Job Satisfaction Rates between Certified Public Accountants and Human Resource Management Personnel - Research Proposal Example

Human Resource Management Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Human Resource Management 3 Human Resource Management Introduction Job satisfaction is descriptive of what workers feel about their work surroundings as well as performance. If employees have low job satisfaction, it will inevitably affect the productivity of the organization. Moreover, if workers register a high level of job satisfaction, it is also likely that they will be willing to put more effort in ensuring that it performs well. Different industries experience different types of job satisfaction. For instance, the level of job satisfaction among workers of human resource organizations as well as accounting firms may be influenced by different critical factors. Both of these professions have undergone many changes and are no longer the same as they were in the past. In addition, there are external circumstances that have affected these professions in negative as well as positive ways. The human resource management profession has had different responsibilities added onto its portfolio; similarly, the workers in the accounting profession are also not limited to bookkeeping as was the case in the past. They also conduct evaluations, managerial operations, and brainstorm on future financial investments. Purpose The purpose of the research study is to generate an empirical assessment that compares job satisfaction rates between certified public accountants and human resource management personnel. Scope and Limitations The research was to compare the rates of job satisfaction between certified public accountants and human resource management personnel. Both primary as well as secondary methods research were used. The results of the research study cannot be generalized to be representative of other autonomous public-relations associated establishments. Factors which could be considered to be elements that affect employee retention were not comprehensively addressed. This could be viewed as being a type of limitation. The utilization of open-ended questions in the questionnaire was intended to ensure that each of the research participants provided comprehensive and detailed answers. Methodology A sample of 500 human resource management personnel and certified public accountants were randomly chosen to participate in the survey was conducted. Potential participants who were internationally located or did not have a registered e-mail address were disqualified from the sampling frame. This left 450 participants. Before the beginning of the study, multiple reminders were sent to the participants. Of the 450 potential participants, 225 availed themselves for the research study; yielding a response rate of 50%. Sources Briggs, S. P., Copeland, S., & Haynes, D. (2007). Accountants for the 21st Century, where are you? A five-year study of accounting students personality preferences. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 18, 511-537 Long, C. S., & Ismail, W. K. W. (2008). Understanding the relationship of HR competencies and roles of Malaysian human resource professionals. European Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1), 88-103. Panayotopoulou, L., & Papalexandris, N. (2004). Examining the link between human resource management orientation and firm performance. Personnel Review, 33(5), 499-510. Rezaee, Z. (2005). Causes, consequences, and deterrence of financial statement fraud. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 16 (3), 277e-298. Yamamura, J. H., & Westerman, J. W. (2007). Assessing the work-fit for accountants: Implications for the international talent shortage. International Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Performance Evaluation, 4, 127-144. Yusoff, Y. M., Abdullah, H. S., & Ramayah, T. (2009). HR roles effectiveness and HR contributions effectiveness: Comparing evidence from HR and line managers in Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management, 4(2), 158-163. Variables that Determine Job Satisfaction There are different factors that can determine job satisfaction. In most jobs in both the public and private sectors, there are factors that are identical in as far as job satisfaction is concerned. For instance, tenure is usually positively connected with job satisfaction. The longer a worker remains with a specific organization, the more contented the worker will be with his or her job. This is probably indicative of the process of acculturation. On the other hand, it could be indicative of complacency on the part of the worker. Many organizations try to counter this latter factor by ensuring that workers are rotated through different responsibilities that match their skills. Rotating workers are less likely to be complacent. In addition, the older workers in any organization are more likely to show an indication of having job satisfaction than the younger workers. Most of the time, younger workers tend to view themselves as being more mobile and able to get good jobs in the private sector. This means that they will be actively looking for opportunities to access these jobs if they presently work in the public sector. In most industries, it is a bygone conclusion that they will continue to lose their most talented workers to the private sector. Moreover, personal characteristics also play a big role in determining job satisfaction (Panayotopoulou and Papalexandris, 2004). Older workers who have had more experience are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs than younger inexperienced workers. Another factor has to do with financial benefits. Workers who are offered more financial incentives and compensation packages are more likely to register job satisfaction in contrast to workers with fewer compensation and benefit packages. In some organizations, there are reward or recognition programs that are created to inspire workers who put a lot of effort in their work. This can stimulate workers and keep them interested in their responsibilities in opposition to being indifferent. A Career in Human Resource Management Human resource management, which is also referred to as personnel management, involves operations such as the hiring of employees, corporate planning, the discussion of termination of service, industrial relations, training and development, employee services, and job evaluation. Human resource management is basically responsible for supervising an organization’s workers. HRM personnel are usually tasked with overseeing different corporate operations while also acting as liaisons between the senior management and ordinary workers when disputes arise (Yusoff, Abdullah, and Ramayah, 2009). In the present competitive human resources field, the management of human capital is one of the most fundamental factors that can contribute towards corporations retaining their viability. The Human Resource Management field is centered on accomplishing corporate strategy by means of strategic management of an organization’s human capital. It examines the connection between an organization’s stakeholders, productivity, and satisfaction. Effectively using human resource strategies can lead to having better productivity as well as quality of work life, and a willingness to adapt to more radical change. In any organization, the