Brunel Engineering Components Case Study

Introduction of Brunel Engineering Components Case Study

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Human Resource Management (HRM) practices are the backbone of a successful business, especially while operating within a sheer competitive market. The present study will take the case of Brunel Engineering Components into consideration to explain the importance of HRM practices in business. The present study aims to assess the HRM practices of Brunel Engineering Components and will recommend proper HRM practices for the future well-being of the company. Further, it is going to analyse the external environment of Brunel along with its available competition in the market. Additionally, the study will assess the internal competencies of the company based on the major HRM practices and their impact on the well-being of the company in future.

Analysis of External environment and Competitive analysis of Brunel

External environment analysis outlines the impacts of the macro-environment factors on an organization. It also provides a detailed outlook of competitor analysis for a business organization based on the current state of the company. Here, a detailed PESTEL analysis and Porter's Five Forces are conducted for a detailed overview of Brunel Engineering Components in the current market.

PESTEL Analysis

The PESTEL analysis of Brunel Engineering Components is conducted below.

Table 1: PESTEL Analysis

(Source: Self-developed)

Analysis

The business environment in the UK is deeply moved by its political stability over time along with the changing regulations due to political changes in the country. Similarly, the business of Brunel is deeply impacted by the decreasing 0.47 point political index of the UK in current times (theglobaleconomy.com, 2022). Most businesses in the UK suffer from political volatility and least predictability. Brunel is deeply impacted by the 72.64% confidence interval of the country on a global economic interval (heritage.org, 2022). Further, the volatility of the inflation rate in the UK also impacts the business of Brunel Engineering in its domestic business. The decreasing transportation cost has recently become a major issue for the company that is impacting its stability in the current market. In terms of the social factors, the 87.98% SPI index of the UK has opened up business opportunities for the company in the current market (Agha et al. 2021). It has also enabled the company to introduce new labour training sessions for the company workforce. The UK is currently in the 4th ranking in terms of technological development. It has allowed the company to incorporate AI and machinery support for product development (networkreadinessindex.org, 2022). Further, the sustainability policies and regulations on a global scale have a major impact on the business development of Brunel in the coming future. Compliance with the sustainable business policies can earn Brunel chances for global expansion in the coming times (Ekaterina, 2021). Additionally, the reformed customer laws have impacted the business of Brunel by setting up a potential customer base in its domestic business.

• Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

Potential competition within the industry

The parts manufacturing industry in the UK has currently become overtly competitive due to the involvement of new companies over time. Companies like AVA Cooling, Schaeffler Ltd. and Motive Components are the established parts manufacturers in the current UK market. It has opened up the potential competitiveness of Brunel in the current times. Further, the expansion of private registration by 7.4% has boosted the volume of business for many small to medium parts manufacturers (Wajid and Zafar, 2021). It can potentially create a competitive space for Brunel in the UK domestic market. Additionally, the reputation of the existing players like Motive Components has boosted the competitiveness of Brunel while operating in the parts manufacturing market of the UK.

The potentiality of new market entrants in the industry

The motor parts manufacturing industry of the UK is already filled with potential market players like Ford UK and Skoda Auto. These companies have already made a customer-friendly reputation within the company. Apart from these established operators, companies like AVA Cooling and Schaeffler Ltd have planned their market entries in current times. It has expanded the margin of competitiveness for Brunel as they are expected to match the expectation of the customers compared to these business operators.

The supplier power within the industry

The supply chain of the motor parts in the UK is potentially strong and involves longstanding players in the UK manufacturing market. Suppliers like Trade Vehicle Parts and Precision Autoparts possess massive control over the businesses of parts manufacturing companies as most of the parts are sold by them to the small to medium operators (Fitzgerald et al. 2021). The involvement of these suppliers in the business volume of Brunel enables the suppliers to possess major power over the business margin of the companies.

The customers' power within the industry

The motor parts manufacturing industry involves a stable buyer-seller relationship within the industry. It enables them to attain favourable business even within the competitiveness of the industry. The customers of the motor parts industry demand lower and more aggressive prices with satisfactory service. It makes the industry more viable for companies like Brunel to enter and set up businesses successfully.

