Human Resource Management Practices
Question 1
Chapter one of the book explains several models of human resource management. One of the models is matching model which describes the ‘resource’ feature of Human Resource Management (HRM) and lays emphasis on the well-organized deployment of human workforce to attain organizational goals. Therefore, like any other organizational resources, human resources must be acquired cheaply, used in moderation and developed to the maximum. The other model is ‘Harvard model’ which is an analytical framework that is based on the idea that, if company managers would create a perspective of how they expect to see workers engaged in and expanded by the business, then various criticisms of staff management can be defeated. The main ingredient of HRM, in relation to this model, is described proportionate to several policy areas which include human resource flows, compensation systems, worker influence, and work structures. The organization’s strategy cannot be matched and therefore both organization structure and HRM are reliant on the organization strategy. The major goal of the matching model is hence to build a suitable human resource plan that will set apart those strategies that support the most efficient functioning of company strategies. On the other hand Harvard model recognizes the function of societal outcomes, and for this reason it can provide a practical foundation for relative analysis of human resource management.
Matching model can be said to represent the finest strategic approach to Human Resource Management. This model mainly emphasizes accomplishment more as compared to strategy formulation. Matching model also tend to concentrate on harmonizing Human Resource strategy to organization’s strategy. The model further lays emphasis on similarity and do not recognize the necessity for lack of such connection among HR strategies and company strategies for the period of transition and when the organization is having multiple or contradictory targets. One major aspect of HRM model is strategic integration which is the need to form a close two-way connection involving the external organization strategy and components of the in-house HR strategy. A company’s HRM strategies should correspond with its strategy in its competitive background and with the current business situations that it is facing. Therefore, strategic human resource management focuses on the confrontation of matching the ideas, policies, agendas, practices and process in a manner that will motivate and strengthen different worker role behaviors suitable for every competitive strategy. Through matching model, the connection between organization strategy and human resource strategy is reactive and therefore HRM strategy is passive to product-market logic and the company strategy.
It is very important for HRM experts to recognize the value of critique of neo-liberal economic policies. In human resource background, issues that concern environmental sustainability, equity, and principles are currently being reasserted. These issues are challenging the harsh neo-liberal quarrels for free markets, management freedom, and community power. Believing that these new arguments will be successful in dislodging neo-liberal economic tactics would be erroneous. Although these policies are being criticized by those who suppose that it is not an economic policy, it is expected to be inexistence for quite a numbers of years. The main issue with Neo-colonialism is that it focused on the private sector while making its deliberations and it paid no attention to the public sector. It is therefore essential for the Human Resource practitioners to realize that the policy did not include all parties in its guidelines. It is very important for HRM to build a more “pluralistic” awareness of the nature of job. An employee joins an organization as a person with full personality, and is entrenched in wider social systems, for example, their family, society, unofficial networks, and cultural and general groups. While some characteristics of these people, for example their cognitive capacities, may be an asset to the company, it is clear that no person will be able to perform optimally at all times. Physical resources like machinery do not go to work with a hangover nor do they suffer grief, physical or psychological sickness or ask to shift to another section because they not like their supervisor. Additionally, human resources, different from other resources, can decide whether or not to allow the organization to profit from their work.
Strategic human resource management is one of the strategies exploited in attaining competitive advantage. However, in a situation where the workers are compensated inadequately, then this plan turns out to be obsolete. In an organization context remuneration should be founded on performance, responsibilities and skills. Increasing the salary of a CEO should be justified in the case he/she performs. When the salary of the CEO is raised and the salary of other members of staff remains the same, then the workers will seek to gratify their personal desires rather than organizational interest. Therefore, the operational level will lose concentration on the business strategy, and the Strategic HRM will collapse. The CEOs in America and Canada are not justified by their increment since they did not base the pay raise on any factor. In America, the CEO did not even thought of increasing their workers salary although they are the ones who toil to make the organization successful. For Canada, although workers’ salaries were increased, the increment was not even an eighth of the proportion the CEOs received. This will demoralize the workers and hence affect strategic HRM by making it impossible to attain competitiveness with the workers’ proficiencies and relevance.
Question 2
The International Business Machine Corporation (IBM) is recognized for having a vast history and considerable accomplishments in technology industry. The corporation consists of international supply chains of software and hardware products in almost170 countries with 60% of income generated outside America. One strategic HRM practice of IBM is promoting diversity and hence bringing up awareness, understanding and proficiency to enable groups to contribute with utmost effectiveness. In order to recognize and face local challenges organizational training in IBM is built on an international practical framework.
Gender diversity enables all female workers in the company to achieve a well-built leadership presence. The company also has a career improvement workshop that provides tools for eradicating any disabling hurdles for physically challenged workers, helping them to uphold their potential and elevating their career. Ethnic diversity helps to work competently within multicultural background, providing culture proficiency and its significance to IBM. Ethnic diversity explores racial differences on general, practical, as well as interpersonal levels. IBM is committed to workforce diversity to ensure employees contribution at their highest possible level and to link the workplace to the market place, to serve its clients, suppliers, and stockholders. A working environment, founded on trust and mutual respect upholds teamwork, enhance culture and openness and improve capability of doing the best for the client.
To sustain diversity, IBM concentrates on female technology, gender scorecard, on the requirements of the refining personnel that involves appraisal and internal procedures, staffing and development plans to ensure that workers’ need are met. When it comes to generational diversity, IBM evaluates profession paths, improvement and talent management, and shifting idea of work and leisure time. For ethnic diversity IBM concentrates on expanding cultural variety of the personnel by extending new channels and maintaining recruitment absorption of workers from diverse ethnic groups. In addition, IBM engages in local partnership through external entities in order to promote social cohesion. The working hours are also flexible and the company has supporting technologies that enable workers to work remotely, these two features are growing work-life diversity.
IBM invests to a great extent in career improvement courses. In line with the company’s report, IBM invested $700 million in employees’ education and growth, about $400 million was allocated for workers to be trained about market-value proficiencies and wireless technologies in 2013. This IBM’s strategy is deduced from “resource-based” model of strategic HRM which concentrates on resources inputs. The theory asserts that, resources can be expanded within an organization for better performance and to gain competitive advantage. Excellent performance is observable and it is in organization’s authority to manage and organize its resources so as to express more economical and improved satisfaction of clients’ requirements. Resource based model view resources as the main determinant of business performance.
Just like any other asset, human resources have numerous uncertainties since the future value of human resources can be uncertain. Performance may alter with a time, the job functions can be redesigned, and there could be unanticipated demand for skills that workers do not have. Human assets size, grouping and cost may also be irresolute. To deal with such worries, organizations should spend more on growth and training options. When IBM is faced with dangers of skills obsolesce and higher demands for fresh skills, the company forms more growth and training practices. IBM’s human resources are the most highly educated when compared to other corporations and Less than 50% of current workers have been with the corporation for more than 5 years.