Individual Report

• There are specific questions for you to address at the end of the case study. You should prepare a 2000 word case study report that addresses the following points:

Analysis:

1.From an HR perspective, what are the positive and negative aspects of the acquisition? Your analysis should include specific consideration of workplace flexibility, the structure of the HR department, and consistency.

2.From a Resource-Based View perspective, what are the key resources that Wordsmiths stands to gain from the acquisition? Are there any resources that are at risk?

3.In your opinion, has the HR management processes in Wordsmiths followed more of a universalist approach, or a contingency approach? Provide some specific examples that illustrate your argument.

Recommendations:

4.Would you recommend that Wordsmiths adopts the Mainly Books system of devolving recruitment to store managers? Are there any specific obstacles you can identify that may impact on store managers’ ability to carry out these functions? Would you also recommend that other HR functions (such as training, performance management, and conflict management) be handled by store managers, or should some of these functions remain under the control of a centralised HR department?

5.It is expected that there will be some negative sentiments in the former Mainly Books outlets following a downsizing process. What are some strategies you would recommend Wordsmiths implement to improve employee engagement in these stores?

6.In the current global context, where all retail industries have been significantly impacted by a global pandemic, what HR processes, activities, policies, or would you recommend Wordsmiths pursue? Your recommendations should include specific consideration of change management concepts and theories.

Solution

Question one

Human resource management or development entails the planning, implementation, recruitment management, selection, training, and organizational advancement initiatives of its employees. The optimal goal of personnel management is the maximization of productivity of an entity through optimizing the effectiveness of its workforce (Armstrong and Taylor 2020).

Question two

The resource-based view theory is a managerial structure that is used to establish strategic resources that an organization can seize to accomplish a sustainable competitive edge. Both tangible and intangible assets are instrumental to the pursuit of organizational goals and objectives in the long run (Bromiley and Rau 2016).

Question three

The universalist approach to human resource management asserts that some personnel administration activities tend to be superior to others. It adds that such practices generate the optimal organizational output in any entity and hence create more effective results attached to organizational performance (Ferreira 2016)……………………………….To access the rest of the solution for $10, please click on the purchase button.