Delegation of Human Resource Responsibilities to Line Managers - Term Paper Example

Delegation of Human Resource Responsibilities to Line Managers Introduction Managing people was the responsibility of the line manager long before the creation of human resource staff functions. Line managers commonly recognise their duty to manage their people (Dessler 2000). However, human resource staff has accepted increasing tasks on behalf of line managers over the recent years, comprising recruitment, selection, handling performance appraisals, career development and employee relations (Dessler, 2000). Alongside intensified assistance and reliance has frequently emerged a function possession, with employees and managers as clients (Francis & Keegan 2006). This perspective has partitioned the human resource operation, instead of merging it with strategic business operation. Human resource personnel should be regarded equals in working with actual customers, or people who supply profits into the business (De Fong, Leenders & Thijssen 1999). Thus, a primary emphasis of the operation should be the collaboration with line managers to build and implement efficient procedures for recruitment, selection, performance and rewards, employee relations, learning, and realising necessary organisational reform. Organisations are developing processes that orient behaviour and outcomes on business plans and goals (Luoma 2000). Performance planning and appraisal, which in a number of organisations has turned into a traditional practice steered by the human resource operation, is being reorganised, in several means back to its capitalist roots as a fundamental need for disseminating business objectives and plans to individuals, groups, and units (Dessler 2000). The main intention is to assist employees in understanding the way their task influences the accomplishment of the organisation. Focus is on lining up team and individual anticipations with business plan, understanding the importance of business vision, action plans, values, objectives, and missions (Luoma 2000). Teams and individuals develop a common knowledge of required performance. Line managers will upgrade performance through training, mentoring, and evaluation of outcomes. Performance is recognised or rewarded, in manageable means that suit the situations (De Fong et al. 1999). Likewise, several leading organisations are developing and using processes to complement talent with varying qualifications. Important staffing concerns and skills mix are being confronted in many organisations (Constanzo & Tzoumpa 2008). The reaction is to adopt a strategic recruitment method that will place the task of recruiting, selection, movement, and partitioning of employees in the hands of line managers, the movement of talent with regard to future requirements (Constanzo & Tzoumpa 2008). The mechanism will normally characterise future requirements, through evaluation of staffing factors, and skills needed. It may include steps to enhance staffing utilisation, through moving talent, transferring work to greater value, and work flow modifications (Francis & Keegan 2006). Where requirements change, it aids in stabilising peaks and valleys, and takes into account proper use of contingent work force, such as contract and part-time. In due course, it typifies inconsistencies and surpluses of skills and needed recruitment or selection practices to remedy these (Francis & Keegan 2006). Whilst the methods of human resource planning and forecasting have been present for numerous years, they are presently being employed jointly with line managers, culpable for recruitment and selection in their companies (Dessler 2000). Their objective is to deal with the recurrent discrepancy of skills demand and supply, and deal with recruitment and selection requirements before they turn it problems, such as aggressive recruitment, layoffs, or business plan adjustments (Luoma 2000). Furthermore, most companies are aiming to become learning organisations, prioritising continuous enhancement of abilities in anticipation of incessant change. Learning is consolidated into tasks through shifting and challenging tasks, through mentoring by line managers, and through activities that promote development and that are related to the job (Francis & Keegan 2006). Training and education remains essential, but is gradually more concentrated on requirements that are most favourably dealt with in this manner. This obliges line managers to recognise requirements and strategies they may be addressed (Constanzo & Tzoumpa 2008). Concern in developing a learning organisation reveals an aspiration to consolidate human resource growth into the business. The function of line managers is to support and encourage learning throughout the organisation. The following assumptions are the salient points of this essay (Luoma 2000): (1) line managers are accountable for recruiting individuals who will best satisfy the need of the organisation; (2) rigorous procedures and coaching are given to aid line managers in understanding their HR responsibilities and execute them appropriately; (3) the HR division directly monitors processes and guidelines to guarantee successful results; (4) collaborative performance evaluations improve communication between managers and employees; and (5) HR team can focus on its function as a specialist and strategic associate. Human Resource Responsibilities of Line