market is considered as talent oriented. Nowadays, skills are considered on priorities regardless of quality. Despite of huge opportunities, the talent, as well as skill required within labour, is far less.  

Impact of legal as well as regulatory frameworks

Legal along with regulatory frameworks impacts more of HRM activities. Various legal addition to regulatory frameworks are implemented at Merrill Lynch Firm, such as equal opportunity act, Data protection act, Discrimination Act and so on that helps the enterprise to implement working operations with legal practices and impacts on various manner. For example, Data Protection Act impacts on the ways business is allowed for utilising personnel information as personal data must be protected by entity and if fails to do so then results in negative impacts on business image in the market. Similarly, Minimum wage Act also impacts on working of selected entity. If entity pays compensation to its employees as per wages governed by the government then employees will be motivated and no legal penalties will be charged on entity that impacts on positive manner on business workings as there will be no complications in working when provisions of minimum wages are followed legally.

P2. Approaches concerned with recruitment and selection.

Recruitment: Attracting individuals for unpaid roles is termed to recruitment. It constitutes procedures that are used in searching candidates to interview as well as hiring for numerous positions. Merrill Lynch Firm adopts process that contains recruitment planning, sourcing, screening and evaluating of prospective person. It stimulates individuals to apply for vacant job.  

Recruitment sources:

External recruitment: Searching suitable person from outside world so to fill open positions is stated to external recruitment approach (Church and Waclawski, 2017). In relevance to Merrill Lynch Firm, recruiting team makes assessments of available applications other than current staff to analyse sufficient or qualified application who can fill or perform at particular job vacancy. Some of the sources that selected organisation opts are:

Media advertisements: Merrill Lynch Firm pays huge money to put ads in newspaper together with journals by providing comprehensive details concerned with organisation, job position nature, experience expected, skills required along with qualifications. Through this, individual makes self evaluation against job requirements as well as accordingly apply to suited job.

Direct recruitment: Herein, administrators of Merrill Lynch Firm puts notices on factory gate regarding jobs available and applicants who are in search of job sees it together with apply directly for concerned job. It is used at selected workplace to hire unskilled workers to whom payments are made on basis of daily wages.

Short comings with benefits of recruitment approaches:

Internal recruitment: Identifying and and attracting candidates to fill position from the organisation is termed to internal recruitment approaches (Giacalone and Rosenfeld, 2013). Merrill Lynch Firm uses followings:

Internal advertisements: Notices are hang on break rooms, notice boards or mails are send including detailed information about vacant position. Administrators of chosen business analyses performances of selected employees and provides names to recruitment team and the team sends mails to prospective candidates addition to performs further recruitment processes.

Temp to permanent: Upgrading temporary personnel staff to full time position is another recruitment method. Various assistants or intern roles starts as temporary jobs. As per their skills or performances on the training period, recruitment team consults with concerned departments and plans further recruitment activities.  

Benefits along with shortcomings of internal recruitment approaches:

Selection:

Choosing individual or putting right person with appropriate skills on right job is defined to selection. Proper selection process is followed to select candidates for distinct departments of Merrill Lynch Firm including applications receiving, preliminary interview, applicants screenings, interview, tests, background checking and final selection.  

Selection approaches:

Group exercises: Herein, candidates were provided job role exercises addition to topic with some time to prepare. Recruiting team of the firm during the activity, observes each candidate as per the attributes they are looking for and award them marks. This method is reliable as the individual getting top marks are selected for vacant positions.

Reference checking: Many times, references or backgrounds are also checked to ascertain behaviour of candidate in last job. Merrill Lynch managers checks references through the numbers that are provided by the candidate and generates information about the person. Unsatisfactory references can affects decision making while appointing individuals.  

Shortcomings as well as benefits of selection approaches:

TASK 2

P3. HRM practice.

HRM practices are characterised to systems, policies and activities that influences attitudes or performances of employees. Executive of Merrill Lynch firm formulates policies or strategies that benefits workforce together with business in attaining beneficiary outcomes. From distinct HRM practices, selected practice by respective entity is learning, development addition to training practice whose description is as follows:

Training, development together with learning practice:

One of the effective practice that strengthens knowledge of an individual to perform activities with innovating ways.

Differentiation among development and training:

Types of training:

Following are some training types that Merrill Lynch firm follows:

Job instruction training: Herein, managers of respective firm provides overview of job as well as experienced trainers exhibit entire working of job. When the performance after training are evaluated, then additional training is provided to manpower.

