Human Resource Management in Malaysia - Research Paper Example

Human Resource Management in Malaysia Management of people has been one of the most crucial issues for the successful performance of any organisation. The discipline broadly classified as the human resource management, have lots of theories and areas of interest coming up. The recent trend shows that the professionals of this human resource management working with various small and big companies come together to form forum or association for the sake of their professional excellence. Many of such forums are based on geographical boundaries of the nations. One such prominent forum is that of Malaysia Institute of Human Resource Management (MIHRM). Having trained more than 7000 human resource professionals since its inception in 1975, MIHRM was earlier known as Malaysian Institute of Personnel Management (MIPM). The association has ISO 9002 certified training program and tie ups with major bodies all across the globe which includes the likes of World Federation of Personnel Management Associations, International Federation of Training and Development Organizations, Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management and the Asian Regional Training and Development Organization (MIHRM, n.d.). The Malaysian Institute of Personnel Management is generally focussed to entice the study of human resource management in Malaysia. It longs to provide effective and efficient solutions keeping in consideration the needs of Malaysia. The other major objectives of the body are to ensure that the proper set of ethics is being observed by the member professionals apart from having the spirit of unity among them. It also vows to safeguard the interest of its members and the professional dignity (MIHRM, n.d.). MIHRM has whole lot of HR professionals as its members. The member list includes the academicians, practitioners, senior as well as line managers and consultants. The institute offers base to share ideas among the working peers of the discipline. To enhance knowledge and skill and to promote all round understanding of modern methods, MIHRM also organises seminars, conferences and various publications time and again. The membership of MIHRM is two fold namely the individual membership and the organizational membership. The intended members have to fill up the membership form and submit to the apex body. Once in every month, the institute meets and decides over the membership. If approved, it generally notifies the prospective member in writing. As and when the acceptance is provided by the incumbent, the membership certificates are awarded. The members enjoy certain privileges. They can join the programs in discounted prices and can also avail discount while purchasing books to attain excellence in the discipline. The members can also avail library facilities (MIHRM, n.d.). The MIHRM also conducts numerous training programs. The various training modules include that of public programmes, in house or corporate training, professional certificate as well as diploma in human resource, professional advanced certificate in industrial relation and training and development along with lecturing opportunities. The numerous activity partners of Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management include World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Singapore Human Resource Institute, Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Institute and Australian Human Resource Institute. Newspaper Article Introduction The recent studies and media reports suggest that there have been sharp rise in the enrolment of the masters’ programme of business management in the leading business schools and universities of United Kingdom in last one year or so. The authorities of the business school of repute like that of University of Portsmouth, Newcastle Business School of Northumbria University, Birmingham City Business School or Middlesex Business School feels the trend of higher education in business management is growing as the only graduates are seeking to increase their employability by having more than a single degree (McLellan, 2009). Business Schools and Trends According to the experts of the industry, the recession and the ongoing financial turmoil has reduced the scope of job across industries through out the globe. It has been very tough for the plain graduates to get into real white-collar jobs as the better trained professionals have increased at a higher rate than the openings. Consequently, the Higher Education Statistics Agency feels that the more of such graduates who is all set to finish his graduate course but has a high probability to join any job with in six months of the completion of the course, are all longing for master programme in business management. The common belief also suggest that having a masters degree in business management gives the student the managerial competency that he would require when he joins the corporate at the managerial belief. Advantages There are certain advantages of management education in the United Kingdom. As it has been repeatedly mentioned in the newspaper reports that the cost of such education is quite affordable for the local and the European Union students. For the overseas universities, though the average cost amounts to be around £ 8000 but the course is only of one year which is again lucrative for such students as most of the countries have two or more years as the course period for such education. The candidates can complete the course and can look forward to have relevant work experience in the saved time. Also, the cost is expected to be covered up as the students get the job. Many of the students also have the view of joining academics as they complete the course of master degree. So it can be suggested that the option of higher degree in management has numerous advantages. Conclusions The post-graduate degree help the student to stand out as the course requires the candidate to complete the dissertation in management. The dissertation in the fields chosen from various functions like that of marketing, finance, human resource and strategic management gives the student the required competency at the corporate level. Also, the professional course is assumed to increase the analytical level of the candidate. All these factors contribute to the ever-increasing demand of such course in the UK universities. Recruitment and Selection Processes Introduction Among the various human resource functions, recruitment and selection is regarded as the most important of all. The