HR Strategic Planning - Essay Example

HR Strategic Planning: Final Project Introduction Project Background In the present global scenario, globalization and advent of technology have changed business process to a large extent. The aforementioned factors have increased the extent of market competition owing to which, organizations are required to conduct their operations in an appropriate manner for better business sustainability and competitiveness. In this regard, Human Resource Management (HRM) is considered as an important department of organizations for ensuring that human resources are managed in an efficient manner. HRM is essential for the management of employees and is entrusted with the responsibility of providing services that include motivation, training, recruitment and welfare activities among others. In addition, HRM of an organization seeks that the employees are offered with an effective workplace environment and culture. Thus, HRM practices play vital role towards business sustainability and competitiveness in the long- run (Strandberg, 2009). Presently, the labor market has also changed to a large extent as diverse workforces are employed by organization with the aim of having better competitive workforces. In this respect, HR professionals of organizations are bestowed with the responsibility of seeking that employees conduct their operations in accordance with organizational goals. Subsequently, HR professionals are required to ascertain that diverse workforces are managed in an effective manner. In this regard, HR professionals should devise appropriate policies along with practices, so that equal opportunities and working patterns are followed in an organization. Thus, HR professionals should manage workforce diversity for enhanced business performances as well as achievements. At present, workforces are regarded as an important element for the development of competitive advantages of an organization in the worldwide market segments. Contextually, HR professionals should ensure that diverse workforces are recruited and trained effectively so that, the employees are able to conduct their operations for the benefit of a business, society and people. However, there are certain challenges faced by HR professionals relating to prejudice, harassment and stereotyping in the management of diverse workforces. Respectively, HR professionals face the challenge of maintaining flexible working culture (Srivastava & Agarwal, 2012). Aims and Objectives The objective of the project will be to determine the importance of HR functions in the management of diverse workforce. The key objective of the project will be to determine the influence of change that diversity has on an organization. The objectives of the project are provided hereunder. To recognize the challenges faced by retail business To ascertain the influence of the retail business challenges on HR functions and in the integration of Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) areas To understand the influence of diversity on HR functions within Nordstrom To identify the diversity standards and practices implemented for managing diversity Literature Review Challenges Faced By Retail Business According to the report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (2012), the present business scenario has intensified with competition owing to factors that include globalization and technological advancement. Globalization and innovation has changed market conditions with increased number of firms and identical products and/or services. In this respect, retail business has faced challenges of providing quality as well as unique products and/or services through innovative approach. The implementation of e-commerce service is also identified to pose threat for retail business in terms of legal, tax and accounting issues (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2012). In this regard, Kind (2013) noted that the retail sector is also facing challenges regarding funding. The funding issue restricts the retail sector from conducting operations in an effective manner. Subsequently, the retail sector with the lack of funding resources faces problems in making required investment towards innovation and production operations for which it is unable to conduct operations with better sustainability and profitability (Kind, 2013). In the present business scenario, workforce diversity is an important factor, responsible for building competitive advantages (Condrey, 2010). According to Condrey (2010), diverse workforce assists retail sector in performing their operations with enhanced labor productivity, better marketing opportunities, decision- making, social development and innovativeness. Retail sector adopts workforce diversity with the intention of building a flexible business environment, so that employees perform their activities in an effective as well as competent manner. On the other hand, workforce diversity possesses certain challenges in managing diverse labor forces. In this regard, HR professionals face different issues in relation to prejudice, discrimination and inclusion resulting to employee turnover and ineffective business performances. In addition, factors including attitudes along with behaviors practiced in retail sector unfavorably affect the workplace culture and diversity (Condrey, 2010). In a similar perspective, Mitchell & Creary (2009) noted that workforce diversity is one of