Human Resources Function - Essay Example

? Human Resources Function s) Affiliation) Objective I My interview experience During the summer holidays, I sent my resume to various companies asking for a position as an intern and was invited for an interview. On the specific date, I was perplexed to realize that there were five more candidates who were being interviewed for the same position. After a few minutes of waiting a gentleman welcomed in for the tests. We were presented with computers and asked to input employee data such as age, gender, job grade, duties and responsibilities. The computer that was assigned to me was not installed with some programs which made it difficult for me to perform the operation as I had anticipated. This made me spend much of my time looking for another computer with the appropriate program. Once through we were given question papers with question, we were supposed to answer within thirty minutes. The questions were particularly tough involving calculations and grammar. We were taken to the firms’ clinic for blood samples to test for drugs upon completing the tests. I tried to object but was informed that it was a requirement according to the organizational policy and this would be conducted upon suspicion and applies to all employees. When the test results were out I was ranked the second best, but laboratory drug test were not given to us in the group. This marked the start of the panel interview. The first person got in, and I was truly nervous as I waited outside. After twenty, minutes, he emerged from the room, but I did not get an opportunity to ask him the possible question I was likely to be asked. I was called in, and when I stepped in and closed the door and I managed to greet the panelists with a smile and waited to be assigned a seat. I was shown to my seat which I responded with "thank you." When we were all seated formal introductions followed with all panelists introducing themselves. I was requested to hand over my resume. The human resource manager asked me: “So you are (name)? “Yes sir” “Tell us more about yourself” “I am a third year students pursuing a human resource management degree. In high school, I attained a GPA of 2.1. I'm from a family of three and am the only child. I have served as a class leader and a team leader in various groups within the classroom set up. I also actively participate in other co-curricular activities such as swimming, helping the needy in the society and making social friends”. “What do you think are your major contributions to this company?” Though we have other people interested in this same position who have similar qualifications, I believe I have a personal drive that enables me to work beyond the expected limits. I also pay attention to details a factor I believe is highly significant in managing human resources. With these qualities, I believe I can manage to help the organization move towards the attainment of their set goals and objectives. “What is your greatest weakness?” “In one instance during our class lessons the teacher asked my views about equal employment opportunities. I responded that the physically challenged and people of other races should only be given jobs once the whites and the physically fit have already gotten jobs. I felt that they were not able to perform just like the white. However, I have tried to change this perception by interacting with the physically challenged and people of other races that have enabled me to realize that they have capabilities and potential that lack in some of the physically fit and white individuals.” After a series of other questions in relation to discrimination, employee rights, and job analysis, I was requested to leave the room and wait for the results outside. I stood up, thanked all of them and left the room. When the results were out I emerged the best. Objective II During the interviewers sought to understand my level of understanding and expertise in the field of human resource management. For any organization to be able to select the right candidate for a job they must conduct a job analysis to identify the individual competencies and skills required to achieve the set goals and objectives. This ensures that the chosen person is able to match with the organizational culture and values. The method use to select candidates must be reliable and valid (Division of Human resources, 2007). Questions on discrimination helped me to understand that it is illegal to discriminate individuals due to their color, sex, religion, disability or age. Every person has a right to employment opportunities, training and internship programs, pay, compensation, recruitment and selection and many more. There has been a raging debate in the media and organizations on women taking management position and the plight of the physically challenged individuals. However, public and private organizations are being forced to absorb people of different gender and disabilities in the organization in compliance to the present laws. The current laws have forbidden employers from discriminating individuals in employment. According to Cengage Learning (2012, chap 3), human resource managers should understand the numerous changes that are taking place in the EEO legislation. A clear understanding of the EEO legislation will expose individual to other acts such as the civil rights Act, unemployment Act and the Executive Order 8802(1941). Employers are only exempted from discrimination only when the age, sex or nationalism is the only qualification for individuals needed to perform such jobs. Today, employers have abandoned the traditional methods of interviews. Interviewees are being taken through a series of interviews to determine their qualifications for the job. Employers are using various selection methods such as assessment centers, aptitude tests, cognitive ability tests, structured interviews, unstructured interviews etc. During the interview, I went through the knowledge tests where the interviewers sought to understand my understanding in the human resource field. I was also taken through work sample test where I was expected to fill in the employee’s data, which is a human resource function. The panel interview which involved answering question provided the panelists with the opportunity of observing my behaviors (Cengage Learning, 2012, Chapter 6). However, some of the questions that were asked in the panel were not job related, and some were directed towards my national origin which made me feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, different questions were asked to different candidates hence this could constitute to discrimination and bias. The organization should design anti-discriminatory policies and ensure employees are treated equally (Cengage Learning, 2012, chap. 3). Objective III Human resource planning helps the organization to get the right people with the appropriate skills, at the proper time (Cengage Learning, 2012, Chapter 2). This is only achievable if the interview, selection and the induction processes are well planned. In the planning process, it is of note for individuals to outline the objectives they intend to achieve. Lack of some software in the computer used for the interview could have been as a result of lack of proper planning, tampering of the software by the computer users or any other mechanical problem that could have arisen during the software installation. There is a high possibility that the employees in the organization were not making available of the computers in the organization. If employees had used these computers they would have identified these problems. The computer technologist in the company could also have been negligent of his duties. This could have been occasioned due to lack of motivation or overwhelming duties and responsibilities. Such mistakes in the organization can be corrected by having a job analysis where jobs are designed to help employees understand their duties and roles in the organization. Employees in the organization should also be motivated and encouraged to use the existing resources in order to achieve their set goals and objectives. Job analysis will also help the organization get the appropriate people in the correct numbers to perform the various tasks without overworking some employees which may result to stress (Cengage Learning, 2012, chap. 4). When employees do not have the available resources they are likely to experience stress in their work. Discrimination in an organization may occur during interviews. This may result from the panelist being biased or having prejudice on people of a certain race, age, sex orientation, gender and many more. It may also result from the failure of the organization to develop anti-discriminatory policies to govern the organization during interviews (Cengage Learning, 2012). Discrimination in an organization may result to lack of diversity among employees and hence limited ideas for decision making. It may also lead to individual feeling inferior or criticized hence may not be able to perform their duties and responsibilities as expected. To avoid bias and discrimination during interviews the panelists should have structured interviews. This ensures that all the applicants respond to a similar question even if at different times. The structured questions should be related to the job. This will ensure that the right employee for the job is obtained. All applicant and employees working within an organization should be treated equally (Cengage Learning, 2012, chap. 3). This enhances individuals self esteem, and they are able to produce better results. References Cengage Learning. (2012). Chapter 3: Equal Employment Opportunity and Human Resources management. Cengage Learning. (2012). Chapter4: Job Analysis, Employee involvement, and Flexible work schedules. Cengage Learning. (2012). Chapter 6: Employee selection. Division of Human resources department of personnel and administration. (2007). Technical assistance-Job Analysis. Print Cengage Learning. (2012).Chapter 2: Strategy and Human resources planning. Read More