Human Resource Management - Essay Example

HUMAN RESOURCE Principles and steps compromising a sound recruitment and induction process Recruitment can be defined as the process or act of getting recruits or enlisting people for a job. Induction on the other hand refers to the process of familiarization with the organization and settling into the job by an individual who is new to the organization or one who has been in the organization but occupying another position. The induction process introduces the newcomer to the immediate work colleagues and also those that they may have limited contact with.

The process of recruiting and inducting new staff to an organization should follow a particular protocol or procedure to ensure that individuals for the posts are selected on merit. The main principles guiding these processes are efficiency, effectiveness, credibility, and fairness. Efficiency ensures that the process and the methods utilized are cost effective and do not result into a financial burden for the organization. An effective process on the other hand refers to one that produces sufficient and enough candidates without exceeding the required number (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).

It also ensures that individuals selected are the ones fitted for the job in the organization. Fairness ensures that the decisions arrived to be based on merit and not discrimination based on sexual orientation, religion, age, or race. Going against or failure to adhere to these principles and guidelines regarding sound recruitment and induction process may lead to increased costs of operations for the organization, increased employee turnover and a lowered morale in the current workforce. This may in turn lead to voluntary or involuntary leave by the current workforce hence threatening the existence of the organization or even closure.

Failure to carefully analyze the job to be done in terms of job description and person specification can compromise a sound hiring process. This can lead to recruitment of individuals who have limited idea of what is expected of them in the organization. It can also lead to increased turnover thereby causing management crisis. Any recruitment process should be subject to advertisement and interview. Failure to do this will be compromising the process. Lack of advertising the position may lock out qualified or skilled personnel.

The same thing will happen when improper interviews are conducted or when unskilled panelists are charged with this mandate. Equal opportunity should be a priority given to the candidates. Discrimination of candidates on the basis of their sexual orientation, age, gender, race, and religion should not take center stage in any hiring process (Sharma, 2000). Selection should be based on the merit and skills of the candidates. Therefore, discrimination could also compromise this process. Proper record keeping of decisions arrived to be priority in any recruitment process.

This includes recordings of reasons for shortlisting particular candidates over others. This ensures that equality is maintained while keeping biasness, conflict of interest, and discrimination at bay. Lack of proper records compromises the process as it leaves no chance for follow ups of the recruitment process. Induction of the new staff into the organization also needs to follow certain protocol. After the selection process it will be best if the new comer is familiarized with their environment.

Therefore, evaluations of the new staff should be done to assess the recruitment program. Another induction issue is the offering special attention to special; groups within the organization. Failure to address these special issues may lead to the organization incurring avoidable costs from legal suits seeking compensation for damages. Therefore, a successful organization ensures efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness in its recruitment and induction process. Compromising the process can prove detrimental to the organization leading to losses in the organizations.

The process should be free and fair. Key contemporary issues in relation to Human Resource and Management. Human resource management can be describes as a distinctive approach to employment management which attempts to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic distribution of a highly capable and committed workforce by utilizing an array of structural, cultural and personnel strategies. It is mostly charged with hiring, recruiting, retaining employees, developing benefits and compensation packages, and finally helping to optimize the performance of employees.

The gradual social change that has affected almost every sphere of human life has prompted changes at the work place forcing human resource departments to adopt the change in their operations. This has led to emergence of various issues that has posed a challenge to the contemporary corporate sector (Daily & Huang, 2001). Some of the issues faced by these departments in the contemporary world are; multigenerational challenge or generational shifts, technological advance or high technology, and legislation affecting the places of work.

Generational shifts or multi generation at the workplace is one of the priority issues that human resource departments are facing. There seems to exist different generations at the workforce leading existence of different sets of values, work styles, and expectations at the places of work. Despite the intergenerational conflict present at the work place, the differences are also coming out as strengths leading to increased production and creativity at the workplace (Robbins, Judge, Millett & Boyle, 2013).

Each group brings on board a different attributes that contribute to this successes. For example in hospitality ethical issues have been pointed out when these generations interact. This has been in the form of dress code and conduct. The young are being blamed as the major cause of unethical practices in the work place putting the management in a dilemma of whether to fire or retain the talents brought on board by the youthful workforce. Technological advancement is also another issue changing the workforce.

Technology has made management easier (Budhwar & Debrah, 2013). Telecommuting has enabled managers to work at home because most of the business is taking place online.in the hospitality industry most booking are taking place online hence making management easier. The advent of technological advancement has enabled the departments manage recruitment processes effectively and also tracking of applications. Health care reforms and legislation are other issues facing human resource management. Amid a society where rights of employees are advocated for by almost welfare organizations, human resource departments are striving to keep up with the unions and occupational health of individuals.

Now that the older generation is leaving the workforce leaving behind the youthful workforce a lot of issues surrounding talent acquisition has been raised considering that the older generation is leaving with experience and expertise. This is a major concern because human resource has to incur costs in training new recruits which would otherwise been have been passed by the senior staff. References Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrongs handbook of human resource management practice.

Kogan Page Publishers. Budhwar, P. S., & Debrah, Y. A. (Eds.). (2013). Human resource management in developing countries. Routledge. Daily, B. F., & Huang, S. C. (2001). Achieving sustainability through attention to human resource factors in environmental management. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 21(12), 1539-1552. Robbins, S., Judge, T. A., Millett, B., & Boyle, M. (2013). Organisational behaviour. Pearson Higher Education AU. Sharma, S. (2000). Managerial interpretations and organizational context as predictors of corporate choice of environmental strategy.

Academy of Management journal, 43(4), 681-697.