Threats regarding substitution

The motor parts manufacturing industry has potentially opened up opportunities for new market players to enter the market easily. This has boosted the chances of substitution for Brunel as new players are capable of providing the same service as them to the potential new customer base.

• Internal analysis of the HRM practices of Brunel

SWOT Analysis of Brunel Engineering Component

Table 2: SWOT Analysis

(Source: Developed by the learner)

Analysis

The above table of SWOT analysis has depicted that Brunel Engineering Component Organisation has a skilled group of employees. The managers are skilled enough to manage the workflow even under the pressure of excessive workload. This specifically identified strengths of the company help in paving the path of global expansion. Apart from the HRM practices, the lower production cost helps in managing the business with maintaining a high share value in a competitive market (case study). For the hard-working staff, Brunel will have the opportunity for proceeding with and completing several major orders.

In a contradictory manner, it has been encountered that the organisation may possess some weaknesses as well. The company does not offer any incentive to its staff, which is recognised as a weakness of the organisation that leads to having unsatisfied staff. The managers, even the performance matrix just consists of the aspect called discipline follow no proper hiring process (case study). These poor HRM practices have started increasing the employee turnover rate, which can be a threat to the path of the future expansion of the business.

Identification of three major HRM practices of Brunel Engineering Components

Managing employee turnover

One of the poor HRM practices that are seen in the organisation is poor hiring techniques. As the organisation has no such specific rating technique for the skills of the newly hired employees. Based on the case study, if the organisation will be able to manage the employee turnover, the organisation will be able to make a strong stand before the existing competitors (Kristiana et al. 2021). Better management of the workforce can increase the quality and quantity of the production of goods that will contribute to achieving success against the sheer competitiveness of the global market (Islami, 2021). For managing the employee turnover rate, the organisation can adopt the Motivation theory to maintain the workforce balance along with increasing the motivation of the staff. This can help in managing the communication transparency that can contribute to reducing the turnover rate as well.

Have an effective recruitment process

Brunel Engineering Components Company has found to face great issues while hiring staff as no specific recruitment process is maintained in the organisation, the HR professionals of that organisation simply hire the staff based on the informal interviews and in some cases based on the references (Almarashdi, 2022). The lack of implementation of specific selection procedures has influenced the managers to work with less skilled employees who are intended to offer less active cooperation with the other hardworking staff. This betterment of the HRM practice will contribute to achieving more work forces that will be able to accelerate production (Lees, 2021). In real-time, the organisation will be able to complete the huge orders that will contribute to making a reputation in the market. Implementation of the AMO practice can be beneficial for the managers to specify the conditions under which the selection of the staff will be made.

Managing collaboration among different departments

The case study helped us to identify that the company has been facing a problem while moving the hired employees of a specific job to another job in the organisation. For instance, the employees who are primarily hired as technical staff, the very person will never be happy if they one is later shifted to the other department. Following previously made statements; the reformation of such issues can be done by implementing innovative technologies (Upadhyay et al. 2021). The technological incorporation will facilitate the managers with providing data regarding the staff performance. Based on the skills and performance tracking, managerial bodies will take decisions on shifting departments of the employees. Following these core issues, the practice of institutional theory can be beneficial.

Conclusion

The study has showcased that the organisation named Brunel Engineering Components has been accused with the allegation of practising poor human resource practices. Based on the analysis of the provided case study, the study has included external and internal factors that include employee turnover, collaboration issues within different departments and poor recruitment process. Based on these identified issues the study included a discussion regarding potential changes that can bring a positive profit margin by reordering and reforming the internal work process of the company. For the betterment of HRM practices, several HRM theories such as institutional theory and motivation theory have been proposed in this study. Furthermore, the study suggested recommendations based on the required reformations of the gaps identified by conducting a proper analysis of the case study regarding the HRM practices. 

