NMIMS Sem 4 April 2024 HRM Assignments

Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk

1) Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 150 companies by turnover. Locate the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report or ESG Report (under Statutory/Directors Report) in the Annual Report of 2022-23. Read through the following;

• Section C, Principle 3, 4 and 5 (in BRSR)
• Chairman and/or CEO’s letter (in annual report)
• Business strategy (in annual report)
• Risk management (in annual report)
• ESG performance (in annual report/ BRSR)
• Company website (ESG / sustainability)
• Sustainability/Integrated report (if available)

Collate the information disclosed under these 3 principles from all the above information sources and prepare an executive summary, in your own words, on the company’s philosophy, approach/policy, initiatives and social performance data that showcases its commitment towards its stakeholders, both internal and external.

2) Go through the ‘Management Discussion and Analysis’ section of the annual report of the company selected in Q1 and prepare an analytical write up on the Risk Management Framework of the company, select any three risks which according to you are critical for this company and explain why do you think they are critical and what are the mitigation strategies deployed by the company to effectively manage them.

3) You have studied Business Ethics as a structured subject for the first time.

a) Provide a personal observation as to how it has influenced/altered your perception and understanding of the process of doing business?

b) Explain three ways/examples in which you will apply ethical decision-making process/tools in your day-to-day business decision-making process, whatever be the type of your current business, function, role and designation.

Research Methodology

1. Shoppers stop is conducting an observational research study to analyze the behavior of shoppers in a retail store. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using a concealed versus unconcealed observation technique. Which technique should be used by Shoppers stop with relevant justification?

2. What is a mediating variable? How a mediating variable is different from moderating variable? Develop a conceptual model by analyzing literature to show the relationship of mediating and moderating variable.

3. Sebamed, a German-based specialist skincare company, has emerged as a formidable disruptor in the highly competitive skincare industry, significantly impacting Unilever’s longstanding dominance. Sebamed’s unwavering dedication to catering specifically to sensitive skin needs has resonated with a growing segment of health-conscious consumers seeking more gentle and hypoallergenic skincare solutions. By focusing on skin-friendly pH levels and leveraging dermatological research, Sebamed has established itself as a trusted brand among those seeking targeted skincare solutions. Their fierce advertising caused a lot of damage to Unilever. Sebamed’s success has posed a direct threat to Unilever’s skincare business, especially in markets where consumers increasingly prioritize natural and skin-friendly products. Acknowledging the disruption caused by Sebamed, Unilever recognized the importance of addressing consumer demand for more natural and sensitive skincare products.

a. Develop a questionnaire to survey the consumer’s preferences and expectations from skin care product.

b. Conduct a primary data collection from 10-15 respondents and present the findings.

Strategic HRM

Q.1 UNI HR Consulting is experiencing growth and expansion in its services. As a result, the company is seeking to identify and develop potential leaders who can contribute to the organization’s continued success. The leadership team is concerned about talent gaps that may emerge as current leaders approach retirement or take on new responsibilities. How can structured career pathing program in the context of strategic career management benefits both employees and the organization?

Q.2 GlobalTech Solutions is a multinational technology company that specializes in providing IT solutions to various industries. The company has a diverse workforce spread across different regions. As GlobalTech Solutions continues to expand its operations, the HR department plays a crucial role in aligning HR practices with the company’s strategic goals. What criteria should GlobalTech Solutions consider when evaluating potential outsourcing?

Q.3 Neuro is a medium-sized technology firm operating in the software development industry. The company had been experiencing challenges in attracting and retaining top-tier talent due to increased competition and rapidly evolving technological challenges. The leadership recognized the need for recruitment and selection processes to better align with their strategic goals and compete effectively in the market.

Questions

a. Explain the process of recruitment to be adopted by Neuro to better align with their strategic goals and compete effectively in the market.

b. Discuss the strategic issues that occur in the recruitment process, which Neuro needs to be aware of.

Employee Development & Talent Management

Q1. In order to obtain a competitive edge, the Microsoft Corporation uses its human resource practises and policies as a strategy to propel both the general success of the business and its globalisation initiatives. You want to establish a strong talent management practise for your business as the HR head of the company. What steps will you follow for an effective Talent management system in the company?

