Your report should answer Tasks 1 to 6. The word count for your report is 5000 words.
Introduction
This assignment is based on an organisational scenario containing various components. In the scenario and the following tasks you will need to address these components. Your role and background is that of a regional manager who needs to prepare some ideas for a newly appointed store manager about how he might deal with some of the issues at his store. Therefore, this assignment requires knowledge of:
ï‚· human resource management as a discipline
ï‚· organisational development as a process.
Scenario
Icarus Plane Parts Ltd. is a global component service provider to the aviation industry. It operates from a number of locations around the world but its headquarters is near London’s Heathrow Airport. This a good position for all major UK routes by road, air or sea. Icarus’ particular specialism is in the replacement and repair management of aircraft spare parts.
Icarus was founded in 1986 and it is still a family owned business. It now operates with over 250 employees and offices in Dubai, Singapore, Moscow, China and Miami, and has a customer base of more than 500 airlines, servicing the majority of their Airbus and Boeing type aircraft. The nature of its customers’ needs means that Icarus seeks to support them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
As a member of the family that still owns Icarus, Tony Webb has been with the company since 2005 and has been instrumental in the growth that has been achieved. Webb believes that there is no secret behind the company’s remarkable growth. Icarus’s success, in his view, is a combination of every department working together to offer the highest level of service and performance to its customers. In a recent interview he said:
‘If it were not for the dedicated, enthusiastic, and professional teams that pride themselves on building strong customer relationships, procuring high quality spares and service, and efficient response and delivery; Icarus would not be the company it is today. It is all about having aligned and committed staff.’
Webb now oversees Icarus’ global strategy, and is accountable for leading further worldwide expansion. These include opening offices in North Asia, especially mainland China, to build on Icarus’ good name and reputation in Singapore. Webb is also keen to open in Canada to develop existing customers in North America. He explains that the aim behind these plans is to provide more inventory closer to wherever customers are located. He believes success will depend on maintaining Icarus’ individual and team performance at a high level.
But in the last few months Webb has become concerned about a number of issues that, if they are left unaddressed, could put the plans at risk. Staff turnover has increased dramatically, with those who have left citing poor management practices. One or two have also mentioned that they had been ‘discriminated against’ and that managers had not listened to their concerns. Human Resource Management has never featured strongly at Icarus but Webb is beginning to wonder if a more coherent approach to people management might now be required.
Aim
Advise Webb about how he might proceed in the following areas to ensure the success of the expansion plans.
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Task 1 – 15 Marks
Argue the case for Icarus to develop a ‘human resource management-driven business strategy.’
Task 2 – 15 Marks
Webb believes that a coherent approach to managing performance of all employees is essential to maintaining cohesiveness in the way the business operates. Advise him on the key elements in an appropriate performance management system that might help Icarus achieve this.
Task 3 – 17 Marks
With ‘management practices’ being cited as a contributory factor by some staff that leave, discuss how a programme of coaching or mentoring for front line managers and team leaders might help to address this.
Task 4 – 17 Marks
Explain to Webb how the ideas associated with employee engagement might help him to pursue an appropriate HRM strategy at Icarus.
Task 5 – 17 Marks
Webb has also instituted a review of the selection practices used for selecting managers and other staff. He is concerned that a straightforward interview may not be satisfactory. Advise him on the effectiveness of different selection approaches and how these might be judged.
Task 6 – 14 Marks
The final area of immediate concern to Webb is the issue of discrimination raised by two of the leavers. He thinks it might just be individual incidents but wants to investigate this further. He has asked you to help him understand more about the nature of discrimination in the workplace and, depending on what is discovered, what they way forward might be.
Task 7 – 5 Marks
Combine your findings into a single, written briefing document for the new manager that is properly structured and contains:
ï‚· Title page
ï‚· Table of contents
ï‚· Main body of the advice document
ï‚· References and bibliography
ï‚· Appendices (if necessary)
