HRM is a system that
consists of many interdependent activities. These activities do not occur in
isolation . virtually every one effect
another HR activity.For example: a poor
decision about staffing requirements
can lead to problems in employment, placement ,
legal compliance , union management relations and compensation.
When HR activities
are involved as a whole they form an organization’s human resource management
system.
WHAT IS A SYSTEM ?
A system consists of
two or more parts (or sub systems) that work together as an organized whole with
identifiable boundaries.e.g. human body is a system consists of sub
systems , car both have identifiable
boundaries include HR department in diagram each HR activity
relates directly to every other activity . e.g. The challenges faced
by the HR department affects the selection of employees the
selection sub system influences the department’s development and evaluation
of employees/
in addition each sub system
is affected by department’s
objectives and policies and by the external environment in which HR management takes place.
The purpose of HRM is
to improve the productive contribution
of people to the organization in
way that are strategically , ethically and socially responsible.As a result of these activities many job openings can be filled from within rather than from outside firms. The results should lead to
more effective work force.To evaluate employee
performance appraisal are conducted periodically.They get
feedback and spot weaknesses . HR sub systems
affects each other and specialist
must be aware of this inter depending. Perhaps the most effective way to recognize possible complications is through system thinking.
WHAT IS APPLIED
SYSTEM THINKING?
An applied system view in HR activities is as taking inputs and
transforming them into outputs.
Then the manager/HR specialist check the results to see if they are correct. This checking
process procedures feedback
which is information that helps to
evaluate success or failures. In practice system
thinking helps to identify key variables. After viewing new
information as a input managers /HR
specialist decide what the desired output is.Once inputs and outputs are known, decision makers draw on their
knowledge of HR activities to transform the input unto.
Output in the most effective way.To verify their
success, they acquire a feedback
about the problem.
WHY THINKING IN TERM OF SYSTEM IS USEFUL?
It enables one
to recognize inter relationships among parts.The relationships among HR activities are less likely to be
over looked. System thinking also requires recognition of system
boundaries which marks the beginning of its
external environment . the
environment is an important consideration because most system are open system. Open
system is one that is affected by
environment. HR management is an open
system i.e. affected by external
environment e.g. the rate of major human resource subsystem. In figure:
FRAMEWORKS AND CHALLENGES:
Operating and HR managers /experts face many challenges in dealing with people. The central challenge is to assist
the organization in improving its
effectiveness and efficiency in
an ethically and socially responsible
way. Other challenges arise from environment
in which organization operates.
1) changing demand of workers.
2) International and
domestic competitor
3) Pressure groups.
4) Professional ethics and government
Challenges also come from within organization. Managers and other departments compete with
HR departments for larger budget, for
large share of organizational resources. Perhaps the most pervasive forces are
1) workforce diversity
2) international competition
3) legal requirement for EEO.
The operating managers and HR specialists are
successful in advising and preparing others for facing challenges only when they themselves have
awareness of these challenges.
PREPARATION AND
SELECTION:
A solid information base lies at the center of effective HR management. Without accurate and timely information managers and HR specialists are seriously limited in their ability to meet challenges
To build HRIs data
gathered about each job and about
organization’s future HR needs Using
this information specialist can advise
managers about the design of jobs
they supervise and find
the ways to make these
DEVELOPMENT AND
EVALUATION:
After personnel have
been obtained thy must be
to some degree developed. Beginnity
with orientation of new employee. HR
development also include job
skill training. As job evolve and change ongoing retaining is necessary to accommodate technological changes. Encouraging development of all
employees including supervisions and
managers is necessary to prepare
organization for future challenges.
COMPENSATION AND PROTECTION:
Equitable
compensation is necessary to maintain
and retain effective workforce.
Employee must be paid a fair wage or salary relative to their productive contribution. When compensation is too low
turnover and other problems
involving employee relations are likely If pay is too high, the
company can loose its competitive
position in market.
