Executive Diploma in Business Management

Assignment Title

“Human Resource Management”

Submitted to : ATBC International College

Academic Partner : Lincoln University College (Malaysia), ETVA,

LQB ( (UK)

Student ID : PEDBM 0415

Student Name : Shwe Yi Shin Thant

Batch : Batch - 25

Lecturer Name : U Lin Thet Paing

Submitting Date : 19.06.2023 (Monday)

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 Table Of Contents

Introduction............................................................................................................... 3
Human Resource Management of Coca-Cola Company.......................................4
Conclusion...............................................................................................................14
Reference.................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
Human Resource Management (HRM) is a strategic approach to managing the
people within an organization to maximize their performance and contribute to the
achievement of organizational goals. It encompasses a wide range of activities and
functions that are designed to attract, develop, motivate, and retain talented
individuals. HRM plays a vital role in ensuring that the organization has the right
people with the right skills, knowledge, and attitudes to meet the demands of a
dynamic and competitive business environment.

The primary objective of HRM is to align the capabilities and potential of employees
with the strategic goals of the organization. This involves creating a positive work
culture, developing effective HR policies and practices, and fostering a supportive
work environment that encourages employee engagement, growth, and productivity.
HRM functions include recruitment and selection, training and development,
performance management, compensation and benefits, employee relations, HR
planning, and compliance with legal and ethical standards.

In addition to managing day-to-day HR operations, HRM also plays a critical role in

strategic decision-making, working closely with senior leadership to develop and
execute human capital strategies that drive organizational success. HR professionals
are responsible for staying updated with evolving industry trends, technological
advancements, and legal regulations to ensure that HR practices remain effective,
compliant, and responsive to the changing needs of the workforce.

Effective HRM can contribute to higher employee satisfaction, improved productivity,

enhanced organizational performance, and a competitive advantage in the
marketplace. By investing in the development and well-being of employees, HRM
helps create a motivated and skilled workforce that can adapt to change, innovate,
and contribute to the long-term success of the organization.

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Human Resource Management of Coca-Cola Company

1a) Personnel Management Approach vs. HR Management Approach

Personnel management and HR management are two different concepts; the latter is
a new concept which developed from the former. Human resource management is a
strategic approach of planning and controlling human resource activities of an
organisation and aligning them with the overall business strategies of the
organisation. On the other hand, personnel management refers to the practice of
managing employees. Human resource management is concerned with strategic
approach to human resources while personnel management is concerned with the
selection and welfare of employees. HR management approach also considers
human resources as the most strategic resources of an organisation (Tyson & York,
2000). Personnel management considers people to be just like any other resources
of the organisation which are utilized to run normal business activities. Human
Resource Management involves planning, staffing, development and evaluation, and
compensation.

The Human Resource Management of today involves the management of various

activities that are aimed at improving the performance of an organisation’s workforce
in order to achieve organisational goals and objectivities. This requires the
organisation to align its human resource management objectives with the overall
objectives of the organisation. Human Resource Management can also be used by
organisations to achieve competitive advantage in a number of ways. First, HRM
leverages corporate intangible assets quickly and efficiently to enhance competitive
advantage and earn benefits for the organisation. HRM is also used as a strategic
tool to manage change. Lastly, Human Resource Management promotes innovation
by incorporating employees’ knowledge and skills into the workforce innovative
culture.

The Coca Cola Company fits its human resource management approach into the
business overall objectives in order to achieve high performance and obtain
competitive advantage in the highly competitive beverage industry. In every country

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where it operates, Coca Cola has a business planning director who plans various
business activities in order to achieve the company’s objectives. This requires
effective human resource management to ensure that all business activities run
smoothly according the planned time, budget and other resource requirements. This
ensures that resources are utilised efficiently and less costs are incurred in order to
achieve a competitive edge in the market through good pricing.

Human Resource Management is referred to as People Function Management in

Coca Cola Company. One of the strategies of Coca Cola is to be able to connect
with consumers and enable them to meet their needs, lifestyle choices and desires.
In order to achieve this, the company utilizes and manages its people strategically to
execute effectively, everyday (The Coca Cola Company, 2012). The goal of the
company is also to use its assets to become more competitive and increase its
growth in order to create value for shareholders. This is supported by a vision of
sustainable growth which puts the organisation’s people at the top of the company’s
strategic priorities. The vision of sustainable growth in Coca cola begins with a
phrase about its people; the company aims at creating the best work place where
people are inspired to be the best they can be. This forms a platform of enhancing
good portfolio, partnership, planet (sustainability), profitability and productivity in the
company. In terms of productivity, Coca Cola manages its people, time and money
to achieve the greatest effectiveness. The people are therefore the main agents who
execute the strategic objectives, vision and strategic priorities of the organisation in
order to enhance sustainable growth and competitive advantage.

