Good Example Of Human Resource Management Term Paper

Abstract

This paper is generally about human resource management. It discusses the human resource practices in an international organization. The paper uses the vision, mission, goals and the working procedures of the organization that are related to management of human resources. Human resource refers to the human factor input of production. It is that aspect of production or company activities that is a contribution of labor. This labor may be skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled. Management of human resources is a core and fundamental aspect of any organization. It directly affects productivity and determines whether the company achieves its desired targets, goals and objectives. It is therefore imperative for an organization to have a sound strategy in terms of human resource management.

Abstract 2

International economic drivers 4
Strategic organizational outcomes 4
Role of good HR policies in achievement of goals 4
Role of investment in training and developing HR 5
Importance of HRM strategies 5
Strategic role of HR in organizations 5
Strategic role of HR in planning 6
Environmental challenges during HR integration and implementation 7
Relationship between HRM and organizational performance 7
Management trends to improve performance 7
Role of employee empowerment in decision making 8
Role of supply and demand requirements of HR in effective planning 8
Global issues that influence development of global HRM strategy 8
Role of HR manager in managing diversity 9
Role of HR metric system 9
Global HR practices 10
1. International Economic Drivers
1.1 Strategic Organizational Outcomes and their Linkage to Human Competencies
Over the years, human resource competencies have evolved and become more demanding. It is important for the human resource management in any organization to remain at par with such required competencies so as to be able to achieve the desired organizational outcomes. The organizational outcomes for the organization under study include: performance, organizational effectiveness and the wellbeing of individuals. The key competencies required to be able to achieve such outcomes include: human resource technology, personal credibility, human resource delivery, strategic contribution, business knowledge and human resource performance (Baker & Doran, 2007).
For the organization to ensure that its performance is at its optimal levels then human resource must ensure that the technology available to the employees can be used for the same. The effectiveness of the organization in meeting its set goals and objectives is largely dependent on strategic contribution of the human resource in the firm as well as business knowledge. The wellbeing of individuals is a factor of the personal credibility of the human resource management. If employees do not feel like their needs are being addressed effectively, then that will eventually affect organizational outcomes (Fombrun, 2009).
1.2 Role of Human Resource Strategies in Achievement of Strategic Goals
It is important for the human resource to be properly aligned with the strategic plan of an organization. In the example of the company where I interned, the human resource had proper strategies in place to assist in the achievement of the company’s strategic goals. Some of the strategies included accountability of the human resource. When the human resource in an organization is not held strategically accountable, then there may tend to be laxity and complacency. The human resource department needs to be able to able to account for the role it plays in increasing and maintaining the value of the organization as well as the return on investment that it has (Dessler, 2005).
The strategic plan for the organization was divided into three broad categories: the financial, human resource and technological strategic plan. The role of the human resource strategy in each of these is to develop skills, attract skills and be able to retain skills that will be used for the achievement of the strategic plans.
1.3 Role of Investment in Training and Development of Human Resources
Enough emphasis cannot be placed on the importance of investing adequately in human resource for any organization. Development and training in an organization are essential in ensuring that the skill asset in an organization remains relevant to not only the organizations demands but the global demands as well. For an organization to be able to achieve growth and sustainability, then the employees must be able to handle the growth of that company and ensure sustainability. This is only possible if they are endowed with the proper skills set and there is constant development (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2008).
Investing in human resource is more of investing in the company’s future in terms of strategic planning and future aspirations. The human resource is responsible for recognizing the training needs of the organization in line with the company’s strategy, facilitating the required training and ensuring that the goals of the training are met.
2. Importance of Human Resource Management Strategies in Achieving Employee Commitment, Flexibility, Quality and Strategic Integration
2.1 Strategic Role of Human Resource in Organizations
Some decades ago, the human resource solely responsible for administrative roles such as payroll processing, insurance enrollment etc. with time the scope of responsibilities has changed and become more business strategy oriented. Organizations have become more strategy savvy and now recruit human resource managers to act in strategic positions. With that regard, the former personnel department read human resource management is now more involved in the development of strategic solutions for the organization. An example of this is strategic development for the company to meet its performance goals as well as increase productivity.
Some of the roles that the human resource now plays include ensuring safety in the workplace. This involves risk mitigation from inherent loses, ensuring adequate and efficient compensation for workers in the event of an occurrence among others. The human resource also handles development of structures within an organization so that roles and duties are properly assigned to enable easy and consistent flow of work. The Human resource function also facilitates employee training for the organization so that employees are abreast with organizational demands and needs. Further to that human resource management is concerned with selection, recruitment and retention of employees to ensure a low turnover and employee loyalty to the organization (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2011).
2.2 Strategic Role of Human Resource Management in Planning
Human resource is very useful in any organization, in fact without strategic planning then the goals of an organization may not be achieved entirely. Planning designates what needs to be done, when it needs to be done and who needs to do what to achieve the end goals. Planning is a function of human resource management. The purpose of planning in any organization is so that accompany can be able to keep up with legislative, economic, technological and social trends that impact employees in a given sector or industry. The other reason for planning in human resource management is to ensure that all human resources are able to meet the strategic objectives and plans for an organization. This means that the human resource management has to ensure that it has the right people with the right skills doing the right job at the right time. The third reason for strategic planning by human resource management is so that the organization is well prepared to handle changes that may be unanticipated as they arise (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2008).
