Roles of the human resource management

The Role and Remit of the Human Resource Management Function

Human Resource Management is a substantial unit in a company and particularly in the United Kingdom. With the absence of this department important functions such as preparation, consolidation, staffing, leading and controlling cannot be put to control easily (Andersson, 2000).

Some of the upcoming issues in the world of human resource management in the United Kingdom include the rising in the rates of unemployment, the rise in the numbers of old people still involved in employment and an upsurge in employee turnover. Others include self-employment as opposed to seeking employment from a business firm, the economic recession that is forcing every business organization to spend wisely and the fact that a majority of people are opting to invest (Andersson, 2000).

Human Resource management looks into such issues and plays an important role in putting together the framework that a business organization requires in order to operate. Before proceeding, we should comprehend the functions of this department. Human resource management is a process of scheduling, challenging, and teaching, assessing and rewarding employees and conforming to their health and safety, labor relations and fairness concerns (Downes, 2005). In the United Kingdom, emphasis is put on the professionalism of these people.

Roles of the human resource management

Strategy refers to a plan in the long-term sense that is implemented by harmonizing the core strengths and weakness of the company with the external prospects and aims to ensure a competitive advantage (Downes, 2005). In order to form a strategy, HRM establishes all the functions. These functions include job scrutiny, recruitment, employee assortment and analysis, teaching the employees, performance assessment, labor affairs and employee safety and health.

All the issues that pertain to formulation of strategies should be accordance with the laws that are stipulated in the United Kingdom constitution (Downes, 2005). For example, all employees are entitled to protective wear such as protective goggles, footwear and dressing. The employer provides protective wear at all times unless stated otherwise.

1. Job analysis is carried out by the HRM in order to categorize and describe in details the necessities required of a certain job (Foss, 2008). Emphasis should be based on job analysis rather than the person. In the UK, information regarding this process is composed through interviews and questionnaires.

The main agenda behind employment analysis is to grow awareness on the kinds of training, assortment criteria, and reimbursement and performance appraisal for that specific job (Foss, 2008). Job analysis in the UK gathers information on capacities such as responsibilities, work environment, tools and equipment, association with people and necessities of the line of job.

1. Recruitment of employees involves a complete set of steps. In UK HRM recruits employees through the following steps. The law allows for these steps and therefore every business organization is mandated to follow them.

First, decisions regarding what positions have to be filled should are made through the personnel planning and foretelling.

Secondly, a number of candidates viable for occupation of the position are then built by engaging internal and exterior candidates (Downes, 2005). The candidates then fill up application forms. This exercise is followed closely by a preliminary screening interview. Taking charge of the interview are candidates from internal and external sectors. In order to select suitably, the compensations and shortcomings of internal and external candidates are carried out.

1. The laws in the UK allow for scrutiny of the candidates selected for further appointment hence the next role of HRM practices of employee assortment and analysis. Methods such as examinations, background investigations and physical exams are carried out in order to identify sustainable candidates (Foss, 2008).

This aids the HRM to choose, whom to give an employment proposal. The HRM engages supervisors during the interview.

In order to benefit, both the business firm and the employees, the HRM seeks employees who equal the organizational needs and have the individual talent required. Advantages that arise from this selection criterion include a diminishing the rate of employee turnover, intensifying job gratification, reduction in the costs of training and lastly the best person gets an opportunity to win the employment (Gupta, 2004).

1. The HRM then undertakes exercises in training the employees. It puts certain factors into consideration, for example the eminence of the employees to determine the long-term viability of the employees.

In the UK, laws provide that employers should involve the employees in decent training exercise and education in order to facilitate the growth of the employees (Mahnke, 2000). Training is carried out with a number of objectives in mind for example performance assessment may point to performance enhancement as part of a general professional expansion program (Mahnke, 2000).

The issues of employee training include communications, computer skills, customer service, diversity, ethics, quality and safety (Foss, 2008). The advantages of the training exercises include increasing job gratification, increase in employee enthusiasm, making aware risk management and raising the quality of products.

