Human Resource Management Essay, Research Paper

Human Resource Management 1) Human Resource Management – is the utilization of human resources to achieve organizational objectives. I have come to recognize that this is the most fundamental and important part of HRM is to understand the function of it. The inner workings of HRM is run by the HR manager, who is an individual works with other managers to help them deal with personnel needs of the organization. The Human Resource Manager is primarily responsible for coordinating the management to help achieve an organizations goals. They are the key to the organizations success, by hiring the right personnel for a specific job, they effect the total output and production needed to reach the goals set by the organization. 2) Human Resource Management Functions – There are six areas in which the HR manager works: human resource planning, recruitment, and selection; human resource development; compensation and benefits; safety and health; employee and labor relations; and human resource research. Human resource planning is the process of reviewing the human resource requirements to ensure that the required numbers of employees, with the required skills, are available when needed. Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals to apply for jobs with the organization. Selection is the process though which the organization chooses, from a group of applicants, those best suited for the open positions and the company. HR development helps individuals, groups, and the entire organization become more effective. Compensation and Benefits is the system that provides employees with adequate and equitable rewards for their contributions to meeting organizational goals.( pay, vacation, sick leav!e, holidays, and medical insurance) Safety involves protecting employees from injuries caused by work related accidents. Health refers to the physical and mental well being of the employee. Employee and labor relations refers to the way they negotiate with the employees, and the unions that they belong to. HR Research is the function in which the entire organization work environment is the researcher’s laboratory. They research every aspect of the company’s inner workings to make sure they are doing their best to achieve the goals set. I have seen the inner workings of this part of HRM first hand at my job. The company I work for has grown at a rapid rate within the past three years and if it were not for the HR manager and the use of these functions they would have never achieved the goals that were set when the company first opened for business. 3) Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals on a timely basis; in sufficient numbers, and with appropriate qualifications, and encouraging them to apply for jobs with an organization.Employee requisition is a document that specifies job titles, department, the date the employees is needed for work, and other details. The next step in the recruitment process is to determine whether qualified employees are available within the firm or must be recruited from external sources, such as colleges, universities and other organizations.Recruitment sources are places where qualified individuals can be found.Recruitment methods are the specific means by which potential employees can be attracted to the firm.Alternatives to recruitment commonly include overtime, subcontracting, contingent workers, and employee leasing.Overtime is the most commonly used method of meeting short-term fluctuations in work volume.Subcontracting approach has particular appeal when the subcontractor actually has greater expertise in producing certain goods or services.Contingent Workers ( part timers, temporaries) comprise the fastest growing segment of the U.S. economy.Employee Leasing a firm formally terminates some or most of it’s employees. A leasing company hires these employees then leases them back to the company who then becomes the client. External Environment of RecruitmentLocal labor market conditions are of primary importance in recruitment for most nonmanagerial, many supervisory, and even some middle-management positions. Legal considerations also play a significant role in recruitment practices.The firm’s corporate image is another factor that affects recruitment. Internal Environment of Recruitment The organizations’ own practices and policies also affect recruitment. Recruitment is Human Resource Planning. An organization’s promotion policy can also have a significant impact on recruitment.Promotion from within (PFW) is the policy of filling vacancies above entry-level positions with current employees.Policies relate to the employment of relatives may also affect recruitment efforts. Methods Used In Internal Recruitment Management and skills inventories permit organizations to determine whether current employees posses the qualifications for filling open positions.Job Posting is a procedure for informing employees that job openings exist.Job Bidding is a technique that permits employees who believe they posses that required qualifications to apply for a posted job. External Sources of Recruitment1. to fill entry-level jobs2. to acquire skills not possessed by current employees3. to obtain employees with different backgrounds to provide new ideas Advertising communicates the firm’s employment needs to the public through media such as radio, newspapers television and industry publications.Employment Agencies – Public and Private An employment agency