Q2. ABC Pharmaceuticals has an employee strength of 4500. They conduct the employee survey regularly to assess the satisfaction level of the employees and offer benefits and solution. According to a recent poll by the company’s human resources department, the employees have low morale and express a lot of irritation and unhappiness. Trade unions are taking advantage of the circumstance. Hence, the management of the company wants to take steps for boosting up the morale of the employees. Suggest the strategies that the company can adopt to motivate its employees.

Q3. Swati Gupta recently completed her fourth year with Microsoft Services Corporation. In her position as customer support specialist, she consistently received high performance evaluations -until recently. Indeed, her most recent evaluation, completed three weeks ago, rated her as “less than satisfactory.” Her supervisor, Nootan Katira, wondered why this previously strong employee had fallen so quickly.

Nootan had just returned from a meeting with her boss, Khushbu Sanon, when again the subject of Swati came up. Khushbu suggested that Nootan look through Swati’s past work-records to try to find some clues about what happened and what they should do now.

Nootan closed the door to her office, sat at her desk, and pulled Swati’s personnel folder from her desk drawer. As she flipped through the materials in the folder, Swati’s story came into better focus. About six months ago, Swati started taking longer lunch breaks given the cramped quarters in which Nootan’s Customer Support Department worked and the demanding routines they had to follow, it was easy to notice her stretching her regular lunch period by 10 or 15 minutes. Once she even stretched it for a full 25 minutes. Since it was the holiday season, Nootan took no specific action. However, her occasional remarks reminding Swati of the lunch break schedules would produce an uncharacteristically evasive, defensive response from Swati. On at least two occasions, she nodded off to sleep at her desk after returning from lunch.

The pattern of lateness continued. Nootan also began to notice that Swati had real difficulty completing her work, making decisions and solving her problems. She even had arguments with several co-workers. Nootan could see that a previously valued and productive member of her department had for some reason, fallen well below accepted work standards and believed that high level of employee engagement is required in the company which is possible only when employee is happy and satisfied with his/her job and is willing to go extra mile.

3a. As a strategist specialized in HR, suggest the strategies to enhance employee engagement in the company

3b. Assume that Swati Gupta was unable to balance her work and family life and therefore she behaved irresponsibly. What work-life balance initiatives can be taken by the company to help employees like Swati overcome stressful situations and create high organisational commitment?

International HR Practices

Q1. Acme engineering is Mumbai, India-based heavy engineering company specializing in transformer manufacturing and setup projects. It’s now planning to set up a project management office in Warsaw, Poland. For this, a team of 15 project experts will move from India and 2 from France to Poland, including a senior manager from France. What are the pre-departure and post-arrival training you will plan for the team? What could be the top 3 challenges you as HR Manager foresee after the movement is completed to Poland?

Q2. S.MIA limited is a leading Pharma company from Ahmedabad that has recently expanded internationally. The Board of Directors is planning and standardizing the Performance Management Policies in about 50 International offices of the company. Before finalization, the Board wants to identify the possible issues and challenges that the HR department might face while implementing an international performance management system.

You as an HR may encounter issues while designing and implementing the company’s Standardized Performance Management system. What are the issues and challenges you come across in 50 nations? Discuss each in detail.

Q3.Super solutions is an organic dye manufacturing company, headquartered in Faridabad, India. Their environment and skin-friendly dyes are in high demand with Indian and global fashion houses, especially in Mumbai and US. They are a small firm of 100 employees. They have got into a 20 years contract to fulfill the requirements of a new fashion house in Milan (Italy). As per the terms of the contract, they need to have 2 researchers, 3 quality experts, 2 logistics managers, and 1 customer relationship manager based exclusively at customer HQ in Milan. Super solutions have decided to go for local candidates as it will be cost-effective and also in line with govt guidelines to promote local talent. You are associated as an HR consultant.

a. Before you start the recruitment planning process, what all the information do you need to acquire?

b. How will you decide on the recruitment strategy and choice of hiring a talented individual from the international labor market? Please detail the step-wise plan to fulfill these needs.