But modern
compensation management goes beyond pay. Benefits are increasingly an important part of every
compensation package and must be at the level consonant with employee productivity . if the company is to
retain worker and remain competitive.At the same time organization
needs to protect its workers from
occupational hazards through health and safety programs.A department not only
assures a safe environment but also
keeps the employer in compliance with
health and safety laws for EEO.The operating managers and HR specialists are successful in advising
and preparing others for facing challenges only when
they themselves have awareness of these challenges.
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
AND ASSESSMENT:
Maintaining an effective
workforce requires more than just
pay, benefits and safe working
conditions.Employees need to be motivated
and satisfied with their
jobs.Personal and job
related problem may lead to the need for
counseling. HR specialist can
provide effective program or specific advice to operating managers. To increase employee
satisfaction and organization
productivity, communications are used to
keep people informed.When employee’s
relations are ineffective the employees may join together to form self
help groups called unions.As with ongoing system HR
department need to uncover their success and failures. Through self evaluation. Full service departments regularly conduct audits of their
performance and do research to uncover more effective
way to serve the organization.
CHALLENGES TO HRM
As discussed earlier organization and then HR departments are open system and are
affected by environment in which
they operate.For managers and Hr department to respond proactively
they must have an awareness of
external organizational
environment in which they operate.
EXTERNAL CHALLENGES:
Modern organization
exists in turbulent environment filled
with challenges over which organization
and its HR department have
little influence . these
challenges shape the way the
organization operates and thus affect
HR policies and practices.
e.g. changes in the external
environment such as new technologies affects
type of workers their educational preparation and their performance . it
also affects corporate strategy and planning managers and HR departments then
respond to these changes and heap the
organization meet its objectives.
WORK DIVERSITY:
The major changes
are registered when mix of personnel enters the workforce. Their wider
diversity of cultures, religions ,
languages and dialectic , educational ,
attainment , skills , values , races , gender,
knowledge of these variations challenges
manages and HR professional to develop proactive policies and practices.
SOURCES OF WORK DIVERSITY
CULTURAL AND ATTITUDINAL DIVERSITY:
Diversity in the
workforce, is also influence by cultural
values and societal norms. Changing value
and laws have contributed to greater
participation rate by women in the employment market
creating a variety of implication
for HR departments. E.g parental leave and child care facilities provided by
employers are becoming more common demands , leading some employers to create work and family program.
Also significance to
the manager is that an increasing proportion of female, employees have children under the age of six years. This make difficult for them to become regular members of organization and HR manager should
seriously consider such practices .
As flex hours of
working , sharing of one job by two or
more workers and preventing child care during
working hours. Another changes in skill
mix is that has occurred in USA society
is that white collar job holders
outnumbered blue collar workers. These
employees are typically less inclined
to join labor unions, but on the other
hand have greater expectation in
terms of more individual treatment by
managers. Performance on these types of
jobs tends to be more difficult to objectively evaluate, thereby leading managerial towards more participative appraisal system such as management by objective .
DIVERSITY THROUGH
IMMIGRATION AND MIGRATION:
All advanced economies faced some diversity within the workforce. This diversity may come from immigration across national borders or from migration within the country. Countries like Germany
and Saudi Arabia have large
number of guest workers – foreigners who
are granted work visas but not citizenship.
CHANGING PERSONAL VALUES OF WORKFORCE:
New values are introduced to organization through entry of
divergent workforce .In U.S.A. certain set of values go with work
which has rendered its spiritual meaning
buttressed by such behavioral
nouns such as honesty, punctuality, diligence. American
organization made full use of these
values for enhancing their
productivity, efficiency and
effectiveness.
Today people witnessed decline in the concept of work
ethic in face of existential view of
life.
According to this
concept organization has no responsibility to guide us,
instead we ourselves are responsible for determining what we
want for us. Work is longer remain a factor through which you develop yourself as a
whole person. Family activities ,
leisure, avocation , assignment in
schools , churches are viable means
through which a person can find meaning
and become self actualized.
Climbing the organization ladder of success for its
accompanying materialistic
symbols became less important than
self expression through creativity.
Emphasis upon
individual as compared with
organization ; a number of changes in personnel program have been tried .
attempts have been made to redesign
jobs.
