HR Management in Britain and in EU - Essay Example

Comparison of HR management in Britain and expanded EU - mainly in Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia Human Resource Management Human Resource Management (HRM), also known as human capital management, is a fairly recent concept for nations all around the world. Before, any management contact with employees beyond hiring, firing, or disciplining was often limited to what happened in the room that housed the time clock or in managers' offices. The welfare department was usually housed separately. Recently, the concept of "people management" has developed, and this demonstrates a greater focus on the individual (Federation of European Employers, 2005). HRM therefore involves all the contact that management has with an employee, from the interview until the working relationship terminates. The diplomatic management of human resources comes into play during recruitment. It is also responsible for what is contained in employee contracts, and this includes the aspects of social policy, such as social security benefits, leave, responsibility for work injuries, etc. Managers are responsible too for knowing the talents of the members of their workforce, as this knowledge will lead to better deployment. This is to the advantage of production as well as to the advantage of the employees, who achieve a sense of worth and fulfilment in utilising their best skills. Human resource development is also an important part of human resource management, and while the managers in UK firms play a large role in this, in the newer EU countries (Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia) the government takes a much more active role. Background to EU policies as they affect UK, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. The European Union has set its own standards for the management of human capital, and these standards must be met by any European state that wishes to enter the union. It realises that "effective management policies lead to employee competence and commitment, congruence between the objectives of employees and management, and is more cost effective" (Price, 2004). Several concerns, however, have been aired. Problems have been foreseen in the area of maintaining quality human resource management across the widening expanse of the European Union. In addition to this, problems also exist where there are discrepancies between and among the HRM policies of different EU member states. Since the European Union allows to some extent for the employment of members across member states, then it is essential for there to exist some level of agreement among the states regarding HRM policies. As it stands, while some states such as the United Kingdom have very advanced policies and robust human resource departments, other states like Slovakia, Poland, and the Czech Republic demonstrate a less developed level of management of its human capital. In order to remove the disparity among EU member states and its candidates, it is necessary first to have a thorough knowledge of the state of affairs in each country and then to compare and contrast to better understand what needs to be done. These nations will be assessed in terms of their managerial structure, managerial policies regarding recruitment, and human resource training and development. The UK model of Human Resource Management The actual term "Human Resource Director/Manager" exists in a large proportion of corporations in the United Kingdom. The existence of such a position demonstrates a high level of commitment to the management of human capital. The HR director overarches other managers who specialise in different areas. In the United Kingdom's private sector, 42% of all firms employing 500-999 persons (smaller firms) have a position with that title. In the larger firms, employing more than 1000 persons, the percentage rises to 65 (Federation of European Employers, 2005). Though not all companies have a position with such a title, there is evidence to suggest that the role does exist. In addition to this, the specialist managers' titles include training director managers, health and safety managers, and payroll officers which occur in 37 - 41% of the smaller firms and in 35 - 66% of the larger firms. Other specialised manager positions occur on a smaller scale, ranging from equal opportunities manager to recruitment manager. These roles have garnered positions 1 - 7 % of s small firms and 3 - 16% of large firms (Federation of European Employers, 2005). It is clear, from the nature of the roles, that social policies are at the heart of human resource management in the United Kingdom, as managerial positions reflect attention to the social practices that are required by the UK law. The structure and hierarchy of UK firms differ somewhat at the individual-firm level, but the general structure can be understood as a sort of pyramid that works as follows. Board, president, vice presidents (in charge of different sectors of company management, one of whom is the personnel or HR manager). In 1992, the Cadbury Committee issued the Code of Best Practice recommended that the offices of the chairman and the chief executive officer should be separated to prevent excessive concentration of power in boardrooms" (Lasfer, 2002. p. 4). In larger companies of 1000 or so workers, the human resource director is likely to have an assistant and a specialist working with him or her out of the same office, and then have lower managers that cover the needs of different departments. For smaller firms, the payroll administrator will most likely take care of the human resource needs. The Polish, Czech Republic, and Slovakian model of Human Resource Management Companies owned by the European Union have a markedly different structure, which shows up mainly in the "two-tiered" structure of the board. There is often a supervisory board as well as an executive chairman board. This is the case in such states as Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, unlike the UK, which has managers beneath the personnel manager, these countries typically lack managers below that level, leading to fewer incidences of one-to-one relationships between managers and employees. The International Labour Organization comments on human resource management in the Czech Republic: "in the Czech Republic the following undesirable phenomena can be encountered: the division of responsibilities among different sectors is dubious [and] different