Human Resource Management and Practices - Essay Example

The Human Resource department receives recognition as one of the most important departments in the running of any given organization. This is from the fact that the department is in charge of the recruitment process involved in the organization and common knowledge has it that the type of personnel involved in carrying out a specific activity determines the success rates of the company. Understanding the tremendous changes the labor market has undergone over the last few years is important as people get to know the rather great impact it has had on Human Resource Planning for organizations. It is important to understand the relationship between the Human Resource Recruitment directives that organizations have and prevailing trends in the labor market. The year 2008 saw the economic market hit a bump in a rather smooth road that it was enjoying over the last decade. The year saw the emergence of the global financial crisis that hit the job market all over the world and it has seemed difficult for the market to regain its stable shape. Banks have increased their lending rates over time making it rather difficult for entrepreneurs and other businesses to borrow money from them and consequently expansion of businesses has reduced drastically. This is important information for companies that may seek to continue with traditional trends of haphazard recruitment (McKenna & Beech, 2002, 234). With the minimal number of expansions made by companies, it has become rather difficult for more employment opportunities to pop up in these businesses, which has been a major factor to observe when considering people resourcing. This is from this that companies have faced challenges in that every business seeks to offer more employment opportunities in an effort to improve the quality of its brand or reach a greater market (Roberts, 2000, 164). However, the money required to pay the new employees has become hard to make and thus it is important for employers to reduce the recruitment rates for their companies in an effort to cope with the current market trends. Human Resourcing is very important to a company in different ways. One other manner through which it helps a company is in terms of assisting the organization in achieving both contemporary and future business needs. Human Resourcing incorporates the aspect of having employees carry out different activities in an effort to achieve the various goals that a company sets. One of the major needs that a company has both short term and long term is the attainment of a large profit margin. This is important for the company to bear the ability to maintain existing business assets and in an effort to obtain others for the eventual growth of the company. Businesses should understand that this is attained by having personnel specialized in various fields that makes it easier for the management of the company to coordinate the activities of each person (Bloisi, 2007, 43). Human Resourcing is also important in that with a large number of personnel and the business products reaching out a great number of people, there are increased chances of investor opportunities in the business. In the contemporary environment and with the existing tough market, investors have started decreasing the amount of investments they make on companies that do not offer the required results. However, an increase in personnel and a larger network of workers ensures that not only the business provides quality products for the customers, but also that the products reach out to a larger community. A combination of both the quality and a large network of workers brings in new investors interested in the company and subsequently growth of the company is assured (Beardwell, Holden & Claydon, 2010, 127). Manufacturing jobs have had the greatest impact on the economy of many different countries. However, contemporary market trends have revealed that the service sector has began making more profits as compared to the manufacturing jobs. This has had a rather great impact on many companies leading to a decrease in revenue. Most of the population relies on manufacturing jobs because it is the sector at which most unskilled workers source their income, however, with the increase in service sector demands, many companies have focused more of their recruiting activities to this sector making the manufacturing sector seem rather less important. This has had a great effect on the recruitment of employees trained in this sector that has made it harder for people to acquire jobs (Andrew, 2009). The harsh economic times have been so hard that employers have resulted to laying off workers over the last four years and thus generally reducing the amount of staffing done. Understanding the process of training in itself is an important aspect of the recruitment process. This is from the fact that numerous people may pass the initial stage of the recruitment stage that involves official and academic qualifications but may not make it through the training process. This majorly affects the youth who are fresh out of college, universities, and do not have any prior experience in the job. While in training, these recruits may find it hard to achieve the required standards that the employers seek and consequently lack an employment position. Since training is a major factor in recruitment, it is bound to affect the current and future business needs of a company. The contemporary labor needs have the labor market in a position such that most of the students fresh from college are only proficient in theoretical ideas of the business environment such as marketing