HR Management for Employees with Special Needs - Coursework Example

Running header: Special Needs Student’s name: Name of institution: Instructor’s name: Course code: Date of submission: Special Needs Introduction Many employers usually make the decision to either hire or retain certain employees based several factors. This has always brought controversies especially where people feel that hiring has been done unfairly. The Americans with Disability Act (1990) has tried to shed light on the meaning of a person with special needs so as to reduce the number of discrimination cases when it comes to hiring and retaining these employees. According to the Act, an individual is said to have a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on the ability of the individual to perform day to day activities that are considered normal (Graffam, Shinkfield, Smith & Polzin 2002). Normal day to day activities simply refers to an individual’s physical co-ordination, mobility, manual dexterity, eyesight or hearing, ability to concentrate, understand or learn, memory, perception of danger or risk, speech, ability to carry, move or lift everyday objects and continence (Hurstfield, Allen, Ballard, Davies, McGeer & Miller 2003).Long-term in this case is taken to mean that the disability of an individual is expected to or has lasted for 12 months or more whereas substantial means more than minor. Employees who have certain long-term disabilities in any of these areas are professionally referred to as staff with special needs (Graffam, Shinkfield, Smith & Polzin 2002). Employers are therefore charged with the responsibility of accommodating all their employees regardless of their physical state. This can be achieved through their human resource managers who should ensure that staff with special needs are not discriminated against and are well accommodated (Kregel & Unger 1993). An individual should not be dismissed or discriminated against in his or her place of work as long as he or she has the ability to function and perform just like any other worker. These individuals with special needs should be taken into consideration by the human resources managers so as to ensure that they are treated normally within the organization (Tse 1994). Provisions should be made by the human resource managers for staff with special needs to be accommodated within the organization. This paper will highlight the issue of workers with special needs within the United Arab Emirates context with the overall aim of identifying human resource management modifications that need to be made which will affect different stakeholders within an organization. The essay will also give cost-effective, realistic and practical examples to illustrate these modifications where appropriate. Personally, the first modification that I see the need to be made that I do not see in the given picture is the placement of a water dispenser within the reach of this worker. Water is a basic need that no man can do without. After working for several hours, it is natural to get thirsty and feel the need to drink some water (Kregel & Unger 1993). That is why most companies or organizations today, even the very small ones, have placed water dispensers at strategic points within the reach of every employee so that they can have easy access to pure drinking water within the office and continue with their work without interruptions. This worker in the picture with special needs does not have to strain to go out and get drinking water (Tse 1994). The second modification that should be made which I do not see in this picture is the presence of a private rest area in the organization. We cannot be too sure what the employee in the picture is suffering from, i.e. we are not sure if it is blindness, dumbness, deafness etc but it is important for any organization that has employees with special needs to have a private rest area for this category of workers. This is important because most employees with special needs may experience moments of weakness and fatigue and may need to take breaks during the day before continuing with their work. For example, workers who have been diagnosed of cancer may feel very tired, weak or fatigued after they have undergone radiation procedures or chemotherapy and may require frequent rests at different times during the day (Graffam, Shinkfield, Smith & Polzin 2002). This can be a very cheap venture for the organization in the sense that the company does not have to spend a lot of money on the private rest area. All that may be required is an empty room away from the main office area with a few comfortable seats. These can provide an opportunity for workers with special needs to get some rest for a few minutes before returning to work. The lack of a private rest area may affect other stakeholders such as customers. This is because the employees with special needs may be ineffective if they are not given the opportunity to get some rest during their working hours (Kregel & Unger 1993). The organization can also make modifications which are aimed at ensuring that there are no loop holes that will make the staff with special needs to be discriminated against. For example, there are some people who may have issues with the sign at the door of this office. This sign is meant to show that the worker who occupies the office has special needs. Research shows that in some instances, there are people with special needs who do not like to be known or identified as having special needs. This is because they may sometimes feel as though they will be taken for granted or be discriminated against or taken to be inadequate if they are associated with disability (Graffam, Shinkfield, Smith & Polzin 2002). It is therefore advisable that the human resource department finds out whether this particular member of staff is comfortable with such a sign being placed at the door. It may be difficult to establish exactly what this person feels about this sign but the management of any organization should establish whether the workers with disabilities are fine with the signs or not. Individuals are unique and not all of them are willing to self-identify as having special needs. This is brought about by a number of reasons such as fear of discrimination. It is therefore the responsibility of the human resource managers to find out about this and take the necessary steps of establishing whether a worker needs accommodation or not (Armstrong 2006). The workspace of this office also needs to be improved because it seems to be too squeezed for a worker with special needs. The furnishings need to be made appropriate for the nature of the disability that this worker may have. There needs to be enough space for the worker to move about and conduct all the office duties that are required of him. The office appears to be too small for this worker and he looks as though he has squeezed himself on a very tiny space. In the picture, it can be seen that it is four o’clock from the wall clock. This is because workers with special needs deserve flexible working hours that will ensure they do not stay at work till late. They can be given a chance to just work for a short time and then rest. We might predict that the worker is not blind, deaf or dumb because there is a computer, a telephone and a wall clock. This indicates that the special need of this worker is most likely to be physical. The organization should ensure that the space in the office is large enough to enable the worker to move from one place to another within the office (Graffam, Shinkfield, Smith & Polzin 2002). Conclusion In conclusion, just like any other country, the United Arab Emirates should ensure that the best human resource practices are upheld. However, a lot more can still be done. Many countries in this region try to accommodate people with special needs but there have been issues raised about employers have the right to inform them that they cannot hire them because of their conditions. There are many more modifications that can be made to organizations to ensure that workers with special needs are well taken care of. These include attendant services, the use of adaptive technologies, frequent breaks and flexible work arrangements interpreters for the deaf and those with hearing impairments, among others. References Armstrong, M 2006, A handbook of human resource management practice, 10th edn, Kogan Page, London. Graffam, J, Shinkfield, A, Smith, K, & Polzin, U 2002, ‘Factors that influence employer decisions in hiring and retaining an employee with a disability’, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 175-181. Hurstfield, J, Allen, B, Ballard, J, Davies, J, McGeer, P & Miller, L 2003, The Extent of Use of Health and Safety as a False Excuse for not Employing Sick or Disabled Persons, IRS Research, London. Kregel, J & Unger, D 1993, ‘Employer Perceptions of the Work Potential of Individuals with Disabilities’, Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 17-25. Tse, J 1994, ‘Employers' Expectations and Evaluation of the Job Performance of Employees with Intellectual Disability’, Australia and New Zealand Journal of Developmental Disabilities, vol. 1, no. 92, pp. 139-147. Read More