social and professional groups enforce their interests and often present the blocking force in relation to necessary changes." (2000). This situation lacks efficiency. There are so few clearly defined roles that people get into each other's ways in the pursuit of their own goals. What this situation needs is more planning, with people in charge of different aspects of the company's goals, but who regularly meet together on a similar platform to discuss the methods of implementation of such goals. Comparison of the UK model and that of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. In the case of Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, countries newly emerging from centrally planned economies of Communism, HRM has proved to be severely underdeveloped in comparison with that of the United Kingdom. The ratio of managers to employees in UK and Irish companies are far better than that of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In fact, according to the Federation of European Employers the overall ratio of persons trained in human resource management to the rest of the staff in the UK is 1:127. This can be compared to that of other states in the EU (with the exception of Ireland and Sweden), which stands at 1: 2790. With the newest member states of the EU, this ratio is even higher. United Kingdom managers are, therefore, in charge of over twenty times fewer employees than their other European counterpart, and this means that more UK employees get the privilege of being handled individually. This is a factor in employee satisfaction, and not only causes workers to want to remain on a particular job, but also entices prospective employees. As a result of this, the creation of more (efficient) management positions has been considered a major factor in improving the management of human resources in the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe (Federation of European Employers, 2005). The Communist regime which has dominated economic planning in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia for more than a generation left a legacy of managers whose work kept them aloof from the workforce. In that economy, workers are apt to keep their jobs for life as there is a high level of job security and a low employment turnover. The notion of finding jobs based on skills and preference was subordinate to the dictates of the state, and therefore the notion of employee satisfaction, if not an alien concept, has not been one of immense popularity. "The public and above all central state administration did not manage to create an organisational culture oriented on professionalism, reliability, creativity, open communication" (ILO, 2000) Managers were given orders by the government about what to produce and in what quantities, and were often given their positions based on their political world views. However, with the dissolution of the Eastern bloc and the emerging of the Czech Republic and Slovakia as independent countries in a market economy, much emphasis has now had to be placed on obtaining and allocating resources. In the case of human resources, retention has become especially important. Thus Human Resource Management has also become a vital part of the economies of the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Black, 2001). Employee welfare: recruitment, training and benefits Czech Republic Many colleges offer traineeships in the Czech Republic. Josef Petrsek, from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Czech Republic, reports that the government considers retraining to be a major instrument in its employment policy (ILO, 2002). The country houses 77 employment offices and through these offices is where most of the job training done in the country takes place. This reveals that very little on-the-job training takes place under management. Human resource development in Czech Republic is left mainly up to the government or to individuals. Slovakia It is the government of Slovakia has been doing most in the way of managing human capital. It has, first of all, implemented measures to induce the unemployed to seek work. The conditions under which labour is performed have been improved to increase the flexibility and decrease the number of reasons for which a person can be laid off (OECD, 2005). However, the government realises that in order to match place persons in the right jobs, proper training must take place. The governmental departments in charge of training include "the Ministry of Education; the sector ministries of Economy, Agriculture, and Construction; regional (county) offices and district offices" (Niemi, 2002). The Slovakian government has envisioned an organization for on-the-job training, and has embarked on testing it. It is to be a joint effort among several training institutions. "The new organization would bring together universities and high schools capable of offering, planning and billing their training services" (PSA Peugeot Citron, 2005). This organization is set to be fully operational in 2007. It will be Slovakia's centre of job training, attending to the needs of citizens all around the country. Assistance from the French will help to accomplish this, whose ministry will send teachers to Slovakia in order to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, as well as professional and technical skills, not just to employees, but to the nation's teachers and managers of vocational schools (PSA Peugeot Citron, 2005; Miemi, 2002). Other training opportunities in Slovakia occur on the site of temporary jobs, some of which offer formal training in their areas of specialty. However, even the experience may be considered training, as the employees are exposed to the "work experience," an attractive element to prospective employers in their search for permanent jobs. These temporary jobs are subsidized by the government, through an active labour market policy (ALMP) developed in an effort to find creative ways to prepare its work-age citizens for the working world (Van Ours, 2000). Other training comes in the form of career and technical education (CTE) and happens in secondary schools and beyond. Eighty percent of all students attend these schools and therefore are eligible to receive this kind of training (Jakubova, qtd. in Niemi, 2002). In addition, some firms (several automotive) have made a commitment to training employees. Examples are Volkwagen and Peugeot (2002). Poland Between 1993 and 1997, the Polish Ministry of Labour