and research. This, however important, is not the basic requirement when seeking to reach a larger market population. There is the possibility that a trainee may have the required qualifications but have poor public relation skills. Poor skills may come from the fact that this trainee may be rude to the target population in an area such as marketing and consequently not offer the company the required feedback it deserves from the public (Blosi, 2007, 215). Companies should understand that this poor aspect might make the company fail currently and in future. It is thus important for the company to train the employees to their level best and not just recruit. Experience is one factor that employers have had to take into consideration with regard to the changing market trends. Over the years, experience has always been a primal factor observed by the employers in an effort to have skilled personnel working for them. However, as years went by, the need to create more employment opportunities for fresh and young graduates became important and thus there was reduced experience requirement. Conversely, with the increased tax rates noticed over the last few years, employers are not taking chances with whom they employ in their companies and thus the adverse requirement for experience during the recruitment process. This has had a major effect on the youth of the country as most of the older people have had to retain their jobs and in case of employment opportunities opening up, they are given to the older experienced people (Yousef, 2012, 194). Another approach that companies use in offering employment opportunities for people is with regard to the market. Every company’s success largely depends on the market influence that it gets. Managers and senior officials should understand that this majorly depends on the treatment that the products that the company offers get from the customer (Yousef, 2012, 207). This is important in that the company gets to plan its various goals and certain strategies in an effort to determine the requirements that it may have over the various succeeding years. A company whose product receives a great and positive reception is bound to expand over the following few years and thus the need to incorporate new employees and start training them in readiness for the premeditated growth (Andrew, 2009). However, for a company which has received fewer returns over the years and with a seemingly decreasing profit margin, it is important that the company does not recruit many employees to carry out its activities. This is from the fact that if it does, this, it would be putting itself in a worse situation provided it will have to account for the increased number of employees. The company rather requires looking for a financial analyst in these tough times to assist in identification of the problematic areas in an effort to understand the changes that it requires to cope with the economic crisis (James, 2012). Understanding this would go a long way to save the company from unnecessary loss. Management of employees is one important factor that companies have after recruitment in an effort to keep up with the changing market conditions. This is from the fact that employees require the constant pushing in an effort to reach their goals and the management of their various organizations best does this. With proper management of employees, they have the ability to have and maintain focus on the tasks ahead with the aim of increasing the productivity of their companies (Gary, 2010, 230). Consequently, the company is able to achieve a better market position and increasing the growth rates. Management should be a major aspect understood by a company to increase the amount of produce it provides. One of the manners through which companies can best manage their employees is through appraisal tools. These tools are important for any company with the goal of succeeding in this rather harsh market. Various businesses have different methods of carrying out appraisal for the employees but the most accredited one is standards. Setting standards is imperative in that employees work towards reaching certain standards set by employers, failure to which they face rather tremendous consequences (Janet, 2010, 9). The consequences may come in different forms such as demotion with the most serious one being termination of employment. This management method works effectively in many organizations as the employees are able to gain focus on their jobs fearing the risk that they might get fired in the event of presenting sub-standard results which is terrible as getting another job with the prevailing market conditions is difficult. The positive side of this appraisal tool is that the employees with outstanding records have the benefit of getting promotions or other rewards such as picnics for their families. This is imperative in that it creates a positive sense of competition in the company and works to motivate those that do not get to achieve the set luxurious benefits (John, 2011, 1133) For those with positive results, they get to work even harder to please their employers and maintain their jobs in this market environment characterized by increased layoffs. Despite all the tough measures that companies take in ensuring that the employees they recruit are quality ones, there are companies that still overlook these aspects and take in recruits from the mere fact that these recruits come from influential families. This has much so been a labor trend in the contemporary environment, which has affected the success of these companies excessively. Many of the companies in the current environment always