What is Human Resources - Literature review Example

HRM Literature Review Human resources (HR) are very important assets of the hospitality industry (HI). Like other major industries in the knowledge-based economy of the 21st century, HI must give importance to continuously upgrading the workers' technical and soft skills. According to Burke and Cooper (2004), "people are at the heart of value creation in the knowledge economy" The waiters and bartenders in pubs are the ones providing value to the pubs chain. Therefore the HR management in such pubs has the responsibility of caring for the workers' welfare in terms of working conditions, salaries and fringe benefits, and most important, giving opportunities to improve technically and personally. The workers must be given regular refresher training relevant to their job, including safety in the workplace and soft skills as stress management and mentoring. HR managers in the hospitality business must remember that "human capital, social capital, and knowledge management are foundation capabilities that can lead to competitive advantage." (Burke and Cooper, 2004) Mentoring among fellow workers is important as competencies across cultures can be enriching. Migrants from Asian countries have lots to share about serving in bars and pubs in the European setting. (Brewster, Harris, and Sparrow, 2004) Friendliness and gracious service are some of the traits that the Asian workers are known for. UK is wealthier now in financial and cultural terms as a result of skills and ideas brought about by migration. The economic growth in UK is brought about to a certain extent by workers from the neighboring countries in Eastern Europe (particularly Poland) and Asia (such as the Philippines). The country needs migrants to fill its job vacancies. (Evening Chronicle, 2004) According to Caterer & Hotelkeeper (2006), "the HI in UK now employs almost two million people, with more than 1.25 million or 67 percent working in hotels, restaurants, pubs, clubs, bars, and contract catering." Three important issues in contemporary employment relations in the HI industry in UK have been identified by Edwards (Lucas, 2003) and these are "high commitment" or "high involvement" work systems, the international context, and economic performance. Lucas (2003) said "high commitment" is rarely found anywhere in UK. Instead, what can be found are "low skills" and "low wages" in many of the hospitality employment. The low pay is offset by the government social security and taxation. Workers also find solace from customers' tips. The hospitality business in UK is further described by Lucas (2003) as "vulnerable" employment. Most migrant workers come from poor economies in Eastern Europe and Asia who consider working in UK as an opportunity to alleviate their families' poverty back home. But these workers in big firms that are not necessarily good firms, are exploited when considered within the context of fair labor practices in UK. Migrants accept jobs that most British nationals normally will not accept. The entry of foreign workers into the UK economy brings about not only low wages and other unfair labor issues but also the issue of diversity management in the workplace. Now, more than ever, companies must create a "game plan" to address diversity. Diversity management strategy must go beyond race , ethnicity, and gender. It must include personality, education, religion, area of specialisation, background, and values. Management options can include among others-clustering of minorities in certain jobs or units; tolerance (Live and let live atmosphere); denial or mitigation of differences (We are all the same); building relationships and encouraging dialogues about differences, and mutual adaptation where everyone accommodates changes. (Ivancevich and Gilbert, 2000). A significant number of studies show that people in various social categories such as racial minorities, females, disabled, unattractive, homosexuals) experience problems in the workplace that are not related to their actual or predicted job performance, as stated by Stone (Romero, 2005) Romero (2005) said this happens when the HR manager uses data from invalid sources like pre employment tests, observations of physical characteristics like attractiveness, disability, race, and gender in making decisions about who will or will not be given one or more opportunities that include job offers, training, mentoring, and promotions. The remarkable influx of migrant workers in UK over the last twenty years has resulted in so much stress in the workplace. The stress is caused by job insecurity and work intensification. The implication, of course, is that migrant workers are a source of cheap labor. They are cheaply available that employers can afford to overload them and they will not complain. Those who cannot cope are easily replaced by those who are only too willing to take their place. Ladipo and Wilkinson (2002) presented the negative effects of job insecurity and work intensification on psychological well being. Signs of decreased psychological well being include higher level of anxiety and depression, a sense of uselessness, lack of self confidence, and dissatisfaction with oneself and one's environment. The insecure worker has no chance to express his feelings and this situation makes him all the more insecure and stressed. He is forced to tolerate poor working conditions for fear of losing his job. The worker who is overloaded has to fall back on his reserve energy. Constant overload leads to over fatigue and eventual burn out., thus all the more giving his employer a reason to terminate him from his job. According to Lazarus and Folkman, work overload distorts people's capacity to appraise the value of their talents and abilities. (Ladipo and Wilkinson, 2002). The problem with work overload is that the employee loses control. A worker in control feels confident whereas a lack of such control gives him a feeling of vulnerability and threat. Since the UK owes a significant percentage of its economic growth to migrant workers, the government must set in place the appropriate monitoring and protective mechanisms in the HI labor sector. In examining why the economy is growing, some ugly truths are uncovered. Unregistered migrant workers cost very little; they claim no benefits, and are afraid to ask for help. While job centres and big employers coordinate with community groups and workers themselves, legislation is slow to follow. The legislation has to deal with the anomalous position of agency working, in which migrants do not qualify as employees but as workers to provide services. A European Union-wide agency workers' directive which could help regulate the flexible working market was blocked by both the UK and Polish governments. Even when the UK has changed its position, progress is slow. (Zaba, 2005) Truly, HRM in this age of globalisation has many concerns and must face the challenges to make economic growth long-term and sustainable. In the long run, cheap labor will hurt the UK economy and is not in any significant way helping the poor countries at all. References Burke, Ronald J. and Cooper, Cary L. 2004. Reinventing Human Resources Management: Challenges and New Directions. NY: Routledge. P. 35. Brewster, Chris; Harris, Hilary; and Sparrow, Paul. 2004. Globalizing Human Resources Management. NY: Routledge. P. 87. Gilbert, Jacqueline A. and Ivancevich, John M. 2000. "Diversity Management: Time for New Approach," Public Personnel Management, Vol. 29, Issue 1. International Management Association. P. 75. Ladipo, David and Wilkinson, Frank. 2002. Job Insecurity and Work Intensification. London: Routledge. P. 92. Lucas, Rosemary E. 2003. Employment Relations in the Hospitality and Tourism Industries. London: Routledge. Page 12. Manson, Emily and Kuhn, Kerstin. 2006. "UK hospitality brings in more than 100b," Caterer and Hotelkeeper. UK: Reed Business Information UK Ltd. P. 1. Stone-Romero, Eugene F. 2005. "Personality-Based Stigmas and Unfair Discrimination in Work Organizations," Discrimination at Work: The Psychological and Organizational Bases. NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. P. 225 "We Need the skills of Foreign Workers in the UK," Evening Chronicle, April 26, 2004. P. 1 (Database: EBSCO Business Source Premier) Zaba, Christina. 2005. "People in England Live Differently," New Statesman, Vol. 134, Issue 4730. UK: New Statesman, Ltd. P. 1. (Questia Media America, Inc.) ---------------------------------------------------- Note to Simon: All other references are from Questia but you need not cite Questia and EBSCO anymore, because I don't know how your professor will react. I have this feeling he wants you to do manual searching in libraries rather than electronic searching (because many professors want their students to work hard, because such is the process of learning and discovery just by browsing at the shelves, reading bits and pieces of info, etc. ) The references used consist of 6 books, 2 journals, 1 newspaper article. 5 sources are from UK. Main text color code: Black - Original Writing Blue - Paraphrased Writing Red - Quoted Writing Read More