MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCE

 Human Resources and Company Performance

Human resource management is defined as the process of hiring, recruitment,
deployment and management of human capital of an organization. Human resource
managers are tasked with the responsibility of deciding whom to hire, what to pay,
what training to offer and how to motivate the employees through performance
evaluation.
Human Resource Management can be directly associated with the company
performance. When there is a proper Human Resource Management in place, a
company will tap in the best and experienced employees. These employees will help
the company produce best goods and/or services in the market. Consequently, the
company will satisfy its customers, retain them as well as attract new customers. This
in the end will improve the company’s performance.
A good Human Resource Management for a company will influence the
behavior of the human capital. Human Resource Management puts in place
motivation mechanisms for employees. The employees are evaluated based on their
performance and then rewarded appropriately. The Human Resource Management
will always endeavor to reward according to the effort of each employee. These
employees will also reciprocate by enhancing the quality of their work, customer
satisfaction and consequently, company profitability.
 Responsibilities of human Resource Departments
At least each organization has a Human Resource Management department. The
human Resource Management department has the following responsibilities:
i. Human resource Management department is concerned with analyzing and
designing of jobs for the company. It is the work of Human resource Managers to give
a detailed information about the jobs in a company as well as define how work should
be done, and the tasks that a specific job requires.
ii. Human Resource Management department recruits and hires employees for
the company. Based on a given criteria, the department will first identify what type of
work needs to be done, then identify the skills required for the specific job. The
company, through the human resource department will then actively recruit, or
redeploy employees to other sections based on the need, experience or any other
parameters that they could determine.
iii. Human resource department also trains and develops its employees. Once an
employee has been recruited, the company may decide to broaden their skills,
knowledge and abilities by training them. This will enable the employees perform
better in their current jobs as well as prepare them for future responsibilities.
iv. Human resource department is also tasked with performance management of
the employees. This is to make sure that the employees’ activities and outputs match
the job descriptions of the employees.
v. Human resource management department is also concerned with payroll
management. The department prepares and administers pay and other benefits to the
employees.
vi. Human Resource department is also crucial in maintaining a positive
employee relation. The department handles majority of the communication between
employees as well as resolve any conflict that may arise among the employees.
vii. The department also establishes and administers personnel policies.
viii. Human resource management department is concerned with keeping records
related to recruitment, training, payroll information among others.
 ix. Lastly, the Human resource department ensures that there is compliance with
labor laws among the employees and the company
 Competencies needed for Human Resource Management
A human resource manager needs to have a set of skills and competencies that
can enable them effectively carry out their duties. The competencies can be
categorized into four: Technical, Interpersonal, Business and Leadership.
i. Technical Competencies: these are specialized expertise and knowledge that
the HRO can use to perform specific tasks. It involves the understanding of how
human resource management functions are carried out.
ii. Interpersonal competencies: This is the ability of the Human Resource officer
to communicate and interact well with employees and people from outside the
company. The specific skills include relationship management, communication and
global and cultural effectiveness.
iii. Business competencies: These are skills that help the company get a
competitive advantage in the market. The specific skills include critical evaluation,
business acumen and consultation.
iv. Leadership competencies: These are behaviors and skills that lead to an
improved performance in a business. The specific skulls include ethical practice and
leadership and navigation.
 Role of Supervisors in Human Resource Management
Both small and large companies have managers and supervisors who have roles
that are related to the human resource functions. Additionally, supervisors can have
some HR functions that they can get involved in. The company supervisor can get
involved defining jobs, forecast HR needs and provide training. Other functions
include conducting interviews for new employees, participate in appraising
performance, recommend pay increase and promotion and communicate policies of
the company. The supervisor can also motivate the employees by providing support
from pay, benefits and other rewards.
 Ethical Issues in Human Resource Management
Ethical issues always arise when one person’s action affects another. In Human
resource management, a lot of ethical issues arise. Majority of these ethical issues are
fundamental employee rights. The first one is the right of free consent. The employee
must know the kind of duties he or she will do before consenting to take up the job.
The employees enjoy right to their privacy. It is the duty of the organization to keep
personal record of the employees as confidential as possible. The employees also have
a right to their freedom of conscience. The employees can refuse to do what they
believe will violate their moral ethics. The employees have a freedom of speech.
Through the use anonymous hotlines, policies and procedures the company can
comfortably address complaints from employees.
There are standards set on how to determine ethical behavior. The following
four principles guide companies to determine ethical issues in the company:
i. In the company’s relationship with customers, vendors, and clients, the
company emphasizes its focus on mutual benefit.
ii. Employees assume responsibility for the actions committed by the company.
iii. Companies has a set vision or purpose that employees use in their day-to-day
work.
iv. Emphasis on fairness.
 Careers in human Resource Management
Human Resource management as a profession has a varied range of jobs.
Professionals in Human Resource Management are usually members of the Society
for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Some of the professions in Human
Resource Management include:
i. Human Resource assistant
ii. Training and Development specialists
iii. Human resource specialists
iv. Instructional designer and technologist
v. Labor relations specialist
vi. Training and development manager
vii. Human Resource manager
viii. Compensation and Benefits manager