Human Resource Management – Definitions, Values, And Practices

Topic 1 – Definitions, Values And Assumptions

Human resource management plays a vital role in the organization. It is a report which will focus on various aspects regarding human resource management. HRM roles, functions and rules will be considered in this report. Recruitment and selection are main component that is performed by HRM in an organization. A brief discussion will be made in the context of pay, rewards, performance management, equity, diversity and wellness. There are different roles and responsibilities of HR manager in the organization and to follow them in an appropriate manner, there are number of rules are formulated within an organization for employee as well as employer.

Problem

Lack of industrial relations is a major problem of an organization and it brings the situation of miscommunication. Industrial relations are related to mutual cooperation.  

Causes

• Lack of communication between employee and employers.
• Inflexible working practices.
• The personal objectives are being ignored.
• Staff management conflicts.

Potential solutions

  In the perspective of unitary, the organization is perceived as an integrated system and viewed as a happy family. On the other hand, it shows that the entire staff member of the organization is shared same goals to attain the same objective (Brewster  and Hegewisch, 2017). It is required for the organization to have the flexible working environment and the participation of employee in decision making process should be enabled because it enhances the productivity of the employee in an appropriate manner.

Problem

The importance of human resource is keeping paramount value in the success of any organization. Improper changes in the transformation of HRM from the former personnel management is considered as the major issue.

Causes

• Unplanned change process.
• Lack of selection and development of personal staff.
• Devolution of inappropriate functions to line managers.

Potential solutions

The strategy should be planned in an efficient manner so that irrelevant issues could not rise within an organization in the form of conflicts. It is integral to consider the implications of the delegation of routine administrative HR activities to line managers. In the transformation hard and soft approaches should be considered appropriately. For instance, if an organization focuses to control the functions of the organization, it may be hard approach to HRM.  While soft approaches is there when it recognizes a range of various situational factors impact the policies of HR, involving prevailing management philosophy, laws and societal values (Purce, 2014). The role of HR manager is to manage the entire employees by providing efficient training and development program.

Problem

A normative business model does not able to explain the situation or structure of an enterprise. A Harvard model stresses the requirement for integrated links between management issues and major components of HRM.

Causes

• Various key stakeholders
• Influence HR policy choices

Solution

The aspects of normative business model are similar as descriptive model. The most well known model of HRM is soft model which is known as Harvard model. Government is key stakeholders of the organization that act as employer and stakeholder (Randles and Laasch, 2016). Harvard model is considered as the “ideal type” model. It is able to identify the key levers of change in the various elements of HRM.

Problem

Difference of human resource practices whether changes in an organization are done from growth to a decline strategy.

Topic 2 – Linking To Strategy And The Environment

Causes

• Lack of staffing is the main cause of decline strategy
• Training and development
• Compensations and benefits

Solution

The three example of human resource practices is mentioned below which would be differ if an organization changed from a growth to a decline strategy. Staffing is a great example of HRM practices which determines that how many resources are required to implement the strategic plan. Training and development is another practice of HRM that involves succession planning including the proper management of various departments. It is the responsibility of HR manager to provide the efficient services to the employee and appreciate them by rewarding and recognition them for their successful achievement (Breuer and Lüdeke-Freund, 2014).

Problem

Lack of proper handling of employees by HR manager within an organization is considered as the major issue under this topic.

Causes

• Lack of knowledge about the responsibility.
• The role may create the conflict with operating managers.
• Lack of social and professional significance.

Solution

The role of HRM in modern organization is categorized into operational and strategic roles. The strategic HR roles refers that HR manager is proactive in addressing the realities of business and they should focus on the potential requirements of the business (Duffield, et. al., 2014). The role of HRM as a strategic is referred as an important and shows that HRM should be responsible for financial aspects and employee boost. HRM should be responsible to bring the benefits in the favor of organization by using resources in an effective manner.

Problem

Lack of rules and responsibilities within an organization is major issues.

Causes

• Improper design of organization and job
• Lack of training and development program
• Lack of significance for individual enterprise

Solution

A rule about the rights and accountabilities of managers and employees at work is vital because it controls many aspects in proper manner. It involves the employee benefits, employment discrimination protection and health and safety at work place. It is the rule of HRM that the strategic function of it should be carried out as close to the strategy and decision maker. The HR manager should be most talented and well trained (Fried, et. al., 2013). For instance if employees of the company are not aware about the strategy they would not be able to fulfill the requirements of the company. The well trained line manager of the company can be the role model of others to accomplish the task within time frame.

Problem

The bad relationship between job analysis, individual competency development and job design can be the major issue within an organization.

Causes

• To avoid the production capacity required to support organizational objectives.
• Minimum use of human resource for enhancing the productivity.

Solution

Human resource planning is considered as the process of analyzing and recognizing the requirement of human resource to meet the objectives of the company. It is required for the HRM to maintain the relationship between job analysis, individual competency development and job design. Job analysis helps to determine the requirement of job and the development of skills as per job requirement in an individual is referred to individual competency development (Karami, Sahebalzamani and Sarabi, 2015). Job design is a structure in which profile are formulated as per the requirement and the development of an individual.

Problem

Concepts of the psychological contract

Causes

• Lack of fairness
• Improper managing expectations
• Deficiency in trust between employee and employer

Solution

The psychological contract is known as the unwritten set of expectation in which employer of the organization give commitment to the employee regarding appraisal and promotion. It keeps huge importance in the modern organization because it involves solid agreements between company and its employee beyond the written contracts (Guest, 2007).   

