Human Resource Management in Context - Essay Example

?Running Head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN CONTEXT Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts Human Resource Management in Context The business organizations in the current era have advanced enough to integrate modern technology, improve working procedures and enhance methods of employee management. With the advent of globalization, the corporate world is required to foresee and anticipate the upcoming challenges and prepare to act proactively towards them. Along with meeting mutual goals, all the departments of a business organization need to correspond and align with each other to attain resilience and flexibility on the organizational levels. In doing all this, one of the major functions and departments, Human Resource Management, plays a vital role in the goal achievement. This paper shall elaborate, in detail, upon the need for Human Resource professionals to act as business partners and perform their due role towards understanding the major developments in the business environment. It also examines the external context in which the Human Resource operates along with the practical difficulties and advantages with doing this and identifying the ways to overcome the difficulties. Human Resource Management The concept of Human Resource Management is the vital element in a business organization. HRM, generally known as HR, pertains to the management of the workforce, or the human resource, in an organization. The department managing all the personnel of the organization is accountable for attracting, selecting, and training, assessing and appraising, and rewarding the labour force in a business organization. The HRM professionals are also charged with the responsibility of supervising the culture and leadership of the organization while guaranteeing adherence to the labor and employee laws simultaneously. Thus, we can ascertain from past studies and researches that the human resource management is the function of management which regards with the development, acquisition, maintenance, utilization, and integration of the employee base and individuals at organization. This is done for the enhancement of employee contribution and their connection with the efficiency of the work place. HRM is an amalgamation of the organizational behavior and the development perspective of the labour relations and administration of personnel. The term practically refers to the implications of all management actions and decisions which influence the association between the employees and organization (Beer, Spector, Lawrence,Mills, & Walton, 1984) Contemporary business issues The modern day business organization are surrounded by different challenges and issue faced by the variations in internal and external environment. These contemporary challenges and issues to be tackled are described as follows: Globalization Globalization has been a widely growing concept in the present world for last few decades and promotes connectivity amongst the cultural and economic forces on the global level (Scholte, 1997). The concept of globalization has turned the world into a global village, where the new markets exist and offer competition, opportunities and challenges to the hub of developing and developed nations. Various global issues such as exchange rates, trade barriers, distribution of goods and tariffs have become the most important part of the managerial decisions and implications. There are multinational organizations operating across the globe and the increased innovation and newer production methods have given new facets to the business organizations. The concept of globalization in the business world has further given rise to new issues such as the regionalisation of production, which comprises of the escalating focus of economic activity in super-city sites like New York, London, and Tokyo. Moreover, the ever present alarm in assessing the advancements of the globalization is with the standardization of the incorporation of territories through the cross border trade (Gavin, n.d.). Technology The modern day business organizations are countering the challenges of modern technological advancements and progress. This progress results into a global forum, where all the business organizations, whether manufacturing and service sector, are connected to one another through a smart network. This web has been formed through the technological devices such as Web 2.0, cellular technology and other modern tools which support and enhance the management operations of the modern day business organizations. The existing digital infrastructure permits a greater flexibility in the organizations regarding how, where and when the work is done, and assists the production methods to be efficient and effective. The introduction of new Information Technology has emerged as a great source of help for the project managers, product managers and the CEOs of the company (David, 2006). It yields greater business value and tends to provide the customer with superior quality and customized solutions to their problems. Due to this technology, the concept of visibility, accessibility, and connection amongst the organizations have increased thus, making the connected world more transparent, smaller, and more swiftly changing. Employee expectations The employer and employee expectations from each other have changed considerably in the time duration of last fifty years. Many changes have taken place to facilitate the employees with the opportunities of equal employment, non-discriminatory hiring practices and a workplace that is healthy and safe with a good quality of work life. The legitimate aim for the modern day organizations include a vital regard for the employee’s individuality (Koys, 1998). Employees need to be assessed for training and motivated through sufficient professional and personal grooming from time to time. The theories of motivation in modern organizations have the implications that it is significant to guarantee that the employees bear personalities with values and motives that are related to the type of jobs and organizations where they are hired (Katzell &Thompson, 1990). The employees are aware of their rights, compensation, rewards and their roles in the present-day business organization. They are more curious to understand the actions that business take and need more empowerment and participation in the decision making matters of organization. Diversity One of the most challenging issues of the modern business organizations is that of employee diversity. The concept of globalization has given rise to a diverse human resource base in the business organizations of the contemporary business world. Workforce diversity