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Assignment 1/ Assignment 2

Program / Intake : Bachelor of Business Studies / Intake 47

Pathway: Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Student Name: Ng Choi Peng Student Number: 14211113

Module: Human Resource Management ( HRM2001S )

Lecturer/

Tutor:

Dr Chang Chen Sheng Grade:

DECLARATION: I hereby declare that the attached assignment is my own work. I understand that if I am suspected of plagiarism or another form of cheating, my work will be referred to the Academic Registrar/ or the Board of Examiners, which may result in me being expelled from the program.

Signed: ___________________________________ Date Submitted: 09 JUL 2015

Acknowledgment of Assignment Receipt

(Students are required to fill up this acknowledgment slip upon submission of assignments)

Student Name: Ng Choi Peng Student Number:14211113

Program / Intake: Bachelor of Business Studies / Intake 47

Module: Human Resource Management (HRM2001S) Assignment 1 / Assignment 2

Lecturer: Dr Chang Chen Sheng Received by: ________________________________

National University of Ireland, Dublin

Bachelor of Business Studies (Logistics and SupplyChain Management)

Intake 47Group: (D)

Module: Human Resource Management (HRM2001S)

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Essay Title: Kim Ann Engineering Pte Ltd HRM Strategies andimpact on the company’s competitive strategy

Submitted by: Ng Choi Peng

Student Number: 14211113

Lecturer: Dr Chang Chen Sheng

Submission Date: 09 Jul 2015

Word Count: 1827 words

Contents Page

Assignment Submission Form……………………………………………………………………………...1

Assignment Cover Page…………………………………………………………………………………….2

Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………………………...3

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………4

Body of Contents1) What is competitive strategy? What is differentiation strategy? What is strategic human resource management………………………………………………...…….....52) Kim Ann HRM strategies and their impact on company’s competitive strategy

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I. Job analysis and design II. Training and development III. Performance management................................................................................................................6-9

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………...10

Reference lists……………………………………………………………………………………………..11

Plagiarism Certificate…………………………………………………………………………………...…12

Introduction

Kim Ann Engineering Pte Ltd built up their business in 1974 of

buying and selling general engineering steel. However, due to a lot ofPage | 4

competition in those days, Mr Lau moving business into the supply of

specialised steel and different kind of metal such as copper, they

took this step to cater to the strong demand from its oil and gas and

precision engineering customers. Kim Ann’s key strategy at that time

is to be well-diversified. In the late 1980s, Mr Lau ventured abroad

with the business. He took the plunge and set up overseas offices,

first in Malaysia then following by Indonesia and Philippines. Then,

in the late 1990s, Mr Lau diversified the business by started to

provide specialised steel to new industry segments such as aerospace

engineering and electronics.

Nowadays, Kim Ann Engineering Pte Ltd is a "one-stop supply

service centre" offering a comprehensive range of specialty metals and

related value-adding services such as metal cutting, sizing, machining

(such as blanking, milling, grinding) and heat treatment to

differentiate from other organizations’ services provided. The

differentiation strategy of “one-stop supply service centre” are bring

about their customer base consists of industrial players from the

Electronics, Oil & Gas, Precision Engineering, and Aerospace/Defense

segment. Kim Ann is proud to be the leading Oil & Gas and Aerospace

metal stock centre in Singapore with a strong market presence in Asia

Pacific and their sales extends to more than twenty countries world-

wide.

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What is competitive strategy?

According to Patidar’s (2013) research, competitive strategy can

be defined as the "plan for how a firm will compete, formulated after

evaluating how its strengths and weaknesses compare to those of its

competitors. Competitive strategy consists of the actions which are

taken to attract customers, to withstand the competitive pressures of

the market and also to help and strengthen the firm's market position.

The main objective of the competitive strategy is to gain a

competitive advantage over organisation's rivals. The competitive

advantage can be either greater customer value than the competitors or

higher operational efficiency than the competitors, or both.

What is differentiation strategy?

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Differentiation strategy is a kind of strategy that an

organization provide unique product or service to customer and unable

imitated by other organization. This strategy deemed by customer to

distinguish products or services with the competitors. These unique

feature makes the product different from the competitors' products and

adds value to it. This added value allows the producer to charge a

premium price for its product because of the product or services

unable imitated.

