Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations - Literature review Example

Human Resource By Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour Labour is a crucial resource for any sector involving production or service delivery. There exist three types of labor: human labour involving people in the completion of tasks such as in the manufacturing industry, service industry or any other form that is relevant. Use of machinery; crude are advanced for the purposes of assistance in the production, and finally animal labour. Of all that have been stated, human labour is the most important as it controls the rate and configuration of the rest (Grint 1993, 67) . The functions of labour vary from organization to organization, depending on a number of factors such as goals of the company, the structure, workforce available, government regulations among other factors of production. The modern day classification of labour involves three categories, being mass production, modern production, mass services and knowledge-intensive services (Knoji 2014, 15). To get the most out of the aforementioned sectors of labour, companies need to find ways to source for the most competent, eligible professionals on the market, with the capabilities of taking the company a notch higher, or even drive evolution through history (Guest). Employees need to be as happy as is possible, because it is only when employees are happy and satisfied that innovation in the company reaches its peak. Happy employees will often result in more dedication to satisfying the customers and employer needs and hence are more productive (McGrath 2013, 60). The Human resource management has become an indispensable part of every organization that intends to grow its reach further beyond its local boundaries. It handles aspects of employee sourcing, training and development, manages the employer-employee benefits and is a centralized star-point of communication between different tiers of any organization (A Tarmac case study, 2014) (Huselid 1995, 56). In managing the organizational structure, human resource managers are responsible for conducting a performance analysis and implement a rewarding system aimed at motivating employees to do much more about in their work. There are several factors that would lead competent people to desire to work for a certain company- most of which are based on personal development. In order to fulfill this need by the potential employees, Organizations need to package an attractive image in terms of upholding of social-ethical values, working conditions, opportunity exposure to employees, security and most importantly, design a monetary or non-monetary rewarding system that will keep employees on their toes to do more for the company. The package should be as attractive to the extent that the best workforce available cannot ignore it. Such incentives aim to satisfy employee’s psychological needs, by recognizing their efforts to the better service production (Itika 2011, 47). However, the smaller the package may be; it is enough to say “thank you” to the employees who will happily perform even better. Gomez refers to the package as the employee compensation pay system (Gomez-Mejia & Dessler 2005, 67) Organizational behavior is an area concerned with ways that seek to understand, describe, control and ultimately control people. As the field of psychology grew, more information about how human beings operate became available to whoever sought to know (Townley, 1990). One could then understand why people behave in the ways in which they do, and their psychological needs versus physical needs. Such a study is essential to the growth and sustenance of any company (Purcell 1999, 89). If a human resource personalities is able to understand each person’s niche in the organization, they could better place workforce in the correct areas of interest within the company (Reference for business 2014, 90). Certain sets of work most often require certain particular types of personality. A shy or introverted person is more suited for technical jobs such as the ones that require human-computer interactions or human-machine interactions. Such people, when hired as the public relations persons, the company is likely to flop out of the lack of robust networks. However, a sharp-witted extrovert could do the job very effortlessly (Oswald, Proto, & Sgroi 2014, 40). Such people will do well in the areas of customer service and other regions that guarantee interactions with people. When placed in technical jobs, an extrovert is bound to get bored that performance tends to zero. If such a scenario occurred in the company, production would be super slow, and customers’ deadlines failed. It is, therefore, an important aspect to encompass the personality in search for talent (Barney 1991, 45). Ethics is another crucial consideration when it comes to the organizational success. It is, in fact, the most desirable quality that any workplace could pride itself to have. The progress of a solid work ethic relies upon a strong foundation of the company culture. Companies whose founders are zealous and have the attribute of rubbing it off on the company’s first employees are likely to end up with a strong work ethic where every employee who joins attains such qualities. Well, one could say that the company’s first employees are hardly recruited by a professional human resource manager. The response to this question would be that, the founder’s zeal is mostly enough to power up the small group of people that first work for the company (Munroe 2014, 30). If a strong work ethic is not cultivated, employees will only be motivated by their paycheck to wake up early in the morning to go to work, without the passion for what they do. In career development, one only has a career if they love what they do as opposed to just having a job which guarantees your meals, shelter and standard of living. In such cases, employees are likely to be less productive, hence low business for the organization. Such mediocre results only tend to make the company to barely survive rather than thrive, and if the founders leave, the company is bound to wind up. In some instances, some employees could voluntarily work late on extended hours yet wake up early in the morning to work, simply because other than the paycheck, they leave their workplace, and most importantly, they adore their job. Incidences such as these are only likely to happen when a strong work ethic is present and the management has successfully created the ‘family mentality’ among the employees so that they love each other’s company. Such employees require very minimal supervision and more of mentorship at the work place, and their results shall make the company glow. In the event that the founders are no longer able to execute their duties, there is often readily available replacement at the company. Such was the case with Apple when Steve Jobs was terminally ill and was unable to discharge his duties as the CEO. In finding a replacement, the very energetic Tim Cook took over as the acting