ORGANISATIONS, PEOPLE & PERFORMANCE Assignment | Online Assignment Help

MODULE TITLE: ORGANISATIONS, PEOPLE & PERFORMANCE

Glaxo Smithkline

This assignment is based on glaxo smithkline.

It is important to read the following briefing notes carefully before starting your assignment and make sure that you adhere to the brief, aligning your answer to the questions set.

This post-module assignment is designed to allow you to demonstrate your learning from the topics covered on the module and from your further reading and self- study.

The task below is based on glaxo smithkline.

This will illustrate your understanding and application of some of the theories, frameworks and tools covered in the module. You are also expected to research the organisation using any information about the organisation from the public domain to include company literature, web sources, newspaper articles, and in particular scholarly journals.

The word count for this assignment is 4,000 words. Please show the word count in your assignment and note that any work over 4,000 words may be disregarded. (WMG guidelines on word count can be seen on the intranet)

Please align your answer with the following brief:

Please produce a Strategic Framework.

Place the Strategic Framework at the front of your PMA after the tables of contents (and table of figures/tables, as relevant), and before your answer to Q1
Please note: a marking penalty will apply if the Strategic Framework is not included – please see the marking scheme

Figure 1: Example of Page 1 of the Strategic Framework (Boxes 1 & 2*)

*N.b.: Please ensure that you include your analyses for Box 2 in an Appendix

Figure 2: Example of Page 2 of the Strategic Framework (Boxes 3, 4, & 5)

Q1) For GSK please create an HR Strategy that is integrated with the business strategy.

In 2,000 words, ensure that you:

With reference to your strategic framework, critically examine the organisation’s competitive business strategy using relevant models and theories. Discuss the current and anticipated HR issues and challenges arising from this current business strategy. (Approx. 1000 words)
Create a Human Resource strategy for the case study organisation and give a reasoned justification of how this strategy will address these HR issues and challenges and is in alignment with the organisation’s business strategy. (To do this, critically analyse and apply Strategic Human Resource Management theory using the models and characteristics of SHRM. 1000 words)

Remember to use sourced evidence to support your argument

Q2: Choose ONE of the following applied to GSK:

Recruitment and Retention

Organisational Culture

Performance Management

Employee Engagement

In 2,000 words, using your choice from the above topics:

From a people management perspective, discuss why it is important for the organisation to address this area/challenge /issues of HR policy/practice, as part of its HR strategy. (Approximately 500 words)
Drawing on current academic theory relevant to your choice of question and using sourced case evidence where possible, critically evaluate the current state within the organisation and give a reasoned proposal for organisational practice in the future. (Approximately 1,500 words)

The Marking Scheme: please read carefully

The Marking Scheme and marking sheet can be seen attached.

Throughout the assignment you are expected to analyse academic theory in relation to the organisation in question. To demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the subject it is important that you make reference to relevant academic theory and models covered in the module and through further reading and self-study. By making clear links between academic theory and concrete examples of the organisation you can demonstrate that you have critically engaged with the material and deepened your understanding of key organisational constructs.

Remember this is an assessed piece of work and you are required to structure your assignment logically, with a clear introduction, the main body of the essay and then a conclusion followed by a list of references using the Harvard system.

Marks will be awarded for correct use of suitable references, identifying links between themes and theories, logical and sound arguments, and creative thinking. Presentation and layout is important in helping to support your ideas and to reinforce your arguments.

This assignment will account for 90% of your total marks for the module – the remainder (10%) being your in-module “FISH” score. You are expected to present your work as follows:

Font size and style: Arial 11 or 12

Line Spacing: 1.5 spacing

Alignment: Justify alignment

Organisations, People and Performance

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course Number and Name

Instructor’s Name

Due Date

Organisations, People and Performance atGlaxoSmithKline Plc

Q1: The Integration of GlaxoSmithKline’s HR Strategy to its Business Straategy

A) Critical Examination of the GlaxoSmithKline’s Competitive Business Strategy

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is a multinational company that was originally established in 2000 as a result of the merger between SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome. Today, with a total workforce of 99,347 employees, GSK ranks as the sixth-largest pharmaceutical company in the world. It specializes in the manufacture and supply of a wide range of human health products in different parts of the world. The London-based multinational currently operates worldwide with the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA), Germany, France, and Japan serving as its primary markets. Over the years, GSK has distinguished itself as a leader in the discovery, production, and sale of the over-the-counter medicines, nutritional products, oral health care, vaccines, and pharmaceuticals which serve as tuberculosis, anti-malarial, anti-retroviral, pentosan, and zentel drugs.

