Human Resource Professionals Should Focus upon the Development of Managers - Coursework Example

Critical Analysis Introduction Human resources constitute the principal element of an organisation and the crucial factor that determines the success of an organisation. As such, Poloski et al have shown that human resource management enables an organisation to address its competition in an effective manner[Khj15]. The Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) function in an organisation is unlimited. As such, the senior executives of the organisation have to shoulder responsibility for every action and decision of every member of the company. Thus, CEOs are not permitted the luxury of committing mistakes. Consequently, 35% to 50% of the CEOs tend to be supplanted within five years[Far96]. This proves to be an expensive proposition for any organisation, as the loss of the leader diminishes the organisation’s sense of direction and identity. Thesis Statement Human resource specialists have to focus upon the development of managers and participate in the development processes that connect internal and external boundaries. Strength of Evidence The consumer services and business of New Zealand is typical of what is to be found in the advanced economies. However, the majority of this is foreign owned, including the entire banking sector and vast sections of distribution and retail. From this perspective, it is usual for the managers of New Zealand to perceive that their skills and experience can be better utilised in other developed economies. Thus, there is a strong belief among these managers that their career advancement lies in emigrating to a larger economy[Hut14]. The absence of evolution to significantly better jobs and the highly specialised roles of the largest global economies, makes it very difficult to recruit and retain superior managerial talent. Despite the importance of capital intensity, the difference is essentially due to quality of management, organisational innovation, production process, and the quality of capital and labour. However, this evaluation conceals several sectoral disparities. The agricultural and utility sectors of New Zealand had performed significantly better than those of Australia. All the same, in the services sector, including, retail, finance, construction, wholesale and hospitality, New Zealand’s performance has been substantially inferior to that of Australia. This has emerged as a major issue for New Zealand as these services employ around 70% of the workforce[Hut14]. Weaknesses Scholars, such as Green, have surmised that the manufacturers of New Zealand would derive considerable advantage by concentrating to a much greater extent upon the development of management competences in their firms. It has been observed that ownership and scale make a tangible difference. In addition, the larger and foreign owned firms incorporate better management practices[Hut14]. Moreover, researchers, including Kitt, Keats and DeMarie’s, have contended that managers have to implement novel paradigms to promote strategic flexibility in their organisations. In this regard, these scholars had argued that the most crucial management skill would be that of non-linear thinking or the capacity to conceptualise different and even contradictory scenarios and information[Hut14]. In a survey, it was disclosed that the private sector regarded market risks as the most important element, and 32% of the respondents believed it to be among the top three challenges. This was followed by access to finance and dialogue with shareholders, at 27% each. As such, 23% of the respondents had considered alterations in the economic situation to be a very risky issue, 21% had regarded the conduct of business across cultural hurdles as a major issue, and 20% had designated the attraction and retention of manpower as a vital issue[Hut14]. Another impediment to growth proved to be the reluctance of the banks to lend, reduced risk taking among shareholders, and the unwillingness of foreign investors to invest in New Zealand. In fact, the CEOs had affirmed that the mobility of staff at the global level had created a crucial shortage in skilled employees. [Hut14]. Moreover, the qualitative data had made it abundantly clear that skills shortages were being experienced in a vast array of professions and at various levels. My Perspective It is my firm conviction that human resource specialists should focus upon the development of human resource managers, so as to achieve the objectives of the organisation in globalised competitive markets. I am in complete agreement with this work’s thesis statement, as the human resource specialist bridges the internal and external relationships of the organisation. Key Points The management and use of human resources in an organisation determines its overall efficiency. Thus, the manager enacts a significant role in human resources organisations. The function of personnel management is a speciality. However, human resource management is the responsibility of every manager in the organisation, and is proactive instead of being reactive[Ban12]. In fact, the efficiency of every part of an organisation is vitally dependent upon the manner of management and the optimal employment of human resources. Evidence of Support It is feasible to regard human resource management as a profound and integrated approach towards the management of personnel in an organisation, as well as a general management function. The scholar Guest has claimed that human resource management is associated with the strategic management of an organisation, demands commitment towards the goals of the organisation, concentrates upon individual needs instead of that of the workforce in its entirety, makes it possible for organisation to achieve greater flexibility by engaging in the delegation of power, and demands that people be regarded as assets that are to be utilised positively by the organisation[Dia12]. Ideas and values emanate from customers and employees, and not from the management. With regard to employees, the sense of empowerment promotes values regarding achievement, community and work. This edifice has to be constructed on the basis of performance, the manner in which employees are treated in the organisation, and the vision of how the organisation should function[Qui04]. Such vision constitutes the desirable, ideal and preferred state. Selecting the best candidates for the organisation can be regarded as an important function of human resources. This ensures the wellbeing of the organisation. Such selection involves the use of employment tests, investigation of the prospective employee’s background and the adoption of the appropriate scientific method[Khj15]. As such, the efficiency, at every level of an organisation, is determined by the quality of the human resources in it. Thus, the role of managers in human resource organisations is special. The human resource function is utilised by organisations to derive the maximum benefit from their human capital. This has resulted in the heightened importance of human resource practitioners as leaders of change and strategic business partners. As such, the competitive forces, to which organisations are exposed, mandate alterations to the function and structure of the human resource function. The contemporary global economy requires human resource practitioners to address the substantial expectations and challenges emerging from the ongoing evolution of their function[duP16]. It has become necessary to demonstrate the manner, in which their function adds and generates value to their organisation. Scarbrough and Elias have advocated a more systematic approach towards the measurement, management and development of human resource. Such an approach is distinguished by a burgeoning difference between the contribution of human capital to the performance of a firm and the extant methods for identifying and evaluating such contribution. The dissemination of technology and the requirements of a global economy have rendered human capital and other intangible assets the primary drivers of economic competitiveness[Fra051].. Conclusion This work claims that human resource professionals should focus upon the development of managers and should construct a bridge between the internal and external boundaries of the organisation. Supporting evidence has demonstrated that New Zealand’s managers perceive that they can progress professionally in other developed economies, to a much greater extent. Furthermore, the services sector of New Zealand has proved to be significantly sub-standard in comparison to that of Australia. This has been attributed to inferior management skills, limited organizational innovativeness, sub-optimal production processes, and the absence of high quality capital and labour. In addition, absence of evolution to the highly specialised roles of global economies, makes it very difficult to recruit or retain superior managerial talent. The opposing arguments for this thesis are: ownership and scale of the organisation affect management as claimed by Green. Moreover, some surveys revealed that the private sector regards market risk as their most challenging problem. Furthermore, it was reaffirmed by the CEOs that movement of staff at the global level had resulted in critical skills shortage in their organisation. My perception corroborates the thesis statement, and supporting evidence has been provided; finally, conclusions have been made. It can be surmised that human resource professionals should focus on managers and participate in the development processes, so as to connect the internal and external boundaries. References Khj15: , (Khjehpour, et al., 2015, p. 816), Far96: , (Farkas & Wetlaufer, 1996), Hut14: , (Hutchison & Boxall, 2014, p. 25), Hut14: , (Hutchison & Boxall, 2014, p. 26), Hut14: , (Hutchison & Boxall, 2014, p. 27), Hut14: , (Hutchison & Boxall, 2014, p. 29), Hut14: , (Hutchison & Boxall, 2014, p. 30), Ban12: , (Banfield & Kay, 2012, pp. 36-37), Dia12: , (Dias, 2012), Qui04: , (Quijano-Nguyen, 2004), duP16: , (du Plessis, et al., n.d.), Fra051: , (Franklin, et al., 2005), Read More