Concept of Leadership
The ability of the management in a firm to deal with the employees operating under them forms the basis of the concept of leadership in the corporate field. As compared to leadership, human resources management is a broader concept involving various notions of managing the employees in a firm over and above the concept of leadership. It enables the firm to take up challenging goals and fulfil the same using the expertise and human resource skills of the employees. Human Resource Development in the context of a firm or a corporate organisation refers to the framework and structure used for taking care of the organisation in terms of the employees. This literature review is based on the relationship between these concepts.
Leadership is one of the most important aspects of human resource management. It is the perspective through which the management is supposed to help the employees working under them. It helps the employees to understand their capabilities and utilise the same to the fullest possible extent. The opportunities of the individual employees are increased through the implication of valuable human resources strategies and techniques. It is through the use of this framework that employees are able to develop their careers by providing them with the training. According to Ciulla (2017), It helps the employees to develop a body language and sense of accountability that involves the notions of ethical standards. In certain forms of business and industries the role played by leadership is different. According to Carter (2018), leadership in certain types of industries helps in forming the building bridge between the two different types of employees employed at different levels of the organisational hierarchy.
According to Offermann and Coats (2018), the most common and well known theories of leadership claim that leaders are the representatives of the people who work under them. They are responsible for setting examples and problem solving as well as for setting examples to the other employees in any organisation. Long term growth and sustainability of any organisation requires alignment of the business strategies with the building of a strong workforce that is ready to accept challenges and have a vehement problem solving capacity. According to Nilsson and Ellström (2012), there has been many changes from the traditional processes implemented in the organisations in the recent years. Learning patterns have changed and employees and fresher are increasingly trying to adapt to new processes of learning and problem solving. This is because the leadership as a phenomenon is not just dependent on the educational process an individual has gone through or the degree that is granted to that person (Wilton 2016). According to Offord, Gill and Kendal (2016), with respect to the training provided at the job site, the leadership qualities of the management should be such that they create both an assertive and a conducive atmosphere at the same time. However, the approach followed by the management differs across different types of organisations- corporate or public. Sometimes leadership is also considered to be one of the processes which enable the recruiters and managers to gain credibility and improve their own experiences. A very important part of the leadership process involve choosing the right of employees for the different departments within the same firm or organisation. This is because when the vision of the firm should be conveyed with utmost care to the new employees. This again the leadership skills which will enable the managers to perform wisely and with greater amounts of versatility.
Theories and Model of Leadership
According to Al Ariss, Cascio and Paauwe (2014), the major perspectives of this aspect of management include talent pools of employees that enter into a particular organisation, a collection of all the activities and initiatives that involve development and management of the employees working or associated with a particular organisation. It also involves the notions and opinions that help in measuring and improving performance of the employees. This includes quality performance as well as potential utilisation so that the employees are able to deliver high levels of performance (Collings, Scullion and Vaiman 2015). In addition to this, human resources development concepts also involves identifying and segregating the high and extremely well performing employees who help in bolstering the growth of the organisation. Along with this, they should be provided with recognition and awards so that they are motivated and keep contributing in increasing amounts towards the success of the firm. This is so because the organisational performance depends on the outstanding performance of a few employees. There are other perspectives towards human resource department of a firm which claim that the identification of positions in a firm that are important and crucial to the success of the firm in the long run are to be identified by the HRD of a firm. According to Armstrong and Taylor (2014), it is the same strategies and techniques that help the employees to remain motivated and help the employers at the same to retain the employees.
Theories of human resource development assert that human resource management is in fact multidisciplinary in nature and involves the learning of ethics and protocols which enable an organisation to contribute to the community in which they operate (Bratton and Gold 2017). This aspect lies from the perspective of social science. It is in fact used as a method of gaining comparative advantage over other firms by incorporating and using cultural and social techniques. In the long run, it helps in expanding across international borders by cross community engagement and exchange of services in an easier manner. Theories also suggest that the implementation of human resource development techniques and strategies are essential for removing the uncertainties especially in terms of financial recession and financial downturns. There are various competitive strategies that are employed by the international management in order to achieve success for the firms in the long run in comparison to the comoetitors present in the same industry.
Another theory of human resource development claims that human skills and knowledge are the single most important form of resources that a firm can use in different proportions along with automation to reach the changing demand patterns of the customers. The administrative power of the leadership in any firm is one of the most important resources that can be utilised so that there is low cost incurrence and greater cooperation among the employees. This in turn ensures that the objectives facing the firm are reached easily and within lesser periods of time.
