Human Resource Management, Term Paper Example

The role of Human Resource Management is to create a positive work environment to attract and develop the best people for any given company.  There are many factors that Human Resources must monitor on a regular basis.  This includes but is not limited to, equal employment opportunities, affirmative action, human resource planning, recruitment and selection.  They also address development, compensation, benefits, as well as employee and labor relations.  Human resources are required to wear many hats to provide a fair, safe, and beneficial workplace for all employees.

Human Resource Management must maintain and enforce many different areas to benefit the best interest of the company and the employees equally. Human Resources has a responsibility to ensure that equal employment opportunities and affirmative action is imposed.  Today’s societal structure is vastly diverse in race, gender, disabilities, religion, and orientation to pinpoint the most common factors.  All too often we read or hear of situations where people were discriminated against based on minority characteristics.  There have also been cases where minorities were terminated based on other factors outside of job ability and performance.  Human Resource Management is educated to know the laws as well as the importance of a diverse work force.  “Strong EEO and Affirmative Action plans play vital roles in the management of diversity. They are stepping stones to valuing diversity wherein differences are identified and an atmosphere is created that promotes respect for these differences as well as ways to benefit from them.” (The National Treasury Employees Union) This topic should be obvious, but there was a lot of gained incite that I personally did not facilitate.  The importance as well as the benefit that comes along with diversity.  There are laws in place to protect EEO and Affirmative Action; however it is each individual company’s responsibility to make sure that they are being followed.  The company must remain informed on changing guidelines and laws, for example the Americans with Disabilities Act.  EEO and affirmative action is essential for my own individual future in my current and impending work place environments.  By understanding my personal role as a Human Resource Managers and the best way to go about enforcing this, this will be a valuable guiding tool regardless of what company I am employed by.  Acknowledging and respecting the differences that encompass every person will allow me to grow, both in my career and in my personal life.

Human Resource Managers plays a vital role in planning, recruitment and selection.  When a company has a need, Human Resources has to determine how to create this position.  They have to determine the level, department, pay, supervisor and benefits that go along with planning for a position.  They often work with the manager to outline the job responsibilities and position.  The main issues associated with planning are balancing the ability to remain competitive and preserving the best interest of the company.  Once the job requirements are determined and an appropriate balance is met, the next step would be recruitment.   This can be done in many ways such as job fairs, college recruitments, internet job postings, walk-ins, and referrals.  In order for the recruitment to be successful, there has to be a complete and thorough plan for the position at hand.  The selection then needs to be dependent upon such factors as education, experience, and skills or ability tests.  If the interview is conducted by an untrained individual, the selection process will most likely be handled through gross subjectivity and personal bias.  Inevitably the company will not get the best employee for the position if it’s based on a personal bias.  The principle of planning, recruiting and proper selection is to get the most qualified candidate to fill the position. This cuts down on cost associated with turnover, rehiring, and training.  As a Human Resource Manager, again, I will personally be responsible for designing positions, determining needs, finding and interviewing candidates and selecting the best options based on those needs.  Having expanded on this topic in depth, I feel I am better armed for my future career to handle recruitment in its entirety as necessary.

Human resource development (HRD) is another critical area in human resource management.  HRD includes areas such as career planning, training, career development, organizational development and performance appraisal.  Ruiz Food Products, established in 1964 has grown from a small home based business to a large commercial company.  Their success has been largely attributed to their Human Resource department and its commitment to the development of their employees.  Their staff is predominately Hispanic.  In fact, around 80% of the staff speaks Spanish.   The Human Resource department created and “on-site, corporate education center which started out as a place where employees could learn English.  This facility has expanded to be a skills-learning center where workers can get technical training, build management acuity through such seminars as Getting to know your team effectively and increase their literacy skills in Spanish.” (Laabs 1993)  As a result, they have had a very low turn over rate, and production seems to be steadily increasing.  The company attributes their success to their employees.   Many companies face issues associated with human resource development, simply because development covers such a broad area.   Much like Ruiz Food Company, they saw an opportunity where their employees could benefit from development, and implemented necessary programs.  Many companies could benefit from training or seminars that can develop their employees not only professionally, but perhaps even personally.  Development consists of more than the obvious training of employees.  This can include human resource development.  They should be looking for ways to improve themselves and the employees for the betterment of the company.   This class helped me with my current and future workplace endeavors simply by broadening the understanding of what human resource development covers.  Seeing how many different areas this can span to, helps prepare me mainly professionally, but personally as well to think outside of the box.  Also, the importance of development and the success that others like Ruiz Food Products has had.

Compensation and benefits is a very valuable tool in getting and retaining qualified employees.  This is a factor that can help in hiring employees and enhancing morale as well as productivity.  The main issue in compensation and benefits is maintaining profitability while being competitive within your market.  Benefits such as 403B and insurances are important to most applicants.  These are considered part of the employee’s salaries, even though it’s not paid the same as a paycheck.  Compensation is not limited to the amount of yearly salary awarded to the employee.  Profit sharing, even though this is not as common of a form, bonuses, and yearly incentives are all classified as compensations and benefits.  These benefit the company and employees alike in the fact that the employee has the opportunity to make more money, and the company does not have to pay unless they reach such set standards above and beyond what they classify as minimum.   For example, a used car sales person is expected to sell ten used cars a month.   In return they get four percent of the sales as their compensation or salary.   Now if the employee sells twenty cars, they get six percent of the sales.  The company obviously benefits from the double sales, so the extra two percent paid to the employee really benefits both of them.   In my future carreer endeavors, I feel I have been enlightened to the difference that is associated with compensation and benefits.  There is a way to create a competitive compensation package that could benefit both the employee and the company.

