NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
E 1 /A 2 In the last century there has been much debate over the roles of personnel and human resources. It is argued that they are different from each other. However it has been discovered that the differences are much less than the similarities and that the differences are in fact a matter of opinion. The main argument for employees being given the title 'Human Resources Manager' over 'Personnel Manager' is to augment their ego. They feel the change of title enhances their status. Another reason for the change from personnel to human resources is to avoid phrases like manpower, which are related to personnel and are claimed to be sexist.
The Institute of Personnel Management states, 'The profession of personnel management has as its principal aim the task of ensuring the optimum use of human resources to the mutual benefit of the enterprise, each person and community at large. ' Human Resources are the department that deals with and looks after the employees as a resource of the business. This is important, as the resources are the core of the business and without these resources the business would not exist. "Human Resources Management emphasises that people are an organisations key resource due to their flexibility, creativity and commitment" (Letts A-Level Business Studies) People are part of business resources and are important assets, which should be valued. It is the job of the human resources department to ensure that employees are content and looked after. A human resource manager must motivate their staff. To do this the human resource manager must be genuinely interested in the employees. They must find out what interests them, their aspirations and their ambitions.
Once a human resource manager has done this and found out this information they can identify ways of fulfilling them. An American theorist Abraham Maslow developed a theory, which guide's a human resource manager in the ways to motivate their staff. The diagram below shows Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs'. Physiological - needs such as food, shelter, warmth, clothes and survival.
The money they are paid with satisfies this. Safety - Job Security, Stability and Security in their Workplace Social/Love and Belonging - making friends, teamwork, contact and communication. Self Esteem - feeling valued, job status, positive feedback, promotion and respect. Self-Actualisation - develop full potential, self-fulfilment, developing new skills and facing new challenges. Human resource managers must understand the two ways in which the concept of the hierarchy of needs works.
Firstly until a lower need is satisfied higher needs cannot be motivated. For example if an employee feels insecure in their job there is no use in trying to motivate through social/ love and belonging. Secondly once a need is satisfied the employee cannot be motivated further by that same need. The human resource manager must then find ways of motivating the staff by the next highest need. The Human Resources Department has many responsibilities and functions to perform. The main functions of the human resources department can be grouped as the following: Human Resource Planning The staffs within a business like AMA are a very valuable asset.
It is therefore essential that a business ensures that they have the appropriate staff and amount of staff to meet their needs. AMA has prepared a strategic plan of their business to ensure that they can see what may happen to the business and the people within it in the long term. This preparation as well as looking at AMA's current needs helps to increase the competitiveness of the business. Effective planning involves both internal staffing and the external labour market. This will help to identify trends and possible affects of these trends in the future. When analysing the external market they should look at their catchment area, how trends will affect it whether the trends are local, national or international, and costs.
When the human resource department is analysing the internal staffing they should look at their labour turnover, absenteeism rate and the productivity of the workforce. Recruitment and Selection There are a number of steps involved in the recruitment and selection of staff. They are: & # 61607; Finding out why the business needs to recruit staff & # 61607; Look at all of the alternatives to recruitment & # 61607; Performing a job analysis and then drawing up a job description and person specification. & # 61607; Advertising the post internally, externally or both. & # 61607; Deciding upon the recruitment method to take. & # 61607; Application Method & # 61607; Short listing. & # 61607; Interviewing & # 61607; Aptitude tests & # 61607; Selecting the most suitable applicant Throughout this process the company must ensure that they adhere to the legislation involved when recruiting. There are many laws including: & # 61607; The equal pay act 1980 & # 61607; Sex Discrimination Act 1975 & # 61607; Race Relations Act 1976 & # 61607; Disability Discrimination Act 1995 This process is very important, as it is essential that the correct person be selected for the job. This will avoid having to repeat this process in near future. This will save the company money, as it is an expensive process having to recruit staff and it takes a lot of time.
Employees are a very important resource of the company and it is therefore essential that right for the job. The next function of the human resources department is Training and Development. Training and development has a major affect on the competitiveness of the business but the process can be very expensive. The amount of training and development which a business will perform will depend upon the environment in which the company is situated. There are many different methods which a business can use to train their staff. They include & # 61607; Induction Training & # 61607; Mentoring & # 61607; Coaching & # 61607; Apprenticeship & # 61607; In-house Training & # 61607; External Training Performance Management 'Performance management is a joint process that involves both the supervisor and the employee, who identify common goals, which correlate to the higher goals of the institution.
This process results in the establishment of written performance expectations later used as measures for feedback and performance evaluation. ' Rogers Davis Assistant Vice Chancellor, Human Resources, The process of performance management involves measuring the performance of the employees against the individual targets set for them and the overall objectives of the company. It will entail the human resources department having to conduct performance appraisal. From the results of the performance management the human resources team will identify ways to improve upon the performance of the companies employees. Motivation methods can be introduced to raise the morale and then the overall effectiveness of the employees' performance. Methods of motivating staff include giving them monetary and non-monetary benefits. Monetary benefits include paying staff according to their performance.
This can be done through paying staff in piece rates, commission etc. Non-monetary rewards which are otherwise know as fringe benefits include company cars, pension schemes, staff discounts etc. The human resources department also performs other roles with individual departments. There must be clear communication between human resources and the department they deal with.