1. Business organizations across the United Kingdom through the HRM ensure performance appraisal as a way of defining the job performance of an employee concerning the time, quality and cost by manager or supervisor.

This procedure is part of managing job development. Some of the purposes performance appraisal is carried out are in order to recognize employee training requirements, secondly, to accord reward where reward is deserved such as through salary increment and job promotions and lastly is to authenticate assortment methods and human resource strategies (Simonin, 2006).

Some of the most widespread methods used in the United Kingdom in performance appraisal process include management by objectives, 360-degree appraisal and behavioral observation scale (Gupta, 2004).

1. Another role that is undertaken by the Human resource department in the United Kingdom regards labor affairs. Labor affairs involve mutual negotiation between employers and employees in relation to the rights and responsibilities of people at work. Labor relations are concerned with initiating the state of balance between the rights and the responsibilities that exist between the employees and the employers (Mahnke, 2000). A healthy system is developed once the human resource department strikes a state of balance between the employers and the employees.

Some of the issues that are addressed under labor affairs include laws regarding affairs such as employees working hours that must be accredited pay and health and safety regulations (Downes, 2005). The employee or representative from the trade union concerned can carry out the negotiating procedure. The right of bargain paves way for an opportunity to guide and launch the rules of the workplace and achieve influence over chief aspects of employees’ lives.

1. The HRM works in close relation to labor laws to ensure a healthy working environment for the employees. Employers, by law, are responsible to provide a safe and wholesome working place for their workers. They are concerned with providing high standards, training services and equipment, education and encouraging constant upgrading the safety and health of the work place environment (Simonin, 2006).

The importance of these methods is to increase productivity, achieve high quality products, enhance the quality of labor, reduce the rate of employee turnover and make better use of the available human resources (Gupta, 2004). Likewise, the staff and families of the staff gain from the safety and health regulations because their earnings are secured and they exposed to a reduced amount pressure when working.

1. The human resource management roles in the United Kingdom have assisted in professional growth. The training exercises usually help gain acquaintance with the job in various related fields.

Other advantages related to professional growth witnessed over time include the strengthening of communication skills, computing skills and raising awareness in safety tips (Mahnke, 2000). It has also ensured subscription to better health and safety practices. It has promoted employment expertise; it has provided enticements to aim at moving up their own career ladders. As mentioned earlier in this document these practices help to reduce the rate of employee turnover, to increase job gratification and reduce the cost incurred in training and aiding in finding the best person suited for a particular job.

Conclusion

The role of HRM is now shifting such that the crucial responsibilities facing the Human Resource Management in the United Kingdom is about converting of the entire system of human resource management to comprise of the practices of organizational knowledge, information development and information transfer (Simonin, 2006).

Unfortunately, the Human Resource Management has deficient pragmatic support and is concentrated to learning involvements of several unrelated organizations in the United Kingdom.

What has been discussed at length involves strategic international human resource management (SIHRM) which is the idea of conveying human resource management procedures themselves to overseas companies in other nations in Europe (Gupta, 2004). There has been extensive research carried out by both academicians and practitioners on evaluating the transferability of Human Resource Management practices from one country to another country.

It has been established that shifting Human Resource Management procedures from one country to another country is cumbersome and the parent companies have not been able to regulate and transmit practices carried out at home to other organizations overseas. This is attributed to the systematic differences between the home company and the overseas companies (Foss, 2008).

References

Andersson, U. B 2000, Subsidiary Absorptive Capacity, MNC Headquarters’. London: Working Paper.

Downes, M. T 2005, Knowledge Transfer through Expatriation: the U-curve approach to. Journal of Managerial Issues, 131-149.

Foss, N 2008, Internal Disaggregation in Oticon: An Organizational Economics Interpretation of the, London: LINK Working Paper.

Gupta, A 2004, Knowledge Flows within MNCs, Strategic Management Journal, 40-52.

Mahnke, L. K 2000, Knowledge Strategies, Firm Types and Complementarity in Human. Newyork: CBS Working Paper.

Simonin, B 2006, Transfer of Marketing Know. Journal of International Management, 463-490.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 680