The Environment of Human Resource Management
Several current HR trends affect how companies manage people at work. For example, employees are expected to have the proper knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to perform in an environment that presents constant changes and new expectations. This requires HR professionals to be at the top of their game when developing policies that help people get better at what they do. Here are some issues that are currently trending in HR:
The rapidly changing workplace focuses HR efforts on developing human capital factors that address organizational needs (e.g., productivity, customer service, quality, and innovation). Once employees are developed, they need to be placed in the proper jobs with positive work cultures that enable them to use their talents effectively.
Globalization and workforce diversity present ways for individual differences to help companies. However, challenges associated with properly placing employees and developing positive HR policies in diverse environments are common.
When managing human resources, technology is viewed as a key means to an end. Increased social media, online interactions, and software to manage traditional HR functions can enhance how individuals interact with their employers, supervisors, and coworkers.
The importance of ethics policies, social responsibility, and sustainable practices has never been greater. Misconduct in organizations has raised the profile of organizational culture and sound HR practices to ensure appropriate workplace behavior. Developing an ethical culture, providing ethics training, and encouraging employees to report offenses are all ways that HR leaders can help improve business ethics.
This module provides a strong overview of how firms can use HR strategies and initiatives to deal with external and internal challenges, which are then explored in detail in later chapters.
What is Human Resource Management (HRM)?
HRM focuses on the legal implications of policies and procedures affecting employees. In the 1990s, facing globalization and competition, human resource departments became more concerned with costs, planning, and the implications of various HR strategies for organizations and their employees. More recently, human resource professionals in some companies have been involved with mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, and managing technological advances in the workplace. Recent high-profile corporate scandals and unethical behavior also require HR professionals to get more involved in programs that increase ethics, compliance, and social responsibility.
Human resource management is designing formal systems to manage human talent to accomplish organizational goals. Whether you work in a large company with 10,000 employees or a small nonprofit organization with ten employees, employees must be recruited, selected, trained, rewarded, managed, and retained. Each activity requires knowledge about what works well, given current employee concerns and company conditions. Research into these issues and the knowledge gained from successful approaches form the basis of effective HR management.
Why do organizations need HR Management?
There are many benefits associated with having a dedicated HR department. Firms that implement effective HR practices tend to have better outcomes, such as higher profits, increased stock price, and greater productivity, than those that do not use such practices. HR professionals must respond appropriately to current business challenges and opportunities to help the organization succeed.
Contemporary organizations’ significant issues include building the “organization of the future;’ delivering a superior employee experience, and capitalizing on diversity and inclusion. HR professionals can make a difference by implementing solutions to these challenges.
Additional trends include a globalized workforce, greater age diversity, a focus on sustainability, and an emphasis on social media. HR leaders can address these issues by adopting an interdisciplinary business approach (e.g., working with marketing, operations, and finance staff), connecting with outside constituencies, identifying critical organizational challenges, and facilitating organizational change.
HR professionals might also adapt HR processes to fit workplace changes, work more closely with IT personnel to manage technology, hire more high performers with the right skills, and be innovation leaders.
The following “HR Perspective: Transforming HR at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen” feature highlights some of these emerging trends, as well as others.
Human Capital Organizations must manage four types of assets to be successful (see Figure 1-1):
Physical assets: Buildings, land, furniture, computers, vehicles, equipment, and so on.
Financial assets: Cash, financial resources, stocks, bonds or debt, etc.
Intellectual property assets: Specialized research capabilities, patents, information systems, designs, operating processes, copyrights, etc.
Human assets: Individuals with talents, capabilities, experience, professional expertise, relationships, etc.
Based on this information answer the following questions, indicate the answer for each question
1-1. Discuss several ways HR can positively or negatively affect organizational culture.
1-2. Give four examples of ethical issues you have experienced in jobs and explain how HR did or did not help resolve them.
1-3. Why is it important for HR management to transform from being primarily administrative and operational to a more strategic contributor?