Safety training: In this training type, employees are trained for minimising accidents and keeping themselves safe from hazards. The manpower of Merrill Lynch firm are provided safety instructions for using machinery as well as other dangerous devices.

Evaluation of training:

By using following methods, training is evaluated among employees:

Knowledge acquisition: the best method that measures effectiveness of training fro analysing that trainees have potentialities to acquire knowledge from others. With this method, an examination is conducted that shows results about extent to which trainees can apply new knowledge to work.

Kirkpatrick Evaluation model: The measure to evaluate training was provided by Donald Kirkpatrick. It has 4 approaches that helps managers to evaluate training program effectiveness. In reaction level, managers analyses the ways learners reacts on training and its usefulness. In learning, they measures skills and knowledge that were gained during training. They uses test scores, KPI indicators and feedbacks. Within Behaviour level, mangers understands the ways training impacted on performance and work attitude of learners. They uses methods of self assessment questionnaires, observations and many more. At last, result stage wherein tangible results are measured to analyse training outcomes.

Performance and reward

The another practice wherein employees are rewarded through bonuses and awards as per their performances.

Methods to monitor employee performance: At Merrill Lynch Firm, managers uses following methods to properly monitor performances of staff members:

Random Quality checks: To monitor performances, management association randomly checks quality for analysing actual performance. As this is done randomly, employees do not get any time for preparation the employees to alter their performances. This helps managers to ascertain the areas where they are lacking and the areas where they are best and accordingly provided rewards.

Checking attitudes: Another method for monitor manpower performance is their attitudes while analysing results. Bad attitude will show insubordinate behaviour depicting that employee is unable to meet objectives of performances. When they do not meet targets they are not paid any bonuses at Merrill Lynch Firm.

Types of payment as well as reward system: Organisational managers uses following payment types of pro bonus, fixed fee and percentage of candidate package. In context to reward system, they uses intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards. Intrinsic rewards are in form of feedback and acknowledgement while extrinsic rewards are gifts, raises, bonuses and promotions.

P4. Effectiveness of practice of HRM to raise profit and productivity of organisation.

An organisation can improve the performances of its workforce with the application of effective HRM practice. Merrill Lynch Firm adopts HRM practice such as training, learning and development which makes staff members competent and effective (Effectiveness of practice of HRM. 2019). Performance and reward system helps workforce to frame effective strategies with innovative commodities that results in raising productivity as well as profit margins of Merrill Lynch Firm. With both the practices, employees are taught about development of their career as well as they started rethinking that makes them more specialised in concerned field to produce effective results. Learning with development courses ensures efficiencies of worker in context to project success and attain rewards by delivering best performance.

TASK 3

P5. Importance of employee relations in respect to influencing HRM decision making.

Employees posses knowledge and ideas that empowers them to make innovation contributions in HRM decision making to reduce outsourcing addition to increasing productivity. In relevance to Merrill Lynch Firm, strategies are adopted by human resource management including worker involvement program as well as engagement awareness training so to reduce issues, satisfying employees, managing performances as well as strengthen relationship among all employees and with their subordinates so to engage workforce (Importance of employee relation. 2019). Importance of maintaining good relations at workplace which can influence HRM decision making are as elaborated:

Reduced conflicts: Personnels adjust more quickly as well as stop finding faults among others when healthy relations is built with them. They focuses more on work activities and strive hard for better performances as they don't waste time on meaningless conflicts along with disputes (Morgan, 2013). Human resource management of Merrill Lynch Firm makes best decisions to provided efficient environment where all start treating others as family members along with improving compromise level to make others happy along with becoming productive to organisation which results in influencing HRM decision making towards achieving success.

Reduces absenteeism: Employees are generally more serious about their work as well as comes at workplace daily. Work environment at Merrill Lynch Firm is favourable and motivating as superiors maintains strong relationships with all the staff members that motivates employees to not to take frequent leaves addition to enjoying work without complaining and give best that results in reduction in absenteeisms and motivation of workforce that influences decision making of human resource management in positive aspects.

P6. Employee legislations.

Laws that regulates employee relationships with top management and covers workers rights are said to employee legislations. The impacts of the legislations are seen on HRM decision making as managers needs to make alterations in existing legislation according to new stated law. Other than this, the purpose to adopt legislations are to improve motivation of employees along with retaining them for long time period. Various legislations followed by Merrill Lynch Firm administrators are:

Healthy and safety Act, 1974: It states general duties of superiors, contractors and top management regarding maintaining control on dangerous activities at work premises and managing personnels in general. Following the act, superior authorities of Merrill Lynch Firm secures safety, welfare addition to health of individuals at work. They also make various provisions that maintains systems, machines and plant in safe conditions without creating risks while performing operations (Pelling, 2012). Providing protective environment influences HRM decisions in motivating personnels to work without hampering productivity.

