New Approaches to Human Resource Management - Literature review Example

Changes which are now a part of the work force are continuing to emerge in the UK, specifically because of organizational and societal structures that are now expected. One of the changes that are being noted is based on workplace employment relations that are taking place. The changes are based on transformations which are occurring, specifically to give corporations a new competitive advantage against other corporations to find the best human assets and to receive more opportunities with the growing forces and businesses. Each of these is establishing new structures and alterations in the expectations that are a part of the organizational structures and establishments. The result is human resource management considerations that are now using new strategies and approaches to add value into the internal organization while moving ahead of the competition with the main changes. According to the Workplace Employment Relations Survey conducted in the UK in 2004 there are several benchmarks which have been established among businesses that are leading to transformational shifts. Through this survey, it was found that employment relations where determined first by the policies that were a part of the foundation of the organization in over 85% of the organizations surveyed. This particular aspect was directly related to the decision to hire an individual with an average of 19% using personality tests for the hiring process, 46% using performance tests and 78% using off the job training. The work dynamics were also determined by the team work which was created after one was hired. 72% of businesses had designated teams for individuals, 66% had flexible teams, 21% had non – managerial employees and 48% used core employees to create and work with teams. Within this, were attitudes toward the union in which 84% were in favor of unions, 17% were neutral and 4% were against unions. However, it was also noted that the mutual trust between managers and employee representatives was higher with non – union representatives, averaging at 64%, while union members held a response with trust by 31%. If difficulties arose, 95% of employees felt the right to appeal with 83% contacting a manager for the appeal. Within this, the perception of management by employees had an average response of 41% believing it was good, 19% believing it was very good, and 4% believing it was very poor with others remaining neutral (Kersley et al, 2004:1-6). This report shows that the shift is one which, while retaining employment with unions, is now more dependent on the structures of management, responses and the amount of trust which is in place with work dynamics. The large number which had trust to work with non – union members as well as employees believing they had the right to complain being with a positive response, combined with the variety of internal structures show that the concept of management, policies within the office and ability to resolve conflict is now dependent on the internal organization. According to another survey (Machin, Wood, 2004), the concept of unions is one which is believed to have a direct relationship to Human Resource Management. The HRM has now become a direct way in which individuals can express rights with their employment while having a type of mediation and protection. The HRM practices then became more important than other aspects with the employee relations. However, it was noted that this was dependent on communication channels, levels of trust that were in the environment and the organizational policies attributed to the situation. If situations that were internalized contained more politics or less trust, then employees would not consider the HRM as a way of resolving conflict or working within teams and with managers (Machin, Wood, 2004: 2). Both surveys indicate that the knowledge of personnel practices in the UK have a shift in how companies and managers approach the work place. The approach which is now being focused on is based on using more strategic practices within the internal structure of the corporation. This begins with an understanding of what types of individuals will fit best within the company while offering teams more opportunities. This is combined with new strategies with policies as well as with the human resource sector, specifically to assist employees and to build levels of safety and security that are associated with the work space. These influence the decisions of the corporation and provide stronger frameworks to ensure that there is a continuous work process and smoother set of alternatives for employees. The strategy of managing talent and creating an internal structure is one which gains competitive advantage by keeping human assets as a main priority while building stronger teams and a better organizational culture. As this is done, connections and new processes are made which enhance the growth of the internal organization and the company. These dynamics directly affect the competition of a company and the performance which is created as a result (Boudreau, 2005: 51). The advantage of creating the work force dynamics not only alters the internal organization and performance. It is also noted that the use of HRM is able to effectively create teams and dynamics that ensure better growth. Since the HRM is based on internal components with employees, there are better values and alternatives which are associated with the growth of the company. The strategic management can then expand to include diversity that can be organized for international competition. It can also include talent, resources and assets among individuals which can be organized among teams for better and more conclusive decisions within the organization. Doing this provides better modes of market entry while ensuring that the firms are able to retain employees by allowing the talent and expectations to be segmented in the proper manner. The result is the ability to create teams and sets of individuals that are able to offer a competitive advantage by being strategically placed and having trust and reliance with the HRM that is within the company. The main strategy with HRM then works together with the external environment and the reflection which is associated with the main company (Mcwilliams, Fleet, 2001: 91). The concepts which are now applied to businesses are beginning to change the overall functions and expectations that are applied to working and remaining ahead of others in the main competition. The transformational shift which has occurred is able to provide a competitive advantage to those that are in a company, specifically because the association with employees changes the dynamics within the company, performance which results and the ability to expand as a business. The use of HRM is one which is continuing to accelerate within businesses, specifically because it offers more trust within the organization and works toward viable solutions both with resolving conflict and expanding the talent base in the right form. The use of HRM is one which is able to offer competitive advantage specifically because of the strategies which can be implemented among employees and the associations which are based on the personnel practices in an organization. References Boudreau, John. 2005. “Talentship and the New Paradigm for Human Resource Management: From Professional Practices to Strategic Talent Decision Science.” Human Resource Planning (28). Kersley, B, C Alpin, J Forth, A Bryson, H Bewley, G Dix, S Oxenbridge. 2004. “Inside the Workplace.” Workplace Employment Relations Survey. Machin, S, S Wood. 2004. “Looking for HRM / Union Substitution: Evidence from British Workplaces.” London: Centre for Economic Performance. McWilliams, A, David Van Fleet. 2001. “Strategic Management of Human Resources for Global Competitive Advantage.” Journal of Business Strategies 18 (1). Read More