CIA 1 

IDENTIFICATION OF FUNCTIONS, PROBLEMS AND DECISIONS ON

MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE

Submitted by:

Sugandh Baruah                2027401

Roushan Kumar                    2027409

Abisheakkumar B          2027428

Someswara Varma S        2027433

Sharma M             2027432

Thamirabharani SS 2027457

                                             

                                                                    MBA E

Submitted to:

PROF. VILAS ANNIGERI

  

CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)

October 2020
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Currently, manufacturing industry is facing an investment and consumption crisis. The

regulatory laws, unfavourable land and labour laws, inadequate connectivity, communication,
energy infrastructure etc., are some of the other issues faced by this sector. Also,
transportation is costly and slow when compared to developed nations.

FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Employer - Employee relationship

Employees are the ambassadors of an organization. It is very crucial for a business that they
value and reward their employees on a regular basis. As a manager one should always listen
to their employee’s ideas and concerns in order to maintain good relationships.

EXAMPLE:

The business had a serious problem with employee - employer relationship. The head was not
ready to take suggestions from the employees, though his son was constantly complaining
about the quality products manufactured. There was a poor communication between
employees, they were not informed about the changes or decisions regarding the business.
The major decisions were taken by two people without giving any prior knowledge to
workers. To mitigate the existing problem a separate dining hall was built after reconstruction
were the employees can dine together which helps them mingle with each other and stay
coordinated.

Performance Management System

Performance management system is the process which helps the organization to track and
monitor the performance of the employees by setting individual and team goals which meets
the strategic goals of the organization. In addition, it helps in ensuring productivity, annual
performance and in reviewing the entire business which facilitates the owner to find out the
non- performing areas in the business and take necessary actions.

EXAMPLE:

From the video we can depict that there was no proper work in progress report maintained.
Which made the owner of the business difficult to keep track of their work. The employees
were ambiguous of their roles and responsibilities. Their financial statements were not
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maintained properly. Which is one of the reasons for decline in productivity of the Grafton
furniture.

Human resource planning

Human resource planning is one of the important functions. It helps the organization in
identifying the present and future demand of human resources to achieve organizational
goals. It should disclose the selection criteria and need for development and training.

EXAMPLE:

Grafton furniture in order to meet their goal of making best furniture within a stipulated time
they have planned to work with 28 employees, who are capable of working in the areas of
designing, building and painting.

Industrial relations

In this function HR manager has to maintain and develop the relationship with other
employees. Maintaining good relationship with the employees helps to solve the problems
quickly and they can be easily guided towards the organisation goal.

EXAMPLE:

In the Grafton Furniture there is no proper communication between Steve and his son Steven.
They had lot of miscommunication. Earlier no proper job description allocated for Steven
later Steven had the rights to direct the company but Steve always interrupt Steven while
taking decisions.

Resource allocation

In Resource allocation the HR manager has to allocate the available resources

optimally to attain maximum efficiency. By doing so, the company can reduce costs and
time. The company who uses their available resources optimally can attain their goal.

EXAMPLE:

In the Grafton furniture they are not properly using their resources and also they didn’t
change the old machine which was explained by Marcus as it gets damaged it affects the
other process too eventually it was a time consuming. Later when Marcus made deal with the
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company their organisation structure changes and new machinery equipment were bought
and now each employee in the organisation were provided with the available resources and
they were more focussed towards their goal.

PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED 

Unclear and conflicting job roles:

The company had unclear and conflicting job roles for example in this case George assumed
that he was responsible for installation delivery and payrolls but whereas according to the
company his job role was limited to installation and delivery.  Further it can also be noted
that Stephen and his father Both demanded contradictory tasks from the employees this
created a conflicting job role for the employees.

Work environment and ambience:

When there is no enough space to work people lose their interest in working. Grafton
furniture has not taken any previous steps in making a spacious environment for the labours.
The production space seemed to be messed as they had all the fabrics, equipment, materials
and saw dusts all over them that labours can be uncomfortable while doing the job. Workers
should be given their own working space. The ambience was so poor which also was a cause
of inefficiency of the business

Improper utilization of resources/ outdated facilities:

Proper resource utilization gives an edge to the profit of the company but the company’s
resource utilization costs the company from their profit. The Company did not have enough
space for manufacturing but on the other hand they had a showroom that basically didn't have
any item that can be sold this showed their inefficiency in utilising their resources adding to
this the company had outdated machineries that increased the manufacturing cost.

