Importance of Human Resource Management - Coursework Example

HUMAN RESOURCE Name: Course Instructor’s name Institution Date Every manager does things in his own unique way; some ways are open and laid back whereas others are quite formal. A manager who knows where he fits in the scale would be in a better position to understand and interact with his employees to achieve better results. A good manager would thus work out the best ways to achieve the best results from the employees. Conversely, human resource philosophy is more concerned with the leadership style of the top management other than the human resource function, corporate values and culture. In broad terms, there are two types of management styles namely; formal and informal. Formal style also known as authoritative entails expectation of complete compliance of the employees and staff members by the manager. Here the manager is usually direct and precise with instructions and likes to control any situation tightly. Additionally, the manager wants his subordinates to follow instructions to the latter (Klerck, 2009).. On the other hand, in informal or democratic style the managers prefer laid back approach to controlling the employees. Therefore managers take the employees’ opinions as well as suggestions regarding various plans and projects into consideration. Though these two styles sound quite different, most managers have mastered the art of sitting somewhere in the middle of the two. Thus there are times when both styles are required and those times when either can be applied. However several branches have sprung from these two main branches. They can be singled out as participatory, teamwork and directing, laissez faire and transactional (Paauwe & Boon, 2009). In participatory, the employees are assigned tasks to complete on their own. In this type of leadership style, the managers do not involve themselves much on the work assigned to the employees. In cases of larger projects, the managers have to learn how to talk to different employees so as to make them understand their roles as well interpreting what is expected of them. Additionally, the employees need to be informed on how to seek for assistance incase problems arise in the course of the assigned task or project. This management style however has a problem since most managers tend to rely too much on the employees getting too comfortable hence employees are likely to overstep their boundaries (Paauwe & Boon, 2009). In teamwork, managers gain better results by organizing the employees into groups. Grouping employees who possess different skills facilitates effective completion of tasks. However, some tasks do not require a group in order to be completed hence a good manager should understand his employees well so as to know who can perform best when solo. Additionally a thorough understanding of the employees’ weaknesses as well as strengths is important in order to determine the areas they suit best. Proper communication with the employees ensures that they understand their roles in the assigned projects and what is expected of them. The disadvantage of this style is that some employees fail to take the initiative of learning new skills or branching out their talents since they expect to take certain roles all the time. Furthermore, managers tend to over rely on a particular group of people or one person and may not be in a position of dealing with others (Paauwe & Boon, 2009). Directing is a branch in which managers usually prefer to keep a tighter rein on projects as well as the employees. Since the manager has to take control of most of the projects aspects, a lot of workers might be required in a one area. It is important that the manager learns to delegate duties to other employees who are capable of taking small managerial roles. A manager should make the employees understand that tasks should be completed quickly and correctly (Klerck, 2009). It is therefore important for the managers to communicate their exact needs to the employees so that any issue or concern that might arise may be clarified. Issues and concerns should b addressed immediately. A problem arises with this style as managers tend to control everything. Laissez faire managers do not directly supervise employees. Additionally, they fail to provide direct feedback to their employees. This style of leadership is best suited for those employees that are highly trained and experienced. However, not all employees possess those qualities in any given organization. This style of leadership hinders the production of those employees who need supervision. Moreover, it does not produce supervision or leadership efforts from managers firm (Klerck, 2009). Managers who use transactional style reward or punish the employees based on their performance of various assigned tasks. The manager and the employees set goals together and they agree to follow the manager’s direction in order to accomplish the set goals. The manager has the power to train or correct the employees on reviewing the results. This is done if the team members fail to attain the desired results. When the employees accomplish given tasks, they are rewarded (Paauwe & Boon, 2009). Application of management style in the human resource environment is important for the overall success of the company. Leaders face the challenge of deciding on the appropriate leadership style to use. A very important factor in deciding on the appropriate leadership style is the situation. Sometimes a leader might not have a choice depending on the situation at hand hence he will have to adapt his management style to particular situational factors such as the size of the team, the experience of the team members. When all these factors are taken into consideration the appropriate leadership style can be chosen. A comparison of the different leadership styles to various factors is