the major challenging factors that the retail sector is facing in the current business scenario. Workforce diversity is identified to be accountable for raising different issues within a workplace culture owing to which, business operations are affected to a large extent. The challenges faced for workplace diversity include employee conflict, language differences and ethnicity practiced (Mitchell & Creary, 2009). Influence of Workplace Diversity on HR Functions and Integration of Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) Gender, physical ability, race, age, ethnicity and gender are different considerations based on which, diversity is identified (Marquis, 2007). According to Marquis (2007), workplace diversity is an important consideration for HR professionals of retail sector to ensure that an effective workplace culture is maintained, so that employees are able to perform their operations competently. In this regard, HR professionals are recognized to face challenges in formulating as well as implementing appropriate measures based on which the concept of diversity can be managed within a workplace. The diversity policies that are to be implemented are recognized to be complex as well as need effective procedure based on which such policies should be implemented for better diversity management. In addition, Marquis (2007) noted that diversity policies are required to be based on the factors that are essential for organizational change, so that employees are able to conduct operations in accordance with the objectives of the retail business (Marquis, 2007). In this regard, Mathis, Jackson, & Valentine (2014) stated that HR professionals have faced adequate challenges in terms of diversity for developing policies and practices relating to ‘equal employment opportunity’, discrimination, harassment and inclusion among others. Subsequently, the integration of Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) comprising different factors that include accounting, management, applied decision making, economics, legal, finance, marketing, international business and management information systems has been affected to a large extent, as the business performance of the retail sector is based on the performance of employees. Moreover, lack of effective policies from the end of HR professionals is recognized to be accountable for inappropriate integration of CBK (Mathis, Jackson, & Valentine, 2014). Background of Nordstrom Inc. Nordstrom, Inc. is a fashion specialty retailer providing shoes, clothing as well as accessories. The company provides products for individuals representing different ages and sexes that include women, men along with children. The company is committed in offering products and/or services of best quality for retaining a competitive position. Additionally, the company has been serving in around 38 States in the US with around 118 number of full-line stores. The company is also identified to have stores in Canada. Carl F. Wallin and John W. Nordstrom are the founders of the company. Headquarter of the company is located in Seattle, Washington. Initially, the company commenced business as a shore retailer and with time, the company expanded business operations with diverse products that include jewelry, fragrances, clothing, handbags and accessories. At present, the company is identified to possess around 62,500 employees from diverse backgrounds. Out of 62,500 employees, 72.5 per cent of the employees are identified to be women and 41.9 per cent consists of minority groups. The prime objective of the company is to ensure that customers are provided with quality products along with services for better satisfaction of the customers. In addition, the business objectives of the company are based on certain factors that include exceptional service, value, quality and selection. In this context, the company based on the aforementioned provisions are able to meet the expectations as well as requirements of the customers (1Nordstrom, Inc., 2014). According to annual report of 3Nordstrom, Inc. (2013), the company has been performing business operations in an effective manner with progress in financial condition (3Nordstrom, Inc., 2013). The financial performance of the company has been depicted below: Financial Outlook of Nordstrom Inc. Source: (3Nordstrom, Inc., 2013) Workplace Diversity and its Influence on Nordstrom’s HR Functions Nordstrom has been implementing the concept workplace diversity for ensuring that business operations are conducted in a sustainable and profitable manner (2Nordstrom, Inc., 2014). The report of 2Nordstrom, Inc. (2014) implied that the company follows the principle of hiring, attracting and retaining individuals from diverse backgrounds, so that innovative as well as quality products and/or services are offered to customers. The company is identified to follow the policy of equal employment on the basis of which, employees representing different gender, creed, religion, national origin and marital status among others are provided with training and promotion opportunities (2Nordstrom, Inc., 2014). According to the report published by IBS Center for Management Research (2007), the company has been under the allegation of making discrimination on the basis of age and race during the year 1988. In this regard, the company has been ineffective in implementing the HR policy of inclusiveness to a certain extent. In this regard, the HR