Approaches to Human Resources Training and Development - Essay Example

Global Human Resource Management Name Institution Human resource management is a widely used phrase in the business arena, but not conclusively defined. According to (Cascio, 2012) HRM refers to a lay down of principles built to enhance achievement of goals as well as interaction between the objectives of a business and the employee performance. Human resource management (HRM) refers to the practice of managing human resources in a quest to improve employee performance in accordance to the objectives of the employer. Human resource management entails recruitment of the right people for a particular job, orienting, training and managing their compensation mode. An organization’s competitiveness is squarely based on the efficiency of the work performed by employees especially so that globalization is currently being taken as a business tactic as companies compete for customers all over the world (Cascio, 2012). Globalization has forced human resource practitioner’s change their role in a firm from supportive to strategic so as to succeed in the new economy. Companies have increasingly expanded to other countries and as such, posing new challenges on the human resource management because they ought to manage performance of employees from different countries, manage diverse cultures as well as cope with the legal structures in different parts of the world (Dowling, 2008). The paper will concentrate on trying to understand the organizational human resource management through diversity management, culture, international performance management and training and development. Diversity Management Management of diversity refers to the process of planning and executing human resource management practices with an aim of maximizing on the benefits of diversity while minimizing its disadvantages. There are different human resources management practices illustrated below that are used to manage diversity in multinational enterprises. Polycentrism – the management style here focuses on the culture and country in which the organization is operating in, there are emphasis on diversity and cultural independence. The management style leads to weak organization units Regio-centric – the organization strategies are made based on the geographical area, the organizations are structured geographically. The relation with the mother country is weak but subsidiaries within the same region are strong. Geocentric - the organization management style aim is to achieve both organization objectives as well as achieve goals of national interest. Great cooperation and exchange of information between mother country and subsidiaries Diversity management involves the human resource management acknowledging the fact that people differ from different aspects such as age, gender, social status, personality, disability, religion and sexual orientation. In some countries, some employees are discriminated on based on their diversity such as race in America and South Africa. Some corporations tend to be intolerant towards workforce diversity while others appreciate diversity. Consequently, it has been established that companies with better diversity management practices and tolerance experience better profits, effectiveness and the employees portray good cooperative behavior. Good diversity management is recommended because it ensures that corporations gain competitive advantage as well as retain employees. Diversity management involves formulation of people centered policies. The policies are involved with an understanding of individual differences as well as development and well being of each individual. Effective diversity management requires a culture of inclusion that fosters an environment of tolerance and cohesiveness. Organizations are therefore faced with the challenge of ensuring that all employees are comfortable to reveal their characters without fear of being discriminated against. There are several theories that expound more on diversity management; however, the theories are only applicable in specific types of organizations. The first type of organization is the monolithic one that only has White males in the leadership positions while the minority groups occupy the lower positions. The second type of organization is the plural organization that is more heterogeneous in involving even the minority groups in the managerial positions. However, very few minority group members are included in the management. The last type of organization is the multicultural one. Multicultural organizations value diversity because they involve and integrate all groups equally within the organization. Culture Culture refers to a collective behavior of people and institutions that differentiate one group of people to another. Culture is difficult to change because the collective behavior is programmed in the people’s minds as well their institutions such family structure. Natural culture and organization culture have different meaning (Fiske, 2010). Natural culture has a great impact on organizational culture as it posing constraints through the external environment, habits and mentality of employees. Organization culture has a great impact on the strategies and successes of a company. For the human resource management to be successful and an organization to effectively implement them, they must be aligned to the natural culture practices. Natural culture has a great impact in shaping the current strategic human resource management practices within an organization (Schein, 2010). Currently, human resource practitioners cannot restrict their operations within a particular culture because an embracement of globalization by companies has been adopted. Each culture has different values and beliefs. Human resource practices that apply in one country or region may not necessarily apply in another. Cultural differences at the workplace can be handled smoothly through the integrative communication theory with forms a guide in the formulation of organisation procedures. Organizations should also have a culture comprising of a system of how things should be conducted. The organization culture enables employees from all walks of life to adjust themselves so as to fit within the company despite their personal differences and character. Companies whose policies are in congruence with the national culture experience better profits as well as reduced employee turnover. There are five dimensions to culture namely: power distance, individualism, masculinity avoidance, masculinity and feminism and finally the period of orientation which can be either short term or long term. Power distance determines whether positions of power are equally distributed among people from different cultures. The achievement motivation theory is based on culture. The theory is based on the premise that people desire to attain success as well as meet objectives. However, motivational factors differ among cultures. The theory asserts that if employees perceive fair treatment, they are more likely to perform better as well as have job satisfaction. Performance management Performance management emanates from the pressures of the global market where a company has to have a competitive edge to survive in the global market (Purcell and Hutchinson, 2007). Performance is appraised by the managers or supervisors and they mainly look at the set targets between