CEO until confirmation (Isaacson 2011, 75) Organizational theories have been advanced with a major purpose to study and deduce structures such organizations use to come up with solutions to particular problems and utilize the company’s assets to the pleasure of stakeholders. A company can only do so through increased share capital, which solely depends on the relevance of its products to the market. Organizational theories only sue such information to extrapolate and hence predict success possibilities if a company took on one route or the other (Boundless 2014, 109) Companies that had a stiff neck in its organizational structures and policies, which tended to court status quo, are either sold out or rapidly losing value. One such example is Nokia. In the wake of smart phones, Nokia held the crown of the telecommunication industry in both brand and revenue, from the ‘90s to around 2008. When they defied the call of innovation and a desire for smarter gadgets, people shifted to brands that were ready to offer the product. Apple had suitably positioned itself, followed by Google with their iPhone and Android-based smart phones. Four to six years down the line and the two companies comfortably sit at the helm of technology, with super huge revenues and the two are number one and three on the list of the most respected brands globally. Companies that refused to innovate have lost value drastically, both in brand and revenues over the years. One such company is Kodak, Nokia and Coca Cola. While Coca Cola has not lost so much of its brand power, Kodak was temporarily out of the market in 2012 as it filed for bankruptcy only to reemerge as a smaller company (McGrath, 2013). Nokia on the other hand, at some point was the world’s most profitable mobile phone company. Failure to innovate caused the giant to lose about 65% of its brand value. After failure to launch on the Microsoft Windows software due to late entry into the smart phone market, they are yet to sell out to Microsoft at a value of $7.2B, less than the price Microsoft spent on Skype. A principal lesson that board members and managers in companies must learn is that a constant review of the organizational structure, workforce, and visions in relation to market demands. Employers must be able to watch out for youthful talent as well as the experience to execute and mentor from the matured professionals (Townley 1990, 38). It is evident that the vigorous force that chose to think and work differently are the drivers of innovation, and hence are playing an enormous role in determining how the market trends shall go. Perfect example is the story of YouTube, innovated by a 19-year-old. In the traditional world, 19 years of age not old enough to do anything, and does not have the experience required to drive a company to success. Nevertheless, in disapproval of the good old tradition, is Gurbaksh Chahal, an Indian entrepreneur who at the age of 16 started a company, click agents, in America, which he sold for $40 million (Chahal 2014, 38). Compensation, retirement benefits, health care and guarantee of ethical relations at work, forms part of the reputation of an organization. Employees are among the biggest brand of any company. When they feel secure their jobs and good health plans, their worries will be discarded out of the window and they begin to talk positively about the company or corporation (Prahald & Hamel 1990, 65). However, it is a tough balance when all the talk is about the employee satisfaction. They are the very core of any organization. However, the shareholders have to get a return for their investment at the end of the day. Creating this line of balance is the toughest job that the human resource has to deal with in drafting the pay scale for the organization employees. Governments are coming in to help with this as they generalize job evaluation indexes. Such a pay scale for the UK is obtainable from the Pay scale website. It gives detailed descriptions of jobs, population and remuneration (Purcell 1999, 50) Employees who have been out of training institutions for quite a long time might not learn the new trends. As we have seen, the new trends dictate how the organization will turn out. Trends set pace for branding and customer base expansion. In order to bridge the gap between the old guards and the new talented minds, corporations are supposed to fund trainings for their employees on a mutual benefits agreement drafted by the human resource and legal department. Once the training sessions are complete, the organization will be in a better place due to the fresh and new ideas on how to tackle emerging issues within the market. Employee appraisal and promotion is also supposed to be involved the game in order to ensure an organization retains the best workforce within reach (Mayhew 2014, 91). In the same note, employees are supposed to be encouraged to scout for talent and ideas on behalf of the organizations. The bottom-line for the whole concept of business dynamics in relation to the organizational behavior and human resource management are the most valuable asset that any company could have. The three components can either make or break the progress of an organization or corporation. Delegation of human resource management to the right people ensures that the company will enjoy the benefit of increased brand value, product superiority and hence ensure a strong market presence. All organizations are, therefore, supposed to follow implement the guidelines discussed in the previous paragraphs. List of References Alliger, D., & Janak, E. (1998). Kirkpatricks level of training evaluation criteria: Thirty years later. Personnel Psychology , 331-342. Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage, Journal of Management. 17(1), 99-120. Becker, G., & Huselid, M. High Perfomancework systems work systems and firm performance: A synthesis of research managerial implication. In Research in Personnel and Human Resource Maanagement (pp. 16, 53-101). Boundless. (2014, October 31). Why Study Organizational Theory: an Overview. Retrieved Dec 7, 2014, from Boundless Management. Boundless: https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/organizational-theory-3/why-study-or Chahal, G. (Director). (2014). Ambition, Discipline, Purpose. The Journey of Being an Entrepreneur [Motion Picture]. Costa, P., & McCrae, R. R. In Four ways five factors are, Personality and individual Differences (pp. 653-65). Gomez-Mejia, & Dessler, G. (2005). Human resource management. Pearson Education,Prentice Hall. Grint, K. (1993). Whats wrong with perfomance appraisal? A critique and a suggestion. Human Resource management Journal , 61-77. Guest, D. (n.d.). Human resource management and Industrial relations. Journal Management Studies , 24(5) 503-21. Huselid, M. (1995). The impact of human resource management practice on turnover, productivity and corporate financial performance, Academy of Management Journal. 38(38), 635-72. Itika, J. S. (2011). Fundamentals of Human Resource management. 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