Human Resource Management Evaluation - Essay Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tutor :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Title : Human Resource Evaluation Institution : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx @ 2012 Human Resource Management Evaluation Measuring HR is an important exercise in the organization because it helps in the evaluation of the roles that employees play in the organization. The HR manager has an important role to play in that he has to measure the strategic duties that employees play in the organization and evaluate how they are done (Fitz-Enz & Davison 2002). It helps in the correction of areas where roles are not going on well. He has the duty of ensuring achievement of strategies in the organization through the human resources. Measuring HR entails converting capital in the organization into human resource which is concrete and is measurable for effectiveness in the business. Measuring HR also helps in effective use of human resources by analyzing all the staff and their roles. It also helps in the assigning of duties to the employees according to their areas of specification and allocating salaries to them. Measuring HR is an important duty of the HR manager because it helps him in planning for the human resources needed in the organization and the duties that they play so that they ensure effective use of all resources (Fitz-Enz & Davison 2002). Managing human resources in an organization is a difficult task hence; the need to measure how the managements takes place so that it is done effectively. It also ensures that the roles of HR department are in accordance to the goals and strategies set in the organization. There has been remarkable evolving of the roles of HR practitioners in organization for the last 70 years. This has been as a result of the changing roles and development in the human resource department over years. There are phases of evaluation in their roles for the last 70 years. These phases include the slow start which took place during industrialization (Gatewood, Field & Barrick 2010). The second phase is the service model then the opportunity phase which had its effects on the private areas. The evolution was the last stage in the evolution of the roles of HR practitioners which includes the current roles of HR practitioners like staff recruitment, motivating staff among many other roles that they have. There has been a change in their roles because of the changes in areas like technology and many other causes of the change. The change in their roles is also because of some other factors like change in technology and the needs in the organization. Due to such changes, HR practitioners have to change their ways of handling staff and staff measurement (Effron & Goldsmith 2003). This includes adjusting in some areas of their roles like recruiting of employees because of the changes in the requirement and qualifications. The increase in departments in organization also contributes to the evolution of roles of the practitioners because their roles increase. Their roles are more complex than they were some years ago. For instance, today HR practitioners have an extra duty of carrying out training services to the employees of the organization. This is because of the changes taking place in the world of employees and their roles. The strategic role of HR is important today because of the competitive nature in the world today so that each organization is able to meet these competing demands. This is so that they have an advantage in the competing market of human resources (Snell & Bohlander 2012). Strategic HR means that the process of recruiting employees in an organization is done thoroughly so that they select the best employees for the organization. It is comparable to the purchase of machines where selection of the best parts of the machines is done so that they buy the best on. This is the same way that strategic HR operates. It also involves terminating employment contracts of employees or retiring them according to the agreement and system in the organization. It is also important in that it acts as a way of preventing some failures from occurring in an organization rather than correcting them. Strategic HR develops policies that ensure that they prevent some mistakes from taking place by carrying out these evaluations on employees. They ensure that all employees qualify for the post that they hold in the organization so that they avoid messing up with such roles (Effron & Goldsmith 2003). These policies deal with preventing disasters in organizations rather than having to wait till they occur then correct them. Strategic HR is also important in the output of employees in an organization rather than the input (Mathis & Jackson 2011). This is to mean that they carry out such activities like training staff so that they increase their productivity in their roles and how efficient they are in their duties. Its importance is to set out clearly the duties of all employees in the organization, set their remuneration allowance and their qualification. That ensures that there is order in the staffing department. Measuring HR allows for planning and measuring how employees carry out their duties. It allows for effective use of all resources in the organization towards the achievement of the strategic plans by the management (Snell & Bohlander 2012). Strategic HR also allows for training employees so that they fit in the modern world of competitiveness. It means that employees get training on how to multitask in their jobs, therefore, reducing the cost of recruiting more employees in the organization. It allows for such tasks like job rotating among employees so that they are all familiar with the tasks in the organization, such that they can adjust to any duty when necessary. There are many