human resources manager will likely have to deal with numerous and rapid changes. Just a decade ago, human resource managers mainly functioned as administrative officials, and mainly concentrated on policing the workers and preserving a company’s status quo (Panayotopoulou and Papalexandris, 2004). The present-day human resources manager has had to adapt to playing a more ambiguous role where he or she is expected to be an employee champion, business partner, and change catalyst. These are roles that are mainly targeted towards leveraging human capital. Today’s human resource manager also has to function as an internal consultant. There are other responsibilities such as overseeing issues regarding the distribution of benefits and compensation, dealing with information systems affiliated to the human resources, and organization development. For human resource enthusiasts who begin as entry-level professionals, they have access to more rotational programs as well as generalist roles. For the enthusiasts or candidates that are more accomplished and have graduate degrees, they have access to graduate-level vacancies or more experienced positions. At present, there are more vacancies, in many human resources organizations, on higher-level specialist vacancies. HR Professionals’ Key Challenges and Different Responsibilities There are different challenges that human resource professionals have to deal with in the modern era. There are many worker-related issues that arise on a daily basis. This means that human resource personnel have to deal with acting as mediators between people with differing levels of intelligence, experience, education, emotional intelligence, knowledge, and abilities (Yusoff, Abdullah, and Ramayah, 2009). When they are first employed, human resource officials will be tasked with a lot of compliance-related work that calls for the use of good communication skills, close attention to detail, and a considerable understanding of business relations. In this stage, the human resource official is essentially the individual who represents the managements’ desires to the rest of the ordinary workers while also functioning as an advocate for workers to senior management. This means that the best human resource professionals are mostly consummate diplomats. They also have to have other important personal qualities such as good listening skills, sound judgment, and tact. They also have to be able to connect business strategies with people strategies in a way that benefits both parties. Different Types of Human Relations Jobs There are different types of human relations functions that require different professional abilities. In most cases, the existing departments of human relations will be a symbol of the main organizational functions (Long and Ismail, 2008). Human resource professionals can act in the capacity of a human resource generalist, recruitment agents, organizational development personnel, training and talent personnel, employee engagement officials, and performance and reward professionals. Generalists tend to be involved in multiple roles that concern employee relations like overseeing employee focus groups and suggesting the right employees for different organizational operations to the management. Recruitment officials, on the other hand, have to manage an organization’s human capital in such a way that the long and short term requirements of the organization are met. As each organization is never static, this has to be planned around constantly changing corporate needs, demographics, scarce skills, and staff turnover. Recruitment personnel are also tasked with attracting the most talented workers for each corporate division so as to realize a competitive advantage. In times of little if any recruitment, it is vital for recruitment officers to keep the existing workers interested or engrossed in their jobs by constantly motivating or stimulating them. Training personnel have to find ways of getting the corporation’s workers to give their best in terms of time and ability when performing their jobs. Human resources training personnel also function as coaches or supportive colleagues when the corporation in question embraces new corporate functions which the workers are not accustomed to. Human resources organizational development personnel have to oversee the change processes that every organization undergoes. Organizations are never static. They are constantly absorbing changes that enable them to stay current. The businesses that are best placed in terms of realizing their objectives are those that are first changing. Development practitioners have to work well with other colleagues in order to determine the most important issues to address so that the organization does not lose anything significant in the course of change. Human resource employee relations professionals are tasked with ensuring that workers maintain good relations with their colleagues (Long and Ismail, 2008). Creating a trust-based workplace culture is not something that is easy to accomplish; particularly in the larger organizations. Employee relations officials are well trained in people management and have experience in solving different problems and small conflicts that come up among workers. They are also well-versed in internal communication and can easily collect, through quantitative as well as qualitative methods, information on the satisfaction felt by employees or even extent to which they trust the claims made by the senior management. Performance experts are tasked with gauging the skills of the employees and rewarding them accordingly or suggesting improvement. Performance experts are also involved in determining the levels of salaries for different levels of workers, as well as employee benefits. They are also empowered to create recognition schemes in order to recognize the most hardworking and innovative workers and stimulate others to aspire to benefit from such schemes by performing at maximum capacity. A Career as a Certified Public Accountant The accounting profession has been subject to different evaluations in the recent past. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) provided, more than a decade ago, definite regulations that would assist in keeping the profession devoid of sandal (Rezaee, 2005). These regulations were also meant to deal with the challenges of transforming business, economic, and global markets. Among the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ stipulations were some core competencies- being responsive to vibrant changes in terms of client and market requirements, leadership and communication skills, and the ability to comprehend the broader framework of non-financial and financial information. These are factors that signify some of the important changes that have affected the accounting. According to a study conducted by Briggs, Copeland, and Hayes (2007) which analyzed accounting students, their individual preferences affected their use of these factors in the workplace. According to Briggs, Copeland, and Haynes (2007) accountants tend to be pragmatic, introverted, and detail-oriented people who favor stability instead of change. The typical accountant has to keep adapting to the changing times or could get disillusioned because his or her work environment is constantly forced to change in order to be more tailored to the changing marketplace. In the recent