Case Study on HRM in Retail Sector

7/22/2019 Case Study on HRM in Retail Sector

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Importance of Diverse Work Force in retail industry; a case study on

Tesco, Plc

Objectives.

Objectives can be used to analyse and evaluate the literature research, on the

usefulness and the effectiveness of HRM practices which manage the diverse

work force in retail industry. Its main objectives can be given as follows.

o analyse the current HRM approaches used by the organisation for

managing the diverse work force.

o analyse the importance of diverse work force in retail industry.

o analyse the advantages and disadvantages of diverse work forces in

retail industry.

o recogni!e the factors needed for attaining the competitive advantage

through diverse work force in retail industry.

In order to carry out the above objectives the following analysis are necessary.

". #hat are the parameters that affect the relationship at work among

employees of different cultures$

%. #hat are the different HRM approaches taken by the organisation for

managing diverse work force$

&. How the organisation can gain competitive advantages through diverse

work force$

Introduction


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As the organisations are becoming more international that increased the level of

competitions in the business world. That caused new challenges in the global

markets and so the retail organisations are trying to develop new strategies for

reducing those issues. Thus they recognize the importance of diverse work force and

develop new strategies for managing them because the diverse work force is the

success factor of an organization. So the effective management of them brings

competitive advantages to the organization. That increases their importance and

they try to implement new strategies for managing the people having different ethnic

and socio economic back grounds. They keep different types of relations as per their

cultures. So this need to be materialized and must observe best practices to

manage them effectively (Albrecht 2000. So the organisations must consider the

local state federal laws! local country profile! the country culture etc for the effective

management of this diverse work force.

Researc !ack"round

his research proposal is intended to research and find out some real facts about

the diverse work force in retail industries. he topic of the research is 'the

importance of diverse workforce in retail industry, a case study on esco(. he

human resources are very essential for an organi!ation because they are doing

all the important functions of the organisations. )s a retail industry is

considered, there are work force from different countries, regions etc. *o it is

the duty of the management to handle and manage this diverse workforce

effectively. )s a valuable and important resource, they must be given important

care because all the functions of the organisations are taking place with the help

of these people. +or that researcher can use the related primary or secondary

data for collecting information about their importance in retail industry.


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Retail business is a booming industry of the current age. It is a vibrant industry

with lots of fastest changes. he word retail is taken from word retailer, means

cut into piece. hey sell products and the services to customers for family as

well as individual use. he retail industry can be divided into different types

based on their si!e, the shape, the products and their services, the charging price

etc. hey may be chain stores, supermarkets, speciality stores, factory outlets,

the franchises, discount stores etc. )s the dynamic field, they offer employment

opportunities for diverse work forces. hey offer about two million jobs around

the world web, ref. -

Here the selected organi!ation esco, as a retail industry, recruiting workforce

from different countries and they give e/cellent services to the customers. he

diverse workforce from different countries has different practices and culture.

Hence this research aims at evaluating the importance of diverse workforce in

esco for measuring its effectiveness and thus find out the pitfalls andrecommend the right corrective action.

Literature Review.

Introduction

The present era of globalization! enforce the world to mingle with diverse work force

from different backgrounds! cultures! believes etc. "ew developments in the social!

economical! political and demographical environment changed the countries to the

multicultural societies. #n the present competitive environment it is essential for the

retail organizations to take effective strategies to gain competitive advantages in the

field. According to $reen and his friends! the competitions arising from all continents

and diverse work force are the part of this world economy ($reen et al! 2002.

%iverse work force are the main a&is that runs the retail industry! so the success

and the failures mainly based on the attitude of the diverse work force because of

the relevance and interdependency of one country with all other countries ($upta et


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al 200'. So the importance of diverse work force is a main factor for the retail

organizations and the managers have to decide upon the importance of these factors

and move with it.

The human resources are very essential for retail industry because they are doing all

the important functions of the organisations. As a retail industry is considered! there

are diverse work force from different countries! regions etc. So it is the duty of the

management to handle and manage this diverse workforce effectively. As a valuable

and important resource! they must be given important care because all the functions

of the organisations are taking place with the help of this diverse work force. or that

researcher can use the related primary or secondary data for collecting information

about their importance in retail industry.

