Analysis of Human Resource Policies and Practices - Example

Analysis of Human Resource Policies and Practices Introduction The Department of the premier and cabinet in Western Australia provides a wide range of services to the premier and the government in general. The key functions of this department include the management of government policy and the administration of executive government services. In order for this department to carry out its functions effectively, appropriate human resource policies and practise guidelines are essential (DPC 2011). Human resource policies and practices are important since they provide guidelines to an organization on how to recruit and retain a qualified workforce, train and develop a competitive workforce, carryout performance management and conducting human resource planning for alignment and change (Jackson, Schuler & Werner 2011). The Department of the premier and cabinet in Western Australia, has put into place a set of human resource policies and practices that are geared towards providing guidelines on the best practice when it comes to dealing with issues revolving around human resource management. This essay seeks to analyse and evaluate two key human resource policies in relation to the main human resource issues facing the Department of the premier and cabinet in Western Australia. The two major human resource issue in this department are recruitment and performance management. The human resource policies that will be analysed and evaluated include; the equal opportunity policy and training and development policy. When analysing these human resource policies, current research and academic theories will be used to support this analysis. Equal Opportunity policy The equal opportunity policy provides that an organizations or department should offer equal opportunity to applicants and employees without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour, religion, age, sexual orientation or marital status. This policy relates to key employment decisions such as recruitment selection, hiring, training, compensation and promotion among many other employment terms. It is also enshrined in the local, state and federal laws and principles. For instance, principles of this human resource policy are embedded in the Equal Opportunity Act of 1984. The essence of equal opportunity is based on the notion that people should be treated equally and thus preferences, prejudices and artificial barriers should not be justified. The aim of this policy is to ensure that important opportunities and jobs should be given to the most qualified persons and not to persons with special circumstances such as friendship ties or blood relations with the persons in power. Similarly, opportunities for advancements should be open for interested groups or individuals (RedTapeDoc 2008). Recruitment is a process that involves finding and engaging the prospective employees that an organization requires. This process is significant since it determines whether or not an organization or a department find skilled and qualified personnel who will enable the department to realise its vision and strategic goals. It is therefore imperative for appropriate policies and practise guidelines to be put into place in order to ensure an effective recruitment process. (Armstrong 2009). Policies and procedures on recruitment are often designed to promote high standards in the course of the recruitment. One of the key policies in applicable in the recruitment process is the equal opportunity policy. The essence of this policy in recruitment is that prospective candidates applying for employment position should be given equal opportunity and considerations without regard to their sex, race, colour, religion, age, sexual orientation or marital status. Policies on equal opportunity require that equality should be upheld in recruitment processes such as the advertisement of job vacancies, interviews and the selection process (Clarke & Doyle 2008 ; Nankervis et al 2007). On the other hand, performance management is a human resource practise that involves the implementation of activities aimed at ensuring the goals of a department are continuously being realised in an efficient and effective manner. Performance management is beneficial in that it motivates and enhances the performance of employees in their various work duties and facilitates the realization of the set strategic and operational goals of a department. Some of the commonly used practises of performance management include; setting of performance targets, training, rewarding, appraisal and monitoring of performance (Daniels 2004). The essence of equal opportunity policy in performance management is to ensure that fair performance targets are set, training and reward practices are administered equally and other performance management techniques are used without any prejudice or discrimination on the basis of gender, age, colour, sexual orientation and religion (Clements & Spinks 2009). The Department of the Premier and Cabinet is committed in being an equal opportunity employer which appreciates and values its employees and those who come into contact with it regardless of their age, race, gender or sexual orientation. In recruitment and performance management procedures the department endeavours to comply with the Equal Opportunity Act of 1984 by ensuring that there is no direct or indirect discrimination and that people are treated equally. A good example of how the department ensures that the policy on equal opportunity is upheld is by providing a fair recruitment platform whereby applicants are selected on the basis of the qualifications and skills and not based on their race, ethnic background or gender. For example, the department offers a graduate development program for both indigenous and non-indigenous graduates (DPC 2011b). It is worth noting, that people from indigenous communities are a marginalised group of people who have over the years been deprived off basic government services and opportunities that were offered to other communities (Calma et al 2008). Therefore, by providing equal employment opportunities for people from both indigenous and non-communities, this department uphold the equal opportunity policy. The equal opportunity policy requires that prospective applicants should be provided with reasonable and equal access to information on the vacant job position, the selection process and the requirements. In most cases vacant positions in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet are advertised via the department’s websites and other electronic media. This limits and put applicants in the remote areas who have no access to these communication media at a disadvantaged position. As a result, equal opportunity for all applicants in the course of the recruitment process regardless of their ethnic background or socio-economic status is limited. When it comes to performance management, there is potential for prejudice and discrimination during performance appraisal this in turn can affect the performance review process. In some instances, department managers are bound to allow their personal prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping to affect the process of performance appraisal. Therefore, a fair and consistent application of the equal opportunity policy when it comes to managing the performance of a workforce that is diverse is not always straight forward (Clements & Spinks 2009). Despite the fact that, the equal opportunity policy is a significant decision making standard, it is somewhat controversial. While this policy generally provides fair and open chances in recruitments and performance management without considerations on certain social economic factors and personal prejudices on the part of departmental managers, some of the provisions in this policy are hard to pin down or effectively implement. For example, people in the remote areas are disadvantaged when it comes to accessing information on the available employment opportunities. As a result, government departments such as the Department of the Premier and Cabinet have over the years recruitment employees from urban regions and non-indigenous communities. Statistics show that employees working in government departments such as the Department of the Premier and Cabinet are mainly from non-indigenous communities. This can be attributed to the fact that, historically there were inequalities in various socio-economic parameters and as a result it is equal opportunities cannot be realised fully (Calma et al 2008). Training and development In a bid to recruit skilled, qualified and experienced