Human resource management as a discipline has evolved over the years through trial and error, theory building and testing of different concepts by managers and academicians. Environmental and the quest for knowledge have been and continue to be the underlying forces behind the developments in the discipline. As the business environment changed, it pushed managers to improve the efficiency of their production and service delivery by employing best practices in managing people. The managers had to devise management techniques that improved productivity while reducing service delivery costs yet ensuring that there is the continuous availability of competent employees in the company. The terms human resources and human resource management have replaced personnel management in managing people in an organization. HRM is an approach to managing the most critical assets. The function has continued to gain in its popularity as firms consider it as playing a significant role in staffing, training and supervising people to maximize the performance of an organization in a fulfilling manner. Developments in the human resource have brought the scholars to establish the link between the management of people and performance. This paper aims to discuss three HRM areas covered in the module by identifying the central issue in the designated area, the class activities or significant incidences and application of the different concepts in the workplace and real-life situations. The paper will also explore the benefits of the new learning and understanding that has taken place (Bach & Edwards, 2013; Banfield & Kay, 2012).
Human resources planning, recruitment, and selection
Human resource planning is a process in which the management of an organization determines the movement of the firm from its current employee position to the desired position. The administration is determined to have the right number of employees at the right time and in the right places and engaging in activities that lead to maximum long-run benefits for the organization and employee. It is a systematic analysis of the needs of the organization to ensure that employees with the right qualifications and skills are available when needed by the company. Organizations realize the need to conduct human resource planning as employees prefer firms that allows them to realize their full potential and in doing so will also help the company to achieve its objective (Bach & Edwards, 2013; Mankikar, 2012).
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Human resource planning needs to be an integral part of the planning process of a business. It should define the expected changes in the different activities of an organization. The core competencies that an organization requires to realize its objective should be identified hence enabling the determination of the skill requirements. Human resources planning interpret the strategic business plans to people requirements by an organization. It also influences the business strategy by prioritizing on the way people should be developed and efficiently deployed to achieve the goals of the business. It also focuses on any problems that need to be resolved to ensure that the required workforce will be available and has the capability of making the required contribution (Bach & Edwards, 2013; Mankikar, 2012).
HR planning is useful in the identification of needed skills and knowledge to identify the requirements for human resources and to attract and retain the right workforce for the organization. It is the foundation of staffing and therefore it is a process that identifies human resource needs of an organization both current and future hence enabling the company to achieve its goal (Bach & Edwards, 2013; Mankikar, 2012).
Recruitment is a process of generating a pool of capable individuals to apply for employment in an organization. Selection is an action of selecting one or more individuals from a group to fill a position that has either fallen vacant or needs to be filled. The recruitment exercise offers the basis for the specification of an individual based on their qualifications and training. Recruitment and selection involve defining the requirements by preparing a job description and specifications. It also consists of the decision on the terms and conditions of employment. Another step s attracting candidates whereby alternatives are reviewed and evaluated. The potential applicants are scrutinized from the internal and external sources. Advertisements, agencies, and consultants can help an organization to access candidates with the required skills and qualifications. The process of attracting candidates involves identifying, evaluating and using appropriate sources to capture the right candidates with the requirements necessary for the job. Selection is the process of sifting through a list of potential applicants, interviewing the successful candidates, testing and assessing them for suitability and ability to fit into the position. Candidates can be scrutinized at assessment centers, and the successful one is offered employment. References are also obtained from previous employers and referees. The contract letters for the job is then prepared (Banfield & Kay, 2012; Mankikar, 2012).
Human Resource Development
According to Richman (2015), HRD involves a series of activities aimed at supporting behavioral changes as well as learning opportunities for the employees. Such activities strive to develop the skills of an employee and their resilience to the demands of the organization. The aim is to achieve the highest performance and includes activities like training and development, career planning, feedback and appraisal and change management (Richman, 2015).
The origin of human resource development in the U.S. can be traced back to the industrial revolution which was the driving force for the evolution. In the 1930s, organizational development as a concept was born. It supported employee training and other development opportunities. The Second World War led to the need for training employees to develop warships and military equipment something that was new to the employees. In the 1950s, psychologist incorporated the human element into organizational development. It was during this period that theories on employee development emerged. The theorists postulated that employee development influenced their performance. Human resource development added the psychological element to human resources management. It separated the HRD from other processes that supported HRM (Richman, 2015).
HRD incorporates powerful actions that collaborate with the natural learning process to drive employees to adopt behaviors while developing mental and physical characteristics. HRD is therefore connected to training and the development of the employees to address emerging changes. HRD tries to improve productivity and financial outcome of an organization. There are arguments that HRD has little or no regard to the psychological issues in an organization. The different needs of the employees and employers disintegrate the activities of HRD from the overall values of an organization. The separation leads to an imbalance in the organization as a whole shifting the role of HRD from operational to strategic as competition in organizations intensifies. HRD has received much attention in organizational management and therefore requiring managers and the leadership to address the imbalance or else it can lead to a substantial impact on the performance of organizations (Bach & Edwards, 2013; Richman, 2015).
There are growing interests on the social effect of HRD as researchers try to understand its implications for the workplace, environment and the community. Such studies have broadened the scope of the HRD to the societal perspective. The new dimension has contradicted the proponents and opponents of the concept while increasing the demand for HRD by organizational leaders. If leaders examine the organizational impact using a broader scope, the can quickly evaluate the effect that an organization has on the society. HRD, therefore, concentrates its efforts on comprehensive individual development as opposed to a narrowed perspective of employee development. According to Baek & Kim, as cited by Richman, (2015), there are four unique types of HRD, i.e., mainstream, critical, social responsibility and national HRD. The mainstream HRD develops skills and behaviors that are characteristic of an organization that is high performing for example innovation and flexibility. Critical activities are those that change the boundaries of the status quo. They make calls to the workplace to be the center of social change. In this case, HRD is not for the employees alone but also includes the employers, the community and supporting stakeholders. Therefore HRD needs to be incorporated in all organizations including professional groups, governments, and nonprofits. The socially responsible HRD widens the scope to include a holistic and systematic approach that changes behavior while increasing social awareness. The national HRD expands the performance context to incorporate organizations, families, and nations impacted by the human response (Banfield & Kay, 2012; Richman, 2015).
