Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations - Coursework Example

Reflective Journal Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Reflective Journal Reflecting on what I have learnt is an ingenious method of gauging my overall understanding of what is taught and what I have gained from such learning. Personally, I have reflected on general issues such as a life, but never had to put it down on paper except for my personal journal. Writing the reflective journal on Human Resource Management will surely be an interesting experience. Having finished with the first session for HRM unit, I could but help to think of the many ingredients needed for organizational success. The session covered the introduction phase of HRM from its significance, development, definition, characteristics, and models among others. It never came to me that HRM is a key ingredient for organizational success. However, come to think of it, HRM deals with managing people on an organizational perspective who are paramount to the success of the company. One of the main points that came clear to me is the changes that HRM or organizations have undergone over the decades (Nankervis, et al., 2014). Currently, strategic HRM or SHRM is the way to go with all the leading companies in the world illustrating increased investment in their employees thus their increased success. It is quite interesting to understand the manner in which HRM is related to business strategy through its accommodative, interactive, and fully integrated attributes. What came as a surprise to me are the different models. I have never thought or heard about any HRM models, so this will one major area I would like to investigate further and learn more about. Beer, (1985) offers the Harvard models that I can understand more clearly than the others. Additionally, I was a bit puzzled by the meaning of the research evidence for SRHM in Australia. I could not grasp the overall description of Australia’s HRM being scant and having tenuous links between SHRM theory and practice. Nonetheless, from this session I can confidently say that I have a better perspective on the importance of HRM as it relates to organizational success. In lesson 2, the class got to understand the context of HRM and the industrial relations including frameworks and practices. I tend to believe that I have experienced a fair share of globalization having traveled as an exchange student. This session covers the background part of HRM and the critical factors that make it an important subject in class for anyone who wants to succeed in business or HRM as a practice. Most of the details in this session are familiar and I can recall on previous lessons as well as my personal reading. The issue of HRM policies and practices is of great significance when it comes to running an organization successful (Nankervis, et al., 2014). All humans are not perfect and they tend to make mistakes as well as misjudgments. This is the main reason why HR managers are expected to ensure that employees are treated accordingly and equally (Bratton & Gold, 2012). The issue of men dominating the workplace has been a controversial agenda in business and social circles. However, I am now aware that HRM has the ability and competence to turn the debate around by offering women more opportunities as well as equal treatment. The session on industrial relations is also an insightful learning experience. Strategic HRM is all about managing employment relations (Nankervis, et al., 2014). I personally would not like to work for a company that does not invest or take the needs of its employees into considerations. I believe that without the advances made in Australia in terms of industry relations in the past two decades is both important and crucial for promoting HRM as a practice. As an aspiring entrepreneur and career person, the issue of industry relations is a significant piece of the larger puzzle in achieving success in these areas. I was specifically attracted to the idea that HR managers have conflicting roles as both advocates and agents of management of employees. I believe that this new learning experience forms a momentous experience in my learning and preparing for my future career and endeavors. Up until now, my interest in HRM continued to grow by the minute. Each new topic was full of new insights and practical knowledge on how to get things done in the right manner. I believe that learning to do something and learning do something well are two different things. The third session covers human resource planning in a changing environment. In general, understanding how to effectively integrate organizational strategies with HRM programs is the key to HRM planning (Nankervis, et al., 2014). I feel that the emphasis on the need to use both qualitative and quantitative HR planning methods is all new to me. I feel the work needed for HRM planning is a bit challenging given that all these systematic approaches have to be applied for increased effectiveness. For example, I believe that techniques such as the Delphi method may not be possible for small businesses. Small businesses tend to focus on the basic stuff rather than the complex qualitative methods. I believe that even the larger companies do not need to conduct increased research such as collecting data and having to consult experts until they reach a consensus (Bratton & Gold, 2012). Nonetheless, my doubts on this issue were cleared based on the understanding that internal and external environments of businesses influence the complexity and nature of HR plans. At first I felt a bit confused from all the planning techniques, but I feel that I may need to go through the planning again and develop a deeper understanding. Another crucial session covers the concept of work design. At first I could not piece together the meaning of work design itself, until we got an introduction of the concept. Work design is all the necessary requirements needed to develop jobs, tasks, and responsibilities for employees. It is all about the responsibilities, functions, outcomes, and tasks of a job (Nankervis, et al., 2014). As I came to realize, I was quite familiar with the content of the session. This is based on my previous experience especially in searching for jobs. The numerous requirements and expectations expressed by most employers while recruiting is all about work designs. It is surely crucial for any organization to ensure that it only recruits people who have