Main HR Issues Facing UHI and HR Concepts Relevant to Resolving These Issues - Coursework Example

Answer Two Questions Base on the Case Study: United Health International Table of Contents Question What Is The Main HR Issues Facing UHI And WhatHR Concepts Are Relevant To Understanding Or Resolving These Issues? 3 Question 2: What will be the Main Points of Your Presentation to the Board? 8 Brief Overview of the HR issues Faced by UHI Offices 8 Recruitment and Selection 9 Training and Development 10 Understanding Cultural Impacts on HR Practices 11 Emphasizing Manpower Retention 12 Performance Management and Reporting System 12 References 14 Question 1: What Is The Main HR Issues Facing UHI And What HR Concepts Are Relevant To Understanding Or Resolving These Issues? As per the provided case study, United Health International (UHI), which is a NGO, operates in various nations of the world. The organization has established and flourished its operations through merger with different NGOs in various parts of the world. Correspondingly, the organization has been able to serve the needy in the society in a widespread manner altogether. The prime operation of the NGO was conducted in the domain of Healthcare where it delivers services in challenging environment. However, in the recent years, the organization has faced severe challenges especially in the domain of HR practices. This particular section of the essay will aim at depicting the issues that prevails within the sphere of HR practices of the social organization. These issues are further affecting the performance of the NGO in one way or the other. It is evident that human resource management (HRM) is the most vital part that is integrally associated with the operations of any particular business unit irrespective of the sector in which the company operates. It is noted that human resource management often includes proper management of the resources of a business so that better results can be ascertained from the same owing to their dedication as well as effectiveness (Civil Service Branch, 1995). It is believed that management of employees, which is aligned with HR practices of business, includes understanding about the nature of the people of the workplace in terms of their abilities and skills. Likewise, the HR manager has the need to emerge with the ideas to utilize these skills towards meeting the goals and objectives of the company. Proper management of human resource within any particular workplace will certainly result in better performance from the employees end within the workplace. However, in the absence of an environment where management is less concerned about the employees or the people in the workplace, the outcome from the same might not be positive or appropriate (Strandberg, 2009). Similar aspects could be depicted within the operations of the NGO i.e. UHI, which has encountered with problems relevant to HR issues within the workplace in various branches of the organization operating worldwide. The two main headquarter of the company is situated in Canada and Vienna. Most of the human resources of the organization is controlled and steered by the respective departments from these two headquarters. Emergency utilization of human resources are executed by department situated in the Montreal division of the NGO while for the development of the human resource and its practices, the role of Vienna division is the primary office. Notably, the branch of the company has less number of people working who have less experience. This is owing to the lack of available labour in the country i.e. Canada and Vienna. There is a lack of management of the workforce in an effective manner as the number of conflicts amid the workforce is seen to be increasing on a continuous basis which one way or the other depicts the absence of proper HRM within the workforce. Correspondingly, analysis of the case study depicted that Montreal office or headquarter of the company is responsible for managing the activities of the company in 18 other nations of the world. These countries comprises majorly of the nations belonging to the continent of Asia, Africa and Middle East among others. With this particular approach, the management of the NGO at Montreal was able to align the operational network of more than 24 offices of this particular organization. However, the management of the organization headquartered in Montreal face problems while balancing the activities of the 24 global offices together (Phillips & Connell, 2004). This particular aspect has further worked ensuring problems of managing the human resource of the organization. The alignment of the various offices of the company further ensured a diverse workforce within the workplace where each of the department or individuals has diverse skills and educational qualification along with experience (Mathis & et. al., 2013). Henceforth, the management of the organization has to encounter problem of managing a diversified workforce, which lacked the required balance. This aspect can further be regarded as potential difficulties in the HR practices of the management of Montreal headquarter. The issues of HR practices within the operations of the NGO have also been depicted the aspect of retention of employees or volunteers in certain scenario. Analysis of the case depicted that the company was dealing with issues relevant to retention of local labour as a large percentage of them has shifted from the organization to the private within 2 years of associating with the NGO. It must be mentioned that employee retention is one of the integral part of the operations of companies in any particular sector. The performance or the