Changing Issues in Human Resource Management (HRM)

Changing Issues in gracious option Management (HRM)Human Resource Management (HRM) is a appendage of bringing people and boldnesss together so that the goals of each atomic anatomy 18 met. It is that p ar iirk of the steering process which is c one timerned with the counselling of kind imagings in an system. It tries to secure the best from people by lovely their wholehearted cooperation. In short, it may be defined as the art of procuring, developing and maintaining postu juvenilent arrive atforce to achieve the goals of an organisation in an telling and efficient manner.Todays memorial tablets argon facing ch solelyenges upon following levelsEnvironmental Challenges institutional Challenges respective(prenominal) ChallengesEnvironmental ChallengesMost organizations face laynationalistic contexts that be complex, dynamic and progressively global. This induces the context increasely difficult to interpret. To cope with often in exculpate and enigmatical co ntextual data, and to sum up their generaliseing of the general external context, organizations engage in a process called external surroundingsal analysis. All managers, including HR managers, exact to be aw are of the importance of scanning the external context in a systematic mode.A number of models exist that can admirer managers in analysing the external environment. Such models provide a frame hammer to pick out external opportunities and threats. Opportunities tog out when an organization can take reinforcement of conditions in its external environment to formulate and implement strategies that encapable it to improve performance. Threats arise when conditions in the external environment endanger the integrity of the organizations activities. As sh testify in Exhibit 1 an organizations external environment has dickens major separateMacroenvironmentIndustryThe macro environment is composed of social, stinting, political and technological elements in the broader socie ty that can shape an industry and the organizations indoors it. The industry environment is the set of factors that directly influences an organization and its actions and reactions. Managers fork oer to analyse competitive forces in an industrys environment in order to identify the opportunities and threats confronting an organization.Environmental challenges refer to forces external to the tauten that are largely beyond managements control but influence organizational performance. The cardinal environmental challenges today areglobalization,Economy use force diversity,TechnologyEvolving live and family roles,science shortages and the rise of the serve domainEach of these are discussed in the subsequent sectionGlobalizationGlobalization is not a recent phenomenon. Some analysts flip argued that the world thrift was just a globalized 100 divisions ago as it is today. except the term is used since the 1980s, reflecting technological supercharges that select made it ea sier and quicker to complete international transactions, both trade and monetary flows. The most striking look of this has been the integration of financial market places made possible by modern electronic conference.integration of pipeline activities across geographical and organizational boundaries.The capacity to enshroud the world as one market whiledealing with more than(prenominal)(prenominal) ethnicly different merchants.the process by which markets expands to include competitors for customers and intersectionive inputs without esteem to national boundaries.doing business with a worldwide focus rather than doing business in an international market with the focus from a home base-country viewpoint.Many companies are already macrocosm compelled to think globally, something that doesnt come easily to firms long habitual to doing business in a large and expanding domestic market with stripped foreign competition. Weak response to international competition may b e resulting in upwards layoffs in ein truth year. Human resources can work out a critical role in a businesss ability to compete head-to-head with foreign producers. The implications of a global economy on human resource management are many an opposite(prenominal).Globalization has increased the importance of HRM in organization. It has led to the phylogenesis of many cutting celestial spheres of HR activity such as the transfer of work to different geographical locations, either to outsourced providers or on a global in-sourcing basis the e-enablement of many HR process greater sophistication in the HR information engine room, bleak structures for international HR scarpers greater competition for gifted staff at all levels of organization. In firearmicular, there has been a very strong merchandising, somatic communication and IT influence on the HR function. The HR function is realigning itself in response to this process of cross-function globalization (building new al liances with these functions) creating new activity streams and new roles and skills mandatory of the HR function (Sparrow, Brewster and Harris, 2004).EconomySeveral changes in the economy have important implications for human resource management, these include the changing structure of the economy, the development of e-business, and more produce in professional and service occupations. Growth in these occupations means that skill use ups for supposes have changed, with knowledge becoming more valuable. not that have skill demands changed, but remaining competitive in a global economy requires demanding work hours and changes in traditional practice patterns. The creation of new jobs, senescence employees leaving the workforce, slow population growth, and a lack of employees who have the skills take aimed to perform the jobs in greatest demand means that demand for employees bequeath exceed supply. This has nominated a war for natural endowment that has increased the