Managers The view dominates that several advantages exist in delegating line managers as facilitators of people. The subsequent major premises for delegation of HR responsibilities to line managers are suggested by several intellectuals: permitting HRD resolutions to be adjusted to the actual requirements and situations at the stage of operation; enhancing the work environment and employee relations; facilitating more productive decision making because of closer communication, and others (Francis & Keegan 2006). Primarily, the task of a line manager is crucial in building and motivating the fitting work setting favourable for learning (Dessler 2000). It demands the advancement of encouraging attitudes or outlooks towards sustained learning (Dessler 2000), due to the fact that learning is not a process that occurs merely during activities in the classroom, but is a central component of daily task performance. A line manager is anticipated to motivate the individual or group to assume accountability for the way they will deal with their personal learning practices. It must occur through the offering of different prospects for gaining knowledge or skills, for example arranging conventions between staffs with the same experience, developing coaching and task alternation processes, mentoring, and so forth (De Fong et al. 1999). Furthermore, studies verify that often line managers do not possess the knowledge and proficiency in human resource management (Francis & Keegan 2006). Hence, higher involvement of line managers in the activities of the HR department may result in an improvement and revitalisation of the managers and they would develop into more capable people managers (De Fong et al. 1999). This can also favourably help widen organisational change. Moreover, line managers can assist in enhancing the efficacy of HRD practices by bridging the divergence between individual performance and organisational performance (Luoma 2000). Line managers, instead of HRD professionals, are quite knowledgeable with the business context as well as the individual and organisational learning requirements; hence they should be capable of dealing with the most challenging learning requirements (Constanzo & Tzoumpa 2008). They interact more with the customers and everyday activities. This endows line managers a distinctive understanding regarding organisational needs and realities, which can enlighten their observation of the crucial concerns and potential discrepancies in understanding (Constanzo & Tzoumpa 2008). With no appropriate training needs assessment linked to the process of performance evaluation it is doubtful that HRD will initiate an important strategic input to reinforcing organisational success (Luoma 2000). Recognising requirements for training and development stemming from strategic goals, new adjustments in the work practices and innovative technology and linking it to performance evaluation procedure then turns out to be important at the operational stage within which a line manager is in charge (Luoma 2000); in spite the premises aforementioned, current studies have demonstrated that delegating HRD duties bear several risks and challenges and involvement of line managers in HRD task is not without difficulties (Francis & Keegan 2006). Studies present mixed findings about the consequences of delegation and the capacity of line managers in the HR task more commonly. It has been verified that the workload of line managers may degrade their attempts to develop staffs and they may not be capable of paying adequate attention to personnel development (De Fong et al. 1999). Performance standards and reward or incentive structures are more expected to regard business or organisational outcomes, than a more continuous employee development function (Dessler 2000). The duty for human resources is not quite frequently regarded among the performance targets of line managers. In addition, it may be hard for line managers to serve two conflicting functions of coach and evaluator (Francis & Keegan 2006). Furthermore, line managers are inept in human resources tasks and may do not have the sufficient knowledge, self-assurance and organisational assistance to take on the obligation for HRD (Francis & Keegan 2006). The top management should be very encouraging in human resources tasks of line managers and a reward structure should be created to encourage them (Constanzo & Tzoumpa 2008). Additionally, working as a facilitator of HR tasks demands a mentoring management approach, in opposition to a command supervision approach. Shortfall in mentoring skills and unsatisfactory line management encouragement for this function is reinforced by research evidence that the not so favoured human resource delivery processes comprise mentoring and coaching (Luoma 2000). This could be caused by the necessary investment of substantial time and resources, but these methods have consistently been underlined as important aid to strategic HRD (Luoma 2000). It is necessary to stress here that the delegation of HR responsibilities to the line manager does not signify that conventional human resource function should disappear or be abolished. It concerns enlarging the role of line managers in human resource task, yet not about seizing the human resource role from the experts (Constanzo & Tzoumpa 2008). There is inadequate ground to think that line managers can be more competent facilitators than