Human Resource in Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - Case Study Example

Name] [Professor Name] [Course] [Date] Abstract Professionals in Human resource are crucial components in the success of an organization. The jobs demand a level of competency in managing the organization’s workforce. The status of an HR manager has dramatically evolved over the recent years in response to the manner in which organizations conduct their affairs, as their roles as business partners have increasingly been recognized. Indeed, organizations today appreciate their significance in meeting the corporate objectives (Ali, 2013). This paper attempts to clarify the importance of HR roles, as it would be perceived on applying for an HR Manager Job (See Appendix 1). It discusses how the role of HR Manager would contribute to the success of CSIRO, an Australia-based national science agency. TASK: Explain how, in the role of HR Manager (MMM Group HR in-Business), could you contribute to the success of the CSIRO? Introduction Human resource managers are strategically placed to play an instrumental role in enabling CSIRO to attain its objectives. As an HR business partner, the HR manager participates in strategic planning to help the organization to meet its short- and long-term goals (Toracco & Swanson, 1995). Rather than centring exclusively on employee recruitment and retention, employee relations and pay rolls, as the HR manager for CSIRO, I would endeavour to add value as well as provide strategic service to the organization as discussed below. Issue 1: Performance management Human resource manager’s role is viewed as a strategic lever that is capable of influencing the organization’s bottom line, by improving productivity through value creation. As the HR manager for CSIRO, I would contribute significantly to improved efficiencies and innovativeness in the organization, in line with CSIRO’s mission statement of “delivering innovative solutions for the industry, the society and the environment through great science” (CSIRO 2013). Within this role, I would develop performance management system that serves as a plan for measuring performance of the employees. As a result, employees whose performances are below the organization’s expectations would be subsequently taken through training and development to improve their competences, thereby preventing wastage of money on non-performing or incompetent employees. Therefore, as the HR manager, I would play a crucial role in streamlining processes and reducing costs in the organization (Becker & Gerhat, 1996). As CSIRO’s HR manager, I would partner with other departments to improve the organization’s overall core competencies as well as achieve and sustain competitive advantage. Indeed, the need to have the HR manager as a business partner in different departments of the organization accrues from the reality existing competitive pressures for effectiveness, sustainability, talent resources and dominance (Jamieson, Eklund & Meekin, 2012). Through training and development of the workforce, I would lead the organization towards realizing a competitive advantage through building the capacity of the organization so that it can be able to offer a unique set of services. In the process of building an effective human resource, individual organizations dealing in similar line of operation often compete in a war of talent. With regard to my role as CSIRO’s HR manager, aside from hiring the most competent and talented individuals, I would help them grow and stay focused on improving their performances at work. By balancing the recruitment of the most qualified candidates and retaining the most talented workforce, the HR manager achieves the objective of making CSIRO an employer of choice (Becker & Gerhat, 1996). Among CSIRO’s objectives is to ensure the staff is kept motivated (CSIRO, 2013). The HR manager plays a role in keeping the staff motivated to perform. As the HR manager, I can ensure this through development processes, where performance targets are initiated through an appraisal system, where the employees are invited to discuss their performances and their future prospects. Indeed, training and development can be instrumental in helping CSIRO to bridge the gap between the expected future excellences in science and the current performances. The HR manager also serves to ensure that the employees are committed to excellence and that they are empowered, which in return would improve performance (Jamieson, Eklund & Meekin, 2012). Talent management is a critical element of the HR department as well as part of the skill set desired for an organization to be greatly productive. In the process of talent management, I would select the right people for the right job, who perform at the right level, with the desirable skills at the right time with the focus on improving and engaging the talent. This is consistent with CSIRO’s employment policy, at which it seeks to recruit employees whose creativity and skills are in line with their enthusiasm for science (CSIRO, 2013). In all, my role as CSIRO’s HR manager’s performance management is aligned with the traditional roles of an HR manager, which include employee recruitment, performance management, workforce training, and development and succession management (Jamieson, Eklund, & Meekin, 2012). Issue 2: Strategic Planning The HR manager contributes directly to the implementation of the organization’s strategic and operating objectives (Becker & Gerhat, 1996). Indeed, as the HR manager, I can ensure that CSIRO attains its 2011-2015 strategy, which is founded on 5 pillars, namely national flagships, trusted advisor, innovation organization and science excellence and preparedness, since the HR manager plays a vital role in the strategic planning