Human Resource Plan - Assignment Example

Human Resource Plan Human Resource Management (HRM) is one of the important areas where modern organizations heed their strategic management concern. In addition to the industrial regulations, a company should comply with a code of ethics of its own which is highly significant in the overall performance of its employees. The efficiency of workforce depends on the effectiveness of the company’s HR planning. HR plan should be relevant to the firm’s natural and environmental cultures and technological trends. HRM should comply with numerous regulations that are associated with the specific area of business. This paper tends to develop an HR plan for a company which consists of more than 200 employees including its managers, staff, and labours. Lords’ Exporters is a midsize leather manufacturing and exporting company that has a successful history of business for the past ten years. This HR plan would intensify the company’s future HR functions. Core values and concerns Code of ethics to a company means the set of principles and concepts that is designed by its operators to achieve the proposed objectives and goals by ensuring the collective effort of all employees, managers, and other individuals. It should also consider the requirements of community, law, employees and shareholders. The preamble “This code of ethics is the basic principles of conduct that we are bound to maintain as managers, staff, and employees in order to accomplish the business objectives by ensuring the betterment of the company’s Human Resource.” The core values of the organization’s HR policy can be as follows; This company is established for the overall wellbeing of its employees, operators, shareholders and other benefactors. This company shall operate its HR functions with a socially responsible approach. This company shall comply with legal as well as moral obligations in its HR selection, training, retention, promotion, and termination. The major HR concerns of the organization 1. Diverse workforce The company will follow the policy of maintaining a diverse workforce in every area of its business operation. HR diversity has its own multifaceted advantages in the marketing and managerial functions of an organization. It has been assumed that diverse workforce would avail potential individuals with a variety of talents who will also have experience and knowledge about wide rage of customers (Weightman J., 2004, p.25). In addition to these advantages, the policy intends to comply with legislations on Equal opportunity and Discrimination. 2. Non-discrimination The debate over mandatory retirement and age discrimination has recently been intensified. In the UK, employers can force workers to retire exactly at their age of 65 without paying any redundancy. According to the Default Retirement Age Act of 2006, employees can request the employer to retain their employment after 65; and the employer has the right either to accept or to reject the request. The law has recently been upheld by the Court allowing employers to fire workers at the age 65 (BBC News). There can be certain exceptional tasks in which youngsters can outsmart elders. Obviously the Mandatory Retirement Act excludes elders from services that require high physical as well as mental skills. However, New HR plan will not encourage compulsory retirement. One can not argue that new candidates will always be potential enough to align with an organization’s goal. Moreover, it costs the employer time and money to test and train the new recruits. Meanwhile the older workers are the proven asset which can avail employers in the long run. 3. Rewards system An organization’s reward system has great influence on its workforce. In addition to the normal remuneration or salary company will issue variety of benefits to the employees. It is to motivate or retain the expected behaviours. For instance the system would introduce group incentives or rewards to motivate the different departments as a whole. The company will ensure that intrinsic rewards have been given enough priority because the fiscal importance of the system would lead to goal disparities. Here are some modes of incentives and bonuses that the company can promote. a. Completion of service year bonus For completion of annual contract b. Bonus for outstanding performance Increase in pay for overall performance c. Individual recognition Honoring selected individuals d. Reward for exceptional performance Bonus for exceptional contribution Common individual benefits such as vacations, sick leave, and pensions and rewards like salaries, wages, and commissions will be reviewed frequently. The company believes that individual rewards are important factors in attracting potential candidates. Money may not be the sole objective of employees; instead, many are interested of intrinsic rewards and job satisfaction. According to Hunt (1992), job satisfaction rewards of challenge, stretch, and autonomy are more effective than the compliance rewards. 3. Recruitment and retention The company will strictly adhere to the legal aspects in employment and retention. Major objective of the HR plan is the employees’ wellbeing and the sustainable growth of the company. For instance, it will be serious about the psychological needs of the workers and propose to give proper training and leisure to all labors. The absence of training and entertainment will adversely affect their commitment to the career because a worker is highly influenced by the reward derived from his present efforts. Obviously, deploying the right person at right job is the most important thing because an efficient workforce is the most valuable asset of a company. Company will ensure that no employee is terminated or discriminated from his/her post in terms of age, sex, or ethnicity. Company will have strict provisions to ensure job security. Company will also follow a clear notion of work and play balance for its Human Resource. As it has been suggested by Mayo (1939), “the workers are not solely concerned with economic needs and material comfort; moreover they are likely to be more responsive to the influence of colleagues than to attempts of management to control them by material incentives” (cited in Tyson and York, 2000 p.13). 