functions of the company have been affected to a large extent in managing and retaining competent employees. Subsequently, the HR professionals of the company have not been able to implement the HR policies and measures in a manner that would be effective for the benefit of the company, society and community as a whole. Owing to the allegation of discrimination and recruitment of inadequate number of talented employees have been major factors for HR professionals of the company to perform different operations that include recruitment, training, motivation and retaining in an effective manner (IBS Center for Management Research, 2007). In this regard, the report published by Nordstrom, Inc. (2013) signified that Nordstrom Inc. after the allegation faced in terms of age and racial discrimination has adopted different measures and practices. Based on these practices, individuals from different backgrounds are recruited and hired, so that a workplace culture based on, inclusion, is developed. In this regard, the HR professionals with the assistance of HR practices and measures are facilitated in ascertaining that business operations are conducted in accordance with the objectives of the company. In addition, the HR professionals are able to conduct their functions of recruitment, training and motivation with better efficiency owing to which the concept of inclusion is maintained within the company. The HR professionals are also able to manage and develop an effective workplace culture, so that employees are able to perform their operations in a competent and innovative manner (Nordstrom, Inc., 2013). Diversity Standards and Practices According to Weiner (2003), in the present day context, HRM of organizations are identified to adopt innovative practices in their approaches for improving the performance of employees and business operations in the worldwide market segments. Additionally, innovative HR practices aid in building the competitive position of business organizations globally. The market and business conditions are changing for the altering preferences of customers and augmented number of business rivals. In this context, organizations are identified to adopt flexible management practices with the aim of integrating HR practices efficiently with the changing organizational needs. Contextually, organizations with the assistance of effective HR practices are able to produce quality products in a productive manner. Respectively, HR practices assist in developing the skills as well as knowledge of employees significantly, which in turn aids the employees to conduct their operations in a motivated way (Weiner, 2003). In this respect, the report of IBS Center for Management Research (2007) presented adequate facts about the HR policies adopted by Nordstrom Inc. to conduct HR functions on the basis of the principle inclusiveness. The missions and visions strategies of the company are to conduct operations through inclusion policy. The HR professionals of the company are identified to be following certain policies with respect to diversity. In this context, the HR policies of the company are identified to comprise different diversity factors that include women, sexual minorities, ethnic and racial minorities, and people with disability. In this respect, the company with the implementation of inclusion policy has been able to conduct operations in compliance with federal and state law of the US in terms of employment law. The employment law signifies that non-discrimination should be followed within companies with 15 and more employees (Green et al., n.d.). Based on the aforementioned diversity factors company has been able to recruit and retain talented employees from diverse background. In addition, the company is recognized to adopt a defined ‘Code of Business Conduct and Ethics’ standard based on which, HR professional are able to maintain an ethical behavior amid employees, so that a working culture based on respect and honesty is developed (IBS Center for Management Research, 2007). Methodology Research Overview The aim of the research was to identify the importance of HR functions with respect to workplace diversity. With the intention of obtaining appropriate outcome from the findings of the research, a qualitative research approach has been applied. A qualitative research approach is a procedure based on which understanding is developed in relation to perceptions, attitudes as well as values of individuals in an appropriate manner. A qualitative research approach is suitable for having ideas about human behavior and social sciences. In this respect, a qualitative research approach has been adopted in this research with the aim of obtaining information relating to the issue of workplace diversity. In this regard, both primary and secondary data are collected for conducting the research suitably. Data Collection Method Data collection is an essential element in the research study, which assists in obtaining the required information to achieve the aimed objectives in a proficient manner. High quality data is required to be collected in a systematic procedure, so that an advanced knowledge for the evaluation of a particular research issue can be performed with better effectiveness. For this particular research, the data required have been collected through both primary and secondary methods. In this respect, primary data were collected through interview. The interview questions were