Unit Title: HRM

Unit No:

Student Name: Silviu-Titi Serghi

human resource management

1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

Company overview..........................................................................................................................4

LO1..................................................................................................................................................5

Description of the objectives and activities of HRM for planning and resourcing......................5

Description of the advantages and disadvantages of the employee selection approach..............7

Explanation of HR functions to attain business goals................................................................10

Evaluation of the pros and cons of the employee selection ways..............................................11

Critical evaluation of the employee hiring approach applying theory.......................................12

LO2................................................................................................................................................14

Explanation of the advantages of HRM practices within the business......................................14

Effectiveness of HRM practices to increase productivity and profitability...............................15

Description of methods used in HR practices............................................................................17

Evaluation of the application of methods..................................................................................18

LO3................................................................................................................................................20

Significance of employee connection to impact decision-making.............................................20

Description of the key components of employment regulations and its influence on HRM
decisions.....................................................................................................................................21

Examination of the key factors of employee affinity and regulations.......................................23

Analysis of the application of HRM system in the organization...............................................24

Explanation of logic for the implementation of HRM...............................................................25

Analysis of employee connection and HRM system impacting on decisions...........................26

LO4................................................................................................................................................27

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................33

References......................................................................................................................................34

2
 Introduction
Being a manager of the Human Resource Department different HR practices, functions are
required to perform for ensuring the performance of the employee. Firstly, the activities of HRM
have been described and then the ways of employee selection are discussed along with their
advantages and disadvantages. After that, the benefits and effectiveness of HR practices are
evaluated here. Then the significance of employee relations is discussed extensively. Lastly, the
key elements of employment legislation are demonstrated along with the application of HR
practices.

3
 Company overview
Thomas Cook Group is a famous travel company that is established in the year 1841. The
headquarter is situated in London, United Kingdom. The company serves around 23 million
people in different countries of the world. It has about 29,000 employees for running its
operation in 19 countries. The company aims to ensure the best customer experiences by
providing customized holiday packages. Thus, the organization is working consistently to satisfy
the customers and also to meet their expectations (Sezgin and Yolal, 2012).

Figure: Logo of Thomas Cook

Source: (Pinterest, 2010)

4
 LO1

Description of the objectives and activities of HRM for planning and

resourcing
Human resource management can be defined as the process of managing the employees of an
organization to achieve the goal of a business and it includes recruiting, selecting, training,
performance appraisal, etc. (Obeidat, 2012). As a manager of a renowned travel group named
Thomas Cook, the purpose of HRM in terms of resourcing for this company is describing below-

Purpose of HRM

 As a manager, hiring a skilled and best-suited employee is crucial to provide satisfaction

to the client of Thomas Cook and thus, it is one of the core purposes of HRM.
 HRM is needed to ensure training facilities to the employees for performing better to
achieve the target of the goal at Thomas Cook (Obeidat, 2012).
 As a manager of Thomas Cook, it needs to also ensure the communication of the
company policies to all levels of employees (Obeidat, 2012).
 The aim of HRM is also to provide employee satisfaction by giving motivation that will
enhance the service quality provided to the client of Thomas Cook.

Thus, as a manager at Thomas Cook, it can be said to resource the organization with skilled
employees and for getting the work done efficiently HRM works consistently.

Being a manager at Thomas Cook it needs to be ensured that the organization is resourced by
employees properly and thus workforce planning is a must. Workforce planning means the
process of analyzing the current employees, identifying the needs of the employees by analyzing
the gap, providing the organization with the appropriate employees in the future instantly at the
right department (Cania, 2014). As a manager, the functions performed by the HRM at Thomas
Cook are following-

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Planning: Planning means doing job analysis that refers to identifying the skills and knowledge
employee needs to possess for a specific position. As a manager of Thomas Cook while planning
for recruiting employees having the quality in dealing with clients needs to give priority.

Recruiting and selecting: By creating a pool of candidate desired candidates are selected end
deployed that is referred to as recruiting and selecting.

