Chicago: Commerce Clearing House, Essay Example

Human Resource Management (HRM) is an organization that seeks to find balance in the workforce. Like other departmental organizations HRM must face litigation, as well as ethical issues while also developing innovative ideas that are sharp with a competitive edge. There is a functional shift in the dynamics of HRM because of these antithetical elements: it is a shift that requires a focus on change within the department. This change is due in large part to sundry cultures, policies, and environments. True change for HRM comes in the form of altering or improving upon management-planning and forecasting, training and development, appraisals/compensations/rewards/benefits, and employee protection and representation.

Ideal HRM Planning and Forecasting

HRM plans are an integral part of any business owner’s business plan, as personnel needs are a great indicator of the success of a business as this success is directly linked to the people who work at the business (Introduction, n.d., p. 2). Failing to anticipate the needs of the people (HRM’s main role) and the fluctuations of these needs is necessary for human resource planning. In point of fact, the necessity of the right people at a business directly relates to the success of the business. Such insight can help HRM determine “staff turnover, recruitment, and strategic hiring—alleviate stress when you have emergency/last-minute hiring needs” (p. 2). The first is predicting hiring needs.

Anticipating changes in work-force hiring is crucial to a functional HRM department; these potential changes can lead to a frenzy of last-minute hiring and poor decision making. In HRM, it’s important to realize that last minute decisions, or “frenzied” hiring does well for the business in the short term, but does not bode well for long-term goals. Thus, HRM needs to be organized as well as patient as their workforce determines the success of the business. Forecasting such needs will also save the business money in the long run.

One way in which forecasting can be done properly is with a needs-assessment chart. Such a chart is really a business plan and should include, according to HRM standards, the following: paying attention to the company’s long-term goals, expansion into new markets/product lines, new technology/social media, and “will new skills and/or training be required to meet the company’s goals and objectives” (Introduction, n.d., p. 3). In order to assess whether or not these goals are viable to the current and long-term vision for a company’s HRM, the company must ask itself the following questions: what is the company’s business strategy and needs? What is the job description? Who/How/When do I need to hire? For instance, if a company’s goal is to expand in the next five years, how does the company want this reflected in its sales? In its net worth? How will such changes impact HRM’s hiring needs? There are certain employees needed at certain stages of a nubile company; and these employee needs will certainly change as the business grows and expands. Paying attention to the ebb and flow of such goal changes and hiring needs, and anticipating them before problems arise, is one way that HRM can stay on top constructing the company’s facility, producing a product and shipping it, and expanding their market (this is an example of a three-year plan); “identifying your business goals and needs will help you to predict future hiring needs, in terms of the number of employees types of skills, and work experiences. This process will help you to avoid making mistakes –like hiring an employee prematurely” (Introduction, n.d., p. 5). When hiring, HRM needs to look at hiring someone who has a particular set of skills as opposed to a particular type of person for a particular job. In order to properly forecast such hiring needs (“HR Forecasting” n.d., para. 4). HRM needs to be asking these questions: “what new positions are opening up? What special skills will be needed? What work experience will be required? When will new staff be needed? When should hiring be scheduled to ensure a smooth transition? Does the hiring plan also provide for employee turnover and attrition?” (Introduction, n.d., p. 5-6). Keeping the business goals in mind will only boost HRM’s framework for the future.

Training And Development

Training and needs analysis needs to correlate with business goals in order for time and money investment to pay off in HRM (Training and Developing Employees, 1980, p. 186). HRM programs need to focus on training and management in order to be effective. One step that does this is taking into account that these employees are adult learners and as such, learn as a quicker rate and higher retention. This is known as “andragogy” which consists of five elements: “adults need to know why they are learning something; adults need to be self-directed; adults bring more work-related experienees into the learning situation; adults enter into a learning experience with a problem-centered approach to learning and adults are motivated to learn by both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators” (p. 186). This requires that HRM approach employees with a “problem-centered approach” which simply means that employees learn better in an environment where they can see their efforts being used and how such performance tasks allow them to confront real problems at work.

Workers work at different stages during their careers. Thus, employees need to have different training in order to hone skills or to acquire new ones. If an employee hasn’t had the opportunity to gain the necessary skill set through an education then they must acquire such skills through training and development with HRM. Such training is also necessary at these different career stages. These four stages are: “functional competence, and understanding of finance, accounting, marketing, strategy, information technology, economics, operations and human resources management” (Training and Developing Employees, 1980, p. 186). HRM must foster an environment where the business’s priorities are reflected in who they hire and how they train their employees. In order to do this effectively, HRM must also look at the long-term for an employee; where that employee may end up and what skills would behoove them to know in order to prepare them for that position. This is done through HRM by “understanding of people and motivations” (p. 186). HRM must constantly assess and reassess their employees developmental needs in order to fully prepare them for that position, and must constantly reassess how this will change for the worker over time and over the course of their career.

HRM’s job is to find appropriate investments and to foster those investments: future employees. It’s the same as investing in new equipment; employees are a matter of maintenance. The goal for HRM is to invest in the right equipment (employees that have the right skill set, not particular employees for a particular job) and that equipment will in turn pay for itself, create faster production, have less waste, have lower maintenance costs, etc. (p.187). HRM needs to invest in “improving the knowledge and skills of its employees, there should be some benefit to the organization” (p.187). In order for HRM to foster an environment where employees can learn and reach higher goals, and feel as though their skills are being used and improved upon, HRM needs to do the following: gain a sense of what’s working for the employees by inquiring about their reaction to training especially for certain programs; be aware of retention for employees and what they’re learning and maintaining a memory of; assessing changes in job performances; and finally, what overall impact HRM training had on the employee along with how employees reacted to the overall organizational objectives (i.e. turnover, success rate, absence as well as cost analysis) (Training and Developing Employees, 1980, p. 186).

