Human Resource Management: Functions and Impact on Organizational Goals

This report highlights upon the purpose of various HR functions as well as their impact in the organization. It discusses the importance of employee motivation, satisfaction, retention, performance, and association. Gain insights on how to improve employee efficiency and contribution towards the accomplishment of organizational goals.

Human Resource Management
Reflection

Human resource management 2
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
HR Functions.............................................................................................................................2
Reflection...................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

Human resource management 3
Introduction
Human resource management is one of the most critical functions in any organization. The
people associated with the business are effective resources and it is imperative that they are
managed in an efficient manner (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Human resource management
entails several responsibilities including recruitment, selection of employees, compensating
employees, performance evaluation and ensuring employee satisfaction, retention and
performance. The primary function of human resource management is to increase the
effectiveness and contribution of employees towards attainment of organizational goals.
Through this course, I have been able to understand how several HR functions work towards
attaining this primary goal. This report highlights upon the purpose of various HR functions
as well as their impact in the organization. This course has also helped me gain a deeper
insight about the importance and the role played by effective human resource management
within any organization. I am certain that the impact of the course would be reflected upon
my career including my present workplace. My learning from the course has also been
highlighted in the report.
HR Functions
Effective HR management entails various functions. HR management takes the first step
towards building human resources within a firm through recruitment and selection of
employees. Recruitment is the process of inviting candidates for the selection process in order
to work for the firm. Recruitment and selection are crucial processes that set the appropriate
backbone towards organizational success. While the recruitment process, HR managers
ensures that the candidates selected for the job not only fulfil the basic requirement but are
also fit for the job (Bratton & Gold, 2017). Such efforts in the first step lead to long term
employee satisfaction. Effective recruitment ensures that people who are selected for a
particular job are willing to work there and possess the right skill set to perform at that job. In
the longer run, this will lead to employee efficiency as well as ensure that they contribute
towards the accomplishment of organizational goals.
Equal employment opportunity and affirmation action are human resource management
functions that ensure ethical functioning of the business and management of people
associated with the business. EEO aims to ensure that people coming from all genders, races,
religions, sexual orientations or castes have the exact same opportunity for employment

Human resource management 4
(Lewis, 2018). The only thing that differentiates two people is their own skill set and
qualifications. Affirmative action is essentially a remedy to address the past practices of
discrimination. Women, blacks, Hispanics and similarly several other minorities have been
discriminated against in the past. In order to bring them to a level playing field affirmative
action is introduced. This does not imply that managers should hire unqualified minorities.
Both the practices are aimed at curbing any form of discrimination and promoting equality
among all. Such practices create a positive working culture and address issues of inequality
and unfairness eventually leading to improved performance and high contribution from
employees. If an employee experiences discrimination then it will not be easy for that
employee to deliver excellence in performance. Therefore human resource management in
the organization ensures equal opportunities, level playing field for all and fairness
throughout all business functions. A high level of fairness and honesty that comes through
EEO and AA also allow employees to trust their top management and build faith within the
values of the organization (Jain et. al., 2015). With such trust and faith comes an increased
will to perform and deliver better.
Human resource development function in any organization is aimed at developing employees
of the business in terms of several professional or personal skills (Collings et. al., 2018). This
may include trainings and workshops that would help employees in improving their skill set.
HRD function not only aims to develop employees better but also tries to motivate them.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states that upon fulfilment of an individual’s physiological and
social needs, esteem needs come into the picture. By the development of human resources
and offering employees with opportunities to learn new things, the organization aims to
motivate them (Bailey et. al., 2018). Increased learning within the business will also help
employees in building trust towards the organization. This will lead to improved performance
and long term association of employees with the business thereby encouraging increased
contribution towards accomplishment of organizational goals.
Effective human resource management ensures that all employees are motivated to work
hard. There are several factors that contribute towards employee motivation. The primary one
being compensation offered to employees followed by working culture, rewards and
recognition practices and interest in the job. HR management includes efficiently managing
employee performances and ensuring that they are consistently learning (Albrecht et. al.,
2015). Such efforts by the organization towards employee development ensure increased