With an operating income of GB£33.754 billion (2019) and annual revenue of GB£6.961 billion (2019), GSK is, indeed, a force to reckon with in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. However, despite all this progress, GSK still has a lot do to do because an analysis reveals that the company operates in a market with lots of external challenges. According to Michael Porter’s Five Forces theory, the management of GSK should be keen on its strategies since the company is subject to the manipulation of the influences of the threats from established competitors, threats from new entrants, threats from the suppliers, threats from the clients, and threats from the substitutes (Smith &Jarisch, 2019). This, therefore, means that GSK is not operating smoothly. For it to strategically-position itself and enjoy a competitive advantage in the market, the management must come up with well-thought brilliant and feasible strategies.

That is something that must be done because the company has met and satisfied the diverse needs of its stakeholders including the suppliers, clients, and investors.

For GSK to enjoy a competitive advantage over its rivals like Sanofi, Merck, Bayer, Novartis, Pfizer, Sinopharm, Roche, Johnson & Johnson, and China Resources, it has been employing certain strategies. Such strategies include the use of responsible business; diversification of products, production of high-quality products that guarantee value for clients’ money; running a sustainable and cost-effective business; product differentiation; and enhanced research and extension. These are long-term strategies that the management of GSK has put in place to ensure that it penetrates the market, emerges as the best alternative for clients, and enjoy a competitive advantage over all its rivals (Ismail & Powell, 2016). For example, by investing in research and extension, the management looks forward to the discovery and production of the best pharmaceutical products that can be effective in addressing the health needs of its clients. Besides, through diversification, the management seeks to broaden its product line to ensure that it manufactures a variety of products that can meet the needs of all its clients as well as enable it to diversify risks and broaden its client base.

Human Resources Management Issues Encountered at GlaxoSmithKline

GSK’s strategies are commendable because they will enable it to attain the desired long-term goals. This will be possible because the company will manage to strategically-position itself in the market and be able to succeed and attain its goals. However, despite the brilliance and feasibility of these strategies, the truth is that they are not perfect. This is because they have some drawbacks that might hinder them from enabling the company to attain its much-desired goals. One way through which these strategies can hinder progress is that they interfere with the effective management of the company’s human resources. The employees have been feeling demotivated because:

First and foremost, the management of GSK does not involve the employees in the decision-making processes. Despite its stability, GSK has not been keen on incorporating the participation of the workers in the management process. Whenever making any decisions, the management tends to exclude the employees (Smith &Jarisch, 2019). This means that most decisions are unilaterally made by the top managers who, of course, have powers to determine whatever takes place in the company. The tendency is quite bad because it discourages many employees and hinders them from discharging their roles well. They feel demotivated and perceive the management to be exclusive and unnecessarily dictatorial. Such feelings lead to low productivity and high transition rates.

Secondly, GSK’s employees feel overworked. There are many occasions on which the employees have accused the management of overworking and compelling them to work for long hours. The problem of overworking arises because the company is not adequately-staffed. Certain departments do not have enough workers hence, the few available ones are forced to carry the burden without proper remuneration for the extra work done. The problem of overload arises because the company has been engaging in restructuring programs aimed at minimizing the costs of operations. Although such cost-cutting strategies are worth, they disadvantage the company’s efforts to create a favorable environment for its workers. The result is that they feel demotivated, perform dismally, and prematurely-terminate their contracts in pursuit of greener pastures elsewhere.

Last, but not least, GSK has not been effective in the management of a diverse workforce. There is a section of the company’s employees who feel that the management has been ineffective in cross-cultural management. That happens because, despite expanding its operations to different geographical locations with diverse cultures, the company has not been creating a cohesive environment that accommodates everyone. Employees have been accusing the management of engaging in favoritism and discrimination based on gender, race, and nationality (Ismail & Powell, 2016). This is something that should not be condoned because as a diverse company, GSK should be accommodative to diverse cultures. Since it serves clients regardless of their culture, it should also not use culture as a basis for discriminating against its workers. Instead, all of them should be given equal treatment since they have important contributions to make in the company. All these must be done because such a situation demotivates workers, deteriorates the performance, and quit the company for other lucrative opportunities.