Training: To retain the value to the clients' employees are provided with the necessary training
at Thomas Cook (Cania, 2014).

Performance management: To ensure the quality service to the client of Thomas Cook as a
manager, employee work is monitored, performance is evaluated continuously to identify any
gap compared to the expected.

Employee relations: For managing a sound relationship with the subordinates proper
communication, motivation, etc. is ensured at Thomas Cook (Cania, 2014).

Functions of
HRM

Recruiting & Performance Employee

Planning Training
Selecting management relations

Figure 1: Functions of HRM

Source: Self-made

From the description of the purposes and functions of HRM, it is concluded that being a manager
at Thomas Cook all these functions are accomplished to achieve the discussed purposes. Without
playing these functions accomplishing HR activities to meet the goal will be difficult as this
human capital handles the client of Thomas Cook (Obeidat, 2012).

6
Description of the advantages and disadvantages of the employee selection
approach
Recruitment and selection mean identifying the need for employees, determining the quality
required, advertising, selecting suitable candidates, and employing them in their position. Before
the explanation of the recruitment approach, the source of recruitment is described that can be of
two types and these are describing below along with strengths and weaknesses-

Internal recruitment: When the vacancy post is filled with the employees within the
organization it is called internal recruitment (Aguinis and Bradley, 2014).

Pros

 It requires a short time to recruit as the manager can easily get all the necessary
information about the employee, little need to take an interview, saves time from CV
screening, etc.
 Internal recruitment lower the cost as there is no need for job advertisement, the cost of
checking the background of the potential employee, etc. (Aguinis and Bradley, 2014).
 Employees become more loyal as they are promoted within their organization and can get
the opportunity to expand their careers.

Cons

 The manager gets a limited pool of candidates to select the desired employee for a
specific position (Aguinis and Bradley, 2014).
 An internal employee gets used to the policy and procedure of the organization and thus
they are less likely to bring innovation in the existing process to accomplish work.

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External recruitment: When a vacant post is filled by hiring employees from outside the
organization it is called external recruitment (Guest, Paauwe, and Wright, 2012).

Pros

 Job advertisement creates the opportunity to create a pool of candidates and select
employees with desired skills and capabilities.
 Newly recruited employees bring new ideas in the organization and bring innovation.
 Through this employee with good quality and relevant experience are hired (Guest,
Paauwe, and Wright, 2012).

Cons

 It increases the cost because of doing a job advertisement, background checking, etc.
 It requires greater time as the HR department needs to screen all the CVs, needs to take
interviews of all the candidates, and so on (Guest, Paauwe, and Wright, 2012).

Both of the sources of recruitment has its advantages and disadvantages. As a manager of
Thomas Cook both of these sources are used for recruiting at different times according to the
need. While recruiting employees as a manager different approaches are considered at Thomas
Cook that are explaining here with strengths and weaknesses (Van Hoye, 2012).

Best Fit approach: This means that the functions of HRM will align the practice and the
environment of the organization.

Strengths

 By adopting this approach efficiency is gained as it aligns with the circumstances of the
organization (Van Hoye, 2012).
 As the best-suited approach is taken it provides to sustain in the competitive business
environment and to beat the competitors.
 All the strategies of the business can be implemented properly by using this approach
 As it suits the business most thus, it creates a lower possibility to create any conflict
within the organization.

Weaknesses

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  It impedes to bring any change within the business (Van Hoye, 2012).
 This approach is sometimes difficult to be implemented.
 It is a rigid approach and difficult to change the strategies when it is crucial to bring the
changes instantly.

Best Practice approach: It means some established HRM practices can be used and it gives the
best result in any organization.

Strengths

 This approach can be used by any type of organization (Van Hoye, 2012).
 It can be used without creating any complications.

Weaknesses

 It creates hassle when the organization wants to change the usual practice.
 The best practice of HRM can resist the employees to raise their voice in any issue.

