Social Issues in Public Sector Human Resource Management in 2034 - Research Paper Example

Social Issues in Public Sector Human Resource Management in 2034 Introduction Many controversies that are commonly encountered in the public sector fall under human resource management (HRM). AS a matter of fact, HRM accounts for the greatest operating expenditures in majority of public agencies. The activities of human resource managers in the public sector greatly affect government workers and consequently, public policy. Over the last quarter of the century, many things have happened and much has changed in the various aspects of human life. One of the most remarkable and most impacting happening is the World War III. During this period many nations including the US used a good portion of their economic and human resources. Owing to the magnitude of the war and its impacts in society, the country had to traverse a season of recession with its numerous challenges. At the present, the country is striving to address many social issues through its public agencies hence public personnel management is more relevant to the country today than ever. Considering the events of the past 25 years, it is beyond doubt that the human resource has evolved significantly, needs and demands being quite a lot different today. Among the most vital issues that the current human resource needs to address include reward systems, affirmative action and social security. Challenges relating to social issues over the last 25 years Before the Third World War, the Unite States of America enjoyed a stable economy, the presence of a promising social security system and a relatively peaceful working environment. The social security system was quite effective having been designed to cater for a gradually growing population of persons in need. The war greatly disrupted a number of government operations including the social security system, the relationship between the government and employees in terms of employee rights and affirmative action and employee motivation. Rewards Rewards systems in every organization is very important because it forms the terms of exchange between individual employees and the organization by determining who gets what and for what reason. A rewards system is an effective way of influencing the culture of an organization and for setting and controlling the behavior of employees. The two main components of a reward system are performance and reward according to Norma (67). Over the years, rewards mainly have taken the form of affiliation, direct and indirect financial rewards, and career-related rewards. The hierarchical based rewards system is best suited to organizations that have had sustained success. The recent economic recession has made it difficult for most organizations to reward their employees using this system due to a general decline in the qualitative and quantitative output of the organizations. Most companies have gone through long periods of reduced profits and this has challenged the use of any type of financial rewards. The difficulty of using financial rewards has forced many companies to resort to the utilization of affiliate forms of reward like appraisals. Due to competitive business environment, companies are shifting to career-related motivations like employee education. Furthermore, public agencies have resorted to greater application of reward systems that focus more on intrinsic motivation as opposed to extrinsic motivation as has been the case during times of favorable economic environments. Formerly HR experts focused their actions on rewarding individual employees more than rewarding groups of workers. On their part, those of present times focus on encouraging group rewards. The present day HR professionals mainly focus on reward systems that promote intrinsic motivation among employees such as recognition and appreciation. Yet again, the current trend is in putting the employee in control of their payslip and rewards. Affirmative action Affirmative action has been very important in ensuring that groups of people who are underrepresented in terms of color, race, nationality or gender are not discriminated against. According to Long (213), affirmative action focuses on education, employment, health programs and public contraction. They have been very instrumental in achieving equality especially among the underrepresented groups. In the past 25 years, the issue of affirmative action has been quite controversial with opponents claiming that it is an unprincipled program for gender, ethnic and racial preferences. In this respect, affirmative action has been challenged as something that contravenes the ideals of fairness, democratic opportunity and equality. Proponents of affirmative action on the other hand have asserted that it is one of the most effective ways that has historically been applied to fill gaps between the advantaged and the disadvantaged in society. In the post-modern world, affirmative action is viewed as reverse discrimination. This is because it ignores the privileged people from minority groups and the less privileged from majority groups. This has become a challenge to the success of race-based affirmative action. Considering that the Third World War has impacted the relationship between members of various races living in various parts of the world the human resource discipline has to take measures to ensure that racial discrimination does not play actively in the organization’s activities. The needs of the minority group, mainly consisting of those disabled by war and refugees from other countries have to be attended to. The main challenge in this case is how to avoid the uprise of racial tension in various states and animosity towards preferred groups. Norma (234) states that affirmative action has had to extend into the management of diversity in the various workforces. Currently, there is the challenge of identifying the right people to benefit from affirmative action. Previously, affirmative action was based on neither fair nor functional selection practices. This is not the case today as such action is based with a consideration of the relationship between future performance and predetermined qualifications. Technological as well as changes in customer demand have also impacted the standards used in the processes and criteria used in the selection of individuals to enjoy the benefits of affirmative actions. A thorough scrutiny has always to be done to ensure that no member of the non-preferred group successfully posses as a member of the preferred group. This has to be done to avoid a net loss in the society. With regard to affirmative action, today’s public sector HR disciplines focus more on post war cohesion and providing equality among the different cultures on the basis of professional competence. This is because they aim at maintaining a competent but diversified workforce in an environment that promotes multiculturalism while at the same time minimizing expenditure. In the past, competency would easily be sidelined so as to give room for individuals from minority groups irrespective of their performances. Social security Social security has been very instrumental in shielding people from socially recognized conditions like old age, poverty, unemployment and disability (Norma 45). With good social security, the citizens can get income for their maintenance in the event of undesirable events and old age. In the US, social security has been associated with the OASDI (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) program, sponsored by the federal government. Social security for a long time has come in the form of services like Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits and social insurance among others according to Devereux and Sabates-Wheeler (35). Traditionally, it has also encompassed benefits such as retirement pensions, survivor benefits, unemployment insurance and disability insurance (Devereux and Sabates-Wheeler 127). The social security systems of the country as was two decades ago could not fulfill or sustain the needs of the American population. With the massive losses of life and high number of physically challenged in the society, it is beyond doubt that the resources then were limited and would not be enough to serve all those who qualify for the benefits that the social security system was supposed to offer. Furthermore, the recent economic recession has led to a high rate of job loss, the unemployment level currently at its worst. All these challenges called for the reformation of the social security system with greater focus the caring for the disabled, widows, widowers, orphans and the sick; not mainly focusing on the aged. Much of the resources used for compensating the unemployed should be channeled toward the establishment of organizations that will create long-term employment to the population. In 25 years ago, many people were skeptical about the future of the country’s social security system claiming that future generations would not benefit from their savings. In order to solve the impending problem, the government had to gradually increase social security taxes, increase the retirement age slightly and minimize the COLA-Social Security cost of living modification. The government also encourages to start preparing for retirement at a tender age, something that has seen the younger population work hard to save some resources for their old age. Conclusion The United Sates of America has achieved a lot in overcoming some of its social problems over the last two and a half decades. In spite of engaging in the World War, the human resource departments of most federal government agencies have made great strides to ensure that citizens are socially secure. Among the measures taken include the increase in related taxes. The country has also developed new standards for engaging affirmative action and engaging employees in determining their wages. Works Cited Devereux Stephen and Sabates-Wheeler Rachel. (2007). “Debating Social Protection”. IDS Bulletin 38 .3. Brighton. Institute of Development Studies. Print. Norma Riccucci. Managing Diversity in Public Sector Workforces. Westview Press 2002. Print. Long Robert. Affirmative Action. New York. H. W. Wilson. 1996. Print. Read More