Solidity of Human Resource Management in UAE Firm - Case Study Example

Solidity of Human Resource management in UAE firm Introduction Human resource management is defined as the management of the personnel in an organization. HRM focuses on management of, recruitment of, and provision of direction for the organization’s staffs (Armstrong, 2006). The function of human resource management is linked to such responsibilities as hiring, compensation, organization development, performance management, wellness, safety, employee motivation, benefits, communication and training amongst others (Armstrong, 2006). HRM is a comprehensive and strategic approach to managing staffs and the workplace environment and culture. Effective practice of human resource management necessitates a strategic focus to make certain that staffs resources can assist in facilitating the attainment of organizational goals and objectives (Golding, 2010). Studies have proven that the practice of good human resources management allows managers in an organization to express their objectives with specificity, amplifying employees’ comprehension of objectives, and offer the necessary resources to advance successfully attainment of set goals (Armstrong, 2006). Furthermore, when HR management is appropriately employed, the staffs are expressive of the organizational goals and operating practices of the organization (Golding, 2010). This however is not the case. Studies in HRM management have proven that there is a gap between what is supposed to be practiced and what is being practiced. This paper will focus on the analysis of HR policy and HRM procedures in Firm X, a UAE firm. Firm X is a basic airline operating in UAE. In particular, the paper will evaluate the biggest gap in human resource management on paper that has not met up with HRM in practice, and the suggestions to close this gap. Furthermore, challenges facing Firm X to have continuous HRM training and development will also be discussed. The gap In my view, the biggest gap in HRM on paper that has not met up with HRM in practice in Firm X is employee relations. This encompasses staff motivation, communication, trade unions, and ethics. Motivation is the internal procedure which energizes, directs and sustains individuals’ behavior (Lindner, 1998). Generally, motivation is an aspect that is employed to explain the behavior of persons at a particular time (Lindner, 1998). Studies have proven that well motivated individuals are able to perform their duties as required and work towards the attainment of organizational goals and objectives (Armstrong, 2006). Motivation is usually related with morale; morale can be termed as the staffs feeling towards the superiors, job and the company itself. Typically, high morale is linked with job satisfaction and the fact that the staffs’ requirements on the job are met satisfactorily. High morale results to loyalty and dedication and the desire to perform a task well, whereas, low morale is low morale leads employees to perform shoddy work, increases the rate of absenteeism and amplifies the rates of employee turnover (Woodruffe, 1995). Communication is how information is transmitted within the firm. Studies have proven that effective communication is very essential for the success of any firm. It is apparent that effective communication, good work ethics, and trade unions which fight for workers remunerations all revolve around the policy of employee motivation. Although Firm X’s management understands well that staff motivation is a prerequisite for improving service offering and its productivity, this is rarely or not put into practice. Employees can be motivated in terms of monetary and non-monetary terms (Armstrong, 2006). In Firm X, employees are paid very low salaries, and in addition, the staffs are not given the attention they require, time off, and they are not praised for good work done. Firm X has a very oppressive regime and it has tremendously high personnel turnover, especially amongst junior cabin crew and junior pilots. Employees are supposed to pay for their uniforms and crew meals. Most workers from UAE have quit work from Firm X and as a result, the firm is hiring contract labor from other agencies. Research has revealed that Firm X does not care about its workers welfare, all what it does is to squeeze as much as it can from these workers. Most staffs complain that, after working for twelve hours in a day without a break, they are not in a position to serve the customers as required or be nice to them. Furthermore, the staffs work very hard, nevertheless, they are undervalued and they are required to work many hours which leaves them very tired and stressed, making it difficult for them to attend to the clients properly. Firm X has not been able to attend to the problem of low salaries given to its workers, especially to the cabin crew. It is apparent that hard work must be supplemented with better wages and proper compensation in order to motivate the employees thus, improve their morale. Personnel in places of work with a union and a collective agreement obtain better conditions and pay, and good income (Armstrong, 2006). Firm X may require a union as this will reduce the rates of personnel turnover and also improve the reputation of the firm. It is true that operating as a cheap airline does not give Firm X the right or power to undervalue their staffs. Furthermore, there exists superior management-staff communication and this has also de-motivated the staffs very much. It is essential for firms to put in mind that without their staffs, there is no company. Each staff should be treated with a lot of fairness and should be offered a working environment that he/she can cope with. Working long hours is inhuman; whilst paying for uniforms is unquestionably unacceptable particularly in a firm where staffs are underpaid. Reasons for the gap Human resources management has the responsibility of ensuring that the organization run smoothly by ensuring that they perform their duties satisfactorily (Golding, 2010). However, in Firm X, it is clear from the above that there is gap between the policy and procedures in HRM in paper compared to what is being practiced. This is gap is caused by various factors linked to human resource management. One of the reasons may be lack of the required skills and knowledge to plan and implement. Studies have revealed that, to ensure the success of any organizations, leaders should posses the required skills and knowledge to ensure the same is attained (Armstrong, 2006). A human resource manager should have the required skills and knowledge to ensuring that such responsibilities as recruitment, training, employee motivation and risk management among others are clearly tackled. Human resource management should also have the ability to plan and implement strategies which will enable the organization to emerge successfully in the eyes of its competitors. Planning and not implementing effective strategies is similar to not planning at all. Another cause is