Best Fit
approach
Approaches to
recruitment
Best Practice
approach

Figure 2: Approaches to recruitment

Source: Self-made

By analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both of these approaches it can be said every
approach has its advantages and limitations. Considering the nature of the business one of the
approaches has to be selected by the business. Hence, as a manager of Thomas Cook, the best-fit
approach is selected considering the dynamic nature of the business (Sezgin and Yolal, 2012).

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Explanation of HR functions to attain business goals
As discussed earlier that being an HR manager, several functions need to perform but some
functions are played by focusing on achieving the business objective. As a manager, at Thomas
Cook, functions that are performed to attain objective are given following-

Job analysis: By analyzing a job the skills and knowledge required to fulfil the duties can be
understood and candidates having those qualities can be hired. For example, while hiring travel
consultant job analysis is done as a manager that assists in hiring desired employees those will be
conducive to achieve the objective (Buller and McEvoy, 2012).

Training: Through training facilities skills are increased. For example, as a manager of Thomas
Cook, employees are provided vocational training and others for rendering good services (Buller
and McEvoy, 2012).

Performance management: As of being a manager it is an important duty to oversee the

performance of the subordinates. For example, at Thomas Cook evaluating the outcome,
necessary steps are taken such as training, reward, appraisal, etc. (Buller and McEvoy, 2012).

Motivation and compensation: It is conducive to improve the performance of the employees as

employees become loyal by getting motivation and proper compensation for their contribution.
At Thomas Cook, for example, for motivating the employees they are provided with ‘From The
Heart’ award, insurance benefits, holiday packages, bonuses, and so on.

Performance
Job analysis Training Motivation
management

Figure 3: HR functions to achieve goals

Source: Self-made

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So these are the HR functions that are performed by being a manager of Thomas Cook. Job
analysis help in hiring skilled employees, training increases the skills of existing employees,
performance management helps in evaluating outcomes, and motivation increases the quality of
services.

Evaluation of the pros and cons of the employee selection ways

As a manager at Thomas Cook by evaluating Best Fit and Best Practice approach, one approach
is selected and used in the recruitment process. At Thomas Cook, the Best Fit approach is used
as considering its suitability and usefulness to gain competitive advantages (Govindan & others,
2015). The rationale for using this approach is given below by delineating its strengths and
weaknesses-

Advantages of Best Fit approach

 By using this approach Thomas Cook is gaining competitive advantages, for example, it
has become one of the renowned travel group companies in the United Kingdom. Also, it
is operating in 19 other countries and is dominating in the tourism industry.
 At Thomas Cook, there is a rigid vertical organizational structure, and using the best-fit
approach helps in reducing the possibility of creating conflict between departments while
recruiting and selecting the employees (Govindan & others, 2015).
 As this approach considers the suitability thus all the HR functions can be done
efficiently when the circumstances change. For example, by using the best-fit approach it
is becoming able to run operations in different areas efficiently despite having
differences. As a manager, actions that suit most are taken while recruiting (Govindan &
others, 2015).

Hence, because of getting these advantages as a manager at Thomas Cook best-fit approach is
using in the recruitment and selection process. By adopting this approach the weaknesses of best
practice method can be avoided and those are below-

Disadvantages of Best Practice method

11
  The tourism business environment is dynamic and hence, using this approach might
mislead the organization when circumstances change. Therefore, being a manager, this
approach is avoided here (Govindan & others, 2015).
 The employee voice is discouraged in this approach and it hampers in creating a good
corporate culture. At Thomas Cook, good culture is practised and employee participation
is encouraged, hence, this approach is not used here to avoid this disadvantage.

Competitive
Less conflict Efficiency
advantage

Figure 4: Pros of using the best-fit approach

Source: Self-made

From the explanation, it can be concluded that for getting all the advantages using the best-fit
approach it is used at Thomas Cook as it is also suitable for this changing industry.

Critical evaluation of the employee hiring approach applying theory

The Best Fit approach reinforces the fact that all the activities accomplished in HR will align the
business environment and hence, it has been adopted by Thomas Cook for doing its HR
activities. The use of this approach by Thomas Cook is rational which is explained below by
explaining a theory (Islam and Hu, 2012).

