Various Aspects Relating to Human Resource Department - Assignment Example

Report (Marketing) Name Course Institution Professor Date Executive summary It is the desire of any given business entity to achieve success in relation to the set goals and objectives. In line with this different departments within an organization usually play very important roles. Business organizations face a lot of challenges in their departments in their day to day activities. need therefore arises for the management of the organization to see to it that also processes and plans that involve formulation and preparation policies are planned for appropriately to ensure organizational sustainability being the ultimate focus from their implementation. This paper focuses on various aspects relating to human resource department and how well it may be positioned to facilitate and push forward for the achievement of the goals of the organization with utmost ease. It places emphasis on the idea that sustainability of a business organization is equally as important as the achievement of success by the organization. Different strategic issues have been highlighted and explained in detail that are seen to address the aspect of preparation of human resource policies and plans its relation to ethical practices, corporate social responsibility, values and sustainability within a business. Recommendations are also constituted herein in regards to how best a business organization can engage in strategically preparing human resource polices and plans that puts into consideration the question of attaining sustainability and ensuring greater value at the same time upholding ethical practices and being socially responsible. Table of contents 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………….4 2. Definition terms…………………………………………………………………4 3. Key issues in preparation of human resource policies and plans……………6 i. Desired Outcomes………………………………………………………..6 ii. Environmental Impacts…………………………………………………..7 iii. Relationship between employee and their employers……………………8 iv. Establishment of Strategies and Tactics…………………………………9 v. Measurement and Follow-Up…………………………………………...10 4. Recommendations……………………………………………………………...10 5. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...12 6. References ……………………………………………………………………..13 Introduction Any given business organization is endowed with the responsibility of ensuring that its practices are ethical and that it acts in a socially responsible manner. Beyond these two responsibilities sustainability of the business is deemed to very crucial to. In view of how a business organization can ensure that it attains sustainability focus is directed to the process of human resources which involves the preparation and planning of policies that relate matters of ethics and corporate social responsibility. In human resource management strategic planning is very important within a business organization in spite of its size, industry or geographical location. It is the responsibility Human resource managers to aid an organization to achieve success and at the same time becoming both ethically and socially responsible in the environment of a business. These two aspects of business ethics and corporate social responsibility form the foundation of ensuring that a business attains value and long term sustainability. This is a clear indication that Human resource policies and plans need to strategically formulated and during the process of their preparation issues which in the long run are bound to impact an organizations sustainability perspectives should be addressed. Definition of terms Human resource-this implies to a group of individuals who constitute the workforce within an economy, a business sector or an organization. These are the people who carry the responsibility of executing tasks in an organization. Other terms that are synonymously used with human resources include labor force, manpower and human capital (Rao 2007, p. 20). Corporate social responsibility- this is a corporate aspect integrated within a business organization that is self regulated. It is basically a policy that drives a business to function in such a manner that it ensures that at all times it operates in compliance with ethical standards, the law as well as international norms (Davis 2001, p. 30). The objective of corporate social responsibility is to encourage a business to act in a positive that yield positive impact to the and in the environment in which the business operates. It is also called social performance. Business ethics- also known as corporate ethics; it is a form of professional ethics or rather applied ethics which analyses principles of ethics and problems which relate to ethics and moral that are bound to arise within a given environment of a business organization (Bhodia 2005, p. 30). Its application touches on all relevant aspects of the conduct of members of an organization. Sustainability- this is the capacity and ability to endure. In relation to a business organization it implies to how a business organization may be able to maintain its position after it has realized success in a bid to ensure that it does not in any way in the future experience failure or a backward movement from the success achieved (Rennie 2008, p. 74). This is a long capacity for a business organization. Human resources engage in policy preparation and planning in order to ensure that the outcomes of the entire process create a sustainable environment for the business and for the community around. In this case there are key issues that need to be addressed by the human resource management. They are considered very important due to the fact that they directly affect the outcome of the implications of the policies as far as business ethics and corporate social responsibility is concerned. They include; implication on the environment which is both internal and external, outcomes that are being desired, appropriate business objectives, the tactics and strategies in place geared to meet the desired outcomes on the basis of impacts on the environment and the relationship between employee and their employers. Basically the process of human resource of policy formulation is a management stage which encompasses activities that directs the path to be followed by an organization to achieve and at the same value and sustainability. Key issues in preparation of human resource policies and plans Desired Outcomes It is quite essential for a business organization’s human resource manager to identify the desired outcomes during the process of policy planning. Outcomes basically relate to the organization’s