attainment of goals in any commercial or non-profit organization is directly dependent upon the approach of employee retention of the business. With effective employee retention, an organization can be able to ascertain a workforce that is highly experienced and competent to execute the activities of the company on a continuous basis. Again, it has also been analyzed that apart from Montreal offices, the Vienna headquarter has large number of expatriate employees in important designations who are again quite challenging to retain for the long run. Hence, it is clear that employee retention has been a major issue in the HR practices of the management of the organization. The HR practices of the NGO also deem to lack in the domain of training and development of the employees within its operations worldwide. Training and development is of paramount importance in the work process of companies operating in any sector. People, who are hired through recruitment and selection, though have the general skills, abilities and educational experience but are not aware of the work process and operational significance of the organization. Contextually, it can be said that with the deliverance of proper training to the employees will certainly enhance or develop their work efficacy and effectiveness and likewise ensure beneficial result for the organization. The local staffs that were employed by the NGO are believed to have the technical skills and expertise, which upon the deliverance of proper training can be enhanced significantly. However, as per the operations of the organization, the absence of proper training and development for the recruited local employees is quite apparent (Dibble, 1999). This can further be regarded as a potential HR issue within the operation of the NGO. Performance management is also an important part of HRM practices of the NGO. Notably, performance management primarily refers to the approaches of organization with regard to managing as well as steering the performance of the workforce towards a positive direction. This particular approach can also include understanding the strengths and weakness of the employees and likewise developing appropriate measure for the entire operation accordingly. This aspect was evident within the operations of the NGO in its worldwide establishment. It has been learnt that the management of the NGO in the headquarters of Vienna and Montreal has different approach and preferences with regard to performance management practices in their respective operations. The management of the organization is in favour of implementing an impersonal performance management while for headquarter in Montreal, the preferred approach in performance management is reporting system. However, it is believed that the preferred performance management system of both the companies were not aligned with the culture of the NGO which further made it ineffective to a considerable extent altogether. This aspect further showed that the performance management system of the company is not in alignment with the work culture of the company, which is again a potential HR issue in the operations of the NGO worldwide (Dibble, 1999). From the above analysis, problems and issues within the HR practices of the company has been widely determined. There exists certain concepts and practices of HRM, which the organization can implement to understand and mitigate the issues related with the HR practices in the workplace, for both Vienna and Montreal headquarter collectively. Some of the concepts that can be taken into consideration by the NGO include performance management, employee retention, training and development as well as diversified workforce management among others. All these aspects are associated with the concept of HRM and its practices. The NGO will need to analyze the issues in the workplace relevant to HR practices with consideration to the concepts mentioned above to have a better understanding of the prevailing challenges and problems and likewise develop approaches to deal with the same. Correspondingly, it can be said that the management of the NGO will need to focus more within the domain of developing better training and development facilities collectively for both Montreal headquarter as well as the office at Vienna. Moreover, a mutual understanding will also need to be attained regarding the application of a common performance management system with regard to analysis and management of work process of the workforce in a systematic manner that can further be considered beneficial for the overall performance of the company (Armstrong, 2006). Hence, from the overall analysis, it can be ascertained that HRM practices and its effectiveness is indeed among the most vital aspects that determine the performance of a particular organization. Question 2: What will be the Main Points of Your Presentation to the Board? Brief Overview of the HR issues Faced by UHI Offices With reference to a critical understanding of the case, the business operations in UHI have been undergoing a major set of issues associated with different HR roles and responsibilities. According to the case, it has been ascertained a number of issues has been affecting the efficient HRM system within the organisation. The concern associated with the recruitment and selection of members for different support roles has been duly accepted as one of the major HR issues in UHI. The issue has substantially created major hurdle in the organisation efficient performance of effective HR roles by the personnel. Additionally, the case has also determined a major issue relating to staffing of regular medical volunteers as well as contractors