Function within an organization

“Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers.”

(http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/f/hr_management.htm)

“Storey defines HRM as ‘a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic development of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an arryay of cultural, structural and personnel techniques’.” (Human Resource Management by Julie Beardwell Tim Claydon 5th edition)

Thus, HRM includes so many activities like planning, recruitment, selection, training, motivation, remuneration, etc. HRM aims at mounting people through work.

In addition to this concern for the individual, HRM is also about developing the environment within the company for developing good qualities. There must be good professional relationship between boss and the employees. The HR manager has to look at all these aspects of the company with long term view to the company.

One way of presentating this is that it might have been said of the personnel manager that they were involved mainly in recruitment, payment and keeping account. They therefore concerned themselves with a fairly slight view of the people in the organization. (http://www.encompassculture.com/readinggroups/teachingmanagement/humanresourcemanagement/)

The main activities of HRM:

“The one that we would list are as follows:

• Recruitment and selection

Examples:

HRM at nokia:Nokia – “Connecting People” this motto is known all over the world.

Nokia employs thousands of people from the world each and every year. Their method of recruitment is really very accurate and selective, and they recruit the people who fulfill their all requirements for the job.

( http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Nokia-Analysis/131739)

Training and development

Example:

HRM at hospitality industry:

Nowadays, in each and every industry, training is necessary. An introductory guide is fully updated with recent informations, news and datas.the hospitality industry mainly give attention to following avtivity of human resource management.

• Selection, appointment and induction
• Training and management development
• Labor turnover
• Employee relations and employment law

(http://www.flipkart.com/human-resource-management-hospitality-industry/0750666366-s5w3f9hgko)

HRM at B & S healthcare London: It is the place where I am working. After interview they had a training for all new comers. It is basically a pharmacy industry which makes the medicines on daily order bases. When I was selected in the interview, I was told to complete 10 specific tasks related to my job of making the medicines, specially suspensions. And after identifying the skills they train the new employees nicely.

(Personal experience)

Example:

Disney’s Polynesian Resort: It has developed a training program, to facilitate employee understanding and commitment to the business and its values called Magic of Polynesia. At Edward Jones, new brokers attend 17 weeks of training at costs ranging between $50,000 and $70,000 per person. Conversely, many organizations provide minimal initial training, little on-going development programs, and poorly implemented on-the-job training (http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/1100302-1.html)

• Human resource planning
• Provision of contracts
• Provision of fair treatment
• Provision of equal opportunities
• Assessing performance of employees
• Employee counseling

Example:

HRM at health centers: Health centre employees must have some nice degree but it is also important that they behave very nicely to the patients. So continuous viewing of the staff in health centers must be monitored by the manager. Generally, in health centers HRM is being observed in following ways:

• A study of nurse staffing, organization and quality of care
• A study of staffing level, mix and outcome indicators
• An examination of nurse staffing, patient mortality rates.( http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/2/1/6#IDAQXWED)
• Employee welfare

Example:

HRM at Starbucks: Starbucks believes that one of their most expensive resources are their workers. Here the personnel are provided very good environment to work and they are very well treated by the boss also. Managers believe that they are playing the major role in their benefits. All workers are called “partners” of the starbucks, no matter what job they are doing in the coffee shop.

Each partner is eligible to receive health care, participate in the Bean Stock program, and get a free pound of coffee each week. (http://www.academicmind.com/unpublishedpapers/business/marketing/2002-04-000aag-catching-the-starbucks-fever.html)

Example:

HRM at Hotels: “Here, management staff is getting more benefits than non management receives. If the staff work more than 40 hours then they are paid per hour on regular basis and thay may get extra pay for doing over-time. They also have very good pension scheme and they can join in from day 1.”

(Human Resource management in hotel industry: strategy and innovation by Kim Hoque)

• Health and safety

Example:

HRM at airlines industry:

Airlines have adopted a short-permits, cost-rational move toward to HRM and health and safety, evidenced by a range of plannings, in order to increase competitive advantage. But, here profit was considered more important than the health and safety of the workers. But nowadays, the management has been improved and the workers get more benefits from the company.