Human resource management 5
level of motivation, trust and hence higher contribution towards accomplishment of
organizational goals.
Rewarding employees and recognizing their efforts is crucial towards employee motivation.
This makes employees feel valued and cared for. It is an important function of effective
human resource management to ensure that employees associated with the firm are motivated
and their efforts are recognized (Marchington et. al., 2016). Such consistent efforts result in
improved employee efficiency.
An important function of HR management is to ensure that employees associated with the
organization are safe at any given point of time. This includes safety in terms of health as
well as safety in terms of job security. Employees that feel safe within the firm owing to
strong safety policies of the business tend to stay associated with the firm in the longer run.
They are able to trust the organization better and hence perform effectively.
Various HR functions are performed within all organizations on a day to day basis. It is
rightly said that it is the people of the business that form the backbone of the business.
Management of human resources thereby becomes one of the most important functions at any
organization. Different HR functions perform different roles in the business (Storey, 2014).
There is no way of knowing if any of the HR functions is more or less important that the
other functions. Every function plays a different role during a different time and at a different
stage in the organization. For a new business, recruitment and selection are more important so
that the business can have employees that can associate with the firm. If an organization is
facing a high attrition rate, then the HR department must focus on enhancing employee
motivation. If safety standards of the organization are below par then that area of the human
resource management must be dealt with on a priority basis. If a new technology or function
is introduced in an established organization, then training and development must be the prime
focus areas of the HR management. Therefore all HR functions have a different role to play
and depending upon the stage as well as the current ongoing situation of the business,
different functions become more or less important than other functions.
In order to ensure increased levels of employee efficiency and contribution towards the
organization, several aspects play an important role. Employee’s work culture, leadership
abilities of the managers, performance evaluation practices adopted by the firm, level of
security and safety in the business and strategies adopted to recruit, select, train and develop

Human resource management 6
employees of the organization are important aspects of human resource management
(Brewster, 2017). All these factors come together in order to create such an environment
wherein employees can perform to the best of their abilities and ensure high levels of
employee contribution and efficiency. HR management works towards bringing these aspects
together and ensuring high levels of employee satisfaction with the workplace. This would
ensure improved efficiency and contribution towards accomplishment of business goals.
Reflection
I have been associated with my current organization since the last one and half years. This is
my first job and I was excited when I joined. The job has been a major source of learning and
growth for me. Through this course I learnt several aspect of human resource management
that are applicable in my current workplace too. For some time I have been feeling a lack of
motivation towards work.
Through this course, I understood the importance of having clear goals and how they provide
employees with a future course of action. I realized that I did not have a clear goal and this is
what was making me feel de motivated. Instead of yearly target, I started breaking up my
targets in a weekly manner. I set a new goal for every week and worked towards that. I
discussed the same with my manager and requested him to guide with the same. He was
extremely supportive and proposed that I email him my weekly goals every Monday and send
him an email on Friday stating if or the goal has been achieved. I have been doing this for the
last two months and it has completely changed my outlook towards the job. I feel immense
clarity regarding the efforts that I am supposed to put every day at work. Not only has this
helped me be clear about my day but has also helped me in performing better.
The course has had a positive impact on me. I am sure that in my future as well, as I get
promoted to a leadership position, I will adopt the same strategy with my team members as
well. The course helped me understand the importance of effective human resource
management and how employees can be motivated to work hard. A high attrition rate is
something that most organizations are facing at this time. We conducted several activities and
discussions in class that helped me in widening my horizon. Initially I was of the opinion that
if an employee leaves the organization then there is nothing that the organization can do
about it. Today, I understand that efforts can be put to not only reverse an employee’s

Human resource management 7
decision to leave the organization but also ensure high levels of employee retention within the
business.
Conclusion
Human resources form a solid base for a successful business and thereby human resource
management becomes an important function in any organization. Different functions of HR
management work towards ensuring high levels of employee motivation, satisfaction,
retention, performance and association. This course helped in identifying these different
functions as well as assisted in gaining a deeper understanding about how these functions can
help improving employee efficiency as well as level of contribution towards accomplishment
of organizational goals.

Human resource management 8
References
Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015).
Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive
advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People
and Performance, 2(1), 7-35.
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers. United Kingdom.
Bailey, C., Mankin, D., Kelliher, C., & Garavan, T. (2018). Strategic human resource
management. Oxford University Press. United States.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
United States.
Brewster, C. (2017). The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy.
In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35).
Routledge. United /kingdom.
Collings, D. G., Wood, G. T., & Szamosi, L. T. (2018). Human resource management: A
critical approach. In Human Resource Management (pp. 1-23). Routledge. United
Kingdom.
Jain, H. C., Sloane, P., & Horwitz, F. (2015). Employment Equity and Affirmative Action: An
International Comparison: An International Comparison. Routledge. United
Kingdom.
Lewis, G. B. (2018). Equal employment opportunity and the early career in federal
employment. In Diversity And Affirmative Action In Public Service (pp. 75-91).
Routledge. United /kingdom.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R., & Kynighou, A. (2016). Human resource
management at work. Kogan Page Publishers. United /kingdom.
Storey, J. (2014). New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals).
Routledge. United Kingdom.

Human resource management 9