atte ntion companies pay to attracting and s going human resources.TechnologyThe world has never before seen such rapid technological changes as are in short occurring in the ready reckoner and telecommunications industries. peerless estimate is that technological change is occurring so rapidly that somebodys may have to change their entire skills three or four times in their career. The advances being made, make a motion every airfield of a business including human resource management.Workforce Diversity harmonise to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workforce diversity include, but are not curb to age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, spiritual beliefs, parental status, and work experience.Many companies are now realizing the values of a diverse workplace. As more and more companies are going global in their market expansions either physical ly or practical(prenominal)ly (for example, E-commerce-related companies), there is a necessity to employ diverse talents to understand the various niches of the market. For example, when China was break up its markets and exporting their crops globally in the late 1980s, the Chinese companies (such as Chinas electronic giants such as Haier) were seeking the merchandising expertise of Singaporeans. This is because Singapores marketing talents were able to understand the local China markets relatively well (almost 75% of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent) and as well as being attuned to the markets in the West due to Singapores open economic policies and English language abilities. (Toh, R, 1993)With this reduce in place, a HR Manager essential be able to organize the pool of diverse talents strategically for the organization. He/She mustiness train how a diverse workforce can enable the gild to let on new markets and separate organizational goals in order to harness the serious potential of workplace diversity.Evolving Work and Family RolesThe proportion of dual-career families, in which both married woman and husband (or both members of a couple) work, is increasing every year. Unfortunately, women face the replicate burden of working at home and on the job, devoting 42 hours per hebdomad on average to the office and an surplus 30 hours at home to children. This compares to 43 hours spent working in the office and only 12 hours at home for men. More and more companies are introducing family-friendly programs that give them a competitive advantage in the comminute market. These programs are HR policies that companies use to hire and go along the best-qualified employees, male or female, and they are very probable to payoff. For instance, among the well known organizations / firms, half of all recruits are women, but only 5% of senior management are women. Major talent is being wasted as many women drop out after lengthy training because the y have decided that the demanding 10- to 12-year management track requires a jibe sacrifice of family intent. These firms have started to change their policies and are already seeing get hold ofs as a result. Different companies have recently begun offering child-care work as well to facilitate women workers as well as are introducing alternate(a) scheduling to allow employees some flexibility in their work hours.Skill Shortages and the Rise of the Service SectorExpansion of service-sector battle is linked to a number of factors, including changes in consumer tastes and preferences, legal and regulatory changes, advances in science and technology that have eliminated many manufacturing jobs, and changes in the way businesses are organized and managed. Service, technical, and managerial organisations that require college degrees will make up half of all manufacturing and service jobs. Unfortunately, most available workers will be too unskilled to ingest those jobs. Even now, many companies complain that the supply of skilled labor is lessen and that they must provide their employees with basic training to make up for the shortcomings of the globe education system. To rectify these shortcomings, companies currently spend large amount year on a wide variety of training programs.ii. Organizational ChallengesOrganizational challenges refer to concerns that are internal to the firm. However, they are often a by-product of environmental forces because no firm operates in a vacuum. Still, managers can ordinarily exert a good deal more control everyplace organizational challenges than over environmental challenges. Effective managers spot organizational issues and deal with them before they constitute major worrys. Only managers who are well informed about important HR issues and organizational challenges can do this. These challenges include the require for a competitive position and flexibility, the problems of downsizing and organizational restruct uring, the use of self-managed work teams, the need to create a strong organizational culture, the role of technology, and the rise of outsourcing.An organization will outperform its competitors if it effectively utilizes its work forces unique combination of skills and abilities to solve environmental opportunities and neutralize threats. HR policies can influence an organizations competitive position by a) Controlling be, b) Improving attribute, c) Creating typical capabilities and d) Restructuringa) Controlling costs adept way for a firm to gain a competitive advantage is to maintain low costs and a strong cash flow. A compensation system that uses innovative reward strategies to control labor costs can help the organization grow. A well- knowing compensation system rewards employees for miens that value the community.Other factors besides compensation policies can enhance a firms fight by keeping labor costs under control. These include mend employee selection so that w orkers are more likely to stay with the company and to perform ameliorate while they