Recommendations

The organisation can establish a separate IT department for managing the incorporation of technologies

The study has stated that for resolving the issue of collaboration within different departments, the organisation can establish a new department for managing the technical incorporations that are suggested. This specific IT department can take care of the technical procedures that can contribute to achieving fair communication among the departmental staff (Wimelius et al. 2021). On the other hand, the managers can be able to use staff information for making decisions over shifting the staff among departments.

 Recommendations to improve the HRM system

(Source: Influenced by Wimelius et al. 2021)

The organisation can integrate job posting with the proper and simple job description

Following the issue of having poor recruitment techniques followed by the HR professionals, it has been recommended that the organisation may use several online-based platforms for posting the job requirements (Hamza et al. 2021). The requirements of the skills of the candidates and a proper description of the job role can help in hiring the best fit for the required job role. The managers can choose the potential candidates based on the skills that are mentioned on the resumes of the candidates.

References

Agha, A., Shibani, A., Hassan, D. and Zalans, B., 2021. Modular Construction in the United Kingdom Housing Sector: Barriers and Implications'. Journal of Architectural Engineering Technology, 10(2), p.236.

Almarashdi, F.S.R., 2022. Impact of Recruitment Processes on Work Turnover & Job Satisfaction. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(2), pp.1587-1596.

Ekaterina, Z., 2021. Market research and market entry recommendations in the UK, Poland, and Germany for a FinTech company.

Fitzgerald, A., Proud, W., Kandemir, A., Murphy, R.J., Jesson, D.A., Trask, R.S., Hamerton, I. and Longana, M.L., 2021. A life cycle engineering perspective on biocomposites as a solution for a sustainable recovery. Sustainability, 13(3), p.1160.

Hamza, P.A., Othman, B.J., Gardi, B., Sorguli, S., Aziz, H.M., Ahmed, S.A., Sabir, B.Y., Ismael, N.B., Ali, B.J. and Anwar, G., 2021. Recruitment and Selection: The Relationship between Recruitment and Selection with Organizational Performance. International Journal of Engineering, Business and Management, 5(3), pp.1-13.

Islami, X., 2021. How do integrate organizational instruments? The mediation of HRM practices effect on organizational performance by SCM practices. Production & Manufacturing Research, 9(1), pp.206-240.

Kristiana, Y., Panjaitan, A., Goeltom, V.A. and Prasetya, A.B., 2021. Managing Employee Retention in Mergers and Acquisitions: A Systematic Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL, POLICY AND LAW, 2(4), pp.44-54.

Lees, C., 2021. Brexit, the failure of the British political class, and the case for greater diversity in UK political recruitment. British Politics, 16(1), pp.36-57.

Upadhyay, A., Kumar, A. and Akter, S., 2021. An analysis of UK retailers’ initiatives towards circular economy transition and policy-driven directions. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, pp.1-9.

Upadhyay, A., Mukhuty, S., Kumar, V. and Kazancoglu, Y., 2021. Blockchain technology and the circular economy: Implications for sustainability and social responsibility. Journal of Cleaner Production, 293, p.126130.

van Zoonen, W., Sivunen, A., Blomqvist, K., Olsson, T., Ropponen, A., Henttonen, K. and Vartiainen, M., 2021. Factors influencing adjustment to remote work: Employees’ initial responses to the covid-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), p.6966.

Wajid, M.A. and Zafar, A., 2021. PESTEL Analysis to Identify Key Barriers to Smart Cities Development in India. Neutrosophic Sets and Systems, 42, pp.39-48.

Wimelius, H., Mathiassen, L., Holmström, J. and Keil, M., 2021. A paradoxical perspective on technology renewal in digital transformation. Information systems journal, 31(1), pp.198-225.

Websites

Heritage.org, (2022). Economic index of the UK. Available at: https://www.heritage.org/index/country/unitedkingdom#:~:text=The%20United%20Kingdom's%20economic%20freedom,the%20regional%20and%20world%20averages. [Accessed on 20^th April, 2022]

Networkreadinessindex.org, (2022). Technological development i the UK.

Theglobaleconomy.com, (2022). Political Stability of the UK. Available at: https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/United-Kingdom/wb_political_stability/ [Accessed on 20^th April, 2022]