has become one of the major features of the advanced businesses. The acknowledgment of the fact that the concept of diversity has obtained practical context in the labour force has spawned a splendid amount of business activity in the contemporary business organizations over the last few years. The impact of globalization has forced the employees around the world to seek employment in foreign countries. Workers with differing religions, ethnicities, cultures and personal background are inducted in the organizations and are trained and treated as the part of the particular corporate culture of the specific business organization. The trend and patterns of the diverse workforce has been boosted further with the introduction and implementation of the EEO laws which also include the laws such as Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Act restricts the employers form undertaking any such employment decisions which are made upon the basis of colour, race, gender, religion, nationality or any other factor not related to job for an individual. The law also demands that any of the benefits of federal financial assistance program will not be granted to any individual on the basis of colour, race, religion, gender or nationality. Furthermore, the concept of diversity is concerned with the leveraging of every aspect of the potential of human beings. It gives the organization an increased advantage of an opportunity to understand the people belonging to all the nationalities and cultures. In this way, they can customize their products and services according to the needs of customers in the specific organization. Moreover, the organization can take further chances to exchange new ideas, creativity and innovative pattern of thinking with the other employees of the organization and indulges in better decision making process. The presence of diversity is likely to result in better customer service, better problem solving and critical analysis, more flexibility in the organization, better understanding of the patterns of communication, and increasing innovation and the sharing of best practices at the organizational level (Thomas, 2005). Competitors The business organizations are prone to competition in the current era. The organizations are facing cutting-edge rivalry from their competitors who are also equipped with all the tools and technology in order to compete on the global level. In this context, the businesses need to be flexible, resilience and thoughtful regarding their strategies and objectives in the short and long term. In order to attain the competitive advantage and cope up with the tough competition given by the opponents, the business organizations need to embark upon sensible operational strategies and the systematic structuring of business environment along with the integration of technology in the operations and activities of businesses. In order to counter the competitions in the industry, the firms are required to search for appropriate policies and legislations so that they can enter a healthy and competitive environment. It is essential for the businesses to compete without violating the ethical and social responsibility related to the competitive standards. A proper and systematic review of the external and internal business environment for micro and macro factors is one of the basic steps to analyze and align the strategic forces of the internal environment wit the potential opportunities and threats for the businesses externally. Capacity for Change The business organizations in the current world need to flourish in an unpredictable, uncertain, and complicated web of external and internal forces commanding the business environments. They need be absolutely agile and demand the implementation and development of processes and structures which assist the incremental change in the organizational activities. Role of HR professionals as business partner In the modern business organizations operating in the 21st century, the human resource professionals play the role of the Human resources in an organization. The human resource in the modern day organization have to be assessed on its ability to improve the competitive advantage of firm by adding measurable, real economic values as business partners (Beatty and Schneier, 1997). The present day organizations include elements such as focus on integrated solutions and whole systems, augmented focus of employees to the success of organization, the prevalence of strategic alignment and its impact, and the capability for transformation process and change (Ruona and Gibson, 2004). The current business environment and the contemporary challenges of the corporate world demand the HR professionals to act as business partners and give quick responses to the swiftly altering conditions of business, and in order to do so, the HR professionals need to demonstrate new competencies. These competencies include knowledge, values, skills and abilities of the HR professionals working in the business organizations. The modern business developments require them to possess the right competencies in order to give better performance and serve customers, engage employees, and create the intangible shareholder wealth (Dave, 2009). Strategic Human Resource Management The concept of Strategic human resource management forms the basis for tackling the development and changes that are taking place in the modern business world these days. SHRM or Strategic Human Resource Management refers to the systematic and sophisticated process of connecting the functions of human resource management with the organization’s strategic objective and long term goals for the purpose of performance improvement. The process takes into account the missions and goals, environmental analysis, formulation and implementation of strategy, and its evaluation regarding the assistance of the business activities sand systems in the organization. The strategic HRM is particularly defined as the practices and the actions and decisions, which are related to the employee management at all the stages of the business operations and are linked with the strategy implementation aimed at sustaining the competitive advantage (Miller, 1987). Since, the organizations have entered the era of progress and technology and are constantly aiming upon integrating their functions with the current advancements; they are greatly becoming aware regarding connecting the human resource of the organization to the strategy leading them towards greater performance. In order to meet the challenges of the modern business organization, the businesses have implemented the SHRM in their organizational network so that the long term strategies and goals of the business are assisted and lead