Appraisals, Compensation, Rewards and Benefits

The use of money as currency is really a trade between two bodies that are gaining something from said trade. An organization pays their employees for providing a service and employees accept payment in return for a particular skill set. A good HRM organization will have employees thinking more about performance. This entails, however, HRM in being “clear in demonstrating what is rewarded” (“Most People Like Hard Work,” n.d., p. 7) and if people understand the reward system (based, hopefully, on good performance measures as well as clear company goals) they will understand what skills, knowledge and experience pays off. For instance, “If you interview subordinates in an organization that has a “merit pay system” but has poor performance appraisal, you will find a widerange of opinion about whether the system works or not, and what it means to get a merit increase. More often than not, a “merit” increase has become little more than a longevity pay increase” (p. 7). In order for this “merit” increase to work; however, the entire company needs to support it. This means that from top management to HRM, support is needed: merit pay as well as performance appraisals must be established across the board, and this goes without exemption. This modeling is necessary for foundational laws, and is necessary in order for the system to continue to work.

In order for this to continue to work HRM must do the following: set attainable goals, set understandable goals and performance plans, listen to employees, keep goals dynamic, and plan carefully (“Most People Like Hard Work,” n.d., p. 8-9).  HRM needs to decide what is measured (skills) and how it’s measured (pay). This can be done inclusively or exclusively. Some companies pay uniformly in order to emphasize common goals. Other organizations limit pay based on performance in order to favor “front line” employees, or employees who directly effect product dividends and expansion (McPhie, 2006, p. 7). In either case, HRM needs to establish what type of company they are, and make sure that performance pay is across the board.

Employee Protection and Representation

Employment relations is definitively about the theory and practice of HRM in regulating employment relations. The specifics of this is that HRM is concerned primarily with socio-political dynamics of the employee’s relationship with the organization and vice versa. This relationship deals with the power shift between management and employee and the conflict that can arise in such a social and legislative environment. HRM has risen along with other industrial structures, in order to face facts in a “service-dominated economy” (Employment Relations, 1981, p. 276). HRM is concerned with not only an individual and management but also “collective employment relationship” (p. 276). HRM’s skills are best exemplified through a skill-set or rather than through management function.

In order for HRM to protect and represent employees they must train, teach and develop the worker. This has been emphasized throughout this work, and here again it is centered upon: in order to grow an organization, proper management of employees is necessary. They are the engine on which the organization grows. HRM must coordinate with their employees on a multitude of levels (as highlight in the sections of this work) according to the goals of the company. Employee representation is done during the hiring stage when HRM ensures that the personal goals of the employee match, or can be associated with the company’s; or at least a clear line of skill sets match the job requirement and the company’s goals are outlined with clarity. There are two ways that HRM can achieve this: by performing heroic management or engaging management.

Heroic management is based on the self. This occurs when managers consider themselves above the worker bee, or when they’re important people or ‘other’. ‘Other’ is defined as being other than the person who develops the products or the person who delivers the services of the company: “higher up managers develop strategy for those lower down to implement; implementation is the problem, because although the higher level managers develop it, most others resist it; rewards for increasing performance go to the leaders –what matters is shareholder value; and leadership is thrust on those who thrust their will on others” (Training and Developing Employees, 1980, p. 5). The staple for this type of HRM is command and control. There is a definite hierarchy involved with this type of management style. Since the nature of this position is more difficult they are entitled, through HRM validation, to greater compensation.

Engaging management is based on a collaboration and are important “to the extent that other people do the important work of developing products and services; effective leaders work throughout the organization, and engaged people often grow little problems into big initiatives; implementation is the problem, because it cannot be separated from formulation, and committed insiders are necessary to come up with key changes; rewards for making the organization better go to everyone—what matters is human values; and leadership is a sacred trust earned through the respect of others” (Training and Developing Employees, 1980, p. 5). Engaging management is based on teamwork where everyone in the organization is responsible for caring for customers and in turn the company; thus jobs are not performed in isolation but rather as a collective.

Conclusion

Management-planning and forecasting, training and development, appraisals/compensations/rewards/benefits, and employee protection and representation represents how HRM should function (as either extrinsically or intrinsically). HRM’s job, through all of these elemental shifts in organizations is ultimately to provide better communication between management and HRM and HRM with employees, and vice versa. Departmental communication is in key to a large part of HRM’s contribution to the company’s functionality. Such a task is done through organization as required through company law and regulatory goals. HRM recognizes trend in the market and work place and tries to curtail major loss through employee retention or predict a market turn well in advance to ensure that employees are properly trained and have the necessary skill set for these expansions. HRM, in hiring such particular skill sets, contributes to the company’s competitive advantage (this advantage is propelled by management styles: heroic or engaging, and the compensatory nature of the job). HRM is tasked with the job to hire a particular skill set for a job and to retain them through benefits and compensation. In today’s world, being competitive in hiring these skills and motivating workers to maintain and improve upon these skills is necessary for a proper functioning HRM department.

References

Employment Relations. Chicago: Commerce Clearing House, 1981. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. “HR Forecasting.” Human Resource Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

Introduction, 1.0, 1., and 2.0 Developing AnHr Plan. Module 1: Human Resource Planning(n.d.): n. p. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

McPhie, Neil. “Designing and Effective Pay for Performance Compensation System.” U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, Jan. 2006. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

“Most People Like Hard Work. Particularly If They Are Paying For It. Part V Performance Management and Performance Pay (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

Training and Developing Employees. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Management Assistance, 1980. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.