Technical and Generic Skills and Competencies of Human Resource Management Professional Affiliation - Annotated Bibliography Example

Technical and Generic Skills and Competencies of the Contemporary Human Resource Management Professional AffiliationCourse Introduction Human resource management professionals require various skills, both generic and technical as well as various competencies for them to succeed in the ever-challenging business environment. This paper presents a review of literature on the various skills and competencies of the contemporary Human Resource Management professional as viewed by potential employers, practitioners as well as the academic view of it. Literature Review Competencies Schoonover, S. C. (2003). Human resource competencies for the new century. Falmouth, MA: Schoonover Associates. Schoover (2003), in his article states that changes in the business environment have changed the way organizations conduct business and create value. Organizations are therefore increasing their focus on opportunities and issues to their human assets. He defines competencies required in HRM as a set of context-specific behaviors that define what success looks like in a specific setting. He insists on for levels of competencies that are necessary for HR management. Personal attributes such as commitment, honesty and integrity and continuous learning are needed for excellent performance across all levels and functions. Leadership and management competencies such as strategy development / visioning, resources management and teamwork represent the success factors that differentiate performance across career levels. HR core competencies such as customer focus, knowledge management, stewardship and compliance among others are the success factors shares across all HR roles. HR role-specific competencies, including organization design, relationship management and projects management are also required to distinguish sub functional competencies. Jiang, K., Lepak, D. P., Han, K., Hong, Y., Kim, A., & Winkler, A. L. (2012). Clarifying the construct of human resource systems: Relating human resource management to employee performance. Human Resource Management Review, 22(2), 73-85. Jiang et al. (2012) discusses various groups to which the various competencies that are required of a HR professional fall. Human resource management professionals, according to Jiang et al (2012), require competencies that exist in six classes, for effective performance. The first is professional capacity, a group needs HR practitioners to be knowledgeable in certain occupations or technical areas. The next is management capacity, which encompasses skills in planning capacity, executing capacity, as well as time management. Interpersonal relationship skills such as communication and timework are also needed. Attitude matters too, and includes initiative, enthusiasm, and the capability to learn. Hong also mentions that value systems such as decision making and time orientation are crucial for HR professionals. Finally, he says that types of intelligence, such as problem solving are necessary. HR Managers Skill and Performance CCH Hong Kong Limited (2006). From good to great: strengthening today’s performance management systems. China Staff, XII(4), 1-5. In the competition to carry out business at the lowest cost possible, organizations have resolved to move towards a performance-based pay system and differentiate employee rewards in relation to performance, so as to minimize their personnel costs. HR management professional know that they need to focus on skill and performance in the employees (CCH Hong Kong Limited, 2006). According to the 2006 Towers Perrin–China Staff HKHR Council Pulse Survey (CCH Hong Kong Limited, 2006), the report proves that 84% of HR managers perceived competencies as indispensable in accomplishing the goals of their company. While HR managers need their employees to perform, they are also aware that they have a great role to play. They need to be excellent leaders. They also need excellent technical skills in order to manage their employee performance, skill evaluation, etc. quite well. Academics and skills Hodges, D. & Burchell, N. (2003). Business graduate competencies: Employers’ views on importance and performance. Asia-pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 4(2), 16-22. Hodges and Burchell (2003) present their worry about undergraduate education in relation to HR management and general human resource pool. They mention that traditional undergraduate degrees that concentrate more cognitive and technical development around a narrow discipline-based theoretic framework, are less likely to result in well-rounded, adaptable and multiple skilled graduates. This means that these degrees cannot fulfill the demands of present business organizations (Hodges and Burchell, 2003). The world has become a highly global network, suggesting that a HR management professional need to be able to identify, solve, and broker problems. These professional need so much more than just academic knowledge on HR management, but rather a wide range of skills and competencies in order to execute their duties as required. Generic Skills Pumphrey, J., & Slater, J. (2002). An assessment of generic skills needs. Pumphrey and Slater (2002) says this about generic skills, which can be employed in many different occupations. These include communication, team working, problem solving, IT skills, and application of a couple of personal learning to improve performance. The other generic skills required by these personnel include scheduling work and reasoning skills, diagnosing and solving problems, managing work processes, planning future activities and the sequencing of operations. The article also mentions that the emergence of an IT oriented economy has intensified the need for skill rick HR management professionals. Middleton, J. (2008). Skills for Productivity: Vocational Education and Training in Developing Countries. Oxford University Press, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Middleton (2008), tells of the importance of skills in the current and upcoming labor market. In a study by, he shows that HR professionals and employees place a great importance on adaptability or flexibility and critical thinking or problem-solving skills in the recent times compared to earlier times. The study also found out that a less than one out of every ten businesses orients or pays for professional development or training for their U.S. HR management professionals. The study also argues that critical thinking skills