Human Resource Management - Essay Example

Individual research report Name Instructor Subject Date Introduction Human resource management has evolved a lot from the times when employees used to be viewed as money making machines to this day when they are considered as vital part of the organizational system. HRM is a significant part of a corporation, it is the key area that is involved in the recruitment and catering for the need of the employees; in startup and small companies, HRM is usually outsourced from a specialized firm that deals with employees and their needs. However, in large companies HRM is a whole functional organ of the company. This shows how dependent other functional organs of a firm are on HRM. In this paper I am going to be focusing on the employees’ motivation and employees’ relation and factors that can be set to improve them in a firm. Understanding the scope of HRM involves looking at the areas in which employee’s involvement is needed in a company. This means that HRM comprises of all the organs of the firm, and since the firm has certain objectives for the long term and the short term, these objectives are incorporated in HRM. Below is an illustration showing how organizations integrate their objectives with the human resource asset in a firm. Fig. 1 source: (Mondy, Noe & Gowan, 2005, p. 45) The scope of HRM extends to the corporate social responsibility that a firm owes to the general public; this is evidence from the societal objectives in the chart. It is vital to note that the employees of a firm have a duty to portray a positive image for the firm in the society, this also enhances a reputable image for the firm. The significance of HRM in a corporation revolves around helping the firm achieve its objectives from time to time through creating positive attitude among employees. Organizations over the past century have come to appreciate the vital part the is played by employees and so in a HRM department, the task of managing employees and ensuring they are comfortable in their work revolves around the following areas as sown in fig. 2 Source: (Torrington, & Taylor, 2008, p. 73) The legal framework that surround HRM is designed according to the various human resources organizations and advocates so that the regulations that guide labor laws in certain nations may accommodate the employees of that nation (Torrington, & Taylor, 2008, p. 75). However, there are certain principle that are the same in every organization regardless of the nation. For instance, a rules against indiscriminate firing of employees and sexual harassment cases. Research has shown that employees do not quit their jobs they quit their bosses, tis being the case managers have to ensure that they have an effective working relationship with their employees so that they can retain the human resource assets of the firm. In order to do this, the firm has to motivate the employees constantly as their tenure in the firm continues. According to Maslow’s theory human objectives and goals change overtime, these factors change and evolves as the employees achieve higher status in an organization. This theory recognizes that safety and security, are vital for all human beings. Due to this the employees are supposed to work in an environment where they feel their work is not being threatened by sacking and the loss of it. The needs of the employees stretches further to a point where the managers have to let them self-actualize as human being and importantly as employees. When this area of growth is not available in a given firm, the employees leave to better areas regardless of the monetary consideration that is in the current firm. Fig. 3 maslow’s structure of needs, source: (Mondy, Noe & Gowan, 2005, p. 53) Among the factors that affect motivation in an organization include the following; however, it is vital to note that these factors are based on the above structure.1. Autonomy; employees feel more comfortable when working in an area where they have the freedom to make choices. The management has to let them make decisions on their own and according to their knowledge and skills; micro managing everything creates an atmosphere of restriction and mis-trust in their skills (Mathis, & Jackson, 2003, p. 38). It also spends a lot of firm’s resources on strategic planning. 2. Financial – bonuses and pay increases are a vital part of the motivational incentives. However, they work well when they are combined with the opportunity to grow in the corporation. Financial incentives only may encourage the employees to cut ethical corners in order to achieve them and thus negatively impact the company’s objective as a whole. 3. Flexibility- research has shown that flexibility in work places boosts the employees’ motivation, concrete and condensed work schedules create the kind of pressure that has employees trying to strike a balance between their professional and personal lives. 4. Recognition- this is one of the factors that Maslow has also included in the structure of needs; like everyone else, an employee needs to know that the management cares for them personally. A HRM team in a company can achieve this by ensuring that the company organizes retreats for the employees occasionally for them and their families. A clear example of the recognition that a firm shows to its employees is in Virgin Atlantic, where the airline management is known to hold annual vacations for the company’s staff and their families. A firm should also recognize good work and commend it from an employee, this should also extend to the consideration for positions of promotion and so on. There are a various ways in which alienation at work comes about; 1. An employee may be allocated a job that does not suit their desire and area of specialization and potential, therefore becoming isolated in their work (Martin, 2009, p. 71). This then results to having no interest at what they do. 2. Alienation may also occur when the earning and rewards from a given job do not much the need of the employee, the employee becomes frustrated more when the distribution of those rewards is carried out unfairly. 3. Bureaucracy in an organization creates divisions among the stakeholders; that is, the board of directors, to the management and then the employees’. 4. Managing the employees in a dominating way makes them feel like they work in a jail, or that they are trapped. 