Topic 3 – HRM Rules, Roles And Functions

Problem

Insufficiency in promotion and appraisal

Causes

• Due to inappropriate training program
• Lack of knowledge about the promotion policy

Solution

A resource based view of the organization shows a paradigm shift in SHRM thinking by keeping consideration on the internal sources of the organization. The HR manager needs to consider how to enhance the productivity of the employee to attain the certain objectives of the company. It describes that the manager of the organization should prefer existing employees for promotion and provide appraisal to them who have served one or more within an organization (Sparrow, 2007).

Problem

Insufficient business cycle as per the requirement is known as the major issue within an organization.

Causes

• Inefficient process of recruitment and selection

Solution

Recruitment and selection process plays essential role in the organization because in encompasses matching people and their expectations with the job specifications. High road refers the best offers to the employee by providing them an efficient services such as living wage, better benefits and many more on the other hand low roads is the adoption of short term benefits (Kumar, et. al., 2014). These approaches are keeping huge importance in the organization and interlinked with business life cycle because if the employee would get all facility at work place, he will stay with the organization for a long time and in opposite, he will look after for another opportunity.

Problem

 Lack of involvement in helping employee plan their careers

Causes

• Always thinking about the benefits of the organization
• Ignore the important factor as the point of view of employees

Solution

Company should be interested in helping employee plan their careers and make them ready to get the higher position in the organization. It would be helpful for company as well because it can attain the corporate benefits if their existing employees get promotion and appraisal after certain period (Banker, Byzalov and Chen, 2013). There are foremost five performance management tactics such as clarity, support, feedback, fit and development.

Problem

The found problem is Inefficiency in performance review system.

Causes

• Lack of mutual setting of goals and objectives
• Improper evaluation ofperformance review system

Solution

A performance evaluation is not a process but also it is the opportunity for the manager to discuss and meet the job performance of employee. It is vital for the HRM to evaluate the performance of the employee in an adequate manner. It can be used as the important tool to measure the individual performance and to make progress in employees into high performing individuals (Beardwell and Thompson, 2014). It is beneficiary process not only for employee but also for employer because it enhances the efficiency of employees.

Problem

Strategic remuneration system

Causes

• Unfair policy of remuneration
• Non-comply with workplace laws and regulations

Solution  

Strategic remuneration system is able to attract and retain the talented employees. It would be helpful for motivating employees to enhance the productivity. HRM should be ensured that the remuneration policies of organization are well aligned to its strategic aims (Berman, 2015). The employee remuneration should be fully explained where deviations are recognized.

Problem

Unfairness and distributive justice

Causes

• Lack of motivation
• Due to insufficient knowledge about the remuneration and rewards

Solution  

Equity theory refers the equal fairness between employees regarding rewards and recognition. The main focus of it is on the work compensations relationship that is known as equity theory as well (Hammer, et. al., 2016). It is interlinked with procedural justice that is link with fairness and might be contrasted with distributive justice.

Topic 4 – HR Planning, Work And Job Design

Problem

Safety risk and health issues

Causes

• Improper rules and regulation of health and safety risk
• Breaches of laws of health and safety act

Solution  

It is the responsibility of HR manager to define the safety responsibilities for each level within the organization. HR manager should enforce the accountability for being visibly involved. First aid box should be ready for an emergency (Fast, Burris  and Bartel, 2014). Incident investigation system should be evaluated in an adequate manner. Training program should be conducted for the point of view of safety of the employees in which entire information regarding safety should be given to employees.

Problem

‘Glass ceiling’ and ‘sticky floor’

Causes

• Discriminations
• Negative influence from outside

Solution  

Glass ceiling and sticky floor are barriers to career advancements. Glass ceiling is a theory of unseen and unreachable barriers that keeps minorities. Sticky floor is used in an organization explain the discriminatory employment pattern that keeps a certain group of people at the low level of job scale.  The consequences may come in negative perspective for the organization which will reduce the goodwill of the company (Xiu and Gunderson, 2014). A human resource development strategy helps to address these issues because it is able to enhance the skills of an employee in an appropriate manner. It will be facilitated to provide equality at workplace without any discrimination.

Topic 9

Problem

Inefficiency in the performance of organization

Causes

• Ignoring the voice of employee
• Improper organizational performance

Solution  

Voice is the foundation of the success of the sustainable business. It enables employee to involve in the decision making process and enhance the productivity of the employee because due to this employee are free to share their concern with higher authority (Zhang, et. al., 2015). Voice is about both cultures as well as structure and for this it is vital to have the authentication and trust over the organization.

Problem

Offensive response to employee voice

Causes

• Improper response of employee voice
• Inadequate behaviour with employee

Solution  

The three mechanisms can be direct voice, employee engagement and collective bargaining. Direct voice is where when employees of the company raise their voice with small group of employees and their immediate manager. Employee engagement is important where people employ themselves emotionally and physically in their job roles for attaining the objectives of the organization (Boxall, et. al., 2016). The third mechanism is collective bargaining in which the leaders of well known trade unions are agreed to procedural and substantive terms and conditions of employment. The organization may get advantages if it response to employee voice in the form of long stability of the employee with the organization. for instance, if an employee are not satisfied with working environment and raise their voice against it and in revert he get better resolution from the management, it would make feel him happy with the response of company which may impact to other employees as well in progressive way.

Conclusion 

It has been concluded that human resource management is vital for the growth of the organization. Human resource planning is integral for the success of the organization because it contains various aspects such as planning, hiring, recruiting, training, compensations, benefits and evaluation. It has been described in this essay that the role of HRM is most vital in today’s modern organization. Various topics have been discussed with defining the issues, causes and solution of the problems. Problem based learning methods have been applied in this essay to identify the issues and their causes for finding the appropriate solutions.

It has been recommended to HRM to follow the policies and procedure of the organization in an adequate manner. HR manager of the organization should be involved in every activities of the organization from hiring of the employee to resigning of the employee. The performance of the employee should be evaluated with fairness and loyalty and equality among employees should be applied within an organization.

References 

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