in the UHI Montreal operations. The concern of inappropriate staffing along with issue of erroneous recruitment practices by including unqualified volunteers on support roles of the company have created a major tension among the management and core specialists, who are accountable of applying rules to protect UHI Montreal from legal implications. In addition, difficult training and development programmes to improve skills and competencies of the working staff members have also been witnessed in both the operational segment of UHI in Montreal and Vienna. The training activities have also faced major complexities in terms of tailoring skills and competencies of qualified local staff members. Nevertheless, the offices shared with Montreal and Vienna has been recognised to have inappropriate performance management and reporting system. The problems associated with the performance management can lead the offices to face numerous hurdles, as they are comprised with staff members from different cultural backgrounds. In order to effectively deal with the issues associated with HR practices, the board of UHI should critically focus on few of the major concerning HRM areas to stimulate healthcare delivery process across both the subsidiaries Montreal and Vienna. In this regard, the following areas or factors have been determined from the case, which can substantially help the board of UHI stimulating roles and performance of the HR functions. Recruitment and Selection Recruitment and selection is critically identified as one of the fundamental aspects with an effective and all-inclusive HRM system in the organisation. It has major influence on the organisations to incorporate eligible and qualified individuals for any specific job roles and activities that lead organisation to meet its goals and objectives. In relation to the rapidly increasing competitive pace of the current phenomenon, organisations are frequently identified as centrally focused on developing strategic measures with respect to their recruitment and selection processes (Chhabra, n.d.). In the context of UHI, recruitment and selection is regarded as one of those primary activities of its HRM functions that enable the leaders and managers to engage competent workforce for its range of healthcare service related activities. In relation to the current HRM policies, the recruitment process of this organisation also involves strong principles by providing equal opportunity to the qualified individuals, regardless of their age, gender, colour, ethnicity, religious backgrounds and disability based differences. However, according to the given case, the integration of unqualified staff members for different healthcare activities have brought major issues that undermine UHI’s capability to obtain its organisational goals. The incorporation of unqualified staff members can substantially lower the operational capability in both the service delivery subsidiaries in Montreal and Vienna. In this regard, the issue may have major impact on the organisational financial position in the form of utilising extensive investment to improve the skills and abilities of unqualified or unskilled staff members. Furthermore, this can even affect the overall performance of the organisation in the global domain. Employee training and development may in this regard bring a major complexity for the board of UHI to effectively deal with their concerned issues. In addition, quality of delivering healthcare services may also be undermined due to the engagement of employees with comparably lower knowledge or skills about the operational process. Training and Development The fair employment policy of UHI also incorporate strong provisions regarding various discriminatory acts and practices that are highly associated with demographic variances including gender, income level as well as cultural aspects. These norms are also observed to be implemented while making them a part of the organisation’s quality based operations and services. However, it has also been perceived that issues regarding training and developmental practices of the HRM departments in both the subsidiaries including Montreal and Vienna has undermined the overall strategic and operational performance of the organisation. In relation to the current training and development activities, the operational units of UHI in Vienna are more likely to integrate eligible and qualified trainers from different other institutions that substantially increase the actual training cost of the organisation. However, the process of appointing trainers among the most qualified and skilled members of the organisation can lower the risk of cost related issues in relation with training and development of employees within the organisation. Moreover, demarcating training sessions for staff members from both medical and non-medical e support staff members can also bring a major opportunity to UHI for improving its operational efficiency. Appropriate training and developmental programs with an aim of improving cognitive and behavioural attitudes of the staff members would also help the UHI offices located in Montreal and Vienna in streamlining performance capability of the staff members. Understanding Cultural Impacts on HR Practices The case of UHI provides a critical understanding about the increasing influence of workforce diversity, which is a major issue in both the overseas healthcare subsidiaries of Montreal and Vienna. According to the case, the offices operating in Vienna include professional staff members with expatriates from Austria and its various surrounding nations. Moreover, a significant shortage of staff members to play the roles performed