are there, training employees to make them more efficient and productive attaining harmonious labor relations effectively managing health and safety issues in the workplace and structuring work to reduce the time and resources infallible to design, produce, and deliver products or servicesb) Improving musical note.The second way to gain a competitive advantage is to engage in continuous quality improvement. Many companies are implementing total quality management (TQM) initiatives, which are programs designed to improve the quality of all the processes that lead to a final product or service. In a TQM program, every aspect of the organization is orientated toward providing a quality product or service.c) Creating Distinctive CapabilitiesThe third way to gain a competitive advantage is to utilize people with distinctive capabilities to create unsurpassed competence in a particular area (for exam ple, 3Ms competence in adhesives, and Xeroxs dominance of the photocopier market).d) RestructuringA number of firms are changing the way the functions are performed. The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic transformation in how firms are structured. Tall organizations that had many management levels are becoming flatter as companies reduce the number of people betwixt the chief executive officer (CEO) and the lowest-ranking production employee in an effort to compel more competitive. This transformation has had tremendous implications for the effective utilization of human resources. Since the late 1980s, many companies have instituted massive layoffs of middle managers, whose traditional role of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling has come to be equated with the kind of cumbersome bureaucracy that prevents businesses from responding to market forces. It is estimated that two thirds of the jobs eliminated in the 1990s were supervisory/middle management jo bs.New alliances among firms are similarly fostering hybrid organizational structures and the blending of firms with diverse histories and labor forces. Mergers and acquisitions, in which formerly item-by-item organizations come together as a iodine entity, represent two important sources of restructuring. A newer and rapidly growing form of inter organizational bonding comes in the form of conjunction ventures, alliances, and collaborations among firms that remain independent, even so work together on circumstantial products to banquet costs and risks.To be successful, organizational restructuring requires effective management of human resources. For instance, flattening the organization requires careful examination of staffing demands, workflows, communication channels, training needs, and so on. Likewise, mergers and other forms of inter organizational relations require the successful blending of dissimilar organizational structures, management practices, technical exper tise, and so forthiii. Individual ChallengesHuman resource issues at the individual level address the decisions most pertinent to special employees. These individual challenges almost al slipway reflect what is happening in the larger organization. For instance, technology affects individual productivity it also has ethical ramifications in foothold of how information is used to make HR decisions (for example, use of credit or medical history data to decide whom to hire). How the company treats its individual employees is also likely to affect the organizational challenges we discussed earlier. For example, if many key employees get off the firm to join competitors, the organizations competitive position is likely to be affected. In other words, there is a two-way relationship between organizational and individual challenges. This is unlike the relationship between environmental and organizational challenges, in which the relationship goes only one way some organizations can ha ve much impact on the environment. The most important individual challenges today involve, productivity, authorization, humor drain, job security and matching people and organizations.ProductivityProductivity is a measure of how much value individual employees add to the goods or services that the organization produces. The greater the output per individual, the higher(prenominal)er the organizations productivity. Two important factors that affect individual productivity are ability and motivation. Employee ability, competence in acting a job, can be improved done a hiring and placement process that selects the best individuals for the job. It can also be improved by means of training and career development programs designed to sharpen employees skills and prepare them for additional responsibilities. motivating refers to a persons desire to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform assigned tasks. Motivation energizes, directs, and bewilders human b ehavior. A growing number of companies recognize that employees are more likely to choose a firm and stay there if they desire that it offers a high quality of work life (QWL).EmpowermentIn recent years many firms have reduced employee dependence on superiors and placed more emphasis on individual control over (and responsibility for) the work that needs to be done. This process has been labeled empowerment because it transfers direction from an external source (normally the immediate supervisor) to an internal source (the individuals own desire to do well). In essence, the process of empowerment entails providing workers with the skills and authority to make decisions that would traditionally be made by managers. The goal of empowerment is an organization consisting of enthusiastic, committed people who perform their work ably because they believe in it and make merrys doing it (internal control). This situation is in stark contrast to an organization that gets people to work a s an act of compliance to avoid punishment (for example, being fired) or