Human Resource Management: Academic

3000 words, Properly referenced: Harvard style (in-text) Essay question: Human Resources Management involves the strategic planning and management of employees to create a productive and motivated workforce. The retail industry poses particular HR challenges because employees deal directly with customers, therefore both short-term and long-term HR objectives must be considered when addressing these challenges. According to Armstrong (2009), the practice of human resource management (HRM) is concerned with all aspects of how people are employed and managed in organisations. It covers activities such as strategic HRM, human capital management, corporate social responsibility, knowledge management, organisation development, resourcing (human resource planning, recruitment and selection, and talent management), performance management, learning and development, reward management, employee relations, employee well-being and health and safety and the provision of employee services. Given their current challenges, UK retailers, Tesco and Next may need to adapt and restructure in order to meet their strategic goals. Analyse the activities identified by Armstrong using relevant HRM theories and suggest ways in which relevant HRM concepts and theories can be applied to ensure that they achieve these goals. Guidance on answering assessment questions: Your assignment should conform to an essay writing style NOT a report. You must start with an introduction and aim to address all aspects of the question in separate paragraphs. Your essay must not exceed 3,000 words Learning outcome 1. Analyse core concepts and theories in HRM 2. Use of theories to explore possible challenges and solutions to resolve practical issues in HRM.