should be made a feature of education systems that a global level, for such kind of skills are progressively in demand in the global labor market. The graduates with such kind of skills can very easily assume leadership roles such as heading HR. Certain competencies such as adaptation, interpersonal relationship, and culture shock management are of a great importance. Buhler, P. M. (2001). The growing importance of soft skills in the workplace. Super Vision, 62(2), 13-15. This article stresses the importance of soft skills for HR management professionals and the entire workforce in general. While technical skills and a great academic background are important, they are not enough at all. Buhler (2001) maintains that soft skills are quite important in determining the actual tasks that are being performed. This is because soft skills such as the capability to manage emotions lead to a more superior performance compared to intelligence. With the continuously changing business environment, competent HR management professionals, and other employees should not only have adequate professional knowledge and proficiency at task-oriented skills, but should also be sensitive to changes as well as easily adapt to the new challenges in the workplace. Generic and Technical Skills and Competencies Torririgton, D. and Hall, L (1996). Chasing the rainbow: how seeking status through strategy misses the point for the personnel function. Employee Relations, 18(6), 79-96. According to Torririgton & Hall (1996), HRM practitioners need three types of skills in order to perform their roles affectively. These are strategic skills, organizational skills and personal skills. They study found out the primary issue, which is important was how personnel could add value to the business by showing competencies and skills demanded of them to engage more strategically in organization’s processes. The personal competencies of the personnel directors usually play a significant role in influencing the strategic business decision making process. The HRM personnel are also required to possess great communication and personal relations skills. They should have vast knowledge about the organization as well (Torririgton & Hall, 1996). Siriwaiprapan, S. (2000). The concept, practice, and future of human resources development as perceived by Thai human resources practitioners. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, George Washington University, Washington DC. Siriwaiprapan (2000) observed that thinking skills such as analytical thinking, problem solving, and planning have become more important in enabling HR professionals tackle contingencies when their duties change unpredictably. As the business environment becomes increasingly knowledge-oriented, HR management professionals who can think, make decisions, implement new ideas, conceptualize, analyze and resolve problems, communicate well, and adapt to change. Siriwaiprapan (2000) also developed five domains of HR practitioners perceptions of HR initiatives into organizational (ability to grasp organizational knowledge), social (communication and social interaction skills), cognitive (ability to learn, solve problems, think analytically), job competences (skills to perform assignments) and self-competence (readiness to learn, develop oneself among others). This domains make it quite clear that both technical and generic skills are necessary for HR managerial professionals. Spencer, L., & Spencer, M. (1993). Competence at work: Models for superior performance, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons. This article talks of the various aspects that contribute to excellent performance in organizations, such the possession of both technical and soft skills by management. Spencer & Spencer (1993) define skills referred to the capability to accomplish a certain mental task such as conceptual thinking and analytical thinking or a physical task (Spencer and Spencer, 1993). Spencer & Spencer identify a type of competency, managerial competence which is required of every member of management, including HR management. Spencer & Spencer (1993) emphasizes on the importance of soft skills when talking about job competency. Research as early as that of Spencer and Spencer (1993) maintains that high-quality performance is not only determined by better technical skills but also by the demonstration of underlying characteristics. This is to mean that as much as technical skills acquired in academics and work places is not enough, other personal attributes are also necessary. Conclusion The dynamic business environment requires dynamic HRM professionals who can easily adapt to these changes. The environment requires these personnel to be equipped with great skill and competence. These skills need not just be technical, but also generic. They need great soft skills that will enable them to guide other employees towards the right direction in the best means possible. Their competence in their specific roles also needs to be strong. As seen above, emphasis is put on the importance of academic backgrounds as they build individuals. Well, for best performance, technical skills, generic skills and competence are of great importance in HRM professionals. References Buhler, P. M. (2001). The growing importance of soft skills in the workplace. Super Vision, 62(2), 13-15. CCH Hong Kong Limited (2006). From good to great: strengthening today’s performance management systems. China Staff, XII(4), 1-5. Hodges, D. & Burchell, N. (2003). Business graduate competencies: Employers’ views on importance and performance. Asia-pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 4(2), 16-22. Middleton, J. (2008). Skills for Productivity: Vocational Education and Training in Developing Countries. Oxford University Press, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Pumphrey, J., & Slater, J. (2002). An assessment of generic skills needs. Schoonover, S. C. (2003). Human resource competencies for the new century.Falmouth, MA: Schoonover Associates Siriwaiprapan, S. (2000). The concept, practice, and future of human resources development as perceived by Thai human resources practitioners. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, George Washington University, Washington DC. Spencer, L., & Spencer, M. (1993). Competence at work: Models for superior performance, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons. Torririgton, D. and Hall, L (1996). Chasing the rainbow: how seeking status through strategy misses the point for the personnel function. Employee Relations, 18(6), 79-96. Read More