Abstract
For many years, Kudler Fine Foods has been ranked as one of the best firms in hotel sector. The historic and current success of Kudler Fine Foods has been achieved despite the various challenges it faces. This includes the challenges faced by the Human Resource Management department. This paper describes the strategies employed by Kudler Fine Foods to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain a competitive edge within the market. In addition, this paper deeply explains the problem experienced in the Human Resource department and the viable solution to it. It further identifies how the function of Human Resource is manipulated to explicate how Strategic Human Resource Management enables Kudler Fine Foods achieve its` objectives.
Executive Summary
Kudler Fine Foods is an organization that was developed by Kathy Kudler with an aim of providing its` esteemed customers with the best collection of the greatest wines and foods. This was in line with an aim to achieve a store that would contain a large selection of fresh ingredients together with all tools a decadent cook would require. To realize both its` vision and mission, Kudler Fine Foods has a number of strategic plans which range from opening more stores within and outside California, up surging its` product line to include tea and coffee, fish and deli, to developing a website. There are nineteen job descriptions in Kudler Fine Foods:, Administrative Assistant (HR), Assistant Store Manager, Administrative Assistant (President), Accounting Clerk, Cashier , Bagger, Clerk, Department Manager, Computer Support Specialist, Director of Administration and Human Resource, Director of Store Operations, Director of Finance and Accounting, Inventory Manager, HR Assistant, Purchasing Manager, Purchasing Assistant, Retail Assistant, Store Manager and Stocker. The Human Resource Management department of Kudler Fine Foods focuses on various functions within the organization. These include recruitment and selection practises, training and development, reward, recognition, benefits and compensation, employee conduct, work rules, performance evaluation, customer relations, personal appearance, employee dismissal, and insurance issues. Kudler Fine Foods uses various methods in advertising for vacancies. These include online advertisements, chef programs in learning institutions, newspapers, and employee referrals among others. These avenues are very appropriate and pose no challenge to the Human Resource Department. Moreover, Kudler Fine Foods reward system is very suitable since it is based on an individual`s performance. The reward system is based on the fact that highly satisfied and esteemed customers are created through motivated employees. As such, employees whose performance is exceptionally good receive better pays than their counterparts. Therefore, the reward systems pose no problem to the Human Resource Department. This is due to the fact that employees feel appreciated and fairly treated. In addition, the employees feel that the rewards given to them are in tandem with the work load. In general the Human Resource Department deals with the recruitment of people, managing the employees, and guiding the employees. Nevertheless, Kudler Fine Foods` training and development system has numerous weaknesses as it on favours new employees. The training policies do not favour the existing employees. Therefore, there is a significant need to employ a Strategic Human Resource Management plan that will ensure continuous provision of meaningful and relevant training to its` employees. This paper examines how and the reasons why Kudler Fine Foods should adopt the Strategic Human Resource plan of continuous training and development.
Introduction
Employees are human beings and are complex in nature. The Human Resource Department through its` members looks into the problems faced by an organization`s employees and tries to find out viable solutions. The main objective of any Human Resource Department is to improve employee performance and reduce turnover. As such, no organization can operate without the Human Resource Management department due to the consistent up rises in the employee related problems and the complex nature of human being. In addition, Human Resource Management is strategically essential in establishing and maintaining a competitive edge in the market. There are numerous Human Resource Management problems experienced in companies. Problems vary from one company to another and may include turnover, poor performance, misconduct from employees, recruitment, lack of motivation, nepotism, wasting time in interviewing, quality management of employees, favouritism, un-knowledgeable managers, heavy work load, and demotivated employees. To realize its` goals and objectives; Kudler Fine Foods needs to heavily invest in training and development. Continuous development and training is very essential to Kudler Fine Foods since it lies in the hotel industry, which is competitive in nature. Therefore, there is a significant need to equip its` employees with new skills and knowledge.
Human Resource Management Problem
For any organization to realize its` vision and mission, it should ensure that its` workforce is in a position to deliver. The knowledge, skills and ability to deliver is obtained through continuous training and development. However, the training and development policy for Kudler Fine Foods is inappropriate. This poses a problem to the Human Resource Management department. The training and development policy in Kudler Fine Foods only favours new employees. This is because Kudler Fine Foods has a training and development policy of employee orientation, three week training for new employees, and a 60 day working period with an assigned buddy. It is evident that the training and development policy favours only new employees. This is detrimental to the organization at large since there is lack of continuous training and development. Training and development is very important since it enhances productivity, improves profitability, improves employees’ attitudes towards the organization, and enhances the spirit of team work. In addition, continuous training and development creates a positive corporate image, improves employees` morale, and enhances continuity. Through training and development, employees enhance their career skills and this in turn lead to employee motivation and reduced turnover. It is important that employees are given a chance to pursue training and development in line with what interests them. As such, training and development should not just be geared towards a company`s direction.
Recommended Strategic Human Resource Management Plan
The traditional form of Human Resource Management placed little or no emphasis at all on strategic issues that are in line with the Human Resource Department. Various scholars assert that Human Resource Management function has developed and evolved through numerous stages. These include medieval stage, industrial revolution, scientific management, human relations movement to the current strategic partner stage. The emergence of strategic Human Resource Management is geared towards ensuring a viable relationship between strategic management of the firm`s resources and Human Resource Management. Traditionally, Human Resource Management is administrative in nature and is essentially concerned with the provision of transactional services such as recruitment, staffing, benefits, compensation, firing, and dismissals. On the other hand, Strategic Human Resource Management emerged as a result of the shift from administrative facet of Human Resource Management to the value addition principal aspect. Strategic Human Resource strongly believes in the fact that good performance is a neccessity in realizing an organization`s mission. As such, Strategic Human Resource Management seeks to ensure the firm`s competitive advantage through provision of highly qualified personnel. In addition, Strategic Human Resource Management assists business managers in strategic planning of human capital functions within the firm. Strategic Human Resource is very significant since it assumes a more flexible approach in using human capital to realize a firm`s objectives. As such, Strategic Human Resource Management differs from traditional Human Resource Management in two main ways. Firstly, Strategic Human Resource Management lays more focus on the overall organization performance. This is unlike traditional Human Resource Management which lays more focus on an individual performance. Secondly, Strategic Human Resource views the functions of Human Resource Management as solutions to problems. On the other hand, traditional Human Resource Management views Human Resource Management as a complete isolation. Therefore, Strategic Human Resource Management reflects a paradigm shift from ensuring effectiveness of an individual employee to ensuring efficiency of the whole organization.