them and their subordinates and whether they have been achieved within the stipulated time frame. Performance management comprises of three basic steps, firstly, goal setting. The process involves sync between individual and organizational goals. Companies should formulate attainable and concrete goals so as to ensure their achievement. The employer and employee also have to come up with ways to determine whether a goal has been achieved. Most employees and managers feel that employee performance management systems in many companies is tiresome, bureaucratic and time consuming as compared to the value it adds to both the firms and the individual development of the employees. Performance management is thought to be unnecessary by most employees. Effective performance management entails an elucidation of job responsibilities and expectations. Secondly, performance management is essential at improving the individual’s productivity as well the production of the whole firm. Thirdly, effective performance management helps to develop employee capability through effective feedback and training. Lastly, effective performance management is necessary at improving communication between employees and the managers. Performance management systems are designed to support different objectives for instance, payments, promotions, employee development and reduction in the number of employees. The rationale for a performance management is determined by the needs of the business, incorporation of performance management system with other human resource systems and the culture of the organization. Performance management is composed of several processes. Firstly, planning stage where the managers should meet with the employees and formulate their individual performance management schedules. The human resource management should ensure that they discuss the goals with employees as well as explain to them the importance of ensuring that these goals are met. The second step involves monitoring of the employees progress. Monitoring should be continuous throughout the stipulated time frame. It is at this stage that the supervisors are able to appraise the performance whether good or bad. It is then possible to correct the employee if need be. At this point, the supervisor may adjust time depending on the progress made by the employees. The third step involves development of the employee. Need for development is determined based on whether the employee is well equipped to handle the tasks assigned. Managers are able to elicit whether an employee needs to be developed during monitoring process. Development entails formal and informal training as well as coaching. The fourth step involves rating of employee performance. The rating should not come as a surprise to the employee if the performance management is effective because the employees and the supervisors have been meeting during the monitoring process. The rating should be equal to the efforts put in by the employee. The last step is rewarding of the employee’s efforts. Performance management systems should govern payment decisions. The pay should be fair to the employees. Reward may also be in form of promotions, transfers or assignment of duties. Employee performance is greatly determined by the working atmosphere in the organization, workplace environment is an important aspect in employee productivity. Employees’ normally have expectations of finding a good working environment when joining a new firm, their expectations refer to safe, clean and healthy environment. (Decenzo, Robbins and Verhulst, 2010). As such, firms should ensure a healthy work environment to foster employee performance. Training and development The pressure of globalization of firms has seen to it that firms continuously engage in training and development activities and as such, the workplaces have become learning organizations (Paula, 2008). The firms have to ensure that their employees are endowed with the necessary skills to keep up with competition in the market as well as ensuring that staffs gain some self enhancement at work (Tahir, Yousafzai and Hashim, 2014). Businesses are therefore obliged to create a learning culture at work to ensure organizational performance. Approaches to training and development Reactive Approach The approach is based on the traditional setting where the human resource management reacts based on a need basis. Therefore, training and development practices are only undertaken whenever there is a shortage of skills. Successful organizations do not wait to train their employees only when there is need but they instead carry out training and development regularly as way to enhance the already existing skills (Aguinis and Kraiger, 2009). In the current times, corporations that train on need basis are likely to experience market failures because they are not able to keep up the competition in the market. Proactive Approach The proactive approach is often carried out by organizations that value a learning culture. Training and development is a day to day activity with this approach because the activities of learning are aligned with the corporate goals. The approach focuses on increasing competencies (Aguinis and Kraiger, 2009). Market leaders in the business world embrace proactive approach to training, the said organizations budget for employee training and development; they develop training calendars for every business unit in anticipation of the new requirements in their industries. The human resource practitioners can actual use these approach as way of employee motivation and retaining strategy. Active Learning Approach With this approach, the employees play a major role in fostering the learning process. The employees ask questions, search for answers and interpret occurrences. The approach leaves a lasting impact in the lives of the staff members and it also enhances competitiveness of the firm in the global market (Aguinis and Kraiger, 2009). Active learning approach is highly effective as the process uses engagement of the people from the start to the end that way the employee feel valued as they are given an opportunity to voice their issues. In conclusion, therefore, in order for international human resource management practices to be efficient and effective in the current business world, they must be aligned with the cultural practices within which an organization operates. Additionally, training and development of employees is key to the success of any organization because quality of work by employees is improved through training. Employees are the greatest resources of a firm and the only way to reduce employee turnover is through training and development. Performance of employees goes hand in hand with training and development since it is through performance analysis that the human resource management gets to know training needs in the workforce. After performance appraisals, firms are able to make decisions such as those based on payments, promotions or transfers of employees. Consequently, for an organization to be successful, they must embrace the diversity of the employees because its only through diversity that companies are able to get unique talents. References Cascio, W. F. (2012). Methodological issues in international HR management research. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(12), 2532-2545. Dowling, P. (2008). 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