Human resources often advise management on the wages and the working conditions that they offer to their employees. This will benefit managers as human resources are trained in dealing with people so therefore they should know how to effectively deal with the staff. Human resources deals with people both within and outside the business, the people within include employees, managers, owners' etc. The people outside include employee trade unions and they play a role in industrial relations.
If all these tasks are performed effectively the staff of the company should be content in their job as miller and Spates theory suggests that if the employees are happy then they will do a good job. This is because the staff is highly motivated and therefore the work they produce is of a higher standard than that of unmotivated staff. This will result in an increase in the productivity of the business. Indicators of effective human resource management are: Low Labour Turnover Rate If the labour turnover rate is low it shows that the company isn't constantly hiring new staff and that current staff are not leaving. This shows that both the employees are content in their job and that managers are happy with their employees' work. This shows that the human resource management team is effectively managing the morale of their staff and that they are recruiting the correct staff for the jobs.
High Productivity High productivity will show that employees are working hard and efficiently. This shows that the morale of the staff is high, as a low motivated staff would have low productivity levels. High-Quality Production Again if the production is of high quality it shows that the employees are working efficiently and producing high quality work. This shows that the human resources is being managed effectively as staff of a company with a poor human resources department would have poor quality production caused by low morale and lack of interest in their work.
Co-operative Workforce A co-operative workforce will show an effective human resources department as it will be the human resource department with whom the workforce will mainly be communicating with. If they are co-operative it shows that there is good communication between the workforce and management. A business such as AMA can gain a competitive advantage through a highly motivated workforce. A highly motivated workforce will work efficiently and all their jobs will be performed. Employees will take responsibility for their own work resulting in calls will be dealt with efficiently and other tasks being performed effectively. If this happens the business will be successful, have a good reputation for high-quality work and this will help them to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors.
The Labour Market E 2 /C 1 /A 1 The labour market is a market in which those who require labour (employees) come together with those who can supply labour (employers). It is in this market that wages and conditions of employment are determined through the interaction of supply and demand. If there is an over supply of potential employees wages will be lower and the conditions of employment inferior to that of the conditions of employment offered when there is a scarcity of potential employees. The wages offered will also be higher where there is a scarcity of employees. The external labour market is a market made up from all the potential employees for a business, locally nationally or internationally.
The people in the market have the experience and skills required for the job. This means that for example a company which requires an employee with 5 GCSE's, an AVCE in business studies and a degree in business studies would have a labour market made up of all those people with these qualifications. The internal labour market is a market made up of potential employees for a job who are currently employed with the business. It consists of employees within the firm who have the specific experience, qualifications and skills required for the job. It relates to the ways in which employees can be promoted, demoted or changed from one position to another. It is important that the human resources department takes regular analysis of their staffs's kills and experience so that if a vacant post arises they can compare the qualifications of current staff.
The labour market is affected by national and sometimes international market trends such as: & # 61607; Competition for Labour Labour markets are affected by competition for labour as if competition for labour is high then the wages, conditions of employment and employment packages will be lower and inferior. This is because the companies have a wide range of potential employees to select from. In markets like these people tend to multi-skill themselves to make them more employable. However in markets where there is little competition, companies will offer high wages, better conditions of employment and enhanced employment packages.
This is because the competition between companies trying to employ these employees will be fierce as they are limited. Each company will have to try making their company more attractable than that of competitors. & # 61607; Government Policies Labour markets are affected by government policies, as government policies are often developed to try and improve the features of labour markets. The policies developed will be in regards to education and training, health and safety and industrial relations. Legislation also affects labour markets, as there is legislation on equal opportunities for employment, unfair dismissal, etc. Labour market policies state that there should not be any discrimination on the foundation of sex, ethnicity, religion, etc.
Finally immigration policies may affect labour markets, as companies may not be able to employ from labour from specific countries although there are suitable employees. It is important that businesses have knowledge of the labour market to help with their human resource planning. The table below is the standard plans by which human resource managers' base short and long term. 1. What is happening now? & # 61607; Organisational Objectives & # 61607; Analysis of Staff Numbers and Wages & # 61607; Work Rates & # 61607; Work Loads & # 61607; Key Skills & # 61607; Labour Turnover & # 61607; Absenteeism 2. What do we expect to happen to the demand for products / services and therefore labour? & # 61607; Changing Technology & # 61607; Sales Forecast & # 61607; Market Research & # 61607; New Product Development & # 61607; Managerial Skills & # 61607; Wage Rates & # 61607; Union Agreements 3. What do we expect labour supply to be like in the future?
Is there likely to be plenty or a shortage? & # 61607; Local Unemployment/Employment Trends & # 61607; Local Skills and Availability & # 61607; Demographic Changes & # 61607; Legislation & # 61607; Government Training Schemes & # 61607; Quality of Local Education, Housing and Transport & # 61607; Competition for Workers 4. All of these issues raise questions, which the Human Resources plan. & # 61607; Organisation Development & # 61607; Training and Management Development & # 61607; Recruitment, Redundancy and Redeployment & # 61607; Appraisal and Job Ev...
Free research essays on topics related to: human resource planning, human resource manager, human resource department, human resource management, human resources department
Research essay sample on Human Resources Department Human Resource Manager
