Key Human Resource Management Issues - Example

TEST ESSAY Name: Course: Tutor: Date: INTRODUCTION Strategic human resource management (SHRM) and human resource development (HRD) are current topics that organizations have to content with. The two topics are undividable from successful career development. Hence, organizations have to be engaged in strategic activities to develop their human resources to guarantee them a competitive position in the environment in which they operate. In view of this, this paper is divided into three sections. The first section addresses SHRM and HRD as well the key aspects of HRM in organizations. The key aspects discussed include identifying the HR needs of an organization, attracting human resources, retaining human resources and terminating human resources. The section also discusses the HRM process and the connection between HRD and corporate strategy. The second section of the paper discusses the HRD process that includes needs analysis, design, implementation and evaluation. The third section is about the career concept, under which the changing aspects of career are addressed including traditional/ vertical career, protean career, and boundaryless career. In relation to this, the paper also delves into the roles of individuals and organizations in developing careers. Finally, the paper addressees career management and planning and highlights the key benefits of career management and planning. 1. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) Any organization’s strategy is all about its future orientation. Strategy is defined by Johnson and Scholess (2010, p. 10) (cited by Wilson, 2005, p. 86) as the direction and scope of an organization in the long term; which achieves advantage for the organization through its distribution of resources within a changing environment in order to meet the needs of markets and fulfill the expectations of stakeholders. Wilson (2005, p. 86) also cites a number of authorities that have defined strategy, and notes that the key words involved when defining the term include major objectives of a firm, the firm’s purpose, its long terms goals, its product-market opportunities, its orientation, positioning, competitive advantage, framework and long-term perspective. Further key words related to the definition of strategy include organizational policies, plans, and resource allocation or deployment (Wilson, 2005, p. 86). The strategy adopted by an organization in the management of its resources leads to the concept of strategic management. According to Armstrong and Long (1994, p. 16) (as cited by Wilson, 2005, p. 86), strategic management deals with both ends and means: as an end because it describes a vision of what something will look like in the future; and as a means because it shows how it is expected that the vision that is set by an organization will be achieved. Armstrong and Long therefore argue that strategic management is visionary management that is concerned with creating and conceptualizing ideas of where the organization is headed to. Further, it is a form of empirical management that enables decision making regarding how in practice an organization will get where it intends to go (Wilson, 2005, p. 86). The decisions regarding where an organization would like to see itself at present and in the future influence how the organization manages its human resources. This involves identifying the organization’s needs at present as well as in future and thus determining what the organization needs to change in order to attain its long term objectives. Applying this to an Australian company called Autoliv, the firm identified its objectives as achieving sustainable growth; achieving world-class manufacturing; becoming the employer of choice; being more customer focused; and being socially responsible as a company. To achieve this, the company saw the need to inspire dedication and motivation among its employees. In particular, Autoliv sought ways to ensure that women, who formed the majority of its staff by gender, were encouraged to take jobs in the managerial levels as well as in the engineering department – which were previously held by men (Australian Government, 2003, p. 1). This brings into perspective the idea of human resource management being strategic: as it involves all managerial personnel; it concerns people as the most important single asset of an organization; it is proactive in its relationships with people; and it seeks to promote organizational performance, employee needs and societal welfare (Poole, 1990, p. 3 [cited by Mabey, Salaman and Storey (1998, p. 69)]. Human resource development Human resource development (HRD) implies a set of systematic and planned activities designed by an organization to offer its members with the opportunities to learn necessary skills in order to meet current and future needs of their job (Werner & DeSimone, 2008, p. 4). Learning is the fundamental aspect of all HRD activities and indeed, the major focus of many organizations today is workplace learning and performance. Generally, HRD seeks to develop people’s knowledge, expertise and abilities. Many other firms have embraced the concept of learning in the workplace, as exhibited by the case of Dell. At Dell, leveraging the know-how of others has let the company respond quickly to changes in the field of technology. Dell invests in the education of its employees through the Dell Learning Center to keep them up to speed on the technology and changing market place. The company recognized that employee education would be fundamental to its future growth. It also realized the need to integrate training into its corporate culture not only to achieve greater employee productivity, but also to enable the company to realize wide growth through greater earning, revenue and stock price (Holzner, 2006, p. 115). In the same way, Autoliv encouraged education in the workplace to ensure that women had the opportunity to rise to managerial positions and could also work in the engineering department of the