thus necessary in choosing the appropriate leadership style (Paauwe & Boon, 2009). In directing leadership, the leaders are able to send direct and clear instructions to the employees thus saving on time. Decision making is easier as there are fewer obstructions from the team members. Obstructions or confrontations do not develop into serious problems since they are dealt with in time. This leadership style fits both experienced and inexperienced employees. Experienced employees would need less discipline since they will be made are of what to do after being given orders for the first time. Conversely, those employees that are less experienced would need much discipline since they will undergo the various team developmental stages (Kaufman, 2008). Therefore, direct and clear command would assist them to go through the storming stage. This style of leadership suits a big team since a lot of people mean a lot of suggestions and opinions making it hard for the leader to make decisions. In comparison with the directing leadership, laissez-faire would be inappropriate when there is a strict deadline to be met. However, when the employees have experience, required knowledge and skills this style can be used when the leader wants to see the bigger picture of the events. Since a lot of responsibility lies on the employees, inexperienced members would land the manager into trouble since he has the overall responsibility of ensuring that tasks are completed in time. The manager would therefore, be required to supervise employees if not experienced. The size of the team is not major issue here since leader supervision is not required (Kaufman, 2008) Whereas transactional leadership is not efficient in punishing the employees for wrong doing while there is a time limit, it is effective in motivating the employees with rewards and bonuses. Motivation would thus play an important role in influencing the employees to become more initiative and improve on their performance. If the manager is working with employees who lack experience, he would introduce rewards and punishments in order to make get used to the system and discipline in place. On the contrary, there could be increased competition for rewards among the experienced workers leading to outstanding results. This style, therefore, is suitable both inexperienced and experienced teams (Johnason, 2009). Democratic leadership is inappropriate in situations where there is time pressure since a lot of time is required to evaluate the situation and put into consideration the team members’ opinions. This style can therefore be of use when there is plenty of time. This style is however appropriate experienced employees as lots of experience as well as knowledge can be gained from them. The size of the team also affects the performance of the leader (Johnason, 2009). Smaller teams are easier to manage than bigger ones. In dangerous situations, it is not advisable to use this style as there is no time to come up with the needed tactics. Democratic leadership is advantageous since the leader receives a variety of options from the team member and is free to choose the one that can work best. Additionally, the democratic leader gains respect from his subordinate as he values their input (Jeanne, 2014). The development of human resource philosophy is a long term process. Usually, the philosophy is informal and respects the main stakeholders’ values as well as opinions. The organization leader, therefore, has a noteworthy impact on the human resource philosophy. The human resource leader is the next on influencing the HR philosophy. The HR philosophy is quite informal thus distinct from HR strategy. Philosophy is a set of practices, behavior and values. These practices are very important in the organization. The leader is usually interested in the real decision making processes other than written policies. The written policies can be different from the human resource philosophy since they are usually not followed (Jeanne, 2014). Leadership style is one of the factors that influence human resource philosophy. Organization leaders are role models for employees as well as managers. Managers always try to act as the leaders do. The employees and managers observe the behavior and spread it throughout the organization (Klerck, 2009). In conclusion, human resource management is very important for firms to achieve their objectives. By authorizing the right people to perform particular tasks, human resource can increase the performance of the firm. Additionally, motivation of workers by the human resource management can also improve the performance of the firm. Since human resource management has the overview of the whole firm, it helps in developing the firm structures. Human resource management assists in improving the productivity of the firm (Klerck, 2009). It carries out activities such as induction, recruitment, training, job description and redundancy that increase the satisfaction of consumers by making the product better. All these establish the reputation and goodwill of the firm. References Jeane, M. (2014) ‘2014: The Year Social HR Matters’. Forbes. Retrieved on 7th 2015. Johnason,P. (2009). HRM in changing organizational contexts. In D. G. Collings & G. Wood (Eds), Human Resource Management: Acritical Approach . London : Routledge. Kaufman, Bruce, E. (2008).Managing the Human Factor: The earlier years of human resource management. Ithaca New York: Cornell University press. Klerck, G.(2009).Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management. London: Routledge. Paauwe,J. & Boon, C. (2009). Stragic HRM :A critical review. In D.G. Collings G.Wood (Eds ) & M.A. reid, Human resource management: A critical Approach. London: Routledge. Merkle, Judith A.Management and Ideology. University of Carlifornia Press. Raymond,J. Managing Human Resources. (4th Ed) Read More