Aspects of Human Resource Management
Human resource management (HRM) entails the planning and organization related to the efforts of achieving the full potential of the human resource within any organization. The human resource in an organization includes all the skills and abilities possessed by individual employees within an organization. There is a need to plan and enhance synergy in an organization so that the potential of the human resource can be fully attained. This branch of management greatly contributes to the overall management of the organization. The HRM branch is tasked with establishing and maintaining better relations within the human workforce in any organization.
HRM attains this through evaluation, application, and development of programs, procedures and policies that relate to the human workforce in order to maximize their contributions in an effort to realize and organizations goals and objectives. In a nutshell, the HRM department is tasked with the enhancement of collaboration and positive relations among employees so as to attain better results for the organization. This department has to enhance good and positive relations between the organization and its employees and between the employees as a general workforce. According to Ankur (2009), the scope of operations within the HRM department spans three main areas, namely personnel aspect, welfare aspect and industrial relations aspect.
The personnel aspect deals with recruitment, manpower planning, promotion, selection, training, development, transfer, placement, retrenchment, incentives, remuneration, productivity and layoff. The HRM welfare aspect is concerned with amenities in the workplace, working conditions, transport, housing, health, education, medical assistance, recreation and safety-just to mention but a few. On the other hand, the industrial relations aspect of HRM deals with collective bargaining, worker’s union management, disciplinary procedures, settlement of grievances, joint consultation and a lot more (Ankur, 2009). This paper evaluates how HRM is able to achieve its goals and objectives with regard to attaining optimal contribution from the workforce which is directed towards achieving the best for the organization in terms of reaching its goals and objectives through the enhancement of synergy among the various aspects of HRM.
In order to attain the HRM goals and objectives an organization employs a careful analysis of the various HRM aspects and tries to find a way through which it can enhance the better functioning of the workforce by maneuvering the variables associated with the specific HRM aspects. The aspects under focus in most HRM departments include EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) and AA (Affirmative Action), human resource development, safety and benefits, human resource planning, selection and recruitment, and labor and employee relations.
Equal employment opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action (AA): EEO and AA principles were set forth by the government under legislative laws that govern employment both in the private and public sector. These laws were set forth to prevent discrimination based on gender, race, nationality or ethnicity especially, in the processes of hiring and selection of prospective employees. Apart from catering for concerns of discrimination the observance of EEO and AA standards ensures that best and highly qualified employees are hired based on merit rather than other irrelevant factors which may be irrelevant to the required skills that can promote better contribution to the job (Ulrich, 2005).
For example if a HRM officer hired a white employee by virtue of his race whilst discriminating against an Asian employee with higher qualification and proven competence, the action may not be directed towards the good and ends of the organization, because the white employee hired by virtue of his race may be unable to optimally deliver and thus contribute less towards achieving the organization’s objectives and goals. This is a clear example of where HRM may fail if it does not consider important aspects with regard to EEO and AA principles. Therefore, the EEO and AA aspects of HRM ensure that the workforce of an organization is selected based on merit and that the organization is able to achieve the best possible results when the best are selected among the ranks of the workforce (Ulrich, 2005).
The principles guiding EEO and AA offer justice and equality to employees, job seekers and the organization too, because it is enabled to get the best workforce that could further its objectives. EEO and AA also play a role in ensuring that recruitment and selection processes are done appropriately and in accordance to the stipulations of the law. Therefore, the policies that define EEO and AA are directly related to hiring and selection processes. Whilst highlighting affirmative action it is good to be cognizant of the fact that AA should not over-ride the principles of merit. Under the principles of merit, the best and highly qualified candidate shall get the designated work position regardless of his or her race, gender, marital status, ethnicity, et cetera. Merit as principle thus pervades the all aspects related to AA, EEO, hiring and selection (Ulrich, 2005).
As a result of EEO and AA implementation we anticipate a more diverse and multicultural working environment in the future. The U.S is a particularly diverse and multicultural nation and this diversity is expected to be reflected in the future’s workplaces if the principles of EEO and AA are complied with, which is actually expected because these principles are reinforced by the rule of law. Therefore, future concerns about HRM should be more focused towards bettering their ability to manage a multicultural workforce where multiculturalism will definitely matter a lot.
Human resource planning: Is a HRM process entails the identification of present and future human workforce requirements necessary for the organization to obtain its objectives and goals. Organizations transform through time and the human resource requirements change as time goes by. The HRM department needs to be aware of possible changes that may occur in the present and the future so as to plan for activities of restructuring such as layoffs and retrenchments where some human services may become unnecessary or for hiring and recruitment where new duties may arise and new skills be required to fulfill the new goals and objectives that may have arisen (Ulrich, 2005).
A good example would be an organization that had been managing its information in physical files, and now wishes to transfer information management into automated systems such as computer based databases. Such a plan in the change of information management may definitely require the current staff members to be laid off and new IT qualified individuals to be hired for the new tasks that will have arisen. The ability to project and plan the HR requirements and clearly define the qualifications required, criterion of hiring and time of hiring is what constitutes human resource planning. The process helps attain the primary goals of the organization by ensuring that the required workforce will be available when required by the organization for use in accomplishing its purposes. Notably, HR planning goes hand in hand with the activities of hiring, selection and even laying off.
The future of human resource planning requires a systematic approach in defining the present requirements and being able to project far into the future. This requires a careful assessment of the advances in technology and shifts in production processes and service delivery. The planning process should be more focused on technological changes in order to clearly forecast the future.