(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=879290)

• Disciplining individual
• Dealing with grievances
• Dismissal
• Negotiation
• Encouraging involvement

(Introducing human resource management by Margaret Foot 2nd edition)

Major characteristics of HRM:

“The major characteristics of HRM have been identified as follows:

• The importance of adopting a strategic approach is emphasized.
• Line managers play a very important role.
• They achieve the competitive advantage by the efforts of the workers. This can variously be interpreted into actions known as soft HRM.
• A unitary rather than a pluralist approach prevail in the relationship between managers and employees.” (Introducing human resource management by Margaret Foot 2nd edition)

Strategic human resource management:

“Strategic human resource management can be defined as the linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to progress business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation, flexibility and competitive advantage.” In an organisation SHRM means accepting and involving the HR function as a strategic colleague in the formulation and execution of the company’s strategies through HR behavior such as recruiting, selecting, training and rewarding personnel. (http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Strategic-Human-Resource-Management?&id=549585)

(http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC722/fc722.html)

Since the early 1980s when human resource management arrived on the managerial agenda, there has been considerable debate concerning its nature and its nature and its value to organizations. Indeed, the now large literature rarely differentiates between HRM and SHRM. Some have focused HRM as a means of gaining commitment and linked this to outcomes of enhanced organizational performance and business effectiveness through best practice models or high performance work practices. (Human Resource Management by Julie Bardwell Tim Claydon, 5th edition)

Features of SHRM:

The key features of SHRM are:

• There is a strong relation between HR policy and practices and final organizational strategic aims and the organizational environment.
• There is some organizing diagram linking HR intervention so that they are equally helpful
• Much of the responsibility for the management of human resources is developed losing the line.

    Example:

HRM at Cisco System:

Charles Schwab was the manager at Cisco system. They think that for providing outstanding customer services, it is necessary to treat their own employees very well. This translates into Schwab employees with five years of service being eligible for four-week paid sabbaticals that can be combined with vacation time. The practices at these sharp contrast to the well-known restaurants that pay minimum weges.

( http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/1100302-1.html)

How SHRM differs from HRM:

In the last two decades there has been an increasing awareness that HR functions were like an island unto itself with softer people-centred values far away from the hard world of real business. In order to justify its own existence HR functions had to be seen as more intimately connected with the strategy and day to day running of the business side of the enterprise. Strategic human resource management focuses on human resource programs with long-term objectives. Instead of focusing on internal human resource issues, the focus is on addressing and solving problems that effect people management programs in the long run and often globally. ((http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Strategic-Human-Resource-Management?&id=549585)

(http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC722/fc722.html)

What are strategic goals and objectives?:

Strategic goals are statements of what you wish to get over the period of planned plan, for examples next month, next year, ten years. They reflect the detailed analysis you do that starts with creating a idea, a role statement and a work statement, and then your analysis of your environment, strengths, opportunities and threats.

In other way, drafting five or six major strategic or business goals may seem relatively simple. The actual writing may be but connecting the goals to the break of the strategic planning process requires a high degree of analytic and reasonable skill.

Example:

HRM in boots:

boots is a company which produces different kind of products. It is very difficult to make a major change in the organizational staff, ans also it is too difficult for multitask business to single task operations. During the year 2002-03 boots engaged in a programme of focus group meeting for all of their retail employees with the aim of informing and engaging everyone in the business; this involved more than 51000 people staff. The key objective of the meeting was that all staff develop understanding of Boots’ markets, customers and competitors. (http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/boots/boots_old/boots_old_15.htm)

Organizational innovation and HRM:

Innovations can be defined as ‘deliberate and radical changes in existing products or services, processes or the organisation in order to reach competitive advantage compared with competitors’ . Crucial aspects in this definition are:

• Innovation means the introduction of something new, at least for the standing organization, in terms of new products or services, new technology or new forms of organization;
• Innovation takes place with the intention to gain some advantage;
• Innovations develop through radical jumps although many authors also speak of incremental innovation;
• Innovations can be managed; this means that there are activities/stages such as goal formulation, design and organization, implementation and monitoring.