and Social Policy worked in accordance with the International Labour Organization on the implementation of the project Adult Training. The training was based on the ILO-proposed concept Modules of Employable Skills (MES). Participants have included over 100 institutions led by 13 "leading units" from both the public and private sectors. The aim was to develop curricula for training in 21 areas, ranging from welding to engineering and information technology (Strojna, 2000). Other Polish welfare programmes are similar to that of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. United Kingdom The Department for Work and Pensions offers help to those who seek jobs in the form of the "New Deal" policies for lone parents, disabled people, etc. There is also a jobseekers allowance to those who are capable of, available for, and actively seeking work (Jobcentre Plus, 2005). For those who are just beginning, on-the-job training is available in both the public and private sectors. In addition, there are benefits that can be received during sickness in the form of "Statutory Sick Pay" and "Incapacity Benefit". Payments and pensions are given to the bereaved, especially widowed persons, and allowances are given even for fuel acquisition during the winter months (Department for Work and Pensions, 2005). On-site development of human resources includes youth training programmes, and a lot of training occurs under the supervision of managers in the UK human resource management model. Though a significant portion of human resource development takes place on the job, the government does involve itself in that area as well. The Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) was developed and implemented in 2001 to "raise the standards of education and training in England" (BBC News, 2002). The inspectors scrutinise all training programmes that are funded by the public. The governmental organization also seeks to optimize the learning that takes place in prisons as well as adult education programmes done via the internet. Required future developments and demands made upon HRM in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia The United Kingdom presents a very balanced picture of human resource management and development. The government and the corporate managers work together to ensure the well being of employees. One thing that limits the new EU nations in this area is the financial aspect of maintaining employees. Social policy is expensive. Education and training of employees is already high on the list of objectives for the public finance department of the government. However, its sustainability is at stake. In the private sector, training is less of a goal. As a result, its spending on human resource development is lower than the majority of EU countries. Since many companies in these nations are balancing "on the edge" with regard to their finances, any extra spending even to develop human resources, might prove detrimental to the health of the company and by extension to its employees. This would defeat the purpose of training entirely. What has been suggested by the International Labour Organization in the case of the Czech Republic is that in addition to increasing spending on HR development, it is also necessary to increase the effectiveness of these programmes on which money is spent. The organization considers it necessary to "begin a systematic preparation of projects to implement, for instance mixed forms of financing education and training, introduction of tuition fees in tertiary education in the form of an additional tax after achieving an acceptable level of income" (ILO, 2000). These policies would work well for the Poland and Slovakia as well, and would mean having a plan that focuses on the salient areas of human resource needs. It also suggests that governments and businesses alike be more proactive in determining the ways in which capital can be obtained to finance these projects. Taxes at the higher-income levels will allow the citizens of these nations to repay the government for the socio-economic advances they have been able to make. References BBC News. 2002. "On-the-job training 'inadequate.'" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/ education/2159294.stm Department for Work and Pensions. "Sick and unable to work." Author. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/workage/wa_sick_and_unable_to_work.asp Federation of European Employers. "Human resource management in an expanded European Union." London: FedEE. http://www.fedee.com/accession2.shtml "Human Resource Development Strategy: Czech Republic." 2000. International Labour Organization. Prague: ILO. http://www.logos-net.net/ilo/150_base/en/init/ cze_6.htm Jakubova, G. (2002, June 13). Interview. SIVO. Batislava, Slovakia. Jobcentre Plus. 2005. "Jobseekers Allowance." http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/ Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/Jobseekerallowan ce/index.html Lasfer, M. Ameziane. 2002. Board Structure and Agency Costs. London: City Univ. Business School. http://www.cass.city.ac.uk/facfin/papers/Meziane_Board _Structure_and_Agency_Costs.pdf OECD. 2005. "Economic survey of the Slovak Republic 2005: policies to boost job creation and improve labour mobility." Author. http://www.oecd.org/document/ 53/0,2340,en_2649_34605_35388469_1_1_1_1,00.html Price, Alan. 2005. "The Harvard map of HRM." Summary of Human resource management in a business context by Alan Price. http://www.bestbooks.biz/hrm/harvard_beer.htm PSA Peugeot Citron. 2005. "PSA Peugeot Citron Slovakia's employee training organization: the trades campus." Paris: One Group, Two Marques. http://www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com/document/presse_dossier/PSA_Slovakia _Employee_Training_Organization1 116263197.pdf Strojna, Elzbieta. 2000. Design and implementation of vocational training curricula based on modules of employable skills: Polish experience." Warsaw. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/skills/kosovo/download/mespolish eng.pdf "Sub-regional (EU accession countries) tripartite technical seminar on workforce retraining." InFocus programme on skills, knowledge, and employability. ILO. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/skills/recomm/publ/web_1_19.htm Van Ours, Jan C. "Subsidized jobs for unemployed workers in Slovakia." http://www.bus.umich.edu/KresgeLibrary/Collections/Workingpapers/wdi/wp311 .pdf#se arch='job%20training%20in%20slovakia' Read More