Development and Implementation of Human Resource Policies - Research Paper Example

 DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF HR POLICIES Policy is the guide of action, which is established to rule the performance of activities that certain organization conducts. In order to achieve goals and objectives in the various areas of the organization, policies create a framework of principles that help managers hold activities and use proper programs within the organization in order to manage the work of its employees in the most efficient way. Other words, policies are the certain standards of the organization on which the decisions are reached. The following paper will explain the purpose of policy and the how it reflects the values, beliefs and goals of an organization. It will illustrate the ethical considerations that should be included in policy development as well as the legal implications of human resources policies. The purpose of policy There is a certain consideration, that policies should cover every area of organization because then its each employee would know the “rules of the game” (McConnell, 2005). Notwithstanding the fact, that some organizations have written procedures and policies, they have no relationship to the needs of its employees. There are also organizations that establish numerous policies, but no one reads them. In all cases, policies have a number of purposes, such as providing of clear communication between the organizational levels, forming a basis for applying all employees equally and setting guidelines for managers and supervisors in the organizations. Human resources policies refer to the decision on employees’ matters and can be made without submission to higher levels of organization. Due to the fact, that top management is responsible for making decisions toward the employees of a certain organization, there is a need for HR policies to ensure such decisions to be made. HR policies ensure guidelines for the employment relations within the organization, thus identifying the recruitment intentions, promotion and development of the employees, the compensation etc. They serve as the development program for the HR department of each organization (Acquinas, 2006). They refer to the rules of conduct, which the organization establishes to attain the objectives. The main purpose of HR policy is to provide the adjusted course of rules within the organization; to ensure a positive order to the organization; to provide the basis for the decisions; to lead the attainment of objectives. HR contributes to the way the organization sets up its roles and rules, explains the consequences of activities and provides employees with the necessary for their work tools (Acquinas, 2006). Policy and the values and goals of the organization Each organization creates or has specific HR policy. The management examines basic reasoning and practices conducted within the organization in order to develop its policy. Effective policies assure methodical treatment toward all employees and minimize favoritism or discrimination regarding this or that policy. Since the manager’s empowerment is limited, the established policy will ensure the stability within the organization. One of the main goals of each organization is the adhering of rules that exist in the country. Each organization tries to abide established laws and regulations that is why they create policies in compliance with these rules. HR policies are aimed to serve employees, who work for the good of the organization. That is why social values and customs should be respected by the organization and to be reflected in the policies. At the same time, every employee should have a clear understanding of philosophy and values that the organization declares and consider them during the implementation of a certain policy. Ethical considerations in the development of policy While developing a policy, the human resources should take into account the assigning values to employees as a key mechanism of influence in the organizational culture. In order to promote ethical behavior of the employees, there should be established such mechanisms as codes of conduct, different trainings programs and hotlines among employees. Since ethics is about employees’ behavior, the human resources play an active role in raising corporate ethical awareness within the organization (Palomino, Martinez, 2011). There is an evidence, that many HR departments have already established a code of ethics that sets company vision concerning ethical behaviors inside the organization, such as privacy, conflict of interest, discrimination and workplace diversity. They are charged to set standards that encourage ethical behavior in the organization, such as performance appraisal, promotion policy and others. However, there is some criticism that challenges the efficiency of training in improving employees’ ethical behavior. Personnel feel themselves knowledgeable enough be able for changes after starting their work in the organizations. Therefore, ethics training programs are still considered the most appropriate instrument to promote ethical behavior among employees. Moreover, this is the task of the HR policy to develop such policy and then conduct the training for the employees (Palomino, Martinez, 2011. In order to provide an understanding of ethics, HR departments may implement reward systems for the employees who promote to the organization's goals and objectives. Human resources specialists recommend an ethics audit to be conducted before ethics initiative implementation, because it will enable analyzing the organization's environment and determine the current behavior of the employees (Lloyd, Mey, 2010). A framework for creating organizational policies The purpose of the framework is to enable the organizations to manage their human resources in an effective way. The biggest concern of the HR managers is to connect the human resources management with the goals of the organization, taking into account all parties that may influence the human resources management. Each organization has a mission and a strategy that may come under the influence from different forces. They are the labor market, culture, organizational style, relations between staff and management, the process of budgeting etc. Depending on the form of activity, the organization has its design, including job design and human resources planning. These attributes of the organization form the employment in the organization, compensation and benefits that the organization offers, career management that the organization conducts. A specific framework will enable to create and implement the most efficient policy. It will give possibility to fulfill the aims of the organization such as workload distribution, strategies for staff motivation, to handle change and improve productivity; to assess future employees and review the achievements of the current staff. If planned properly, the HR policy will think about benefits for the employees, such as rewards and recognition, will satisfy employees’ needs and bring new opportunities for them. Career management will provide the opportunities for staff development (including possibility to move within and across the organization) and training, financial advantages. Although organizations vary with their internal cultures, the question of ethical challenges is equal for all. They are connected to the framework, because they are the integral part of human resources management of each organization (A Framework for HRM, n.d.). Role of managers in reducing the counterproductive behavior Counterproductive behavior can take many forms inside the organization. Such behavior includes the breach of team solidarity that mines the financial well-being, constant absenteeism, employees’ theft and interpersonal problems. The driving forces for counterproductive behavior can also be the environmental reasons, lack of training for employees and life changes. In order to manage such negative work behaviors, the human resource departments create and implement policies, such as code of ethics or security password policies. However, the only implementation of such rules may not be enough to reach the expected results. The penalty charge for absenteeism may be one of the ways to solve the problem. However, it is proved that penalties are not as useful as special motivational training, instead. For the employees who possess their position for a certain time, managers may arrange training session and thus to prove the necessity to adhere organizational policies. Legal consequences of HR Policies It is worth mentioning that the first rule of the development and compliance of the policy is the creation of the policies that would be followed and implemented. Policies should reflect the real state of the organization as they may influence the other policies, such as acceptable use policies, mobile security policies, password policies, wireless access policies and human resource policies. Organizations should ensure addressing human resource issues when creating and implementing their other policies. Such issues are the equal employment opportunities, paydays and pay advances, workdays and compensation for overtime, payroll deductions and vacation policies (HR Policies Law & Legal Definition, n.d.). It is up to the organization management to decide whether to develop the certain policies or the organization may conduct its activities without the excessive rules. What is more important, it is the influence the policies make on the employees, their ability to perform their job in accordance with the values and goals of the organization, their ability to understand the main targets of the company they work in. References A Framework for HRM, (n.d.) International Civil Service Commission, Available from http://icsc.un.org/resources/hrpd/hrm/ICSC_hrm_eng.pdf [28 August 2014]. Aquinas, P G. (2006). Human Resource Management, Principles and practices. Vicas Publishing House Lloyd1, H., Mey, M., (2010). An ethics model to develop an ethical organization, SA Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol.8, No.1 McConnell, J. (2005). How to develop essential HR policies and procedures. New York: Amacom. HR Policies Law & Legal Definition, (n.d.). US Legal Inc, Available from http://definitions.uslegal.com/h/human-resource-policies/ [28 August 2014]. Palomino, P., Martinez, R., 2011. Human resource management and ethical behavior: Exploring the role of training in the Spanish banking industry, Ramon Llull Journal of Applied Ethics, Volume: 1  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 69-88 Read More