)anaging the diverse work force is an important factor for the retail industry. or

Tesco! an international retailer! having operations in about '* countries! have lots of

diverse work force. #t manages this diverse work force worldwide and that brings

some challenges also. So to manage the situation effectively they need to adopt

some approaches. The dissertation focuses on the importance of diverse work force

in retail industry and tries to analyze the strategies that help to manage this diverse

work force in their organizations.

Retail Industry

+etail business is a booming industry of the current age. #t is a vibrant industry with

lots of fastest changes. The word retail is taken from word retailer! means cut into

piece. They sell products and the services to customers for family as well as

individual use. The retail industry can be divided into different types based on their

size! the shape! the products and their services! the charging price etc. They may be

chain stores! supermarkets! specialty stores! factory outlets! the franchises! discount

stores etc. As the dynamic field! they offer employment opportunities for diverse

work forces. They offer about two million ,obs around the world (web! ref. -


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There are about three million people are working in the retail industry (data collected

)arch 0. That is e/ual to the '' of total 1 employees. (1 +etail utures

20''3 Sector Summary! %ata monitor. or about the of gross domestic product!

$%4! of 1 is produced by retail sector. (5eb reference 2. The retail sale in 1

was about 627- billion in the 2008 that is more than combined economies of the

countries like 4ortugal and %enmark (1 +etail utures 20''3 Sector Summary!

%ata monitor. The ,obs in retail industry are related to the economics and the

consumer trends.

The retail market in 1 may increase '- in size in the coming - years with a value

of 69'2bn (1 +etail utures 20''3 Sector Summary! %ata monitor even though it

slows down the annual growth and may faces challenges. :ritish retail consortium!

the :+;! the trade association of the retailers is selling the wide range of products in

all centers and stores. #t helps to get the right information about the retail business.

(www.brc.org.uk. in retail industry! the surviving sector is the electrical section and

with a growth of 2* (1 +etail utures 20''3 Sector Summary! %ata monitor. The

retailers of home sector may face the tough period because of the falling prices of

houses and the people are more cautious on moving homes.

The changing concepts of diverse work force.

#n this era of changing perspectives! there are many challenges in the business

world because of the changes in the views of diverse work force and the retail

organisation


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Employee.

An employee is an individual! borrowed by the employers for doing certain ,obs and

there must be a strong relationship between the employee and the retail

organisation. (+eference3 web.02. An employee is a labour that works as the tool

and her or his behaviour is manipulated for the profit of retail organisation and can

be replaced when that is dilapidated (Aswathappa 200. They are the resources of

an organisation because they are being used for organisation


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work force as most important asset. So the diverse work force are e&pected to know

the business functions! solve the problems! develop proper future plans and develop

the organization to run (web reference.2. The diverse work force is the human

resources for an organization and that is used for benefit of organization! society and

the diverse work force itself. (Aswathappa 200.

The HRM concepts.

>+) is applicable to all sections of the management like in selection! manpower

planning! salary administration! performance appraisal! training and the management

developments ()ishra 200'. As per )ishra! >+) has three main concepts they are.

The diverse work force working for retail organization is a valuable source and

so it is essential to put effort and time for the development ()ishra 200'.

The human resources have own characteristics so it can


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Different types of diversity in workplace.

There are different types of diversity e&ists in work place. They may be of ethnicity!

gender e/uality! socio economic! language! disability! culture! age! se&uality! gender

identity etc. This list goes the long way and determines who are we as the individuals

and doesnarris

Sussman! it is connected with relations! connections! the interactions of the crossing

lines. #t consists of many things like the organizational life! the diverse work force


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different places and the employers are interested with these kinds of diverse work

force because of their e&cellence. They need to be encouraged for developing a vast

culture. (5eb ref. 8

As per the trend of today! most retail organizations e&pand their business to

overseas for more e&pansion ($wendolyn ;uizon! 200=. So they need to employ

diverse workforce without any discrimination of gender! ethnicity! age or race

($wendolyn ;uizon! 200=. As globalization is the overpowering trend in today! 2009. That is as the

activities of the organisations spread to different countries! it re/uires the need of

diverse work force from different places and cultures because these heterogeneous

diverse work force can satisfy the re/uirements of the markets and the customers.

