Human resources management - Essay Example

It would be a mistake to assume that human resources alone can provide a source of competitive advantage, this theory only holds true when the following four conditions are met: Human Resource must add value to the firms production process Skills sought by the firm must be rare, A firm’s combined human resource investments cannot be imitated A firm’s human capital should not be replaceable by technology The need for effective Human Resource Management is evident in the case of Uni-Bank, which suffers from a multitude of Personnel related problems.

The bank’s personnel problems can be solved by devising a carefully thought out Human Resource Strategy and implementing effective employee motivation, development and retention techniques. Human Resource Strategy It is of primary importance for firms to develop effective Human Resource Strategies as it will guide the way the firm develops and deploys deploy human, social, and organizational capital to enhance its competitiveness. The goal of an effective Human Resource Strategy is to develop a workforce which is motivated, trained, adequately rewarded and performs towards pursuing a firm's objectives Past theorists (Snell, Youndt and Wright 1996) noted that in the past executives tried to “take human resources out of the strategy equation by substituting capital for labor where possible, and by developing organizational structures where there is a dividing line between those who think from those who do the work.

As (Quinn ,1992) noted, “with rareexceptions, the economic and producing power of the firm lies more in its intellectual and service capabilities than in its hard assets; land, plant and equipment”. However, there is no one theory that fits all, every organization’s need differs and so does their required strategy. It is quite difficult to achieve a correct balance between motivating and employee, developing and rewarding them, as there is always a fear of employee turnover. Firms should be careful not to over-invest in their employees, similarly, they should avoid under-investing in their employees as well, as this leads to poor motivational levels and in turn affects performance.

UniBank, needs to reassess its human resource strategy, as it seems the current one is not effective. The Company suffers from low employee morale, (which is their primary problem), skill-gap, low employee involvement and performance. The Company seems to be unable to meet its human resource needs with the needs of the changing environment; as a result, it cannot satisfy either. An effective strategy can be devised through 3 key steps: Diagnosis: Conducting a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of the current practice and performance to identify where improvement is required and where policies are working well.

In the case of UniBank, the diagnosis stage will identify the following improvement areas: Employee job security Employee Development Employee Motivation Employee Remuneration Employee Recruitment Employee involvement and decision making ability Aspiration: A vision of effective Human Resource practices, producing outcomes that contribute to achieving the firm’s strategic objectives. For UniBank, an aspiration outcome will be where its employees are motivated, adequately trained and positively contribute to the change to Online Banking.

Developmental: A plan to progress and bring about change in the future. Uni Bank should focus on long term