Hard and Soft Human Resources Management Practices - Essay Example

The paper "Hard and Soft Human Resources Management Practices" is an outstanding example of an essay on human resources. According to Armstrong (2007), human resource management entails an intentional and consistent advancement of the most vital assets of the organization that is the human labor force.  It is within the mandate of the human resource department of the organization to ensure that all employees are appropriately and collectively engaged towards the realization of the organizational objectives. As such, it calls for both instrumental and humanistic approach of management practices. Regardless of the two approaches, most organizations have resorted to using the soft version of human resource management that focuses on taking care of the employees as vital assets of the organization. Therefore, the paper is meant to clarify the variations between Instrumental (hard) and humanistic (soft) HRM practices (Brewster, 2003).

Instrumental (hard) HRM practices

Hard human resource management otherwise termed as instrumental approach human resource management regard people as passive resources of the organization that can easily get recruited, assigned tasks, and can have their contracts terminated at any time. The above is effective, as long as the procedure follows the legality of trade unions. The model inputs high value on the organizational employees in order to achieve the mission and objectives of the firm. The instrumental approach of human resource management engages the corporate approach together with all aspects within the business trading zone and employees for sustainable organizational success (Yuan, 2013).

Having been interpreted as a calculative approach and a tough-minded branch of management, it encompasses communication through the very hard language of both business and economics to improve efficiency in production.  According to instrumental management, the organizational requirements are supreme thus an organization must work hard to enhance productivity at the expense of effective human resource management (Yuan, 2013).

Humanistic (soft) HRM practices

On the contrary to hard human resource management practices, soft HRM practices entail managing of human resources within the framework of employee-influence, human resource flow, reward, and work systems. Moreover, it constitutes the structure of employees, information-related activities, and technology that drives workmanship. The humanistic human resource model is mainly designed to enhance employees’ commitment towards the reduction of an organizational operational cost (Price, 2011). The above type of human resource management puts more emphasis on employees’ production rather than organizational returns. Organizations that have since embrace the soft HRM approach actively engage employees in all activities that are deemed fit to the firm including the decision-making process. Besides, it focuses on moral values and ethical matters in relation to the duties of employees (Price, 2011). Conclusively, soft HRM practice recognizes employees as active partners of the organization in pursuant of innovative activities of the organization.

Machado et al. (2014), clarifies that soft HRM practice is effective in managing human resource of an organization because it recognizes employees as effective tools of organizational success. Notably, when an employee is empowered and rewarded justly, a similar result is translated into the overall organizational return.

Conclusion

Instrumental and humanistic practices play an expansive role in the realization of the organizational objective. Whereas the Instrumental approach of human resource management engages the corporate approach together with all aspects within the business environment, humanistic believes that employees should be more powered to enhance organizational productivity. Likewise, when an organization engages in diversity and positive management of employees then there is the likeliness to improve opportunities for all organizational members.