towards fulfilment. In order to meet with the technological changes and corporate advancements, the organizations are required to formulate a systematic vision and mission and then, align their strategies and objectives with the modern day requirements. The resource allocation procedures of the company need to correspond to the needs of the production at the business facility. The New Model of HR Competence The contemporary business challenges demand the new model of HR competencies which are required by the HR professionals. In order to fulfil the current issues, the HR department need to align itself with the external context in the following manner: Credible Activist In the modern corporate world, the professionals managing the human resources in a firm need to be both active and credible. By credible, it is meant that they should be respected and admired and at the same time, they need to be active by assuming challenges, offering viewpoints and taking positions. Culture and Change Steward For the purpose of managing a diverse and complicated base of labour force, it is the responsibility of the HR professional to articulate, appreciates, and assists in shaping up the culture of a company. The corporate culture in an organization is introduced in an ideal manner through the precision about external customer expectations regarding the brand or the identity of the firm. These expectations are then translated into the organization and internal employee behaviors. The HR professional, in the contemporary era, acts as a business partner and the steward of culture, and give respect to the past culture of the business organization and help shaping a new culture. Their major responsibility is to mentor the managers in reflecting their actions and driving the culture of the company. Not only has this, but the HR professionals even weave the standards of corporate cultures into their own processes and practices. Talent Manager/Organizational Designer The HR professional gains command over the research, theory and practice in managing the talent by concentrating on the requirements of competencies in the organization. They make sure that there is an alignment between the company’s means of organizational capabilities and talent management with the requirements of customer and organizational strategy, incorporated into one another, and functioning efficiently and effectively. Business Ally The modern day organizations require the business to set strict objectives goals and targets in order to respond successfully to the eternal threats and opportunities. The HR professionals give in their contributions for the success of the business by having complete knowledge of the social setting in of the operations of their businesses. Human Resource Information System The technology driven organizations of modern times require the traditional human resource concepts to undergo radical modifications. The term HRIS, Human Resource Information System, illustrates this concept. The basic function of HRIS is to serve the organization with timely and accurate information in order to meet the demands of the customers in an effective manner. However, HRIS performs this function through the use of Information Technology, so that the current technological challenges can be coped up with. The modern business organizations require formulating variety of tactical, strategic, and operational decision making, supporting daily operations, avoiding litigation, evaluating policies, programs. Practical difficulties In order to create such an advanced human resource base to, meet the challenges; the HR professional might have to face various difficulties. The organizations may not find expert and efficient labour force. The training and development costs of polishing up an inexperienced workforce base might rise to great heights thus, elevating the organizations’ overall expenditures. There can be possible duplication of time, material and financial resources in order to train the new and retrain the existing workers to create an HRIS. Besides this, many other challenges such as the factors contributing to the resistance to change can possibly come up while HR professionals prepare to tackle the external challenges. The balance between personal and professional lives might be destroyed thus, creating job dissatisfaction. Moreover, the strategies may have to be reformulated to anticipate the upcoming changes in the corporate world. The cut-throat competition may create barriers to the profitability of the organizations. The globalized world is more likely to pose further threat in the form of quick innovation, economic challenges, political uncertainties, and swift adoption of the newer technologies. All these problems can create a lot of hindrance in the success of the organization. These obstacles can be removed through solving the issues proactively and quick ability of anticipation. The problems, challenges and opportunities need to be foreseen in order to make the best out of them. Moreover, the HR professional need to bear sharp intuition and habits of contingency planning to act in any certain and uncertain situations in the business organization. Besides meeting the mutual goals, all other departments of the business organizations also need to align and correspond with each other to accomplish flexibility and resilience on the organizational levels. In doing all this, one of the major functions and departments, Human Resource Management, plays a vital role in the goal achievement. Conclusion The challenges of the current world are countless and complex to deal with. The HR professionals are a significant part of organization to counter all these changes and contemporary issues with the help of the labour force at the workplace. The present world is focused upon globalization, technological advancements, increasing employee and employer expectations, change management, and various other issues confronting the business organizations. In order to deal with these issues, the modern day business institutions need to shift to IT based HR services along with developing and establishing new HR competencies at the workplace. There might be possible hindrances like resistance to change, doubling of expenditures and training and retraining employees, but the change brought into the business organization would enable it to compete with the rivals. Bibliography Beatty, W. R. and Schneier, C. E., (1997), New HR roles to impact organizational performance: From partners to players’, Human Resources Management, pp. 29-36. Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P. R., Mills, D. Q., & Walton, R. E., 1984, Managing human assets, Cambridge, MA: Free Press. 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