organization. Going by the undertakings at Autoliv and Dell, it can be noted that HRD is not a single-facet phenomenon. Rather, as the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) points out, it is the integrated use of training and development, organizational development, and career development (Geet & Deshpande, 2008, p. 2-2). HRD is therefore a process that consists of a series of activities that are conducted so as to design behavioral changes among the employees in a given or specific time. The effort should be applied in such a way that the employees should contribute willingly and wholeheartedly towards the attainment of the goals and objectives of their organization. A key aspect of this is to ensure that the HRD program takes into consideration the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) to be learned and which are important for the betterment of the organization. For instance, if the material to be disseminated is mostly factual, methods such as lecture, classroom or programmed instruction may be fine. However, if the learning process involves a significant behavioral component, other methods such as on-the-job training may need to be considered (Sims, 2006, p. 114). At Autoliv, motivational training targeted all female employees and was specifically aimed to inform them of the job positions that they could occupy either as leaders, or as professionals in the engineering field. Motivational trainers were charged with the task of inspiring the female staff by informing them that they had the ability to act in managerial positions and also become engineering professionals just like their male counterparts. They also had the duty to demystify the roles of managers and engineers in the organization in order to make them more acceptable to female staff (Plonskar, 2009). Key aspects of HRM The HRM department of an organization plays critical roles including identifying the HR needs, attracting HR resources, retaining HR resources and terminating HR resources. These roles are described below. Identifying the HR needs of an organization Identification of organizational needs is done at two major levels: the task analysis level and the personal analysis level. According to Werner and DeSimone (2008, p. 136), the task analysis level asks the question: what tasks and KSAs should be included in training? This involves five steps: describing the job, identifying the tasks within the job, identifying the KSAs required to perform the job, identifying the areas that can benefit from training, and prioritizing the areas that can benefit from training. For instance, the management at Autoliv realized that training female employees for management levels and jobs in the engineering department could benefit the organization since the majority of its employees were women. The person analysis level asks questions regarding who needs to be trained and why the training is necessary. Individual performance deficiencies are then used to suggest the content of the training program. This information is also important in identifying the employees that should participate in HRD programs (Werner & DeSimone, 2008, p. 4). Attracting human resources A definition of HRM as given by Griffin (2010, p. 435) is that “it is the set of organizational activities directed at attracting, developing and maintaining an effective workforce.” This implies that the HRM department of any organization is critical in attracting the right workforce to work for the organization and creating the right atmosphere to facilitate this. The key to attracting the appropriate human resources lies in making wise decisions regarding practices such as recruitment, hiring, compensation and so forth. As Griffin (2010, p. 435) suggests, poor human resource planning can result in spurts of hiring followed by layoffs – which is costly in terms of unemployment compensation, payments, training expenses, and morale. In addition, haphazard compensation systems do not attract, keep and motivate good employees (Griffin, 2010, p. 435). Retaining human resources The HR department of an organization is in charge of the organization’s human capital. Human capital is a term that reflects an organization’s investment in attracting, retaining, and motivating an effective workforce (Griffin, 2010, p. 435). At Autoliv, a program that encouraged women to report back to work after taking a maternity leave was beneficial in this context as it ensured that the company retained its talent that would otherwise been lost if the women sought other opportunities elsewhere. Terminating human resources Dismissal of employees for different reasons can be a challenging task. However, with a proper HRM in place, an organization can make the process less difficult after a meticulous analysis of what it needs and what it does not need. The HR department will review the evidence that warrants termination, conduct a termination meeting, and discuss HR termination benefits with the affected employee or employees. How this process takes place is very important as it is likely to affect the future image of the organization in regard to recruitment, hiring and retention of staff (Mathis & Jackson, 2010, 532). Elements of the HRM process There are a number of key elements of the HRM process, including management of knowledge, adult learning, workplace learning and organizational culture. Knowledge management strategies aim to capture an organization’s collective expertise and disseminate it to wherever it helps to make the beigest gain within the organization. This is because the firm’s competitive advantage depends on how the organization manages its people and their knowledge (Armstrong, 2008, p. 149). Using the example of Autoliv, the firm realized that it could gain a competitive advantage by making its employee more comfortable in their place of work by ensuring that women could be able to compete for the coveted positions in the organization. Adult learning at Autoliv can be explained by looking at Malcolm Knowles’s classic work on