International theories of human resource development tend to illustrate that there are various patterns and attributes that help in shaping the human resource culture in different parts of the world. There are several factors and attributes that help in segregating patterns of HRM on a national basis. This includes factors of national culture and diversity. It also includes the institutional relationships that have been relevant traditionally amongst employees (Brewster, Chung and Sparrow 2016). The other such factors include business systems and labour markets existing in the country as well as competency of the human resource management in that particular region of the world. According to Tyson (2014),the international theories also evolve based on transition processes that the human resource processes in that particular nation has passed through. There are many such processes. These involve the formation of international capabilities, talent management at the global level, branding of the employer, the mindset of the leadership at the global level in comparison to the mindset of the employers in that particular nation and the processes through which the capabilities of the employees and the workforce is set and improved beyond a certain point. The change brought about in the patterns of the human resource management processes include strategic pressures formed at the national level. These in turn include disruptive business models used, business model innovation, adoption of models which are international human resources management processes, configurations which are global, adoption of models of delivery which are also global.
Concept of Human Resource Management
Theories of employee engagement involve assertions that prioritise the notions of engagement in the corporate organisations. The processes of selection, training, socialization and social relationships should all aim at increasing the intensity of engagement in the organisation (Albrecht et al. 2015). Thus, these theories tend to incorporate employee engagement as one of the most crucial aspects of human resource management. According to Jackson, Schuler and Jiang (2014),organisational outcomes are often bettered with the implementation of engagement workshops and training sessions.
According to Bolman and Deal (2017), Strategic human resources management theories based on leadership issues suggest the importance of a multidisciplinary approach which stresses on both the internal and external aspects of employee and employer relationship. It includes measuring and monitoring the contributions of the different stakeholders of the firm and also looking after the satisfaction of the multiple stakeholders of the firm at the very same time. Innovation leadership management and sustainability of the strategies undertaken in the long run for the firm are also given increased importance and significance. This is claimed to increase the amount of practical usefulness of the strategies implemented in a firm. These tools include the strategic mapping, the manager scorecards, the digital dashboard and few other such tools. The people working at a firm, according to this theory are considered to be assets just like te other resources of the firm. Just like the resources used in the production, it is important to cater to the needs and requirements of these assets as well. It is important to keep the workforce of any firm or organisation nourished and fulfilled for gaining better competitive advantage in the industry over the other firms in the industry.
There are still other theories that tend to change the process of human resource management and development. These theories state that private firms are considered to be operating at different levels of governance in such a way that while the needs of the current workforce is being managed by the firm, the firm is also making sure that the needs of the future generation workforces will also be met. This is a very different and new aspect of sustainability that is followed by the firms increasing in the recent years. This involves giving back to the community in which they operate and sustain. This helps in increasing the workforce while retaining the old employees at the very same time.
There are other types of theories as well based on the notions of diversity and increased equal employment opportunities. Institutions are increasingly trying to include employees from different cultural backgrounds as well as from different genders (Nankervis et a. 2016). The notion of diversity is also spread across different employees from different age groups and nationalities as well. These theories not only tend to give equal rights and opportunities to these varied groups of employees but also try to decrease the communication gaps across different cultures. This in turn helps in reducing the barriers and challenges facing multinational firms that try to expand beyond a certain continent or region of the world.
References
Al Ariss, A., Cascio, W.F. and Paauwe, J., 2014. Talent management: Current theories and future research directions. Journal of World Business, 49(2), pp.173-179.
Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. and Saks, A.M., 2015. Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), pp.7-35.
Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C., Chung, C. and Sparrow, P., 2016. Globalizing human resource management. Routledge.
Carter, K., 2018. Promoting self-concept and leadership competencies among frontline nursing staff. Nursing management, 49(9), p.7.
Ciulla, J.B., 2017. Trust and the future of leadership. The Blackwell guide to business ethics, pp.334-351.
Collings, D.G., Scullion, H. and Vaiman, V., 2015. Talent management: Progress and prospects.
Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S. and Jiang, K., 2014. An aspirational framework for strategic human resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), pp.1-56.
Nankervis, A.R., Baird, M., Coffey, J. and Shields, J., 2016. Human resource management: strategy and practice. Cengage AU.
Nilsson, S. and Ellström, P.E., 2012. Employability and talent management: challenges for HRD practices. European Journal of Training and Development, 36(1), pp.26-45.
Offermann, L.R. and Coats, M.R., 2018. Implicit theories of leadership: Stability and change over two decades. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(4), pp.513-522.
Offord, M., Gill, R. and Kendal, J., 2016. Leadership between decks: A synthesis and development of engagement and resistance theories of leadership based on evidence from practice in Royal Navy warships. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 37(2), pp.289-304.
Tyson, S., 2014. Essentials of human resource management. Routledge.