professionals educated and trained in HRD. The function of human resource experts is also transforming. Human resource experts are freed from regular supervision and can concentrate on change and strategic management concerns (Francis & Keegan 2006). They should be viewed as HRD consultants rather than just HRD providers. This requires collaboration between HRD experts and line management. HRD experts should be capable of providing continuous assistance to line managers aiding them in evaluating performance problems, evaluating learning requirements, building up individual learning schemes and building up their own mentoring abilities (Francis & Keegan 2006). Nevertheless, the primary issue is the things anticipated of line managers with regard to human resources management. According to the management literature there are five primary functions of line managers in human resource development (Constanzo & Tzoumpa 2008): (1) line managers must consider at times the performance and the learning and development requirements of their people; (2) Line managers must collaborate with human resources mentoring professionals in strategic HR concerns; (3) line managers must express enthusiasm and encourage training of their regularly; (4) line managers must guide and educate their people; and (5) line managers must vigorously take part in the development process of HRD strategy. Organisational Change With the several changes taking place in the business world, the most important human resources management step is upgrading organisational success; specifically, dealing with the effect of business adjustment in organisations (Dessler 2000). Organisations may address various organisational change activities supervised by line managers, involving (De Fong et al. 1999): (a) redesigning major jobs and redefining abilities needed; (b) building productive teams; (c) developing a high-involvement organisation; (d) redefining processes and decision making; and (e) implementing persistent quality improvement as a principle and group of practical instruments. The challenge for line managers is to coordinate these ideas, as organised, integrated change process. Quite frequently, operations are executed as separate programmes, with the absence of crucial alignment. Consequently, the products of process re-engineering as a programme, or sustained improvement of quality, fail anticipations (De Fong et al. 1999). Organisations can make sure that line managers are handling these change processes appropriately by integrating them with the business. For instance, General Electric’s ‘revolution’ was directed as a designed, three-stage mechanism over a number of years: ‘awakening, envisioning, and re-architecting’ (Ferris, Rosen & Barnum 1995, 437). To facilitate continuous change, every component was addressed. Moreover, as stated by consultant Noel Tichy, it is essential to encourage as many individuals as possible initiators of change. Initially, people will be sent to what at GE are referred to as workout sessions; there individuals will gain knowledge of redefining their jobs to address the problems or issues of the business environment, and eradicating needless task simultaneously (Ferris et al. 1995, 437). The responsibility of line managers in dealing with organisational change should therefore be consolidated with the business. HR employees can become involved in the process and assist in leading it, but it is a responsibility of the line management With the consolidation of line management function into human resource issues, it is plainly logical that the human resource employee responsibility must be integrated with the business organisation, instead of being an independent unit. Organisations can completely modify the human resource task and reconstruct its functions. Conclusions It may be concluded from the above discussion that greater involvement of line management in human resources development shows a substantial change of organisational management growth. Nonetheless, before replacing conventional HRD development mechanisms and functions sizeable investments in line managers, HRD experts and other stakeholders’ capacity development are required to guarantee that line managers and HRD experts are able to perform their new functions. Existing frameworks of human resource development (HRD) indicate that beliefs about the HRD functions of line managers are shifting as organisations are trying to transform HRD function into a more strategic entity. Line managers, in this perspective, are increasingly held accountable for HRD. Hence, this essay investigated the issues and consequences, regarding the line management function in human resources development. References Constanzo, L.A. & V. Tzoumpa. "Enhancing Organisational Learning in Teams: Has the Middle Manager got a Role?" Team Performance Management (2008): 146-164. De Fong, J.A., F.J. Leenders & G.L. Thijssen. "HRD Tasks of First Level Managers." Journal of Workplace Learning (1999): 176-183. Dessler, G. Human Resource Management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall , 2000. Ferris, G., S. Rosen & D.T. Barnum (eds). Handbook of Human Resource Management. UK: Wiley, 1995. Francis, H. & A. Keegan. "The Changing Face of HRM: In Search of Balance." Human Resource Management Journal (2006): 231-249. Luoma, M. "Investigating the Link between Strategy and HRD." Personnel Review 29.6 (2000): 769-790. Read More