essence of recruitment is selecting the right candidate for the right job. The concerned executive for recruitment would definitely get large pool of prospective employees for the post advertised. But before selecting the candidate, he must be able to assess the traits of the candidates. The candidate should be job fit as well as organisation fit. The candidate should essentially have the matching temperament with that of the organisation. He should also be in line with the organisational culture. Various Processes The various processes that are involved with the recruitment and selection are as follows: Defining recruitments – The definition of recruitments basically deals with the job specifications and the terms of employment and other technicalities. Attracting candidates – This is one of the most crucial step as the best of the available talents are to be attracted to the profiles advertised. The recruiting executive has to contact with the agencies or consultants and can also advertise in various forms of media so that the talent pool gets attracted. Selecting Candidates – The ultimate step of recruitment is that of selecting. Selection procedure involves shifting of applications, tests and assessments, interviews (can take the form of both group interview as well as personal interview), offering of employment, preparations of employment contracts and other formalities. The modern human resource management also calls for asking about other prospective candidates suited for the positions vacant in the organisation from the existing employees. This system of referral has its own benefit as the candidates who come for the interview process are already aware of the organisational culture and aspects. But the referral system again limits the wide range of talent pool that can be available if some other external method of recruitment was followed (Armstrong, 2006). Conclusion The recruitment should be handled with due seriousness as it deals with selecting the human capital and it is the human asset that makes the real difference in the present global business scenario where information and technologies are available to all. The modern trends suggest that the many of the companies take the assistance from the external recruitment agencies for the selection of their employees. The corporate following this latest mechanism in the field of recruitment, should be careful as media reports of the recent past have time and again suggested that the outsourcing recruitment vendors have often used the mechanism to earn quick money rather than to serve the purpose of their esteemed clients. Therefore, it is prudent for the companies to have a dedicated department for human resources that would be bestowed with the duties of recruitment and selection and other essential human resource processes. If there is the scope for such a department, various other issues like grievance handling, employment details and other minutes can also be taken care of with due sincerity. Human Resource Development Introduction Human resource development is an important aspect in the functioning of any organisation. Though this field is quite old in practise yet it is regarded as the recent academic discipline that has come up in the literature of the subject. Human resource development has been defined by Swanson and Holton as, “a process of developing and unleashing expertise for the purpose of improving individual, team, work process, and organizational system performance” (Swanson & Holton, 2009). The essence of the discipline of human resource development is that it focuses on both individual success as well as organizational success. Beliefs The field of study of human resource development have certain core belief. Some of them can be enumerated as follows: Firstly, the entire discipline is based upon the presumption that the organisations are made by humans and therefore depends upon the human excellence and expertise. Therefore, as the organisations highly depend upon such human performance, so steps must be taken to improve the condition of such resources. The development of the human resource should essentially be long term in nature and should also be mutually benefitting for both the parties i.e. the organisation as well as the employees. Most preferably it should be a sustainable relationship. Some of the other effective human resource principles that are followed by the industry are as follows: The stakeholder expectations and needs should get satisfied The developmental measures should be essentially a continuous process The human resource developmental principles should be in line with the organisational goal and objectives The principles and measures should be shared among all the concerned parties The ultimate objective of the human resource development programme should be to enhance the operational as well as organisational efficiency apart from keeping the human capital satisfied and motivated towards the work assigned Advantages and Disadvantages There are numerous advantages of human resource development measures from the organisational perspective. The most important and the foremost advantage is that such measure can keep the employees motivated and committed towards the job. It would invariably reduce the turnover ratio for the company. The unique and non conventional measures of human resource developmental measures would also help to reduce the stress for the employees. Among the demerits, the company should be strict to ensure that the cost incurred for such measure should not exceed the relevant profit. Also, the measures initiated should not in any chance collide with the organisational goals and objectives. Conclusion Human resource development is the part and parcel of the modern day organisation. Without having dedicated human resource development measures it is not only difficult to attract new talents to the organisation but also it is equally tough to retain the existing work force. The onus of having effective and efficient human resource development measures lies upon the organisation so that the employees get the maximum benefits from such initiatives. Managing and Rewarding Performance Introduction Performance management has been one of the core issues that call for increasing concerns in the world of human resource management all across the globe. One can be define performance as the endeavour that the work force puts up to complete the assignment in the way that has been ordered and also to meet the organisational objectives. In simple words, performance management can be referred as the