Role of Electronic HRM in Contemporary Human Resource Management - Coursework Example

Running Head: ROLE OF ELECTRONIC-HRM IN CONTEMPORARY HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Role of Electronic-HRM in Contemporary Human Resource Management Institution Name 8th September 2011 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Literature review 4 Roles of HRM in organizations 5 a)Improving the strategic orientation of HRM 6 b)Cost reduction/efficiency gains 6 c)Client service improvement or facilitating management and employees 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Appendices 10 Role of Electronic-HRM in Contemporary Human Resource Management Introduction The world today rates development according to the efficiency that comes with information technology. Today, Apple.inc is the second most valued company in America because of its technological development in proportion to consumer demand for data and information. Such technology integrated to any organisational development means increase in quality of performance and improved efficiency (Strohmeier 2007). As such, the incorporation of e-HRM in implementing Human Resource strategies is of immense benefit. Electronic-Human Resource Management (E-HRM) is the application of information technology, IT, (by use of web technology) in implementing HR activities, policies, and devolution of human resource functions to management and employees. Many authors and researchers have pointed out that E-HRM plays a major role in any organisation. In fact, others have suggested that it drives the organisation as a whole. However, an organisation is made up of various departments and functions that all contribute to the successful operation of any organisation (Gardner, Lepak, Bartol 2003). Again, in achieving the goals and objectives of any organisation, knowing or measuring the role played by each part of the organisation is significant (Hawking, Stein & Foster 2004, p. 1022). This paper therefore takes an intensive and extensive effort to analyse the role of e-HRM in contemporary human resource management to realise its application, implementation, and impact to the running of the organisation. The paper will analyse Australian companies that use e-HRM contemporary human resource management. Literature review In essence, e-HRM uses networking and support enhanced through IT in consciously running and directing the activities of the organisation in the human resource department like in such a way as to empower the management and employee to perform more efficiently and effectively. The empowerment of managers and employees to undertake the human resource function that allows less time effort and staff is significant in this endeavour. Centro Properties Group uses the Electronic Human Resources Management experience in multinational and financially focused organisations for effective coordination. Each management decision has some human resource management element as suggested by many authors on policy choices. According to Welle-Strand & Thune (2003, p. 187), the number of human resource policy choices in any company falls into three types distinctively: the bureaucratic policy, the market policy, and clan policy. These three apply to different organisation, however, the commonness of the policies give high regard to a typified feature on human resource areas like employee impact, flow, and compensation and work system. Right from inception of e-HRM stakeholders in the organisation have given it high regard while making decisions. E-HRM allows organisations to reduce human resource function through reducing staffing levels as the administrative burden brings the levels down. The role of E-HRM goes a long way to develop and enable a better-entrenched business culture with significant manifestation degrees (Gardner, Lepak, and Bartol 2003). This means that the human resource department focus on strategic questions, flexibility in terms of policymaking practices, and orientation of the services by management and employees, and focus on quality service delivery through flexible and focused strategy within the timeline. Again, the individualisation of the community and escalated education levels by many Australians, as well as the enforcement of a balanced management-employee relationship compels the direction of employees to strive for their own career paths by means of e-HRM efficiencies. This is because; Electronic Human Resource Management fundamentally improves the HR administrative effectiveness to attain reduction in costs. Notwithstanding, the international organisation look for e-HRM to harmonize the respective policies and human resource processes in context. E-business has become an emerging trend with immense concern from various organisational departments, particularly the human resources who face a big challenge in aligning its business with the business objective of cost minimization or profit maximization (Welle-Strand & Thune 2003 p. 189). As such, the human resource function ought to synergize in engineering success, however, through a delivery system that links all parties in play. Creation and achievement of utility, and effectiveness is close to inevitable with the incorporation of E-HRM appropriately. Roles of HRM in organizations The rapidity of information technology integration in our organizations has played a major role in Human Resource Management that facilitates effective operation of this organization. This paper concentrates on the three major roles in majority of the organizations that are not only important but also closely attached enhancement through information system: Improving the strategic orientation of HRM, cost reduction and effectiveness gains, and customer service improvement or facilitating management and employees’ coordination (see Appendices: e-HRM model). a) Improving the strategic orientation of HRM Improving outcomes through e-HRM occurs when the company and its stakeholders have enough time to concentrate on key goals of the organization yielding a team of thinkers and innovators to achieve. As Ruël, Bondarouk & Looise (2004) suggests, the Human Resource departments therefore are able bring together their experiences and challenges and tackle as a team, because its operation is easier and consumes less time which is, therefore, devoted to strategic orientation (Strohmeier 2007). Today the Human Resource Management at AGL energy pride in its corporate website that fundamentally has internet task boards utilizing e-recruiting while enhancing survey in the frequency of employee competencies within the organization. As such, e-recruiting, e-selection enables faster and early development of findings on a limited application. b) Cost reduction/efficiency gains Almost all organizations have goal in common, which they achieve through cost minimization; profit maximization. E-HRM allows the HR department to operate in a wide scale using little input, as such, it requires less staff and computing uses less energy not to mention of the amount of time saved Local Area Network (LAN) communication. The large economic and qualitative resources saved through e-HRM are efficient gain that is channeled to objectives that are more important. Centro Properties Group has experienced immense impact of e-HRM through e-Training, and development of e-learning for staff. This has proved to be cost effective. Again, the company has undertaken the application of a number of learning using Information Technology in exchanging its information within its department. The improvement in this manner enables for customer focus and satisfaction with declining costs of increased effectiveness. Again, less administrative jobs within the Human resource departments as well as few positions, yet the quality of service and performance is not compromised. c) Client service improvement or facilitating management and employees The HR practices extend up to the final consumers, because the employees get in contact with the customers. As such, the implementation and application of e-HRM targets to attain a certain set of management facilitation in the outputs. As such, the choice of the right package as well as implementation of the parts of the package has significant input in this consideration. Thus, creation of innovative opportunities and their implementation according to the human resource management practices can be effectively linked by use of these opportunities since absence of time and the willingness is picks notch up high. The Harvey Norman Australia has applied e-HRM in this context through the employee self-service system. The system enables one to add up the acceptance and contentment because of the benefit of efficiency, for instance, high levels of accuracy on results as well as much time saved by the system. As such, the staffs have ample time to attend to clients. Clients in return have a positive perception on service improvement as well as effective facilitation by management through the system. The company developed the electronic job search as a form of a positive ownership to an undoubtedly great number of careers in the quality information system. Electronic Human Resource management therefore offers the optimal improvement opportunities in both employees and management, thus enhancing effectiveness and cost efficiency in the human resource department. Conclusion This paper falls to the admission, that e-HRM plays a major role in effective running of any organization actives. It is a strategic partnership tool that effects modularity, parametric and customizability, access to archived records and documents, as well as being a user-friendly interface (Ruta 2005). E-HRM is a business solution set to support the management and employees conduct their teams in decision making through effective monitoring of any changes and collection of information. Again, the information technology web enabled system has made it possible for adaptability to any client requirements, a decisive step towards a paperless office and prompt insight into reporting and analysis. E-model also enables connectivity with the client's existing information system and supports management of human resources and gathering of information as the basis for strategic decision-making (see Appendix). The formulation and application of a functional electronic-Human Resource Management strategy acts a central, but to the bigger picture, it is an ignored topic of e-HRM, accounting its gradual adoption by some companies. Other than the general aspect of E-Human Resource Management strategy in the contemporary environment formulation, specific incorporation with the origination strategy is still significant (Nissen & Gates 2004, p. 202). The fulfilling strategy implement incorporates a number of topics for instance, analyses software selection, sometimes-using e-selection, and configuration, and change management. It is of utmost importance to formulate a process of integrating e-HRM configuration in the HR department. References Gardner, S. D., Lepak, D. P., & Bartol, K. M. (2003). Virtual HR: The impact of information technology on the human resource professional. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63(2), 159−179. Hawking, P., Stein, A., & Foster, S. (2004). e-HR and employee self-service: A case study of a Victorian public sector organization. Journal of Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 1, 1019−1026 Nissen, M. E., & Gates,W. R. (2004). Experimental analysis of e-employment market designs. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 14(3), 195−222. Ruël, H. J. M., Bondarouk, T., & Looise, J. C. (2004). E-HRM: Innovation or irritation. Utrecht: Lemma Publishers Ruta, C. D. (2005). The application of change management theory to HR portal implementation in subsidiaries of multinational corporations. Human Resource Management, 44(1), 35−53. Strohmeier, S. (2007). "Research in e-HRM: Review and implications." Human Resource Management Review 17(1): 19-37 Welle-Strand, A., & Thune, T. (2003). E-learning policies, practices and challenges in two Norwegian organizations. Evaluation and Program Planning, 26(2), 185−192 Appendices E-HRM Model Read More