Compensation and Benefits
Compensation is the most critical influencer of the effectiveness and quality of the human capital. It influences the quality of the people who apply for a position, those who are hired, the possibility of job acceptance, motivation and the level of performance of the workforce including the quality of individuals who stay with the company. Compensation conveys powerful incentives as well as sorting effect. It can shape the behavior of employees and the effectiveness of an organization (Bach & Edwards, 2013).
According to psychologies, compensation affects the attitudes of the employees as well as their behavior. A simple reminder of money enhances feelings of self-reliance while increasing the level of tolerance. It is a known fact that unless employee compensation is done right, the rest of the organizational policies and procedures cannot achieve the desired effect. The central role of payment is displayed in daily phrases like following the money or money talks. The design, as well as the implementation of the compensation system, directly affects the motivation of the employees, yet it can be exploited to improve quality, safety, creativity innovation and other outcomes which are critical to the success of in the workplace.
According to Gupta, Conroy & Delery, (2012), as cited by Gupta & Shaw (2014), compensation decisions are not necessarily expensive, but it would be costly to raise the salaries of the entire workforce. Accordingly, the same level of payroll can be distributed to the employees differently. Employees can be paid the same wage or their pay can vary depending on their performance, skill, seniority, competence among others. The differences in the pay across an organization can be small or large, or a hierarchical system can be adopted where top executives are paid higher than the low-level employees. The compensation system can also be egalitarian where there is greater parity across the different organizational levels. Compensation decisions have the potential to determine the kind of employees who are attracted to and retained by an organization. Similarly, it affects the attitude and behavior on which the motivation of employees and other efforts are directed. Compensation is a powerful tool that can be used to engineer the management of human capital and promote organizational effectiveness (Banfield & Kay, 2012; Gupta & Shaw 2014).
According to Gupta & Shaw (2014), compensation and benefits matter to people, and they can be useful in promoting the desired goal. Despite their importance, salary is also interesting for example having a tag of war between the subordinates and the supervisor or even evaluating the pronouncement on incentives that are not put into action. The list of the importance of benefits and compensation is endless, yet the topic is under-researched (Gupta & Shaw 2014).
There are issues as to whether pay motivates. Studies on this topic are unambiguous. Salary can be and has been used to stimulate employees. However, there are strong sentiments from academicians, motivational speakers, and consultants that money is not a motivator. Such individuals have denounced the use of extrinsic motivators like pay. Such conclusions were made despite the fact that different studies that show the corrosive effect of such rewards were not conducted in work-related environments. Work setting studies indicates that extrinsic rewards are effective in motivating employees. An important consideration is to determine the conditions that pay can be a useful motivator. One issue that needs additional insight is whether pay systems can be used to motivate desired behaviors (Gupta & Shaw 2014).
As a student who is interested in human resource practices, I have frequented a consultant who is involved in the hiring of employees for different companies. I have seen the consultant apply the knowledge gained from the identified areas in real life practices. I have been there when the consultant was recruiting and selecting candidates. I also had a privilege of attending one of the interview sessions where I was exposed to some of the rigorous processes that the potential candidates have to go through.
The different issues as discussed have new learning and have exposed the students to new knowledge on human resources practices. Each area that was studied had various issues that relate to the field human resources. The problems have been extensively discussed in each area where new learning was acquired from the coursework and additional literature for the assignment. The class activities were primarily useful in the understanding of the different areas, and the use of examples further enhanced the learning process. The course was well structured as the various aspects interrelated to improve the learning process. Reference to previous lessons makes it possible to relate the different areas studied in the module.
It was an exciting class as students learned human resources management from an introductory perspective where the historical developments in the field were discuses enabling the students to appreciate the progress made to have the current human resource management. The background information also gave students who are interested in studying the field sufficient introductory details that ignited their interest to learn more and understand the different concepts.
Knowledge of human resources management is not only useful in the work environment but also in the other non-work related activities where people interact and share ideas. Knowledge of human resource management can be helpful to a student in developing a clearer understanding of the field while drawing personal experiences and relating them to the knowledge gained from the studies. Compensation and benefits have been an interesting topic as it enables the student to understand the role of pay in motivating employees. Areas of human resource development and remunerations and benefits have been insightful and have motivated me to pursue human resource management in future and my preferred career choice. I am interested in understanding the topic of remuneration and how to pay can be used to increase the performance of the employees. The new learning has in particular enhanced my interest in HRM where I intend to be a consultant in future.
References
Bach, S., & Edwards, M. (2013). Managing human resources . Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Banfield, P., & Kay, R. (2012). Introduction to human resource management . New York: Oxford University Press.
Gupta, N., & Shaw, J. (2014). Employee compensation: The neglected area of HRM research. Human Resource Management Review , 24 (1), 1-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2013.08.007
Mankikar, D. (2012). A Critical Study on Recruitment and Selection With Reference to HR Consulting Firms. Paripex - Indian Journal Of Research , 3 (3), 108-111. http://dx.doi.org/10.15373/22501991/mar2014/38
Richman, N. (2015). Human Resource Management and Human Resource Development: Evolution and Contributions. Creighton Journal Of Interdisciplinary Leadership , 1 (2), 120. http://dx.doi.org/10.17062/cjil.v1i2.19