What is strategic human resource management (SHRM)?

According to Noe et al. (2015), strategic human resource

management is the pattern of planned Human Resource activities and

deployments intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals.

Strategic management is a process to address the organization’s

competitive challenges.

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Kim Ann HRM strategies and their impact on company’s competitive

strategy

Human resource management is the most crucial organizations'

department that manage those complicated employees' problems,

especially when the organizations are operating in highly competitive

and uncertain environments. Strategic of HRM emphasis on developing

and implementing policies and strategies in order to get the desired

output.

1. Job analysis and design

From text book, Noe et al.(2015) propose that job analysis

is the process of getting detailed information about jobs.

It is includes responsibilities, skills, qualification,

experience and hence summing-out the job description to

demonstrates who can be fit for the job.

For example, while HR analyse job for position of heat

treatment worker, they required to getting detailed

information about the job. All this detailed information

need list and sort out in the job analysis and making

decision about what task should be grouped into a

particular job. An output of job description must state

clearly about the responsibilities of the job is contain

higher risk because of those equipment with oil or gas

quench capabilities. They need a worker's correlation

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skills to handle furnace’s scrap, knowledge about steel,

qualification of professional or heat treatment skill and

experience of operate heat treatment furnace. Otherwise,

at least they will need have a basic knowledge regarding

to heat treatment process. This requirement can be match

with the applicant who have same background and easier HR

upon recruitment and selection, this would help Kim Ann

select a potential employees who is capable and conform to

their requirement

A job analysis and design will help to output a clear job

description, those hired employee know their job scope

well and similarity background or experienced could

shorter their on-job-training period. Hence, they are able

provide faster and better product quality at the shortest

time once they are clear about firm’s mission and vision.

At the same time, they are provide value-added services

and good customer service. Kim Ann emphasize their firm as

a “one-stop supply service centre”, in the other words,

they can provided steel and value added service in

shortest time and better price to achieve customer

satisfaction and gain market value. This is useful in

assist them expand more business and service globally.

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2. Training and development

It had been defined that (Noe et al.,2015) training refers

to a planned effort by a company to facilitate learning of

job-related competencies, knowledge, skills, and

behaviours by employees. The goal of training is for

employees to master the knowledge, skills and behaviours

emphasized in training and apply them to their day-to-day

activities. Training can be in form of formal training,

informal training and continuous training.

As a customer service staff of Kim Ann, they should have

acquaintance to firm’s mission and vision, firm’s culture

and competitors, firm’s products and service provided, and

last but not least is communication skills. However, firm

do not provide any formal training regarding to activity

above, new customer service staff always guided by a

senior staff, as long as the senior staff had been worked

at Kim Ann more than six months. Kim Ann’s training method

usually is on-job-training by guidance of senior staff,

they based on their experience to guide new staff. Under

this circumstances, it might prompt one problem but have

different solutions. End up, customer will feel

uncomfortable with and lost confidence to firm due to

procedure are not standardized. Over past few year, Kim

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Ann's HR didn't conduct any formal training for senior

staff, this lead them do not have updated information

regarding to new products, new sales procedure, operate

Microsoft application. Their current daily operation is

only manage quotation and order but without interaction

with customers. Communication is the way can build rapport

with customer, as times passes, if customer do not feel

staff passion and enthusiasm, firm will be lost customer

gradually.

Without training, staff will be lacking of task knowledge,

unskilful, worst working attitude, lack of motivation of

learning and innovation in the job development. All these

causes will drag down learners' learning mentality and

lost their informal training which learner initiated

involves action and doing which is motivated by an intent

to develop. Hence, they are unable continuous learning

which requires employees to understand the entire work

process, expects them to acquire and apply new skills, and

shared what they have learned. It act against their

mission, mission of focus on people development to meet

challenges of technological change in the knowledge-based

economy. This will strike their differentiate strategy

because formal training and continuous learning is

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important to staff of provide good customer service and

products knowledge in the shortest time. Hence, it can

achieved customers' satisfaction upon they get clear

information on products and services provided.

