Human Resource Management Practices - Example

Name] [Professor] [Unit] [Due date] Human resource management Management of human resources in any organization is very essential as it involves a strategic as well as a coherent approach to the management of workforce which is referred to as the most valuable asset in an organization. That is, the people working in that organization and collectively contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the organization. The management of human resources must coherently bring together the human resource practices, strategies, philosophies, policies and programs. For the success in an organization, it is important to note that people are the key resource to the organization and the performance of the organization largely depends on them. Thus, if there is no effective development and implementation of human resource policies and processes, then there will be a negative impact on the performance of the organization (Storey, 46). Thus, human resource management is essential as it ensures that the success of the organization will be achieved through people. Strategies are meant for guiding or showing direction to the organizations. A typical strategy in an organization contains the mission as well as the strategic objectives. In addition, it needs to put into consideration the resources and decide how these resources are utilized. It is worth noting that one of these resources is the human capital which means that the strategic objectives will not be achieved if the human resources are not in place. Thus, it is important to consider the department of human resources when developing the business strategy. This will provide a clear understanding between management and human resources. For organizations to realize change, they must involve all levels in the change process, communicate change process continuously and use rewards to facilitate change among employees (Purcell et al, 236). This report involves ‘High-tech Enterprises’ which is a medium size enterprise that specializes in retailing computer products. As a human resource manager, I have realized that there is a decline in the profit of the firm as the available human resource practices are not carried out effectively. There is a need to first define the overall purpose of management of human resources which is the achievement of success through people. As a human resource manager, I find it important to summarize some areas essential for achievement of our firm’s objectives. Effectiveness of the organization Human resource practices that are distinctive will assist in shaping the core competencies which will determine how our firm will compete. Such practices will contribute to significant impact on the performance of our firm. Thus, the effectiveness of our firm will be achieved through developing policies in talent management as well as making our firm a great place to work. This will be enhanced by human resource strategies through the development of policies in regard to customer relations and continuous improvement of our firm (Cappelli & Crocker-Hefter, 13). Management of human capital The improvement of the firm will depend on the employees who should have the responsibilities of ensuring the success of the firm as it depends on them. In order for the firm to obtain as well as retain a well-motivated, skilled and committed workforce, it will take steps to assess and satisfy the future needs of the people. This will be followed by development of the people’s inherent capacities which include their employability, potential and contributions. This will be enhanced by provision of learning as well as a continuous opportunity for development (Bontis et al., 398). Our success in management of human capital will involve rigorous procedures on selection and recruitment, management of activities on development and training which are connected to our firm’s needs (Becker et al, 43). Management of knowledge The success of our firm will involve creation, capturing, sharing, acquiring and use of knowledge to enhance the performance of the firm. As a human resource manager, I will focus on developing knowledge and skills that are firm-specific which result from the learning process of the firm (Scarborough et al, 77). Bridging the existing gap between rhetoric and reality There is a wide gap existing between the reality and rhetoric. The management had good intentions of doing various things in order to achieve the success of the firm but, it became difficult to realize them (Gratton, 104). This resulted from process problems such as limited line managers’ support, lack of trust and resistance to change among others. The aim of the department of human resource will be to bridge the gap by ensuring the aspirations will be translated in an effective and sustained action. To achieve this, the members of my department will be required to put into consideration that coming up with new and innovative practices and policies is easy, but the challenge is getting them to work. They must recognize that as front line managers, they are responsible for bringing the human resource policies to life and then act accordingly (Purcell et al, 234). In addition to these areas that are essential for success in our firm, I will also consider the following areas; reward management, employee relations, and meeting diverse needs which include stakeholders’ needs, personal needs, style of work and considering differences in groups and individuals in employment (Armstrong, 12). Human resource practices Some of the practices to be implemented in our organization include performance management, training and development and human resource planning. Performance management Due to the decline in profit in our firm, performance management will be of significant help through evaluation of how the employees of the firm work. Thus, the firm will be able to stay on top of productivity given various changes in hiring of employees, job description among others. A solid performance system of management for our firm will be based on four elements; clear understanding of the expectations of the job, a system for measuring the performance, management of regular feedback on performance, and reward system for improvement in performance (Delaney, 950). Understanding the expectations of the job From my research on the firm, I have realized that lack of clarity in job description as well as the responsibilities of the employees may be one of the greatest contributors of decline in productivity. Thus, to curb this, there will be a detailed and a clear description of job for every position in the firm. In addition, each description on the job will put into consideration the performance expectation and current duties of the employee. These include the required skills, job function, goals and deadlines and relations with customers and peers. It is also worth noting that job descriptions will be updated because we expect rapid changes in the firm which will call for shift in workload and new job responsibilities (HRM). Measuring the performance After the firm has achieved a clear definition of every position, we will require finding ways of evaluation the performance of the job. I prefer to use quantitative output which will include measuring the number of sales that are completed and how many assemblies has been achieved. The firm will also consider more subjective measurements in particular, the customer satisfaction (Delaney, 954). Management of regular feedback Lack of feedback to employees has also contributed to reduction in productivity for this firm. After the evaluation of job performance for employees, it will be vital to give feedback and advice to the employees on how they are doing including the required adjustments. If the performance of employees is above average they will be informed and if there is still room for improvement, they will be provided with practical suggestions on better performance. In order to tap resources from the employees, they will be involved in provision of suggestions and feedback (Delaney, 958). System on rewarding good performance System for recognition and reward of good performance will ensure that there is no high setting of ‘good’ performance. This will prevent recognition of over-achievers only (Delaney, 966). The following will be the indicators of good practice for performance management; The support and commitment of senior management in the required resource allocation Mechanism to ensure fairness, objectivity and openness of the appraisal process A competency-based system to assist in the promoting the potential for adopting higher responsibilities Recognition by the staff that the performance management involves a joint responsibility of the supervisor and the employee. Review of the system of management of performance Being an ongoing process rather than an annual event Training and development This is also an essential practice for our firm in order to train and develop the personnel to prepare for various roles as per the detailed job description and also address the problems in performance. Employee capacity development will involve management of programs such as sessions on awareness of policies and procedures, employee orientation and workshops on leadership development among others which enable our firm to succeed. This will be achieved in five steps (Guzzo et al, 12). Step 1 The human resource management department will offer opportunities on training for employees that failed performance appraisals. We will offer courses at work in order to encourage employee in development of their professional skills. Create executive programs for leadership development in order to give room for new skills required for taking up responsibilities on management. There will be sessions for conducting awareness about new procedures and policies and also for ensuring local and state regulations compliance (Guzzo et al, 15). Step 2 There will be allocation of resources for assisting employees to develop skills required for better performance. Step 3 The training courses for employees will be customized in order to cover specific details relating to the firm. For effective job performance, there will be courses on customer service, communication, ethics, diversity, safety and quality. We will develop job aids, templates, simulations and demonstrations to support employees across the firm in working in a consistent manner. The challenges in this firm are associated to the relationship within the company and also between the company and customers as well as business partners. This means that a good image will be developed through a trained workforce (Duggan). Step 4 It will be necessary to ensure that create a development plan on annual basis in order to establish objectives on development and focus learning on the activities that are in alignment with the strategic goals of the firm. Sponsorship of the executive in any training initiative established by human resource department will enable procurement of budget allocation and funding required. Step5 We will perform evaluations related to training and development to make sure that they meet the needs of the employees and the firm. It is expected that opportunities on training and development will increase motivation and satisfaction of the job. We also expect the employment efficiencies as a result of training and development to result in savings in costs of operation and increased capacity which will finally lead to financial gains for the firm. Learning various new technologies as well as techniques that get the work done will lead to improvement in operational metrics. The activities on training are also expected to increase the rate of employee retention (Guzzo et al, 23). The following will be indicators of good practice; A diverse set of activities on training and development Plans on training and development in place and will also be linked to the firm’s objectives Regular review on policies for training and development Evidence of improvement in the efficiency and quality of work Positive feedback from managers on the performance of learners High rating of training courses in relevance and quality Human resource planning From my research, I realized that workforce is not utilized effectively. We will focus on proper utilization of workforce will assist in saving money currently as well as in planning for the future of the firm. Planning of manpower will require interaction of managers in different departments with the professionals in