HRM Functions in Organisational Objectives

This article discusses the role of HRM in achieving organizational objectives, including fulfilling performance and staffing goals. It also explores the importance of employee engagement and retention in HRM.

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Question 1
1.1 HRM Functions in Organisational Objectives
The human resource management (HRM) division is an essential component of
organizational structure. Its roles are always aligned with the organizational objectives of firms
and mandated with the obligation of delivering some if not all the organizational goals.
Accordingly, the HRM has evolved to become an essential tool in organizational alignment to its
strategic objectives. This is, however, achieved through strategic talent acquisition, development,
and retention of essential human resources (Alagaraja, 2013). Through these activities, the HRM
has become mostly dependable and pivotal in the achievement of goals set by an organization.
Ideally, it has become the engine of business operations as all tasks are controlled and allocated
through this division in any organization (Alagaraja, 2013). For this reason, HRM is being used
in different ways to help deliver organizational objectives.
1.2 Fulfilling Performance and Staffing Objectives
In any company, there is always the need to keep the overall performance of the
organization increasing. This milestone is only achievable through the intervention of the human
resource management department in providing necessary directions on how different activities
will be undertaken. Through setting up policies and framework to be followed by employees, the
HRM can be able to track and measure the performance of individual staffs in the whole
organization (Caldwell et al., 2010). Although this is sometimes seen as a normal function of the
HRM department, it is an integral part of overall organizational performance. Essentially,
performance, either in production or financially largely depends on the resilience of the
workforce within a company (Bailey et al., 2018). With the HRM being the custodian of

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managing people in an organization, it is therefore tasked with ensuring the performance of the
company is maintained, both in production and the market.
In trying to ensure that the performance milestone is achieved, the HRM fulfills another
organizational objective of staffing. As a division that is tasked with identifying, recruiting, and
selecting human resources, HRM becomes the major player in ensuring the company achieves its
staffing goals. Such an objective may include ensuring qualified and trained staff occupy
strategic positions in the operations. In essence, through HRM, organizations can keep up with
the market demand as staff are added or reduced as required (Alagaraja, 2013). However, over
the past decade, the staffing and performing objectives have evolved to become not only a part of
HRM function but also organizational goals that resonated in the entire organizational structure
(Bailey et al., 2018). In contemporary organizations, performance measures and staffing has been
fully delegated to HRM, thus making it one of the most important divisions in any firm.
1.3 Employee Engagement and Retention
Among the key objectives of a firm is retaining its top talent as well as training others to
take up the challenge when they are retired. HRM, in this case, comes in handy as its function of
ensuring workplace relations are excellent is tested. Through this department, companies can
maintain and ensure their employees are fully engaged in the day-to-day running of the
operations and fill satisfied at the end (Mitchell, Obeidat and Bray, 2013). Furthermore, HRM is
tasked with creating a friendly environment for workers through its policies. In return, the
employees stick to the company despite the availability of chances to work for other companies.
Subsequently, the organizational objective of engaging its staff and retaining them for long
periods becomes feasible and achievable through the HRM functions. However, in contemporary
organizations, the roles of HRM have greatly evolved to make them the permanent and only link

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between the company and employee satisfaction. With the introduction of electronic, human
resource as well as business partnering, things have become even more straightforward in
employee engagement as information is shared in real time (Ma and Ye, 2015).
Finally, since HRM plays a pivotal role in the delivery of organizational objectives, it is
inevitable for organizations to carry it out professionally while upholding high standards of
ethical and moral values. Without professionalism in managing people, interrelations between
the management and the staff will be impaired; thus, paralyzing the entire firm. Furthermore,
handling HRM matters professionally guarantees more exceptional performance (Caldwell et al.,
2010). For instance, while dealing with conflicts within the workplace, the HRM machinery
should not side with one party but instead, find a long-lasting solution for the problem without
psychologically or socially injuring any of the involved factions. In the same context, HRM
practices have to uphold high ethical standards to avoid brushing shoulders with the law. All
employees have to be treated in a just and dignified manner that encourages them to explore their
full potential. As a result, the productivity of the company can tremendously increase due to
exemplary ethical reputations (Mitchell, Obeidat, and Bray, 2013). It is, therefore, necessary for
HRM functions/roles to be exercised professionally and ethically.
Question 2
2.1 Delivery of HRM Objectives
Although HRM is a critical component of management, its implementation and practice
vary across companies depending on their size and business approach. Different models are
always employed when delivering HRM services in an organization. Despite the similarity in
functions, the mode of delivery, in most cases, depends on the capability of individual
organizations (Darwish, 2013). In reality, the HRM department is being considered as a business