past, the accounting environment has changed from supporting mainly solo practices to more large-sized organizations that hire multiple accountants. The maintenance of such large outfits also calls for accountants to display good communication skills as well as work styles that are team-oriented. A misfit between the accounting work environment and personal variables could result in lowered job satisfaction and performance. When they first join the profession in a single capacity or as a part of accounting organizations, most accountants have to work for between three and five years in order to meet the experience requirement or be recognized as a licensed Certified Public Accountant. After that, if they choose to leave public organizations and go into private practice, they have a number of options from which to choose. For instance, they can operate as controllers, accounting managers, or as middle management personnel. These are in demand positions in accounting organizations all over the world. The main responsibility of a certified public accountant lies in making it possible for executive directors to make important business decision based on financial data. Certified public accountants are quite in-demand all over the world because every organization requires experts to oversee their finances. Accountants can also aid organizations to keep their financial statements in such a way that costly penalties are avoided. Moreover, accountants also require mentors to a greater extent than is the case in other business-related departments such as the human resources management division. In accountancy, mentors offer different psychosocial and career –oriented assistance, as would exist in sponsorship programs, role modeling, and social support, such as to their mentees. According to a research documented by Yamamura and Westerman (2007) psychosocial as well as career-related mentoring has a positive effect on mentees as it results in better career outcomes such as job satisfaction, promotions, and better organizational turnover. Research studies conducted on the subject of accounting have shown that having a professional mentor is something that is linked with increased organizational commitment. To succeed as certified public accountants in the future, it will be necessary for accountants to have personal skills such as good management skills, and leadership qualities such as strategic thinking in addition to being skilled in financial analysis and business processes. Recommendations The most preferable career option would be one in human resource management. The financial scandals that have been witnessed in the last decade and a half have eroded public trust in the accounting profession. It has also resulted in accounting organizations re-assessing the regulations that govern the auditing as well as accounting profession. Even though the suggested changes were accepted by accounting organizations, their auditors and accountants had problems in adapting to the changes and this affected the profession’s image. Apart from such ethical issues, the effects of competitiveness which are brought about by globalization has also meant that individual accountants tend to be saddled with bigger workloads. In America, as well as the rest of the world, accounting organizations are having to deal with the push for being more cost effective. Accounting organizations cannot cut costs by reducing their retrenching large percentages of their workers as this will result in a lot of work being entrusted to too few accountants. This could result in increased capacity for committing errors or even underperformance. Overworked accountants are also likely to hurry through important duties. Professions in human resource management, on the other hand, have grown from an image standpoint. There have not been any serious scandals that have tainted the image of the human resource profession. According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Job Satisfaction Survey, almost four out of five human resource workers are contented with their jobs and benefits. In the human resources management profession, workers can be able to make real changes to their organization as well as the business industry. A human resources official has to have good personal skills such as good listening skills as well as a good understanding of an organization’s needs in order to act as a go-between with all organizational stakeholders. In addition, the profession of human resources management is constantly being re-invented to include other operations. The human resources management profession has currently been expanded to include the element of ‘contracting-out’, whereby corporations can contract services from external firms. There are now very few organizations that do not have a human resources division. Many corporations with in-house divisions of human resources departments have even included the employees in their HR departments so as to cater to increasing operations. The variety of jobs available in this growing sector makes it one of the best environments for an individual to launch his or her career in. As organizations develop further in a global context, the responsibilities of the human resource department will become more complex. It is likely that, in future, human resource operations will become smaller but be more effective. There will probably be a more dependence on technology, which will likely replace transactional as well as lower-level skills. Talent management requirements are likely to be the factors that stimulate the demand for business-focused organizational skills. Human resources management is also likely to evolve to include deeper relationships with customers. It is likely that human resource departments will be compelled to segment customers, so as to cater to the individual needs of various customer groups. This means that human resource initiatives will surpass the customary functional and geographical margins, increasing the need for more teamwork as well as knowledge sharing. This means that there will be more opportunities for people who wish to work in this sector. References Briggs, S. P., Copeland, S., & Haynes, D. (2007). Accountants for the 21st Century, where are you? A five-year study of accounting students personality preferences. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 18, 511-537 Long, C. S., & Ismail, W. K. W. (2008). Understanding the relationship of HR competencies and roles of Malaysian human resource professionals. European Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1), 88-103. Panayotopoulou, L., & Papalexandris, N. (2004). Examining the link between human resource management orientation and firm performance. Personnel Review, 33(5), 499-510. Rezaee, Z. (2005). Causes, consequences, and deterrence of financial statement fraud. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 16 (3), 277e-298. Yamamura, J. H., & Westerman, J. W. (2007). Assessing the work-fit for accountants: Implications for the international talent shortage. International Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Performance Evaluation, 4, 127-144. Yusoff, Y. M., Abdullah, H. S., & Ramayah, T. (2009). HR roles effectiveness and HR contributions effectiveness: Comparing evidence from HR and line managers in Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management, 4(2), 158-163. Read More