(;unningham and $reen! 2008. Also diversity encourages the diverse work force

and gives those opportunities for attaining competitive advantages for the retail

organization. #t helps the retail organisations for making efficient operations in

different places by make use of the e&cellent diverse work force (%wivedi! 200'

The management of diverse workforce.

The retail organisations need diverse work force in their international operations for

gaining better improvements because they need the service of them for dealing with

people of different cultures and backgrounds. So for benefits and success all retail

organisations must handle this diverse work force carefully (Amaram 2008. As per

+oosevelt! the managing diversity is the broad managerial process that develops the

environment to all diverse work forces to work with. (+. +oosevelt Thomas! '==-!

:eyond +ace and $ender.


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#n the present scenario! America is the better e&ample of this reflection of diverse

work force in their retail organisations. There is a mi&ture of diverse work force from

different race! religion! gender! age! and other social and environmental

backgrounds. So America as the melting pot for diverse work force doesn


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!dvantages of diverse work force.

#n retail organization the diverse work force plays the key roles for their business

developments and success. That is this diversity increases their organizational

performances. The diversity helps to retain the best diverse talented bodies in

organizations (Amaram 2008. Thus by having those diverse work force they can

enhances the following things

#ncrease the adaptabilityC The diverse work forces helps to solve different

problems in sourcing! servicing! and the allocation of the resources. The

diverse work forces have got practical talents and that helps to suggest

fle&ible ideas for adapting to the fluctuating customer needs and the market

situation ($reenberg 200*.

To increase the organizational fle&ibilityC The presence of diverse work force

helps the organization to challenge the very old assumptions so that they can

construct better work style ("elson and Duick 2000.

5iden the service rangeC The diverse e&periences and the skills help the

retail organization to serve diverse customers even in the global basis

($reenberg 200*.

#mprove the employee moraleC As the diverse cultures of diverse work force

are valued and recognized! that increases the morale standard and thus gives

an increase in retention ("?5 200.

Eots of view pointC As the diverse work force has variety of ideas and the

e&perience that helps to meet the re/uirements of the customers! the retail

organization and their business strategy ($reenberg 200*.

The innovation and the creativityC The innovative retail organisations creating

more diverse work force for increasing their creativity ("elson and Duick

2000.


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>igh alignment with the vendorsC The diversity helps to settle and deal with

vendors of diverse cultural backgrounds in globally and thus enable the retail

organization to understand and recognize their believes and values for

keeping better relations with them ("?5 200.

?&cellent e&ecution F As the diversity is recognized and encouraged the

diverse work force is inspired for doing their high abilities and so that helps to

increase the productivity! the profit and the return on their investments

($reenberg 200*.

The diversity enhances the /uality of staff by entering the untouched pools of the

talents. #t increases the customer confidence because it gets the service of /uality

work force. The retail organisations have to make constant reviews on their progress

by changing and adopting new approaches! plans! the policies and strategies. That

in turn results in high morale and standard to the retail organisations and the diverse

work force as well.

Thus the best strategic approaches bring profits and developments to the retail

organization. The long term plans and its success are as the result of its diverse

talented work force because these diverse bodies donate fresh and innovative ideas!

views! the perspectives! the values! the corporate values etc. Also the diverse work

force helps to communicate with the diverse customers effectively. Thus by linking

the strategies with special goals like the retention! the performances! the morale! the

bottom line etc the organization can gain long term success. :y building the

business with the help of diverse talented bodies and personalities! they can allowthe diversity to work for the success of retail organization.