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partner in the contemporary organization. As such, it is tasked with proving its worth to the firm
focus in achieving set strategic goals. Furthermore, with the widening segment of customers,
some of the HRM functions have to be performed externally to meet the company’s objectives.
For this reason, different models of delivering HRM services have been established, and
companies adopt whatever model best fits their operations and business strategy. Among the
model, two key models emerge, outsourcing and consultancy.
2.2 Outsourcing
HR outsourcing is a procedure that involves subcontracting some HRM functions to an
external supplier. This is usually occasioned by a diverse workforce or limited resources to
establish an all-inclusive HR department within the organization. Additionally, some non-core
functions that require specialized training are in most cases, subcontracted to HR service
providers with the technical capacity to undertake the particular functions (Susomrith and
Brown, 2013). Although there must be the existence of an internal HRM division in a company,
outsourcing has been considered less costly, especially when the entire workforce lacks the
specific technical ability to execute the needed functions. Under such circumstances, firms are
forced to outsource the services externally.
As a means of delivering HR objectives, this approach is considered to be cost-effective
and provided unlimited access to HR expertise that is not found within the firm. Furthermore, it
exposes the organizations to a myriad of opportunities of operating more strategically and
acquiring top talents in the labor market. However, the approach exposes firms to possible loss
of control of its key functions as well as impacting employee relationship with internal
management (Sheehan, 2009). Additionally, it reduces the flexibility of the company and can

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potentially introduce legal requirements that may affect the operations of the business. However,
outsourcing is still widely used across Australia, the US, and other developed states.
With the roles of the HRM varying between companies of different sizes, their demand
for the services also vary. However, the defining factor is the resource's capability of individual
organizations to cover all its HR functions without needing to outsource fully. For small and
medium enterprises (SMEs), the roles of HRM revolves around design jobs, managing work
relations, and recruiting new staff. Any other technical or major HRM function is possibly
outsourced due to the low technical capacity to execute them. Contrary, the HR functions in a
large organization is highly sophisticated and intertwines with critical business activities
(Sheehan and Cooper, 2011). However, their level of outsourcing is low as they have adequate
resources, both human and financial, to cover their critical and non-core HRM functions within
the organization without primarily relying on outsourcing.
2.3 Consultancy
Human resource consultancy involves seeking HRM administration, analytical or
implementation services from consultancy firms instead of relying on internal HRM department
to undertake the functions. Under this approach, firms usually contract other HRM consultancy
firms to develop or improve their HRM services including designing job descriptions, assessing
the conformity of HRM policies of the company to established standards as well as checking the
efficiency of the existing HRM practices within the organization. More often, this technique is
employed by all firms regardless of their size and financial muscle (Wylie, Sturdy and Wright,
2013). As a way of delivering HRM objectives, consultancy is used in aligning the
organizational objectives with the existing functions. For most companies, they use consultants
to measure and analyze their key performance areas of the HRM department as well as that of

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the entire company. Ideally, consultancy is becoming a new trend in contemporary organizations
as technology has allowed e-HRM services to be provided remotely across the world (Ma and
Ye, 2015).
As a model of delivering HRM functions, consultancy allows firms to streamline their
operations and identify any internal obstacles that might be inhibiting success. In this context,
both SMEs and large corporations rely on consultants to unbiasedly audit their HRM policies,
practices, and framework to establish whether they conform to international standards. For
instance, big companies such as Google contract consultant firs like KPMG to audit their
operations, including their HRM activities. This provides them with a clear picture of the actual
image of the company on the public since consultants are always external assessors who do not
influence interest in the running of the company (Donnelly, 2010). Therefore, this approach
provides an accurate and reliable method of executing some of the most critical HRM functions
that internal auditors of the company cannot complete without bias or interests.
Question 3
3.1 Management Theories
In the contemporary business environment, nothing is in a state of constant static.
Functions, operations, marketing, strategies, and employee management change every time and
then. However, it is upon the organizations experiencing the change to choose an appropriate
model of executing the desired change. Furthermore, depending on the perceived magnitude of
change and its impact to the human resources within the firm, resistance may be experienced if a
proper model is not followed during the implementation phase (Hayes, 2018). For this reason,
change management theories have been established and used in rolling out change by any

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organization. Among the fundamental theories that exist include Lewin’s change management
model and Kotter’s eight-stage model.
3.2 Lewin’s Three-Stage Model
While designing any form of change in an organization, it is vital to have in mind how it
is going to be implemented with less resistance from stakeholders and staff. Lewin’s model is
one of the classical theories that have existed for decades. According to the model, changes take
three stages before it is accomplished, unfreezing, change, and refreezing (Cummings, Bridgman
and Brown, 2015). In the unfreezing stage, different events take place. The organization is first
prepared to welcome and accept the change by breaking down the prevalent status quo. By doing
this, a stage for change is established, and the management and staff are enlightened on how the
new approach will be more feasible than the existing one.
The second stage in the model involves executing the actual change after all preparations
have been done. Uncertainty created in the unfreezing stage is solved under this phase
(Cummings, Bridgman and Brown, 2015). Ideally, this is the longest stage under which
organizations have to address any dissents or resistance for the change to be fully implemented.
Later, the last stage becomes refreezing, which involves allowing the new changes to be
assimilated by everyone and in all divisions of the organization to create a new status quo. With
all the stages completed, the change can be said to be successful.
The implementation of this change management model is appropriate for any
organization. For instance, when changing the HR policies, uncertainty about the present status is
created to prepare employees for change. The change is then identified and initiated. Although
resistance might be present, proper management and resolution of issues by the HRM will ease
the tension and later on, the change will become permanent. The success of this model is,

