The Relationship between Managers and Employees - Essay Example

Managers can and will help employees with family responsibilities. It’s not the job of governments. Evaluate these claims. Introduction In this era of history where the world is slowly turning into a giant global village, the responsibilities of an individual supporting his/her family have vastly increased. The 21st century may be remembered in history as the period of extensive technological development which has resulted in some impressive creations; however, simultaneously this epoch of history has had some adverse effects upon the globe. The United Nations has given alarming news that by the middle of the century, world population would reach 9.1 billion.1 The epidemic of poverty has increased which is debarring people from attaining a better life for themselves through education. Technology itself has become a double edged weapon. On the one hand technology is connecting the world together and on the other, weapons of mass destruction are creating a feeling of insecurity amongst individuals, resulting in more scepticism and animosity. Slowly and surely, with the passage of time, individuals are realising that co-dependency and mutual assurance are the traits that will lead to progress and a general sense of well-being. Therefore people are now adopting a more lenient attitude towards each others and are making a deliberate effort in assisting one another. These qualities are now being promoted by countries through globalisation and even in countries relatively untouched by globalisation like the third world nations, policies such as progressive moderation are being encouraged, which talk of more moderate schemes. However in implementing the unified world vision of the world coming together, that most government dignitaries seem to be sharing these days, the government of all countries finds itself to be too engaged. They now need this burden to be shared. This is where the companies are coming in. The higher staffs at workplaces, like Managers, are now personally taking an interest in their employees. They are assisting their employees in their personal responsibilities such as that of their families. Body Managers are in a position where they can help their employees with their family responsibilities and are doing so. Whether the personal affairs of an employee’s family is the government’s job or not is a debatable issue however we are noticing a responsive attitude on the part of the Manager. In human resource management related workplaces, Manager’s specifically cater to the needs of their employees. For instance The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency guideline states in its Office of Personal Management, that:’ The Federal Government offers a broad array of workplace flexibility options; some, such as leave programs, are offered as benefits to qualifying employees, while others are offered at the discretion of management.  Good performance management techniques provide the tools that managers and organizations need to ensure that workplace flexibility really works.’2 Judging from this one can safely say that the necessity for the human resource management team to personally cater to the needs of its employees is fast becoming recognised by organisations. Flexibility options, though sometimes not clearly stated in print in an organisation’s Mission and Objectives section, does exist. It exercises the lenient side of an organisation. When a Manager helps an employee with their family responsibilities he/she is displaying the human side of a firm. This role played by a Manager in showing a human attitude towards an employee and helping them out with family responsibilities is integral for a firm. The U.S Department of Labour claims that people specialising in human resources, training and labour relations managers and specialists provide the connection between an organisation and its employees.3 The Director of human resources tends to specialise its departments, managing each under responsible Managers who are in charge of activities such as employment, compensation, benefits, training and development or employee relations. Employee assistance plan managers or employee welfare managers are the ones responsible for looking into an employee’s safety and health matters. Medical examinations and other health treatment are also provided by the Managers as well as child and elder care and counselling services. An Employee assistance plan manager or employee welfare manager also has to look into other family responsibilities of an employee such as emotional disorders, alcoholism, marital matters and other legal and financial problems. The varied cultural backgrounds that work in the field of industrial relations and human resource prove the need for specialised attention on the part of the Manager. Most of an organisation’s international employee may still be in the process of getting residency and are therefore not the liability of the government. In such cases, as well as others, the Manager, can play a vital role in helping the employee with family responsibilities. In these instances the responsibility of the individual is not that of the government’s. Conclusion For improved standards and an efficient management, effective Human Resource Management reforms need to be executed. A general improvement in standard is directly linked to training, employee involvement and rewards. To create a successful change and aspire to a new level of management goals whilst retaining a nominal price of labour costs yet increasing earnings, one needs to pay special attention to employee involvement, motivation, training, incentives and teamwork. The writer of Human Resource Management, Industrial Relations and achieving Management Objectives for International Labour Organisation makes an interesting observation. The writer identifies six key component factors that account for the increasing interest in human resource management and why it is now a fast growing phenomenon. The reasons he states are: 1 Improving the management of people or utilizing human resources better as a means of achieving competitive advantage. 2 The numerous examples of excellence in HRM have created an interest in such models. 3 The traditional role of personnel managers has failed to exploit the potential benefits of effective management of people; neither did personnel management form a central part of management activity. 4 In some countries the decline of trade union influence has opened the way for managements to focus on more individual issues rather than on collectivist ones. 5 The emergence of better educated workforces with higher individual expectations, changes in technology and the need for more flexible jobs have, in turn, created the need to incorporate HRM into central management policy. 6 Many important aspects of HRM such as commitment and motivation emanate from the area of organizational behaviour, and place emphasis on management strategy. This has provided an opportunity to link HRM with organizational behaviour and management strategy. 4 Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management are successful. Their popularity is widespread and organisations are attracted to this course. Directors are seeing the potential of Human resource management and are realising the need for firms to have a more human face. In Public Relations this is known as internal public relations where the firm works on the image held of the company by its workers. It strives to please its staff, in an attempt to create a more favourable image, resulting in a content workforce. Also a united workforce that fights for its rights together when it feels unsatisfied by its workplace can pose a dangerous threat for an employer. Trade unions have in the past, shut down companies. The new workforce is highly educated with innovative ideas. However their personal responsibilities need to be taken care of. Managers focusing on their employee’s family responsibilities possess the best strategy in motivating their workforce, resulting in the ultimate performance and alleviation of staff’s burden. Human resource management is known for the fact that it "seeks to eliminate the mediation role and adopts a generally unitary perspective. It emphasizes strategy and planning rather than problem-solving and mediation, so that employee cooperation is delivered by programmes of corporate culture, remuneration packaging, team building and management development for core employees, while peripheral employees are kept at arm’s length."5 What one can understand form this is that though one’s country; their birth land is responsible for catering to their basic needs, yet world governments are not minding the intervention of private companies/organisation in lessening their burden and taken on the responsibilities of its working individuals. An employee’s family is an integral part of their life and can have positive or adverse effects upon an individual’s performance. An organisation that understands this and takes charge of the situation is working on a proven success scheme, which results in a productive labour force. Now the debate over whether an individual is the responsibility of their Manager or their government is a fairly new one. Historically it was understood that one is the responsibility of their birth land. However with the growth of multinationals and other private sector companies, individuals are slowly shedding their ethnic identity and are now becoming part of a new identity the world is proposing to them in this giant global village. Developing countries government representatives may easily shed the responsibility of their citizens and gladly let companies be responsible for them, however this is not supposed to be. Yet the ineptitude of some nations can be profitable to organisations that gain individuals psychologically, mentally, emotionally and physically. Sources 1. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_century 2. Online: http://www.opm.gov/Employment_and_Benefits/WorkLife/OfficialDocuments/handbooksguides/Trauma/Ch5.asp 3. Online: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos021.htm 4. Online: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/papers/1998/srshrm.htm 5. Online: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/papers/1998/srshrm.htm Word Count: 1,505 Read More