#ustification of researc

he changes of the market environments demand the right persons for right job

for every organisation. )s a retail organisation is considered, the environment is


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different for the diverse work force. he uncertainties in the business condition,

high cost for hiring employees, maintaining the diverse work force etc demands

the need for the better management of these employees. )lso the changes of the

government rules and the regulations on the employment procedures, the

changes in the technology, the need of rightly skilled and trained labours for

meeting the re0uirements of the organisations etc lead to the employee

management 1ressley "222.

)lso with emergence of globali!ation, there emerged so many new markets in

the world and it increased the level of competition. *o the organisations must

beware of the conse0uences of this and must be very vigilant for better

prospects. )s a result they have to do effective management of their employees

for performing well in the field. he human resource management HRM is

concerned with the dimension of the employees within the organi!ation. he

human resources are people, who work for organisation Har!ing and

Ruysseveldt %334. *o the management of those people is a need and important

for the success of the retail organisation

$ypotesis

Hypothesis

This section will be discussing the hypothesis which will be testing on while conducting this

research. s stated earlier! this research will be "ainly #ocussing on the concept called

hypothesis. $"portance o# %i&erse 'or( )orce in retail industry* a case

study on Tesco! +lc . his research is based on the functions of a retail

industry and its importance of diverse work force. In this age of globali!ation,

the distance from one continent to other has decreased and it shows the

importance of the interdependency of one country with all other countries. )s a

result of this globali!ation, the organi!ations became more international and this


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brought new challenges in the organi!ation.These concepts are tested by the

researcher by conducing pri"ary research. The approach which he,she #ollows is discussed

through the co"ing section o# this chapter.

Research Methodology

Introduction

The research is the organized in/uisition of a topic for discovering or devising the

theories! the facts! the application etc. There are many factors that increased the

need of diverse work force for more and better information. As the retail

organizations become national and international in their operations! they need more

information about the larger and more distant markets. As the income increase and

buyers are more selective! this necessitates the diverse work force to need know forbetter information on retail organizations... So the retail organizations have to

become more alert and so they need to collect all information on the diverse work

force. )anagers seek information about the customers! the competitors! diverse

work force which influence the market.

The research provides relevant and actionable information of the environment

through various methods such as observing! interacting and asking /uestions. A

research process constitutes se/uence of activities which will help the retail

organization

for taking better decisions. #t can be undertaken for identifying the importance of

diverse work force in the present scenario! defining the problem or the purpose of

the study. Then a theoretical frame work and analytical models are formulated to

develop an approach to the effective management of diverse work force...

ollow up of the research design and the presentation of the report is necessary for

;ommunicating the results to the retail organizations. This part of the dissertation

e&plains the kind of research which is conducted to achieve the research ob,ectives.

An overview of the research design comprising primary and secondary data!

methods of data collection adopted and its analysis! different sampling techni/ues

which are selected for this research work. @ustifications for the design and data

collection methods selected for the purpose of this research work are also given.

Research philosophy


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As retail the business e&pands globally! retail organizations are becoming more and

more competitive in nature for trying to increase their chances in the market. As a

part of this strategy they are recruiting diverse work force for enhancing their

services and for giving e&cellent services for their customers having diverse

backgrounds. >ere this research concentrates on the retail organization Tesco

because it is increasing its global presence by becoming more competitive in the

market. The diversity has different origins and has different policies in different

countries. So it urges the need for managing the diverse work force in the retail

organisations effectively by considering these diversities.

This research is intended to research and find out some real facts about the diverse

work force in retail industries. The topic of the research is Gthe importance of diverse

workforce in retail industry! a case study on TescoH. The human resources are very

essential for the retail organization because they are doing all the important functions

of the organisations. As a retail industry is considered! there is diverse work force

from different places. So it is the duty of the management to handle and manage this

diverse workforce effectively. As a valuable and important resource! diverse work

force must be given important care because all the functions of the retail

organisations are taking place with the help of this diverse work force.

This research focused on the importance of diverse work force in retail industry.

There some issues related with communication and the languages! the advantages

and disadvantages of diverse work force! challenges and problems raised because

of diverse work forces are also analyzed. As the case study methods and case

analysis are accepted research strategies of data collection! it is also considered.