Apart from incorporating its Human Resource Management to its business

objectives, Coca Cola also delegates some HR related activities to line managers’
jobs. For instance, the business planning director carries out the HR activities of
planning human activities within the business planning department. Furthermore, the
marketing director is involved with the training and development of sales
representatives and marketers of the organisation.

1b) Impact of Change in employment legislation

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The change in UK’s employment legislation also affects Coca Cola Company
because the company operates and hires people within UK, so it will stick to the
employment legislations of the country. Employment legislations ensure that the
company’s employees are treated fairly and equally without any discrimination. If the
employee feels that he/she is not treated fairly according to the current employment
legislation he/she may quit the company and/or file a case against the company in a
court or an employment tribunal.

The impact of the recent legislation which allows employees to request for flexible
working will have certain impacts on the company’s Human Resource Management.
First, the company will have to comply with the legislation and if an employee
requests for a flexible working the company has to accept. This will affect the
planning role of Human Resource department because the company will start
planning its activities to allow for the flexibility. Coordination of activities with other
employees will be enhanced through the HRM in order to comply with the law.

Legislation also empowers an employee’s right in the employment contract with the
company. The employee may leave the company if the company does not comply
with the legislation. The employment terms for the company’s employees need to be
in line with the employee’s expectations, and if the employee does not achieve that
he may quit. High employee turnover will impact negatively on the company’s
operations, and may also reduce the effectiveness of the company’s Human
Resource Management.

Section 2 – Recruitment and Selection

2a) Flow Diagram – HR planning process of Coca Cola

Coca cola’s Human Resource Management involves HR planning and forecasting

process which includes deciding the position that needs to be filled and how to fill it.
HR planning in the company is carried out by the People Functions department
which is also involved in the overall strategic planning of the company. The HR
manager engages with the other company executives and line managers to plan for

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the hiring of new employees to fill vacant positions in the organisation. HR planning
also involves predicting employees’ needs and the level of productivity expected
from them. HR planning in Coca Cola also involves the management of employees’
exit from the company. It therefore balances the demand and supply of employees in
the company so that the right number of people with the right knowledge and skills
are selected for the right jobs at the right places, time and cost. The stages of HR
planning process in Coca Cola are not well defined, but it generally follows the
following stages: Analysis of current staff in the organisation, analysis of the future
employment plans of the company, determination of the surplus or deficit of
employees, Evaluation of alternative solutions to the surplus or deficit, and selection
of the best alternatives. These are represented in a flow diagram as shown below.

In stage 1, Coca Cola Company examines the information about the current
workforce of the company including age and gender, job grades, duration of work,
job titles, turnover rates, working hours, and productivity rates. Depending on the
findings of stage1 analysis, the company then develops plans to get the right people
with the right type of skills. Future employment plans for the company are analysed
in stage 2. These plans determine the number of staff that will be required in future.
In the third stage, the company determines the mismatch between the surplus and
shortage of human resource requirements. If there is a shortage, the company
examines whether the shortage will affect the company’s future success or not. In
stage 4, the company identifies some alternative courses of action. If there is a

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surplus of staff the company’s options include early retirement, redundancy,
retraining, part time working, and overtime ban. In case of a shortage, the company
recruits new staff, redeploys existing staff, uses temporary or freelance staff,
promoting existing staff, or existing staff work overtime. The last stage involves
selecting the best alternative from the above alternatives.

2b) Comparison of Recruitment and Selection Processes

If from the HR planning the company determines that there is a shortage of staff and
new staff is required, an effective and efficient recruitment and selection approach is
used to acquire the right people for the company. Recruitment involves matching the
qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience of a person with the requirements of
the job to be filled (Compton et al, 2002). Selection involves elimination of unsuitable
candidates.

In this section, the recruitment and selection process of Coca Cola is compared with
that of Tesco. Tesco is a UK-based retail industry whose recruitment and retention
process is different in some ways with the recruitment and selection process of Coca
Cola. The two companies’ recruitment and selection processes are also similar in
other ways. The flow charts below show the differences and similarities between the
recruitment and selection processes of the two companies.

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From the two flow diagrams above, it is clear that Tesco has a shorter recruitment
and selection process involving few steps. On the other hand, the recruitment and
selection process of Coca Cola is a long process that involves more steps than
Tesco. Tesco focuses mainly on CV screening and interviews while Coca Cola
follows other steps to determine other qualities of employees which cannot be
determined from just interviews. For instance, role plays and situational exercises
are used to determine how employees can react to certain situations. Coca Cola also
uses group exercises to determine whether the candidate can be able to work
effectively in a team, because Coca Cola is actually a team. Tesco carries out two
interviews, and is therefore able to question applicants effectively to determine their
knowledge and physical attributes. The main similarity between the two companies

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in terms of recruitment and selection is that their first step involves job
advertisement. Both companies advertise their job vacancies in their websites, job
placement websites, and the media.

