Nature Of Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management (HRM) is known as a strategic approach to an effective management of the organization’s workers so they help the business gain its competitive advantage, achieve goals and objectives by following the vision and mission of the company they are working or protenially working in. Generally, HR department follows the target of recruiting capable, flexible and committed people, managing and rewarding their performance and improving their main skills for the company’s own sake. Modern HRM has been developed not just in response in increasing legal constraints but also in terms of recognition that the most successful and highly competitive organization really depends on the efficiency, productivity and a level of motivation of the people who work for the company.

An effective Human Resource Management has always been important and there are some following reasons why. First of all, more and more businesses nowadays provide services than produce goods- this therefore leads to a conclusion that people are the critical resource in a quality and customer service level. Moreover, highly competitive markets require businesses to be more creative, efficient and productive- this is truly tough to achieve. However, as long as a company has a highly motivated workforce who has the right skills and knowledge and also is well organized then the target more likely will be fulfilled. If a business is successful and aims to achieve its main objectives, then it has to manage its human resource in a proper way.

The central purpose of Human Recourse Management is to recruit, train and use a company’s employees in the most useful and productive manner to actually assist a company in the fulfilment of its objectives. Human Resource Management is broad and far-reaching in scope. It mainly focuses on such areas like:

1. Workforce planning: this focuses on the future employees’ needs of a company;
2. Recruitment & Selection: recruiting and selecting the most appropriate, creative, witty employees and inducting them to the business process later;
3. Developing employees: means appraising, training and developing employees at any step in their careers;
4. Employment contracts: making sure the employment contracts are ready for all the potential employees and making it clear on how flexible they are whether the employment contracts permanent, temporary or full- or part-time;
5. Employee morale and welfare: developing and improving workforce morale and their welfare by guiding them; 
6. Monitoring: measurement and monitoring approach are crucial for having an information about employee performance.

Hard & Soft approach

Some business analytics use 2 types terms to define 2 extreme types of HRM, such as Hard HRM and Soft HRM. Storey (1989) distinguished between the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ types of HRM: “The hard one emphasizes the quantitative, calculative and business- strategic aspects of managing human resource in as “rational” a way as for any other economic factor. By contrast, the soft version traces its roots to its human-relations school; it emphasizes communication, motivation and leadership”.

Putting it in more simple words, Hard HRM is such an approach to managing staff that focuses in the reduction of costs. Whereas, Soft HRM is an approach to managing staff that focuses on developing staff so later on they are able to achieve its self-fulfilment and are highly motivated so they more likely will stay with a company in the long term.

In reality, most managers nowadays follow a hard approach, which might be considered as unethical approach. It is due to a fact that a hard approach might decrease amount of spending on workers’ which are “peripheral” in the short run. However, on the other side of the coin, a hard approach might increase recruiting and selection, training costs on the long run as not permanent employees must be often recruited. Moreover, this approach has a tendency to decrease a motivation of the workforce as due to little job security, this therefore might dramatically lead to a company’s inefficiency and less profitability. Furthermore, a hard approach disregard intentionally the research of Maslow, Mayo and Herzberg as workforce is not getting a job security, job enrichment and esteem.

Policies for Diversity & Equality

A lot of organizations have policies which try to make sure equality and diversity in the workforce. An organization that promote equality in the workplace do not base recruitment and dismissal decisions, pay, promotions, and other benefits on employees’ race, sexuality, gender, age, religion or nation origin. Equality policy practices and processes aims at achieving a fair organization where everyone is treated in the same way and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. With this policy a company is able to avoid direct discrimination, which takes place when an employee is treated less favourably than others are. Moreover, indirect discrimination could be avoided as well, it takes place when a condition is applied that adversely affects a considerable proportion of people of one race, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, religion or marital status or even those with disabilities or older employees. A company will ensure that equal opportunities are applied in its all HR policies and especially to the procedures relating to the recruitment, training, development and promotion of its workforce. Diversity policy practices and processes aims at creating a mixed workforce and placing positive value on diversity in the workforce. A policy on managing diversity sets out the ways in which a company, while making sure those of different ethnic backgrounds, religions, gender and age groups are establishes, are brought together to work in cohesive and productive organizational units. In addition, the diversity policy will indicate how a culture is established and maintained in which representatives of all the backgrounds are fairly treated, appreciated and valued.

The major goal of a diversity and inclusion programme shall be to accomplish culture change so that the approach to dealing with diversity and inclusion issues becomes a way of life for all concerned. The following figure depicts information about how to manage diversity and inclusion by achieving culture change. There are some potential advantages for a company to have policies for diversity and equality. The advantage of promoting equality in the workplace include creating an environment with high employee morale, developing a good reputation and the ability to recruit top talent. Moreover, the effectiveness of employees is measured by their contributions, which might motivate them to willingly contribute to the business in a positive way. However, on the other side of the spectrum, a company uses discriminatory pastises to decide who is promoted, employees who are discriminated against are likely become discouraged and demotivated. Workplace diversity relates to acknowledging differences among employees and deliberately creating an inclusive environment that values those differences. A workplace that encourages diversity employs individuals from various races, ethnicities, religions and genders. A lot of companies use diversity programs, which educate employees on the definition of diversity and how it helps every individual of the workforce. A company has a lot of advantages from applying diversity policies. These include capturing a greater consumer market as consumers are more willing to be attracted to a diverse sales force, employing a more qualified and educated employees and also reducing employee turnover. Furthermore, a diversity workforce leads to a development of creativity due to the difference of backgrounds of employees’ approach problem solving in different ways. A company might also benefit from diversity in language skills which gives an opportunity for a company to negotiate internationally. There is a justice argument for pursuing diversity: everyone has the right to be treated fairly in a workplace which values the differences between people, and which promotes and environment of fairness, dignity and respect.