According to Iin ('==*!

GThe case analysis or case study research is an empirical en/uiry that investigates a

;ontemporary phenomenon within its real life conte&t when the boundaries between

4henomenon and conte&t are not clearly evident! and in which multiple sources of

evidence are used.H

>ere as the research on the importance of diverse work force in retail industry

Tesco! the researcher can use e&ploratory and e&planatory research! case study


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analysis ! /ualitative and /uantitative method! etc for carrying out this research

because the

And previous problem is less supported by theoretical background researches. So

the researcher chose this methodology for this research.

Research purpose

As retail organisations became more international it creates different issues and

challenges for the organization and so they need to manage the diverse work force

effectively. The positive and better working environment increases the productivity

of diverse work force thereby it increases the profit of the organization. The presence

of diverse work force is an asset as it contains the very talented people! the broader

services! the innovations etc. :ut the problems like communication issues!

absenteeism! conflicts! turnover etc have to manage effectively for attaining the

organizational goals. 4urpose of this research is to in/uire a systematic study to

know more about the effective management of diverse work force in a retail industry

by giving special consideration to Tesco in 1. So the purpose of this research is to

analyze and evaluate the literature research! by giving importance of the diverse

work force and its effective management in retail industry

"rocedures of the research and its design.

or conducting this research one can collect data using different methods and

procedures. The researcher can use the primary as well as the secondary data.

or this research the researcher can use the following3


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4reparation C +ead the literature about the topic! its importance and also

learns about the organisation from various secondary data.

;ollect the opinion of diverse work force using /uestionnaire and analyze the

data using the collected information.

;onduct an interview with the manager to get more information about the

diverse work force.

Thus the researcher can collect data from the available sources and then conduct

the primary research with the manager to know the issues in relation with the

management of diverse work force. The collected data! can be evaluated and then

recorded for future reference and make use for further research.

"rimary Data #ollection

This type of data can be collected from the direct sources like interview with the

manager! collect information from diverse work force using the /uestionnaire etc.

$econdary Data#ollection

This type of data can collected from the e&isting sources such as books! websites!

articles! ,ournals! companyere case study analysis can be used as an effective tool for carrying the research

and can collect information from the review of literature and from the primary and

secondary sources. Then visit some Tesco units and try to collect information from

there. The researcher can distribute /uestionnaire among the employees and collect

their opinion and suggestions. After that arrange the meeting with the managers and

conduct interview with them for collecting more information about the related

problems and issues.

>ere the researcher uses both the /ualitative and /uantitative methods for the

research. The /ualitative method used is the interview with the >+ managers of

Tesco! Eondon! and the /uantitative method used is the collection of data from

employees of Tesco using the /uestionnaire. rom the collected data and


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information one can put forward the findings and can make recommendations and

suggestions for further research.

Data collection methods

The data can be collected using the primary as well as the secondary research. The

primary data collection is called the field research and the secondary research is

called the desk research

"rimary research

The primary data is the first hand information on the topic. #t is using for getting the

correct information on the research. #t is the data collected in first time and not found

in previous research. or this the researcher can use the methods like interview with

the >+ managers! the /uestionnaire techni/ues! observation etc.

%igure &.'.()$ource of the"rimary data *$ource) +hauri et al, (--/

0uestionnaire

>ere the researcher can use /uestionnaire techni/ue for collecting information on

the importance and the effective management of diverse work force in Tesco. #n this

techni/ue! the data is collecting using the /uestions and the response of the diverse

work force can be observed and collected. Duestions are prepared to encourage the

respondents and tried to reduce the errors. Duestionnaire is a formalized set of

/uestions for obtaining information from respondents.H()alhotra! 2002. As per the

view of )alhotra! the /uestionnaires have 9 specific ob,ectives and they can be

given as follows.

'. The research must make the set of the specific /uestions in which the

respondents can able and willing to an answer. ()alhotra! 2002.


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2. The /uestionnaire must minimize the demand on the respondents! and must

encourage them to participate in the procedure devoid of any bias in the

response. ()alhotra! 2002.