Section 3 – Reward and Motivation

3a) Job Evaluation Process

Job evaluation is a process that links performance measurement and reward

management to determine the level of performance hence the pay for the workforce
(Scheuer, 2000). In this case, employees are motivated and rewarded based on their
performance. Pay and other reward schemes are used to recognise the performance
of the workforce. Such rewards are used to reward the employees.

Job evaluation in Coca Cola is carried out in four steps: annual performance review,
performance plan for the year, reward and motivation, and midterm review (Coca
Cola, 2012). In the first stage, the company assesses the results of the workforce
performance. In the second stage, the company develops a development plan to
ensure that there is enough payment for employees based on their performance.
The third stage involves the development of a performance-based pay and
recognition of top performers. Lastly, the company reviews the results and the pay to
ensure that the pay is indeed worth the performance of employees.

The reward system of Coca Cola is differentiated in order to build high performance
culture. For the purpose of rewarding its employees in a differentiated manner, the
company has developed two types of categorization of its employees (associates);
Successful Performance (SP) and Exceptional Performance (EP). SP associates are
categorized as SP-, SP and SP+ while EP associates are categorised as EP and
EP*. EP associates are recognised with greater rewards than SP associates. This
differentiated payment motivates employees to perform better in order to attain
higher categorization for a better pay. However, this system can be challenged by

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the equity theory of motivation which suggests that employees are motivated to
resolve inequitable situation such as differentiated payment (Latham, 2007). In the
case of unequal payment, employees may choose to persuade the manager to
increase their salary or reduce the salary of others, or abstain from work in order to
achieve equity (Latham, 2007).

Apart from differentiated compensation, Coca Cola Company also recognizes top
performers by assigning them work in regional and national levels, sponsoring them
to attend conferences and visit foreign countries, providing them with career
development and learning opportunities, and offering them appreciation letters and
certificates (Coca Cola Company, 2012) These rewards make the employees do
better at their jobs as suggested by the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This theory
categorizes human needs into biological needs, safety needs, affiliation needs,
esteem needs, knowledge needs, aesthetic, transcendence, freedom, and self-
actualisation (Scheuer, 2000). Coca Cola satisfies its employees’ needs in this order
from the most basic (biological) to the least basic (self-actualisation). By offering
learning and career development to associates, the company enables them to meet
their knowledge needs; hence motivating them to perform better.

3b) Methods used to monitor the performance of employees

Monitoring performance involves the assessment of employees’ performance in

order to determine whether they meet the organisation’s expectations, goals and
objectives (Noe & Noe, 2012). One of the methods of monitoring employees’
performance is performance appraisal. This refers to the process of establishing the
contributions or value of each employee to the organisation (Scheuer, 2000).
Performance appraisal at Coca Cola Company takes three steps: defining the job,
appraising the performance, and providing feedback.

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Defining the job involves identifying the duties and work standards of employees
(Tyson & York, 2000). Appraising the performance are then carried out using
appraisal interviews and appraisal forms to determine the level of performance of
employees measured against set standards. Lastly, providing feedback means
discussing the performance of each employee and suggesting specific courses of
actions to take including job improvement plan, salary review, and promotion or
demotion.

Appraisal interviews are carried out by asking employees and managers specific
questions about their performance. In some situations, an appraisal form is filled by
employees to demonstrate the level of performance by each employee. Scores of
each employee’s performance is recorded against the performance standards of the
organisation. In order to accelerate performance, one of the key action plans that the
company pursues is to build on the strengths of each employee – leveraging the best
performance. Performance improvement plan is also provided for bottom performers.
The performance improvement plan is again monitored and if the results are on
track, the employees are assigned back to their routine duties. If the results are not
on track but the employee shows an indication of commitment and drive to improve,
the performance improvement plan is revised to include a shorter timeline.

Section 4 – Employment Cessation

4a) Reasons for leaving and exit procedure

Employment cessation refers to the termination of an employee’s work with an

organisation through various mechanisms including dismissal, resignation,
termination of contract and retirement (Chanda & Shen, 2009). There are various
reasons why employees leave their organisations. First, an employee may leave by
way of retirement because they have reached the statutory retirement age or due to
early retirement occasioned by physical or psychological challenges. Secondly, an
employee may decide to leave an organisation through resignation due to
dissatisfaction in the current job. A person may resign as long as he/she has
adhered to the requirements of the terms of employment (Noe & Noe, 2012). For

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instance, an employee is given a specific notice period before resigning. Another
reason why someone may leave employment is because of the termination of fixed
term contract with the organisation.