goals and objectives which it operates for their realization. The resource managers is required to ensure that whatever outcomes have been identified their path to achievement puts into consideration the idea of reducing negative impacts and enhancing positive impacts on both the society as well as the environment. Any kind of reflection that relates to yielding positive outcomes is understood to have engaged ethical practices. The human resources professional play quite a vital role to ensure that business organizations uphold ethical practices and that corporate social responsibility is perceived as the driver of an organization’s need to achieve the desired outcomes that have been identified. These individuals are quite influential as far the realization of success and sustainability in an organization is concerned. The identification of the desired should provide the human resource professionals with ideas of how best they can prepare and come up with policies that embed the spirit of corporate social responsibility together with placing value on ethical practices such adherence to law, which act as the stepping stone organizations sustainability and gain of value. Environmental Impacts This environment in which and under which a business organization operates is a vital consideration during the planning process of human resource policies. The manner in which business environment both internal and external connect with corporate and social responsibility and business ethics reflects a business’s sustainability in the long run (Sun and William 2010, 34). Human resource professional as they prepare policies it is important for an in depth analysis be carried out in relation to how the policies are likely to impact the internal and external environment of the business. From the internal business environment perspective implications may be on the tenure, number, effectiveness and efficiency of workers, the production speed, the quality of output and the ability of the needs of the customers to be satisfied. If the internal business environment is negatively impacted then a business is bound to experience failure and hence lose value and therefore lack the capacity and ability to sustain itself. External implications that may arise from the policies formulated include; either the absence or presence of competition and economic or industry changes (Sun and William 2010, 35). Most importantly the need to address environmental impacts human resource policy formulation is but to ensure that these policies support and aid in the development of corporate social programs that takes heed of the wellness of the environment. In this case the human resource professionals should ensure that they plan for the implementation of green practices within the surrounding environment of the business. The human resource should consider the idea that it is important to encourage the community around to engage in practices that do lead to environmental degradation by acting ethically (Moon and Chris Et al. 2001, p. 54). Acting ethically here implies to carrying out of activities that do not threaten the wellness of the environment lack of better ways to handle sewerage waste which may be a heath hazard to the community. Another consideration is but fostering the culture of being socially responsible within the organization. It is important that individual in an organization understand the benefits that accrue to an organization from participation in corporate social responsibility. There nothing better that an organization can do other than giving back to the community which is the basic reason for its existence. Human resource should as well as know what approaches to use in order to communicate to workers in an organization and the entire community concerning the value of being socially responsible and how that may be the roadmap towards a sustainable business organization besides the realization of success. Relationship between employee and their employers This is a crucial aspect that needs to be addressed by the human resource professional in policy preparations. There is no way an organization can turn out to be sustainable yet a healthy relationship does not exist between the employees and their employers. When decisions are made by employees within an organization to act in a manner that is not ethical the entire organization and the manner in which it operates are affected (Koehn 2002, p. 230). Even the customers who form part of the community in surrounding the business organization are affected. Many choices are made by employees in their everyday task execution. The most probable cause of such decisions being made by the employees is but how they relate with their employees how their matters are handled. Basically if employee’s decisions are unethical they might cause a lot of damage to the organization in as far as its productivity and efforts of making it sustainable are concerned (Kuchinke 2005, p. 154). In connection to this it is therefore important for the human resource professionals look up to it ensuring that they prepare policies that encourage and motivate employees and which will not lead to employees engaging in unethical practices. The policies should be such that they clearly define how employees should be treated by their employers as their right to be respected too as members of the organization. With this a favorable environment is created for the to work with commitment and more motivation to keep the organization in a sustainable status or rather position even after success has been achieved within the organization. Establishment of Strategies and Tactics The human resource professional are required to put into consideration as well the tactics and strategies meant to offer support towards to the realization of corporate social responsibility goals and objectives. Additionally and organizations capacity for sustainability after the goal have been realized should be the main focus. Strategies are usually similar to goals of an organization. For instance a goal that relates to corporate social responsibility may be for the business organization to build a health center within the environment in which it operates (Ulrich and Dave 2006, p. 67). Tactics on the other are more of steps that are followed to facilitate the achievement of strategies for instance training of staff in an organization on how they can become more socially responsible in relation to an already set strategy that necessitates their participation. Such issues regarding the establishment of strategies and tactics need to be considered if human resource professional are