Environmental Management - Green Human Resource Management - Essay Example

Green Human Resource Management Executive Summary Green HRM should only be one of the steps in environmental management. There may be many other steps to provide adequate management of the ecosystem but suffice it to say that Green HRM can help in the maintenance of the natural capital. This paper aims to provide a brief description of management or our ecosystems within the contexts of firms and organizations and the way they conduct business. Organizations should recognize the fact that they have a significant role to play in the preservation of the environment. Through Green HRM, organizations can provide a thorough management of the supply chain and help in the control of unabated extraction of raw materials from the ecosystem. Green HRM is a management application that integrates environmental programs with human resource practices and helps enhance competitive advantage of firms. Green HRM is defined as sustainable HR management that deals with the needs that related to environmental sustainability. Introduction Ecosystems provide the world with many services and help in biodiversity conservations. However, these services are most of the time diminished and abused, thereby reducing human development because of the absence of new economic and political systems. This absence is exacerbated by the lack of awareness among authorities and society about the relevance of these services which can be provided in part by firms and organizations with the application of Green Human Resource Management (Green HRM). Environmental impact due to abuse of the ecosystems is primarily caused by over-population and ‘impact per person’, which also depends on the type of resources people use and whether the resources are renewable and the level of human activity is in accord with the carrying capacity of the concerned ecosystems.1 Urban migration is another threat because it exacerbates climate change and global warming. Increase of population in urban areas threatens ecological balance; people from the countryside flock to urban centers and distract the earth’s carrying capacity. Population in urban centers grows as people leave behind agricultural lands.2 The greatest threat to the environment is the unabated extraction of raw materials from the natural system. Traditional supply chain sources out raw materials, delivers them to manufacturing plants, produces products and transports them to end users. Green supply chain is the answer. If no drastic measure is done, our natural habitat will continue to absorb the pollutants from transportation and stationary sources like manufacturing plants and industries. Pollutants are in the form of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, photochemical, and so on. Public and private sectors have not done enough to improve and protect the earth’s ecological balance. There has to be away to improve the earth’s current situation. Organizations find Green HRM as one of the methods to help in reducing environmental impact. Green HRM is a challenging management application. Green HRM, the integration of environmental management programs with human resource (HR) practices, will not only promote corporate strategic objectives, it will also enhance competitive advantage.3 Firms’ strategies for environmental management have been changing from control to prevention.4 This is emphasized in environmental management system implementations. Green HRM is defined as “those parts of sustainable HR management dealing with needs that relate to environmental sustainability.”5 Green HR management is a part of sustainable HR management where the latter is composed of corporate social responsibility practices. Sustainable HRM Sustainable human resource management was defined by Wagner as “a management of human resources (HRs) that meets the current needs of a firm and society at large without compromising their ability to meet any future needs.”6 Green HRM focuses on the implementation of environmental management systems (EMSs), but there are uncertain benefits of this practice.7 Moreover, EMS is “a set of common ‘Green’ practices aimed at improving environmental performance.”8 A broad definition of green management for sustainable development states that it is the equilibrium between economic development and safeguarding the natural environment so that the future generations may prosper.9 But there is a problem in the implementation of sustainability on how businesses may structure their organizations to provide opportunities for sustainability.10 Firms have devised strategies to promote their businesses but at the same time implement programs to protect the environment; an example of these programs is the environmental management system. Human resource function is used to implement organizational change in order to adjust to new requirements for businesses and can contribute to the strategies of the firm, therefore, it needs to be recognized that the relationship of sustainability, the natural environment and human resource management is new area of study and only a few developed body of writings can be found in the literature.11 ISO 14001 promotes EMS Green HRM should involve implementation of ISO 14001. The ISO 14001 emphasizes the application of an EMS, in fact, it is a model for a structured EMS. The series contains numerous guidelines regarding various environmental concerns. The primary guideline has the title “Environmental Management System: Specification with Guidance for Use,” and contains standards for approval. The standard has specifications on policy, planning, implementation and operation, checking and corrective action, and management review.12 Certification for the ISO needs time; thus, the organization should commit first to the implementation of the EMS so that it can proceed with the application of Green HRM. The ISO 14000 standards promote green HRM. Examples of Green HRM that are parts of the standards are better customer relations, recognition from regulators, better control of environmental issues, and increased employee awareness of environmental issues.13 An EMS allows firms to better control environmental effects.14 The application of EMS can pave the way for other management tools, like the total quality management (TQM), which in turn relies on several HR factors, for example, management backup, training, bonuses, employee motivations and teamwork. These HR tools can lead to