Human resource management - Essay Example

The principles and concepts that underlie behavior are basic. Diverse studies of human behavior in work organizations identify the crucial role of managing human resources to assist in the improvement of productivity and performance, in marketing the products and services, and in designing strategies for recruiting, screening, hiring, evaluation, development and the promotion of workers. Human resources management is defined as the art and science of acquiring, motivating, and developing people in their jobs in the light of their personal, professional, and technical knowledge, skills, abilities, needs and values, and in conjunction with the accomplishment of individual, organizational and societal goals (Martires, 2004, p. 6). In this regard, the objective of this essay is to proffer relevant concepts and issues that pervade human resource management in organizations.

Specifically, the following questions would be addressed: (1) what is the role of the HR function within a Company? (2) Which are the main responsibilities? (3) How do you think the HR Area gives a positive contribution to Management in order to achieve organizational goals? (4) How do you think this contribution can be measured? And, (5) what are the 3 most important HR best practices that should be developed and included in the HR strategic plan? Role of HR Functions In an organization, the human resources department (HRD) performs five functions for other departments – job organization and information, acquisition, maintenance, development of personnel, and research on human resources.

Its role is advisory utilizing the personnel policies of the organization, the data it accumulates and the studies it makes of its workers. An effective human resources management (HRM) is integral to the functioning of the organization and must therefore be the concern of management. By and large, these functions assume two very important elements in an organization which are jobs and people. Jobs are to be determined and established first after the organization philosophy is conceived. People are brought in to man the jobs in order for the organization to move.

Jobs and people interact with each other. Gordon (2000) describes the real role of HR as magnetic management that “can be the power that pulls disparate departments into a single productive unit” (p. 500). The HR manager should know and understand how an organization, particularly businesses, works specifically on the profit-and-loss aspect. The HR manager can be of great assistance in staffing the organization with the most qualified and productive people including executives who can contribute to profit or good delivery of services.

Main Responsibilities The specific and technical duties of the HRD are complex and multifarious and are categorized according to its five functions – job organization and information, acquisition, maintenance, development and research on human resources. The HRD performs general management functions in relation to top management and to the HRD staff. Before hiring workers, available jobs have to be classified and corresponding job information described mainly in terms of duties and responsibilities.

Qualifications of those who are to perform these jobs should be delineated in job specifications. The function of acquisition or procurement of HR includes five aspects: human resources planning, recruitment, screening,