to come plan and come up with policies will drive an organization towards sustainability. Measurement and Follow-Up This is an important aspect which human resource professionals should reflect on in the process of policy formulation and planning as regards to the creation of a sustainable business. A critical aspect of any given policy regarding the practice of ethics and corporate social responsibility in an organization is its ability to lead to sustainability of the organization. These come after the desired outcomes have been realized. Human resource professionals are usually not in apposition to question how effective their efforts are for an organization to attain sustainability without necessarily considering measurements or metrics. This consideration assists them in the determination of whether a business organization is in apposition to survive in the market or not. Once the measures have been established it is therefore easier for them to review the progress of the implications of the policies regularly making corrections where need be to ensure that practices engaged in do not gear towards deviation from the desired outcome of organizational sustainability. Recommendations There are quite a number of suggestions which are of great importance for consideration if human resources are to successfully come up with effective policies that tackle the aspect of corporate social responsibility and ethics appropriately for the creation of a sustainable business. They include; There are various drawbacks which need to be addressed by human resources professionals as they plan policies with the ultimate aim of achieving organizational sustainability. In line with corporate social responsibility an organization may be characterized by a high profile of corporate failures. For instance an organization’s policy may neglect the aspect of fostering the culture of being socially responsible. This does not lead to a sustainable business organization due to the fact the outcome is but the destruction of the organization’s reputation which may lead to its end (Ramachandran 2010, p. 150). Certainly human resource professionals have the mandate to both communicate as well as carry on the implementation of policies and cultural change in organizations so as to drive forth for the achievement of corporate social responsibility goals. In policy preparation and planning by human resource professional it is quite crucial for them to show emphasis on the aspect of green practices. Most definitely green practices automatically lead to a sustainable organization. The implementation of such practices aids in the reduction of waste in the environment and at the same time promotes and encourages growth of stewardship (Rennie 2008, p.77). Additionally such practices allow for better ethics as far as corporate responsibilities are concerned and long lasting practices which basically encourage corporate and personal accountability. It is with no doubt that an organization with such policies that upholds and supports the aspects of green practices is bound to be a sustainable one. There are various activities which an organization’s human resource professionals should engage in for the organization to be considered as sustainable. They constitute activities such as programs that come beyond the realization of success in an organization. These programs involve the process of carrying out discussions with employees about both personal and business sustainability (Ramachandran 2010, p. 166). This enables the human resource professionals to provide employees with support in areas of health and fitness, management of stress, spirituality at work, lifestyles that are healthy among others. Programs that give employees the opportunity to volunteer fall within the mandate of human resource professional. They aid in creation of a sustainable business organization through building out value proposition of the employees while at the same time allowing for the delivering of an organization’s corporate social responsibility objectives for both investment and engagement of the community. Conclusion It can be realized that there are stages that aid a business organization to attain sustainability in connection to matters of ethics and corporate social responsibility. Human resource professionals bear the responsibility of coming up policies that aid in the achievement of the desired outcomes of the organization. Therefore they are in a position to influence the process of policy development in manner that the strategies to be implemented directly provide support to ethical practices and corporate social responsibility values. A sustainable business organization is characterized by work life balance, wellness, diversity and flexible human resource corporate social responsibility policies, and environmental friendly practices. Human resource professionals should as well ensure that members of an organization achieve moral development through increasing their awareness of issues that relate to ethics in business (Rao 2007, p. 25). The question of how human resource policies planning leads to a sustainable business organization has been brought in respect to the manner in which it has been demonstrated that an organization may be socially responsible and at the same operate ethically besides the fact that success has been realized. It is all about ensuring that it maintains its position and does not experience failure contrary to the set goals and objectives as the desired outcomes. References Bhodia, D 2005, Business Ethics & Corporate Governance, New Delhi: Deep & Deep publication Pvt. ltd. Davis, K 2001, Can Business Afford to Ignore Social Responsibility? California Management Review. Rao, P 2007. Essentials of HR management and Industrial Relation, Himalaya, Publishing House Ramachandran, R 2010. Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance, New York, New Dimensions.  Rennie, E 2008, "Growing Green, Boosting the bottom line with sustainable business practices." APICS Magazine, Vol. 18, no. 2, p. 45-56. Sun, H and William, G 2010, How to Govern Corporations So They Serve the Public Good: A Theory of Corporate Governance Emergence, New York, Edwin Mellen Moon, J and Chris, K 2001, Business Ethics, London, The Economist. Kuchinke, K 2005, The self at work: theories of persons, meaning of work and their implications for HRD, New York, Elliott and Turnbull Koehn, D 2002, Ethical Issues in Human Resources, Oxford, Blackwell. Ulrich, G and Dave, T 2006, Human Resource Champions. The next agenda for adding value and delivering results, Boston, Harvard Business School Press. Read More