Sport Uk Case

Sports UK, long renowned for its sport equipment, has successfully expanded to the horticulture market in recent years. However, certain issues in terms of its human capital management cannot be ignored by any means in order to guarantee that the firm enjoys a sustainable and healthy development. Armstrong (2012) highlights that human capital management provides a bridge between HR and business strategy and human capital constitutes a key element of the market worth of a company. A research study conducted in 2003 by CFO Research Services estimated that the value of human capital represented over 36 per cent of total revenue in a typical organisation (Armstrong, 2012). In this essay, I intend to explore key issues with regards to human capital inside the company along with three HR practices that they may design and implement to achieve its human capital advantage.

As for the key people challenge and issues facing the firm, the primary concern should be staffing and resourcing. Marchington and Wilkinson (2009) argue that staffing and resourcing are vital as new recruits offer managers an opportunity to acquire new skills as well as amend organisational cultures. Sports UK mainly faces the challenge of resourcing in the following two aspects. First, resourcing is compulsory in its newly-established distribution division to ensure the proper execution of delivery of products both at home and abroad. Second, as there is only one HR professional, the HR manager, who works with other managers on all people-related issues, enlarging the HR staff is a must.

Moreover, the imbalance of quality of the whole human capital might turn out to be severe. Currently, from the long-term loyal staff with few formal qualifications to new highly qualified employees, the gap between different teams is huge, which undoubtedly becomes an obstacle to further growth of the firm. Therefore, how to design and implement an approach to the learning and development of staff is a crucial issue for HR practitioners. Also, considering the gap that exists, how to evaluate employees' performance and retain the talent becomes another issue to be considered.

In order to settle the above-mentioned people issues, the following three feasible HR practices are illustrated. To begin with, resourcing should be well designed and put into practice. According to Leopold, Harris and Watson (1999), the first step should be to define the need, which includes defining the job in terms of tasks and responsibilities and defining the ideal candidates. More importantly, this step should be set in the context of workforce planning and business strategy.

The second step is to attract good applicants utilising appropriate tools and methods. For example, links with third parties should be pursued. For instance, recruitment agencies are enjoying increased popularity in recent decades. This is evidenced by the rise in the rate of surveyed

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