Recruitment and selection: Recruitment and selection entails the processes involved in choosing the candidates that are deemed most fit for tasks within the organization. It also has to with recruitment- a process through which prospective employees chosen and brought into workforce by integration. This is a very important process because it is meant to be the determinant of the quality of the workforce and hired individuals. Through the process, the best possible people are hired-these should be highly competent people that can help the organization reach its objectives (Deb, 2006). It involves analyzing competencies, qualifications and experience in relation to the designated work. The processes of selection and recruitment are related and merged with EEO and AA considerations and they are coupled to enhance the acquisition of the best workforce.
Organizations have nowadays transformed a great deal from the past. In the past there was a trend towards permanent employment and seeking people that would always be available, however; currently organization are more concerned with seeking creative alternatives ways of doing more with less resources. As such they have resulted to methods such as outsourcing and contract hiring, where employees are hired for a specific period of time to accomplish tasks and then exit from the organization. Customer satisfaction drive has also led to the trend of competency considerations in hiring. In the past organizations offered job security, employment and promotion for conformity and loyalty, but nowadays there is trend to exchange high performance for higher pay rather than security and as such competency comes fast in the considerations made when hiring (Deb, 2006). There is also a shift towards considering professional ethics, integrity, and innovation and learning ability in addition to competency. Long gone is the time when only high qualification mattered.
Human resources development (HRD): HRD concerns itself with development or enhancement of the organizational and personal skills, abilities and knowledge of the workforce. It is a process through which the HRM ensures that the current employees are up to date with regard to knowledge and technological developments that are currently required for the advancement of the organization towards attaining its goals. A good example is through the initiation of training programs that for example take employees through training sessions which allow them to learn new skills required in the current labor market and service industry (Ulrich, 2005). Other HRD activities include mentoring, coaching, performance management and career development. All these serve to better the skills of the already acquired workforce to ensure it conforms to the current labor market levels. It is also important in increasing a company’s competence in the market, because workers can form the best competitive advantage edge for a business.
The future of HRD shall entail the combination of activities such as human resource planning and recruitment and selection in order to create a road map on how to acquire a staff that needs lesser training through streamlining selection to specific levels of competencies that ensure there will be lesser HRD efforts required, because these are costly and they tend to cause interruptions. Predictions from HRD planning will be used to design current and future training necessary for any future changes and requirements in competencies.
Compensation and benefits: Compensation and benefits in HRD relates to the establishment and control of procedures and rules that govern variable pay, salary scales and benefits within the organization’s payment and benefit structure (Ulrich, 2005). This is an important aspect of HRM that is related to hiring and recruitment because it determines the remuneration and benefits that the new employees will be entitled to. The process of establishment has to be well coordinated with recruitment so as to enhance competitive and attractive packages that can not only attract the right and competent workforce, but also ensure its retention which is essential in avoiding interruptions that may hinder the ability to reach the desired goal.
Deb (2006) states that, the current labor market is very competitive and as such the employers have to set up competitive packages to attract more qualified and competent employees. The current trend in setting compensation and benefits requires most value seeking organizations to go beyond the market competition and comparisons of competitors to set up unique provisions on benefits and compensations that may not be expensive but attractive, such as part-time working that enables employees to trade lesser pay for more free time to engage in other personal ventures and pursuits.
Safety and Health: The aspect of health and safety in HRD is concerned with ensuring that the employees are free from illnesses and in their optimal functioning capacity. It is also concerned with ensuring that employees are working under safe conditions that do not endanger their lives. The planning on safety and health enhancement is meant to reduce workplace injury, absenteeism, grievances, work related injury suits, employee turn over and increase morale. The maintenance of a healthy workforce ensures that they are available to work optimally and with very little absenteeism thus ensuring true value for their labor is attained in trying to reach the goals of the organization.
The current trends in relation to safety and health are more concerned with enhancing safer working environments that enhance better and safe working conditions. There is also an extensive look into how workplace related stressors can be reduced, because it has been established that stress related problems are now affecting the workers more than ever before (Deb, 2006).
Employee and labor relations: This section of HRM practices is concerned with the implementation of labor relations in the industrial set up and it is charged with properly interpreting labor laws and current trends in wage and salary levels in order to supply the management with information required for collective bargaining and the making of negotiations. These activities require knowledge in labor laws, wage data and economy analysis as well as proficiency in bargaining procedures (Ulrich, 2005).
This is the area that has traditionally been concerned with conflicts relating to strikes and litigations. The current approach in this area is to adopt conflict resolution methods that lead to the least cases of interruptions and fewer cases of litigation. The generally adopted trend may involve seeking arbitrators to resolve matter away from the courts to minimize costs and disruptions.
All these aspects of HRM are equally important because each of them addresses a single, different element within HRM activities. However, it has to be noted that they are all related in one way or another, and at times they complement each other. For example the selection and recruitment rely on human resource planning to define the kind of qualifications and requirements that may be necessary for certain task and therefore; the human resource planning directly influences the selection and recruitment process. Therefore, in order to optimize HRM contribution towards achieving the organization’s goal and objectives there is a need for all these aspect to be synergized in a manner that will allow them to complement and supplement each other so that they can lead to success in reaching the goals of an organization (Deb, 2006).
Conclusion
Human resource management (HRM) entails the planning and organization related to the efforts of achieving the full potential of the human resource within any organization. The human resource in an organization includes all the skills and abilities possessed by individual employees within an organization. There is a need to plan and enhance synergy in an organization so that the potential of the human resource can be fully attained. This can only be attained if all aspects of HRM and their related activities are harmonized to complement and supplement each other in an effort to reach the designated goal.
References
Ankur (2009),. Human resource management: scope, nature, objectives and functions, retrieved on 15th April 2011 from http://expertscolumn.com/content/human-resource-management-nature-scope-objectives-and-function
Deb, T. (2006),.Strategic Approach to Human Resource Management, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors
Ulrich, D. (2005),.The future of human resource management: 64 thought leaders explore the critical HR issues of today and tomorrow, John Wiley and Sons
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