EMS successes. EMS involves the application of environmental objectives and strategies. Environmental strategies are influenced by several factors, such as, financial stability, stakeholder issues, corporate problems, and other relevant business problems.15 HRM is important in environmental policy as HR practices are applied along with the strategies that are in accord with the culture and the company’s strategy. However, the problem with EMS is that there is a lack of documentation and analysis of specific cases of EMS implementation. This problem may be due to the fact that EMS is still considerably new and that there is competition between practitioners and lack of leadership in addressing the issues, which are factors to the lack of communication.16 Without an effective “Green Manager,” an EMS cannot be effective. It is also placed at a disadvantage if there is no published experiential base wherein managers can build. Even if there is a lot of literature written about EMS theory, there is a lack of documentation and analysis on the particularities of EMS implementation. ISO provides directions of an EMS implementation, including the ingredients but ISO does not describe techniques that may be used to combine the steps for a successful implementation.17 Managers can detect that their EMS implementation is successful if they feel the change in the organization; and if change has occurred, it is necessary to provide an overview and readjust to new goals and initiatives. It can be concluded that continual feedback should be provided concerning the employees’ impact and effectiveness on environmental improvement endeavor. Sustainable Development Sustainable development has emerged as one of the major policy concerns of firms from the international to the level. This phenomenon refers to providing a high quality of life within the environmental limitations and with concerns of international justice.18 Sustainable development was launched in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) and became one of primary topics for the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Sustainable development was an important goal of economic and development strategies of the United Nations. One of its formulated concepts, the Agenda 21, is being implemented at the local level by almost every local government and organizations.19 The WCED launched sustainable development concept as a worldwide concern to guide policies to balance the forces of economic, social and ecological conditions, which are represented by “economy, environment, and society”.20 On the other hand, environmental sustainability focuses on where our natural world is going. Protection and preservation of the natural environment and the ecological system is of prime importance.21 Environmental sustainability One of the basic principles of environmental sustainability is the maintenance of our natural capital. If we cannot maintain it, then we have no right to use it. But there is unabated use and extraction of raw materials from the environment and many businesses and organizations are not doing their share in environmental preservation and protection. Environmental sustainability means that careful resource management should be provided at many scales, from the different sectors of the economy like “agriculture, manufacturing and industry, to work organizations, to the consumption methods of households and individuals and to the resource demands of individual goods and services.”22 Environmental sustainability enhances the emergence of the green economy. The green economy refers to environmentally sustainable economy, considering that the “biosphere is a closed system with finite resources and a limited capacity for self-regulation and self-renewal.”23 Green HRM should be able to enhance this capacity by controlling the abuse of the ecosystem. Green HRM is based on the notion that if employees have adequate knowledge of environmental protection, such as implementation of an environmental management system, there is no reason that the organization cannot help in the promotion of environmental sustainability. Role of Green HRM Formulating environmental sustainability policies is one of the primary concerns of Green HRM. Functions include motivating employees for environmental protection, management commitment, feedback and review, empowerment and rewards. These factors can lead to environmental performance, and in the form of green product, green savings, improved quality, and improved customer satisfaction.24 It is important for Green Managers to train new employees and provide continuous learning, and focus their training programs on front-line employees and those who are directly involved in environmental activities; but this does not mean that managers should neglect other employees in the organization. A firm may enhance its ability to abide by environmental policy if it continues to train employees in the entire organization on environmental awareness and programs. Management should also provide motivational factors, for example, a well-designed and well-implemented reward system which can be helpful in promoting employees to perform sound environmental practices. Frederick Herzberg believed that anyone can improve in the job performance but that the employees’ relation to work and attitude can determine success or failure in the job. Herzberg conducted investigation on workers’ attitudes to their job, or what people wanted of their job. The focus of his investigation focused on employees’ description of their situations wherein they felt ‘exceptionally good or bad about their jobs’.25 According to Herzberg’s investigation, intrinsic factors were related to job satisfaction and this included work, responsibility, and achievement. On the other hand, job dissatisfaction was related to extrinsic factors, like ‘supervision, pay, company policies, and working conditions’.26 Another role of Green HRM is to provide feedback. MacStravic (1990 as cited in Govindarajulu & Daily, 2004) stated the significance of giving feedback to improve employee relations, employee satisfaction, and productivity in the health care sector. Feedback makes employees duty bound and they become aware of their responsibilities and provide the link between their performance outcomes and rewards in environmental performance. Employees also have high regard for verbal feedback from supervisors. Govindarajulu and Daily (2004) stated that informal verbal feedback