How to manage diversity and inclusion

1. Develop a diversity and inclusion strategy;
2. Define the values of the organization concerning diversity and inclusion;
3. Set out the diversity and inclusion policies of the organization;
4. Implement programmes for communicating the values and policies;
5. Pay particular attention to potential problem areas- recruitment, appointments and promotions, learning and career development opportunities and pay;
6. Devise and run training programmes designed to increase awareness and influence behaviour;
7. Create diversity networks as described;

HR Information Systems (HRIS)

HRIS is a computer-based information package developed to help human resources master in managing data. Human resource experts utilize these software package to facilitate work flow, develop effectivity and efficiency, store and collect certain data. A lot of companies also offer HRIS software information system to its workforce. HRIS packages might be customized to the certain essentials and requirements of an entrepreneur. Database. HRIS offers has a database to save workforce data. HR experts can excess all personal information into the system which can be accessed from any place. Certain information that HR experts collect in the datastore include compensation history, emergency contact information and performance review. The main datastore might also be an online backup for paper files. Time and Labour Management. Certain activities like labour management are known as an extremely time-consuming activity. 

HR package gives an opportunity for a workforce to input their time worked and also gives a chance for managers to quickly reply for the holiday requests. Labour management develops and constantly improves the HR department’s opportunity to make sure the attendance and punctuality are checked. Recruitment and Retention. These are one of essential details of HRIS. Finding a new talent, acquiring them and keeping them motivated and engaged are one of the most challenging tasks for a HR individual. HR department also has to make sure that the workforce is not willing to do their work, but they are provided with the essential training, also receives needed compensation and some fringe benefits from a certain company an employee work for. 

There are some potential benefits for a company to use HR information systems. First of all, its improving and developing HR productivity and efficiency. These software systems are considered to be relatively detailed and also, they are developed to enhance and accelerate the efforts of HR workforce in different ways. For instance, they are able to assist with selection and recruitment by making the process of collecting CVs, selecting a candidate information much simpler. Moreover, another advantage is the reduction of errors and maintaining compliance. It is common knowledge a lot of HR tasks are substantially regulated and due to this a small mistake regarding a HR employee might reflect on huge legal problems and also financial losses for an organization. For instance, when CVs are not proceeded fairly during a recruiting process, a lawsuit might ensue. Most of the software programs are developed to observe compliance with certain regulations. Therefore, this leads to a potential development of an organization’s reputation. Furthermore, its performing analyses.

HRIS software tools five HT workforce a chance to use a lot of pertinent calculations as fast as possible. Workforce is able to collect the required data within a small time and then proceed the data collected in an effective manner. Some software packages are developed to build professional reports based on metrics and analysis which potentially can help HR experts to easily overcome problems.

In conclusion, it is extremely important for any organization to choose the most appropriate and correct HRIS. An organization which takes time to make an investmentin a HRIS that goes along with a company’s objectives, mission, vision, goals and values is an organization which makes an investment to its future success. HRIS has numbers of popular well-known modules available, such as recruiting (CV and a candidate management), attendance, some organizational charts and graphs, planning and the track records of the workforce training.

As the evidence suggests, a HR department is truly essential for the existence of any organization. However, all the benefits stated above do not mean HR department does not face challenges. There are some common HR challenges which HR department normally face with. First of all, its compliance with laws and regulations. The constant change in employment law is a huge challenge for business owners. The ignorance od changes in employment laws should not be taken for granted as it might result on constant audits, lawsuits and fines. Moreover, another challenge might be management changes. An organization tends to constantly expand and therefore it might result on the changes in strategies, structure of a company and also in internal processes. HR department shall keep an eye on constant changes and be more flexible in terms of changes. Furthermore, workforce training and development might be viewed as another challenge for HR department. An investment in training and development of less skilled and educated employees is a common activity. A lot of companies experience issues with finding the resources and capital for such an important activity.

To conclude, an effective Human Resource Management is necessary for any company. It is known as company’s employees considered to be as the greatest and priceless asset. Effective Human Recourse Management develops a unique workplace culture, it also creates regulations, rules and specific standards for the workplace. A the same time, effective HRM helps understand workplace diversity and also the power of training and development. Last but not least, an effective HRM might reduce its employee turnover and relatively increase employees’ uncertainty. It is extremely essential for HR department to know their issues, so a company is able to apply the correct policies and procedure just in time. The willingness of understating the workforce benefits, employment laws, leadership improvement and other aspects might help an organization to be ahead of the competition and to accomplish its objectives.

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