tracking performance of the individual against the declared objectives of the organisation (Smith & Mazin, 2004). Proper appraisal methods and the management of rewards act as the most motivating factor for the employees. To retain the existing work force and also to attract the external talent, effective and efficient performance management is a must. Process To have proper performance management, at the outset, the organisation should fix organisational goal at the highest level. The organisation should have provision with in the internal framework to reward the outstanding performers. To reap the real benefits of performance management, the system should be an ongoing process and not a periodical one. As the broader goals are defined by the organisation, it should also be able to divide the organisational goals into narrow means like team goals and the individual objectives. The non- technical factors like the revenue generated, behavioural approach and level of commitment should also be adjudged. Therefore, it can be said that managing performance and reward is not just about the quantitative appraisals but also qualititative factors should be duly considered. The most important advantage of performance management is that it acts as the vital motivating factor for the employees. As the deserving and the hard working employees get the appraisals, it acts as the benchmark for the other set of team members. But the entire process of performance management also has a flip side. If it so happens that the really deserving candidates do not get the entitled reward for their performance, it can act as the demotivating factor for the other employees. Conclusion Management of performance and reward has to be effectively enforced with in the organisational architecture. It is best to have a dedicated department in place with in the organisation rather to have an external agency for the measurement of performance and entitlement of rewards. The organisation should be careful with the fact that the concerned executives of the performance management should be neutral and should not favour any particular employee and provide extra benefits to them in lieu of appraisal or rewards. Managing the employment relationship Introduction The performance of the overall organisation depends much on the relationship between the employer and the employee. To attain and exceed the organisational goal and objective, it is necessary that there exist mutually trusting relationship between the work force and the management of the organisation. Phenomenon As Sparrow and Cooper observed, there are nine major challenges that are the guiding factors of employment relationship in any organisation. They are as follows: To understand the reasons behind the ever changing psychological terms of employment at the professional work place To understand the real meaning of flexibility at work place To evaluate if there exist a social climate in the organisation which would make the management of a changing psychological contract into feasible objective To disentangle the career and the work that is taking place all across the globe To identify the challenges of increasing individualisation that are created in the organisations To understand if the new relationship of employment has any significant impact among the management and the employees To recognise the barriers and limits that might affect the health of the individuals and well being of the organisations To identify the result of the latest employment relationship that will entice the newer generations at work To evaluate and consider few of the long term institutional changes that are being faced by the individuals as well as organisations (Sparrow & Cooper, 2003). The employment relationship also deals with the trust and downsizing phenomenon. As layoffs and retrenchments are experienced in every corner of today’s global industry, it is becoming increasingly important how the human resource manager deal with such unfortunate cases. The employment relationship also deals with the work – life balance and the changing trends of modern day business. Conclusion Employment relationship has been attaining increasing importance in the discipline of the human resource management. The relationship of employer with that of the employee is the guiding factor in the overall performance of the organisation. In absence of proper relationship between the two concerned parties, the organisational objectives are bound to get affected. Also, the effective and efficient employment relationship is a must to take care of certain issues like that of lay offs and retrenchments and other not so rewarding approaches. Effective employment relationship is also required to negotiate career contracts, job security and work life balance. The employment relationship also defines the flexibility at work and values and behaviours that holistically comprises organisational culture. References Armstrong, M., 2006. A handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Ed 2. Mclellan, A., 2009. Rise to the challenge: Stand out from the crowded jobs market with a Masters in business management. The Independent. [Online] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/further/rise-to-the-challenge-stand-out-from-the-crowded-jobs-market-with-a-masters-in-business-management-1810880.html [Accessed on 31 October, 2009]. MIHRM, No Date. Membership Services. Our Services. [Online] Available at: http://www.mihrm.com/membership.html [Accessed on 24 October, 2009]. MIHRM, No Date. Our Objectives. About MIHRM. [Online] Available at: http://www.mihrm.com/objectives.html [Accessed on 24 October, 2009]. MIHRM, No Date. Our Profile. About MIHRM. [Online] Available at: http://www.mihrm.com/profile.html [Accessed on 24 October, 2009]. Sparrow, P. & Cooper, C.L., 2003. The employment relationship: key challenges for HR. Butterworth-Heinemann. Smith, S. A. & Mazin, R. A., 2004. The HR answer book: an indispensable guide for managers and human resources professionals. Safari Books Online. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Swanson, R. A. & Holton, E. F., 2009. Foundations of Human Resource Development. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Ed 2. Bibliography Beardwell, J & Claydon, T., 2007. Human resource management: a contemporary approach. Prentice Hall Financial Times. Ed 5. Bratton, J., & Gold, J., 2007. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Ed 4. McGoldrick J, Stewart J & Watson S., 2003. Understanding Human Resource Development: A research-based approach. Routledge. Read More