B) Creation of GlaxoSmithKline’s HR Strategy in Line with its Business Strategy

GSK’s primary business strategy is to be the number one global pharmaceutical researcher, producer, and seller in the world. The company has long-term goals of becoming the leading pharmaceutical company in terms of quality productivity, market penetration, reputation, customer loyalty, profitability, and growth. For such strategies to be accomplished, the management of GSK must act right. Meaning, certain measures must be taken. One of the changes that must be made is that the management must reorganize the Human Resources Management (HRM) strategies. This is something that must be done because the employees constitute a significant component of the company’s resources that must be managed well for them to be as productive as required. In this regard, the management should consider adopting the following HRM strategies:

The management of GSK should improve on its talent-acquisition process and recruit the best pool of workers. Although the company has been making efforts to promote the culture of transparency and accountability in its hiring process, the truth is that there are many occasions when it has failed to recruit the best caliber of workers. This happens because some employees are not fit to be in the company. Such workers are not fit because they cannot cope up with the standards and the organizational culture. Because of this, they tend to perform dismally, do not meet the expected threshold, and resist changes introduced within the organization. At the same time, such employees find it challenging to work in a multi-cultural setting in which the company operates (Aman, Noreen, Khan, Ali & Yasin, 2018). Therefore, for all these issues to be ultimately-addressed, the management should ensure that the hiring process is thoroughly-done. The management can achieve this by outsourcing for the talent-acquisition process from reputable HRM firms. If this happens, the company can be assured of acquiring the best employees who possess the right attributes in as far as academic, professional, experiential, and the fundamental soft-skills are concerned. If the company gets the right employees, it can succeed in accomplishing all its long-term business goals.

The management of GSK should strategize its employee performance improvement strategies. To achieve this, the management should consider creating a favorable working environment for its workers. The first way through which this can be done is by ensuring that the employees are not overworked. All the employees should get an opportunity to work without a feeling of overburdening or exploitation. Meaning, each of the workers should be engaged for a few hours in line with the labor laws as well as the organization’s internal policies. In case of overtime, the employees should be commensurately-remunerated. The other strategy to adopt is to provide a proper remuneration package to all the workers. The salaries, allowances, and all the other incentives given to each employee should be progressive based on one’s levels of education, experience, and performance (Brewster, Vernon, Sparrow & Houldsworth, 2016). At the same time, the management should create a favorable working environment that can accommodate all the workers. This can be done by enhancing the culture of open communication, cross-cultural relations, and conflict resolution. The rationale behind these strategies is that they will enable the management of GSK to motivate all its workers regardless of their diversities. If the working environment is accommodative and conducive to all the workers, the employees can be motivated to be loyal, productive and work towards the achievement of the common organizational goals.

The management of GSK should strategize on how to retain its workforce. As already hinted, just like any other company in the market, GSK has been battling the problem of employee turnover. There are a large number of employees who do quit the company to seek better opportunities in other organizations. As already highlighted, such problems arise due to the inefficiencies in the HRM strategies so far employed in the company. Some employees quit the company because of a lack of recognition, poor remuneration, lack of welfare, and poor working conditions. This is, however, bad and must be eradicated because it negatively-impacts on the company. It hinders it from achieving its strategic goals since it makes the product to be inefficient and also increases the costs of operations. In this regard, to ultimately address these issues, the management, through the HRM department, should do everything possible to retain the employees. For this to happen, various strategies should be employed (Armstrong & Taylor, 2020). Apart from a proper remuneration, the management should recognize the workers and involve them in major decision-making processes. At the same time, the company should be concerned about the well-being of the workers, empower them, and support their career growth pursuits.

GSK has been trying to create an accommodative environment for its employees. However, from this analysis, there is enough justification that a lot still needs to be done because the current efforts are inefficient and ineffective. That is why the company has a high turn-over rate because there are employees who are demoralized and demotivated to serve the company. Therefore, to address all these, the management needs to apply the principles of strategic human resource management which emphasizes that the company needs to realign its HRM plans to its overall developmental goals and strategies. The strategic HRM goals should be focused on the acquisition, management, motivation, and retention of the best caliber of employees. GSK is an organization that relies on the services of highly-trained and professional personnel who can be relied upon to bring creative and innovative ideas to the company (Cascio, 2015). Thus, to minimize the costs of its operations, penetrate the market, enjoy a competitive advantage over its rivals, and emerge as the number one global pharmaceutical firm, GSK must reorganize its strategic HRM strategies and adopt these recommended strategies.