2.3 Environmental Challenges during HR Integration and Implementation
The human resource department often times faces challenges during implementation of strategy and integration. Some of the main challenges that the human resource management in an organization faces include but are not limited to: finding and eventually retaining good talent, ensuring that employees are fit for the tasks they are designated to perform, ensuring that employees are competent, managing diversity within an organization, managing change within an organization and being able to implement a bottom line approach within an organization. In as far as skills, training, development, acquisition and retention of talent are involved; the human resource faces a major challenge in keeping turnover low so that a company can be able to benefit from the costs associated with them (Sims, 2007).
3. Relationship between HRM and Organizational Performance
3.1 Management Trends to Improve Performance
Performance is the end game for any organization. If performance is low then ultimately the objectives and goals of an organization will not be met. To ensure that performance is at its peak, an organization requires to adopt some practices that either motivate employees to perform better or challenge them to do so. Key management trends that were in use at the organization I interned included performance appraisals and reward systems. Appraisals were used to gauge actual performance of employees against the targets that had been set for a particular period of time. Promotions and increments were pegged to the results of performance appraisals. Reward systems worked to motivate the employees to improve performance.
3.2 Role of Employee Empowerment Practices in Strategic Decision Making Processes
The role of employee empowerment in the decision making process is key and crucial. Employee empowerment refers to the act of shifting or giving authority to employees to such an extent that they feel adequate and competent enough to make decisions (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2011).
Employee empowerment has a lot of benefits including the fact that it improves on time management. Employees who are empowered can make their own decisions or even make decisions on behalf of their seniors without necessarily having to wait to consult. Much valuable time is therefore saved. Employee empowerment improves on performance and efficiency. Without empowerment, most employees would sit pretty and wait for management to make all decisions. This creates a sense of irresponsibility as others are always making decisions for them. With empowerment however, an employee must own his/her decision and they therefore ensure that they make the best decisions possible for the organization (Baker & Doran, 2007).
3.3 Role of Demand and Supply Requirements of HR in Effective HR Planning
Demand and supply of human resource are a challenging aspect especially when it comes to planning. For an organization to have supply meet its human resource requirements there must be proper planning for the same. Often times the supply is lower than demand due to various factors but the main one being matching skills to job requirements. If the human resource doesn’t forecast well enough, then there may be challenges during the planning process (Dessler, 2005).
4. Global Issues that Influence the Development and Implementation of Global HRM Strategies
4.1 Role of Human Resource Manager in Managing Diversity in a Global Business Environment
For any global organization, diversity comes with the territory. It is therefore imperative that the human resource management of any given global organization to be able to prudently handle diversity in an organization and use it to its advantage. While diversity is at first seen as an environmental challenge to the human resource of an organization, it can also be its greatest strength.
Diversity can be well managed through developing, valuing and maximizing on diversity. For many decades managing diversity has only been done so as to mitigate an organization from legal suits on the basis of discrimination. In my organization for example, the human resource department came up with diversity policies for the organization which were meant to promote inclusion of all employees. Diversity can also be managed through the selection, recruitment, training and development stages of staffing in any given organization.
Diversification offers the organization a rich source of skills and talents and a new way of thinking and doing things. If properly managed, it could easily be a company’s strongest assets.
4.2 Role of Human Resource Metric System in Integrating Global Human Resource Issues
Human resource metrics are the standards that are used to value and determine human resource strategy effectiveness in any given organization. Some of the metrics used include turnover rate, the return on investment on human resource, productivity, cost of hire and training costs. Human resource metrics are important because they provide a standard of accountability for the human resource and empower the department to be able to focus on global issues. The metric system can be used as a mirror for the organization to look into as it compares the challenges it faces to global issues (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2008).
4.3 Global Human Resource Practices for Improved Performance
Key global human resource management practices include employee relations, organizational culture, reward management, talent management, performance management, knowledge management and human resource functional excellence. These practices are key is an organization is to perform optimally and even attempt to compete on a global front. When the human resource of any organization is able to implement these global practices then it is on its way to attaining strategic goals and objectives (Sims, 2007).

References

Armstrong, M., & Armstrong, M.2011. Armstrong's handbook of strategic human resource management. London, Kogan Page.
Baker, R., & Doran, S. 2007. Human resource management: a problem-solving approach linked to ISLLC standards. Lanham, Md, Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Dessler, G. 2005. Human resource management /: Gary Dessler. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Fombrun, J., Tichy,m., & Devanna, A. 2009. Strategic human resource management / Charles J. Fombrun, Noel M. Tichy, May Anne Devanna. New York, Wiley.
Mathis, L., & Jackson, H. 2009. Human resource management essential perspectives. Australia, South-Western Cengage Learning.
Rothwell, J., & Kazanas, C. 2008. Strategic human resources planning and management. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice Hall.
Sims, R. 2007. Human resource management: contemporary issues, challenges and opportunities. Greenwich, Conn, Information Age Publ.