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however, evaluated through different approaches. First, the reaction and acceptance level of the
staff and stakeholders to the change indicates a successful application of the model. Secondly,
how easily people adapt to the change also evaluates its effectiveness in implementing change.
3.3 The ADKAR Theory of Change
This change management model was proposed by Jeffery Hait. Ideally, the theoretical
framework of the model elaborates how change is managed and perceived by an individual.
According to the model, awareness of the need for change is created first, which in turn triggers
the desire to undertake the change. The involved people become knowledgeable about the
change and their abilities to cope with change increased, thus, making it possible to reinforce the
changes in them (Worley and Mohrman, 2014). Although this model of change is not necessarily
used to implement or execute the changes, it elaborates the specific pattern that is followed while
initiating and executing a change. The model further elaborates the need for having a clear
approach to change in an organization to avoid any resistance.
For companies that utilize this approach before initializing change have the opportunity
of anticipating and estimating the degree of resistance expected. For instance, when an idea
about change is brought up, the reactions of the staff will tell whether they desire to have the
change or not. Their abilities to accommodate the change will be evident, and this will illustrate
if they will be willing to reinforce the change once it has been initiated. Ideally, the usefulness of
this model in change management is overwhelming, and every firm ought to try and implement it
before beginning the journey of change in their organizations. In reality, it is assumed that no
change is obsolete, and its impacts should diffuse across all sections of the organization once it
has been successfully implemented (Kim, 2015). Therefore, depending on the type of change and

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the preparedness of the involved parties, a theoretical framework/model that best fits the change
is adopted.
Question 5
Many types of research have been undertaken to assess the impacts of HR practices on
organizational performance. However, most the researches are not empirical, thus leaving out
some crucial assurance points. In this context, this question is going to rely on one journal article
that uses empirical evidence to show the relationship between HR practices and positive
organizational outcomes.
5.1 Article Review
Moideenkutty, U., Al‐Lamki, A., and Murthy, S. (2011). HRM practices and organizational
performance in Oman. Personnel Review, 40(2), pp.239-251.
This article identifies the link between HR practices and the performance of the
organization. In particular, the research aimed at testing the relationship between high-
involvement HRM practices and organizational outcomes that presents. A sample of 87
companies from Oman was used to generate the required data for analysis. To carry out the
analysis, a hypothesis that states, “High-involvement HRM practices will be positively related to
subjective organizational performance” (Moideenkutty, Al‐Lamki, and Murthy, 2011, p.243).
Based on the findings of the research, High involved HR practices were found to be
positively associated with organizational performance with a positive correlation of r= 0.379 and
p<0.01. This empirical evidence of the association between the two variable further substantiates
the findings of other researchers that found a positive relationship between HR practices and
organizational performance (Mostafa, 2017: Rana and Malik, 2017). The results of the research
are convincing owing to the empirical evidence presented, as well as the statistical significance

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of the test undertaken. At a 95% confidence level, the statistical tests successfully reveal that
there is a positive association between the two. Therefore, it can be concluded that, based on the
data from the 87 companies based in Oman, HR practices have been found to have a positive
relationship with organizational outcomes/performance.
In theory, this is an illustration that, whenever there is high involvement in HR practices,
the performance of an organization is deemed to improve. Although this might not be the case in
all companies, the majority experience the same effects, reasonably, companies ought to embrace
and focus on human resources to stimulate their performance and improve the overall
productivity of the firm. Furthermore, it is effective in ensuring that employee relations are
maintained at a high standard as well as improving their overall performance outcomes (Mostafa,
2017). As the research article hypothesized, HRM practices have a general positive influence on
how firms perform. Ideally, the research findings are encouraging, especially to human resource
managers who wish to impact their company’s performance through their practices. Assuming
that HRM practices are the same across all organizations, the performance of any firm can easily
be triggered through improvement in HR practice involvement (Moideenkutty, Al‐Lamki, and
Murthy, 2011).
In conclusion, it is apparent that both high performances working and investments in
human capital can steer an organization towards success. Notably, human capital is an essential
resource in running any organization. Without it, most of the operations, whether automated or
manual could fail. Its usefulness resonates in all spheres of work within an organization as it
determines how the production and running of administrative tasks is undertaken (Wright and
McMahan, 2011). Due to this influence of human capital on the performance and organizational
practice, most companies have always focused on ensuring its optimal use to establish a

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sustainable performance that is less dependent other internal factors such as finance and
organizational structure of a firm.
With high performance working having the capability of attracting, developing, and
retaining employees within an organization, its use in organizations has become inevitable.
Notably, high-performance working encourages employee involvement, which in return,
improves the overall productivity of a company (Arednse, 2015). For instance, by implementing
high-performance work systems, a firm cannot only recruit more efficiently but also design
better reward systems for the company. All these undertakings ease the work of the HRM and
train the organization to adopt the practices. Although many firms have different HRM systems,
their functionality and practicality are almost the same and businesses experience the same effect
when the practices become intensive. In general, human resources, including human capital, are
crucial in running the operations of an organization optimally as well as promoting change
within any organizational setup.

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