Contingency theory: According to this theory all the functions of HR must be in alignment with
the business and external environment to ensure suitability. This is also called ‘vertical fit’ as it
ensures harmony between strategies and the business environment (Islam and Hu, 2012).

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 Business
strategy

Relationship
between
External
strategy and
environment
exernal
environment

Figure 5: Components of contingency theory

Source: Self-made

The core issue of the best-fit approach also depicts that contingency factor which means based
on every aspect of the business and its circumstances policies and strategies need to be taken.
Policies and strategies taken in this way will give the best outcome as it increases suitability. The
business structure at Thomas Cook is vertically integrated and thus best-fit can be easily applied
to ensure proper alignment (Islam and Hu, 2012).

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that as a manager using the best-fit approach is
the perfect decision to achieve the business objective efficiently. The contingency theory also
supports this view.

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 LO2

Explanation of the advantages of HRM practices within the business

To benefit the organization as a manager the practice of training and development is ensured at
Thomas Cook. Training and development can be defined as increasing the skills of employees
for the current job and prepare them for future changes by providing knowledge. Training is
done in a group whereas development is done for every individual. Training is for a short-term
purpose, on the other hand, development is for a long-term purpose (App, Merk, and Büttgen,
2012). Training and development can be of two types and that are given below-

1. On the job training: Training that is given by doing the job is called on the job training.
At Thomas Cook, it is mostly used, for example, job rotation, apprenticeships,
internships, job coaching, etc. ((App, Merk, and Büttgen, 2012).)
2. Off the job training: Training given outside of the organization is called off the job
training, for example, role-playing, conference, simulation, lectures, etc.

The apprenticeship program launched in 2009, the course on animal welfare are some examples
of on the job training. At Thomas Cook development program, talent circle, online agent training
is also done for the benefit of employees (App, Merk, and Büttgen, 2012). So, it can be said on
the job training is focused more here. The benefits of HRM practices that are training and
development are given here.

Benefits for employees

 Training and development program at Thomas Cook increases the confidence of the staff
as become skilled to accomplish their tasks.
 Because of the high performance of the employee after giving training they get promoted
and also get a high salary (Jehanzeb and Bashir, 2013).
 By getting all the facilities employee feels motivated and satisfied with their jobs at
Thomas Cook.

Benefits for employers

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  Training increases efficiency while giving services to the client and therefore, increase
the productivity at Thomas cook.
 The employee turnover at Thomas Cook is low because employees are satisfied and thus
remain loyal to the organization (Jehanzeb and Bashir, 2013).
 Thomas Cook is one of the renowned travel groups and is dominating in the tourism
industry by attaining competitive advantage because of providing good service to its
clients.

Benefits for Benefits for

employees employers

Increase Quality
confidence service

Promotion & Reduce

high salary turnover

Competitive
Motivation
advantage

Figure 6: Advantages of training and development

Source: Self-made

By exercising the HRM practices as a manager of Thomas Cook the above-discussed benefits are
being added both for the employees of the organization and employers.

Effectiveness of HRM practices to increase productivity and profitability

Effectiveness means the extent of solving problems to achieve the business goal. Performance
management and flexibility provide different benefits in terms of productivity and profitability.
Productivity is the efficiency to get greater output compared to the input and profitability
means generating greater income by reducing the costs (Elnaga and Imran, 2013). At Thomas
Cook being a manager performance management and flexibility is ensured for getting a better
outcome. The effect of this at Thomas Cook are given below-

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Performance management: This refers to developing the performance of the employees by
monitoring, performance appraisal to achieve the business goal.

Effectiveness of performance management on productivity and profitability

1. Through performance appraisal, the service provided to the client by the employees is
monitored and inefficiency in performance is identified easily being a manager.
2. Identifying the mismatch of performance as a manager, clear feedback can be provided to
the employees (Elnaga and Imran, 2013).
3. Appraising good performance creates satisfaction among the employees and encourage
them to work hard.
4. By getting the best travel experience customers are getting satisfied and thus it has
become able to serve around 23 million clients in different countries through aircraft
service, tour operators, travel agencies, etc.
5. Performance management also assists in cutting the cost, for example, at Thomas Cook
400 million costs have been cut to increase its profitability (Elnaga and Imran, 2013).