by the expatriates is also a major concern for the offices shared with UHI Vienna located globally such as Central Asia, Balkans, South Asia and East Africa. Correspondingly, the offices are shared with the UHI Montreal, which have a wider network with 18 global nations ranging from South-East Asia, West Africa, Southern Africa, Middle East, North Africa, to Central America and South America. Therefore, it is quite evident that the operational functions of the organisation may be highly influenced by cultural diversity. It can also be stated that owing to the diverse cultural domain of the workforce the company is even likely to face severe amount of challenges to meet with their desired objectives. In order to deal with the negative impacts that might be derived from the workforce diversity, the HR department of the organisation should also need to understand and carry out appropriate measures to deal with people from different cultural and demographic backgrounds. In this regard, the continuous emphasis on ensuring equal priority of employees, irrespective of their national culture can significantly help the organisation to reduce negative impacts associated with workforce diversification. Nevertheless, continuous training and development programs for each group of employees also help UHI and its shared offices located in both Montreal and Vienna to minimise the issue that might be derived from cultural differences of the workforce within the organisation. Emphasizing Manpower Retention With reference to the case, difficulties in terms of retaining qualified workers from localities are also a major concern for both UHI Montreal and Vienna. Retaining employee especially those who are experienced and highly eligible workers are one of the major roles for the HR departments. However, the scenario observed in this case has provided a dissimilar view regarding the retention strategy of UHI irrespective of the offices shared with Montreal and Vienna. The employee retention strategy in the organisation includes major flaws, which resulted incapable of retaining staff members moving to the other privately held institutions or different Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). In order to maintain the number of experienced and highly skilled workforce, the HRM practices of the organisation should carry out effective retention strategy ensuring adequate security and benefits to the employees. The strategy will help the organisation to maintain its robust performance along with intentions of each individual staff member to strengthen their association with the long-term growth of the organisation (Bal & et. al., 2014). Performance Management and Reporting System The critical assessment of the case has also enabled to recognise flaws relating to employee performance management in both the shared office of Montreal and Vienna. In relation to the case scenario, the performance management and reporting practices of the HR department has undergone major difficulties with numerous errors due to the existence of employees from diverse nationalities and cultural backgrounds. According to the working environment of the offices shared with Montreal, the performance management system is unable to effectively determine or monitor performance of employees irrespective of their cultural and other demographical differences. In order to deal with the issue, it becomes quite essential for the UHI offices shared with both Montreal and Vienna to consider the performance management and reporting activities as the integrated HRM strategies. The process could help the organisations to maintain appropriate track of the difficulties faced by the employees due to their diverse cultural backgrounds. The process in this regard could enable the offices shared with both Montreal and Vienna to formulate appropriate set of strategic directions to improve optimal performance of each staff member in the workplace (Delety, 1998). References Armstrong, M., 2006. Strategic Human Resource Management. Petra University, 1-190. Bal, Y. & et. al., 2014. Determining The Influence Of HRM Practices On Increasing Organizational Commitment: An Empirical Research From Turkey. Human Resource Capital without Borders: Management, Knowledge & Learning for Quality of Life, pp. 1025-1033. Chhabra, V., No Date. Current Trends in Employee Retention Strategies. International Journal of New Practices in Management and Engineering, Vol. 4, No.1, pp. 20-27. Civil Service Branch, 1995. Human Resource Management. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.csb.gov.hk/english/publication/files/e-hrmguide.pdf [Accessed January 21, 2014]. Condrey, S. E., 2010. Handbook of Human Resource Management in Government. John Wiley & Sons. Delety, J. E., 1998. Issues of Fit in Strategic Human Resource Implications for Research. Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 289-309. Dibble, S., 1999. Keeping Your Valuable Employees: Retention Strategies for Your Organizations Most Important Resource. John Wiley & Sons. Jiang, K. & et. al., 2012. How does ‘Human Resource Management Influence Organisational Outcomes? A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Mediating Mechanisms. Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 55, No. 6, pp. 1264-1294. Mathis, R. L. & et. al., 2013. Human Resource Management. Cengage Learning. Phillips, J. J. & Connell, A. O., 2004. Managing Employee Retention. Routledge. Strandberg, C., 2009. The Role of Human Resource Management in Corporate Social Responsibility. Home. [Online] Available at: http://corostrandberg.com/wp-content/uploads/files/CSR_and_HR_Management1.pdf [Accessed January 21, 2014]. Read More