5. The situation whereby the management surrounds themselves with opulence from the benefits they get from the firm, and these benefits cannot be accessed by the employees creates a drift between the two stakeholders. Alienation can be remedied by having a HRM team that ensures that the needs of the employees are catered for; that the employees are heard and that their efforts in the business is appreciated. Matching an employee’s skills with their work also helps in boosting their morale at the work place. Individual research project In the firm that I worked for during my internship, the employee motivation and work relations was at jeopardy. I cannot clearly affirm that these two situations were connected but what was for sure was that they the former led to the latter. The management of the firm were dominating the employees and room for autonomy was restricted, this kept the employees from growing and utilizing their skills and knowledge in their work. On the other hand, the supervisors were always on our case correcting and warning us on what to do, how to do it and what not to do. Regular checks on the progress of our work and fighting deadlines restricted our flexibility at the work place. The only incentives that one could get from their work was the high pays and bonuses as compared to other jobs. However, the management had enormous shares of the profits and benefits; such as private jets and limousines. This led to employees demanding more pay and others leaving the job, in the long run, the company was spending more on the recruitment of more employees in the company and this cost quite an amount. The reason as to why I am suggesting that this firm was underperforming in these areas is because the employees were not responding to their jobs as they should have. In a highly motivated organization where the employees feel appreciated and deserving they tend to carry out their work efficiently and stay at the same job for long (Mahapatro, 2010, p. 127). This is the case in firms that have been voted as the best places to works for such as Google, Twitter and Facebook. All the mentioned firms not only pay their employees well but they also allow them flexibility at work and autonomy. For instance Google allows their employees to be flexible in the way they dress to work, in their work they are allowed to contribute their views and are also allowed to utilize twenty percent of their work time in carrying out any activity they would like to do; this is how the innovation has been embraced here. In a firm where employees are highly regarded, they get special benefits such as purchasing of the company’s stock and share when they are available in the market. In the corporation I am refereeing to, communication was deterred by the increased levels of competition among the employees; this escalated to a point where it was impacting their work. One common thing that is uniform in all the nations, Google Corporation has set up shop across the globe tis that they receive millions of internship applications each year. The company accrues this to the effective HRM they have utilized in the firm. This is what the company I mentioned should consider implementing in their work place (Ivancevich, 2004, p. 361). Good human resource practices cannot be achieved overnight though, the company must be dedicated into the research of what the employees want, how the wish to do their work and the areas in which they feel should be corrected; basically the employees should be listened. The company should work to embrace the example that has been set by the market leaders in terms of HRM, this means that the flexibility at work should be allowed, increased vacations for the employees and the management team, increased benefits should extend to purchasing of the company’s stock and limited supervision by the management (Gilmore, & Williams, 2009, p. 143). The expected results would be that the employees would have a sense of belonging in the company and toward bettering the company’s objectives. Happy and satisfied employees would result to increased profits. I would recommend that before the HRM preferred practices are implemented the HR manager should involve a team in researching the wants of their employees. This would prevent them from just incorporating a standard program in their company practices. The next step after the evaluation of the results from the research would be carrying out an internal change of structure in the firm. This would involve enable the employees to realize that a new era of working practices in the company has been launched and that changes in how they are treated in the firm are expected to change. The manager should also set up structures that ensure a follow up of new era of work practices is sustainable and suggestions form the employees are taken regularly (Armstrong, & Armstrong, 2000, p. 34). This structure would allow for adjustments where necessary and also eliminate the chances of these practices from failing. It is the duty of this manager to ensure that the new practices are incorporated as the new culture of the company. As a culture new employees would embrace it as three enter in the company. Any opposing forces from the employees should be catered for even if it means getting rid of such employees. Conclusion This paper has outlined all the HRM practices that benefit a company, it has outlined how communication breakdown due to unmotivated employees results to bad employees’ relationship in a company. The paper has given an example of a model company that is well known for its superb HRM; Google. Finally, the paper has given recommendations on how a company can go about to incorporate the preferred HRM that can propel their efforts ahead and thus realize employee satisfaction and hence realization of a company’s goals. References Armstrong, M., & Armstrong, M. (2000). Strategic human resource management: A guide to action. London: Kogan Page. Gilmore, S., & Williams, S. (2009). Human resource management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ivancevich, J. M. (2004). Human resource management. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Mabey, C., Skinner, D., & Clark, T. (1998). Experiencing human resource management. London: Sage Publications. Mahapatro, B. B. (2010). Human resource management. New Delhi: New Age International Ltd. Martin, J. (2009). Human resource management. Los Angeles: SAGE. Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2003). Human resource management. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-western. Mondy, R. W., Noe, R. M., & Gowan, M. (2005). Human resource management. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall. Shivarudrappa, D., Ramachandra, K., & Gopalakrishna, K. S. (2010). Human resource management. Mumbai [India: Himalaya Pub. House. Torrington, D., Hall, L., & Taylor, S. (2008). Human resource management. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Read More