based on open-ended questions. The respondents for the interview in this particular research were the employees working in Nordstrom Inc. The interview was conducted on 30 employees of the company representing different departments. On the other hand, the secondary data were collected from different online sources comprising peer-reviewed articles and scholarly journals. In addition, the secondary data were collected from corporate websites of Nordstrom Inc. with the aim of obtaining appropriate information for deriving appropriate finding (Kumar, 2010). Data Analysis In this research, the collected data has been analyzed on the basis of qualitative research approach. In this regard, the data collected from the interview based on open-ended questions were analyzed with the assistance of descriptive analysis. These statistical tools have assisted in obtaining adequate information in relation to the research topic. In addition, the research has used CBK areas with the aim of having a better understanding about the vision and mission strategies relating to HRM of Nordstrom Inc. The research based on CBK areas has been conducted for having an in-depth understanding of the alignment of HR policies with the objectives of the company. Moreover, analysis based on CBK areas assisted in determining diversity policies that are adopted on the basis of HR policies of the company. Ethical Consideration The research is to be performed in an ethical manner for ascertaining the appropriateness of the findings. In this research, due consideration was also provided towards ensuring that the feedbacks of the employees are documented properly for future references. The responses of the employees are kept confidential for safety measures. Free consent was obtained from the employees of Nordstrom Inc. prior to the final execution of the study. Additionally, the employees are provided with numeric codes for confidentiality consideration. The secondary data were collected from authenticated sources for acquiring valid as well as current information relevant to the research (Halai, 2006). Data Analysis and Findings The research has been conducted with the aim of ascertaining the diversity issues that affected the HR functions of Nordstrom Inc. In this regard, the first question as included in the questionnaire focused on identifying the workplace diversity challenges faced by Nordstrom Inc. As per the data gathered, it has been observed that the employees of the company faced issues regarding age and race discrimination in the recruitment process. The employees stated that the company failed in adopting the policy of inclusion, which adversely affected the performance of the company in terms of sustainability and profitability. The second question, i.e. ‘What are the specific aspects of Nordstrom Inc. influencing HR and the integration of CBK areas?’ emphasized the implications of workplace diversity on HR functions and integration of CBK factors within operations. With respect to this question, it has been identified that the employees have views that workplace diversity majorly influenced HR functions of the company to a large extent, as the HR professionals were not able to recruit competent employees, which in turn affected the operations of the company. Additionally, the HR professionals were ineffective in implementing the practice of inclusiveness within the company. The data obtained from this question also signified that the workplace diversity and ineffective measures of the HRM of the company lacked in retaining as well as recruiting competent employees, which in turn has affected the integration of the CBK factor. The ineffective integration of CBK resulted in influencing the operations of the company in different areas that include legal, marketing and decision making and accounting approaches. The third question aimed at obtaining adequate data to identify and describe about the changes that diversity have with Nordstrom Inc. On the basis of this question, the obtained data revealed that the after the allegation of age and race discrimination, the company has adopted different diversity measures with the aim of implementing inclusion policy based on which individuals from different backgrounds and ethnic groups are recruited. In this respect, the company with the implementation of the concept of inclusion has been able to conduct business operations in a competitive manner. Subsequently, the company has been able to conduct operations with better integration of HR policies and CBK areas for effective business performances in accordance with the values, goals and strategies of the company. The findings from the fourth question emphasized on the relevance of diversity policies towards the implementation of diversity practices and standards. In this respect, the employees noted that diversity policies in Nordstrom Inc. have been implemented on the basis of business ethics and code of conduct. Correspondingly, the HR professionals developing effective HR policies based on the aforementioned factors have been able to develop appropriate diversity standards and practices in accordance with which, business operations are conducted successfully with better accomplishment of business objectives and diverse workforce. The fifth question correspondingly focused on describing different factors that have assisted to conduct operations successfully. The responses obtained in relation to this question