Q2: Employee Recruitment and Retention at GlaxoSmithKline

A) The Significance of Employee Recruitment and Retention Strategies at GlaxoSmithKline

GSK is an equal opportunity employer. Just like any other organization across the globe, it creates employment opportunities for thousands of people. According to the latest statistics, GSK has a workforce of 99,347 workers. These are employees who serve in different capacities and since GSK is a multinational, this workforce is composed of people from different parts of the world. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the management of GSK to ensure that it strategizes on how to hire and retain its workers.

This paper recommends that GSK should come up with appropriate strategies to hire its workers. The HRM department should have a well-organized plan on employee acquisition mechanisms. The hiring process should be vigorously-done to ensure that the company gets the best pool of employees on which it can rely upon to discharge its day-to-day operations. The reason why the company should improve its hiring process is that GSK is a company that relies on experts. It is a company that cannot just employ anyone but always seek for the best workers who possess the most suitable skills, experiences, academic, and professional qualifications. The employees who possess these qualifications are desirable because they can be productive in the company (DeCenzo, Robbins & Verhulst, 2016). They can use their knowledge to enable the company to produce the best quality products which can endear the company to the market and give it a competitive advantage over any other rival that might be dealing in the same line of production.

The paper recommends that the management of GSK should improve on its employee retention strategies. Employee retention is an issue that must be taken seriously because, over the years, the company has been dealing with the problem of employee turnover. Some workers have been quitting the company because they feel that it is not the best employer in the market. Such feelings arise because of many reasons that include poor working conditions, lack of employee support, and overall inefficient HRM strategies in the company. GSK should retain its workers because it is economical to do so. Besides, the company employs diverse workers who should be managed well. The workers are diverse in terms of culture, race, nationality, ethnicity, gender, and age (Marchington, Kynighou, Wilkinson & Donnelly, 2016). However, this notwithstanding, all these workers are important because they play a significant role in determining the success of the company. If it were not for the workers, the company would not be what it is today. Hence, they should be retained to allow them to serve the company for the longest period possible.

B) Critical Evaluation of the Current Employee Recruitment and Retention Strategies at GlaxoSmithKline

Current HR Practices

GSK is an established multinational with a distinct and fully-functional HRM department. The HRM department is important because it is solely-responsible for the acquisition and management of the human resources in the company. The existence of the HRM department can, therefore, be explained using the bureaucratic theory of organizational management. According to this theory, an organization should be sub-divided into semi-autonomous functional units each having well-defined roles, responsibilities, leadership, and boundary (Alexander & Huggins, 2012). The management has created a semi-autonomous HRM department that is equipped with the right resources, leaders, and personnel to enable it to discharge its functions to contribute towards the accomplishment of the organizational goals.

Over the years, the HRM department has been using its powers to discharge its mandate. As already hinted, the HRM department is mainly responsible for hiring as well as the management of the employees. This is necessary because the organization cannot operate without having a workforce. At the same time, the employees cannot be productive and beneficial if not managed well. Hence, to comprehend this concept, there are two theoretical frameworks that are applied: the strategic human resource management model and the SWOT analysis. The strategic human resources management model is applied in understanding the long-term plans that the HRM applies in the management of workers to achieve the collective organizational goals (Sparrow, Brewster & Chung, 2016). SWOT analysis, on the other hand, helps in understanding more about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the company’s HRM efforts. Each of these models is crucial because they provide an insight into the effectiveness of the company in the management of its employees.

According to the SWOT analysis conducted, it is evident that the management of GSK has a large and diverse workforce that is, of course, made up of 99,347 employees. However, despite all these, certain weaknesses need to be addressed. The first weakness is that the company has been quite inefficient in the hiring of workers. Although the hiring process is quite vigorous and lengthy, it is ineffective. There is enough evidence to prove that the hiring process is not as transparent and accountable as purported. There are many instances in which the hiring process has been accused of inequality. Such cases have arisen because of the involvement of the HRM personnel on misconduct such as favoritism and discrimination. The use of race, nationality, and gender as a basis of hiring the workers has deprived the company of an opportunity to get the right pool of workers that it deserves (Abd-Elaziz, Ezz, Papazafeiropoulou, Paul &Stergioulas, 2012). Apart from this, there is a problem with the poor onboarding process. Once hired, the new employees do not get the right training that can adequately-prepare them to be as productive as expected. Because of this, the employees end up performing poorly and not displaying their productivity as they ought to. Meaning, the company does not get value for its money and ends up having demoralized and less productive workers.