Flexibility: Flexibility means providing resiliency to the employees regarding when, where, how
long to work (Dar & others, 2014).

Effectiveness of flexibility on productivity and profitability

1. Flexibility provides motivation and job satisfaction to the staff (Dar & others, 2014).
2. Employees can enjoy the work-life balance due to the existence of flexibility.
3. It also helps to perform the work by remaining in distant areas (Dar & others, 2014).
4. Flexibility reduces unnecessary travelling and thus saves time and cost. This helps in
increasing productivity and profitability.

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 Performance management Flexibility
Problem identification Motivation
Clear feedback Work-life balance
Customer satisfaction Distant work
Reduce cost Saves time, reduces cost

Figure 7: Effectiveness of HR practices

Source: Self-made

To conclude it can be suggested that for attaining the discussed benefits as a manager the HR
practices such as performance management, flexibility has to be ensured.

Description of methods used in HR practices

The method means the way of accomplishing a certain task and being a manager at Thomas
Cook different methods are used to ensure the quality of the work so that objectives can be
fulfilled. Some methods used are describing here-

Job analysis: This means analyzing the job to identify the skills, knowledge required to perform
the functions of a specific position so that employees having those skills can be hired (Long,
Peruma, and Ajagbe, 2012).

Job description: It can be referred to as a written document describing the duties, roles,
responsibilities, salary, position, etc. so that potential candidates can get all the necessary
information.

Quality of service: To ensure the service quality human resource department hires employees
with sufficient skills and also provides training facilities to improve the quality (Long, Peruma,
and Ajagbe, 2012).

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Observation: The continuous observation of the activities of the employee helps to identify the
problem and thus the manager can take instantaneous actions to solve those.

Job
Job analysis
description

Service
Observation
quality

Figure 8: Methods of HR practices

Source: Self-made

In the case of Thomas Cook, being a manager it can be said that these methods are practised at
Thomas Cook. For example, the line manager continuously monitors the activities of the lower-
level employee and evaluate their services provided to the tourists. Before recruiting employees
as a manager job description and job analysis is done here.

Evaluation of the application of methods

As a manager, the methods of HR practices discussed beforehand are applied at Thomas Cook in
the following way-

 In the job description of customer consultant at Thomas Cook different information is

described, for example, job location, salary, position, job type, category, etc. Benefits
such as competitive salary, pension facilities, holiday facilities, training programs, etc.
are also mentioned there.
 While doing the job analysis for a vacant post for a line manager being a manager of a
large Travel Group it is done extensively. At Thomas Cook, line managers are important

18
 as they monitor the activities of lower-level employees who deal with the client. Thus
skills, knowledge required for a line manager is evaluated consciously.
 Line managers at Thomas Cook observe the activity of the subordinates closely and
identify deficiencies in performance. They also take initiatives to provide training to
perform better to achieve customer satisfaction.

To conclude it can be said, being a manager the HR practices are applied at Thomas Cook in the
above-discussed ways. This helps to achieve the goal of the business of Thomas Cook to a great
extent.

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 LO3

Significance of employee connection to impact decision-making

Employee relations can be defined as maintaining good relations between managers and
subordinates through proper communication regarding salary, working environment, company
policies, conflict, and problem-solving (Purce, 2014). Maintaining good employee relations is
crucial as it influences in making organizational decisions. As a manager of a renowned travel
company, the significance of employee relation is demonstrating below-

The decision of job design: The working environment, temperature, tranquillity of the work
location influence the productivity and satisfaction of the employees. To maintain the quality and
employee loyalty these things are ensured while designing the job by the HR manager and thus
influence the job design decision (Sageer, Rafat, and Agarwal, 2012).