the needed competency and skills to achieve organizational goals or basically conduct their jobs effectively. The critical issue on job analysis is quite handful in stimulating the debate on what all job analysis is about and what it requires. I believe that line managers must approach job analysis through a strategic process to achieve effective results. Most employers are looking for people with the right competencies and skills. Even my experience in interview rooms reminds me of the confusing questions asked by HR managers to help them better understand one’s competencies and skills. In future, I may need to apply some of these tools to achieve the best from HRM. The session on talent attraction and selection also have numerous familiarities from my previous business courses and units. I feel that as clarified from my class that effective recruitment is all based on planning. Without proper plans, it would be impossible to attract and select the right and talented employees for the organization (Nankervis, et al., 2014). This session reminds me of the interviews, forms, job applications, and interviews I have undergone. It is surprising that from what in recall in all my personal experience while searching for a job can be evidenced and used in this session. I believe that some of the interviews for job applications I attended were not well handled based on what I have learned in this session. Moreover, I feel that some of the organizations where I have been interviewed never plan for their interviews or lacks a systematic or general process for recruiting and attracting talent. Most small businesses never focus on such issues and that is why they end up having the wrong kind of employees (Compton, et al., 2009). During the holiday I landed a job in a marketing firm where the interviews was quit dull and never followed a formal or systematic approach. Most of the employees in that company were disengaged and lack the proposer morale or skills to get things done. Overall, I have had my fair share of the outcomes of organizations when they attract and select employees. Nonetheless, in future should I succeed in setting up my own business, I will definitely plan on how to attract and select talent. Who would not want the best to work for their company?. As indicated earlier, each session has come with increased interest on HRM. The session of talent retention and development is an eye opener. In most of the organizations that I have worked for, I only through that the issue of training is just a norm for each company. Nonetheless, to my surprise, it is a form of retaining and developing a company’s workforce. In fact, I feel that this is a vital factor to organizational success. Companies that do not develop or invest in developing their employees tend to fail in most of their goals (Nankervis, et al., 2014). I feel that the idea of career development programs is ingenious for companies seeking success. As a person who aspires to be an employer in the future, these are definitely amazing insights on how to retain and develop employees in an effective and efficient manner. Session 6 on management of performance is another interesting topic. I believe that managing performance is a nightmare for all employers. No employer would want to pay employees who are not performing (Paauwe & Boselie, 2005). I have also encountered performance management in my employment experience. My previous workplace relied on keeping numerous performance standards that even included minor issues such as having to sign in the time of arrival to work. It is now clear to me why companies invest in such programs to ensure that they can monitor employee performance effectively. What I did not anticipate is the need for training. I feel that this idea is still not clear in my head. Nonetheless, I will conduct further research and ensure that I grasp the whole concept and its importance to performance management. I think that I will lookout on the different methods that are used to manage performance when I am employed in the future. I will also focus much on how performance gaps are addressed by different companies. I believe that to become an effective manager, one needs to understand the reward systems for their employees. Session 7 covered the specifics of strategic reward management. The session clearly outlines that the managing rewards should all be aimed at maximizing contribution of human resources to organizational success and effectiveness (Nankervis, et al., 2014). This is not some I had considered before since I only assumed that employers only pay what they can afford. Another bombshell is the need of a total reward approach that ensures employees can find value in terms of remunerations and rewards that are strategic to increasing their contribution to organizational success and effectiveness. I feel that working for a company with such systems would be great. The session on organizational health and safety is also insightful as the single biggest growth issues in HRM, which I previously never knew. I also had no idea of the different Australian regulations and legislation on OHS. I tend to believe that the need to focus on consultation and prevention can work effectively for most organizations. I believe that this is a crucial topic for all organizations since I have experienced some of these challenges in my working experience. In conclusion, I could agree more on the point that HRM requires to deliver demonstrably effective programs. My reflection on the HRM unit has been an amazing journey that has helped my overall learning experience. I am actually happy and amazed that I learn all these ideas and insights on HRM. I may have to go back and grasp some of the points I missed and did not understand, but I believe that I have learnt a lot from this unit. References Beer, M., (1985). Human resource management: a general manager's perspective : text and cases. New York, Free Press. Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2012). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Compton, R. L., Morrissey, W. J., Nankervis, A. R., & Morrissey, B. (2009). Effective recruitment and selection practices. CCH Australia Limited. Nankervis, A, Baird, M, Coffey, J & Shields, J., (2014). Human resource management: strategy and practice. South Melbourne, Victoria Cengage Learning Australia. Paauwe, J., & Boselie, P. (2005). HRM and performance: what next?. Human Resource Management Journal, 15(4), 68-83. Read More