Key Concepts and Applications within the Realm of Human Resources - Term Paper Example

Section/# Key Concepts and Applications Within the Realm of Human Resources There have been a broad array of salient topics and subject matter that has helped to highlight key information throughout the course of this semester. As such, determining which topics to leverage as a means of highlighting the most pertinent examples of key concepts learned is a bit difficult in but a brief seven page research paper. However, for purposes of this paper, this student will consider both some specific examples of the concepts that have been learned as well as a brief description of how these key concepts can and will be utilized and/or applied within the workplace. As such, the topics which will be analyzed relate to performance evaluations, successful management, treatment of difficult situations, and issues relating to recruiting and compensation. The first concept that this student would like to discuss relates to the issue of performance evaluations. Whereas the performance evaluation is an oft dreaded part of many jobs, the key concepts that were learned within the class helped this student to approach the issue with a new mindset. The fact of the matter is that performance reviews are not in and of themselves a negative; rather, employees have been conditioned to think so due to a number of factors. The first and most prescient of these, as has been demonstrated within class, is the fact that the performance review process is often ignored up until the very last minute. In this way, the employee oftentimes has positively no indication of how their performance has been gauged for the entirety of the period in question. Accordingly, what this affects is a situation in which dread is the primary emotion with which the employee greets the process (Muller 2009). However, as the readings and course work have demonstrated, a far superior model whereby to engage employee and/or shareholder buy in within such a process is to make the entire performance review process something that is straightforward, clearly enumerated, and transparent. In this way, the element of the unknown is removed as the employee is able to engage with the employer (and vice versa) as a means of understanding the extent to which obligations, goals, and metrics were met during the period in question. Rather than seeking to fundamentally redefine the performance review process, the best model of improvement is contingent upon all parties involved keeping clear lines of communication open throughout the period so that when the review comes up, no clarifications will be necessitated. The role of management within a given firm or organization is a topic that has encouraged a great many professionals and writers to expound upon better and more sophisticated models. Yet, as has been learned within this particular class, there is not a definitive definition of correct management; rather, there is a litany of examples of incorrect management. Such is the case due to the fact that the field of management and managerial practice is so broad and nuanced as a result of the host of different personalities that different managers bring to the process. Moreover, the fact that there are clearly discernible incorrect management practices is more helpful in guiding and directing the practitioner towards methods and applications that would minimize these incorrect practices and steer the process back towards a more appropriate direction. By means of understanding this, the reader/researcher and/or student can and should understand that although a litany of best practices are existent within the realm of management, the best method of directing the proper application thereof within the current workplace is to ensure that the smaller subset of negative management practices are avoided at all costs. These include but are not limited to: micromanagement, hands off approaches, the development of non-professional employee-boss relationships, unhealthy power dynamics, and many, many others. As a way of being mindful and understanding to these different exemplifications of both best practices and negative management styles, the practitioner can be more fully aware of the ways in which such issues can impact both positively and negatively within the workplace. Similarly, one of the most important issues that any human resources practitioner can develop is the knowledge of how to deal with difficult situations. Whereas the practice of human resources used to be more reliant on acting as an advocate for the company/firm in question rather than acting as a mediator or a representative of the employees (Ulrich 1997). Such an arrangement, as has been noted by the readings, is oftentimes a difficult median to effect as the end result of any and all human resources departments is that they are funded and supported by the entity for which they are ultimately responsible to; i.e. the firm that pays them. This balance, as discussed in the readings, is something that is both difficult to accomplish and nearly impossible to define. However, the key determinant that has been brought to the attention of this student is the fact that it is incumbent upon the practitioner to be acutely and keenly aware of their function as a member of the human resources staff. In this way, regardless of the complexity of the issue that greets the human resource staff member, they may be able to keep in mind their overall responsibility both to the organization and firm which employs them as well as their sworn duty to uphold the rights that define the employee’s rights and privileges. Moreover, within the realm of the facilitator and conflict resolution specialist, the human resources team member must necessarily employ some of the many psychological tools of engagement and understanding that have been discussed this semester. Not surprisingly, one of the most powerful of these tools is actively seeking to listen to any and all sides of the given situation before jumping to conclusions. Whereas this can be employed within nearly any and every situation, it is of especial importance to seek to play the role of the mediator in a situation involving human resource-type concerns. As a function of the readings and a realization that the key ways in which the human resource personnel member is acting as both representative, mediator, and advocate, this student has been able to grapple with the key determinants that help to broaden and differentiate the positive role that such an individual can make on the process as a whole. Similarly, this analysis will consider the ways in which key information that has been learned with regards to recruiting has helped the student to re-access and identify with key concepts and approaches which will serve to provide a beneficial result with regards to ultimate application within the workplace. With regards to recruitment, this is an issue that the readings and a cursory overview of real world application shows is highly differentiated among the different fields. However, regardless of the specialization that one seeks to fill, the course work has convincingly indicated that a few key baselines exist from which the firm/organization can attempt to recruit the proper talent. One of these baselines is the fact that many firms waste a great deal of time attracting any and all talent and then waste valuable resources and additional time winnowing down these applicants to determine which few would best fit the needs of the given entity. Although this is a rather old approach to the most basic personnel needs that a company might experience, it is unfit for application within the modern fast-paced business world. Rather, the readings that this student has engaged with as well as the course discussion have indicated that a more nuanced approach would be for the firm to specifically target from the outset those unique identifiers that are the key determinants in selecting the final applicant. This way of putting the process on its head may seem somewhat counter-intuitive; however, such an approach is able to yield a much faster and much better result than the traditional process which has been described. Lastly, a rather nebulous but nonetheless extraordinarily important concept that was learned throughout the course of the semester is the need for human resources personnel and departments to be open and amenable to adaptation and change. So often it is the case that cultures become solidified and intractable; however, in order for the human resources team member to be able to adequately engage with key concerns of its shareholders as well as effectively face the challenges that the current market place puts upon it, it is a dire necessity for them to be able to accept evolutionary progressions into their means of operation. Likewise, as a function of this key learning outcome, this student has fully appreciated the fact that regardless of the situation one finds themselves in within the world of human resource management, a necessary component that must be integrated within the culture of both the solitary human resources department, as well as hopefully throughout the organization/firm as a whole, is the concept that adaptation and change are both a necessary part of the business process as well as a net positive in many cases. By being open and amenable to adaptation and change, even those changes that are made in anticipation of negative externalities have a positive bearing on the way that the entity accepts the ebb and flow of the business cycle. In this way, the practitioner can readily see that the negative effects of choosing not to change and adapt far outweigh any brief or fleeting discomfort that the process of adaptive change might denote in the short run. By no means should the preceeding list of key points be viewed as an exhaustive list of all of the complex issues that this student has felt should be enumerated upon; rather, as previously stated, this provides but a brief cross-section of but a few of the many points of interests which bear repeating as a way to recap and highlight much of the useful course work, readings, and class discussions which have led to the learning result that has been displayed. Furthermore, by highlighting some of these points, the student hopes to be able to bring these into the workplace in a clear and identifiable way so that a positive change within the mechanisms which have been described can be effected. Further, an appreciation for the multi-faceted means by which the human resources staff member can affect meaningful and positive levels of change throughout an organization is necessary as a way of engaging such change and providing the positive leadership that all shareholders within the process require. References Muller, M. (2009). The manager's guide to HR hiring, firing, performance evaluations, documentation, benefits, and everything else you need to know. New York Alexandria, Va: AMACOM SHRM. Ulrich, D. (1997). Human resource champions : the next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Read More