9. The /uestionnaire must reduce responsive errors. ()alhotra! 2002.

The researcher can use structured or the non structured /uestionnaires. The

structured /uestions the /uestions must be in an arranged order. These can be

disguised! that is the purpose of survey is hidden to respondents or it can be non

disguised where the purpose of the research is revealed to them. #n nonC

structured /uestionnaires! /uestions are non structured that is not in the arranged

form and the researcher can ask as per the situation of the research.

Interview

The interview can be done using the pre arranged /uestions so that it saves the

time. All the related information can be collected using the pre planed /uestions

and can be noted down. So that it helps the interviewer to collect the relevant and

right information on the related topic.

$econdary research

#n this the data can be collected using the secondary e&isting sources. So the

researcher must be alert that the data collected must be relevant to the present

situation. #t is the data collecting for finding more information for an additional

purpose. So it needed the vigilant analysis for getting the relevant information

from a collection of e&isting data. The secondary data can be evaluated using

different criteria. They can be given as follows.

;heck the data if it is relevant and useful for the related research.

;heck if the data can apply at the specified time.

;heck the level of errors and the accuracy of data.

;heck the reality of bias.

;heck the methodologies! collected data! the rate of the response! its

analysis! size of sample! techni/ues on the sampling! design of the

/uestionnaires etc.


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;heck the ob,ective of the data collection.

;heck the nature! the definitions! the measures! the relationships etc of the

data.

The secondary data also can collect using outside sources or retail organizationitself. The retail organisations internal sources contain the annual report! the

sales report etc. The e&ternal sources contain the te&t books! the ,ournals! the

newspapers! the professional body! internet sources etc.

Internal sources

The internal sources are the retail organizationere for Tesco! the researcher can use the annual report! the website etc forcollecting the data.

E1ternal sources

The e&ternal sources are the te&t books! the publications! the ,ournal articles etc. or

the te&t books and publications the researcher can use the university libraries and

other local libraries.

The 2ournal articles C There are many ,ournals available for the research.

They are the chartered management institute ;)#! the digital library etc. They

gave the information on the issues of diverse work force! but many of them

didn


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more ideas! principles etc. The descriptive method it promotes more e&aminations

than e&ploratory method. Analytical method also e&amines further more to know

about the real reason.

The preductive method tries to generalize the analysis based on the some general

relations. The /uantitative method analyzes the data using the /uantifiable tools

such as graphs! charts! tables! /uestionnaire etc. The /ualitative method analyzes

the data based on the events! non numerical data like the interview etc. Applies

research also find out the real cause of the problems and for solving it gives the

solution and it applies the cause effect method. The deductive and inductive

methods work based on the logic that it is applied.

or doing this researcher can use the case study method ! the e&plorative method as

it gives more ideas on the topic! the descriptive method! as it find out real reason for

that! the /ualitative method like interview! the /uantitative method like the

/uestionnaire! tables! charts! graphs etc. All these methods help for the knowledge

and further improvement of the topic.

The research diagram can draw to know more about the process. The following

diagrams give an idea about the research process.


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Research limitations.

or conducting this research the researcher faced some issues like the ethical! the

legal issues etc. As Tesco! is the leading retailer in 1! they are not willing to e&pose

the detailed information regarding their employees like their personal details as it is

related with the legal and confidential issues. Also the ethical issues like the time! it

was difficult to meet all the managers together because of their timings. Also due to

time constraints it was not able to meet the top level managers. As this research is

conducted within the fi&ed time frame it was not able to meet the top level

management because of the time constraints. Then come to the research materials!

most of the ,ournals do not provides detailed information about diverse work force at

workplace in retail organisations. #n the secondary research the researcher have to

assess the reliability and accuracy of the data as it was collected by somebody else.

These data have to rearrange properly and to make it useful for the current topic. #t

needs the critical assessment to recognize the bias. Another issue faced was on thegeneralization of the collected data. Then the researcher can

Case Study on HRM in Retail Sector

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