The other weakness is that the management of GSK has been inefficient in the retention of its workers. Although the management of workers is left in the hands of the HRM department, it justifiable to point out that the department has failed to do so. According to the analysis conducted, GSK has been facing a problem with a high rate of employee turnover. There are a large number of employees who leave the company because they feel that it does not serve them well. The analysis revealed that this happens because of many reasons. First, the company does not care so much about the well-being of its workers. Some workers are dissatisfied because the company does not provide them with the right support n as far as their well-being is concerned (Alexander & Huggins, 2012). Secondly, the company does not support the career growth for its workers. The chances of career growth are limited and not guaranteed. So, any employee who is interested in this end up being disappointed. Thirdly, the company does not offer good remuneration to the workers. Some employees feel exploited because the remuneration packages are performance-based, but not commensurate. Lastly, there are employees who not content because of the working conditions in the company. To such employees, they work for long hours and do a lot of work. Meaning, they are overburdened. These inefficacies demoralize employees and render them less productive.

Recommendations

From the analysis carried out, it is evident that the management of GSK has been trying its level best. Although the efforts of the HRM department are commendable, there is enough evidence to prove that the current HR strategies are not effective. How the company hires and retains its workers is not perfect. That is why there are so many discontented workers who feel unhappy, demotivated, and quit the company whenever they get an opportunity to do so. In this regard, this paper gives the following recommendations:

One, the management of GSK should have an organized HMR strategic plan to use to streamline its HR services. The strategic plan should be long term. And should contain all the useful strategies that can be applied to hire employees and retain them for the longest time possible. The strategic plan should provide a detailed strategy on exactly what the company should do to get the right employees who possess the most desirable qualities and attributes that can enable them to serve the company well (Alexander & Huggins, 2012). The strategic plan should also provide a comprehensive report on the strategies that the company should use to retain its workers. The plan should cover short and long-term strategies that should be implemented in the best way possible. The rationale for this recommendation is to provide an ultimate solution to the loopholes that have been identified in the company’s HRM strategies. It will streamline all the HR operations and ensure that they align with the organization’s goals. This recommendation should be adopted because the current HR policy is not effective and efficient in the management of the company’s personnel.

Two, the management should enhance the efficiency of the employee hiring process by liaising with a consulting HRM firm. Since the hiring process is ineffective, it can be a good idea if the process is handled by a consultant. There are many benefits that the company can get if it cooperates with a consultancy firm. The most important advantage is that the quality of the hiring process will be improved. There will be no more cases of poor employee hiring processes at the company. There will be no more cases of complaints that arise due to favoritism, discrimination, and the hiring of less qualified candidates at the expense of the best ones (Sparrow, Brewster & Chung, 2016). All these problems will come to an ultimate end because the consultant will be expected to conduct the hiring process in a transparent and accountable manner. However, for this to happen, the consultant should closely work in conjunction with the company’s HRM personnel. If this happens, all the problems that have been faced will come to an end. The result is that the company will get the right employees that can fit in and serve it well.

Three, the management should improve on the strategies that it uses in the motivation and retention of employees. As clearly-established from the analysis, the company has not been efficient in the management of its workers. This is the reason why there are so many employees who feel demotivated and end up severing their relationship with the company. Therefore, the change that the company should make is that it should motivate its workers. The motivation process should be done by taking several measures. In the first place, the company should be keen on the creation of a favorable working environment for all its workers. No employee should be overworked whatsoever. Besides, the company should be keen on how it rewards its employees. The employees should be commensurately-rewarded by giving them attractive salaries, wages, bonuses, allowances, and all the other necessary incentives (Schuler & Jackson, 2008). Apart from all these, the management should support and empower its workers. This should be done by recognizing the workers and involving them in the decision-making processes. At the same time, the company should give the workers equal chances of advancing their career and education pursuits. If these are done, the company will motivate the workers and retain them for the longest time possible.

It is, therefore, important to acknowledge that the efforts that GSK has been making towards the management of its workforce are inefficient. How the company hires and retains its workers is not perfect. In this regard, it can be a good idea if the management considers adopting these recommendations. It the changes are adopted, the company can succeed in hiring the best pool of workers who can serve it best. At the same time, it can motivate its workers and retain them for as long as they can. If this happens, the company will be more sustainable, productive, and prosperous than it currently is.

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