lack of workers union and collective agreements that fight for the rights of the staffs. Such rights include better salaries, and good working conditions. As a result, the HRM has taken advantage of the situation and they have resulted to paying workers very poorly after performing hard tasks without any breaks. Motivating employees means that efficient workers should be promoted, better wages offered and compensations done for better work performed (Golding, 2010). However, human resource management in Firm X fears this as they think that by offering financial gains to the employees may affect the firms financially. That is, the firm may incur more expenses in terms of offering high wages to the workers. It is true to say from this analysis that there is poor human resource management in Firm X. This is evidenced by the fact that, despite the increased turnover, the department is not seeking to address the root causes; rather it has resulted to employing staffs on contract to fill the positions. Closing the gap Studies have proven that staff motivation is a prerequisite for the success of all organization (Lindner, 1998). Motivation boosts staffs morale and as a result they are able to work in order to attain the goals set by the organization. Human resource management in Firm X should understand that, for the company to succeed, the staffs must be motivated both in monetary and non-monetary terms (Lindner, 1998). It is true that people work in order to obtain something from the task completed. This impacts staff motivation and morale. As a result in order to establish a positive staff Motivation, Firm X should treat the staffs well because they matter a lot in the attainment of the firm’s goals and objectives. This motivation will result from offering the staffs a better pay which equals the amount of work done, setting normal working hours and break times, providing employee with job uniforms, and ensuring that there is effective communication (Lindner, 1998). A firm can only be deemed to have effective communication if the staffs are allowed to air their views and their complaints are listened to. This means that there should be a two way communication wherein the management can communicate to the staffs, and the opposite applies. Firm X should make certain that the human resource management has the ability of planning and implementing strategies which will better the firm. These include the HR policies and procedures that are vital for the success of the firm. The implementation of effective strategies means that the gap which exists between that which is required to be performed and that which is performed is closed. Evidently, if Firm X motivates its employees as required, there will be high employee retention, good customer service, increased work morale and the employees will always work towards attaining the goals and objectives set by the firm (Lindner, 1998). The firm will also cut training costs which they may incur in case they employ a new employee. It is true that job performance =f (motivation). Furthermore, studies have proven that it is advisable to work with employees with the required knowledge and skills as they may bring higher productivity rather that employing and training new staffs (Lindner, 1998). What HRM challenges face Firm X to have continuous HRM training and development Staff training and development is very important to the success of every firm. Although the advancement in technology has allowed international competition and collaboration, staffs are the firm’s competitive advantage (Chan, 2002). Evidently, staff training and development allows the staffs to develop competencies and skills significant to permit bottom-line outcomes for their firm (Chan, 2002). Studies have revealed that employee training and development allows for greater motivation, increased productivity, and better results which lead to the attainment of company’s goals and objectives (Smith, and Mazin, 2004). However, continuous human resource management training and development has faced various challenges which have hindered many firms form offering the required learning to its employees (Chan, 2002). In Firm X continuous HRM training and development has been challenged by many factors. Some of these factors include high costs of training. Like in other companies, Firm X perceives training as an expense to the firm (Smith, and Mazin, 2004). Moreover, the firm assumes that the workers have the necessary skills and competencies as they are able to perform their jobs as required. As a result, the firm is trying to cut down on its expenses and training and development is not offered a priority. However, this is affecting the company negatively, as it is resulting to low staff morale and furthermore, there is no improvement in skills and competencies among the employees (Landale, 1999). Another factor challenging training and development in Firm X is the fact that, workers have a tight working schedule with no work breaks. This means that the firm has no extra time for the workers to take time off and attend trainings. They believe that scheduling time for training will interrupt the flow of work. Conclusion It is apparent that HRM plays a significant role in the success of any organization. The function of human resource management is linked to such responsibilities as hiring, compensation, organization development, performance management, wellness, safety, employee motivation, benefits, communication and training amongst others. These allow organizations to achieve their set goals and objectives. In Firm X, employee relation, as an HR policy and procedure has not been well implemented. This is evidenced by the fact that such factors as employee motivation, better remunerations, and proper communication are lacking in the company. This has resulted to high turnovers and poor employee-customer relation and this has affected the success of the firm negatively. Furthermore, training and development has also been negatively challenged by such factors including tight working schedules and the fact that training is deemed as an expense to the firm. References Armstrong, M. 2006, A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th ed.). London:,Kogan Page. Chan, A, 2002, The Challenges of Human Resource Management. http://www.zeromillion.com/business/hrm.html Accessed October 17, 2011. Cooper, C., Fletcher J.,Gilbert D and Wanhill S.1998, Principles and Practises, 2nd ed, Addison Wesley Longman Singapore(Pte)Ltd, Singapore Golding, N. 2010, Strategic Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach, New York: FT Prentice Hall. Landale, A. 1999, Gower Handbook of Training and Development, Gower Publishing, Ltd. Lindner, J. R. 1998, Understanding Employee Motivation. http://www.joe.org/joe/1998june/rb3.php Accessed October 17, 2011. Smith, S.A. and Mazin, R.A. 2004, Training and Development. The HR Answer Book. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Woodruffe, H. 1995, Service Marketing, 1st Edition, Pitman Publishing, London Read More