can motivate employees for environmental improvement. Policies for change HR policies should include cultural change to support reduction of environmental problems. Top management in the organization should lead in providing a strong culture that motivates employees to make environmental developments. An environmentally concerned organization should have free and empowered employees who are allowed to make comments and suggestions for improvement and chances for creativity and experimentation. Moreover, employees must have the initiative to make environmental improvement without too much management intervention.27 To provide an effective Green HRM, it is necessary that management provides training in technical and managerial skills for employees that must be in line with green management or environmental preservation. The middle manager determines the number and type of employees needed in the team and where the labor supply should come from. Recruitment, training and development, and assignment of people are should be in accordance with the organization’s objectives. Existing employees can be trained, developed, redeployed, transferred or promoted to provide green management.28 Environmental management should be parallel with environmental sustainability. Top management should provide a framework for environmental management that should include strict recruitment of employees, appraisal and rewards for employees who have deep environmental skills and concerns, and training and empowerment strategies.29 Top management must have a commitment to provide environmental improvement as this commitment serves as a framework for environmental improvement. It is top management who provides and decides environmental policies to formulate the scope of training and communication needed for the employees of the organization. Without this effective framework, it would be impossible to motivate employees to be creative in working for environmental improvement.30 Commitment must include providing an environment for a culture that encourages innovation and risk-taking. This should encourage values, norms, attitudes, and behaviors that enhance environmental improvement efforts.31 Cultural change is important to improve environmental source reduction. Firms committed to environmental improvement need resource to support the training effort, financially or organizationally. Environmental training programs include training for interactive skills, team building, benchmarking, brainstorming, and consensus building. These should encourage employees to participate in environmental development.32 Employees have to be empowered. In this kind of empowerment, employees are provided “the ability and the responsibility to take active steps to identify problems in the working environment that affect quality or customer service and to deal effectively with them.”33 It is nearly impossible to achieve a vision or strategy without empowered employees. Teams have to be employed so that employees can have more leeway in environmental improvement efforts. Application of team-based programs is gaining ground in the management literature. Such programs are particularly important in manufacturing firms since manufacturing strategies, competitive pressures, and advanced technology require shop-floor employees to hold more responsibility.34 Environmental Management Accounting Another role of Green HRM is environmental management accounting (EMA). This field has gained ground because of its significance to corporate environmental programs. EMA is how “businesses account for the material use and environmental costs of their business”.35 It means firms are counting the costs of what they have extracted from the environment, which is ideal as they are trying to apply corporate social responsibility into their business. EMA can also be considered “the management of environmental and economic performance through the development and implementation of appropriate environment-related accounting systems and practices.”36 In the studies about EMA, some researchers provided definitions on environmental costs which are important in organizational goals and objectives and in formulating environmental policies. Studies are now being conducted so as to determine the physical and monetary contexts of environmental cost analysis and performance management in different countries and cultures across the globe.37 Green HRM is not gaining momentum in businesses and organizations. This could be a management measure the world, concerned of the deteriorating situation of the environment, has been waiting for. Organizations should support in enhancing this worthy environmental management practice. Conclusion This paper provided a discussion on the benefits of Green HRM which has many concepts on environmental management and providing control on the abuse of the earth’s ecosystems. Green management is the integration of environmental programs and human resource practices; it is sustainable, which means it benefits the present and the future generations. The primary aim of the emergence and evolution of Green HRM is for organizations to collaborate and help fight climate change and global warming through a systematic management of human resource (HR). The existence of businesses and organizations and the over-production of new products and services lead to the unabated extraction of raw materials from the environment. The major cause of climate change and global warming is environmental abuse and mismanagement of environmental programs. One of the main environmental programs recommended here and which is currently in vogue among organizations concerned of the environmental catastrophes happening today is the Environmental Management System (EMS). This program has provided a momentum for organizations to implement environmental protection and preservation. EMS is an application of ISO 14001, standards for environmental excellence, and total quality management (TQM). Green HRM should focus on the programs of EMS and employees must be aware of the guidelines and benefits of EMS. EMS has specifications on policy, planning, implementation and operation of environmental programs and is a perfect tool of Green HRM. Bibliography Burritt, Roger L. “Environmental Management Accounting: Roadblocks on the Way to the Green and Pleasant Land.” Business Strategy and the Environment 13, (2004): 13-32, doi: 10.1002/bse.379. 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