our human resource department in order to maintain the current levels of staff and also plan for future needs of the workforce. It will also be important to develop a framework using human resource planning which will be used by the company in preparation and monitoring of future growth. Resource planning will involve staffing levels, future needs, skill matching and efficiency (Ichniowski et al, 8). Staffing levels Staffing levels are expected to change in relation to the growth of the company and seasonal employment needs. The objective of planning of manpower will be to forecast the needs of staffing level and work with the managers within the firm to ensure proper staffing of every department. Future needs Planning of manpower will be to anticipate the needs of future skills of the firm and also begin the process of looking for candidates that are qualified. The department of human resources will be required to be involved all business planning aspects in order to prepare recruitment of job duties which have not been dealt with in this firm in the past (Ichniowski et al, 12). Skill matching In order to prevent use of more resources, the firm will make maximum utilization of the existing personnel before making decisions on hiring new ones in order to fulfill the needs for every job. This means that we will track every skill set for each employee to prevent more expenses at the current condition of the firm. In future, we will also consider recruitment of new employees after examination on the costs of recruiting, low productivity costs as well as training expenses (Anderson). Efficiency Efficient utilization of workforce will increase the productivity of the firm and increase the morale of the employees. In order to maximize the efficiency of the workforce, we plan to create work shifts, develop positions for part-time and maintaining the relevant program on training. We will also put into consideration that, providing the required tools for the job which include training will assist in improvement of the morale for employees (Ichniowski et al, 6). The following will be indicators of good practice; A clear plan with programs for action in place in order to close the demand and supply gaps as well as competency gaps A systematic system of information in place Established competency profiles in regard to key job grades and they should also be known to the staff Regular update and review of the plan and files on competency Future trends Companies are putting more emphasis on staff training, diversity, and development which means more opportunities for human resource specialists. In addition, advancement in employment legislations is likely to increase the demand for HR professionals in various areas such as employee relations, law and benefits and compensation among others. Conclusion Human resource management is essential as it involves a strategic as well as a coherent approach to the management of workforce referred to as the most valuable asset in an organization. High-tech Enterprises is a medium size firm experiencing a decline in profit because the available human resource practices are not carried out effectively. Some of the essential areas in management of human resources that needs to be considered for achievement of our firm’s objectives include management of human capital, effectiveness of the firm, management of knowledge, bridging the existing gap between rhetoric and reality, reward management, employee relations, and meeting diverse needs. Various human resource practices are expected to improve the performance of employees, manage the resource in an efficient way, increase the productivity of the firm and increase profits as a way of achieving the objectives of the firm. This proves to be the most effective way of dealing with the decline in profits that has been recorded in the firm. Works cited Armstrong M. A Handbook of Personnel Management Practice, 6th edn. Kogan Page, London. 1996. Anderson, A. Objectives of Manpower Planning. 2012. Web. Accessed on June 22, 2012, Becker, B E, Huselid, M A, Pickus, P S & Spratt, M F. HR as a source of shareholder value: research and recommendations, Human Resource Management, Spring,36.1, (1997): 39–47. Bontis, N, Dragonetti, N C, Jacobsen, K and Roos, G. The knowledge toolbox: a review of the tools available to measure and manage intangible resources, European Management Journal, 17.4, (1999): 391–402. Caldwell, R. Rhetoric, facts and self-fulfilling prophesies: exploring practitioners’ perceptions of progress in implementing HRM, Industrial Relations Journal, 35.3 (2004): 196–215. Cappelli, P and Crocker-Hefter, A. Distinctive human resources are firms’ core competencies, Organizational Dynamics, Winter, (1996): 7–22. Delaney, J T and Huselid, M A. The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance, Academy of Management Journal, 39.4 (1996): 949–69. Duggan, T. Developing & Training Human Resources in Organizations. Web. . Accessed on June 22, 2012, < http://smallbusiness.chron.com/developing-training-human-resources-organizations-697.html> Gratton, L and Hailey, V H. The rhetoric and reality of new careers, in Strategic Human Resource Management, eds L Gratton, V H Hailey, P Stiles and C Truss, Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1999. Guzzo, R Aand Noonan, K A. Human resource practices as communication and the psychological contract, Human Resource Management, Fall. 1994. HRM. Small Business Performance Management. September 7, 2011. Web . Accessed on June 22, 2012, Ichniowski, C, Shaw, K and Prennushi, G. The effects of human resource management practices on productivity: a study of steel finishing lines, The American Economic Review. 1997. Purcell, J, Kinnie, K, Hutchinson, Rayton, B and Swart, J. People and Performance: How people management impacts on organisational performance, CIPD, London. 2003. Scarborough, H, Swan, J and Preston, J. Knowledge Management: A Literature Review, Institute of Personnel and Development, London. 1999. Storey, J. From personnel management to human resource management, in Storey, J (ed) New Perspectives on Human Resource Management, Routledge, London. 1989. Ulrich, D and Lake, D. Organizational Capability: Competing from the inside out, Wiley, New York. 1990. Read More