adult learning (Mathis & Jackson, 2010, p. 264). Knowles’s work suggests five principles for designing training for adults. According to this work and more from other researchers, adults have the need to know why they are learning something; they have the need to be self-directed; they bring more work-related experiences into the learning process; they enter into a learning experience with a problem-centered approach to learning; and they are motivated to learn by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors (Mathis & Jackson, 2010, p. 264). To ensure that adult learning takes place smoothly, there is need for disseminating the new information in bits to enable the adults grasp the information progressively. It is also important to start with the known and then slowly introduce the unknown, while ensuring that the information is relevant to the workplace. Significantly, the process should take into consideration the needs of the employees so that the existing gap is filled. Workplace learning and organizational culture are related in that as learning takes place in the workplace, it becomes embedded into the organization’s practices as an organizational culture. According to Clifford and Thorpe (2007, p. 123), culture refers to the way things are done within an organization. This is closely linked to how the managers manage other employees, how employees know what to do each day, the methods of communication used, whether the employees are aware of the changes taking place, the organization’s strategies and plans for the future, how people are trained, and so forth. Significantly, promoting workplace learning embeds the learning process into the organization’s culture as was done in uplifting women’s welfare at Autoliv. Link between HRD and corporate strategy The fact that HRD and an organization’s performance in various aspects are linked cannot be gainsaid. Joy-Matthews, Megginson and Surtees (2005, p. 18) argue that the strategic direction of an organization may generate learning needs that can be attended to by linking with HRD. The same authors also suggest that HRD can influence the organizational strategy. This is because linking HRD to strategy prioritizes learning that will contribute directly to organizational goals that may be evaluated in regard to its contribution to achieving the strategy. The same viewpoint is supported by Reid, Barrington and Brown (2004, p. 89), who opine that HRD should stem from defined corporate aims. Reid, Barrington and Brown (2004, p. 89) further argue that since any change in corporate strategy might impact on learning, anyone concerned about HRD must think through the impact on operations work systems, whether employee-focused or relying on condition learning activities. At Autoliv, the management realized fittingly that people are the drivers of the HRD process, and hence conducted a needs analysis based on what the staff required. The program was thus aimed at increasing the number of women in team leadership, raising the number of women working in the engineering department, as well as increasing the percentage of women in industrial-based learning programs. These areas were targeted in order for the organization to have people with the appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors and continue training them. This came after the realization that the firm was losing its talent due to demoralization of women as a result of the nature of jobs they were doing and the conditions that they were subjected to in their places of work. Importantly, Autoliv was aware that learning was not a one-time affair, and that it had to take into consideration the learners’ current knowledge, learning orientation, motivation, and learning styles that would be most effective for them as suggested by Delahaye (2011). This reinforces the fact that training, as part of the HRD process, is not a quick fix. As exhibited by Autoliv, the process has no immediacy of result; and first requires a thorough needs investigation process, without which the training can be misdirected. 2. THE HRD PROCESS As defined above, HRD is about systematic and planned activities that an organization uses to promote learning and meet future objectives. This involves four key processes: needs analysis, design, implementation and evaluation. Needs analysis is a process by which an organization’s HRD needs are identified and articulated (Sims, 2006, p. 56). It is the baseline of the HRD and training process and through it, an organization can identify its goals and effectiveness in reaching these goals; discrepancies or gaps between employees’ skills and the skills required for effective current job performance; gaps between current skills and skills required to perform the job successfully in the future; and the conditions under which the HRD activity will occur (Werner and DeSimone, 2006 [cited by Sims (2006, p. 56)]). Needs analysis methods include data gathering, use of organizational records, interviews, observation, use of focus groups and performance appraisal. For instance, Autoliv used a number of methods including organizational records, interviews and observation to identify the gaps that existed in various areas of the organization (Plonsker, 2009, p. 2). The design phase of the HRD process involves establishment of the objectives, determination of the instructional strategies, organization of the learning experiences, and scheduling the program (Werner & DeSimone, 2008, p. 140). At Autoliv, the objectives of training were to increase the percentage of women representation in team leadership levels in the medium-term and to increase women representation in executive management levels in the long-term (Australian Government, 2003, p. 1). The organization also aimed to develop and implement family-friendly policies to shape organizational cultures and to facilitate continuous performance improvement of its employees’ KSAs. The implementation phase of HRD encompasses delivery of the design and objectives to participants. It is important to ask