Shen and Benson (2016) reports on a study carried out to investigate the impact of Socially Responsible Human Resource Management (SRHRM) on the conduct of employees in the workplace. The paper defines SRHRM as the internal application of corporate social responsibility in human resource management. The basis of the research is that although SRHRM is being applied in contemporary human resource management and has been seen to be well-accepted by employees, there is little research-based evidence on how SRHRM affects the performance and motivation of employees. The researchers picked employees from 35 manufacturing based companies in the People’s Republic of China. The companies would first be evaluated to confirm that they apply SRHRM. Specialized questionnaires were then used on the employees of these companies to evaluate the relationship between SRHRM and the conduct of the employees in their workplace. The results, as reflected and discussed in the article confirmed the hypothesis that SRHRM increases motivation and by extension the productivity of employees.
Selection Criteria and Methods from a Hiring Perspective
Traditionally, hiring was directly proportional to the volume of work with organizations hiring as many employees as it would need from a fair work to fair wage approach. Under the SRHRM, companies seek to improve the motivation and productivity of employees by treating them better. Better treatment attracts better employees and by extension a higher productivity per unit employees. The study’s selection criteria zeroed in on companies that employ SRHRM in dealing with their employees and only interviewed employees after confirmation of the same. Therefore, the selected companies hire based on the smart approach defined above.
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Meaning and Implication
Modern human resource management theories have confirmed that the productivity of motivated employees is exponentially higher than that of ordinary employees. Further, motived employees will not work by rote thus, diminishing innovativeness (Boies, Fiset & Gill, 2015). Motivation increases the desire to excel and do better by employees thus, increasing the propensity for the development of smart and innovative ways to increase productivity. The research carried out in Shen and Benson (2016) reveals that SRHRM enhances motivation amongst employees. Therefore, a company that invests in SRHRM will get a higher return for wages as the motivated employees will go out of their way to perform better for the employer. The implication of the study is that SRHRM should not just be pursued as a social issue but as a commercial one as it leads to higher productivity. The choice of research topic, approach to the research, and the discussion leading to the conclusion can thus be lauded. Having invested in such a wide research involving 35 companies, the researchers would have expanded their scope by including other countries in the area such as Vietnam or Burma.
How to Expand the Results
The instant research was not only carried out in a former communist country but also in a country that has a reputation for very poor treatment of employees. China has been known as one of the countries where American companies keen to save on labor costs hire contractors to run sweatshops. The definition of SRHRM and its motivational impact in China could, therefore, differ exponentially from its definition in Western Europe or North America. The research undertaken herein can be used as a foundation for similar research in the developed nations in the aforementioned areas to understand if the trend found in China would hold in the developed societies. In the case the trend differs, the research would hold to the extent of difference and the grounds thereof. Finally, the instant research can be used to reverse the trend of running sweatshops in third world countries by showing that companies can benefit from treating employees in third world countries better, through adopting a SRHRM-based approach.
References
Boies, K., Fiset, J., & Gill, H. (2015). Communication and trust are key: Unlocking the relationship between leadership and team performance and creativity. The Leadership Quarterly , 26 (6), 1080-1094
Shen, J., & Benson, J. (2016). When CSR is a social norm: How socially responsible human resource management affects employee work behavior. Journal of Management , 42 (6), 1723-1746
