Human Resource Manager's Charge for the Worker Health - Essay Example

Strategic Human Resource Management Student’s Name Course+Code Class Institution Date Introduction People are the greatest asset an organization can attain (Bruce, 2003). Strategic human resource management is concerned with the lasting people issues and macro-concerns about, structure, worth, culture, ethics and matching resources to future needs. It comprises of all the activities affecting personnel in their efforts to frame and implement the tactical needs of a business. The concept engages aspects affecting employees such as hiring, pay, benefits, training, firing, and administration. It provides to work incentives and safety procedure information. The strategy also defines sick leave and vacation Companies who prioritize the requirements of their employees can cultivate a favourable work atmosphere that will lubricate productivity. A good social network between the management and the staff is developed. The employees will feel that their input to the business is appreciated and will therefore give their best (Bratton &Gold, 2000). The staff gives their feedback and opinions to the management on ways that they can better their business. This could be through the various feedback mechanisms such as suggestion boxes. Human resource managers perform this task. They develop comprehensive strategies that manage the human capital in attaining the organizations goals. The performance of an organization has a directly proportional relationship with how well the managers will perform this task. The managers’ face several challenges in the quest to achieving their goal. Some of the challenges are as discussed below (Bratton &Gold, 2000). Employee development Employee development encompasses training that prepares employees to perform their present job better as well as gain new skills that will enable them develop and handle more responsibility (Bratton &Gold, 2000). A skilled workforce positively influences organizational performance. Developing the employees increases the confidence the employees have in themselves and are therefore motivated and committed to the workforce. This is evidenced by increased retention, higher job satisfaction, and greater productivity. It is a very crucial aspect of an organization. The practice enables employees acquire job specific competencies. An accountant for instance would acquire high math skills while a service provider would require superb customer service skills. Employee development is a shared responsibility between the employee and the supervisor. The supervisor role includes activities such as clarifying routine and social expectations. They are also responsible for aiding the employees understand the business long-term and short-term goals. They help the employees identify learning opportunities, provide resources, and give correct feedback (Boxall & Purcell, 2003) Employees have a part to play in their development. In addition to meeting the current performance expectations; they must be able to adapt to meet the evolving business needs. For instance, advancement in technology requires new skills to operate the improved systems and way of delivering service (Bratton &Gold, 2000). The employees must adapt to meet this changes promptly so as not to derail the business. Employee development is achieved through several ways. They include events such as workshops and webinars. On the job activities such as cross training, challenging assignments, job shadowing, observation and demonstration, friend assignments, mentoring and coaching. Employee development essentially starts when the company is recruiting and interviewing. The managers aim at getting the right people that will embrace the learning process and change (Bratton &Gold, 2000) The human resource manager should come up with a favourable strategy that will incorporate the above-mentioned factors. All elements of the organization should play part in the process. Small and large companies should both take part in the process. Failure to this will render the employees less motivated and low productivity will be evident. The employees will feel that their work is not recognized and their full potential is not being utilized (Dessler, 2000). Below is a sample worksheet that can be used by the human resource managers Sample employee development worksheet Areas for Development (knowledge, expertise, abilities) Evolving Activities (e.g., workshops, webinars, tutoring, online lectures, reading, on-the-job drill) Target Date Completion Date Comments The managers are able to keep track of the training that the employees undergo. They will therefore expect more from the employees. This is because they will use the new knowledge to simplify tasks (Dessler, 2000) Ageing workforces The population in Australia will increase to thirty eight million by two thousand and sixty according to the most recent commonwealth census for Australia conducted in two thousand and twelve. Sydney and Melbourne will each increase by three million. The population of people aged seventy-five years and above is expected to rise by four million over the next five decades. By two thousand and twelve, there was roughly one person aged one hundred years old or more to every one hundred babies. This figure is expected to raise to twenty-five by the year two thousand and sixty (Boxall & Purcell, 2003). Labour participation is expected to fall from around sixty five percent to sixty percent over the next fifty years. The Australian government will face additional pressure on their budget equivalent to six percent of national growth domestic product. The above factors are because Australia experiences lower mortality rates and enjoy lengthier lives. The population growth will affect the labour supply, fiscal output, infrastructure necessities, and the government budget (Bratton & Gold, 2000) Recent research has revealed that employers can have typecast views of the abilities and attitudes of older employees (Bratton & Gold, 2000). These attitudes can have a positive and negative effect on the retaining and staffing of older workers. The human resource managers should be able to come up with a framework that will be suitable to the organization regarding this aspect. Some of the managers have been reluctant to address the issue. They rely on the Australian government policy on retirement. A manager could for example use the older workforce in employee development. The older population act as coaches and mentors for the interns. They are helpful to the business by guiding the young employees. This would influence the net gains from the new employees who have not mastered the skill of production. Through these acts, the older generation is still relevant to the business and the economy as a whole, hence would not be dependent on the working population for their upkeep. The organization does not lose during this transition period when the retires are going home and fresh interns from colleges are getting into the job. The older generation can also retire to the management. They will help the management make informed decisions. (Dessler, 2000) Transgender issues A transgender person is someone who identifies as a member of the opposite sex by living, or seeking to live as a member of the opposite sex (Bruce, 2003). Discrimination of transgender people is against the law. The transgender people ought to be judged cantered on their merit of the precise principles in question. The human resource manager should formulate a policy in the workplace to prevent discrimination of the transgender people by the other employees. They should be able to work comfortable without fear of attack, as is the case in several countries. The recruitment process of the organization should also be unbiased. They can only be dismissed on instances where the job specifically requires a certain sex. The manager ensures that the transgender receives the same treatment as their counter parts (Bratton & Gold, 2000) Several issues that the transgender face at the workplace includes being called names, refusal to use their preferred name or gender and refusing to share the toilet with them. The human resource manager should set a standard of what is professional behaviour. Grievance mechanisms are put in place to deal with all kinds of harassment. The staff should understand that there are consequences for their actions. Clients of the business that are transgender should be treated with the respect they deserve. Cultural diversity Majority of Australian workplaces today hire people from sundry cultural upbringing (Bratton &Gold, 2000). The different cultures have specific needs that should be put into consideration. The Muslims for example have a specific mode of dressing and require praying at specific times during the day. The manager should formulate a plan that will give people from this background the time and space they need. The different religions are to be treated as equals and no one should be treated as being superior to the other. This can be evident during events hosted by the business. Preachers from all the religions should be invited to give a short sermon. This will make all the employees feel that their religion is recognized and therefore will be more comfortable. Some backgrounds have specific types of food that they can take or are prohibited from taking. Some cultures also have social values and family obligations that may sometime conflict with their work (Boxall & Purcell, 2003) Some religion has their service on Friday and others Saturday. If the business operates during these days, the human resource manager should allow a program that will have the employees go to church on the day of worship. They can compensate for that time during another day when other religions are worshipping and they are free (Bruce, 2003) The human resource manager is responsible for the workers physical and psychological health and well-being. He is tasked with encouraging tolerance and respect for cultural differences in the work place. The manager should therefore address these (Dessler, 2000). References Boxall, P. F., & Purcell, J. (2003). Strategy and human resource management. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2000). Human resource management theory and practice (2nd ed.). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. Bruce, P. J. (2003). Human resource management casebook (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Prentice-Hall. Dessler, G. (2000). Human resource management (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Division of Finance and Administration Employee & Organizational Development. (n.d.). Strategies for Promoting Employee Development. Retrieved August 7, 2014, from http://eodinfo.tamu.edu/resources/professional-development-tools/ Read More