obstacles in measuring the HR contribution which the HR practitioner has to counter in his roles. These obstacles include accountability issues which arise when it becomes difficult to account for all activities of staff in the organization (Gatewood, Field & Barrick 2010). Accountability is an important role in measuring HR contribution in any organization because it helps in the analysis of failures and successes of the HR department. Lack of cooperation amongst employee is another obstacle of measuring HR contribution in an organization. Employees have to be willing to cooperate with the management so that its contribution is measurable in the organization. This involves cooperation in their areas of duty and following the guidelines that the HR manger gives to them. Cost is also another obstacle that they face in measuring their contribution. It is quite expensive to measure their contribution in the organization because of the processes and research that this exercise involves. This is because HR department has to put in so many costs to ensure that the department runs well while meeting the best qualifications in the market (Reilly & Williams 2006). Competing in the market so that the contribution is measurable is costly hence; it is a challenge to the HR department. Job analysis, design and skill appraisal is important in HR because it helps in giving guidelines on how to recruit staff in the organization basing on their qualifications and requirements. The job design sets out all the duties that an employee should carry out after recruitment (Mathis & Jackson 2011). The skill appraisal sets out skills that an employee should poses for a certain job given its design and qualification. All these activities refer to the job analysis and it will ensure that there is order in how jobs are carried out in the organization. Measurement of recruitment and selection is importance in HR because it ensures that all staff selection is done according to the guidelines set by the HR department. Staff selection and recruitment is a sensitive role of the HR because staff ensures that roles and duties in the organization are done perfectly (Fitz-Enz & Davison 2002). Their qualifications and willingness to work will determine their recruitment in the organization. Measuring the process and activities of selection and recruitment in an organization is important an organization is able to set the best standards for its staff hence; competing effectively in the market. Measuring of benefit system and compensation can be done through looking at the analysis of productivity among employees. Employees who get benefits as a way of rewarding them after hard work give the best outputs and performance in the organization (Reilly & Williams 2006). This acts as a way of measuring the effectiveness of benefit systems and compensation in the organization. This is because an organization with the best schemes of rewarding employees ahs the best performance due to the motivation of employees. The moral of employees depends on how well these benefit systems function in the organization and the compensation schemes, especially after retirement. Compensation/benefits – attitudes – satisfaction of employees – value to the organization Compensating or giving benefits to employees makes them develop a positive attitude towards an organization. A feeling of satisfaction among them is also created. When their attitude is good and they feel satisfied they can dedicate themselves to do good work for the company hence bringing value to the organization (Pynes 2009, p. 24). Phillips’ value adding measurements (metrics, performance indicators) Performance metrics refers to a measure of the performance and activities of an organization. Performance indicators are types of performance measurement. Organizations use performance indicators to evaluate the success of these organizations or a given activity the organizations are engaged in is secured (Werner, DeSimone 2011, p. 54). Purposes and aims of evaluation in the development of employees The purpose of evaluation is to provide employees with feed back on the quality of their work, overall performance, and work behavior, comments received from customers, strengths and weaknesses. Evaluation also gives employees the opportunity to understand the perception of the supervisor on performance at work, the opportunity to know the concerns of the supervisor, the chance to know what the supervisor sees as important for company success, and the chance to learn about performance enhancement and improvement. Evaluations of employees also give the supervisor the opportunity to give the employee feedback, critique the performance of employees, recognize the achievements and accomplishments of employees, recognize employee contributions to the company, recognize improvements in the performance of employees, identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees at work, give guidance to employees about making improvements (Pynes 2009, p. 33). Importance of employee relations, retention and theories of motivation Employee relations are important because people meet very many issues for which they cannot make decisions without help from others. In addition, work gets easier when shared among many people and the organization provides a good work environment if all the people relate well. Most employees will become motivated when they have the company of their colleagues on whom they can lean when they need help. When employee relations are healthy, the incidences of fights and quarrels among workers are eliminated. Absenteeism at the company is reduced when workers have good relations with each other. Sharing warm relations with other employees is important because need for them can arise any time (Pynes 2009, p. 40). It is important for an organization to retain employees because