Managing People in Context - Assignment Example

Managing People in Context A recent analysis done on the staff of North East Wessex District Council revealed a number of things; (a) a glass ceiling exists within the organization, that is, the seniors roles are generally occupied by males and the junior are predominantly occupied by the female, (b) job satisfaction among the current staff was neither low or high and some even expressed fears that the extension of the commercial pressures would lead to the council’s inability to offer core services, and (c) job security was very crucial to the staff (Good 2010).

A number of proposals were made in regard with the reduction in the cost of offering services. The proposals included merging with North West Wessex District Council to offer outsourcing back office functions and economies of scale. The outsourcing functions include IT, payroll and finance services, specialist services provision in the commercial sector and purchasing of the services required. The main issue is that some of the staffs are not very sure if the proposals will be successful and transition to the new proposals has become a human resource issue.

Other than the staff, there are issues raised by the trade union concerning the recent proposals. The trade union in this case is the UNISON and it is already adopting an approach in rejecting the current proposals. The reason for rejection is partly due to the fact that the proposal will affect some of the representatives of the staff in UNISON (Good 2010). The recruitment and selection process of the staff is of low quality and majority of the current staffs applied for the jobs in the council as school leavers and have in turn progressed to the senior positions within the organization.

Staff turnover is very low in the organization with some of the junior staffs leaving the work due to a number of reasons that suggest that the working environment is not conducive. The appraisal system and the mode of payment for the employees are outdated and it has been condemned by some of the employees as showing favoritism, victimization and inequity. Measuring the performance of the employees has become very difficult because of the claims that the system shows favor to a number of employees especially the senior ones.

Even with the chance of upgrading their level of education and work experience at the local college, the senior members of the staff do not have the time to go for the studies; they are too busy to find time for study (Good 2010). Human Resource Management Solutions Recruitment and Selection The goal of the organization should be to employ an applicant who has the following characteristics; (a) knowledge, (b) skills, (c) abilities, and (d) other attributes that are necessary for the individual to perform well in the organization (Catano 2009, p25).

The candidates can be sourced by various means and each mean has its own costs and success rates. These sources include; other employees referral, internet advertising on the organization’s or event website, recruitment consultants and employment agencies (Wagen 2007, p127). Industrial Relations The organization should commit itself to the public policy in order to accomplish and maintain the balance between the shortcomings of the social welfare and the social control within the organization.

The rules made should be capable of regulating the employment relationships and be in harmony with its environment. The focus of the organization should be on the maintenance of the relations rather than on the status of the institution (Wood 2009, p238). Shared services strategy can be employed and this is designed to improve the services efficiency, reduce costs and deliver single or many transactional HR services (such as benefit administration and payroll) through centralization (Storey 2007, p25).

Performance Management Performance management mainly focuses on the management of the organization (the internal and external environment). It is not a technique nor a system but a natural process. Performance management takes into consideration all the people in the organization. It refuses all the cultural assumptions that the managers are the ones entirely responsible for the performance of their teams. It replaces this notion with the belief that the managers and the team members share the responsibility (Armstrong 2000, p216).

The performance management system should attempt to measure, identify, reward, communicate, and develop the employee performance (Jackson and Mathis 2007, p354). Staff Management and Training The role of the human resource is to create programs and policies and share the responsibilities with the organization’s department. The HR should move away from the traditional HRM practices to the current practices that entail decision making, strategic planning, and profitability (Chronister and Kulakowski 2006, p104).

Training and development of the staff is very essential as it helps in the identification of the staff weakness and selects the areas where the employee’s skills can be developed to enhance the performance of the organization (Chronister and Kulakowski 2006, p104). Appraisal should be carried out as it assist in the identification of the individual’s job performance level, the employee’s weaknesses and strengths, potential performance, development and training needs and motivate the individual (Cole p300).

Reward Management Reward management is important because pay is of great concern in an organization. This is because pay is related to cost management and financial control of the organization and the management decisions (Druker and White 2000, p13). Reward management aims at rewarding the employees according to the created value, aligning the reward practices with the business goals and with the employee needs and values, and development of a high performance culture. Conclusion and Recommendation The North East Wessex District Council has different HRM issues that need to be solved in order to effectively achieve its mandate.

The solutions to these HRM issues include proper recruitment and selection process, industrial relations, performance management, staff management and training, and reward management. The council is recommended to adopt these HRM strategies in the management of its operations and staff. References Armstrong, M. (2000) Strategic human resource management: A guide to action. London, UK: Kogan Page Publishers. Armstrong, M. (2007) A handbook of employee reward management and practice. London, UK: Kogan Page Publishers.

Catano, V. M. (2009) Recruitment and selection in Canada. Ontario: Cengage Learning. Chronister, L. U. & Kulakowski, E. C. (2006) Research administration and management. London, UK: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Cole, G. A. (2002) Personnel and human resource management. London, UK: Cengage Learning EMEA. Druker, J. & White, G. (2000) Reward management: A critical text. London, UK: Routledge. Good, B. (2010) North East Wessex District Council: A case study in human resource management. n.p. Jackson, J. H. & Mathis, R. L. (2007) Human resource management.

Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Storey, J. (2007) Human resource management: A critical text. London, UK: Cengage Learning EMEA. Wagen, L. V. (2007) Human resource management for events: Managing the event workforce. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann. Wood, G. (2009) Human resource management: A critical approach. Oxon: Taylor & Francis.