process in an organization. In this regard, strategic planning refers to the process of evaluation of an organization’s competition, customers, competencies and capabilities in a bid to develop an approach towards meeting the organization’s objectives (CSIRO, 2013). The HR manager’s function is integral to the effective operation of an organization. The function includes managing the human capital of an organization; hence as the HR manager, I would have the potential to influence how the employees relate to the organizational strategy as well as how organizational structure relates to the implementation of the strategy. Further, as the manager, I would also have a prominent role in the development of the strategy. HR Manager’s role is supportive of CSIRO’s strategy of building its passion for delivery of great impacts through excellence in science (CSIRO, 2013). By incorporating a number of HR practices greatly related to the strategic role of the HR manager, such as development of an HR strategy that is aligned with the business strategy, I can ensure that CSIRO stays focused on its principle of promoting excellence in science (CSIRO, 2013). Other practices I would consider putting into effect include focusing on human resource talent development, incorporating HR programs that focus on organizational development, performance metrics, employee development and organization design, training and development of the staff and recruiting employees with organizational dynamics and metric skills. In addition, it can help reaffirm the organization’s commitment to the industry as well as build stronger reputation and connection with the global research peers. Hence, as the HR manager, I would be responsible for setting up and implementing the strategic direction of the organization by developing and evaluating the human capital as well as ensuring that they are focused towards improving the organizations capabilities and that they work towards the strategic direction (Jamieson, Eklund & Meekin, 2012). This is in line with CSIRO’s vision statement of making profound and positive impact for the future of Australia and humanity (CSIRO, 2013). I would also endeavor to shape the strategy by using their knowledge to help the organization to set its strategic direction as well as develop its business plans. In a bid to engage the staff to help the organization to achieve its strategic goals, as the HR manager, I would gather work-related information in the job analysis and job description. The two are essential for the creation or redesigning the jobs in a manner that offers the staff a high level of job satisfaction. The basic function of the HR manager in gathering detailed information on the specific duties and responsibilities of a particular job can help the organization to attain strategic goals more effectively as it avoids duplication of duties. In addition, it provides a job description that employers can use to recruit the most competent employees (Toracco & Swanson, 1995). Conclusion In conclusion, as the HR manager, I have the potential to increase CSIRO’s effectiveness and productivity in promoting and sustaining excellence in science. This will also enable the organization to attain its strategic objectives. CSIRO’s primary roles and objectives include using research and development to meet Australian Federal Government’s objectives and responsibilities and to suggest ways of improving the lives of the Australian communities, as well as the social and economic performance of a range of industry sectors. As the HR manager, I would ensure that the employees embrace CSIRO’s philosophy and principles. From the perspective of a large scientific research organization, creating a cohesive and productive work environment is crucial. Recommendation The role of the HR manager in performance management is in line with the traditional roles of the HR manager in recruitment, performance management, workforce training and development and succession management (Jamieson, Eklund, & Meekin, 2012). On the other hand, the strategic planning role is a new concept in HR management that is slowly gaining acceptance by management scholars (Franklyne, 2005; Jamieson, Eklund & Meekin, 2012; Vosburgh, n.d.). Delivery of the organizational strategy should be within the confines of HR management, through a strong planning and evaluation program. Further, by integrating the objectives of the organization during training and development of staff in the event of performance management, it can ensure that the organization’s objectives are aligned with organizational strategy of improving and sustaining excellence and productivity (Ali, 2013). References Ali, A. (2013). “Significance of Human Resource Management in Organizations: Linking Global Practices with Local Perspective.” Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce, 4(1), pp.79-86 Becker, B. & Gerhat, B. (1996). ‘The Impact of Human Resource management on Organizational Performance: Progresss and Prospects.’ Academy of Management Journal, 39(4), pp779-801. Web. Retrieved from < http://www.jstor.org/stable/256712?seq=1> CSIRO (2013). Overview of our 2011-15 strategy. Web. Retrieved 2 July 2013 Franklyne, C. (2005) The Development Of Human Resource Management From A Historical Perspective And Its Implications For The Human Resource Manager. Yola: Federal University of Technology Jamieson, D., Eklund, S. & Meekin, B. (2012). Strategic Business Partner Role: Definition, Knowledge, Skills & Operating Tensions. Web. Retrieved: Toracco, R. & Swanson, R. (1995). ‘The Strategic roles of human resource development.’ Human Resource Planning, 18(4),pp.10-21 Vosburgh, R. n.d. The Evolution of HR: Developing HR as an Internal Consulting Organization Mirage Resorts, MGM Mirage. web. Retrieved Read More