Essays on WHAT LESSONS CAN BE DRAWN FROM HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PRACTICIES IN TERMS OF EQUAL OPORTUNITIES AND DIVERSITY AT SELFRIDGES? DO DIVERSITY POLICIES AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EXIST AT SELFRIDGES?

Equal opportunities and diversity are extremely important for the contemporary human resource management because the modern society grows more and more diverse and companies operating in different segments of the market and in different industries have to meet cultural and social needs of employees. Otherwise, conflicts within organizations are inevitable. In this regard, Selfridges should also pay more attention to equal opportunities and diversity issues to maintain the steady development and positive image of the company.

On analyzing the current development of Selfridges, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the company focuses on the development of equal opportunities and diversity in the workplace environment. At the same time, the company attempts to introduce a homogeneous approach to the provision of services for customers, and, therefore, to the work of employees, that naturally raises the problem of the failure to respect diversity among professionals working in the company. Therefore, the creation of equal opportunities, where Selfridges has proved to be successful is not enough for the effective human resource management.

Instead, equal opportunities should be backed up by the diversity in human resource management to meet needs and cultural traditions of employees. For instance, the SHINE programme (Smile, Help, Inform, New product push, End the sale) fails to respect employees’ diversity, their cultural and traditions. For instance, some employees may feel uncomfortable, when they have to smile at every customer.

As a result, the company fails to respect the diversity of employees. Nevertheless, the experience of Selfridges in regard to the creation of equal opportunities for employees is worth learning.

References
Honeycombe, Gordon. (1984). Selfridges, Seventy-Five Years: The Story of the Store 1909-84 London
Hutchinson, S. HRM Organisation Turnaround at Selfridges & Co.
Morrison, Kathryn A, (2003). English Shops & Shopping: An Architectural History, Yale.
Howard, G. (2007). Recent Economic Trends. New York: Random House.