indicated that employees have similar perceptions in relation to the importance of workplace diversity. In this regard, workplace diversity policies developed on the basis of factors that include women, racial minorities, sexual minorities and people with disability among others have assisted the company in conducting operations sustainably and socially responsible manner. Based on the findings of the interviews and review of literature, it can be identified that workplace diversity is an important consideration in the present day business context for effective and sustainable business operations. In addition, workplace diversity also ascertains that business operations are conducted in a social way for the benefit of a society, a company and a community as a whole. Moreover, the findings obtained from the primary and secondary sources have implied that Nordstrom Inc. after the allegation relating to age and race discrimination has implemented effective diversity policies. The implementation of diversity policies has assisted in building effective diversity standards and practices with the assistance of which, HR professionals are able to perform their operations in alignment with company’s objectives. The company with the implementation of diversity standards has been able to integrate CBK areas with the operations of the company. Respectively, the company has been able to conduct auditing, marketing, financial and decision-making operations effectively owing to which the financial and business performances of the company have enhanced largely in the present day context. Conclusion The objective of the research is to determine the importance of workplace diversity in terms of inclusion of diverse workforce. In this regard, it has been recognized that Nordstrom Inc. with the implementation of diversity standards and practices has been able to conduct operations with better HR functions as well as integration of CBK factors for the recruitment and retention of competent employees. Accordingly, the company with the assistance of competent employees has been able to conduct operations sustainably and competitively. The research has been based on qualitative research approach, which may be a limitation for the study due to lack of an in-depth data relating to the same. In this regard, a mixed research approach should has been followed, so that a more reliable and appropriate findings were generated from the research for better effectiveness. References Condrey, S. E. (2010). Handbook of human resource management in government. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Green, K. A., Lopez, M., Wysocki, A., & Kepner, K. (n.d.). Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Required Managerial Tools. HR022, 1-3. Halai, A. (2006). Ethics in qualitative research: Issues and challenges. Retrieved from http://www.edqual.org/publications/workingpaper/edqualwp4.pdf IBS Center for Management Research. (2007). Workplace diversity at Nordstrom. Retrieved from http://rpglounge.in/kc/admin/upload/1306240445.pdf Kind, P. (2013). Disruptive challenges: Financial implications and strategic responses to a changing retail electric business. Retrieved from http://www.eei.org/ourissues/finance/documents/disruptivechallenges.pdf Kumar, R. (2010). Research methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners. USA: SAGE. Marquis, J. (2007). Managing diversity in corporate America. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. Mathis, R. L., Jackson, J. H., & Valentine, S. R. (2014). Human resource management (14th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western. Mitchell, C., & Creary, S. J. (2009). Diversity and inclusion. Global Challenges and Opportunities, 5-22. 2Nordstrom, Inc. (2014). Our people. Retrieved from http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/diversity-people?origin=leftnav 1Nordstrom, Inc. (2014). Company history. Retrieved from http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/company-history?origin=leftnav 3Nordstrom, Inc. (2013). Annual report 2013. Retrieved from https://materials.proxyvote.com/Approved/655664/20140310/AR_198982/pubData/source/Nordstrom,%20Inc%202013%20Annual%20Report%20b.pdf Nordstrom, Inc. (2013). Code of business conduct and ethics. Retrieved from http://investor.nordstrom.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=93295&p=irol-govconduct PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2012). Current challenges facing retail sector. Retrieved from http://www.pwc.pl/en_PL/pl/publikacje/PwC_PL_E-commerce_eng.pdf Srivastava, E., & Agarwal, N. (2012). The emerging challenges in HRM. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 1(6), 46-48. Strandberg, C. (2009). The role of human resource management in corporate social responsibility. Retrieved from http://corostrandberg.com/wp-content/uploads/files/CSR_and_HR_Management1.pdf Weiner, N. (2003). Making cultural diversity work. Scarborough: Carswell. Appendix Questionnaire 1. What are the workplace diversity challenges faced by Nordstrom Inc.? 2. What are the specific aspects of Nordstrom Inc. influencing HR and the integration of CBK areas? 3. How diversity influences the changes within Nordstrom Inc.? 4. How diversity policies of Nordstrom Inc. would lead to the implementation of diversity practices and standards? 5. What are the major components of Nordstrom Inc. that have assisted to conduct operations successfully? Read More