Lack of perfection:

Working on few customers request Grafton was pushed to deliver products before a product
was completely processed. In the video it was clearly shown that the cushions were bulged to
one side, the glue used took time to fix itself with the chair was delivered and was returned
back on account of damage. The quality was not up to the mark where Stevie himself was
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disappointed when he found those in times of deliveries. Hence, he was finally appointed as a
quality check manager to make sure their products had a golden touch before handed over to
their customers.

Digitalized data storage:

Grafton industry being an old industry as stated was not very much updated in digitalized
network of the world we live in. The data, design, account related documents and all financial
activities were stored in a computer with no secure or backup. Once when the computer is
crashed there is no way to bring back or process the lost data.

Limited group of clients:

The company only had a limited group of clients they followed the traditional method and so
the company did not have a proper website which made it impossible for a company to sell
their products online this limited scope in market capture.

Improper management:

Steve’s knowledge about the management of the company was very vague. He did not know
the time required to finish a furniture nor had any documents such as work in progress to
estimate the time taken to produce a product. Moreover, Steve did not know his profit margin
this shows that the company did not maintain proper financial statements.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Training:

Grafton furniture as we know worked with outdated machineries and later after Marcus
entered the machineries were replaced so this would require the employees to gain
knowledge on how to handle them. So, training the workforce would be the key here to keep
up with the requirements.

Defined job roles:

Unclear job roles created confusion among the employees for example employees were not
clear about who the reporting authority was nor where they clear about their own job roles. 
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This will not only create confusion among the employees but also will reduce the
productivity and so it is an important function of HR to clearly define the job roles.

More People Are Renting:

Rising home prices, apprehension from the burst housing bubble, rising student debts, and the
delay of millennials to get married or start their own families are some of the reasons owning
a home is not a priority, as yet, for some Americans.  Renters are likely to look for more
affordable furniture options in the same manner as landlords will opt for more cost-effective
furnishings for their home rentals, with a growing number renting their furnishings rather
than outright buying them. A growing trend also is leading toward consumers shopping for
smaller furniture to fit their rental homes or apartments where space may be at a premium. To
turn this challenge into an opportunity, it is recommended to add more items to their
inventory of inexpensive, streamlined or multipurpose furniture to suit these smaller living
spaces, as multifunctional furniture is rapidly gaining popularity.

Single-Person Households are Increasing

Single-person households are expected to have a great increase in recent times. Smaller
households are opting to live in apartments or smaller homes. This calls for the demand of
smaller homes, an increase in availability of more modular, space saving and multifunctional
usage of furniture. Considering both as challenge we can take up this opportunity in creating
new designs in addition to the portfolio of offerings and further promoting their brand.

Different Generations Have Different Lifestyles

The bulk of the furniture market is composed of millennials and different generation. The
Grafton furniture was also known as a three-generation processed industry. With lower
disposable income and higher levels of debt, millennials tend to delay the decision to start a
household which poses a potential .They also have different shopping habits than other
generations and tend to prioritize more sustainable product purchases. This generational
demography of consumers calls for furniture manufacturers to diversify their products to
cater to the specific needs of each group. While this may mean additional investment on new
design and innovation, it also creates new possibilities for additional revenue sources and a
motivation to embrace more sustainable processes and resources.
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Online Retailing

Online retailing has been around for some time which will continue to be a preferred buying
channel for millennials in particular. With instant access to catalogues and price lists,
customers have a clearer idea of what they want. For manufacturers, the increase in online
shopping means an opportunity to sell to online retailers that are not limited to a physical
geographic area. Not all is lost for store owners if they start embracing online and mobile
technology and deploy them in their physical stores as online retailing has taken a good
portions of market shares.

Innovation is critical to the future of furniture manufacturing. The steady growth prospects of
furniture manufacturing industries have attracted a host of companies to introduce innovative
furniture creations. A quick search on YouTube can result in videos that show furniture that
can be assembled in minutes without tools or multifunctional furniture that converts or
includes hidden storage. And a furniture manufacturer has designed smart furniture that is
able to monitor and record health-related data, such blood pressure, breathing, heart rate and
body temperature which made its trend set worldwide.