of a number of reasons. Hiring is a hard and costly process. Organizations spend time and money to groom a worker and help him understand corporate culture. Releasing an employee who has resigned may mean that he will join the competitors and give them the strategies and policies of the former organization. When employees work in a company for long they become familiar with the guidelines and policies of the company and therefore can be able to adjust and perform better. Every person must have time for adjusting with the others and know them well and retaining employees provides for this. Again, those people that remain with one organization for long tend to be loyal to the organization and the management. Finally an organization should retain those employees that have potential and are valuable (Pynes 2009, p. 42). There are several theories on employee motivation. To start with, Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856 – 1917) theorized that the motivation of workers comes from pay. Elton Mayo (1880 – 1949) on his side said that the concern of workers is not only on money but their motivation can be increased if their social needs are met at their work place. Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) formed the theory that human needs are in five levels that workers must have fulfilled at their place of work. Finally, Herzberg believed that there are some factors businesses can introduce for purposes of employee motivation. Other factors exist though, that can de-motivate the workers (Werner, DeSimone 2011, p. 64). Most common models used when measuring/evaluating development programs Common models used include overall models and segmented models. The difference between the models is that overall models provide single estimates while segmented models provide different estimates. Models are applied to the intervention of human resources when they are applied in the evaluation of programs in the HR department (Nkomo, Myron, McAfee 2010, p. 23). What is knowledge management and how is this developed and measured Knowledge management consists of a number of practices and strategies in an organization that are used to create, identify, distribute, represent, and enable experiences and insights to be adopted. These experiences and insights make up knowledge (Nkomo, Myron, McAfee 2010, p. 20). Knowledge management can be measured directly and indirectly. Indirect measurement involves metrics that Knowledge management impacts upon but they are not attributed to its activities directly. These metrics include quarter over quarter and year over year increase in margin, profits, overall revenue, and revenue from partners. Direct metrics are those that Knowledge management impact upon directly and they include the satisfaction of employees with getting information, enhanced collaboration between employees and customers among others. Finally program metrics are those that concern the program of knowledge management. They include increase in project reviews, growing number of knowledge assets among others (Mondy, Shane 2002, p. 40). To develop knowledge management one should identify major staff groups in the organization. Then conduct holistic and comprehensive needs analysis activities with chosen staff groups so that key issues and needs can be identified. This research should then be supplemented with senior management’s input and the documents of the strategy of the organization to get a general focus of the strategy. With these findings recommendations should be developed to address the identified needs and issues. Finally implement some initiatives following the recommendations. These will then select suitable approaches and techniques for knowledge management (Mondy, Shane 2002, p. 41). Leadership and leadership development Leadership is the social influence process where a person gets assistance and support from other people to do certain tasks. On the other hand leadership development is that activity that can bring about quality in leadership in an organization (Werner, DeSimone 2011, p. 12). Outsourcing or not outsourcing Cost is the most important thing that determines whether to or not to outsource. This is because when skills of low cost are available companies can grow programs in areas that are cost advantaged (Pynes 2009, p. 76). Human Capital Measurement (HCM) and its importance HCM is the determination of the stock of knowledge, competencies, personality and social attributes among them creativity, that are found in the ability to do labour in order to create economic value. HCM is important for suggesting as well as implementing policies pertaining to human resources (Mondy, Shane 2002, p. 56). Bibliography Mondy, R. W, Noe, M.R, Shane R. P. (2002). Human Resource Management, Olma media Group. Nkomo, S.M., Myron D. F., McAfee, B. R.  (2010). Human Resource Management Applications. Cengage Learning.  Pynes J. (2009). Human Resources Management for Public and non profit organizations. John Wiley & Sons Werner, J.M., DeSimone L. R. (2011) Human Resource Development. Cengage Learning. Bibliography Fitz-Enz, J & Davison, B. (2002): How to measure human resources management: McGraw-Hill Professional: pp. 290-355. Gatewood, R. Field, H. S & Barrick, M. (2010): Human resource selection: Cengage learning: pp. 600-657. Effron, M & Goldsmith, M. (2003): Human resource in the 21st century: John Wiley and Sons: pp. 250-330. Ulrich, D & Brockbank, W. (2005): The HR value proposition: Harvard Business Press: pp. 290- 315. Snell, S. A & Bohlander, G. W. (2012): Managing human resources: Cengage learning: pp. 790- 830. Mathis, R. L & Jackson, J. H. (2011): Human resource management: essential perspectives: Cengage learning: pp. 220-263. Reilly, P. A & Williams, T. (2006): Strategic HR: building the capacity to deliver: Gower publishing Ltd: pp. 200-225. Read More