But they can also present an opportunity: answering them gives the organization the option to expand or to develop into a new direction. In our conceptual framework we distinguish four types of developments:

• Economic developments, like changes in markets and industries, changes in demands for products and/or services, etc.
• Technological developments, like the development and application of new technology.
• Social/cultural developments, like demographical changes, changes in individual preferences, such as individualization, emancipation of specific groups, etc.
• Political developments, like changes in government policies (towards innovations), general trends like liberalization of trade, supra-national co-operation, etc.

(http://www.allbusiness.com/professional-scientific/management-consulting/1024364-1.html)

1. Example of HRM-innovation:

The delegation of the responsibility for the development and introduction of new work methods to a team (devolution).

2. Example of HRM-innovation:

The introduction of a reward system that is related to innovation outcomes, like the number of new products, the successful implementation of a new technology, etc.

3. Example of HRM-innovation:

The HR leadership award which was a part of global excellence awards presented at the congress, is in recognition of Mr. Joshi’s leadership and contribution to the field of HR. as a tradability.

4. Example of HRM-innovations:

The introduction of a more flexible staffing approach e.g. by giving people contracts for the duration of their projects instead of permanent contracts.

(http://www.zyduscadila.com/press/Asia%20Pacfic%20HRM%20Congress%20Award%20.pdf)

HRM and FLEXIBILITY:

The human resource management practices that may affect labor flexibility, that is, the adaptability of a firm’s workforce. A random sample of managers in the largest manufacturers in Taiwan completed a structured questionnaire containing a measure of employee participation as an indicator of a firm’s labor flexibility. Important terms related to flexibility of an organization are listed below:

• Labor market flexibility,

  where it is said that regulation and resulting inflexibility of the job market act against growth and should be minimized.

• Flexible firm:

  a model of organization developed by the former Institute of Manpower Studies in the UK during the 1980s. Argues for a workforce composed of ‘core’ and ‘peripheral’ workforces. They take care of the organization’s key functions. Peripheral workers are split into three categories:

1. Regular employees engaged in relatively low-skill, routine work. Fairly low pay and insecure – the next wave of technology can remove the need for these people.
2. Contingent employees working on high-skill tasks, perhaps on short-term contracts or projects. High pay, no job security but this is compensated for by the freedom to pick and choose projects.
3. Low-skill, low pay contract workers often provided by an agency for cleaning, routine security, catering, etc.

Within the model there are some key explanatory concepts:numerical,functionalandpayflexibility and also ‘distancing’. The model has its critics and there is little evidence that organizations have made much use of it as a strategic concept. However, individual components such as sub-contracting are commonplace.

• Flexible specialization. An argument that ‘fordism’ or mass production is declining in favor of smaller niche market manufacturing. Consumers are more demanding, it seems, wanting more individual products. Questionable.

Example:

HRM at McDonalds: McDonald’s places emphasis on the training and development of its workers. They provide career opportunities for people to achieve their potential. Specially, the firm offers both part-time and full-time career opportunities, which helps staff to combine work with family or educational commitments. Job progression is used to encourage employees who got their 1st job in the firm to progress to manage positions. Over half of the company’s middle and senior managers have moved up from restaurant-based positions.

( http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/mcdonalds/mc16.htm)

Managing organizations strategically:

“A ‘processual’ view of strategy sees it as the pattern emerging over the time in an organization as actions of both planned and unplanned nature are carried out to enable the organization as a whole to carry on into the future. It follows from this view that strategic choices or managerial decisions are those that have:

• A corporate dimension: relate to the whole organization as opposed simply to a part of it;
• A long term implication: whether this be a matter of just surviving in the sense of staying viable or a matter of aiming to operate at higher level of performance.” (The strategic management of human resources-Jhon Leopold 2nd edition)

SHRM and culture:

Over the past decade, the management of a firm’s entire supply chain has become the process for building improved and stronger upstream and downstream business linkage. Over the past decade, the management of a firm’s total supply chain has become the process for building better and stronger upstream and downstream business linkages. He concept “organizational culture” refers to the character of a firm, i.e., what makes the organization unique in the eyes of insiders and outsiders. While there are many definitions of culture, the common theme is the presence of shared values, beliefs, assumptions, and patterns of behavior. Two critical cultural elements are inherent in this definition.