To provide
challenging activities to meet their demands of EGO.
TECHNOLOGICAL
CHANGES:
Jobs and job skills are changes by technology. Perhaps the
greatest potential impact s on jobs
since the industrial revolution
is artificial intelligence . the
industrial revolution allowed people to make greater use of mechanical power from water wheels and steam engines to nuclear power – to amplify human productivity
Artificial intelligence
will give a growing number to workers access to expert system – computerized program to capture the knowledge
and decision making approaches of
experts. Automation is another
way in which technology affects the field of HR management . one specific form of automation that is likely to have a significant impact on organization is robotics. A robot become more common and sophisticated, they will
affect organization productivity and quality of work . life for employee . their increased use seems certain. Since then cost relative
to labor costs are declining .
The good news is that the hazardous and boring
jobs will be taken over by robots. These changing technologies also will
shape the educational preparation of
future workers. And thus their productivity . for example the use of computerization
spread to companies that are
increasingly relying on HRIs,
knowledge of computer technologies will grow
increasingly crucial to HR departments.
The bad news is that HR professional may have to contend
with increased worker alienation . since
job opportunities may shrink along with
opportunities for socialization
on the job. High paying factory for the unskilled and semi skilled employee may
become scarce, leading factory workers to accept lower paid unskilled jobs in the service sector.
ECONOMIC CHALLENGES:
Global competition puts pressure on all the firms in an industry to be more productive . robots
and other technological advance boosts productivity, but robots are installed programmed and maintained by people.
As economic challenges become more intense because of
robots, artificial intelligence or foreign competition HR professionals will need
to find more innovative ways to
help line managers increased productivity
through people.Over course of business
cycle, managers and HR departments must adjust to changes in their
organization’s business plans.When the economy
expands, new employees and training programmes are needed pressure for
higher wages, better benefits, and improved working conditions also grow . managers and HR department must act cautiously.
Overstated ,
bloated benefits programmes
and higher wages become serious
burden when the business cycle turns downwards .a recession creates
a need to maintain a content
workforce and reduce labor costs.
Decisions to reduce hours, lay off workers, or accept lower profit managers
involve the advice of HR experts.
GOVERNMENT
CHALLENGES:
Through the enforcement of laws, government has a direct and immediate impact on managers and HR function s. federal laws regulating
the employee . Employer relations
challenge the method HR department use. Some laws like health act, and the civil rights, make major
demands on HRM. Government involvement
in the employment relationships is meant to achieve societal objective, usually the elimination
of practices that are considered
contrary to public policy.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES:
Besides external
demands, managers and HR departments find current challenges within the
organization they save. Following are the internal challenges
faced by HR managers.
UNIONS :
In the HR environment
, union represent an actual challenge to unionized companies and
potential challenge to companies that are not unionized. In companies with
union, the employer and union sign a
labor agreement that specifies
compensation (wages and benefits) hours
and weekly conditions. This agreement
limits the HR activities
of super visors and HR
departments . for both the challenge
is to achieve company objectives without
violating the agreements.
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND
CONFLICTS:
Every employer is unique , similarities between
organization’s can be found among their
parts, but each organization as a whole
has a unique culture. Organizational culture is the product of all organizational features. Its people, its success and its failure.The challenge for managers and HR specialist is to adjust
proactively to the culture of
organization .
HR managers requires a lot of detailed information to reach
to a quality decision.
Many HR activities and much effort by
HR professional are devoted to
and refining the department’s information
base. The information
requirements of a full service department are only hinted at by question such as
1) what are the duties and responsibilities of ever job in the organization .
2) what are the skills
possessed by every employee.
3) What are organization ‘s future HR needs.
4) What are the current
trends in compensation of employees.
The acquisition , storage and retrieval of information present a significant challenge . a key part
of challenge is gaining
information from other in the
organization who provide the department with much of its information.
To share and retrieve
information , HR departments increasingly rely on computer based information system that store detail information about employees , jobs, laws,
unions, economic , trends and
other internal and external factors.
But massive information
system challenge the department’s ability to safeguard the privacy of
employee’s records.