5. Health and safety Another ethical factor that needs frequent improvement in HRM is the health and safety provisions of the company. Company will observe if any worker is suffering from allergic problems and if there persists any particular risk. The most probable occupational hazard at work must be chemical exposure. This assessment would help management to implement measures to control or prevent the exposure. Most of the industrial accidents are the result of negligence and paucity of awareness about the risk factors and safety measures. According to the regulations, industrial operations require permit when there is a chance of any of the following or similar risks; mechanical or natural toxic, electric shock, fall from height, radiation, suffocation, chemical exposure, explosion, and inflammable substances (Hughese & Ferrett p. 283). Safety measures include an array of procedures such as risk assessment, permit to work system and isolation. Besides all other infrastructural risk control systems, the individuals who involve in risky jobs have to use personal protective equipments to avert the related health hazards. Therefore a company should develop its own ideology regarding health and safety of its employees. Furthermore, strict supervision and monitoring should be the major managerial concern in all kind of industrial works. Individuals who involve in works should be well informed about the possible risks and they should comply with the instructions given by the responsible manager. The monitoring faculty of a firm must have competitive skill and knowledge to meet every legal obligation. If job operators and individuals adhere to the proposed safety measures and procedures, most of the occupational accidents can be averted. 6. Equal Employment Opportunity As mentioned earlier, in order to meet legal compliance as well as to enhance the workforce potential company will maintain equal opportunity in employment. It denounces all kinds of discrimination regarding employment, retention, pay, promotion, and other privileges. Company will be answerable to the law for the breach of any legislation on equal opportunity. It includes numerous legislations such as Racial Equality Legislation Act 1976, Employment Equality Regulations 2003, Equal Pay Act 1970, and Sex Discrimination Act 1975, 1986, and 2001 (weightman, 2004). Strategic Management of HR Team work is the essential element with HRM in every organization. Inappropriate strategy formulation and implementation will adversely affect teamwork and leadership. If the strategic integration is not effective, it would affect the production, supply, customer satisfaction, and the relationship between the members of the organization. Group activities, structural changes, and healthy interactions will make communication effective among the employees. Inappropriate strategic management would lead to centralized HR management which would affect the employer-employee relationship. Therefore, as suggested by Armstrong (2006, p.134), HR strategy should align with the business strategy (vertical integration) and must be apt to the organizational culture. Technology and HRM The selected organization is to utilize modern technological backup for the effective Human Resource Management. To be competitive, it requires timely and accurate information about its human resource. Therefore, it should rely on technology to have immediate access to HR information for employee recruit and retention. Technology has enabled companies to store every valuable data in their specially designed software. This Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is highly integrated with the enterprise planning (ERP) of a company. HRIS is widely accepted in modern organizational functions. However, careful analysis and strategic approach is essential to meet the objectives of HRIS implementation. HRIS would ease the complexity of data collection, reporting, and analysis. It not only helps the HR decision making process but also ensures the company’s legal compliance by maintaining and updating every piece of information. HRIS maintains information regarding employee performance, salary statement, personal file etc. Environmental concerns and HRM As environmental concerns have been growing all over the world, business entrepreneurs have to comply with numerous regulations of pollution, waste disposal, and resource management. The company has to educate its workforce about the significance of environmental protection. “Many companies practice environmental auditing and reporting, have environmental departments, use environmental themes in advertising and public relations and even adopt green technologies and comprehensive environmental management systems.” (Hoffman & Ventresca, 2002 p.201). Given below is the Action plan for the company’s HR Planning Priority: to intensify human resource functions Objectives: 1. Reduce HRM cost 2. Increase competitiveness Actions or Means Responsible Person Deadline HRM Cost 1. Deploy a director of operations 2. Deploy a management officer 3. Develop HRIS Chief Executive Officer HR Director Special supervisor & HR Director March May August Competitiveness 1. Train director of operations a). management training b). task training 2. Task training for Management Officer 3. Training for HRIS operator General Manager General Manager HR Director HR Management Officer April May March September Reference Armstrong M, 2006, A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, edn.10, Kogan Page Publishers. ‘UK Retirement Age Challenge Fails’, BBC News updated 25 Sept. 2009, retrieved 21 Jan.2010 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8274328.stm Hughese & Ferrett, 2005, Introduction to Health and Safety at Work, edn. 2, Butterworth-Heinemann. Hunt J. W., 1992, Managing People at Work: A Manager’s Guide to Behavior in Organizations, edn. 3, McGraw-Hill. pp. 29-31 Hoffman A J.& Ventresca M J., 2002, Organization, Policy and the Natural Environment: Industrial and Strategic Perspectives. Stanford University Press. Tyson & York, 2000, Essentials of HRM, edn.4, Elsevier. Weightman, 2004, Managing People, Edn.2, CIPD Publishing. Read More