3. Performance management

According Noe et al.(2015), every company that seek for

competitive advantage through employees must be able to

manage the behaviour and results of all employees. Most of

firms believe that performance appraisal which an

organization gets information on how well an employee is

doing his or her job is only one part of the broader

process of performance management. Performance management

is the only crucial part which manager ensure that

employees’ activity and outputs are congruent with

organization’s goal.

Kim Ann's management level evaluate staffs' performance

appraisal procedure are not standard, they should carry on

staffs' self-performance appraisal, after then is

management level's evaluation. This action could let

management have an evaluation comparison between both of

them and staff. Through this performance management

process, management can identify whether firm accomplish

goals or objective. However, Kim Ann management evaluate

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staffs’ performance by using critical incidents approach

which require managers to keep record of specific

effective and ineffective performance. Staff performance

appraisal is evaluate by staffs’ skill and ability. For

example if there have only one staff manage a unit, but

another unit have two staff manage, it is unfair to

evaluate staff by use critical incidents approach, because

his or her ability and effort to manage a unit was

ignored. This appraisal classified as Halo and Horns

measurement which is use one criteria to judge overall

performance. And the appraisal is evaluated by department

manager without performance information sources such as

peers, subordinates, customer and staff own self. It seem

like the appraisal is bias and unfair. Upon face-to-face

performance appraisal interview, manager do only emphasize

on ineffective performance and do now suggest any

improvement to the staff.

One of the purpose of performance management is strategic

purpose should link employee activities with the

organization’s goal. This strategic implemented is lead

manager defining employees’ performance such as employees’

results, behaviours, characteristics and merit.

Performance management is critical for companies to

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execute their talent management strategy which manager use

to identify employees’ strengths and weakness which can

link appropriate training and development activities to

enhance their performance skill on job. At last but not

least, reward or incentives pay for good performance will

motivate staff and increase the quality and quantity of

productivity. If employees awareness with their strength

and weakness, effort and skill they put into job is most

probably higher than before performance appraisal and

management. At least, they will be aware in future time to

avoid same mistake happen, this will reduce mistake and

enhanced employees performance next year. Performance

management not only help evaluate staffs’ performance, it

also can help company achieved their strategy to sustained

competitive advantages at the same time.

Conclusion

Kim Ann Engineering Pte Ltd play a role as "one-stop supply

service centre" offering a comprehensive range of specialty metals and

related value-adding services to differentiate from other

organizations’ services provided.

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However, strategic of Human Resource Management must be align

with the differentiation strategy to achieve firm’s strategic goals

and mission. Beside the point of concerned with recruitment,

selection, learning and development, reward, communication, teamwork

and performance management, an organization's HRM must have to

consider the employees role and functionality which contribute to

organization strategy and competitive advantages.

While strategies or practices of Human Resource Management were

successful aligned with firm’s competitive strategy, this will bring a

firm unexpected achievement in sustained competitive advantages.

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Reference list:

1. Kim Ann Engineering Official Website <http://www.kimann.com/>

[Accessed : 10 Jun 2015]

2. Patidar,Manish.(2013). Marketing Notes-Defining Competitive

Strategy, eNotes MBA, 04 May. Available at:

<http://www.enotesmba.com/2013/05/marketing-notes-defining-

competitive-strategy_4.html> [Accessed : 10 Jun 2015]

3. Noe,Raymond A; Holleenbeck,John R; Gehart,Barry; Wright,Patrick

M(2015). Human Resource Management.Berkshire.McGraw-Hill Education

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MERGEFORMATINET Confirmation Certificate

Congratulations!

You have successfully completed the Library Plagiarism Quiz.

Student Name: NG CHOI PENG

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Student Number: 14211113

Date: 17th MAY 2015

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT (signature)………………………. HAS COMPLETED THE PLAGIARISM QUIZ

Remember that the confirmation certificate is a statement by you that you understand plagiarism and know how to avoid it. If you think that you do not understand plagiarism and how to avoid it after working through this tutorial, you should confer with your module coordinator, no matter what score you have obtained on the test.

Please print out this page and attach a copy of the certificate to the final page in all assignments you submit on each module as part of your programme(It is your responsibility to print the certificate, complete the information, sign it, and keep a copy of it for your records)

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