a pertinent question in this regard: how is the HRD process helping to facilitate workplace learning and performance? At Autoliv, the implementation process was facilitated by motivational trainers, who had the responsibility of demystifying the roles of managers and engineers in the company in order to make them more acceptable among the female employees (Plonsker, 2009). There is an indication that Autoliv used a structured (HLO model) intervention as it used mentorship training to build interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships among the employees. Autoliv also applied unstructured learning through mentorship training and technical training of the female employees. Evaluation of the HRD process targets providing data regarding the impact of the HRD process on the participants, the participants’ work, and the organization. The Kirkpatrick model (1998) of training evaluation has been commonly adopted as an evaluation tool. The model suggests that evaluation should be carried out at four levels: (1) participant reaction, (2) learning, (3) on-the-job behaviors, and (4) results from behavior change (Swanson & Holton, 2009, p. 382). The Kirkpatrick model of evaluation has a number of advantages. First, its framework is clear-cut and easy to understand. Second, the model highlights the limitations of program evaluations that are completed by participants immediately at the finalization of a program for assessing the results of training event. Third, the model opens up thinking about what really constitutes learning and about enabling learning transfer as an important aspect of the trainer’s role. The fourth point is that the framework highlights learning as a potential drive of performance (Sims, 2006, p. 152-153). Dye (2003, p.11) [cited by Moseley and Dessinger (2009, p. 142-143)] is also of the opinion that Kirkpatrick’s taxonomy offers a good framework for influencing organizational decision making. The Kirkpatrick model of evaluation is nonetheless criticized for a number of reasons. First, it is not supported by research as it has been consistently shown that the levels within the taxonomy are not related, or have only a minor correlation. Second, the Kirkpatrick model only evaluates what happens after training, as opposed to the whole training process. Third, the model’s main focus is on reaction measures – yet research has shown that reaction measures have a nearly zero correlation with performance or learning outcome measures. Fourth, the model is criticized on the basis that it can lead to incorrect decisions since it leaves out many variables, only to rely on those four mentioned (Swanson & Holton, 2009, p. 383). Another HRD evaluation tool is Brinkerhoff’s six-stage model. Though similar to Kirkpatrick’s model, this model adds a first stage called goals setting or needs analysis. It also adds a stage two that involves evaluating the training program’s design. The six-stage model is intended to be useful in decision making throughout the HRD process (Bassi & Russ-Eft, 1997, p. 113). If the above four steps of the HRD processes are carried out effectively, they will enable an organization to achieve its broad objectives and learning and development goals. The entire process involves identification of gaps and finding solutions to fill them. Hence, an organization can minimize unnecessary training programs and instead focus on the vital ones, and it can also review and improve training programs to develop processes to sustain a competitive advantage. 3. CAREER CONCEPT There are two key concepts in regard to career development: psychological contract and psychological success. Psychological contract refers to the understanding of how careers work between the employee and the employer. For instance, the employer expects certain standards of work from the employee, and the employee expects security and loyalty from the employer. An organization a career is thus conceptualized as a constantly renegotiated series of contracts in regard to employer and employee expectations (Inkson, 2006, p. 215). Psychological success on the other hand refers to success in terms of one’s unique vision and central values in life (Hall, 2002, p. 34). The changing nature of career can be explained by the three terms that have been used to differentiate types of careers: traditional/ vertical career, protean career and boundaryless career. Traditional/ vertical career This refers to a planned progression of working life, oftentimes within one firm and always following an upwards direction towards the summit. The traditional career is perceived as climbing a ladder – which was characteristic of the structure of organizations in the past. In the traditional organization, high performance was rewarded by a promotion, and this allowed employees to climb one step further (Schmid, 2011, p. 4). Protean career This refers to a process managed by a person rather than an organization. It encompasses all the person’s varied experiences in education, training, work in a number of organizations, changes in the occupations field and so on. The protean career is therefore not what happened to a person in any one organization, but it is shaped more by the person’s interaction with one or more organizations. The protean career is further characterized by aspects such as psychological success, a series of identity changes, personal responsibility, continuous learning, a high degree of mobility, emphasis on internal career thinking and so forth. Therefore, the employee’s contract is with the self rather than with the organization (Schreuder & Coetzee, 2006, p. 38). Boundaryless career The term “boundaryless” here implies the boundaries surrounding careers, occupations and work roles. Specifically, organizations are becoming more permeable and easier to cross both psychologically and physically. Additionally, many individuals are either finding or exhibiting features of boundarylessness in contemporary careers (Mahler, 2008, p. 82). The boundaryless career metaphor also highlights an