Recruitment decision: The employment security provided by the company influences

recruitment as potential employees always seek the security of the job and if it is ensured it
creates a positive impact on the candidates. Thus, the recruitment decision is influenced by
employee safety and security (Purce, 2014).

Training: Training facilities helps in attaining skills and knowledge to accomplish work
efficiently and increases the career opportunity of the employees. Thus for developing the career
of the employee training decision is influenced.

Performance management: The load of work, pressure, conflict generates a negative influence
on the function of the employees. So, performance management needs to ensure that the work is
appraised properly and they are given with motivation, and thus to maintain relations
performance management is influenced (Sageer, Rafat, and Agarwal, 2012).

Motivation and compensation: If the employees are paid properly based on their duties they
feel motivated. Hence, payment influences motivation, and compensation decisions (Purce,
2014).

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 Importance of employee relations

Job design Recruitment Performance Motivation &

Training
decision decision management compensation

Figure 9: Employee relation to influence decision

Source: Self-made

Therefore, these are some common activities of HR where the employee relations can influence
to a great extent. As a manager of Thomas cook, these HR practices need to be revised to ensure
a good employment relationship.

Description of the key components of employment regulations and its

influence on HRM decisions
Employment rules and regulations mean the rules and regulations that regulate all the activities
of the employers, employees, etc. to protect from any kind of injustice or discrimination. The key
elements of employment legislation are given here-

Equal Pay Act, 1970: According to this act all the employees in the same position will get equal
pay, and men and women will also get equal pay. There will be no injustice regarding
employment also (Noe & others, 2015).

Health and Safety at Work Act, 2015: It demonstrates that it is the legal duty of the employer
to ensure security at the workplace and any violation will cause a penalty to the organization
(Vaiman, Scullion, and Collings, 2012).

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Dismissal Law: If an employee is sacked from the organization because of the unfair treatment
of the employer and if the employee covered two years of services then he/she will be eligible to
ask for compensation (Vaiman, Scullion, and Collings, 2012).

Pensions Act, 2018: According to this law the pension amount of an employee is determined.
The contribution of the employee, employer, and government on the pension fund is described in
this act (Noe & others, 2015).

Data Protection Act, 2018: The information of the employee is protected with great care and
any misuse of this information is punishable according to this. Thus, without relevant parties,
others are not eligible to use the personal information of the employee (Noe & others, 2015).

Dismissal
law
Pensions Act

Data Protection Act

Health & Safety at Work Act

Equal Pay Act

Figure 10: Key components of employment regulations

Source: Self-made

These are the key factors of employment legislation and the impact of these in decision making
are explaining below.

Influence on HRM decisions

 The Data Protection Act influences the decision of data management at Thomas Cook
and hence, being a manager it is followed strictly that the personal data of employees are
protected in a secured way (Kroon, Van De Voorde, and Timmers, 2013).
 The Equal Pay Act influences the decision of compensation given to the employees to
ensure that all the employees are getting fair payment.

22
  According to the Health and Safety Act, proper decision to ensure safety is taken as a
manager of the Thomas Cook (Kroon, Van De Voorde, and Timmers, 2013).

 The Pension Act influences the decision of recruitment as this information is

communicated with the employee while recruiting (Kroon, Van De Voorde, and
Timmers, 2013).
 The Dismissal Law influences the performance management decision as the employee
has the right to ask for compensation from the employer for any unfair treatment.

From this, it can be said that employment legislation influences the performance management
decision, data management decision, compensation decision, safety decision, recruitment
decision, etc.