Anti discrimination Act, 1977: Legislation that prohibits sexual or unlawful racial discrimination in various situations addition to promote equal opportunities for all personnels is termed to anti discrimination act. Managers with departmental heads of Merrill Lynch Firm follows the legislation and prevents all type of discriminations concerned with employment, disability,marital status, career responsibilities, race, sex and age. Treating equality and providing opportunities to all at selected organisations helps in influencing HRM decisions as all employees work with coordination according to defined procedures that improves relation and maximise productivity.  

Trade unions as well as workplace representation:

The trade unions plays important role of negotiating wages as well as working conditions, takes collective actions for enforcing collective bargaining at local level. But at national level, trade unions have role to protect manpower from compensation hikes as well as to provide job security by measures of peace.

Collective agreements: These are written contracts among union and superior which outlines terms and conditions concerned with employment for bargaining units. The trade unions of Merrill Lynch Firm uses collective agreement methods such as arbitration, negotiation and conciliation to settle trade conflicts.

Best practice: To manage trade unions, managers of the entity follows discipline procedures to create favourable environment for work. They manages grievances of trade unions with proper consultation among top authorities and union trades so to reach on final conclusion for sorting out their grievances. In context to redundancy, managers uses data storage technology where they saves data at two distinct locations and uses it when required.

TASK 4

P7. Application of HRM practice.

Merrill Lynch Firm adopts best suited HRM practice to make decisions about hiring potential person. In context to recruitment practice, departmental heads with recruitment team properly uses following HRM practices:

Job specification: The job specification for the designation of HR officer :

Person specification: It includes entire information about candidate applying for the position.  

CV for the designation of HR Officer.

Job advertisements:

Documentation of preceding notes for selection aspects as well as interview

Managers designs preparatory noted prior to activities for recruitment or selection. The notes are related with interview questions that recruiter will ask from the prospective candidate. Based on the person specification and requirements of entity, candidates are short listed for interview. Further, responses from interview will determine the selection of competing person for the designation. The recruiting team of Merrill Lynch Firm will ask following questions from the short listed candidates:

Based on the interview, further activities like employment tests, reference checks and medical examination will be conducted for short listed candidates. The chart illustrates selection procedure for HR Officer designation:

Job Offer letter:

From the above-stated context, it is been clear that the role of human resources in an organisation is very crucial and necessary, it needs in-depth knowledge to get through the process of human resources and manage the work environment and re-organising the structure if it is required for the same. Many students fail to acknowledge the importance of having knowledge of human resource management, when professors gave a task to write an essay on the topic, students usually who lacks in-sufficient knowledge in this face problem that is where  Instant Assignment Help Australia  enters the role and provide Human resource management essay writing help, the expert writers will write 100% plagiarism-free essay with on-time delivery of the content.

CONCLUSION

From the above discussion, it has been summarised that planning strategies or approaches to hiring people, providing them training, maintaining a work atmosphere, appraising performances, developing public relations and managing disputes is generally done through human resource management. Main HRM functions are providing advice to higher managers along with divisional heads, managing compensation, and setting training and development programs. Organisations use recruitment approaches including media advertisements, direct recruitment, internal advertisements and temp to permanent whereas go ahead with selection approaches of group exercises and reference checking. Legislations that governed employees include the Healthy and Safety Act, 1974 and Anti-discrimination Act, 1977. HRM practice is primarily applied for making hiring decisions as well as managing performances effectively.

You may also like to read :

• Analysis of framework of strategic human  

• Learning styles in human resource management

REFERENCES: 

Books and Journals:

Boon, P. and Raven, P. eds., 2012. River conservation and management. John Wiley & Sons.

Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.

Briscoe, D., Tarique, I. and Schuler, R., 2012. International human resource management: Policies and practices for multinational enterprises. Routledge.

Chang, Y. Y., Gong, Y. and Peng, M. W., 2012. Expatriate knowledge transfer, subsidiary absorptive capacity, and subsidiary performance. Academy of Management Journal. 55(4). pp.927-948.

Church, A. H. and Waclawski, J., 2017. Designing and using organizational surveys. Routledge.

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