Safety and health of the employees is also a responsibility that falls onto Human Resources.  Some of the main issues are ensuring the overall safety and well being of everyone in the building.  This means following safety rules and regulations, as well as preventing potential dangerous situations.  “Employees who work in a healthy and safe environment are more likely to be productive. Safety involves protecting employees from work-related accidents and injuries.  Health activities seek to prevent illness and provide for general physical and mental well being.” (Five Functional Areas of Human Resource Management)  The health aspect is included within the benefits for the employees.  This includes health care, both mental and physical.  The most productive employees are healthy employees, and most companies want to make sure their employees are healthy.   A new understanding that I personally obtained within this class was Human Resources’ role in safety and health.  My prior assumptions were that this responsibility lied within upper management and department managers.  However, Human Resources in a way is the glue holding the employees and the company together, it does make logical sense on how this responsibility lies on HRMs as well.  This, along with all the other areas address in this paper and class are going to be essential for my long-term success in my carreer.  Fully understanding the functional areas of Human Resource Management will provide a solid basis for maintaining my current position or obtaining a new one.

The last topic is employee and labor relations.  Under employee and labor relations, Human Resources are responsible for contract administration, grievance administration, collective bargaining, disciplinary actions, employee relations issues, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, and Freedom of information Act compliance.  Contract administration means that Human Resources follow up with implementation and compliance for all contract employees.  In addition, they review and suggest revisions based on the best interest of both the company and the employees as necessary.  Grievance administration is a means to deal with labor agreements or disagreements and disgruntle employees.   It typically has a committee that handles all mediation and arbitration.  The goal is to resolve the issue for all parties involved without it escalating any further.   This typically starts with interviewing the relevant individuals and then having a meeting with the panel or committee once all sides have been investigated.  Human Resources handles collective bargaining as well.  This is typically a negotiation of employees to work with their employers.  This could include contract changes, such as hours, benefits, rules and working conditions.  Once an agreement is made by the employer and employee, they both sign the contract for a set period of time.  Human Resources also addresses disciplinary actions with the managers.  They offer consulting and advise on their recommendations of appropriate disciplinary actions.  The manager has the final say on the disciplinary course of action; however, they typically consult with human resources because of the laws and potential legal ramifications if handled incorrectly.

Employee relation issues cover any issues that arise between the employee and the employer, or employee with employee.  This function is to provide an opportunity to have a healthy relationship between everyone employed at the company.  It is essential for everyone to be comfortable with each other to have a positive work environment.  Human Resources’ employees are educated to step in and mediate in situations where employees or managers fail to cooperate.  HMR is also responsible for the Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.  This ensures that the company is in compliance with certain rights for individuals with disabilities.  It also requires the company to be up to standards with the facility requirements for individuals with disabilities to be able to get into the building.  It also prevents discrimination and keeps the company from being liable for such accusations.  The final area is Freedom of information Act compliance.  This relates to handling and addressing and information needing disclosed for legal matters.  There are specific laws in place to address exactly what can and cannot be released and for what purpose.  Human Resources is responsible for following up and maintaining compliance regulations.   Again, knowing that what these responsibilities entail will help me in my current and future work situations.                                                            Every aspect of human resources discussed in this paper has an important function.  This includes equal employment opportunities, affirmative action, human resource planning, recruitment, selection, development, compensation, benefits, and employee and labor relations.  In order for equal opportunity to work, affirmative action has to be acknowledged.  No Human Resource department will have the success they want without knowing the functions and responsibilities of the department and how they all intertwine.  Planning and recruitment are also directly correlated with EEO and affirmative action as well.  Determining the best candidate for any created position requires them to be free of any personal biases.   Development and compensation are directly related to the position planned and the employee hired.  With out following the other aspects discussed in this paper, there would be no determined compensation package or training.  Benefits, employee and labor relations still tie back to the employee being considered, interviewed, hired and trained.  There is no one facet that is more important than the other.   To leave out one piece of the puzzle will alter its functionally negatively.  Human Resource Management’s role can be optimized for shaping the organization and employees behavior by following these important aspects.  In a way, they are the ones who hold the company together and create the best possible work environment for their employees.   They also ensure the company is profitable while still being competitive and maintaining all laws and regulations.  Human Resource Managers has to be able to wear many hats to successfully do their job.

Human Resource Management must maintain and enforce many different areas to benefit the best interest of the company and the employees equally. Maintaining standards, current laws and the best interest of not only the company but also the employees will ensure that Human Resources is successful in their job.  No company can be successful without its employees and no employees without their company.  Understanding and following the responsibilities listed above will be a great way to start as a successful Human Resource Manager.

References

The National Treasury Employees Union, “Strategic Plan for Agency Diversity Management,” Washington, D.C., p. 3

Laabs, Jennifer J. (1993) Business Growth Driven by Staff Development. Personnel Journal; Apr 1993; 72, 4; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 120

Five Functional Areas of Human Resource Management.  Retrieved from:                                     http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/management/introduction-to-human-resource-management/introduction-to-human-resource-management-human-resource-functions-in-vario