employees, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet conducts a two year graduate development program. The aim of this program is to develop new graduates by providing them with training and career development opportunities. This program is often used as a threshold of recruiting qualified graduated to take up different work roles in the department on a permanent basis. The graduate development program involves various training and career development opportunities, a series of four month work practice through out the premier and cabinet department and an inclusive induction to the department, its functions and government processes. Graduates admitted to this program are prepared for future employment within the department by being assigned work roles such as drafting correspondence, briefing papers reports and internal memos, participating in interdepartmental and departmental committees, preparing discussion papers and undertaking cross jurisdictional research and providing recommendations among many other work roles. After the two years, graduates who meet the set performance standards and show outstanding commitment towards their work in the department may be recruited into the department’s workforce (DPC 2011c). For instance in 2008, six graduates were recruited into the department after undergoing the two year graduate development program. (DPC 2008). Staff training and development is one of the performance management practices employed by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to ensure that the goals of a department are continuously being realised in an efficient and effective manner. Training and development as a performance management practise is beneficial since it motivates and enhances the performance of employees in their various work duties and facilitates the realization of the set strategic and operational goals of a department. Each year the department organises training and development that are geared towards addressing specific needs of the department. For instance, in 2008 the department instituted training courses on work safety, recruitment and selection and classification and establishment. Moreover, the department organised a training program on “Accountable ethical decision making in the Western Australia public sector. Attendance for this training and development program was mandatory for all the staff (DPC 2008). Evidently, performance management is crucial since it ensures the continual attainment of departmental strategic goals. With reference to the Academic theory of Human Resource Management, the implementation of particular human resource policies such as training and development motivates employees thus enhancing their performance in various work roles. Pfeffer (1994) notes that practices like employee training and development are among the performance managemt tools that motivate employees thus increasing and sustaining their performance at work. The Academic theory of human resource management is based on the premise that employees are not machines and therefore they need to be motivated or inspired to work. The theory suggests that knowledge in fields like psychology, industrial relations, sociology and economics can provide a framework for understanding and practicing effective ways of enhancing and managing the performance of employees (Pfeffer 1994). As a human resource policy, training and development mainly aims at motivating employees and improving their performance in their various work roles. Training and development incorporates practices on education, training and development. In practice education aims at equipping and preparing employees for employment opportunities or tasks that they might take up in future. Training aims at equipping the trainees or employees with additional knowledge and skills for the job or work roles that they are currently undertaking. On the other hand, development aims at continuously nurturing, equipping employees and helping them advance in their careers. Training and development is often regarded as a subsystem in an organization that minimises randomness and ensures that employees within a department are continuously subjected to learning and behavioural change in a structured manner (Montana & Charnov 2000). A number of studies have analysed and evaluated the role that training and development plays in performance management and the overall enhancement of organizational competitiveness and performance. A good number of these studies suggest that training and development is an important human resource policy that enhances the success of departments and organizations. For example, a survey carried out by Guthrie (2001) in New Zealand Corporations provided evidence that training and development is among the human resource policies linked to competitiveness and profitability in Corporations in New Zealand. Similarly, an inclusive study conducted by Chang and Chen (2002) using data from over 197 high tech firms in Taiwan evaluate the link between firm performance and training. This study confirmed that training and development significant influence the productivity of employees. Furthermore, empirical studies carried out by Becker and Gerhart (1996) depicted that most firms that regularly implement their policies on training and development achieve significant competitive advantage than companies that do not implement policies on training and development. The study showed that increased performance and profitability are evident in companies that regularly expose their workforce to training and development. In addition, Godard (2004) identifies training and development as one of the practices that are connected to high performance paradigm. He observes that other studies have confirmed positive social and psychological impacts of training and development as a human resource policy. Some of the studies also show that training and development as a human resource policy can result to work intensity and high levels of stress. For example, an evaluation conducted by Barker’s (1993) on independent teams in a manufacturing plant in the United States established that employees can feel can pressured to perform by solid performance norms. This state is known to as “concertive control”. Oguntimehin (2001) observes that training and development enhances productivity, improves work quality, eliminates obsolesce of skills, promotes positive attitude towards work and increases understanding. Moreover, training and development helps to raise work standards. Training and development of employees is one of the way through which an organization or a department can respond to changes such as environmental changes and technological innovations. Basically, training goes along way in ensuring that employee productivity and effectiveness is realized (Oguntimehin 2001). Conclusion This essay has analysed two key human resource policies on equal opportunity and training and development in relation to the main human resource issues facing the Department of the premier and cabinet in Western Australia. The two major human resource issues addressed in this paper include recruitment and performance management. The equal opportunity policy provides that an organizations or department should offer equal opportunity to applicants and employees without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour, religion, age, sexual orientation or marital status. The Department of the Premier and Cabinet is committed in being an equal opportunity employer. In its recruitment and performance management procedures the department endeavours to comply with the Equal Opportunity Act of 1984 by ensuring that there is no direct or indirect discrimination and that people are treated equally. The department also conducts regular training in a bid to recruit skilled, qualified and experienced employees. A number of studies have analysed and evaluated the role that training and development plays in performance management and the overall enhancement of organizational competitiveness and performance. A good number of these studies suggest that training and development is an important human resource policy that enhances the success of departments and organizations. Basically, this study has established that although the equal opportunity policy promotes better practices, historical inequalities in various socio-economic parameters makes it difficult for the impacts of this policy to be realised fully (Calma et al 2008). On the other hand, training and development as a human resource policy plays helps in the overall enhancement of organizational competitiveness and performance (Becker &Gerhart 1996; Godard 2004). 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