independent, individually driven, and subjectively addressed career concept (Enache et al, 2011, p. 236). It implies that individuals now have the possibility to gain adequate skills to enable them work across different organizations seamlessly – unlike the past where individuals were almost affiliated to one organization or industry and their career path was determined by their performance in the same. Responsibility for career Both the employee and the employer are equally responsible for career planning and development. In today’s dynamic business world, employees should be responsible to update their skills, abilities as well as knowledge. Some organizations offer an employee empowerment approach to development for employees to develop their careers (Randhawa, 2007, p. 153) (for instance the cases of Autoliv and Dell which have been highlighted in this paper). Specifically, employees have to set their own mission statement, identify their strengths and weakness, update themselves with current KSAs, get feedback from managers and peers, and build own network by attending conferences, seminars and social gatherings (Randhawa, 2007, p. 153). This will ensure that the employees are well equipped to face the challenges that face organizations in the competitive business world. It also prepares them for future organizational challenges that are part of their careers. In the same perspective, managers have a role to play in determining the career path as coaches, mentors, appraisers and advisors to the employees. At the organization level, a manager should provide developmental assignments to the employee and also offer constructive and timely feedback. This can be done through career-oriented training, development opportunities and so forth. The essence of progressive career development is built on offering support for employees to continually increase their KSAs (Randhawa, 2007, p. 153). Career management and planning system Career management encompasses the processes of career planning and management succession. Career planning shapes the development of individuals within an organization in accordance with evaluations of organizational needs, distinct employee success profiles, as well as the performance, potential and preferences of individual members of the organization. This is only possible if there are opportunities for both employees and managers participate in the system. Importantly, the career development process should be linked to other HR practices such as HRD, training and development and recruitment systems (Armstrong, 2008, p. 173). Chief benefits of career management and planning Career management and planning has a number of benefits to both individuals and the organization. Individuals are able to influence career direction, derive more satisfaction from their work, and enjoy increased mobility due to increased skills as a result of continuous training and development (Rothwell, 2005, p. 35). Similarly, the organization as a whole benefits from career management and planning as a result of improved utilization of personnel, reduced turnover because its employees are more satisfied, increased motivation and commitment, and increased organizational efficiency. Rothwell (2005, p. 37), discusses three major benefits of a comprehensive career planning system. First is that career planning improves retention. One way to improve retention is to offer a comprehensive employee development program. Employers that do not offer a career program may face higher risks of turnover and dissatisfaction from their workers. Second, career planning improves employee morale and job satisfaction. Rothwell argues that managers who have successfully participated in their own professional career planning processes tend to encourage that practice in those they supervise. Third, career planning improves the organization’s bottom-line. This is clear as it is inarguable that companies with high levels of employee satisfaction and morale will have lower turnover than those organizations that have lower levels of satisfaction and morale. This in turn lowers costs. CONCLUSION This paper has discussed key human resource management issues including strategic human resource management (SHRM), human resource development (HRD) and career development. It has been shown in the paper that these issues are inseparable, as SHRM encompasses the measures that an organization implements in the long term through management of resources within a changing environment so as to meet the needs of markets and accomplish the expectations of stakeholders. Similarly, HRD is about the systematic and planned activities that an organization partakes to offer members opportunities to learn requisite skills in order to meet the present and future needs of their job. Therefore, the aforementioned HRM practices shape people’s careers. As it has further been discussed, the nature of careers has changed in today’s business world, and the responsibility to ensure career development is with both employees and organizations. Career development requires management and planning in order to for employees to benefit through job satisfaction, which is turn beneficial for organizations in terms of low employee turnover, improved employee morale and job satisfaction and the organizations’ general bottom-line. References Armstrong, M 2008, Strategic Human Resource Management: A Guide to Action (4th edition), Kogan Page Publishers, London. Australian Government 2003, “Autoliv Australia”, Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, pp. 1-3. Bassi, L J & Russ-Eft, D F (eds) 1997, Assessment, development, and measurement, American Society for Training and Development, New York. Clifford, J & Thorpe S 2007, Workplace learning & development: Delivering competitive advantage for your organization, Kogan Page Publishers, London. Delahaye, B 2011, Human resource development: Managing learning and knowledge capital (3rd edition), Tilde Publishing, Prahran, Australia. 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