HRM3704 Assignment 3 (QUALITY ANSWERS) Semester 2 2024

This document contains workings, explanations and solutions to the HRM3704 Assignment 3 (QUALITY ANSWERS) Semester 2 2024. For assistance whats-app us on 0.6.8..8.1.2..0.9.3.4... SAFSI is a financial services company that specialises in providing insurance services to companies and individuals in the form of retirement annuities, and investments. They also have a section that offers car, home and life insurance. SAFSI boasts of good profits yearly. SAFSI’S HR Director, Reinhard was appointed two years ago after senior management and the board realised that there were challenges caused by the absence of a full HR representative at the senior management level. Reinhard sits at senior management meetings but also heads the HR function of SAFSI. HRM3704: Assignment 03 Semester 02 (2024) 6 He has proven to be a good choice. He holds degrees in HR and general business management, apart from his vast experience in HR, he has also led supply chain and finance units in various organisations. The senior management sees Reinhard as relevantly qualified as he is not only an HR generalist but also a business generalist. This has been witnessed in his advice to senior management on matters related to finance and SCM, however, the finance manager has not always been happy with his suggestions related to matters of finance, in his words, he said “Reinhard, kindly keep in your lane finance matters are mine and I am specialist in that field”, but other managers have always welcomed Reinhard’s ideas on finance. He has been well supported by senior management in his initiatives like the establishment of a proper employee development unit which includes talent management as its subunit. Employee development was not done properly because many employees struggled to attend training on relevant courses and workshops that would assist them in their performance because of poor or inadequate funding. The excitement of senior management about the establishment saw them asking Reinhard to infuse the internal training of leaders in his employee development portfolio. They wanted it to be internal because it would be led by senior management and the CEO. They would be fully involved in training other leaders of SAFSI. They wanted to have small groups of leaders in each session so that the CEO and senior management would share their vision and culture of the organisation with other leaders. There were other challenges Reinhard had to face head-on, one of them was a challenge related to selection and appointments. SAFSI seemed to select and appoint individuals who had challenges in performance, and who would also not be committed to their work. These employees seemed to show signs of being reluctant stayers. The other major challenge that he faced earlier this year was when one of the former majority union did not want to accept that they were no longer a majority union because their position had been taken by another union. They demanded meetings with management and the meetings were characterised by anger and serious opposing views at first, the union with now fewer numbers thought that management was behind the reduction in their numbers and were working with the now majority union to oust them by distorting their numbers. Management did not lose hope that a solution would be found and they continued to engage the aggrieved union through a series of meetings. The HR director and senior management were able to communicate the issue of decreased numbers of the said union intelligently and politely and provided them with correct data on their dwindling numbers. The HR director also told union members that the data he presented to them was freely available to union leaders on the company’s website. They also told them that the union must trust management as the vision of SAFSI is to ensure employees are treated well as they are an important resource at SAFSI. Furthermore, the HR director and senior management told the aggrieved union that their vision therefore extends to allowing union participation without favouring any one union but as management, they must make sure that they remain fair. This means that a union whose numbers have made it number one, that union must be given a chance to take their number one position. They went on to appreciate the engagements the unions had with management in trying to resolve this matter. They also encouraged the aggrieved union to investigate their leadership styles and the real cause of the reduction in the number of their members and find solutions. Seven months later, the situation seems to have calmed down, it looks like the aggrieved union has buried the hatchet and has accepted that their numbers have dwindled, and business is as usual at SAFSI. Source: Primary lecturer, 2024 1.1 Considering the challenges faced by the SAFSI concerning the actions of the former majority unions, discuss the competencies of leadership that HR leaders and senior management require and support your response with relevant examples. (2 marks for theory and 2 marks for application) (4). 1.2 Critically discuss the relationship between strategic management and strategic human resource management at SAFSI. (4) HRM3704: Assignment 03 Semester 02 (2024) 7 1.3 Debate the merits of a relevant best-practice approach to strategic human resource management at SAFSI with the selection and appointments. (3) 1.4 Explain the basic principles of strategic human resource management (SHRM) that were applied at SAFSI’s strategic HRM level. (4) 1.5 Discuss the resource-based view as one of the foundational theories that inform contemporary strategic human resource management in relation to the challenges of employee development at SAFSI. (4) 1.6 Critically analyse transformational leadership as one organisational model of leadership in relation to how the HR Director and senior management addressed the challenges of a union with dwindling numbers and provide relevant case study examples to support yourself. (8) 1.7 Discuss the leader management role of senior management that is depicted in their interaction with the former majority union. (1) 1.8 What successful leadership qualities were displayed by management in their communication with the former majority union? (1) 1.9 Discuss techniques of leadership training and development that are depicted in the case study and say if they can be useful or not.