The exit procedure of Coca Cola Company is mainly characterised by exit interviews
which are carried out to determine the reasons why an employee is leaving the
organisation. This will enable the company to establish some of the issues that need
to be addressed in the organisation in order to prevent employees from leaving.
Coca Cola uses an exit interview involving third parties who track Equal Employment
Opportunities in the organisation. This exit strategy is proactive and allows for better
people management for the remaining employees (Noe & Noe, 2012). The exiting
employees are also handled with care, often sent with good packages and the most
human ways to ensure that their feelings are not completely affected. Coca Cola also
provides counseling to employees who leave the organisation so that the existing
employees can feel secure and safe. Before leaving, Coca Cola offers employees
retirement benefits and other payments due to them on the date of exit.

Tesco, a UK company in the retail industry provides a good pay and leave options to
retain employees who are about to leave the company through resignation. Like
Coca Cola, the company also conducts an exit interview to find out the reason why
the employee wants to leave. Tesco also offers a recommendation letter to help
him/her in getting the next job. The company also pays leaving employees any
amount due to them and assets owned by the leaving employees but held by the
company. Retirement benefits are also given if any. When redundancy occurs,
Tesco Company redeploys affected employees. In this case, employees are offered
other jobs within Tesco so that they do not lose their income completely.

4b) Current Legislation Relating to Unfair Dismissal in USA

Since Coca Cola is a US-based organisation, it is affected by US legislations relating

to unfair dismissal. Dismissal ends the employment contract between an employer
and an employee. There are circumstances in which dismissal is legally accepted
and other circumstances when dismissal is illegal. When it is unlawful, the employee

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may file a case on the basis of unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal. In the US,
there is no specific law on wrongful or unfair dismissal; but there is a law on Equal
Employment Opportunity (EEO) alongside other state and federal laws which are
considered in instances of unfair dismissal. EEO prohibits employment
discriminations at the workplace (United States Department of Labour, 2014).
Generally, it is illegal to dismiss an employee on a basis that is legally prohibited in
UK, e.g. through discrimination in terms of gender, age or race.

Labour laws on termination also suggest that if an employee is dismissed unfairly –

without their own mistakes, they are eligible to unemployment benefits from their
former employers. Unfairly dismissed labour is also entitled to severance pay in the
US, and they can file cases on the basis of unfair dismissal in United States courts
(United States Department of Labour, 2014). Whistleblower protection laws also
require employers not to retaliate against people who complain about their
employers for the sake of the majority employees. Unfair dismissal as a result of
whistleblower should be filed within 30 days.

These laws on unfair dismissal affect Coca Cola because the company needs to
comply with the law; hence it has to be very careful in dismissal of employees. Due
to the power and rights conferred by the law to employees, employers such as Coca
cola may be taken to court at any time on the basis of unfair dismissal. This will be
costly and lengthy process to the company. Furthermore, Coca Cola is able to
maintain diversity and promote the Equal Employment Opportunity culture in the
company by complying with the law.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the personnel management approach and the HR management

approach are distinct concepts. HR management is a strategic approach that aligns
human resource activities with the overall business strategies of an organization,
while personnel management focuses on employee management and welfare. HR
management recognizes human resources as strategic assets and incorporates

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them into the organization's planning, staffing, development, evaluation, and
compensation processes.

The Coca Cola Company employs a strategic HR management approach that aligns
with its overall business objectives. It recognizes the importance of effective human
resource management in achieving high performance and competitive advantage in
the beverage industry. The company integrates its people strategically to execute
business activities efficiently and meet consumer needs. Coca Cola emphasizes
sustainable growth and places its people at the top of its strategic priorities. Line
managers are involved in HR activities, such as planning and training, to ensure
smooth operations.

The change in employment legislation, particularly in the UK where Coca Cola

operates, also affects the company. Compliance with employment legislation
ensures fair and equal treatment of employees. Recent legislation allowing flexible
working requests impacts Coca Cola's HR management. The company must comply
with the law and adjust its planning and coordination processes accordingly. Failure
to meet the expectations set by employment legislation can result in employee
dissatisfaction, potential legal action, and high turnover rates, negatively impacting
the effectiveness of HR management and overall company operations.

Overall, recognizing the strategic importance of human resources and aligning HR

management with business objectives, while also ensuring compliance with
employment legislation, are crucial for Coca Cola and other organizations to achieve
sustainable growth and maintain a competitive advantage.

Reference

Chanda, A., & Shen, J. (2009). HRM strategic integration and organizational
performance. Los Angeles: Response Books.

Coca Cola (2012). Annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. Washington, DC: SEC.

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Compton, R. L., Nankervis, A. R., & Morrissey, W. J. (2002). Effective recruitment &
selection practices. North Ryde, NSW: CCH Australia.

Latham, G. P. (2007). Work motivation: History, theory, research, and practice.

Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.

Noe, R. A., & Noe, R. A. (2012). Human resource management: Gaining a

competitive advantage. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Scheuer, S. (2000). Social and economic motivation at work: Theories of work

motivation reassessed. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press.

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