Kudler Fine Foods can solve its Human Resource problem of lack of sufficient training and development through a Strategic Human Resource Management plan. The business world is dynamic and experiences changes daily. Hence, it is essential for any organization operating in the dynamic world of business to formulate strategic plans that cannot be imitated by competitors. Therefore, Kudler Fine Foods should ensure organization learning takes place, highly equipped employees, a culture that enhances focus among its` employees, and a unique human capital that possess creativity and innovation ability. This can only be achieved through a Strategic Human Resource Management plan. As such, the Strategic Human Resource Management plan that should be adopted by Kudler Fine Foods is to provide continuous, meaningful and relevant training and development to its` employees. In other words, Kudler Fine Foods should adopt a policy of enhancing transformation and change through increasing employee capacity and commitment. Therefore, training and development should not be availed to new employees only. Training can be realized through seminars, including junior employees in committees, and support groups.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Training and Development
The Strategic Human Resource Management plan on provision of meaningful and relevant training and development has numerous advantages. Firstly, training and development leads to improved performance. For any organization to realize its` objectives, employees must have the necessary ability to perform their duties. Performance of an individual employee can be improved through continuous provision of education on the relevant skills. Acquisition of adequate knowledge and skills through training and development enables an employee to realize his or her potential. In addition, training enhances one`s creativity and innovation. Improved individual`s performance will contribute significantly to overall improvement in an organization`s performance. Secondly, training and development is beneficial to an organization as it improves employee morale and commitment towards organization`s activities. There is a need to motivate employees. Motivation can be realized through training and development. This is because a motivated employee contributes more positively as compared to a demotivated employee. Moreover, a motivated employee is satisfied with the environment provided at his or her work place. Thirdly, provision of meaningful and relevant training ensures continuity in an organization. In the case of Kudler Fine Foods, when Kathy Kudler who is the owner of the firm retires, there will be need to recruit a new person to oversee the management. Therefore, it is necessary for the Human Resource Management to take into account the fact that there is a need to groom someone who can oversee the activities of Kudler Fine Foods once Kathy retires. In addition, in the absence of Kathy Kudler due to reasons such as sickness, there is a significant need to ensure a capable person oversees the smooth running of activities. This can only be realized through training and developing existing employees. This will ensure smooth succession and subsequent running of activities in the absence of Kathy Kudler. Fourthly, training and development enhance teamwork in an organization. There are different ways through which training and development can be realized. One such way is through action learning. Action learning encourages teamwork as employees work and learns in groups by handling real issues and reflecting on their day to day actions. Action learning not only promotes learning but also teamwork. This improves the relationship between employees within an organization. Employees learn to appreciate one another and develop strong, positive working bonds. Fifthly, training and development reduces resistance among employees. Many people fear change due to various reasons. These could include lack of adequate information, fear of the unknown, lack of proper communication, or the general perspective of people towards change. Nevertheless, resistance to change can be reduced through provision of meaningful and relevant training. Training enables employees to comprehend and appreciate the need for change positively. Training also enhances effective communication on desired changes within an organization. Therefore, Kudler Fine Foods can use training and development to ensure its` employees appreciate the essence of change within the firm. Lastly, training and development creates a positive corporate image. Kudler Fine Foods lies within the hotel industry that faces stiff competition. There is a significant need to maintain a competitive edge within the hotel industry. This is because employees will be able to make use of the acquired new skills and techniques to ensure customer satisfaction. This will in turn increase the number of clients seeking services from the firm.
Training employees faces various disadvantages. Firstly, it is a very expensive exercise. Training requires resources in terms of time and money. In reference to time, training disables an employee as he or she attends the training classes. He or she is thus not able to do his or her work. This in turn leads to reduced productivity during the training period. On the other hand, in terms of money, training is expensive as the person doing the training ought to be paid. Resources required for a training process are also expensive and could affect the financial position of an organization. Secondly, information changes very fast. As such, whatever an individual learns today may not be very useful tomorrow. This may make training irrelevant since it requires to be conducted from time to time. Thirdly, it is very difficult to get a competent trainer. A poor trainer can cause more harm than good. Lastly, scheduling a training program can be very cumbersome especially in organizations where there are very many employees. It is not possible to organize training for all employees at ago. This can make some employees feel discriminated against. As such, tension and poor working relationship develops between the trained and untrained employees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important for firms to shift from traditional Human Resource Management to Strategic Human Resource Management. This is very essential for a firm to ensure competitive advantage in the market. Strategic Human Resource Management focuses more of an organization`s performance. This is unlike traditional Human Resource Management which puts more emphasis on individual performance. Provision of meaningful and relevant continuous training is one of the Strategic Human Resource Management plans. Training is beneficial to a firm has it improves productivity, increases employees` morale, reduces resistance to change, and enhances teamwork. However, training and development is expensive as far as time and money are concerned. In addition, it can cause more harm than good if the trainer is not knowledgeable. All in all, for firms to remain competitive in various aspects and to realize its` goals, it has to ensure an effective workforce.
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