Contemporary Human Resourse Management Research - Essay Example

The HRM balances the needs of the organization with the realities of the internal and the external environment (Docstoc, n.d.). These have to be aligned with the strategic goals of the organization. Thus, the HR specialists have a critical role in formulating the policies as the external business environment changes. Elements of the external environment The external environment or the macro-environment, in which an industry operates, is beyond the control of the organization. These elements exist outside the boundary of the organization but they have significant influence over the growth and development of the organization.

The external environment comprises of the demographics, political, social, economical, technological, environmental and legal environment, in addition to the competition in the industry in which the firm operates. All of these impact organizational performance and the HR policies too could contribute in enhancing performance. However, not all external factors change during a single planning period. There may be high levels of uncertainty in certain factors and these may need to be dealt with separately.

The organization has to amend its policies and structure to cope with the changing business environment. . In the auto industry the age, skills and education impact the availability of human resources. Besides, as the older employees retire and the availability of human resources is becoming scarce in the UK and the US, the automobile organizations have adopted the flexible approach. Since flexible working has caught up in the industry Volkswagen has responded by allowing its full and part-time employees flextime, job sharing, and telecommuting (Roney, 2007).

As employees phase into retirement the organization gives its retirees work opportunities. They are offered part-time work, temporary assignments in consulting as well as telecommuting in addition to part-time work. Toyota too recognizes that an organization has to be flexible enough to adjust to changes specially the changes demanded as a result of fluctuations in demand (TMUK, n.d.). They thus work together in cooperation with all members of the organization to achieve maximum efficiency. To cope with the external challenges and the demographic changes, Toyota also implements mobility of members between work roles which helps in maximizing the utilization of the company’s resources and facilities.

The flexible approach is applicable even to those that do not normally work on the production line or in ancillary areas. Training is an area which helps maintain and improve both member and organizational performance. Training is thus directed in improving skills to meet the job requirements. On-the-job training enables the members to acquire different skills which help in movement and rotation within responsibilities. Declining birth rates and the retirement of the older generation is leaving