act as if it is not the fault of these illegally employed personnel for the failure of the companies and hence tend to lay the blame on other hardworking team members in the company, which leads to their unemployment in extreme circumstances (Monica, 2010, 700). It is important to understand that this has led to low levels of developments in these companies affecting the labor market in general in that these companies may later on declare bankruptcy and inability to offer more employment opportunities. Another upcoming trend in the labor market involving ethical behaviors of employers is that they at times go to the extent of offering employment opportunities to recruits who give favors that may come in form of sexual activities. This is an emerging trend witnessed in many contemporary companies, which is a high form of ethics disregard. This, just like the initial ethical issue identified, leads to undeserving people gaining employment opportunities. These employees may not have the required talent and traits and even requirements to have the job. In extended situations, these employees may work their way up to very influential positions of the organization. Consequently, this leads to them carrying out major decisions for the companies, which may have a negative effect on the company (Armstrong & Baron, 2000, 167). Recent research has revealed that the underemployment index as of the year 2011 was at 19%. 7.1% of this population is made up of the unemployed while 11.9% is composed of people who have jobs that are part time but with the willingness to work more. These numbers are rather high and 74% of all employers blame the financial downfall experienced since 2008 on the condition (Chi, 2011, 403). Various recommendations can be made with the motive of increasing the chances of people getting job opportunities while still having the employers maintaining their performance index high or even higher. Creating more employment in the manufacturing sector is one of the major recommendations that can effectively work towards creating better future people resourcing moves. This is from the fact that the 11.9% employment rates of people with part time jobs and 7.1% completely unemployed people can really benefit from this idea in that they are desperate to work and these industries do not required a lot of skilled labor. The amount of training that can be carried out in this sector can be done in whole in that the people just have to understand the basic functioning of machines and associated tools. This is important in that it can assist in saving the amount of time that the trainers spend and carry out their work at the same time. Consequently, with a decrease in unemployment levels, market levels would stabilize and eventually lending rates set by banks would decrease. It is important to understand the prevailing labor market is tough provided there are more graduating people with academic qualification and less functional skills. Moreover, the harsh market conditions from the global financial crisis have made it tough for companies with relation to employment provision. Understanding the various market trends and human relation activities sheds light on the situation and the manner in which best to cope with the situation and offers advice on quality recruitment factors to observe. References Chi, L. 2011. Hypothesis in Job Creation and Destruction, Annals of Economics and Finance, 12(2), 389-409. Gary, C. 2010. Human Resource Management and Practices, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 49(2), 225-239. Janet, M. 2012. Strategic Human Resource Management. People Management, 26(2), 6-11. John, D. 2011. Individual and Opportunity Factors Affecting Job Creation, Personnel Today. 52(6), 1125-1147. Monica, C. 2010. Effects of Social Security on Employment, Industrial and Labor Review on Employment, 65(3), 686-737. Pilbeam, S. & Corbridge, M. 2010 People Resourcing and Talent Planning: HRM in Practice (4rd edition). Harlow: FT Prentice Hall / Pearson Education Kramar, R. & Syed, J. 2012. Human Resource Management in a Global Context – A critical approach. Basingstoke; Palgrave Macmillan Taylor, S. 2010. Resourcing and Talent Management (5th edition), London, CIPD. Armstrong, M. & Baron, A. 2000. Performance Management: The New Realities London: CIPD Beardwell, I., Holden, L. & Claydon, T. 2010. Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach (6th edition). Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. McKenna, E. & Beech, N. 2002. Human Resource Management: A Concise Analysis, Harlow: FT Prentice Hall/ Pearson Education. Kandola, R. & Fullerton, J. 2002. Diversity in Action – Managing the Mosaic. London. CIPD Roberts, G. 2000. Recruitment and Selection: A Competency Approach. London, CIPD. Bloisi, W. 2007. An Introduction to Human Resource Management. New York: McGraw Hill Yousef, B. 2012. Relationship between Human Resource Systems and Human Resource Management. Human Resource Management Journal, 4(4), 192-211. Andrew, E. 2009. Is there a North-South Divide in Self-employment in England? Retrieved on 4th November 2012 from https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?vid=5&hid=1&sid=1f4649aa-80c7-48a5-9e8f-5f69f77bb5aa%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d James, B. 2012. Catching Falling Stars: A Human Resource Response to Social Capital's Detrimental Effect of Information Overload on Star Employees. Retrieved on 4th November 2012 from https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?vid=2&hid=1&sid=3953b08b-d3de-443f-8dbc-97d97d2f7648%40sessionmgr12&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d Read More