Human resources function - Essay Example

1. How were the human resource functions affected by Hurricane Rita Human resources function is solely dependent on only one factor - people. Hence,when disaster struck, people fled to safer places, leaving the businesses bereft of workers to run their business. There was no one to carry out operations and many businesses had to shut down. The ones that remained open could not operate as per their capacity thus affecting the profit margins, working hours, quality of workers and its reputation as well.

With trees all over the area, in business premises, homes and city roads driving through the roads became quite risky, deterring people from reporting to work. Abundance of human resources gives the company the luxury of becoming selective and filling positions with the right candidate and qualifications. But with scarcity of people, the businesses had to do away with the luxury and use whatever manpower was available. Compensation scales had to be revised since manpower became expensive. Alternatively, employees had to be brought in from faraway places and the companies had to bear the responsibility of their transport charges and safety.

Moreover, the profit margins were severely affected since the businesses could not work their usual hours due to limited manpower. With the demand for employees going up, candidates had a field time as they could demand any amount as remuneration. Companies increased wages in a bid to attract workers and this lead to the entry of many untrained workers. Menial jobs now began paying well. Under ordinary circumstances, workers would be trained well before they started working on floor, but due to scarcity of staff they had to start right away with no prior training.

Working in fast food restaurants suddenly became lucrative. However, this put a lot of pressure on the existing staff as they had to work with untrained workers, leading to mismanagement and chaos. This affected the smooth functioning of the restaurants and also their reputation. 2. Do you believe that the HR situation described regarding Hurricane Rita would be typical in a disaster Explain.Yes, to a certain extent the HR situation is typical here since a disaster would throw businesses into disarray run a risk of coming apart in absence of its employees.

A company is dependent on effective human resource management to achieve its targets. Hence it is important for companies to have a crisis management plan in anticipation of such a crisis. A disaster management plan will not only help an organisation reach out to its employees and also get back on its feet faster. Managing human resources is crucial during disaster recovery and it is imperative that HR plays a central role in formulating a crisis management plan (P.Sonya, B Denise, 2007). REFERENCE:P.

Sonya, B Denise, 2007 Crisis Management of Human Resources: Lessons from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, Human Resource Planning, Sept 2007 www.entrepreneur.com