Human Resourse Management and Organizational Performance - Dissertation Example

?First Human Resource Management and Organizational Performance Background Information The issues dealing with the personnel working in an organization has for quite a long time proven to be a very important aspect in the performance and overall output that is to be realized by a firm. It is to be realized that the human workforce in any particular organization is actually one of the most important organs in the organization. With this basic knowledge in mind it is of essence to understand the different aspects that are incorporated therein. There is more to human resource management as compared to just dealing with people in an organization. (Dessler, 2000) These factors all combined are to be done in such a way that the best output from the employees will be realized. For a bank that has an international presence it is very much important to have good human resource practices and management. In the course of people’s existence there are many situations that call for collective efforts in the tasks that are undertaken. These situations are the primary reasons that necessitate for aspect of good human resource management. Most of these circumstances occur in the workplace among other environments. There are also other circumstances when the importance of teamwork comes into perspective. This is when different individuals each with their own ability come together for the purpose of achieving a common goal. (Jackson, 2003) This is especially important since the individuals are all endowed differently and so will contribute for the overall good of the group. With the incorporation of effective and efficient human resource management the set objectives may as well just be achieved. In this same regard it is very much important to build good relationships between the employees and the employers. In this same connection there are some characteristics of an effective human resource management program which cannot go without mention. One of these characteristics is that there is purpose of unity which is laid out clearly to all the staff members. In this case the members understand clearly the objectives of the organization. The other characteristic is that the employees are very much conscious of the operations and requirements of the organization. In this case it will be seen that the organization will occasionally stop its operations to examine and evaluate its past performance of its employees in relation to their current performance. (Golding, 2010) Problem Statement The management of the human resource department is something that is very much critical for the proper functioning of an organization and also the achievement of its goals and objectives. (Wing, 2005). If this fact is not upheld by the organization then chances of dismal performance are very much possible since the driving force of the organization is going to be crippled. At the end of it all the ball is thrown back to the management of the organization. This is particularly in relation to whether it has the right tools that will enable it manage its workforce efficiently. Some of these questions that may be asked pertaining the human resource management program that a firm has will go a long way in pointing out some of the defects that may be there in other areas of the organization. One such area is particularly to do with the management of the organization. This is most important because at the end of it all it is the top brass of the organization that will be charged with the responsibility of making some of the decisions which will affect the different departments in the organization key among them being that of human resource. (Davis & Goetsch, 2010) One critical observation that may come from this is the portrayal that the management does not have the requisite skills when it comes to dealing with the members of staff and the result of this is that the results that are observed are rather dismal. Aim of the Research The major aim of this project is to establish the impact which human resource management has on the overall performance of an organization. Research Objectives This particular research is set to establish the relationship that exists between the performance of an organization in relation to the input which the employees put into the organization. Some of the objectives in this case include: 1. Establish the human resource management techniques that can bring about an improvement of the employee activities for the benefit of the organization in terms of the achievement of the set objectives and goals. 2. Establish some of the basic issues relating to human resource management and in particular those that have led to the dismal performance of the organization. 3. Provision of alternative solutions that may reduce the human resource problems that may be experienced by an organization. Literature Review HSBC bank is one of the banks in the United Kingdom and at the same time the bank has an international presence in some of the countries of the world. The bank’s activities are majorly centered around producing quality banking services a manner that has the interests of the customers at heart and at the same time they get quality products and services after the whole process. It is also important to note that the bank has great regard for its employees and for this reason most of the activities are done with the intention of ensuring that the shareholders get a return for what they have invested in the bank. With all these considerations in mind the bank has opted to implements strategies that will minimize those risks that may be associated with such things as dismal performance on the part of the employee and for this reason has set strategies that will bring about good performance on the part of the employees. It is important to note that these factors are all internal and this means that they can be controlled by the bank. In this connection regulatory measures have been put forth to ensure that all the activities are within these regulations and at the same time quality standards are maintained. All these measures, policies and regulations have not been put in place and just left there without further developing them. The firm saw it important to establish those tools that will need to be implemented in order to maintain and even develop further the human resource management systems that have already been rolled out by the bank. After the necessary tools and available techniques have been established it is then in order to find out the best course of action with regards to their implementation. There are certain factors that have an effect on how effective the performance evaluation criteria is. These two factors are the criteria that are used in the evaluation process and the levels of priority of the criteria. This section seeks to look at the different criteria that are implemented in this process. It is of great importance that the method which is chosen be consistent with the competence that is exhibited by the employees. Some of the barriers that come up in the implementation of the tools and techniques are misunderstandings and lack of knowledge on the part of the user. (Dale et al 2007) The bank is a rather extensive one and for this reason operates in various geographical locations. With this in mind it is of importance to select the techniques that do not entirely focus on the results but instead on the factors that initiate the good results that are to be posted. (Conaty & Charam, 2011) Key among these the bank has established that employees