The Role of Human Resource Management in Sustainable Organizational Development - Essay Example

THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Name Course Tutor Date Introduction In the 20th Century the concept of sustainability has received a lot of recognition in the explanation of organizations’ operations (Jerome, 2013). Most organizations are struggling to ensure that they have sustainable organizational development for continuous achievement of set goals. It is evident in recent literature that most large organizations are at the forefront in embracing practices that align to sustainable development (Jerome, 2013). Most authors and researchers have delved in the field of sustainable organization development elucidating the relationship it has with human resource management. Organizational development as a concept has been explored in the HRM field. It is geared towards the achievement of goals, management of organizational change so as to optimize the effectiveness of the organization in question. Both internal and external factors ensure the sustainability in organizational development (Buller & McEvoy, 2012). The sustainability in this case looks at the long-term or durability as well as systematic organizational development (Buller & McEvoy, 2012). Some elements of HRM have been spotted to increase the chances of sustainability of organizational development (Buller & McEvoy, 2012). These interventions include strategic thinking, change management, learning and development, HR practices, Organizational design, performance management, talent management, effectiveness of sales, customer services, and team building. This paper explores the role of HRM in sustainable organizational development. The Role of HRM in Sustainable Organizational Development Human resource management denoted as HRM refers to a system of practices or principles that are used to manage the human capital that is people and teams who have various roles within an organization as well as maintaining a good relationship between the organization and the stakeholders (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). Recently, there has been significance in aligning HRM of most organizations with the sustainability of organizational development (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). HRM has been seen as the key contributor of competitive advantage across most literature (Buller & McEvoy, 2012). One of the key factors that determine the sustainability of an organization is its current performance (Stankeviciute & Savaneviciene, 2013). Studies have achieved their objectives in revealing that HRM has the capability to influence the long term success in organizational performance especially with reference to the individual and organizational capabilities that are grounded for long and short-term performance of the organization (Stankeviciute & Savaneviciene, 2013). HRM contributes to the development of inimitable organization culture as well as inculcates innovation either at intra-organization or extra-organization levels (Buller & McEvoy, 2012). Additionally, the other way that HRM ensures that there is sustainable organizational performance is through knowledge management (Stankeviciute & Savaneviciene, 2013). This coupled with the HR practices that nurture skills, knowledge and talents, makes an organization assured of long term development and thus efficiency, effectiveness and realization of the goals. To ensure that HRM in organizations contributes to organizational development, HRM’s arsenal processes should be created and delivered with them having the foundation of principles of sustainability (Stankeviciute & Savaneviciene, 2013). This then gives rise to sustainable HRM that is a key contributor to the development of an organization in various ways. Sustainable HRM refers to the utilization of the various human resource tools and practices that ensure that the sustainability strategy is embedded in the organization and that the HRM system adopted chips in the sustainable development or performance of the organization (Stankeviciute & Savaneviciene, 2013; Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). Through this HRM is able to create, develop and manage skills, nurture values and motivate the employees. In this manner, the organization is able to use HRM in creating trust and triple bottom line achievement of objectives as well as long term health of the organization (Stankeviciute & Savaneviciene, 2013). This in the long run has been proven to have some influence on the sustainability of the internal and external stakeholders of organizations, through the linking of policies with development, equity and support of the HRM system of an organization. HRM has far and wide been associated with strong organizational climate or culture. Organizational culture in this context may refer to the set of beliefs, values, relationships and perceptions on work-styles that are peculiar in one organization and distinguishes it from its peers (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). The concept is thus based on values and assumptions. In other words, organizational culture allows things to be done in a manner that there is valuable meaning added to the long term development of the organization (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). With the organizational culture in place comes organizational climate which is how the employees perceive the events, procedures, protocols and practices as well as the reward systems, support and the targets on them in an organization (Freitas, Jabbour, & Santos, 2011). These two factors that strongly ensure that the company is sustainable in the unstable globalized business world are contributed by HRM (Freitas et al., 2011). This is because through HRM, there is the ability of information flow in the organization this shaping the individuals in the organization. A strong organizational climate encourages the employees to pursue whatever tasks that have been allocated to them (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). Through this, the organization is able to sustainably contribute to the development of the organization (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). When the culture of an organization is not in tandem with sustainable organizational performance, HRM is the only solution through its various practices such as recruitment and selection, learning and development, rewards and remuneration, managerial support and communication (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). The employers have realized that attracting employees who value sustainability optimizes the recruitment and retention processes (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). HRM is able to create lucrative packs in the organization plus a range of sound principles and job descriptions that make employees prefer the organization as an employer of choice (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). By so doing, the organization will have a talented pool of employees that are able to come up with ideas and methods through innovation for the sustainability of the organizations performance (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). HRM also nurtures teamwork among employees once they have been inducted into the organization. One good thing with team work is that each member collectively contributes to the vision and mission of the organization through meeting the objectives at the team level (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). Human resource management has also been associated with the development of leadership capabilities of the executive management. When the management has great leadership styles the continuity of the organization is assured. HRM ensures that there is partnering, engagement and alignment in the organization in question (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). Through instilling leadership the human resource management practices are able to communicate the strategic mission and vision of the firm both at the management and at employee level (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). This results in the declaration of grounds that ensure string partnership with internal as well as external stakeholders. HRM also engages internal as well as external stakeholders (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). This ensures that the stakeholders come up with ways in which the organization can grow. The stakeholder relationships have shown an increase in performance of organizations since they set pace for the organization, thus achieving the missions and objectives (Zanasi & Rota, 2010; Buller & McEvoy, 2012). Lastly, HRM also ensures that there is alignment so that the set objectives are met at the specified timeline. For sustainability all these three core roles of HRM must be evident in an organization that yearns to have continuity in development while at the same time taking care of the present and the future (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). Human resource management practitioners including the HR and line managers have the core duty of coordinating the activities of the organization during change so as to identify individuals with the best talents (Freitas et al., 2011). The human resource managers assess the current labor and talent requirements and thus design a job description that will attract employees with the set of stated skills and talents (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). The HR manager is able to identify talented employees in situations where there is disruptive change. Such employees are invested on by the organization so that their talents can be retained in the organization (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). Through retention of the top talent organizations are able to reduce the headcount yet still achieve the set objectives. Organizations are able to curtail talent drainage in the contemporary business world that is flooded with the war of talent (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). Through the assessment of necessary talents in the organization, the HR department is able to convince the employer that there is need for succession planning (Jerome, 2013). This ensures that the organizations curtail the associated costs of turnover resulting from poor leadership leading to dissatisfaction (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). A good example of such organization that values retention of employees or sustainable development is Motorola that invests in training and development of employees in preparation for its future success and the achievement of long and short term goals as well (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). The HRM practices borne on the HR managers enable them look critically into the gap that exists in the organization and develop a training program that will assist the employees in acquiring the necessary skills. Research has indicated that when employees have the skills they have job satisfaction and thus job security. Consequently, the employee’s always opt to commit to the organization and are able to be retained based on their good performance (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). There is continuity when the top talent is retained compared to recruitment of new workforce that will in turn come with costs and initial poor performance (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). Some of the retention strategies that are associated with HRM include performance management, training and development, promotions and motivation, transparency, career planning and development, and employee induction, orientation and integration (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). Plessis & Sukumaran (2015) opine that through this organizations are able to develop continuously through time amidst the competition since they will have competitive advantage on account of HRM practices. The HRM tools that can be used to integrate sustainability based practices that ensure that the whole organization is aligned to the vision and mission (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). This is done through frequent information exchange (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). When there is communication, employees feel encouraged and are also able to remain committed thus long term organizational development. Further development of employees enables that there is sustainability in the performance of the organization (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). Through development the employees are able to get chances of being promoted when they perform better. This also ensures that the leadership is well prepared to handle any issues in the organization that are likely to handle its future (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). Through training and development which is a function within HRM, organizations are able to ensure sustainability in overall development (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). HRM also ensures that development processes such as mentoring, coaching and career development are infused with sustainability in mind so as to ensure that the organization has the future of capacity building (Freitas et al., 2011). HRM and managers are also able to come up with proactive and broad initiatives that are geared towards knowledge management. In the contemporary workforce there is a difference between beliefs and productivity. While the traditional old workforce believes that tenure determines experience and productivity, the contemporary youthful workforce holds that skill sets and hard work determine productivity (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). HR managers are therefore able to integrate this in the processes of recruitment and selection so as to ensure that the rich experience based knowledge is integrated with the contemporary belief (Jerome, 2013). HRM is able to identify the opportunities that are open in the workplace and effectively choose individuals for the roles based on their performance (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). The employees in this case are assured that hard work is rewarded and are bound to deliver thus the growth and expansion of the organization. The HRM in organizations not only deals with human capital but also social capital that defines bonding and bridging. HRM is able to assess the social networks available and keep the ones that are likely to propagate the development of the organization (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). For instance, HR managers must ensure there is equality in opportunities as well as rewards when fostering agreements and relationships with external stakeholders. HR managers are also able to come up with different reward systems both formal and informal (Plessis & Sukumaran, 2015). This is simple in paper, but practically, it goes a long way in ensuring that the employees are committed and engaged to the organization. This in turn develops good organizational citizenship behavior that ensures a long term positive performance of the organization (Freitas et al., 2011). The employees remain loyal and follow the instructions that are given to them. When the employees are engaged it means that the customer services are also excellent. Resultantly, the organization is able to indirectly benefit from the HR functions in ensuring that its reputation is raised on part of the customer. The employees being the most valuable assets second to customers, their wellbeing should be at the forefront (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). Through various HRM activities the managements in organizations are able to foster activities and initiatives that ensure that the employee’s wellbeing is maintained. Literature suggests that HR managers have the role of ensuring that there is safety in the workplace is maintained (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). Organizations with strong health and safety policies have been associated with sustainable development. This is because such organizations are able to attract a larger workforce translating into a larger talent pool (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). Whenever there are changes in an organization, the HR managers act as change agents ensuring that the whole organization is inclined and integrated in the change (Zanasi & Rota, 2010). This has gone a long way in ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of organization. The HR managers also champion for teamwork in the organization. Through assigning duties to a team rather than individual, there is a high likelihood of innovativeness in the organization (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). It also increases the learning capacity as the team members share their ideas on how to solve problems. HRM also ensures that the job design and description is aligned with the principles of the organization. This ensures that the absorbed individuals are those that have the basic and necessary skills for such positions. Through a good job design, the employees once absorbed will be working satisfactorily as they have the right combination of skills (Freitas et al., 2011). A well instituted HRM will go a long way in ensuring that there is performance management in the organization where the managers and the employees are able to work as a team in ensuring that the output of the employee and that of the organization is maximized (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). Through this HRM is able to develop organizational capabilities such as innovation and knowledge management that comes handy with organizational performance (Kramar & Hariadi, 2010). This creates organizational change that ensures sustainable development. HRM practices have been demonstrated to carry within themselves an excellent psychological contract between the employer and employee thus creating commitment trust, organizational citizenship behaviors, sense of fairness and engagement in the organization. All these are ingredients of sustainable organizational development. Conclusion Sustainability in nearly every concept within the organizations has evolved to be the talk of the day. As have been discussed in this paper, HRM has pivotal role to play in sustainable organizational development. Most management that has realized this has leveraged and their organizations continually do well. There are particular HR functions that are linked with the performance and productivity of any given organization. As has been seen in the paper, training and development, leadership development, team building, rewards and motivation as well as proper management and communication have a greater impact on the development of an organization long-term at different capacities. HRM ensures that even when change is encountered the organization is likely to soar higher and develop even more. This therefore means that there is an exquisite role played by HRM in ensuring that there is sustainability. Most importantly, HRM institutes organizational culture and climate that go a long way in ensuring that the employees are engaged and committed to the organization. Organizations aspiring to foster sustainable development should therefore heavily invest in HRM and rest assured they will be able to get a good return on investments in the long run. Bibliography Buller, P. F., & McEvoy, G. M. 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