Management of Processes and People in Engineering Industry - Coursework Example

Management of Processes and People in Engineering Industry Human resources consist of the entire workforce operating within the organization or the business sector. “Human Resources Management (HRM) is referred to the philosophy, policies, procedures and practices related to the management of an organization’s employees.” (Sims, 2002). It is the productive use of the people within the concern for achieving the business objectives. HR involves in carrying out policies and practices for managing different aspects of the human resources such as planning, recruitment, training, appraisal, remuneration and much more. Unlike personnel management, the Human Resources management treats the employers as a resource rather than a replaceable asset. The basic functions of a HRM includes strategic planning and organizing of HR policies and practices for attaining the goals of the organization and efficient staff positioning through recruitment and selection. HR operations also include planning for future HR needs, job analysis, training and development of skills to ensure that the organization will get an effective performance from its workforce. It also involves in motivating the employees by performance appraisal, job evaluation etc. and maintaining good relationship between the employees and the management. “An efficient Human Resources management is particularly concerned with all the activities that contribute to successfully attracting, developing, motivating and maintaining a high-performance workforce that results in organizational success.” (Sims, 2002) An efficient HRM will pave the way for a successful business. This is one of the essential criteria that a business has to focus in order to attain significant performance outcome. In fact, HR gets interlinked with all the other aspects of an organization like finance, marketing, operations and other management disciplines. Let us discuss the contribution of HR management for the success of engineering business. An engineering industry primarily deals with manufacturing, designing and operation of machines, devices and technical services. So, an effective management of its processes and people is a vital aspect to its efficient performance. The success of an engineering business is indeed dependable upon the performance of its employees. Recruiting, identifying and developing skillful employees play a critical role in obtaining high performance for the business. The primary drive for the success of any engineering business is the optimum utilization of its resources. Efficient handling of the plans and strategies regarding the business processes and people will contribute higher performance and success for the business. The HR strategies implemented today by the engineering business will help them gain a profitable success as well as attain a competitive advantage in the future. One of the critical business strategies that an engineering concern has to adopt is to retain and motivate the high performance employees. Concerning to the future workforce, there are certain anticipated changes and trends prevailing. Firstly, there is a considerable shortage for quality workers. And so it has become vital for any successful concern to retain their existing employees who provide a quality performance to the organizational success. It is the role of the HRM to perform favorable changes in its procedures that will serve well in retaining and motivating the employees. For instance, in order to attain quality outcome for the products, HRM has to initiate quality based appraisal and reward system that elicits the employees’ performance in providing high quality products for the business. Secondly, there is a need for proper training and development of the employees. A well-organized training will help the employees to serve better for the organization. High-performing employees are an added advantage to the organization’s success. It indeed benefits the organization as well as the employees. An efficient HRM not only recruits the workforce but also provides the necessary training and development programs that will help the employees perform well efficiently in their work which in turn favors the concern. Thus one of the main functions of the HRM is to employ, develop and utilize the manpower for attaining the goals of the organization. Thirdly, every concern has to meet with the competitive edge in the market. That is why it has become essential for the concerns to deliver quality products and services to its consumers. This will help them sustain their business products among their competitors in the future. Especially in the engineering industry, the human leverage is one of the leading factors to competitiveness which brings a prominent difference in organizational performance and customer satisfaction. So, the bottom line regarding these aspects is that engineering businesses has to develop and implement various strategies and innovative changes that will generate an environment where the employees will thrive towards quality performance. Another important aspect that an engineering business has to focus is the rapid development in technology. With increase in innovations and technologies, each firm has to keep an eye on the emerging trend and has to act accordingly. These changes has to be effectively handled and implemented by the HRM then and there to cope with the upcoming trend and sustain through the competitive edge. It is evident that the way in which the human resources of an organization are managed will be the key to its business effectiveness. "Traditional sources of success (e.g., speed to market, financial, technological) can