Examination of the key factors of employee affinity and regulations

As of being a manager of Thomas Cook managing employee relations and ensuring the
implementation of legislation is a crying need. The key aspects of managing employee relations
and maintaining legislations are identified below-

a. Working environment: To preserve a healthy relationship with the subordinates the

environment of the workplace has to be quiet, clean, along with other necessary facilities,
and this is ensured at Thomas Cook (Faragher, Cass, and Cooper, 2013). For example,
the review of the employees at shows it has a friendly and positive working environment,
flexible working patterns.
b. Safety and security: It is about retaining the employee for a long-term purpose that
creates security among them and as a manager, it is being in every time. For example,
while hiring employees after the probation period employees are informed about the
confirmation of their job (Faragher, Cass, and Cooper, 2013).
c. Career development: By providing training employees are made skill and efficient and
it creates an opportunity to be promoted in a higher position and to get a higher salary. At

23
 Thomas Cook, for instance, analyzing performance, recognition, retaining the talent, etc.
are practised to provide scope for career flourishment.
d. Employee welfare: For ensuring welfare being a manager best working environment is
ensured here through different facilities, for example, insurance facilities, training, career
counselling, supporting activities, etc. (Faragher, Cass, and Cooper, 2013).

Working environment Safety & security

Key aspects

Career development Employee welfare

Figure 11: Key aspects of employee relations and legislation

Source: Self-made

From the discussion, it can be said these key aspects of employment relations and legislation
develop a healthy environment throughout the organization and as a manager, all these aspects
are trying to be ensured.

Analysis of the application of HRM system in the organization

To implement the best practice of human resource management in the organization as a manager,
from recruiting the employees to managing them for getting the best outcome HR strategies are
followed (Tortorella and Fogliatto, 2014). The main functions where the practice of HRM is
ensured at Thomas Cook are describing below with examples for the Travel consultant post.

1. Job description: Job description contains overall roles, duties, and responsibilities that
an employee has to perform along with benefits provided by the company. For example,
the job description for hiring Travel Consultant includes maintaining relations with the
customers, managing loyalty programs, dealing with aircraft and hotel services, etc.
2. Person specification: Person specification means the quality and skills the potential
employee needs to possess for being hired (Tortorella and Fogliatto, 2014). For example,

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 Thomas Cook's person specifications for being Travel Consultant include having a
graduation degree, having prior related experience, understanding client needs,
developing tour packages, organizing tour capabilities, etc.
3. Performance management: For managing the performance of the Travel Consultant
their services are continuously monitored as of being a manager. For example, it is
ensured that customer satisfaction is achieved through performance evaluation, appraisal,
training opportunities, etc. (Kersley & others, 2013).
4. Employee relations: At Thomas Cook employee relation is maintained by providing an
attractive working environment, providing flexibility, providing rewards such as ‘From
The Heart’ for meeting commitment, providing insurance facilities, etc.
5. Talent management: For managing talent and retaining talented employees Thomas
Cook provides promotion, recognition, rewards, training, and development (Tortorella
and Fogliatto, 2014).

Job Person Performance

description specification management

Employee Talent
relations management

Figure 12: Application of HRM practices

Source: Self-made

These are the major practices of HRM that has to be implemented as being a manager at Thomas
Cook. Efficient implementation will increase the profitability of the organization.

Explanation of logic for the implementation of HRM

The main logic behind the implementation of HRM exercises at Thomas Cook for a Travel
consultant job is to get the appropriate employee and achieving the goal of the business through

25
service provided by them (Kersley & others, 2013). So, as a manager, the rationale of the
application of HRM for this specific job is given below-

 Hiring the most suited employee is possible through the preparation of job description as
it provides relevant information for the candidate and potential employee having those
qualities feel attracted to apply.
 Person specification helps to identify the core skills among the candidates and thus, as a
manager, employees possessing specific qualities are hired (Kersley & others, 2013).
 An employee with ample skills and knowledge is given responsibilities and authorities
and that creates motivation among them. This helps in retaining and managing talented
employees within Thomas Cook.
 As a manager, performance management helps in identifying problems and solving them
that helps in improving the performance of the Travel Consultant. Thus, customer
satisfaction is achieved by providing quality service (Kersley & others, 2013).

