¶ … human resource management policies organizations & Burger king 3.2analyse impact regulatory requirements human resource policies Burger King 4.1analyse impact Burger King structure management human resources 4. Human Resources Management at Burger King

The role of HRM policies

In today's business community, the employees represent intellectual capital and create value for the employer; in this setting, they are perceived as the most valuable organizational asset (Pindroh, 1996).

In this understanding of the employees, the field of human resource management has been significantly developing to create new policies that support the economic agents in better understanding and motivating their staff members. The ultimate scope of the HRM policies at any organization -- including Burger King -- is that of increasing the performances of the staff members, and ultimately enhancing the overall organizational performances. In other words, the human resource management policies are developed and implemented in an effort to align the individual goals of the staff members with the overall goals of the employer (Bacal, 2006). The ultimate scope of this is that of the company attaining its profitability objectives.

At a more detailed level, the issue of the role of the human resource policies is quite intriguing in the meaning that it is little addressed within the specialized literature. This shortage of clear answers regarding the role of HRM policies in firms and at Burger King is pegged to the complexity of the HRM policies, combined with the omnipresent need for human resources management. Even when they might be more salient, HRM policies create the context in which the people work. All in all then, HRM policies at any firm and at Burger King are essential as the institutions all use people to attain their objectives and because the policies foster a context in which the employees support the company in attaining its objectives (Sarvadi, 2005).

2. The impact of regulatory requirements on HRM at Burger King

The human resource management field can be divided into two different categories. The first of these categories would be in charge of the more technical details of the HRM practices and processes, such as ensuring that the company complies with the legal requirements. The second category of HRM policies would be focused on the approach to people by HRM, such as the motivation of the employees, the organizational culture, communications and other non-technical aspects.

Today, more and more emphasis is being placed on the second category of HRM efforts, but it has to be remembered that the regulatory requirements often sit at the basis of the HRM policies. These HRM requirements are multiple and complex and they address issues such as equal employment opportunities, job description, employee evaluation, employee competences, specific training based on needs and capabilities or physical health regulations (UCLA, 2011). The Burger King managerial team must as such act in full accordance with the various legislations created by the United States Department of Labor, the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The need to comply with these regulations creates a multitude of impacts on Burger King. The most important of these impacts is observed from a financial standpoint. In this order of ideas, the fast food giant has to invest significant financial resources to investigate the legislations and make sure that they are applied. Also, funds are allocated to ensuring that the firm operates according to the regulations. Then, firms also invest time and energy in these regulations, and in some cases, this could materialize in lower productivity and profitability rates. Finally, the need to comply with the regulations would foster a specific working climate, based on the managerial approach to the regulations and the emphasis on ethics, and would also impact the training programs at Burger King.

3. The impact of Burger King's organizational structure on HRM

Burger King's organizational structure is a flat one, meaning that it is horizontal. In such an organizational structure, increased emphasis is placed on the responsibility of all employees. The managerial team is less focused on micro management, but focuses on the overall goals and strives to motivate the employees to also focus on the organizational goals.

The horizontal structure at Burger King generates a myriad of impacts on the human resource management practices and policies. For instance, the decentralized structure allows the employees more freedom, but it also means that the employees are more valuable and their expertise is required in the decision making process. In a vertically integrated organization, the employees would simply implement the decisions made at the top (Daft...

In the case of the organizational structure at Burger king, the employee teams are flexible and they participate actively in the continuous process of improvement and development.
The role of the managers at Burger King is also influenced by the organizational structure in the meaning that the managers motivate the employees to become more involved in their job. The job descriptions are less based on technical details, but more on results and goals to be attained. The motivational elements go beyond the traditional financial rewards to also include the recognition of the job well done. Overall, given the organizational structure at Burger King, the emphasis from a HRM standpoint falls on employee equity and the individual and group performances of the staff members (Daft and Marcic, 2010).

4. The impact of Burger King's organizational culture on HRM

The organizational culture at Burger King is in strong relationship with its structure, in the meaning that emphasis is placed on equity, motivation and performance. The organizational culture at the fast food monolith is based on four specific concepts -- bold, empowered, accountable and fun. The bold characteristic refers to the commitment of the company to not only be the best, but to ensure that everybody knows this. The empowered characteristic translates into the fact that Burger King offers opportunities to all employees; these are encouraged to prove their worth and benefit from organizational opportunities. The accountable dimension of the organizational culture is represented by the need of organizational employees and franchisers to deliver on their promises and be accountable for their actions. Finally, the fun dimension at Burger King invites people to join in and enjoy the rewarding work and the fun climate.

"Work and play hard. Simple as that really. You're going to be working with like-minded people, the kind that know how to get the job done and have a great time doing it. So go on, get amongst it" (Burger King Careers, 2008).

Overall, Burger King has created and implemented an organizational culture based on its intent of being "cool" (USA Today, 2007). And this is obvious not only in its relationships with the customers, but also in its interactions with the staff members. The impact is that of employees who are more engaged in the completion of their professional responsibilities; employees who are more united and who "pool together their areas of expertise to arrive at procedures that are better than managers could come up with working alone" (Daft and Marcic, 2010).

5. Assessment of HRM effectiveness

Burger King -- as well as any other major company -- invests tremendous sums of money into the development and implementation of human resource policies and practices. And it as such becomes highly interested in seeing the expected results of these investments. In other words, it seeks to achieve high levels of effectiveness from the implementation of the HRM practices and policies.

In the specific case of Burger King, the detailed information on how the organization assesses the effectiveness of its human resource practices is kept confidential as data on internal processes is not released to the public. Still, what is often recognized by the firm is that emphasis is placed on the competitiveness of the firm and its ability to operate in an efficient manner (Burger King 2008 Annual Review). In this setting then, it is obvious that the firm assesses the strategic HRM efforts in light of the costs involved and the benefits retrieved.

In a general setting, the assessment of the effectiveness of the HRM strategies can be assessed through measures such as the construction of a priority plan assessing the importance of various HRM measures and the self-evaluation conducted by the human resources management team (Bargerstock). It is also common to assess the effectiveness of the HRM strategies through the analysis of various internal rates, such as absenteeism and the rates of employee turnover (NGfL, 2008).

6. Recommendations for HRM effectiveness

Measuring and increasing the effectiveness of human resources management is often an intricate and challenging process. And the very specialized literature is rather scarce in promoting recommendations as to how Burger King and other economic agents should go about in the assessment and improvement of the HRM effectiveness. Based on study and observations however, the following are recommended to increase the effectiveness of HRM in at Burger King and other firms:

Assess the levels of employee motivation and on-the-job satisfaction and identify the need for new HRM strategies

Identify the specifics of employee dissatisfactions, such as financial concerns, promotional opportunities, working schedules, tasks and so on Research the available human…