still provide competitive leverage, but to a lesser degree now than in the past, leaving organizational culture and capabilities, derived from how people are managed, as comparatively more vital." (Sauer, 2010) There are few challenges that a HRM has to face in the engineering industry. Since engineering businesses are products and service based industries, it has to provide quality end products to its consumers. For instance, in case of IT industry, innovative and creative knowledgeable human resource will determine the success of the company. Here comes the major challenge for the HRM of an IT industry in recruiting quality and intellectual people to the organization whose talent could be outsourced for the business growth. Once the employees are recruited, developing and managing their performance becomes the next vital step for the HRM. It means that right person has to be put in the right job for attaining optimum performance. It is essential for the HRM to find the right person with the preferred qualities, skills and experiences so that he suits well with the organizational requirements. As discussed earlier, it is indeed essential for any business to retain their high-performance employees. Attrition rate of the engineering industry is being increased with the competition. For instance, IT companies usually have a high degree of attrition. “It’s become a huge problem to find talent and to keep that talent.” (Corkery, 2011). It is the challenge for the HRM to keep the attrition rate much lower. They have to offer different techniques such as ESOP, high pay packets and other benefits for the employees in order to retain and motivate them. The wages of employees and staff retention are the major issues ongoing in this industry. These major challenges, if unnoticed, would tend to hinder the growth of the business. So it is the responsibility of the HR department to take necessary steps to eradicate the issues that are impeding to the success of the organization. The competitive edge drives up the salaries in the engineering sector which has become a major issue for the business to compete. For example, in case of mining industries, “with increasing demand and limited supply, it’s likely that the engineering sector will see an increase in staff costs to their business. Average wages in the mining sector are already amongst the highest in the country.” (Corkery, 2011). Yet another major issue in an engineering industry is the risk management. Being a manpower oriented industry, it has to provide efficient health and safety arrangements to the employees. The HRM has to initiate safe and secure workspace for the wellbeing of the employees. It has to promote wellness to the worker by designing and maintaining work systems in the workplace that are capable of satisfying the physical as well as mental health of the employees. The HRM has to ensure that the workplace meets with all the safety and health legislations providing a safe environment at work. An efficient HRM “deals with having a safe workplace for the employees without discrimination, harassment, by providing equal opportunity and diversity in the workplace.” (Morhall). Industrial engineering is a concept that focuses on optimum productivity of the resources. It is the design of integrating men, materials and equipments together and there by implementing them into the work process to gain the desired results of productivity. “Industrial engineering is one the primary drivers for linking the needs of the employers to the needs of the employees. By utilizing industrial engineering techniques, management can develop, evaluate and improve the wants of both groups” (Marksberry & Parsley, 2011). Since engineering industry is solely related to machines and devices, by implementing such new methods and innovative techniques, HRM can benefit well to the organizational success. Conclusion Thus, it is evident that the HRM has a significant relationship with the organization’s performance and results. For the success of an engineering business, HRM has to focus on understanding the requirements of the industry and providing efficient skilled workforce that will probably ensure success for the concern. Overall, HRM is a great strength to the engineering business. With an efficient use, it will deliver better results for the business growth and greater satisfaction to its employees. Also it should be kept in mind that there are various other factors besides the HRM that will influence the organizational growth. Thus, effective management of the people within the organization brings a greater difference to the business performance, for engineering and any industry, either small or large. References Corkery, D. (1 July, 2011). Engineering sector facing HR issues as mining growth continues. HC Online. Web. 29 Oct 2012. http://www.hcamag.com/article/engineering-sector-facing-hr-issues-as-mining-growth-continues-84247.aspx Marksberry, P. & Parsley, D. (2011). Managing the IE (Industrial Engineering) Mindset: A quantitative investigation of Toyota’s practical thinking shared among employees. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management. Vol 4, No 4, Nov 2011. Morhall, A. (n.d.). Strategic Human Resource Management. Engineers International. Web. 29 Oct 2012. http://www.engineers-international.com/31-28-31.php Sauer, N. (4 Mar, 2010). The Contribution of Human Resource Management to Organisational Performance. Yahoo. Web. 29 Oct 2012. http://voices.yahoo.com/the-contribution-human-resource-management-organisational-5580683.html?cat=3 Sims, R. R. (30 Mar, 2002). Organizational Success Through Effective Human Resources Management. Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More