to qualify for a paycheck (external control).Work TimeFlextime the practice of permitting employees to choose, with real limitations, their own working hours. Compressed Workweek-any arrangement of work hours that permits employees to fulfill their work obligation in fewer days than the typical five-day workweek. This approach adds many highly qualified individuals to the labor market by permitting both employment and family needs to be addressed. Workplace flexibility is anticipate to be on the rise as the future workplace, the virtual office is characterized by germinal and flexible work arrangements. As more employees work off-site-up to two thirds of an organization in the 21st century there will be an increase in emphasis on performance and results as opposed to the number of hours worked. In addition, off-site employees can expect to attend fewer meetings. stipulate work will sound much more collabor ative and management will spend nearly all its time managing cross-functional work teams who enjoy a lot of autonomyQuality of Work Life (QWL) naughty quality of work life is related to job satisfaction, which in looseness is a strong predictor of absenteeism and overthrow. A firms investments in improving the quality of work life also payoff in the form of better customer service. High employment rate, low inflation and Steady economic growth provide opportunity and rising living standards. Technological advance has enabled the worlds population to grow with improved living standards for most.Brain DrainWith organizational success more and more dependent on knowledge held by specific employees, companies are becoming more susceptible to brain drain-the wrong of intellectual property that results when competitors lure away key employees. High-Tec firms are oddly vulnerable to this problem. Such important industries as semiconductors and electronics suffer from high employee turn over as key employees, inspired by the potential for huge profits, leave established firms to start their own businesses. This brain drain can negatively affect innovation and cause major delays in the introduction of new products. To make matters worse, departing employees, particularly those in upper management, can wreak commodious havoc by taking other talent with them when they leave. To combat the problem of defection to competitors, some firms are crafting elaborate ant defection devices. For example, Compaq computer has introduced a policy that revokes bonuses and other benefits to key executives if they take other employees with them when they quit. micron Technology staggers key employees bonuses they lose un-awarded portions when they leave.Matching People and OrganizationsHR strategies contribute to firm performance most when the firm uses these strategies to attract and retain the type of employee who best fits the firms culture and overall business objectives. For ex ample, one subscribe to riseed that the competencies and personality characteristics of top executives could hamper or improve firm performance, depending on what the firms business strategies are. Fast-growth firms perform better with managers who have a strong marketing and sales background, who are willing to take risks, and who have a high tolerance for ambiguity. However, these managerial traits actually reduce the performance of mature firms that have an established product and are more interested in maintaining (rather than expanding) their market share. Other research has shown that vitiated high-tech firms benefit by hiring employees who are willing to work in an atmosphere of high uncertainty, low pay, and rapid change in exchange for greater inner satisfaction and the financial opportunities associated with a risky but potentially very lucrative product launchCHALLENGES FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERSIssues facing HR are expected to change dramatically in the next decades . HR programs and the HR function have increased pressure to relate to the business strategy and show a return on investment. Customer focus needs to be included in all HRM practices. New technology combined with economic uncertainty will mean that administrative and transactional HR activities will be delivered via technology creating less need for HR professionals to provide these activities. Thus, HR professionals must play special roles in dealing with these changes and must develop specific competencies to support these roles.Employee EngagementProducts and process alone cant help organizations to sustain loyal customers. They also need highly-motivated, dedicated and involved employees who are very passionate about their work and their organization in short, they need sedulous employees. But, nurturing engaged employees requires a lot of effort and skill on the part of HR managers and calls for a different HR philosophy in the organization.We need employee appointment to ser ve as a core competency of an organization that would provide sustainable competitive advantage. We know employee engagement towards their work, throw few test symptoms, i.e., feeling of creating value, having a direction to follow, an air of trust, creating engaged employees through top management endorsement, a work environment to cherish, innovative leadership and clear growth trajectories, one step up from commitment. Employee engagement is the new buzzword. A successful business is directly linked to the commitment of its employees. Employee engagement ensures the successful execution of any business strategy.Talent ManagementOne of HRs most challenging jobs now involves managing talent. Much has changed in recent years to make this an increasingly critical area for HR. Among the issues that have made the talent management job more difficult are frequent restructuring, a growing reliance on outside hiring, flatter organizations with fewer growth options, a tighter job market ( at least in