Understanding the Importance of Human Resource Function and Bringing Certain Consistency and Coherence - Essay Example

Human Resource Management is a very integral part of every organisation. Every organisation has a department that looks after recruiting, selection, training and development of the employees. The role of human resource increases with ever increasing competition. It is very imperative that organisation has the right workforce so that the resources could be effectively utilised for the development of the organisation. The role and scope of human resource has increased with developments. It is important for organisation to see that this department is performing its duties towards the wellbeing of the organisation and if any changes are required it should be dealt with. Despite the development witnessed in the field of human resource still human resource practices lack consistency and coherence. Before moving on it is important to identify the key terms which will help to understand the manner in human management lacks consistency and coherence. The concept of best fit according to human resurce management is hiring the correct talent and then grooming him to take position of responsibility in the future. This can further be substantiated with the different areas of management like compensation, succession planning which ensures that the concept of consistency and coherence for organization. The manner in which human resource function has developed over the years seem to lack certain consistency and coherence as organization instead of looking towards hiring the best talent look towards hiring more employees on the basis of favouritism. The practices and manner in which human resource has developed is seen to lack consistency as different organization and generation has given a different outlook to human resource. The growth in generation Y and the manner they carry about their work compared to previous generations and the integration of technology and work life balance that influences their life style. (Yamamura, Birk & Cossitt, 2010, p 58) This has affected the work life balance and made human resource practice lack the consistency due to areas which are governed by factors beyond control. Organization todays present themselves differently making it difficult for the employees to understand the actual working condition. This is making it difficult to device techniques and tools which help to bring consistency. Even a study reveals that “an employee impression about an organisation is created the first time he comes in contact with the organisation either through their website or direct contact which decides his future course of action”. (Swartz, 2010, p 22) Organizations due to the practice of hiring the best talent use tools and techniques which makes human resource suffer as there is inconsisteny in the hiring pattern resulting is some sort of favouritism. Another reason governing the inconsistency and incoherence in human resource function is due to the different mechanism organization use to compensate the employees. A study reveals that “employee retention holds prime importance for the business units and by using the intrinsic rewards helps to retain the employees, improves satisfaction and creates a bright career prospect”. (Tymon, Stumpf & Doh, 2010, p 109) Organizations instead of identifying their needs look towards retaining employees even if they are not fit for the organization. Another survey shows that “as compared to 2009 where 35% of the employees expected higher employment level the percentage has risen to 50% in 2010”. (Kootungal, 2010, p 1) Despite this being the case organizations only look towards hiring new employees irrespective of the quality and not compensating the older ones result in an inappropriate fit for the organization. This creates a situation where the employees are not able to work as it creates conflicts and group dynamics suffer. Another role for the human resource department is that the model on which the organisation is working should fall in line with the model used by the human resource department. It is important that the organisation uses the model which helps the organisation to grow as it will increase the effectiveness of the department. The employees should be aware of what is expected of them so that they can work towards a common goal. The management must see that this is done in the correct way to increase the effectiveness of the organisation. This is an area which lacks consistency as organizations are looking towards hiring the talent irrespective of their requirements. While doing so organization even don’t pay attention to the different model used by them and try to depict their competitors which have resulted in incorrect hiring in the organization. This creates a situation where even the unfit employees are hired leading towards inconsistency amnd incoherence in the way human resource is managed. The growth in technology and area of operations especially succession planning is an area where human resource is lacking consistency. Organizations instead of looking towards the talent that can be groomed for the future look for people who receive certain favouritism. A study supports that “organisations planning for succession planning should ensure that the change in person matches the unique requirements of the organisation to ensure that the changes are easily acceptable and helps to yield positive results”. (Clunies, 2007, p 25) This will help business unit to see that they plan before hand. This will help to see that the path is correct. This is something which is ignored in organizations. This creates a situation where the talent hired doesn’t match the job requirements and results in the organization suffering in the long run. Another study shows that “organisation going for succession planning plan is in relation to the human resource management infrastructure and ensure that the change