is an organization that helps firms recruit employees and at the same time, aids individuals in their attempts to locate jobs.Special events is a recruiting method that involves an effort on the part of a single employer or group of employers to attract a large number of applicants for interviewsInternships are special forms of recruiting that involves placing a student in a temporary job.Executive Search Firms are organizations that seek the most qualified executive available for a specific position.Retainer Search Firms work for corporations and governmental agencies which pay the fees; they are paid for each search regardless of whether a suitable candidate is recruited.Contingency Search Firms focus on lower and middle management positions, as well as technical positions with salaries from $30,000 to $70,000. These Organizations are only paid if they find a suitable employee. 4) The environmental factors affecting HRM are interrelated. Such factor are part of either the firm’s external environment or the internal environment. External environment are those factors that affect a firm’s HR from outside the boundaries of the company. These factors include labor force, legal considerations, unions, shareholders, competition , customers, technology, and the economy. Each factor, either separately or in combination with others, can place constraints on the human resource manager’s job. The labor force is the pool of individuals external to the firm from which the organization obtains its workers. Legal considerations deal with the Federal, state, and local regulations enacted which affect equal employment opportunity. Unions are groups of employees who have joined together for the purpose of dealing with the employer. Shareholders are the owners of the company, they are concerned with how such expenditure decisions will increase revenues o!r decrease costs. Competition, a firm major task is to keep and maintain a supply of competent employees if it is to succeed, grow, and prosper. Customer are who actually use the firm’s goods and services. Technology, a major concern to those in HRM is the effect technological changes have had or will have on business, and if they will be able to find the people with the resources to use this new technology. The economy, if the economy is not doing well chances are that the organization will suffer. I have come to recognize all these external factor again at my place of work. I can actually understand and pick up on these factors very easily. 5) Job Analysis: A basic Human Resource Tool:

A job consist of a group of task that must be performed for an organization to achieve its goals.A position is the collection of tasks and responsibilities performed by one person; there is a position for every individual in the organization.Job analysis is the systematic process of determining the skills, duties, and knowledge required for performing jobs in an organization. It is an essential and pervasive human resource technique. The purpose of job analysis is to obtain the answers to six important questions:1) What physical and mental tasks does the worker accomplish?2) When is the job completed? 3) Where is the job to be accomplished?4) How does the worker do the job?5) Why is the job done?6) What qualifications are needed to perform the job? Job analysis provides a summary of a job’s duties and responsibilities, its relationship to other jobs, the knowledge and skills required, and working condition under which is performed.Job analysis is performed on three occasions. First, it is done when the organization is founded. Second, it is performed when new jobs are created. Third, it is used when jobs are changed significantly as a result of new technologies, methods, procedures, or systems.Job description is a document that provides information regarding the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of the job.Job specification is the minimum acceptable qualifications a person should possess in order to perform a particular job.Reasons for conducting job analysisIn this rapidly changing work environment the need for a sound job analysis is extremely critical. New jobs are being created and old jobs are being redesigned. Job analysis helps organization address the fact that change is taking place.Types of job analysis informationThe job analyst identifies the job’s actual duties and responsibilities and other types of information. This information is used later to help determine the job skills needed. In addition the job analyst looks at job-related tangibles and intangibles, such as the knowledge needed, the materials processed, and the goods made or services performed. 6) Job analysis methods Questionnaires are typically quick and economical to use. The job analyst may administer a structured questionnaire to employees, who identify the tasks they perform.Observation the job analyst usually watches the worker perform job tasks and records his or her observations. This method is used primarily to gather information on jobs emphasizing manual skills.Interviews are used to get an understanding of a job you interview both the employee and the supervisor.Employee recording job analysis information is gathered by having the employee describe their daily work activities in a dairy or log.Combination of these methods in most cases works better than just one.U.S department of labor job analysis schedule (JAS) Functional Job Analysis (FJA) is comprehensive job analysis approach that concentrates on the interactions among the work, the worker, and the organization.Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) is a structured job analysis questionnaire that uses a checklist approach to identify job elements.Management Position Description Questionnaire(MPDQ) is a method of job analysis designed for management positions and uses a checklist to analyze jobs.Guidelines Oriented Job Analysis (GOJA) responds to the growing amount of legislation affecting staffing and involves a step-by-step procedure for describing the work of a particular job classification.Occupational Measurement System (OMS) enables organizations to collect, store, and analyze information pertinent to human resources by means of a computer database. 7) Job DesignThe process of determining the specific tasks to be performed, the methods used in performing these tasks, and how the job relates to other work in the organization.Job Enrichment is basic changes in the content and level of responsibility of a job so as to provide greater challenge to the worker.1) Increasing job demands2) Increasing the worker’s accountability3) Providing work scheduling freedom4) Providing feedback5) Providing new learning experiencesJob Enlargement involves changes in the scope of a job so as to provide greater variety to the worker.Employee Centered Work Redesign – A concept designed to link the mission of the job satisfaction needs of employees. 8) Earlier I spoke about legal consideration, I believe it goes much more in-depth than what I explained before. There are many law that affecting equal opportunity employment. If a HR manager does not abide by them the organization could be in serious trouble. Most of these law were passed by congress, but there are some that come directly from the President. These are called Presidential Executive Orders. There are also government agencies that are totally devoted to this cause such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Charges can be filed by one of the presidential appointed EEOC commissioners, by any aggrieved person, or by anyone acting on behalf of an aggrieved person. Charges must be filed within 180 days of the alleged act. These laws and organizations are important in our work place they see fit that every person has a fair chance at employment regardless of their race, color, sex, etc… It is extremely important for the HR manager to abide by! these laws so the company is not sued, fined, or even closed down for violating these laws. 9) Employee selection is the process of choosing from a group of applicants the individual best suited for a particular position. The HR manager in the selection process weeds out the unwanted applicants, then chooses the ones that have the skills required for the position. Choosing any applicant can be a disaster, it is very important for the company to maximize it’s profits. If you make the wrong choices in hiring people that are under qualified or not skilled enough for a specific job the company loses profit. By hiring people that are qualified for the position then your productivity goes and with that your profits do to. 10) Performance Appraisal is a formal system of periodic review and evaluation of an individual’s or team’s job performance. However, considering the multiple needs of PA data, most organizations are led to one conclusion: although it is difficult process to devise and administer, there is a genuine organizational and employee need to conduct performance appraisal. PA are used in seeing if a person merits a raise in pay. They are also used by the company in seeing if the employee is performing the job at a relatively high standard. The performance appraisal can be given in many different ways, and the results are kept on file by the HR manager. They use this information to keep track of the employee’s history with the company as well as to use as standards for the rest of the company. I personally have a performance appraisal twice a year. It is given by my direct supervisor and determines whether I will receive a raise or not. 11) Professionalization of HRMA professional is characterized by the existence of a common body of knowledge and procedure for certifying members of the profession. Performance standards are established by members of a common profession rather than by outsiders. These characteristics apply to the field of HR, and several well-known organizations serve the profession. 12) Ethics – Professionalization of HRM created the need for uniform code of ethics. Ethics is the discipline dealing with right and wrong, good or bad or with moral duty and obligation. There are many kinds of ethical codes, and most professions have their own. A growing number of firms are establishing ethical codes and communicating them to their employees. They vary primarily in the extent to which they are applied under particular circumstances. It is vitally important that the HR manager understand those practices which are unacceptable and make every attempt to act ethically in dealing with others. 13) Effective HRM is crucial to every organization’s success. In order to be effective, managers must understand and competently practice HRM. Without HRM no company stands a chance of succeeding. The reason for this is that without the HR managers vast knowledge and resources, the organization can not grow and prosper. The right choices in the hiring of employees can make or break a company. This course has lead me to believe this to be a true statement.