the long term), the aging workforce and the decline of clear career paths, as we mentioned above that it create a big challenge before the HR. In order to retain its most valuable stakeholders, an organization must find innovative ways to continually recruit its own employees. Retaining top quality talent is an enormous challenge facing corporations today and it is duty of HR to cope with it. In order to build effective retention and deployment strategies, companies must maintain profile into and communication with their employees.An organizations capacity to hire, develop and retain talent is the most all important(p) business process as there is a definite correlational statistics between intangible assets and market capitalization, according to the protagonists of talent management. It is due to these intrinsic intangible values that some companies are perceived as more valuable than others.Managing Virtual Human ResourcesChange in technology results in a change in the structure, design and environment of an organization Organizations today operate in a workspace, which is much more broadly defined, than it was earlier. Connectivity within and outside the organizations, creates a world of virtual organizations.A virtual company is usually a highly networked organization that extensively contracts out activities that were once performed in-house, allowing both speed and flexibility. The key to success in a virtual corporation is connectivity, i.e., the ability to network with a large number of independent companies. In essence, there will be a movement, a trend towards a decentralized model of HR.HR managers will have to admit employees in their virtual work locations and find ways to manage corporate culture, socialization and employee orientation. In order to obtain and maintain a adequate workforce, they must act as organizational performance experts and shape employees behavior without face to face meetings.HR Issues and Cross Cultural Ma nagement other expected change in HR is the Global Business design world trade knew a major growth during the last years and there is forecasted as well the growth of international businesses, especially among small firms. Organization rely more and more organization HR specialists as the facilitators of work across borders and among different cultures. Therefore, they must be knowledgeable of other cultures, languages and business practices. They will be required to develop and manage an international workforce, maintain written and unwritten corporate polices for transportability to other cultures, keep top management informed of the costs of not paying attention to the international issues and provide their services to a variety of locations world wide.Organization must take into account cultural differences that shape managerial attitudes, when developing transnational management programs. For e.g., British managers value individual achievement and autonomy, whereas French man agers jimmy competent supervision, fringe benefits, security and comfortable conditions, while Indian managers gives more importance of their culture and tradition.HR managers must therefore be known with and understand other cultural norms to promote organization diversity. An organization that recognizes and promotes cultural diversity will benefit because it will be employing the market that it serves. With increasing globalization and competition within the market, a diverse workforce is conducive to attracting and retaining a strong client base. While competing in an international market, employees from diverse national backgrounds provide language skills and understanding of other cultures. HR professionals will also be responsible for providing cultural sensitivity training for the organizations employees and for managers throughout the entire organization. (Czebter, Anamaria, 2002)Managing Issues of Work Life Balance in OrganisationsThe challenge of work/life eternal slee p is rising to the top of many employers and employees consciousness. In a society filled with conflicting responsibilities and commitments, work/life balance has become a predominant issue in the workplace. Research by Parasuraman and Greenhaus (2002) enter that segments of the workforce may be subject to unique work/family pressures, yet often have few sources of support. The under-representation of these groups of individuals with potentially difficult types of work/family pressures represents a major gap in work/family research and employers understanding of their needs. Typically, studies have focused on employed men and women who are married or living with a partner or those with children. Omitted from research are single-earner mothers and fathers, single and childless employees with extensive responsibility for eldercare, blended families with children from both partners prior marriages, families with shared custody of children, and grandparents raising their grandchildren .In their highly acclaimed book, Work and FamilyAllies or Enemies, Friedman and Greenhaus (2000), two leaders in work/life balance, help us understand choices we make as employers and individuals regarding work and family. To handle work/life balance, Friedman and Greenhaus strain that working adults learn to build networks of support at home, at work, and in the community. Conflict between work and family has real consequences and significantly affects quality of family life and career attainment of both men and women.With the growing diversity of family structures correspond in the workforce in the new millennium, it is important that human resource professionals better understand the interface of work and family relationships and the resulting impact in the workplace. Human Resource professionals seeking innovative ways to augment their organizations competitive advantage in the marketplace may find that work/life balance challenges offer a win-win solution.