in leadership goes in line with the hiring process”. (Richards, 2008, p 146) This will help to save cost and ensure that the growth trajectory doesn’t get hampered. This is a grey area in human resource management which lacks the required techniques and skills. These results in organization looking towards succession planning ignore the requirements of the job and look to hire people who don’t have the required skills. This result in a bad fit as the employees hired is not fit for the job resulting in long term losses for the organization. Human respurce management has also seen inconsistencies in the treatment of employees from different culture. A research shows that as employees come from different countries and have different culture so there pattern of influencing is different. Culture here defines the manner in which he will act and this gets moulded by the group he belongs to. (Ralston, Hallinger, Egri & Naothinsuhk, 2005, p 33) Organizations instead of identifying the areas which will help to bring maximum result from the employee look towards changing their behaviour. This results in a situation where even the talented employees loose focus and result in improper hiring for the organization. Some arguments have been raised against organizational culture prevalent in different organizations. Some organization favours employees which are seen as the culture prevalent in that organization. Hardworking and focussed employees lose interest and become de-motivated as they know there performance won’t be rewarded. (Rockwell, 2010, p 1) This highlights the inconsistency human resource management is witnessing which is making the organization suffer. To improve the effectiveness of the human resource function it is important that organisation makes the human resource department accountable. There has been a continuous argument in doing so. Human resource managers prefer not to be qualitatively evaluated. They prefer to show the development in the organisation by considering all the factors that had led to their development and not only because of their functions. This had led to many discussions. Recently, some new developments had lessened these arguments with tools such as Balance Score Card which helps to evaluate the performance of an employee and the contribution of the human resource department in the growth of the company. This will help to ensure that the talent hired is correct and will also bring consistency in practices and the manner work is conducted in the organization. For organisation to increase its effectiveness it is important that the management consults with the human resource department while drafting strategies. This would enable them to know what the organisation expects of them and how they can achieve those. This would make the human resource set their priorities clear. This hardly happens. There are many arguments rose that the human resource is not considered every time the management meets to draft a strategy for the future. This leaves the HR department in the dark. Organisation needs to consult with them so that they can also determine how they need to move ahead. This would lead to taking vital decisions like the compensation design, the incentives, the workforce and other relevant matters. Slowly, with the advancement of time human resource is getting more say in the strategic planning of the company. This will help to bring consistency and coherence in the organization and lead the organization towards their goal by improving the overall management process in the organization. I agree to the fact that human resource management lacks consistency and coherence to a certain extent. This has also been substantiated by various studies which show that organizations istead of hiring the correct talent look towards favouritism. I feel that favouritism is demonstrated at various stages which make the organzation hire employees who don’t deserve thar role. Ven the manner in which succession planning is looked at shows signs of favouritism. This leads towards unrest in the organization and doesn’t create harmony among the employees. Inconsistency and incoherence in human management is evident from the fact that the human resource department has not been able to change as rapidly as the changes in other departments have. Also the fact that human resource department doesnt have much say in some organization leads towards inconsistency. This makes it important that organizations understand the importance of human resource function and try to bring certain consistency and coherence. Hiring the correct talent is one way which will help to bring consistency. Also working on different areas like compensation, and equality for all emplouees will help to brinf consistency. It is imperative that organization to grow brings consistency and coherence in the human resource function which will reap large benefist in the future. References Clunies, J. (2007). Benchmarking succession planning and executive development. Academic & Leadership Journal, 2 (4), 23-27 Kootungal, L. (2010). Survey: Rise in Optimism. Oil & Gas Journal, 108 (7), 1 Richards, P. (2008). Succession Planning: Does it matter. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 48 (3), 143-147 Ralston, D., Hallinger, P., Egri, C. & Naothinsuhk, S. (2005). The effects of culture on work place strategy of upward influence. University of Bangkok. Elsevier Inc. P 23-37 Rockwell, D. (2010). De-motivation. Retrieved March 4, 2011 from http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/de-motivation/ Swartz, M. (2010). Make a website jobseeker friendly. Canadian HR Reporter. 23 (8), 22 Tymon, W., Stumpf, S. & Doh, J. (2010). Exploring talent management in India: The neglected role of intrinsic reward. Journal of World Business, 45 (2), 109 Yamamura, J., Birk, C. & Cossitt, B. (2010). Attracting & Retaining Talent: The importance of first impression. The CPA Journal, 80 (4), 58, Read More