prove to be one of the most valuable assets. The techniques and tools that are chosen should be those that encourage certain factors such as teamwork and active participation of the members of the departments. This is important because the participation of the various parties in the work process brings better results as compared to when only a single person undertakes that which is to be done. It should also be appreciated that when the aspect of teamwork is undertaken more and even better skills are used to deliver quality results as compared to developing quality individuals. (Goetsch& Davis, 2010) For any organization that is for profit, the costs that are used in the production process should be lower than the returns from the entire process. This ensures that there is profit for the organization. In this connection the resources that are to be used in the evaluation process should be the ones that prove to have the lowest costs associated with it. This therefore calls for a comparison between those that are available and then choosing the cheapest option. The automation of processes was considered to be rather important but yet again this would mean loss of the employees. This decision ended up being reviewed. The management systems that have been implemented should be continually reviewed to ensure that their performance is as expected. This review is achieved through a committee that consists of the bank’s head together with the line managers of the different departments. The involvement of these senior personnel is especially important for the purpose of ensuring that matters pertaining the system and its effectiveness are within their control. From this entire approach, the results that are to be achieved ought to be authentic and also accurate in order to ensure that the best and appropriate decisions are made. (Melo, 2003) The chosen method should be able to identify the gaps that exist in the workforce of the organization and be in a position to identify the way that can bring improvement to the entire system. The continued improvement of the processes, people and the entire system as a whole are some of the very important factors to be implemented if the business seeks to maintain some of the ISO standards and in this particular case ISO 9000. (Wahid & Comer, 2009) Management systems are developed with the intention of controlling and mitigating risks. This calls for preventive approach. The risks in this case may be in the case of employee go-slows or strikes basically because some of their grievances have not been addressed or something of the sort. In the operations of HSBC failures on the part of the employees are not encouraged as the result of this will be detrimental to the firm’s operations. Due to this fact there are tools and techniques that are appropriate in terms of being used as corrective and also preventive in nature. (Noe, 2007) Research Methods this section talks of the methods that will be used in conducting the research starting from the data collection procedures to the analysis that will be carried out. The research methods that are to be used are the ones that ought to be those that vivid in nature in nature in the sense that they provide a clear explanation of the matters on the ground. In this particular case qualitative methods should be used. This is because these research methods bring the finer details to light in relation to the issue at hand and in this case that to do with the human resource management in an organization. Data collection In order to get first hand information relating to the situation it will be of essence to come up with ways through which data will be collected from the respondents and in this particular case the workforce in the organization. Some of the ways that may make this possible include the use of questionnaires and at the same time interviews. The methods chosen ought to be considerate of the time factor. For this reason generalization will be preferable and in mind is the use of questionnaires. Instruments Surveys and Questionnaires These are some of the most important ways that may be implemented in the event that the real situation on the ground is to be established. These methods are rather preferred because they will not have to inconvenience the whole organization in terms of personnel time. This is because not everyone will have to be involved in the activity but instead a representative portion is that which will be taken as a representation of the whole. The major limitation in this case is that not every detail pertaining the human resource structure of the organization will be revealed. At the same time it will be rather difficult to establish the validity of the responses that will be given. This is especially in the case of questionnaires. Problems encountered and limitations to the research It goes without saying that most organizational activities are usually kept under lock and key. For this reason it may be rather difficult to establish exactly what happens in the organization. The management may be primarily uncooperative especially when they know that their activities may be particularly brought under the microscope. (Stone, 2002) At the same time the employees in the organization may not willingly cooperate for the fear of being victimized. Data Analysis At the end of the whole process the results that have been gathered will have to be collected together and analyzed for the purpose of coming up with a valid conclusion and recommendation in relation to the human resource issue in the organization. and success will effectively be elucidated. Research Time-Table and Resources The time frame of the research is presented in the table below. 1. Submission of the Proposal May 2012 2. Ethical Approval June 2012 3. Piloting June 2012 4. Training of the research team July 2012 5. Data gathering August 2012- September 2012 6. Data analysis October 2012 7. Writing of the report November-December 2012 References Bamford, D. R., &Greatbanks, R. W. (2005), “The use of quality management tools and techniques: a study of application in everyday situations” Conaty, Bill, and Ram Charan (2011). The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers. Crown Publishing Group Dale, B. G., Wiele, T. V. D., &Iwaarden, J. V. (2007), “Managing quality.” Blackwell Publishers Davis, S. B., &Goetsch, D. L. (2010), “Quality management for organizational excellence. “ Mc-Graw Hill Dessler, G. (2000). Human resource management (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Ehnert, I. (2009). Sustainable human resource management a conceptual and exploratory analysis from a paradox perspective. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag. Golding, N. (2010), “Strategic Human Resource Management” Butterworth-Heinemann UK Ivancevich, J. M. (2001). Human resource management (7th ed.). Boston: Irwin McGraw Hill. Jackson, S. (2003). Managing knowledge for sustained competitive advantage: designing strategies for effective human resource management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Mello, J. A. (2002). Strategic human resource management. Australia: South-Western College Pub.. Noe, R. A. (2007). Fundamentals of human resource management (2nd ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Scullion, H. (2001). Global staffing. London: Routledge. Stone, R. J. (2002). Human resource management (4th ed.). Milton, Qld.: Wiley Australia Wing, L.S. (2005), “Leadership In High Performance Teams: A Model For Superior Team Performance Wiley, John (2011), “Organizational Behavior and Management” John Willey & Sons . Read More