Human Resources Management Persuasive Essay

Analyzing the concepts discussed in Human Resource Management, I have found an interesting mix of education and forethought into the role of a human resource manager. Many of the aspect of human resource management such as HR planning, recruitment and selection, as well as, human resources development and labor relations all play a significant role in the success of any organization.

There are many benefits to the learning that has taken place in this course that has helped me better understand HRM and its role that will shape not only my position in business now but for future positions in the years to come. The primary function of human resource management is to increase the effectiveness and contribution of employees in the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. For a human resource department to function correctly its many functions need to work together and it all starts with human resource planning.

All businesses have a human resource planning process. Many times upper management teams work with human resource experts when it comes to human resource decisions. These HR decisions help to shape the overall strategic plan of an organization. Human Resource departments function at their best when they are viewed within an organization as a partner with upper management that will aid with the planning and administration of human resource decisions. The HR head is a centerpiece to the decision-making process.

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HR managers often evaluate the availability of talent, employee behavior and analyze current skills that are needed within the organization. Human resource planning is “the ongoing process of systematic planning to achieve optimum use of an organization's most valuable asset - its human resources. ” (http://www. investopedia. com) The main goal of human resource planning is to make sure there is a functional and working connection between employees and the jobs in which they do. There has to be a balanced approached for human resource managers because there is a fine line trying to avoid deficiencies and surpluses of labor within the organization. For HR managers the balance is kept by analyzing current labor demand versus future labor demand and balancing the supply and demand between the two. Often times HR planning has to be flexible so that organizations can adapt and keep up with the changing business environments in the markets in which they serve. Human resource planning is an ongoing task that must look at the long term and short-term goals of an organization.

Without the flexibility and the ability to adapt to a changing business environment, organizations could be left behind in the competitive marketplace. Planning needs to take into account many factors such as recruiting, training, outsourcing, employee development, job analysis and others just to name a few. Ultimately, it is human resources responsibility to make sure that the organization has the right people in the right place in order to successfully navigate the organization to fulfill its strategic plan. When it comes to HR planning there are six specific factors for the HR planning process.

They are environmental scanning, labor market analysis and forecast, internal analysis and forecast, gap analysis, developing HR plans and strategies, and HR strategy implementation and assessment. “HR planning and organizational strategic planning should not be treated as separate activities: they must have a mutual relationship for their integration to be valuable. Similarly, HR planning should be guided by organizational goals and strategies and should inform each one of those processes; the various HRM processes can then be conducted effectively. (Youssef, C. 2012) I believe that the HR planning process is the absolute most important part of an HR management team’s work. The reason is that there is so much that goes into the planning that shapes the overall strategic plan of an organization. The many other factors that HR deals with are important, yet without an overall plan and vision, the overall long-term goals of the organization could not be reached efficiently. For example, I had worked at a small local company that had started up about a year prior to my arrival.

At the time that I had started it was run by a husband and wife both of which did not have any HR experience. They had goals on what they wanted to do both long term and short term yet the organization was unable to reach many of those goals primarily because of the lack of an HR professional. In order to recruit new people the owners relied on referrals from other business owners in the area and ads that were posted in the local newspaper. They had no online presence, and they were not able to keep up with the competition for qualified candidates.

They were losing quality potential employees to their competition because of a lack of planning and non-flexibility. After about a year of continuous struggles, they brought in an HR consultant that brought many good ideas and the owners fortunately embraced many of them. They had decided to recruit and bring on board a professional HR manager with many years of experience that helped the owners in an area that was one of their weaknesses, HR management. The new HR manager brought plenty of changes to the processes within the organization while keeping in mind the overall long-term goals of the owners.

Many of the changes were to the recruitment process. She did things such as adding an “apply now” link to the company’s website and got the organization more of an online presence in online job boards within the area. Along with that, the interview process was more formal with the changes that she made. More of the work was done electronically such as applications, and resume submitting. The owners of the company also invested with an organization that provided services for companies to give personality and aptitude assessments so that they could better understand a potential employee.

Of course, this all happened over time and the organization became better at understanding what type of labor force they needed. This is exactly why the planning process is so important. It helps to organize and execute the overall strategic plan of an organization and that is the exact reason that HR exists, to increase the effectiveness and contribution of employees in the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. Culture comes down to organizational and employee behavior and HRM plays the biggest role. “There is no one omnipotent culture. What works this year may not work in the next”. (www. sjsu. edu) The culture of an organization is not automatic. It takes time and hard work for an organization to build and cultivate its own identity and culture within the workplace. Many times HR managers forget the importance they have in shaping the culture of an organization. I have seen it before in companies in which I have worked. For instance, the organization that I currently work for had sort of a laid-back culture one in which it was ok for sales people to work in business casual clothes such as slacks and a polo shirt.

A couple of years ago the CEO was replaced and when the new CEO came in, change came to the culture. No longer, was the sales team allowed to wear business casual, it was professional dress only, and it made a big difference in the professionalism with the organization. It also made a difference with new hires and made the biggest impact with our customers. This is just one example of how the culture changed within my organization, but the important thing to note was that the new CEO led this change by example as he did with everything else.

He would only wear suits and ties and never did we see him or any other person on the management team in business casual. It was just one-step but a very important one in changing the culture of the organization. The best way for HRM to shape organizational and employee behavior is to lead by example. There are other control methods to make sure individual employee behavior is kept in check, such as utilizing a corporate code of conduct that must be signed and followed by all the employees.

For this to work, an organization must have meaningful penalties when the code of conduct is violated, and it must make sure that those policies are enforced and that enforcement is structured and consistent. Overall, HR managers need to lead by example to create or maintain a positive culture within their workplace. It is critical that all managers are aware of their roles and responsibilities in upholding positive workplace environments that can increase employee satisfaction, and it all starts with HRM. In conclusion, HRM plays one of the biggest and most important roles in the success or failure of an organization.

Without the right planning and having the right people in the right place, it is very hard for an organization to meet the overall goals in which they have set out to succeed. Looking at the learning that has taken place in this course, it has opened my eyes to the importance of a competent and structured HR department. The course has helped me to look at experiences and better appreciate the HR directors that I have worked with in the past, and it has helped me better understand HRM and its role that will shape not only my osition in business now but for future positions in the years to come.

References

1. Youssef, C. (2012). Human resource management. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education
2. http://www. investopedia. com/terms/h/human-resource-planning. asp#axzz2LJdsjswT (Retrieved from World Wide Web, February 16, 2013)
3. http://www. sjsu. edu/people/phyllis. connolly/courses/c17/s1/kane_umanageroleorgcul200(Retrieved from the World Wide Web, February 18, 2013

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