Analysis of employee connection and HRM system impacting on decisions

Maintaining employee relations is significant for any type of organization. As a travel company
that provides services to the clients' employee relation is particularly important. Hence, as a
manager of Thomas Cook employee relation and implementation of HR practises is important
for the following reasons as influencing decisions-

 For achieving high performance in the organization good employee relation is maintained
by providing motivation and thus influencing performance management decisions. At
Thomas Cook, ample motivation is given through financial and non-financial rewarding
facilities.
 Employees at Thomas Cook work efficiently by getting training facilities and feel more
engaged while working. This influences the training and development decision at Thomas
Cook (Theriou and Chatzoglou, 2014).
 Fair payment, bonuses, benefits help in maintaining good relationships between the
employer and the employee and the fair compensation practice influence the decision of
compensation (Theriou and Chatzoglou, 2014).

26
  Providing sufficient safety and security creates loyalty among employees and thus
conducive to building good relationships. Thus, it influences the safety decision at
Thomas Cook (Theriou and Chatzoglou, 2014).

From the above discussion, it can be said that employee relations influence the decision of HRM
practices at Thomas Cook such as motivation decision, compensation decision, safety decision,
and performance management decision.

LO4
At Thomas Cook, different services are provided to the customers through different activities
such as tour operators, aircraft facilities, travel agencies, etc. Here, all the employees hired are
skilled enough to maintain a good relationship with the clients and attain the client’s satisfaction.

Thomas Cook needs some employees for ‘travel consultant’ position as currently there are some
vacancies. As a manager, the employee selection for this position will be conducted in the
following way.

Phone interview: Initially a phone interview is conducted for the candidates who applied for the
job.

Assessment centre: At the assessment centre, several skills and abilities of the candidates are
tested those are below-

 Online test: An online test is taken for analyzing the potentiality of the candidate and this
includes the test of aptitude abilities, psychometric condition, etc.
 Numerical test: To understand the candidate’s skill at numerical figures this test is taken
here (Sezgin and Yolal, 2012).
 Verbal reasoning: To analyze the communication skill of the candidate this test is taken
and it is also useful for hiring a travel consultant.
 Personality test: This is taken to get the idea about the candidate’s psychology and the
suitability of the candidate in organizational culture.

27
Interview: Finally an interview is taken for the selected few candidates.

After assessing all these things a travel consultant is selected for Thomas Cook.

Preparatory notes for an interview

For conducting the interview some common questions are planned and asked the candidates
those are following-

Questions for the telephone interview

 What are the skills possessed by the candidate that will assist the business?
 How the candidate will add value to the company.
 Identifying the weaknesses (Sezgin and Yolal, 2012).

Questions for the face to face interview

 Asked to describe the candidate himself/herself.

 Why the company will prioritize the candidate over others?
 What are the strengths candidates have for this specific position?
 Why the candidate is leaving the previous job?

These questions will help me as a manager of Thomas Cook to identify a suitable employee for
the business. the reason behind this is that all these questions assist in understanding the
confidence of the candidate, capabilities, communication skills, etc. Hence, these questions can
be asked in the interview (Sezgin and Yolal, 2012).

Job offer for the candidates

After finishing all the procedures the selected candidate is offered a job for the travel consultant
position at different areas according to the need of the organization. For example, they can be

28
employed in India, Canada, the United States, or some other countries and different places. Here,
the candidate will be offered to work in the United Kingdom.

The evaluation of the employee selection process

From the employee selection procedure at Thomas Cook, it can be said that their selection
process is very rigorous and the company gives importance to each skill of the candidates. In the
assessment centre, several skills and abilities are tested that can helps in identifying the
candidates having real skills and potentiality. Thus, its selection process is conducive to hiring
suitable employees (Sezgin and Yolal, 2012).

29
 Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that as a manager the functions of HRM have to be practised to
achieve the business objective of Thomas Cook. While recruiting employees the best-suited
approach needs to follow considering all the advantages. To manage the human capital of the
company HRM practices should be implemented throughout the organization for generating
benefits both for the employer and the employee. Employees need to provide motivation,
compensation, security, and so on for maintaining good relationships with the employer. As a
manager, proper compliance with legislation has to be ensured also.

30
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