The first element of culture is the shared nature of job or role expectations. Over time, supply chain members also develop a common awareness about what is expected of them and what they can anticipate in return. In this sense, there are two aspects of shared expectations:

1. The internal culture that characterizes employee expectations and
2. The external culture that designates channel member expectations.

(The strategic management of human resources-Jhon Leopold 2nd edition)

Conclusion:

I, definitely, think that the linking of HRM with strategic goals and objectives by any organization will help to improve business performance and develop organizational culture s that foster and flexibility. Research on diversity of national cultures and their influence on employees’ behavior inspire much optimism about emerging perspectives on culture and SHRM practices. There is a growing amount of research that illuminates differences in the way organizations around the globe make decisions, allocate resources, negotiate, manage and motivate employees and train them. Also, from above examples, it can be said that human resource management plays most important role in development of any organization. Strategic HRM is really important for creating innovative culture of an organization.

REFERENCES:

1. What Is Human Resource Management?-http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/f/hr_management.htm
2. HRM INTRODUCTION-http://tutor2u.net/business/people/hrm_introduction.htm
3. hrm- http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/human-resource-management-HRM.html
4. Strategic human resource management-http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/corpstrtgy/general/strathrm.htm
5. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT – http://www.encompassculture.com/readinggroups/teachingmanagement/humanresourcemanagement/
6. Influence of Culture on Strategic Human Resourcehttp://www.strathmore.edu/research/strategic-human-resource-mgt.pdf
7. Challenges of hrm-http://www.zeromillion.com/business/hrm.html
8. What is hrm?-http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Strategic-Human-Resource-Management?&id=549585
9. Can you give me an example of human resource management at the company?-http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/mcdonalds/mc16.htm
10. Nokia analysis-http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Nokia-Analysis/131739
11. Office of Personnel Management- http://www.opm.gov/studies/alignnet.pdf
12. Can you give me an example of HRM at the company?-http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/boots/boots_old/boots_old_15.htm
13. HRM in the airline industry: strategies an outcomeshttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=879290
14. Hrm at The Hospitality Industry http://www.flipkart.com/human-resource-management-hospitality-industry/0750666366-s5w3f9hgko
15. The effects of culture and human resource management- http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/1100302-1.html
16. Hand book on hrm- http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=D78K7QIdR3UC&pg=PA142&dq=hrm%2Bgoals&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q=hrm%2Bgoals&f=false
17. Innovating Organisations and HRM:-http://www.allbusiness.com/professional-scientific/management-consulting/1024364-1.html
18. What Are The Characteristics of “Good” Strategic Goals and Objectives Within Strategic Planning?http://work911.com/planningmaster/faq/goalsgood.htm
19. http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/2/1/6#IDAQXWED
20. JOURNAL of diversity management- Third Quarter 2007
21. Human Resource Management by Julie Beardwell Tim Claydon, 5th edition
22. Organizational Behaviour by David Buchanan, 5th edition
23. Introducing human resource management by Margaret Foot 2nd edition
24. The strategic management of human resources-Jhon Leopold 2nd edition
25. Human resource management practiceBy Michael Armstrong page 144
26. Human Resource management in hotel industry: strategy and innovation by Kim Hoque
27. Strategic Human Resource Management by Susan Jacson

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. JOURNAL of diversity management- Third Quarter 2007
2. Human Resource Management by Julie Beardwell Tim Claydon, 5th edition
3. Organizational Behaviour by David Buchanan, 5th edition
4. Introducing human resource management by Margaret Foot 2nd edition
5. The strategic management of human resources-Jhon Leopold 2nd edition
6. Human resource management practiceBy Michael Armstrong page 144
7. Human Resource management in hotel industry: strategy and innovation by Kim Hoque
8. Strategic Human Resource Management by Susan Jacson