BBER413
Managing Human Resources in the Retail Industry

MQF Level: 6

ECTS Value: 4 ECTS

Self Study Hours: 48

Contact Hours: 20

Assessment Hours: 32

Overall Objectives

This unit builds upon the previous unit on Human Resources Management and focuses on the factors which effect their implementation in the Retail Industry. The unit delves into the management’s balancing of task direction and people management and the importance that needs to be given to the people side of leadership to ensure avoidance of employee burnout, lack of team chemistry and low employee morale. These are important considerations because they contribute to a high turnover, which is often particularly acute in the retail sector. Course participants will be able to consider, through diverse case studies and business scenarios, the importance of interacting with employees on a personal level and developing bonds with employees to achieve improved results in building a team-oriented, productive culture. On order to better understand the retail context, course participants will consider issues of recruitment and selection in the retail industry, issues of employee engagement and ongoing improvement, issues of equality and diversity, health and safety, teamwork, security as well as conflict management. 

By the end of this module, the learner will be able to:

  • manage human resources in a way that sustains a company’s efforts to reach the set targets in spite of the particular challenges inherent within the retail industry
  • positively influence employee’s approach to work and pass on knowledge and experience for continual improvement
  • support the values of equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion
  • understand own responsibility for implementing Health and Safety procedures in a retail environment
  • contribute to own team’s effectiveness
  • design work systems that inherently minimises conflict through transparency, trust, and active communication
  • consider how retailers need to focus on security measures and place security procedures and practices high on the agenda
  • implement measures aimed at preventing loss and maintaining security
  • manage issues of equality and diversity in line with an inclusive culture
  • monitor the workplace for health and safety risks and take necessary actions to reduce them
  • explain the peculiarities that the retail industry presents in terms of human resources management
  • describe why the recruitment process is fundamental for an organisation
  • define why it is important for staff to understand the benefits of improvements to retail operations
  • explain how equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion (as threats and opportunities) relate to legal, industry requirements and organisational policies
  • clarify the importance of implementing the organisation’s policies and procedures for health and safety
  • elaborate how a well-functioning team contributes to the success of the wider organisation
  • state the importance of being a reliable team member
  • describe how teams can be developed within a retail business
  • identify issues with organisational structures, systems or procedures that are likely to give rise to conflict
  • explain strategies for conflict resolution
  • define the standards of work-behaviour and behaviour expected of them
  • describe methods of containing threatening behaviour
  • recall the range of security risks faced by a retail business

Applying knowledge and understanding

The learner will be able to:

  • include the specific HR constrains within the retail industry in any decision-making process
  • recruit, retain and develop the right people for the right roles
  • inspire, motivate and encourage staff to suggest ideas for improvement to retail operations
  • collaborate effectively with others within a team
  • allocate work in ways that takes account of employees’ preferences, skills and time
  • facilitate teamwork and promote effective communication skills to maximise overall productivity
  • identify potential and actual conflicts within a team and take action to resolve them
  • resolve conflict within retail teams
  • control threatening and/or violent behaviour.
  • deal effectively with security incidents

This module will be assessed through: Assignment, Essay.

Core Reading List

  1. Thomas, C., & Heil, G. (2005). Employee Management And Customer Service In The Retail Industry. Wiley.
  2. Merkel, J., Jackson, P., Pick, P. (2009). New Challenges in Retail Human Resource Management. In M., Krafft, & M. K. Mantrala, Retailing in the 21st century: Current and future trends. Springer Science & Business Media (pp.257-270)
  3. Berman, B. R., Evans, J. R., & Chatterjee, P. M. (2017). Retail management: A strategic approach. Prentice Hall.
  4. Armstrong, M. Taylor, S. (2020) Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page Ltd.

 

Supplementary Reading List

  1. Evans, S. (2015). Juggling on the line: Front line managers and their management of human resources in the retail industry. Employee Relations, 37(4), 459-474. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ER-06-2014-0066
  2. Human Resource Practices in Organized Retail: A Study of Selected Outlets Deepti Sinha ; Sachin Sinha ; Pradeepta Sarangi. OPUS: HR Journal, 2018-01-01, Vol.9 (2), p.24
  3. Derek C.J., Panu, K. and Antti, K. (2010) How Does Employee Involvement Stack Up? The Effects of Human Resource Management Policies on Performance in a Retail Firm. Industrial relations, 49 (1), 1-21.
 
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